it started with purple paint and a vandalized altar to the saint of death ...
GOOFER DUST AND MY BACKYARD ALTAR
For almost a year I had kept a small altar burning across the street in the local cemetery. Crossroads magic is powerful but apparently some presences I drew to me had only ill will in their souls. I lost the use of the crossroads after the altar was vandalized three times (actually I’m rather sure I know the religious zealot who did it but it sounds more exciting if there’s a supernatural element involved, I suppose).
I decided to take an old bird feeder I had found at a whatnot shop and turn it into a shrine for Santa Muerte. With the exception of the wooden hut itself almost everything else had, at one point or another, been used at the crossroads. At long last I made Goofer Dust (or “Git 'em dust”) as well, something to use as a ward against further vandalism. As J. E. Anderson (Hoodoo, Voodoo and Conjure, page 144) described it:
[Goofer Dust] is ... a common name for earth taken from a grave or for a powder that incorporates such dirt. It can be used for both good and evil purpose. The character of the person from whose grave the dirt is taken can be an important factor. For instance, charms designed to protect loved ones or give power to their bearers might use dirt from the plot of a mother who died in childbirth.
The recipe I used goes as follows:
--- Graveyard dirt from the cemetery plot that I’ve been taking care of all last year.
--- Dried rose petals.
--- Human blood and semen.
--- Trinidad Scorpion “Butch T” red pepper.
--- Sulfur (another name for brimstone).
--- American Spirit rolling tobacco.
Instructions: Mix together and grind down into a fine powder using a mortar and pestle. Sprinkle or “fix” the Dust across any window or doorway one wishes to protect from negative influences.Â
