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Medicine bags and mojo bags: Magic in a pouch

Medicine bags and mojo bags: Magic in a pouch

Last updated on: June 26, 2017 at 11:10 am by Rachel Patterson

Medicine bags and mojo bags: Magic in a pouch 2017-06-26T11:10:31+01:00 Rachel Patterson

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Medicine bags

mojo bag medicine pouch rachel patterson

Medicine bags, gris gris or mojo bags are fabulous to work with. (All different names for pretty much the same thing).

A medicine bag contains items that are charged with your intent and each item is a guide for the spirits/divine/deity to help them understand what the outcome you desire is. Your medicine bag once it is put together is essentially ‘alive’ with energy and it will need to be looked after and can be ‘fed’ with magic powder. You will need to feed or charge it periodically to maintain its energy force.

The African’s call the power of nature ‘ashe’ and this is what is present in all herbs, plants, stones in fact anything from nature. It is this power that we are using within the medicine bags.

A medicine bag can contain all sorts of items: Herbs, roots, spices, crystals, feathers, bones, shells, dirt, pebbles and coins – what you put in your medicine bag is up to you.

Traditional gris gris bags use red flannel for the bag itself but I like to add colour magic to my medicine bags, I use orange material a lot as this is the colour for success, but also green for prosperity and blue for healing works really well. You don’t even have to be good at sewing, just use a handkerchief (do people still use these?), or felt is good as that doesn’t need hemming, or just use a scrap of material. They can be tied with string or ribbon. You can also use the chiffon bags that craft shops sell for wedding favours.

Magic Powder

And now onto the magic powder to feed your medicine bag. Although magic powders also have lots of other uses. They can be used to roll candles in for spell work, to sprinkle around your house for protection, to add oomph to rituals and any spells, to add to poppets and witch bottles or to wear in a small bottle as a charm.

To make a magic powder the ingredients you use must be ground so you will need either a pestle and mortar or the end of a rolling pin and a solid bowl.

As you add each ingredient to the bowl charge it first with your intent. I also like to charge the powder as a whole once it is complete too.

This can then be fed to your medicine bag each week, just a sprinkle; you can even boost the power by feeding it on the corresponding day of the week to your intent. Or keep it in an airtight bottle or jar and use for all sorts of other spell work.

I like to use a base for my magic powders, I usually work with either salt or sugar, and it grinds well and adds its own qualities to the mix too. If I am making faery wishes powder I also like to add in a little bit of glitter obviously (if you are using the magic powder outside please use edible glitter).

Use a suitable chant as you grind the powder together with your intent.

Mojo Bags

In the magical art of hoodoo, mojo bags are used.

The word mojo seems to have come from the West African word ‘mojuba’ which means prayer or praise so your mojo bag is a bag of containing a prayer, a wish bag if you like.

You might also see the mojo bag referred to as a gris-gris which means charm or fetish, it may also be called a conjure hand, conjure bag, trick bag or root bag.

Traditionally a mojo bag is made from red flannel and sometimes referred to as a ‘flannel’. Objects are placed into the bag that are relevant to the intent and all contain strong ashe. These materials might be graveyard dirt, nails, ground bones, sticks, stones, roots, small bones, herbs, minerals – whatever the practitioner believes should go in to work the trick correctly.

Once the bag is filled it is dressed with conjure oil and tied up, and will then be ‘fed’ regularly with powder, oil or alcohol.

A mojo bag is ‘alive’ with energy and must be fed to keep the ashe working. The feeding adds magic and energy to the trick to keep its life force going. Often the feeding corresponds with specific days of the week that are connected with particular Orishas, Saints or deities. Just take a pinch of your powder and sprinkle it into the bag and say a prayer or blessing as you do so to ‘recharge’ the energy. You can also use one of the oil blends to feed your mojo bag instead of the powder but only add a few drops at a time otherwise you will end up with a very soggy mojo bag.

A mojo bag has many, many different uses from fast luck to unhexing.

Money Draw Mojo bag

Red or green material/pouch

Cord to tie it up with

Cloves (whole)

Allspice (whole)

A feather

1 piece of peridot or malachite

A piece of High John the Conqueror root

A whole nutmeg

Mint

Feeding powder

(grind all the ingredients together to make a fine powder)

High John the Conqueror root

Cloves

Chamomile essential oil

Warding Mojo Bag

Black or purple material/pouch

Cord to tie it up with

Vervain

Lemon grass

Sweet grass

Tobacco

Feeding powder

(grind all the ingredients together to make a fine powder)

Van van oil

Sage

Tobacco

Make it yours

These are just some suggestions – make the bag your own by adding whatever ingredients your intuition guides you to use. It doesn’t have to be expensive and you don’t have to order or purchase exotic items – use what you have in your kitchen cupboard!

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