# Double headed conjure man......



## redneck_billcollector

I guess I could have or should have put this in one of the religion forums, but I am approaching this from a historical prespective.  Having grown up in a rural part of the state with some of the higher african american populations in the state I always took root workers/root doctors for granted.  I was recently looking at pictures from my early youth and in one of them I was with my black nanny (who was also my mother's nanny when she was a child) that I had way back when (the dying days of Jim Crow laws down here).  It brought back many memories amongst many of them some of the things she did that I remember. I always thought of her as my second mother and I played with her grandkids while I was growing up.  I always would bring her fish, rabbits, squirrels, coons, cooters etc...until she died once I got old enough to drive.  

I am talking about root working, conjuring, etc... The things she would do for me when I was sick such as the use of tobacco juice, spider webs, and various herbs and poultices.  She also would put bags and various other items under my bed, things I have now come to learn were conjure bags.  I would go to her house on the south side of town (Albany) which were nothing more than what we called "shotgun houses" and all the doors, window sills and porches would be painted blue and bottle trees were abundant in her neighborhood.  

In thinking about my memories I started doing some online research to see what the state of the rural southern tradition of root working was these days, I was amazed.  It appears to have been taken over by white urban and suburban new age northerners that are claiming to be certified Voodoo priest, Santeria Priest and Root Doctors all at the same time with a good bit of new age and wiccan practices thrown in. (one dude claimed certification in about a half dozen different african beliefs and claimed to be a double headed conjure man....he looked like Justin Bieber...a double headed conjure man can do both good and jinx work)  Further more they throw around Hoodoo and Voodoo along with conjure men and women as if they are all the same thing.  I found this funny, Santeria, Voodoo and the various latin based (spanish/french) beliefs rely heavily on catholic beliefs mixed with african, where as your good ol' run of the mill GA, FLA, NC, SC, etc...root doctors are not the same, the slave owners and populations in those states during times of high slave populations were protestant so NO catholic influence with the saints taking on the embodiment of  african gods/spirits.  

Blue doors, window sills, porches, blue bottle trees, brick dust, cemetary dirt etc....are all things I grew up around and took for granted....these beliefs are disappearing and I hate it.  How many of yall had a wart conjered, a dirty sock under your pillow or a dime on your shoe strings or near your ankle as a child growing up or even a conjure bag under your bed or behind your bedroom door as a child? We all put found pennies in our shoes as a child (I still do...lol) that had many purposes, one of which was to keep people from giving you the "hot foot", in other words jinxing or conjuring your foot print which apparently was a huge practice down here.   I still see bottle trees from time to time, more so now as decorations as opposed to catching evil spirits....but from time to time I see them in their original context.  There were some similar beliefs amongst the white mountain folks of the south, but it really took off amongst the rural african american population in the black belts of GA and other southern states and those of us southern whites that were not baptist (I was raised a methodist) or other conservative christian denominations that grew up around large rural black populations.  All the baptist I knew would get very mad if you talked about it with their kids or saw you doing something wrong ("x"ing things, etc).....was the devil don't ya know.

I  see more of it over on the coast where some folks still speak "geechee" and the grave yards are older.....with the huge moss draped live oaks it just seems to fit there real good.  

I recently ran across an 14 year old news paper article about a root worker who was a medium sized crack dealer up in the middle GA area and how the police trying to catch her began to believe that her conjuring really did hamper their investigation......their equipment always failed, batteries and cameras died at just the right moment, etc....was kind of funny.....

How many of yall were exposed to root workers, conjure men and women and their influence in your youth?

This is a dying part of our culture as both white and black southerners that influenced alot of activities we take for granted now a days....I would love to hear other people's experience with this, I know most of the younger people don't even know what I am talking about....but I am sure there are older folks on this forum (Nic) who have memories of this.


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## northgeorgiasportsman

Sorry man, growing up in a Christian environment, we didn't believe in none of that hocus pocus.  Still don't.


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## redneck_billcollector

northgeorgiasportsman said:


> Sorry man, growing up in a Christian environment, we didn't believe in none of that hocus pocus.  Still don't.



Never put a found penny in your shoe?  Never crossed your fingers for luck?  Never avoided stepping on cracks?  Never wished anyone good luck? Are you scared of snakes...any snake? All part of this type of folk lore and decidedly non-christian in origin.  Heck, wind chimes that many people have were originally to ward off evil spirits......I wasn't asking if people believed in it nor was I wanting to start a religious discussion.....was just talking about and asking about something that is as much a part of southern culture as grits are....


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## Artfuldodger

My mom took my niece to an old black woman who breathed in my niece's mouth to cure the Thrush. That's about the only root doctor folklore I personally know. This was down in Coffee County. Living in Charleston and visiting Beaufort & Savannah I read about a famous Dr. Buzzard. Maybe because of the Gullah & Geechee culture. People were more into that sort of thing. Just read Huckleberry Finn. 
There were many root doctors who used the Dr. Buzzard name. The famous one from Beaufort county in South Carolina was quite interesting as I recall reading about him. He would put spells on people and remove spells placed by others. He used something from a buzzard's nest but I can't recall what it was. He was well respected by the local sheriff who would use Dr Buzzard as a mediator in the black community. Dr Buzzard could get them to turn themselves in. He was the unofficial High Sheriff of the black community.
I remember reading in Huckleberry Finn where someone used a hairball to gather information on which way someone went.
I've seen Bezoar Stones for sell on Ebay. I don't know if they are real or not.
Most of the people of yore were more superstitious than we are yet they were mostly Christians. I guess we all learn as we gain information. Hopefully Christianity won't take the same highway. I'm sure many people feel the same way about Christianity as some feel about Christian root doctors.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bezoar


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## Artfuldodger

redneck_billcollector said:


> Never put a found penny in your shoe?  Never crossed your fingers for luck?  Never avoided stepping on cracks?  Never wished anyone good luck? Are you scared of snakes...any snake? All part of this type of folk lore and decidedly non-christian in origin.  Heck, wind chimes that many people have were originally to ward off evil spirits......I wasn't asking if people believed in it nor was I wanting to start a religious discussion.....was just talking about and asking about something that is as much a part of southern culture as grits are....



I think it's an interesting topic. I'm sure many people have some experiences to share. It's not any different from Native American folklore. Native American religions, like the African ones brought by the slaves, were generally inclusivist, open to the addition of new religious experiences, stories, or visions. they incorporated Christianity into their religions.Some Jews even had a hard time dropping their customs for Christianity. The transition doesn't happen overnight. You don't have to believe in it to find it interesting. Religions are interesting to me. It's possible Christians did certain things to convert Pagans.

Root work is a blend of West African religion, herbal folklore and Christian beliefs mingled together to make a uniquely Southern stew.
 In its most sincere form, root work taps into an ancient belief that everything in creation -- every rock and every blade of grass -- is filled with spiritual significance. A practitioner with knowledge of the spirit world can tap into its power.

It's like voodoo, but different, too.

http://www.southern-spirits.com/schanche-georgia-rootwork.html


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## Artfuldodger

Hey, here is one of those experts an all of the things Redneck Billcollector was talking about:

http://georgiarootdoctor.blogspot.com/


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## redneck_billcollector

Thank you Artfuldodger, that was the type of response I was hoping for. It was much more common down here during my youth, I still see vestigages of it but nowhere near as much as I used to. Alot of native american folk medicine is involved, early on there were alot of Indian slaves mingling with african slaves and the africans picked up on the herbs of the natives real fast.  Also on the elements of the "local's" local spirits folk lore. If you like blues and southern rock, it is influenced by it too.....If you ever heard of the "cross roads" which is popular in blues and rock mythology, that comes dirrectly from some of the beliefs about Legba who would meet people at the"cross roads" and grant them their deepest desire ......for a price. It ain't the devil as many think....though Legba could be a wee bit demanding and tricky.  Apparently Legba (aka Papa Legba) was a go between for people and the spiritual world.  A southern favorite food, okra is associated with african pre-christian beliefs too and can play a part it some of the practices...it was smuggled here, legend has it, by seeds hidden away in some african slaves' hair.


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## westcobbdog

Reminds me of the foxfire books, got four or five of them.


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## Rackbuster

I have always heard of root doctors growing up but never met one. The blacks I worked with on the farm were always talking about putting the root doctor on someone. I did know an elderly white woman that could talk the fire out of you. My sister got burned on her stomach by a pot of hot water and Momma loaded all of us in the car and went to her house. She  
breathed over her stomach and said something in a low voice and my sisters pain was gone in just a few minutes. Don't know if that did it or what as I was only about 10 but I wanted to know how she did it.


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## Sargent

Although she died way before my birth, my great-grandmother came from a medicine family (eastern Cherokee).  

People would apparently come to see her to "talk fire out of a burn".  

Incidentally, my great-grandfather was a traveling Baptist preacher.


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## Artfuldodger

redneck_billcollector said:


> Thank you Artfuldodger, that was the type of response I was hoping for. It was much more common down here during my youth, I still see vestigages of it but nowhere near as much as I used to. Alot of native american folk medicine is involved, early on there were alot of Indian slaves mingling with african slaves and the africans picked up on the herbs of the natives real fast.  Also on the elements of the "local's" local spirits folk lore. If you like blues and southern rock, it is influenced by it too.....If you ever heard of the "cross roads" which is popular in blues and rock mythology, that comes dirrectly from some of the beliefs about Legba who would meet people at the"cross roads" and grant them their deepest desire ......for a price. It ain't the devil as many think....though Legba could be a wee bit demanding and tricky.  Apparently Legba (aka Papa Legba) was a go between for people and the spiritual world.  A southern favorite food, okra is associated with african pre-christian beliefs too and can play a part it some of the practices...it was smuggled here, legend has it, by seeds hidden away in some african slaves' hair.



I don't like blues, I love it. Yes I've seen the influence of it in early blues music. When many blacks left the south and went to big cities like Chicago, they took their music and medicine with them.


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## olcop

Lots of exposure to it while I was a cop, very prevalent  in the area I served in, strongly believed in too, some LEO's wouldn't touch a root bag if they found it on a person they were arresting.
olcop


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## redneck_billcollector

olcop said:


> Lots of exposure to it while I was a cop, very prevalent  in the area I served in, strongly believed in too, some LEO's wouldn't touch a root bag if they found it on a person they were arresting.
> olcop



http://www.walb.com/story/24910016/city-hall-building-closed-to-public-in-meigs

How funny, a news story from our local station just yesterday. The city hall was, and is, literally closed as I type this because of a fear of some root working.  Read the story, the video is two parts, look below it to play part one first..... I am a rural SOWEGA "country lawyer" and have been one for over 20 years...have run into it from time to time professionally....today because of this story that was the talk in Court this morning....got a few good lawyer root doctor stories folks were telling in court this morning that I will post later today or this weekend.


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## redneck_billcollector

olcop said:


> Lots of exposure to it while I was a cop, very prevalent  in the area I served in, strongly believed in too, some LEO's wouldn't touch a root bag if they found it on a person they were arresting.
> olcop



A long time deputy down here told me in Court this morning that they used to offer classes around here for how to deal with these particular issues....

One lawyer was telling me this morning that about 7 or so years ago that he had a drug dealer client that the state and the Judge had indicated that the individual was looking at a minimum of 4 years to serve...the client went to her root doctor because she was not happy about getting hard time, the root doctor gave her 5 eggs, two blue and three green and told her to throw them off a particular bridge with some private chant....low and behold, they went into court the next time and hard time was never mentioned and the state wanted straight probation....the Judge agreed.  The lawyer who told me the story believes in it and he is a white christian lawyer but was telling a young new lawyer this morning when you do this long enough you will see some very strange things....that is as true a statement as any when talking about our type of work, especially down in our neck of the woods....

I was in night court last night in Dawson GA and this subject
was on my mind and got to talking with the police chief about it, he is an older black gentleman and he was saying it was still all over the place there (and he believes in it)and he went on that it was rather common in drug cases that involve black people.  Mojos and such along with hexes placed on LEOs, judges and DAs.


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## SGADawg

I bought a farm adjoining the local root doctor/Baptist preacher years ago. We became sorta friends. When the black kids and some teachers found out they asked if I wasn't afraid to go out there.   I was really surprised how afraid of him they were.  He would advertise in northern newspapers and send potions and spells out all the time.

A member of his church once told me that they didn't have to be worried about missing church. He and his brother would come by and pick up the tithes Sunday afternoon.


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## cmshoot

This thread reminded me of an incident when I was on the Marietta PD SWAT Team and worked dope. We served a search warrant on a crack dealer and he had a voodoo altar on the bathroom sink. He had little pieces of papers, each one had one of our names on it......including our K9, Bouie!  Pretty funny, apparently his gris-gris wasn't strong enough!

When I worked the street, it wasn't uncommon to run into folks on the street with a gris-gris around their neck. I remember another who had a pork rib bone in his pocket with different colored strings intricately knotted around it.


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## olcop

*Conjure Man*

Meant to comment on the blue paint on homes in my other post, but if you ever have occasion to drive through Crescent, Ga. many of the homes you'll see have blue doors, window sills and porches.
olcop


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## rhbama3

olcop said:


> Meant to comment on the blue paint on homes in my other post, but if you ever have occasion to drive through Crescent, Ga. many of the homes you'll see have blue doors, window sills and porches.
> olcop



I never knew the significance of the blue paint. 
When i was a young'un, we would go visit granny in Hartford, Al.( circa 1968). She was a big believer in "faith healing", palm reading, and "spirit signs". A sudden thunderstorm or animal running across the yard always had some sort of meaning to her. The columns on the old homestead wrap around porch were blue, along with the doors.


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## Swamp Monkey

Not sure but this may be one of the reasons for the blue paint. If you paint the ceiling of your porch a sky blue you don't have to worry about wasp making nest on it. Painted mine blue 5 years ago and never had a wasp nest under it. Guess it's messes them up and they think it's the sky.
 Do remember my granddaddy wore a root bag. It was a small cloth bag sown onto an elastic band and he wore it around his waist.


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## redneck_billcollector

Swamp Monkey said:


> Not sure but this may be one of the reasons for the blue paint. If you paint the ceiling of your porch a sky blue you don't have to worry about wasp making nest on it. Painted mine blue 5 years ago and never had a wasp nest under it. Guess it's messes them up and they think it's the sky.
> Do remember my granddaddy wore a root bag. It was a small cloth bag sown onto an elastic band and he wore it around his waist.



The reason for the blue paint is that bad spirits won't cross over or through it......blue is apparently a color bad spirits don't like, as for keeping wasp away.....My house was painted blue until recently and the wasps did not seem to be bothered by it.....them buggers were everywhere.  I do notice when it was freshly painted they did not bother though.  That is the same reason people like blue bottles for their bottle trees, blue has some effect on them haints.


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## Swamp Monkey

Article on "Haint Blue" from Sherwin Williams
https://www.sherwin-williams.com/ar...-techniques/sw-article-pro-thewhysbehind.html


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## lagrangedave

Strange that nobody mentions the Celtic and Wiccan influences in the south from our Scottish and Irish ancestry. My grandmother was puritanical Dutch christian, but believed in "white magic". Then there's always that "dollar and a dime lady"


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## shakey gizzard

Placebo!


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## dick7.62

I just saw this thread last night.  I will try to tell some of my experiences concerning this subject.  I never knew much about witchcraft or black magic or root medicine growing up.  I had heard of it but I never knew anyone who practiced it or believed in it.  
At work we found out that a co-worker, a black guy, believed in it and was very afraid of it.  We were big into practical jokes so a couple of us decided to have some fun with it.  Another guy and I decided to make like we were practicing witchcraft against each other, casting spells, wearing root necklaces, etc.  At no time did we threaten the man who believed in that junk.    We just did things toward each other  where he could see us.  He was apparently afraid that a stray spell would hit him so he tried to avoid us.
I didn't do any research into this subject.  I just kinda made it up as I went along.  I discovered that the pokeberry plant has some weird shaped roots.  Therefore it made some weird root necklaces.  Later on some fellas(all black) asked me to make them some root necklaces for various purposes.  I will get to some of those stories later.
Word got around that we were practicing witchcraft  and I found out there were a lot of believers at the plant.  One of the bros. believed in it but didn't believe I was legitimate.  He told me "You better quit playing with them roots because you may run into a real root doctor".
Another bro saw me and said "Stay away from me.  I don't want nothing to do with you".  But the next time he saw me he wanted me to make him a good luck necklace.  I did and gave it to him.  The next day he came to me and said the first thing he did was buy a lottery ticket which was a winner.  It wasn't much(about $20) but it made a believer out of him.
I have many more stories but I need to go to bed so I will try to do some more every day.


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## Nicodemus

Blue paint on window sills and thresholds is ghost insurance. Wanderin` ghosts won`t cross blue, accordin` to legend and lore. Once while I had an old black WTO ridin` with me while I was patrollin` powerlines, he asked me to stop by the "root doctor" down in Mitchell County so he could get some medicine of some kind (I didn`t ask and I stayed in the truck). As a youngun workin` in the baccer field, I heard all kinds of tales. All the black younguns were made to swaller either snuff or chewin` tobacco on a regular basis to rid them of worms.

Gimme time to ponder on this and I`ll remember all kinds of things that were practiced.


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## Gary Mercer

In the South Carolina low country, most of the old cabins were made of heart pine.  That stuff wouldn't hold paint very well, so they weathered kinda dark brown to black.
But the window sills and door frames were a light bright blue.  
The old black gentleman that sorta brought me up, David, told me it was to keep the "Haints" away.
He also used root medicine whenever he or his wife went to feeling poorly.
He got me a necklace of some kind or "stuff" to keep me healthy.  I wore it for years, until the Marine Corps told me "NO."  Haven't seen it since I left for P.I.


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## The Longhunter

Gary Mercer said:


> In the South Carolina low country, most of the old cabins were made of heart pine.  That stuff wouldn't hold paint very well, so they weathered kinda dark brown to black.
> But the window sills and door frames were a light bright blue.
> The old black gentleman that sorta brought me up, David, told me it was to keep the "Haints" away.
> He also used root medicine whenever he or his wife went to feeling poorly.
> He got me a necklace of some kind or "stuff" to keep me healthy.  I wore it for years, until the Marine Corps told me "NO."  Haven't seen it since I left for P.I.



That's what I remember all across the South from Miss. to Georgia.  Tenant shack with no paint, you could see through the clapboarding but the doorframes and window sills would be bright blue.  Still occasionally see that in the city, but I don't know if the folks doing it do it for a reason, or just because it's always been done that way.

Blue bottles on bottle trees apparently work just the opposite, they are supposed to trap the h'aints or scare them away.

I knew a lot of the older folks, black and white, that would carry a little "root bag" with them somewhere.  Used to the country stores would sell little packages of "yarbs."  

My father was in construction, and he had to deal with his black laborers getting the hex, and having to see the root man.  The "evil eye" was well known, and something you wanted to avoid at all costs.

Course you don't have to be black.  It's a white thing that the more a ginseng root looks like a man, the more potent it is to make you do manly things, and the reason it brings such a high price.

I don't know about being Christian and all, I like to think of myself as a pretty good Christian, but I never read that Christ told me not to carry a buckeye in my pocket for good luck and to keep the rheumatism away.

And yep, a dip of snuff was supposed to keep the worms away.  

Funny the older I get, and the more I study, the more it seems that the old root doctors, black, white and Indian, knew more than "science" allowed them to know.


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## The Longhunter

redneck_billcollector said:


> http://www.walb.com/story/24910016/city-hall-building-closed-to-public-in-meigs
> 
> How funny, a news story from our local station just yesterday. The city hall was, and is, literally closed as I type this because of a fear of some root working.  Read the story, the video is two parts, look below it to play part one first..... I am a rural SOWEGA "country lawyer" and have been one for over 20 years...have run into it from time to time professionally....today because of this story that was the talk in Court this morning....got a few good lawyer root doctor stories folks were telling in court this morning that I will post later today or this weekend.



Thanks for sharing that.


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## Artfuldodger

I've heard older people talk of wearing "Acifidity Bags" to school as kids to ward of colds, etc.

Asafoetida is a spice used in India for cooking. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asafoetida


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## redneck_billcollector

Swamp Monkey said:


> Article on "Haint Blue" from Sherwin Williams
> https://www.sherwin-williams.com/ar...-techniques/sw-article-pro-thewhysbehind.html



That is a heck of a link....thanks!


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## redneck_billcollector

dick7.62 said:


> I just saw this thread last night.  I will try to tell some of my experiences concerning this subject.  I never knew much about witchcraft or black magic or root medicine growing up.  I had heard of it but I never knew anyone who practiced it or believed in it.
> At work we found out that a co-worker, a black guy, believed in it and was very afraid of it.  We were big into practical jokes so a couple of us decided to have some fun with it.  Another guy and I decided to make like we were practicing witchcraft against each other, casting spells, wearing root necklaces, etc.  At no time did we threaten the man who believed in that junk.    We just did things toward each other  where he could see us.  He was apparently afraid that a stray spell would hit him so he tried to avoid us.
> I didn't do any research into this subject.  I just kinda made it up as I went along.  I discovered that the pokeberry plant has some weird shaped roots.  Therefore it made some weird root necklaces.  Later on some fellas(all black) asked me to make them some root necklaces for various purposes.  I will get to some of those stories later.
> Word got around that we were practicing witchcraft  and I found out there were a lot of believers at the plant.  One of the bros. believed in it but didn't believe I was legitimate.  He told me "You better quit playing with them roots because you may run into a real root doctor".
> Another bro saw me and said "Stay away from me.  I don't want nothing to do with you".  But the next time he saw me he wanted me to make him a good luck necklace.  I did and gave it to him.  The next day he came to me and said the first thing he did was buy a lottery ticket which was a winner.  It wasn't much(about $20) but it made a believer out of him.
> I have many more stories but I need to go to bed so I will try to do some more every day.



There are some stores down here in the black areas of town that sell good luck charms for playing the lottery.  I talked to an old conjer woman yesterday and she was trying to get me to buy some root bags from her to wear under my suit in court......I am actually thinking about buying one just to see what she has in it. Since I started talking about it with older black people I am hearing about it pretty regularly.  I am hunting up some blue bottles to hang in a most drapped bald cypress tree in my yard.


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## redneck_billcollector

Nicodemus said:


> Blue paint on window sills and thresholds is ghost insurance. Wanderin` ghosts won`t cross blue, accordin` to legend and lore. Once while I had an old black WTO ridin` with me while I was patrollin` powerlines, he asked me to stop by the "root doctor" down in Mitchell County so he could get some medicine of some kind (I didn`t ask and I stayed in the truck). As a youngun workin` in the baccer field, I heard all kinds of tales. All the black younguns were made to swaller either snuff or chewin` tobacco on a regular basis to rid them of worms.
> 
> Gimme time to ponder on this and I`ll remember all kinds of things that were practiced.



Happy to see you chime in Nic, there was supposed to be a real famous Root Doctor down in either Decatur or Seminole County way not so long ago, they would charter buses from Atlanta, Birmingham, and other southern cities to come see him....my understanding is that he opened up a soul food joint and made a killing off of it with those buses of people, then he retired and moved to Florida. I also understand he used to run numbers and had a decent card game from time to time.....


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## dick7.62

And now for the second episode in the life of a fake root doctor.
To identify the characters in this story I will call the inspiration for this hoax Hen.(he was the one so afraid of black magic).  My partner in the hoax I will call Len.  This is a continuation from post 24.
I was in maintenance and had just got a piece of equipment going.  I was in the control room observing to make sure it was going to run OK.  Hen. walked into the room(he was a greaser/oiler and worked all over the plant).  There was a mirror in the room and Hen. went to the mirror checking a fever blister on his lips.  I realized this was a good opportunity to demonstrate my powers.  I took a handful of dust(this was a kaolin plant so there was plenty of it) and threw it over Hen.  He almost made a new door to the room.  I'm glad I wasn't in his way or he would have run over me.  I immediately apologized to him for doing it that way, explaining that it was magic healing powder, and I knew he wouldn't let me put it on him so I had to do it that way to cure his fever blister.  In a little while I saw Len. and he told me that he had seen Hen. a little earlier and had told him that he had seen me sprinkling magic powder all around earlier that day.  So by the time Hen. saw me he was all wound up and I know he hated to see me.  
Anyway by the next day Hen.'s fever blister had cleared up(quickest ever he said) and he never got another one until he retired.  He claimed that he had them regularly before the magic healing powder.
He seemed very happy with the final results, although he wasn't too happy when I threw the powder on him.
I have more so I will tell them later.


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## R G

There  are two sides to the world, good and evil, God and the devil, life and death.  Be careful which side you pick.


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## Seth carter

R G said:


> There  are two sides to the world, good and evil, God and the devil, life and death.  Be careful which side you pick.



Do you see the name of the forum its not religion is it? So get out of here with that


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## Nicodemus

Seth carter said:


> Do you see the name of the forum its not religion is it? So get out of here with that





Settle down, Mr. Carter. Religion is a part of the history of what this discussion is about.


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## Seth carter

Nicodemus said:


> Settle down, Mr. Carter. Religion is a part of the history of what this discussion is about.



Ik that I didn't say anything bout the other post people that tell you to choose is what anoyes me why must you be pushed to do somthing if they wana do it let them I'm not in here telling everybody to be an atheist why must they tell you what you should do   on topic I have a family friend who can talk the fire out of a burn he can reach up and pull a wasp nest down too without bothering the wasps or getting stung


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## redneck_billcollector

R G said:


> There  are two sides to the world, good and evil, God and the devil, life and death.  Be careful which side you pick.



Not for nothing, but the story of Job makes it seem like God and Satan hang out together......making bets and such.  But, as the person who started this thread I wanted to avoid discussions like this.  Conjuring and such have a long history within Christianity and many things even good christians do have its roots in non-christian religious observances. Christmas trees, easter eggs, the dates of these events along with even the names of the days....ALL named after pre-christian gods and demi-gods. Oh, and a real biggy, may day....next week.   

Like I said, if you ever wished for good luck, crossed your fingers for luck, avoided stepping on cracks, made a wish on a shooting star, etc...  This thread was about how it is rather common in the most openly "christian" regions of this country....namely the south.  In the mountainous regions of the south, root working has its roots in protestant and pagan celtic and indian practices....in the black belt it is a mixture of protestant and pagan african beliefs.....in hispanic and french areas of the new world, it is catholic an pagan african and in some places indian beliefs.....all root workers have one foot solidly planted in christianity and their ancestors' pre-christian beliefs......


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## fireman32

Just found this thread, but my Great Aunt made me slice a potato, rub it on a wart on my foot, then I had to bury the potato by a grave.  She told me to forget about it and the wart would go away, it did. 
I've also known older people who would by warts and moles from people and they would go away, or they could talk them off.  
I've seen a man from Jamaica that worked on a farm up here that could ease up to a wasp nest full of wasps and slowly crush it without a wasp flying away or stinging him.
I haven't seen many houses with the blue paint, most around here are white, along with the trees and everything else, I've always been told it was to keep the haints away.
I can't say how much truth is in the lore, but I've witnessed enough to not be a complete skeptic. I also knew an old woman that predicted the gender of your unborn child, she was never wrong.


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## Nuttin Better

I remember having warts rubbed off my fingers when I was a kid and it was an older white man that could do that. Warts would pop up on fingers when I was little and my mom would take me to him. He would rub his fingers over the wart and the next day they would be gone. He could blow the fire out of a burn also. Had that done too.


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## T-N-T

I have found the older I get the more I pay attention to others and their beliefs/actions.  I see LOTS of Christian people who have VooDoo type behaviors.  They dont knwo where they come from or they would stop it right now I bet!
Around here I hear lots of stories about the old timers that passed before my time.  They all had huge Superstitious Beliefs.  I recon many came from the black folks in the area.  I work with a black guy who is 51.  He is the youngest of about 12 siblings.  HE has many qwerks about him that I know he doesnt realize the origin of.  Just things his parents did and he learned.  Superstitious thinking mostly.
As for holidays being based on pagan events....  That has always made me laugh, in side, not out loud.  
PEople walk around doing things that come from VooDoo and Pagan beliefs and dont know it.  They cross their fingers for luck and such.  Then they tell you how they dont believe in none of that hocus pocus.  I LOVE hearing old people tell the ways of the past.  The beliefs and such.  Funny how we get all "educated" we forget the ways that got people through hundreds of years.


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## T-N-T

Oh yeah,  who knows about the Farmers Almanac?  "The signs"?  This has to be based on something along what we are talking about...
You know, digging holes on the right moon.  Or else you wont have enough dirt to fill the hole in.  Or too much to go back in.  I believe it has way more to do with how compacted is the dirt you dig up.  If you loosen it you will have extra.  And then you of course never get all the dirt out of the grass beside the hole, thus leaving you short.
Sorry if I am rambling about things unrelated but I just figured it might be tied in.


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## joedublin

Hundreds of homes in and around Deland, Florida are painted bright blue. My father always leaned his shoes toes up against a wall in the bedroom. I remember or ball team wearing the same socks 'cause we were on an 18 game winning streak. Everybody has some sort of superstition.


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## The mtn man

I have seen some superstitious folks around here, some believe you can give someone a penny and they will buy a wart from you, some beleive it's bad luck to walk under a ladder or whatever, I think most people I know that say these things are making a joke, I know sometimes I say somethings bad luck, just for laughs, I don't believe in any of the hocus pocus, as far as wasps I have heard some say here special people can handle a wasp nest, In my line of work I encounter wasps multiple times each day, I use to carry spray and spray them, but I have found that wasps can be very dossile, I mostly now just pinch off the part that attaches the nest, lay the nest down, (with wasps still on it), then mash it with my boot, and believe it or not I am a born again Christian, most times not a very good one, but one the same.


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## T-N-T

I saw a man rub his fingers in his sweaty arm pit and get his long days work stink on them.  Then reach up and pinch off a nest.  I told him he could have it.  I'm allergic and don't take risks with any bee


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