Sticks, Stones, Roots & Bones: Hoodoo, Mojo & Conjuring with Herbs

by Stephanie Rose Bird

2005 COVR Award Winner Hoodoo is an eclectic blend of African traditions, Native American herbalism, Judeo-Christian ritual, and magical healing. Tracing Hoodoo's magical roots back to West Africa, Stephanie Rose Bird provides a fascinating history of this nature-based healing tradition and gives practical advice for applying Hoodoo magic to everyday life. Learn how sticks, stones, roots, and bones―the basic ingredients in a Hoodoo mojo bag―can be used to bless the home, find a mate, invoke wealth, offer protection, and improve your health and happiness.

Genres: Occult, Witchcraft, Spirituality, Magick, Nonfiction, Magic, Paganism

288 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2004

About the author

Stephanie Rose Bird is a prolific nonfiction author. Her newest work of nonfiction, "Mama Earth's Spiritual Guide to Weight-loss" has just been published (May 2017) by Green Magic Publishing. She is also the author of 5 other published books, the most recent two are "The Big Book of Soul: the Ultimate Guide to the African American Spirit: Legends & Lore, Music & Mysticism, Recipes and Rituals" (Hampton Roads Publishers, 2010) and "A Healing Grove: African Tree Remedies and Rituals for Body and Spirit," (Chicago Review Press, 2009). Bird is an eclectic pagan practicing Green Witchcraft, Shamanism and Hoodoo. She is also a practicing artist, herbalist and aromatherapist. Bird is available to conduct hands-on herbal, botanical arts, magick and ritual workshops as well as hosting spiritual retreats. Contact her for more information:
www.stephanierosebird.com

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Reviews

[Vicy Cross]

Unlike the author, I don't believe "anyone" can practice Hoodoo. Hoodoo is firmly rooted in the Black American South--if you do not have roots there, find another House to occupy. Some of the author's sources are from hacks who mass market to the "new age" "wicca" crowd. Wicca has no business in Hoodoo. And Feng-shui? No. Not even remotely related! The author also used veve's to represent Orishas! Um...nooooo! Honor the Lwas as Lwas, not as Orishas-By-Another-Name. You can't just piecemeal (i.e. steal!) customs and traditions from wherever you like and call it "Hoodoo." That's bad juju and irresponsible teaching.

I do like this book...but the glaring inaccuracies left a sour aftertaste. Although this book is not a definitive guide it is a decent companion book and has a lot of useful information. I appreciated the author's emphasis on using fresh roots and herbs, since most of Hoodoo spellwork is based on the individual rootworker's common sense and practical application. Soapmaking, incenses, tinctures, floor washes, etc. were all enlightening reads. She did a great job focusing on the African diaspora. Too many "experts" conveniently leave out where Hoodoo originates so as to market it to a certain demographic.

I won't rate the book but I do recommend it to witches/brujas who are interested in rootwork.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Edit: I'm revising this review in order to correspond with my review of the Voodoo Hoodoo Spellbook by Denise Alvarado.

In my review of the Voodoo Hoodoo Spellbook, I am completely blown away by what I feel is the author's attempt to rewrite hoodoo and it's history in order to be acceptable to the white neo-pagan community.

This book isn't traditional hoodoo either, and yet you're giving it a much better review- so what gives, Melissa?

The first thing I noticed about this book was the manner in which the author- Stephanie RoseBird- spoke. You can immediately tell the difference between the target audiences- the author writes this book for the African American community foremost, however anyone is free to learn and grow from it, whereas Denise's audience is neo-pagans. Here are two examples.


This is one of the most important differences between these two books. I have read the majority of Stephanie RoseBird's books, and from them I know that she writes her books to heal not only African Americans, but all Black people within the Diaspora.

From this book, despite the fact that it is in no way traditional hoodoo, Stephanie is attempting to heal a deep rift, a deep, deep wound between African Americans and our spirituality and spiritual practices, merging African concepts into African American spirituality in order to reconnect us to our roots in the Motherland.

Hoodoo's rich history is gone into in detail, describing the Africanisms that present themselves within African American conjure, as opposed to Denise's books, which make a quick glide over the history of slavery, oppression, and racism as not to offend white audiences and instill a sense of white guilt.

I also feel as if Denise Alvarado's books minimize the roots of hoodoo within African American culture.

Whereas Denise's book is valued for it's compendium of formulas, Stephanie's book is valued for it's attempts to re-connect the African American community to it's mystical, spiritual roots and to our ancestors.

All in all, I highly recommend this book for any African American looking to reconnect with their ancestors or their spirituality, or to anyone who is looking for the seldom-portrayed side of African American spiritual life.

[Eartha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bought the book yesterday, despite feeling a bit skeptical. Like someone else has said, it may be a good resource to skim for ideas, but definitely not traditional hoodoo. I was surprised by the references she makes to European deities and practices. If feels "Wiccanized" - wasn't what I was looking for.

[Jaina Bee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stephanie Rose Bird leads us through the history, lore and practice of the American folk magick that developed out of the cauldron of African traditions bubbling away with a blend of European and Indigenous ways in the Southern USA. It's a hands-on crafty approach to spiritual practice, which appeals to the Kitchen Witch in me. Most of the materials are already lying about the house or easily found outside, and the power comes through awareness, attention, and intention (but doesn't it always?). The author stresses ethically-sourced and organic materials whenever possible, and goes into great detail about why this is important, with plenty of options to choose from. Still, it's thrilling to read about the strange animal bits and dangerous/illegal items or now-endangered plants that went into mojo bags of the past.
(from my blog post about it)

[Serenity L · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used to be a big fan. But then I had an opportunity to personally dialog with the author. I became underwhelmed as she couldn't answer my questions about her work

[Cass Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great resource for understanding hoodoo and voodoo. The author breaks everything down and shows the reality of a belief system often misconstrued. I use this reference a lot for adding depth and awareness to the pockets of hoodoo in my own writing. Highly recomend.

[Annabell Champeaux · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is packed full of information and recipes for all sorts of things. I really enjoyed it.

[Mizzy Mint · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a wonderful collection of information. I have many of the books that the author references, but the ones I didn't already own, I quickly added to my cart. This is a invaluable collection of history, lore, and recipes for oils and such. I found a lot of the material easy to follow and replicate with easily accessible herbs, a few I know from experience are hard to acquire, but I've also already tracked those down so it wasn't an issue when it popped up in the book. There's a lot of nitty gritty details that I haven't heard before, mostly about black birds and other animals, but I was very invested in learning these new aspects of the practice.
If you haven't read this book, but are interested in folk practices or learning from the experiences and practices of marginalized people, and also love a reference heavy text, I would suggest you stop what you're doing and track down this book.

[Rebecca Albert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book!!! It's a great anthropological text AND it has easy to follow recipes for your own products, esp. cleansing products -- basic cleansing and psychic cleansing. I made the chinese wash to cleanse my floors : it smelled great, got the floors cleaned, and possibly chased out some bad vibes.

[Ladyastarte584 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I Loved this book! It really helps you to understand teh Beauty of Hoodoo and it's value to your life by getting you in touch with the orisha, the deities and the Mother, through Natural Elements and more...

[Deanne Quarrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Stephanie's approach to HooDoo. I have read other works but Sticks, Stones, Roots & Bones is the one that finally spoke to me! I run and online school and this book is the one I chose to introduce my students to HooDoo!

[Brandi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love "Sticks, Stones, Roots & Bones"!! This is the kind of book that you will want to keep handy b/c you'll want to go back to it It is educational, magical & inspirational...I can't wait to read "A Healing Grove"!!

[Tamara · Rating 4 out of 5]

i love her style, even though it isn't strictly hoodoo

[Seven · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is a great book

[Brookeinca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative and fun to read.

[Anita · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good book on hoodoo-style folk magick, mostly rooted in the Afro-American community.

[Cconnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an excellent resource for those who practice both Hoodoo and Wicca/Goddess Spirituality, Ms. Bird is adept at blending the two worlds.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this book up on a recommendation from an herbalist who has a deeper background in hoodoo than I. I really enjoyed it; I think it's a great starter book, especially for someone who wants to use herbalism more practically in the home than just teas and salves. I was particularly looking for an intro to what Stephanie Rose Bird calls "foot track magic," or the daily ritual of cleaning and blessing the home.

There's something I want to say that I can't quite articulate about the necessity of contextualizing all Hoodoo practices within the context of the African Diaspora experience, so I want to be careful about not appropriating anything. And of course, Hoodoo and other forms of folk magic are oral tradition, so it's important to realize that books can't really be the only site of learning. All that said, this book does a great service for those who want to learn the roots of these traditions.

[Heather Havens · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author combines an accessible kitchen-table tone with well-researched information on hoodoo and conjure. She also provides insights on how to incorporate these traditions into an eclectic practice. This book delivers for people seeking crafts and recipes to create a hands-on practice.

[Lisa Vizcarra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed the layout of the book. Well written well executed.
I appreciated the subtle differences between my family's tradition of hoodoo and what's presented in this book.
If you're interested in anything spiritual I highly recommend this book.

[TaNesha Wilkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read!!!

[Stacy Hickson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great reference for understanding what Hoodoo is and what it means to the African diaspora community.

[Earl Okiki-Ifa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must have

[Claudia Loureiro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book on the history and legends,tales and myths of voodoo/hoodoo. It has loads of spells and things to try althought some of the ingredients can be a challenge to find.
This is a source for those both new and experience in the art of Hoodoo. The text flows well. There are several practical solutions for everyday Hoodoo using common objects, as well as sources in the Appendix for further supplies and info.

[Jasmine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had a lot of helpful recipes, but wasn't as much about the history as I would've liked. I did enjoy the book for what it was. Was a bit confused about all the mention of Chinese recipes? As I have never come across this in conjure books before.

[Michael Tolley · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be frank, if you're gonna use this book, you should be female and LOVE roses.

[Chloe´ Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

a phenomenal read and another must-have ! written BY US FOR US (versus white folk trying to whitewash our practices and market it back to us).