Category:Personal Concerns and Magical Links

From Association of Independent Readers and Rootworkers

AIRR Readers and Rootworkers Who Craft Petitions for Clients Miss cat yronwode -- JayDee Miss Elvyra -- Clifford Low Jon Saint Germain -- Lady Muse Marin Graves -- Ramona Scott Miss Michaele -- Rev. Fred Papa Newt -- Margie Blackwell Miss Marguerite -- Doc Murphy Reverend James -- Papa Gee Dr. Jeremy Weiss -- Sister Girl Ms. Robin -- Deborah Voith Brother Christopher Mama E. -- Reverend Art Valentina Burton -- Miss Bri ConjureMan -- Heidi Holton Angela Marie Horner Lukianos -- Reverend Roy Ilona Bliss -- Deacon Millett Elle DuVall -- Susan Barnes Miss Athena -- Nikki Jean Susan Diamond -- Mama Vergi

Personal Concerns are physical or biological remnants of, and symbolic links to, other living beings. They are used in most magical traditions of spell casting and are particularly prominent in African American hoodoo, conjure, witchcraft, and rootwork.

Especially when working love marriage, or reconciliation spells, strong enemy tricks, protective magic, or conjurations to control another person in money or job matters, it is customary to capture something of the body, or to create a substitute for these concerns in the form of a name paper.

Contents 1 Popular Personal Concerns 2 Personal Concerns Represent Spiritual Connections 3 Cultural Considerations 4 Magical Considerations 5 Substitutions for Personal Concerns 6 Credits 7 See Also 8 AIRR Readers & Rootworkers Who Perform This Work for Clients

Popular Personal Concerns

When working for a client, many root doctors estimate the likelihood of successful spell-casting based in part on how linked the client is to the person on whom the work is to be done. For example, in considering whether to undertake a binding love spell for a client, the fact that the client can only give the worker an impersonal concern from the loved one, such as a business card, may lead to lower expectations for the outcome.

In this list, personal concerns are ranked according to an informal scale used by many professional hoodoo rootworkers, placing them in roughly descending order of the power of their connection to a person.These items can be used for good or for evil; all that is indicated here is the relative strength of the objects that represent the person.

* Sexual Effluvia: Combined Sexual Fluids, Semen, Vaginal Fluid, Menstrual Blood

* "Private" Biological Excreta: Urine (Chamber Lye), Feces, Bath Water

* Hairs: Pubic Hair, Body Hair, Armpit Hair, Beard Hair, Head Hair

* Unwashed (Soiled) "Private" clothing: Night-Clothes, Socks, Stockings, Underwear

* Measures: Genital Organ Measure, Other Body Part Measures (Waist, Wrist)

* Foot Tracks: Foot Skin Scrapings, Toenails, Foot Track Dirt, Shoes, Foot-Wash Water

* "Public" Biological Excreta: Sweat, Spit, Hand-Wash Water, Finger or Toenails, Baby Teeth

* Unwashed (Soiled) "Public” Clothing: Hat Band or Bow, Hair Ribbon, Handkerchief

* Pictures and Images: Photograph, Drawing, Silhouette

* Personal Mementos: Person’s Handwriting, Something Person Owned

* Impersonal Mementos: Person’s Business Card, News Article or Ad With Person's Name

* Name Papers: Person’s Full Name Written on Paper by You, Person’s Birth Date

Personal Concerns Represent Spiritual Connections

Practitioners of European magic, Middle Eastern magic, and African magic all view personal concerns in a similar way and consider the most organic to be the most powerful. The reason root doctors rank personal concerns in the manner shown in the above list is due to the fact that something organic like hair, fluids, or something worn by a person carries that person's essence or spirit in it, and spiritual links tend to be extremely effective. In cases where one can dust, wash, or oil a personal concern and carry it back into their personal space the spell not only touches them to the core but is also constantly reinforcing itself when they pass by, or when they are near.

That isn't to say that a picture isn't enough of a link for most conjure doctors. Any concern is better than none, and the best link may be chosen based on the type of work being done. For example, a handwriting sample is a good link in working for a business spell, but less so for enhancing marital fidelity. Some workers only require a name, and if they can get a birth date, they may use it for an astrological analysis and with a photo they can first do a photo-psychometry reading and then use it to make a dollie of the person. A name is a sacred thing, it's someone's key to their soul, their essence. A picture is their essence, their image captured through light and darkness. For this reason both of these concerns work well.

Cultural Considerations

Cultural and historical variations in belief may influence which personal concerns are most favoured. For example, in pre-literate or non-literate communities, name papers carry no weight. Likewise, photos are less likely to be used by traditional practitioners of Middle Eastern magic due to ancient scriptural injunctions against graven images in Judaism and Islam, but foot tracks, hair, fingernails, and a person's name are considered potent. In traditional African folk magic and African-American hoodoo, the feet hold a special place, which is why there is an emphasis on foot-track magic and on the use of personal concerns such as socks, stockings, foot-skin, toenails, and shoes.

Magical Considerations

In choosing which personal concern to use it is good to consider what type of magic one is attempting to perform.

Any soiled clothing captured from a person be can used to help the person, to work against the person, or to control them. Making a doll-baby of the person is one of the best ways to utilize clothing.

Body fluids such as menstrual blood, sexual fluids, and urine have a strong place in love magic. When working on affecting someone's nature or sexuality, they are a great gateway to bring about change -- but many rootworkers refuse to handle such intimate concerns on behalf of their clients, and instead prefer to provide magical coaching to teach them the spells to perform themselves.

In addition to incorporating body fluids into workings to induce affection in the one who contacts or ingests them, they can be also used to mark a person or a place as one's own. For instance, in the case of urine, there is a long tradition of using it on the corners or along the perimeter of territory, both for acquisition and for protection.

If you are attempting spell-work to affect someone's mind, then hair, especially head-hair, is a strong link, but for sexual works, pubic hair is more highly favoured. To bring about an equal union without domination, using two hairs or two locks of hair, one from each partner, is traditional. If they are long enough to braid, it is common to braid them together. If they are very short, they may be embedded in a dab of soft cheese-rind wax or beeswax.

If you are trying to affect someone's appearance, then a photograph may be better than more intimate concerns.

Substitutions for Personal Concerns

Many clients ask if a less intimate item can be substituted for something personal that is difficult for them to obtain — say, a name paper for a pair of socks. The answer is, "Not really."

In the first place, there are traditional and symbolically apt linkages between specific personal concerns and certain types of spells. For instance, sexual fluids are associated with love spells and foot tracks with controlling spells that involve motion.

In the second place, if you don't know somebody well enough or can't get close enough to them to capture intimate personal concerns, you probably do not have enough of a magical link to the person to affect his or her intimate sexual life through rootwork.

However, while some spells can only be worked with the proper personal concerns, many can begin with a name paper or petition paper and then increase in strength as you gather and use more intimate personal concerns. And, additionally, any trick that is intended to affect another person, and which was taught to you without mentioning personal concerns, will be much stronger if you add them in.

Credits

This page is brought to you by the AIRR Tech Team:

• Authors: catherine yronwode, ConjureMan
• Contributors: Lukianos, Papa Newt, nagasiva yronwode
• Images: Bumblebee Linens, AntonMatyukha, Takprosto, Anna Gay, and Unknown photographers, sourced and photo-edited by catherine yronwode and nagasiva yronwode"

See Also

• Spiritual Supplies
• Hoodoo and Conjure Oils
• Hoodoo Roots and Herbs
• Hoodoo and Conjure Incense
• Hoodoo and Conjure Sachet Powders
• Hoodoo and Conjure Bath Products
• Hoodoo Washes and Waters
• Hoodoo Perfumes and Colognes
• Hoodoo Health Care and Beauty Products
• Hoodoo Candles and Lamps
• Hoodoo Amulets and Talismans
• Hoodoo and Conjure Altar Tools
• Hoodoo Food and Drink
• Hoodoo Petitions and Magical Papers

AIRR Readers & Rootworkers Who Perform This Work for Clients

The Association of Independent Readers & Rootworkers (AIRR) is here to help you find gifted, sincere, and honest spiritual guidance, successful counseling, and professional magical spell casting and ritual conjuration. Every independent member of AIRR has been certified for psychic ability, magical skill, and ethical reliability. Every AIRR psychic, reader, seer, diviner, scryer, root doctor, and spiritual practitioner has completed a year-long program of training in conjure, hoodoo, witchcraft, rootwork, making mojo hands, and casting powerful magick spells. All of our psychics have served the public professionally for a minimum of two years -- and in many cases, significantly longer. Certified AIRR Readers & Rootworkers who will perform this type of work to help you find love, money, protection, and luck are listed below.