Category:Petitions and Magical Papers
From Association of Independent Readers and Rootworkers
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Magical spells that employ written name papers, petition papers, and prayer papers go back to the earliest preserved forms of writing. They seem to have originated in the Middle East and North Africa, but they soon spread to Asia and Europe. They are used for every type of spell work, including love-drawing, money-drawing, athletic competitions, court cases, health and healing, removal of evil spirits, reversing evil magic, breaking up relationships, sending away unwanted people, and destroying enemies.
Written spells exist independently of the development of religions, and can be found in both secular and religious forms wherever written language exists. The use of such papers in hoodoo is documented to date from the introduction of written English into the Black diaspora, but such charms probably existed earlier than that, for literate slaves were brought to America during the worst times of oppression, and they certainly carried the tradition of written charms with them into bondage.
Magical Papers and Inscribed Surfaces
Anything that can be written upon can become a magical writing. Here are some of the most common forms of written spells and prayers.
While written petitions are visually similar to amulets, charms and talismans that include written messages, they are better seen as an overlapping form of work. In other words, some amulets, such as lockets, may contain hand-written papers, and some hand-written petitions may be reproduced by mechanically stamping letter-forms into metal or paper, not all talismans incorporate hand-written papers, and not all hand-written papers are used as talismans.
Name Papers
A name paper is a paper that bears the name of the one upon whom you seek to cast a spell or do a job of work. The rootworker may also may write the name and add the person's birth date -- one name per paper, one name repeatedly on a paper, or the names of two or more people on a paper. All of these are name papers, no matter the format.
Petition Papers
A petition is a request to a higher authority, a spirit, or a person. It expresses a desire, wish, goal, or outcome. Petitions may be written in the form of requests (May peace and harmony prevail), commands (Shut up!), or affirmations (The job of Superintendent of Public Works is mine!). Wishes plus names (May George Delmer Roberson love only me) and commands plus names (Joe Brody, call me!) are both considered petitions.
Handwriting Samples
The signature or autograph of a person -- or a piece of paper that someone wrote on -- is a name paper and a personal concern in one. It can be used for graphology and as a magical paper. Write your command on it! If you can’t get a person’s handwriting, why not? Proximity makes for effective magic.
Glyphs, Seals, and Sigils
Glyphs are meaningful symbols (a heart for love) and sigils are signs derived from writing ($$¢¢SS for SUCCESS). Seals are complex images comprised of graphic and alphabetic characters. When stamped or cast in metal, they are more properly considered to be amulets, charms, or talismans, but when hand drawn or written, they function as magical papers.
Checks, Business Cards, and Logos
For spells regarding businesses, bosses, a court case, a job application, or paperwork for a loan, it is common practice to write on a piece of paper connected to the enterprise at hand, such as business cards, corporate logos, or notes that were handed to you at work. These are personal concerns as well as papers.
Playing Cards
The names of clients or targets are easily written onto the heads or feet of the appropriate royal cards with a Sharpie. Add in a birth date and a simple command, and these cards quickly become effective and stylistic name papers. If the card was touched by the target, so much the better, as it becomes a personal concern as well as a symbolic proxy of the person.
Aluminum Foil, Pie Plates, and Popsicle Sticks
Formal spells may be inscribed on gold or silver foil, but in domestic magic, folks often use a soft pencil to impress commands all over the aluminum foil in which they wrap a freezer spell. Disposable aluminum pie plates used for burning candles, may be inscribed before the lights are set. A popsicle stick that someone licked is a personal concern that can also be used as a writing surface.
Photographs
Photographs have been around since the mid-19th century, but people still sometimes balk at using a photo as the basis for a name paper or petition. They seem to think it's not "authentic," even though photos have been with us for a long, long time. What’s more, with the development of digital technology, practitioners never have to ruin a relic; they can just scan the photo, write on it, and print another copy later.
Inscribing Wax
In addition to writing on paper, names, petitions, and prayers can inscribed on candles with a pin, a needle, a nail, or a small pen-knife. Just as many practitioners bathe upward to draw or downward to clean, they can apply directionality to candle inscription -- for example, to spiral the petition up or down the candle, like stripes on a barber pole.
Writing on a Plate
In the Spiritual Church is is customary, especially for women, to write a petition or prayer on a white plates with an edible fluid like tomato sauce or beet juice, and then to rinse the words off. The water that washes off words contains those words. It is powerfully imbued with what those words stand for, and can be used in cooking, cleaning, or baths. Likewise, the plate is marked with the petition, and can be used to serve food.
Writing on Money
We prepare currency with written names, wishes, scripture, glyphs, or sigils. Common methods include signing a name under the Treasurer’s name, adding the $$¢¢$$ sigil for trained hunting money, or marking bills with RTM for "Return To Me." We may also inscribe initials or glyphs on coins.
Edible Paper Seals
A talismanic seal can be made by stamping a suitable paper with non-toxic water-soluble ink at an appropriate time, with consecration. If the paper is an edible variety, such as potato-starch-based cake-decorating paper, the seal can then be dissolved in a liquid for drinking, bathing, or writing. Likewise, it can be eaten directly, fed to ants, used as a petition paper, or tucked into a growing plant, according to your purpose.
Religious Papers and Inscribed Surfaces
In addition to magical inscriptions and papers that are personal concerns, a distinct sub-set of petitions and written talismans make use of the scriptures and folk magic of diverse religions traditions. Here are a few examples:
Jewish and Christian Prayer Papers
A prayer paper may contain a portion of Biblical scripture that relates to the situation '(Psalms 143:12: “Cut off mine enemies, and destroy all them that afflict my soul”) or a free-form prayer from the heart (Lord, let the doctors do their best for me, in Jesus’ name, Amen). It may contain a name and a prayer (God bless Senator Edward Norris). It may contain a name, a petition, and a prayer all in one (Lord, bless my cousin Jimmie York as you blessed the Prodigal Son, that he may come home to us safely, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen). The most commonly used scriptures for this sort of work are the Psalms.
Chinese Taoist Fu Charms
Ideographic paper fu charms -- yellow papers with red, black, or red-and-black block printing and/or hand-written calligraphy -- were once made only by Chinese Taoist priests, but these days they are also made by professional fulu practitioners. Some practitioners ask their clients to submit hair or fingernail clippings, and add the name and birth date of the client, while others freely transmit fu charms via books, by fax, and on the internet. Fu charms may be hung up in the home or business or carried on the person for luck; medical fu charms may be burned to ash and given to a patient to drink in a liquid.
Joss Paper and Spirit Money
A strong feature of Chinese folk religion is the veneration of ancestors through the burning of spirit money. Known as Hell Bank Notes or Heaven Bank Notes, these papers are burned to send financial assistance to ancestors in the afterworld. In some regions, the term joss paper (derived from the Portuguese word dios or god) is used to identify non-currency forms of spirit-money, including that which is overlaid with silver or fold foil or is printed in the form of daisy-like wheels.
Taweez African-Arabic Charms
A taweez or twiz is an Arabic amulet or talisman. Some of these consist of charms written on paper. Traditionally, taweez charms may be based in the text of a Surah or chapter of the Quran associated with a particular type of help or hope, and they may also contain a dua or plea for God’s help. Taweez charms inscribed on metal may be worn as pendants, but those written on paper are generally folded repeatedly and deployed in a particular location or sewn into tiny cloth or leather pouches to wear.
Some Ways to Use Magical Papers and Inscriptions
Petition papers, name papers, magical seals, and prayer papers are very versatile.
- They may be used as or incorporated into an amulet or talisman, either by enclosure in metal, leather, or cloth, or by being directly inscribed into stone, glass, metal, or leather to be worn on the body.
- They may be used as an altar base upon which to burn candles or directly inscribed into candles
- They may be dissolved in a liquid for use in bathing, laundry, or cooking.
- They may be burned to ashes and the ashes used in a spell or scattered to the winds.
Credits
This page is brought to you by the AIRR Tech Team:
- Author: catherine yronwode
- Contributors: Lukianos, ConjureMan, Papa Newt, nagasivayronwode, Prof. C.D. Porterfield
- Images: Miss Elvyra, Dr. Jeremy Weiss, Catherine Yronwode, Nagasiva Yronwode, Charles C. Dawson, Grey Townsend, Selah Saterstrom, Earl "Curly" Lambeau, YAYImages, and Unknown Artists."
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
Learn About Sigil and Glyph Magic from AIRR!
 "Chinese Moon Blocks and Paper Talismans" with Reverend James. How to contact Taoist deities. |
 "Amulets, Charms, and Talismans in the Hoodoo and Conjure Tradition" with Papa Gee. Magic you can wear! |
 "Help is on the Way" with Lukianos. Working the magic and spirit through art. |
AIRR Readers & Rootworkers Who Perform This Work for Clients
Pages in category "Petitions and Magical Papers"
The following 38 pages are in this category, out of 38 total.
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