Hoodoo and Conjure Altar Tools
From Association of Independent Readers and Rootworkers
|
Many professional root doctors set aside a dedicated space where they can work at crafting goods and spiritual supplies for clients. Some also maintain a workspace where they perform candle spells for clients or offer altar work and prayers on their behalf. Some conjure doctors also establish dedicated religious and spiritual altars for the veneration of deities, saints, and ancestors. Travel altars, fitted into wooden boxes, are also a long-held part of the hoodoo tradition, and may be brought to a location by the root worker who arrives to perform a hands-on personal or location cleansing spell.
Home practitioners and reading clients may also wish to create an altar. If you want help with such a project, your rootworker can provide magical coaching and spiritual advice on how to craft a workable and beautiful home altar.
Contents |
Altar Surfaces
From a kitchen table or night stand to a marble slab or a concrete patio, any flat place can be used as an altar. If the work is to include the burning of candles, lamps, or incense, the surface is often made of metal or stone, and if it is made of wood or is covered with an altar cloth, heat-proof containers should be used for any item that holds flame.
Altar Decor
Decorating an altar is an act of personal belief and aesthetics, and a practitioner's religious customs may influence the altar's appearance. Some religions forbid the use of graven images of deities but permit the placement of stationary or moving candles, working tools; images of nature; photos of clients, ancestors, or family members; and symbolic items such as stones, keys, or food offerings. Other religions encourage the use of statues, printed images, and remembrances of deities, saints, and spirits on the altar.
Holders and Containers
Plates, bowls, and other containers may be made of clay, wood, or glass, but any object that holds fire should be made of oven-proof glass, heavy white chinaware, metal, or stone. Typical metal altar-ware includes buckets, steam-table trays, bread pans, brass plates or bowls, and cookie sheets. A home fire extinguisher nearby is also recommended. Optional tools of this type include metal candle stands and holders, and a menorah for setting multiple candles in a run. There are also special burners, braziers, and ash-catchers for [[incense. Vases and bowls for floral offerings are also important. It is the custom in many parts of the world for all types of holders to be supplied in matching pairs, to establish symmetry on the altar.
Spiritual Supplies
Beneath the altar, or in a cabinet to one side, the root doctor keeps a cupboard of necessary spiritual supplies. These are used in performing spells on the altar and also in crafting items such as mojo bags, dolls, and container spells. Such supplies include anointing oils, roots and herbs, incense and charcoal briquets, sachet powders, perfumes, and colognes.
Craft Supplies
Small tools are often kept in a drawer or box beneath the altar surface so that they do not clutter the work space unnecessarily. These items may include a candle snuffer, an incense cone-shaper, pins, needles, nails, an awl, a screw-driver, skewers, a knife, scissors, pinking shears, kitchen tongs, matches, lighters, paper, pencils, pens, ink, and glue.
Scriptures and Spell Books
Quite a few conjure workers have a drawer or hidden space under their altar where they keep reference materials, such as books of spells, divination tools, wisdom teachings, and copies of the Mosaic and Solomonic seals. It is common to have a Bible or a Book of Psalms open on the altar during times of prayer, and the entire Book of Psalms is online here.
Cleaning Supplies
Altar cloths, spell containers, and surfaces should be cleaned on a regular basis. Cleaning materials for laundering cloths and for removing wax and soot from altars, walls, and ceilings include a variety of spiritual laundry products, washes, and waters.
Credits
This page is brought to you by the AIRR Tech Team:
- Author: catherine yronwode
- Contributors: Miss Michaele, Papa Newt, nagasivayronwode
- Images: Dr. E., Prof. C.D. Porterfield, Mother Mystic, Madame Pamita, and Unknown Photographers
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