Mojo bags
A witch’s mojo bag (also called a mojo hand, gris-gris bag, conjure bag, toby, nation sack, or root bag) is a small flannel or leather drawstring pouch used in folk magic—especially in Hoodoo, Southern Conjure, New Orleans Voodoo, and some forms of modern witchcraft—as a portable spell or talisman.
Core Purpose
It’s a “spell in a bag” — a concentrated magical battery that continuously works toward a specific goal (love, money, protection, luck, court case success, etc.) as long as the owner keeps it on or near their person.
Traditional Components (Hoodoo style)
A proper mojo bag almost always contains an odd number of items (3, 5, 7, 9, or 13), and usually includes:
• A personal concern from the person it’s made for (hair, fingernails, a drop of blood, sexual fluids, or a name-paper written in an odd number of repetitions).
• Herbs, roots, and minerals corresponding to the intention (e.g., High John the Conqueror root for power, five-finger grass for success, lodestone and magnetic sand for drawing money).
• Curios (coins, dice, miniature skulls, lodestones, lucky beans, etc.).
• Sometimes a written petition paper or biblical verse.
• Often a small charm, medal, or seal (e.g., a dime with a hole, a mercury dime, or a saint medal).
Key Traditional Rules in Hoodoo
1. The bag is usually made in secret and “fixed” or “dressed” by a rootworker.
2. It must be “fed” regularly (typically with whiskey, Hoytt’s cologne, anointing oil, breath, or personal fluids) to keep it “alive” and working.
3. Most old-school practitioners say no one else should ever touch or see inside your mojo bag — if they do, it “dies” and must be buried and a new one made.
4. You carry it in your pocket, bra, or hang it in your home/car depending on the purpose.
5. When it has fulfilled its purpose or “dies,” it is traditionally buried with respect (often at a crossroads or under a tree).
Modern Witchcraft Variations
In contemporary eclectic witchcraft, Wiccan, or pagan practices, the same concept often goes by “spell bag,” “charm bag,” or “medicine pouch.” These are usually less strict:
• Can be any color or fabric (often color-coded to intention: red for love, green money, black banishing, etc.).
• May contain crystals, runes, sigils, essential oils, etc.
• Often no “feeding” requirement and people freely share photos online.
Famous Examples
• The “nation sack” carried by Memphis women (supposedly to keep their man faithful).
• “follow me boy” mojo).
• Gambling luck hands containing a lucky hand root, nutmeg, and a silver dime.
• Protection mojos with devil’s shoestring, graveyard dirt, and a small knife charm.
A witch’s (or rootworker’s) mojo bag is a living, personal talisman — a pocket-sized, magically charged bundle designed to keep working its intention 24/7 while you carry it.
Here’s a practical, step-by-step guide to making an authentic, working mojo bag in the traditional Hoodoo/conjure style. (Modern witchcraft versions are simpler — I’ll note the differences at the end.)
1. Choose Your Intention
Be very specific.
Common ones:
• Money-drawing
• Love/faithfulness
• Protection
• Court case success
• Hot-foot / enemy work
• Luck/gambling
• Health
The clearer the goal, the stronger the bag.
2. Pick the Right Color Flannel Bag (traditional sizes: 2”×3” or 3”×4”)
Traditional Hoodoo colors:
• Red → love, passion, power
• Green → money, luck, growth
• White → protection, blessing, peace
• Black → banishing, enemy work, crossing
• Purple → mastery, domination, court cases
• Blue → healing, peace in home, safe travel
• Yellow/gold → success, persuasion
• Pink → gentle romance, reconciliation
• Brown → brown paper bag or chamois for gambling hands
(Modern witches often use any color that “feels right” or matches crystal correspondences.)
3. Gather an Odd Number of Items (3, 5, 7, 9, or 13 max)
Must include at least one personal concern from the person the bag is for.
Classic ingredients by purpose (mix and match, always odd total):
Money
• Lodestone + magnetic sand
• High John or Low John root
• Five-finger grass
• Cinnamon chips
• A silver “Mercury” dime or shredded money
• Pyrite or a dollar bill folded toward you 9 times
Love (to draw or keep)
• Queen Elizabeth root (orris root)
• Catnip + rose petals
• Damiana
• Pair of lodestones (male/female)
• Hair or name-paper of target
• Adam & Eve root pair
Protection
• Devil’s shoestring
• Rue
• Black peppercorns or graveyard dirt (paid for)
• Hyssop
• Small iron nail or coffin nail
Court Case / Justice
• Little John to Chew (galangal)
• Calendula
• Deer’s tongue
• Black mustard seeds
• Petition with judge’s name written over yours 9 times
General Luck / Road Opener
• Whole High John the Conqueror root
• Abre camino herb
• Lucky hand root
• Rabbit foot (ethical modern substitute: lucky hand orchid root)
4. Add a Personal Concern (very important in traditional work)
• Lock of hair (tied with thread)
• Fingernail clippings
• Drop of blood or sexual fluids on paper
• Name-paper written 3, 7, or 9 times in dragon’s blood ink
• Piece of worn clothing
5. Add a Petition Paper
Write your exact wish (in present tense, as if already true) on a small piece of brown paper torn on all four sides. Turn the paper 90° and write your name (or target’s) over it the same odd number of times so the names cross. Fold the paper toward you 3 times (for drawing) or away 3 times (for banishing).
6. Assemble the Bag (best done on the correct day/time)
• Love → Friday, waxing moon
• Money → Thursday or Sunday, waxing moon
• Protection → Saturday or Tuesday
• Court → during hour of Jupiter or Mercury
1. Hold each item in your hand, pray over it (Psalm 23 is common, or just speak your desire plainly).
2. Breathe on each item three times to “wake it up.”
3. Put everything in the bag (never count out loud).
4. Tie the bag shut with three knots while stating the purpose.
7. “Fix” and Feed the Mojo
Traditional ways to activate/feed (do at least once a week):
• Sprinkle with whiskey or bourbon
• Anoint with condition oil matching purpose
• Breathe on it (blow smoke or your breath into the bag)
• Hold it in your left hand and pray
• Some keep it in underwear or bra so it touches skin
8. Rules to Keep It Alive (old-school Hoodoo)
• Never let anyone else touch or look inside it
• Keep it hidden (left pocket, bra, mojo purse, under mattress, etc.)
• Feed it regularly
• If it ever gets touched by a stranger, bury it with whiskey and thanks, then make a new one
9. When It’s Done Working
When the wish comes true or the bag “feels dead,” thank it, pour whiskey on the ground, and bury it (at crossroads, under a tree, or in graveyard for protection bags).
Simplified Modern Witchcraft Version
Many modern witches just:
• Use any color bag
• Fill with crystals, herbs, sigil, and intention
• Tie with ribbon in corresponding color
• Charge under moon or with Reiki
• No feeding required, and they often share photos online
But if you want the old conjure kick, follow the traditional rules above — practitioners swear those bags hit harder and last longer.
