These Magical Mojo Bags Gave Our People Undeniable Power

Mojo bags, packed with herbs, animal parts, roots, and a heap of intention, are amulets that protected many of our people from their violent enslavers. These sacred sacks also drew love and luck into their lives.

The bags were filled, prayed over, and anointed with by the conjurer-root doctor preparing them. The doctor instructed clients to keep the roots active by burning incense or herbs over the bag and wearing them under clothes to ensure contact with the skin.

Even skeptical folks benefited from carrying mojo bags, like Frederick Douglass, who kept High John the Conqueror root on him and successfully fought off a  notoriously violent enslaver from whipping him.

In his autobiography, Douglass accepts that the root had an undeniable energy. But he also realized that his own will gave him the strength to overthrow oppression.

High John was just an aid that Douglass imbued with power. Like all spiritual work, mojo bags require us to believe that liberation is possible and empower ourselves to see it through.

Living in an anti-Black world means that part of our liberation requires staying spiritually strapped. Try tapping into this practice by creating a mojo bag. Whether with roots, crystals, or a Bible, always keep whatever feels aligned close to you.