Wow.  Just…wow.  It’s rare that I watch a DVD lecture on a magickal subject these days and walk away with pages of notes, my head swimming with questions and thoughts, and tons of ideas for things that I need to start working on magickally.  But that’s exactly what happened after watching this DVD with Orion Foxwood.  Introduction to Southern Conjure is a DVD workshop/lecture that has you sitting with the wonderful Orion Foxwood for over two hours learning about the traditions of magick and conjure that he grew up with in the Appalachians in Virgina.  If you have even the smallest interest in conjure magick, what is also known as Hoodoo, you’ll love this DVD.  Orion’s wonderful storytelling and his engaging way of presenting information and magickal processes, and best of all why these things are done, make this such a gem.

I am an unabashed fan of Orion Foxwood.  His books on faery are some of my absolute favorites when it comes to real serious faery work; his books are the real deal, not these fluffy glittery new agey things.  If you want to really learn about faery magick and faery work read Orion Foxwood, R.J. Stewart, Victor Anderson, or Robert Kirk.  He presents everything he does with a mix of approachability and scholarship.  He knows how to tell a story to tie things together, that’s for sure!  But, let’s talk about the DVD.

This DVD is produced by Pendraig Publishing which is the publishing outlet of another of my favorite people, Peter Paddon.  The video was filmed while Orion was giving a talk to a group about the subject of conjure magick and the experiences he has had, both as a child and as an adult, with this sort of magick.  It’s important to remember a few things when approaching this video.  First, Orion isn’t strictly a root doctor or conjurer; he is a Witch as well and he makes a point of mentioning this several times.  To many Witches and Pagans this might not seem like a big deal but to some in the Hoodoo and conjure community it’s a huge issue.  In my experience as a Witch studying and practicing Hoodoo and root-work I have met with some resistance from practitioners who believe that you either need to either A) be African American to practice, B) be from the South, or C) be Christian.  I am none of those things but I am a person with a great love of the folk magick of my homeland.  And that’s what this is.  Conjure is American folk magick born out of the southern states as a mix of believes carried from Africa from the slaves which was then mixed with the Native American herbal wisdom and the customs that came here with immigrants from various European countries.  As Orion explains, as the slaves were freed and they moved across the country, especially moving north to look for work, their practices merged even more with other European customs.  Orion calls what he does “conjure” and not “Hoodoo” which, as he explains, is a term that he never heard until recent years and he has found to be much more tied to the traditions that originate from New Orleans.  But even if you’re familiar with these practices you’ll find a lot of common ground with the techniques and information that is presented here.

As is explained in the DVD, conjure isn’t a power that you create, it’s a power you draw on and a power that you awaken in the herbs, stones, skins, claws, feathers, and other items used in the practice.  The inherit believe in conjure, which is the power, not just the name for the practice, is key.  You call on conjure, you awaken conjure, because all things are conjure and all things have conjure.  Orion presents this in a very simple statement that I think all Witches and magickal practitioners need to remember:

I am not the power; I am made of the power.

Orion tells stories about growing up and being able to communicate with the dead, how his gifts were passed on from his mother and all the wonderful old southern wisdom that she passed on to him through these conjure practices.  Orion spends time sharing some very specific and very useful tools and tricks of conjure that can be applied to any magickal practice and tradition.  He spends time specifically going over graveyard magick, honey jars, money jars, and even molasses jars (one of my favorites for getting rid of someone or something that really needs to go away).  He talks about “fixing your stoop” to bring the things you want to your doorstep and he goes through a wonderful house cleansing and blessing process that is a perfect blend of conjure and Witchcraft.  Orion talks really briefly about fixing a hand (i.e. making a mojo bag or mojo hand) but, because of time, he isn’t able to go too in-depth with it and comments off-offhandedly “We might need to make a DVD about fixing hands”.  YES!  Please do!  If it’s as entertaining and engaging as this, I’ll say it’s a must have for sure!

I just can’t say enough about this DVD.  I have been reading, studying, and practicing Hoodoo and conjure for the majority of my time as a Witch but only in the last few years have made it a serious part of my practice.  While I know a good amount of the tradition, and I was familiar with much of what Orion presented, I still walked away with 5 pages of notes filled on both sides!  This is not only an enjoyable and engaging time spent with a wonderful member of the magickal community, but it’s a really educational time as well.  Again, I have to say, if you have even a passing interest and want to learn a little more about the wonderful tradition of magick that is conjure, you must pick up this DVD!