THE HOODOO ALTAR

Before you begin any Hoodoo work, you will need a place to do your rituals. This means you will need a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed, and a surface such as a table, box, chest, or even a large flat stone. Some people set aside a portion of the floor to use as their altar, or a dresser top so they can use the drawers to keep their ritual supplies. Then, you will need the basics to put on your altar, as well as some extra items to personalize it.

For your altar, you will need a white cloth to cover the surface. Two white candles should be placed at the back on either end of your altar. Any figures or pictures of saints or other religious images should be placed at the back between the two white candles. In front of the image and in the middle of the altar is where you will place your incense burner. To the right of the incense burner is where you should keep some holy water, or a bowl of water that you have blessed. These are the basics of the hoodoo altar.

You can add fresh cut flowers, special stones, a dish of salt, and a small dish of graveyard dirt, if you wish. The important thing is to not place anything on your altar that doesn’t belong there. Altars can range from the very basic to the extremely elaborate.

Your altar and everything on it should be blessed or consecrated. Your candles should be blessed and dressed. All of the bowls and other containers should be washed with salt water. Directions for dressing your candles are provided in a later chapter on candles, and instructions for how to consecrate (bless) your ritual objects are provided in a later chapter as well.