Blog Feature: "The Greatest Conjure Book In the World"

In her book "Mules and Men", Zora Neale Hurston refers to the Bible as "the greatest conjure book in the world" and nothing could be more true. I might not consider myself Christian, but I was raised in a Catholic family and I respect that conjure is, and always has been, a Christian-based magic. This is a bit confusing to outsiders, the idea that something can be non-religious but Christian at the same time. In conjure, it is believed that one's power comes from God, one works with the spirits (including the spirits of nature) to achieve one's goals and God's will, and the reason why this magic is good is *because* it is a gift from God. It's because of this that conjure is actually not compatible with pagan religions like Wicca.

Let me put it this way... if my mom were to walk in on me lighting a candle to St. Jude, she would ask me about what I was doing, offer to pray with me, and further offer to have her friend, Reverend "Pearl", pray for me as well "because you know Reverend Pearl's prayers always work!" She'll chant to St. Anthony while searching for something without batting an eye. She's got a lucky horseshoe. But if that same candle was to Apollo, she'd have a fit that I was practicing witchcraft. See, the tools and ritual would be the same, but since it isn't through God, it's considered witchcraft and not conjure. Conjure is not witchcraft. But more on that in another post.

I personally consider myself... well, Spiritualism is closest, but it's not a perfect fit. I wear an Isis pendant, but I don't worship her as a god the way one would in a pagan religion... I work with her as a spirit, a spirit of a devoted wife and mother who "really knows how to keep her man together."* I honor the spirits of my ancestors and dearly departed friends. I work with the spirits of nature, found in plants and animals and rocks and places. I work with Jesus, spiritually. I work with several other spirits and Spirit guides me every day. I believe in respect for nature and other people and that those who go around preaching hate like "God hates gays!" are poison.

I of course don't have a problem with any pagan religions themselves (aside from the fluffy bunny mix-n-match Borg incarnation of Wicca/NeoWicca) but I do have a problem with people being taught that because conjure is not a religion, it's anything you want it to be. The people who say it is just want your money. It's not ok to march in and start appropriating someone else's culture just because you find it exotic or you think that just because it "speaks to you", you have a right to it. I think Buddhist malas are beautiful but it would be wrong of me to order one and start carrying it around; they are sacred to the religion and culture they come from. You can't just take what you like and leave out what you don't.

God is a part of conjure. The Bible is a part of conjure. If you want to learn conjure, you've got to accept that we work with God, Jesus, The Holy Spirit, The Bible, and prayer. Some of us work with angels. Some of us work with saints, but it's not quite as prolific as the online community would have you think. Just because I, personally, after growing up Catholic and spiritualist, do not believe in God proper (that's a whole other post), that does not mean I'm going to 1) teach conjure wrong, 2) teach you that it's ok for YOU to not believe in God, Jesus, Spirit, or ANYTHING and insert whatever religion you like. [11/27 Edit: To be clear, I mean this purely in the context of conjure. Of course it's ok for you to practice religion freely! It's just not ok for you to attempt to rework and rewrite generations of tradition and cast aside the spiritual foundation of conjure. If you are unwilling to adapt, you must find something compatible with your own beliefs.]

Now that I've said what's needed to be said...

YES, if you can afford only ONE book in your conjure library, THE BIBLE is the one! Powerful prayers and charms are found in books such as Psalms, there is information about rootwork and incense, it's used in a form of divination called bibliomancy, it's used in ritual, and the book itself is carried or placed under the bed/pillow for powerful protection against evil. It doesn't matter whether your Bible is a gorgeous, brand-new, leather-bound beauty with gold leaf edges, or a tatty and well-loved charity shop find. It's the content and what it is that matters. As far as translations go, there's no hard and fast rule about what you MUST have, but the King James Version is very traditional and many classic books utilized in conjure rely on the KJV. Older Catholics may prefer the Douay-Rheims Bible.

"The Greatest Conjure Book In the World" will be a recurring feature here on Coyote Moon Conjure. At least once each week, you can look forward to prayers, recipes, herb and plant magic, and other traditional conjure straight from the Bible. I will be writing about bibliomancy, as well as the many other ways the Bible itself is used in conjure works. It won't be long before you understand for yourself why the Bible really is the greatest conjure book in the world!

*My boyfriend once quipped about Isis, "Now there's a woman who really knows how to keep her man together." I died :D