Browse:Candle for Better Crop (Volume 1, entries 2928)
Candle for Better Crop
Volume 1, entries 2928. Source context: THE DOCTORS AT WORK: REPORTS FROM LAYMEN → SHRINES: ALTARS - CANDLES - SAINTS; NEW ORLEANS AREA → (2) CANDLES. Entries listed under this heading in the source volume.
Entries
Entry 2928
Go to the railroad track for spikes. (For what?) For spikes.
(What do you mean? Those big iron spikes that hold the rails down?)
Yes.
(What do they do with those?)
They take one of those spikes - like if you go out on the railroad track and say - you ain't got no - you haven't had no prosperity in your crop probably.
(Your what?)
Your crops and all that - like you make corn.
(Oh, your crop - the things you grow.)
The things you grow. You go to the railroad track and get a big spike and bring this spike back and burn you a candle over that spike, and when that, re- gardless of what length of time - you take that candle when that candle goes out, burns out there - you take that spike that was burning under that candle and was laying in your house, and bury that spike under your steps and let it stay under your steps for nine days. Bury it with the head up and the straight [side] down. Take it as near as you can to the center of your field and dig a deep, deep hole and bury it, after you take it up after the nine days under your steps where you walked over it. Take it in the center of your field, as near as you can and bury it in your field, deep, deep so you won't plow it or cultivation won't bring it up. And let it stay in the middle of your field, and you'll have better crops, bigger corn, better cotton - higher cotton and all that. (You say you burn this candle and say a novena?) [Novena shows machine had been stopped.] Yeah.
(I see. What sort of a candle do you burn for that?)
A white candle.
(Why white?)
A white candle is best to use unless you using something against some person. A white candle is the best always. [This is one of my few farming rites. As a matter of fact I never asked about them, considering them general folklore.]