Subject:Cards
Entries
Entry 353
If yo' wanta be a professional gambler, why yo' git chew a deck of cards an' go in de cemetery aftah hours in de night, jes' aftah twelve a'clock, an' go to de first man grave in de cemetery an' straddle de grave. When yo' straddle de grave, somebody will come dere an' play a game or two with you, until you see a light comin' 'cross de cemetery an' dat'll be de ole devil. "If yo' kin stan' de temptation till he git dere wit dat light, den he'll play wit chew, an' when he git through playin' wit chew, why yo' be a 'fessional gambler. (Who plays with you first? Or do you just pretend you are playing with some- body?) Well, it'll be - dat bad fellah down in de ground dere, he'll stay tuh play wit chew, until de devil git dere.
(Well, do you call that bad fellow's spirit up in any way? Or what?)
Well, yo' kin call it but it's not necessary.
(You just go to the grave and play with this spirit?)
Yo' git company time yo' straddle de grave - time yo' straddle de grave an' shuffle yore cards, dere'll be somebody dere tuh take de cards up, den start playing wit chew.
Entry 598
In 1888 I was well and hearty and doing daily labor, and a man told me to my face that he Would fix me. And I asked the boss what time it was and he told me it was half past five o'clock. And I was breaking on cracked stone. And I fell backwards and I was carried away from the place by two white men and I didn't know nothing from how I got home. And one old gentleman told me that two white men brought me home on their shoulders. And I asked this old gentleman haven [have] the sun gone down yet. I was not of my mind until the next day three o'clock. I sent for the doctor and he told me that he didn't know what to say about my case. And I taken with a swellen in my right leg, and then I had a pain in my hip, and I had it from that day to this, and I have been in with this misery since 1888. [At this point the informant's wife broke into the story to say that at first her husband had not suspected conjuration:] He was home here years before I was showed by the Lord in the Spirit that something was wrong with him. The Spirit told me that something was wrong, he was hurt. [She then described this spiritual revelation at length, but so rapidly that it was impossible to write it down. She was so suspicious of my intentions that she would not repeat the story, nor would she tell me anything about conjuration. Finally, the old man gave an account of his experience with the first root doctor who tried to cure him.] The fellow took me upstairs and asked me to cut a pack of cards. I told him I didn't know nothing about cards, "I never had a pack in my hand in my life and you'll have to show me how to cut them," and taken them and shuffled them and laid them down and told me to shuffle them out three in a pack [make four- teen packs of three cards each]. And he said, "I'm going to tell you who hurt you. You have been hurt." And he caught me by the toe [patient was barefoot] and show me right where the poison went up. And it went in my hip and swellen my leg up. He showed me who done it on the cards. He took a card from each pack and held them before me, and it appear to me that it was the man and woman and I had to confess [to the identity]. I recognized them but I ain't calling no names. And he said that he could cure me if my nerves would allow me to take the medicine he would give. And that's about all he told me. He gave me some dark medicine in a bottle. It had whiskey in it. And he told me I had to get a lot of whiskey and I got seven gallons. And he made the medicine and gave it to me. But my system was gone so weak that I couldn't take the medicine. That's what he told me. And he swoll me up so, he told me to cut the dose down three tablespoonful three times a day. Then I cut them down one half spoonful. And I found that it didn't do me no good and I quit. I went to see two or three fortune tellers and they told me the some thing. [Fredericksburg, Va., about ten miles out in the country, (65), by hand, no electricity.] [The dark medicine could have been black draft, frequently used by doctors - see Index. Whiskey is too often the chief ingredient of doctor-made medicine.]
Entry 599
Well, ah'm sorta man - ah ain't no crazy man jealous. Ah works fo' mah livin', do ever'thing ah kin in de worl' fo' mah woman, if ah had one, but ah ain't got nobody but mahself now - haven't been fo' yeahs. But ah'm a jealous man, see whut ah mean, but ah ain't crazy. An' a woman come up fo' murder heah at Florala, Alabama. Ah reckon yo' heah talk of dat. Well, ah married her dere an' ah brought her back tuh mah home an' we live together down heah a couple of yeahs. An' she took advantage of me. A lotta people says dat a person can't do nuthin' to yo' lessen dey git something in yo' dere to stay. Dey kin take advantage of yo'. Well now, while me an' her has transaction, she got mine de same as ah would git hers, see. She got me an' dressed mah side of mah bed up. See, she know whut side ah sleep on, an' she dressed it all an' she got me so dat ah didn't pay any 'tenshun to her.
(What did she do when she dressed it?)
She got her sickness an' dres8ed it up an' got mine with hers an' put it in some flannel rag. She got a new one an' got mine an' hers together, an' she cut de fo' corners off it, see - lak de fo' corners of de world. Well, she dry hit by de sun, see, an' she bandage dat up an' dressed dat up an' had her piece wit dat. Well, she got me crazy by that - ah didn't care whut she done, how she come an' how she go. Ah wouldn't say a word. It tickle me tuh see her enjoy herself. Well, ah knowed that weren't nachural an' ah went to a man an' he fixed me. Ah went to a man at mah home an' he fixed me so that ah could come tuh mah- self - said, ah come back to mahself. Well, ah went back home an' ah tole her, "Well, that's all right. Yo' took advantage of me." Ah went dere Sunday an' Sunday night ah woke her up an' said, "Well, listen" - ah wake her up, say, "ah want talk wit yo' a little bit." She asked me, "Whut's de mattah?" So de main thing wus, "Ah ain't angry with yo' an' ah know yo' ain't with me, but we cain't stay tuhgethah any longah, 'cause ah done done de best dat ah know how. If yo' fix me one way yo' fix me anothah." An' ah said, "Bess, in de mawnin' ah'll take yo' back to yo' mother.' Thought, well, maybe some day when ah cain't he'p mahself, ah may call on her tuh do me a favor, see. "Ah'm goin' take yo' back 'way from me." So dat Monday mawnin' ah took her an' carried her back home an' told her mothah ever'thing, how it was. Well, ah came back agin tuh dis man an' he dressed me again.
(Do you know what he did?)
Yessuh.
(What did he do the first time you went there?)
De first time dat ah went dere he - now, ah tell yo' de kinda man he are. He's a lady-hearted man. He won't do nuthin' tuh harm anybody, he 11 take it off yo'. He had a pack of lil' cards dere an' dey didn't have no diamonds or nuthin' on 'em - jes' wimmin's on 'em. Had some wimmins on dose cards, an' he kept turnin' 'em up an' he handed me two, an' he kept turnin' 'em off till he got where he wanted to. So dat's all right. So he took dem back an' he give me two leaves an' he crossed 'em an' ah took 'em in dis han' an' ah couldn't turn 'em loose. Ah couldn't turn 'em loose until he got 'em. He said, "Well, ah know where it's at now." He said, "It's in yore haid." Ah said, "All right." An' he got up an' went off in his othah room an' come back in dere an' he stood up behin' mah haid an' caught me in de back of mah neck, in de spine of mah neck right dere an' he caught me dere an' ah heah him sayin' somepin - he wus prayin' or somepin. An' it jes felt lak ah wus - did yo' evah tote a load an' put it down an' it felt lak yo raisin' [it] up agin? Well, he dressed me dere twice lak dat, an' ah ain't been troubled wit dat woman an' ain't thought about her no mo' an' done fo'got about her.
(What did she do to you, fix you up so that you couldn't do anything?)
Well, ah couldn't fuss with her, see, about nuthin' she'd do.
(You just took everything she did?)
Everything.
(Was it a colored man or a white man told you this?)
It wus de white man straighten me out.
(Did he tell you how this was done?)
Yessuh.
(And what did he say that she did to you to make you that way?)
A lizard. Jes' took dis lizard an' skin dis lizard an' laid him out so many days an' dried him until he come tuh be a ashes. Well, she took dis an' den put it in mah hat, an' took mah bow outa mah hat. Well, she done somepin tuh dat bow but he didn't nevah finish tellin' me. Ah's tuh go back an' he told me he'd finish tellin' me de rest of it. Well, ah didn't nevah go back to him to finish tellin' me all of it, but he tole me dat much. An' well, ah went in dere dis man, he'd rub mah haid up lak dat an' when he'd rub mah haid up, ah'm tellin' yo' true, it jes' felt lak ah had a hundred pound of lead on me.
Entry 3995
Ah have tried it workin' on mah han's in dealin' wit de cards an' ah have been prosperous. (You found it lucky?) Absolutely.
(You mean peeing on your hands?)
Yeah. (Well, now that's something I asked and you thought you didn't know.)
Entry 3996
Yo' put some yore chamber lye intuh a vial, an' put some Heart Cologne in dere, put some Eve-an'-Adam in dere. Den yo' po' de least bit of dat watah out of dat vial in yore han's an' rub it In de Name of de Fathah, de Son an' Holy Ghost, an' den goes tuh work an' shuffle yore cards. An' derefo' yo' will have luck ingamblin'. (What is the other way of getting a job?) De nex' way dat chew could git it, take yore same watah dat chew shuffle yore cards wit. Take some of yore chamber lye an' put it into a vial an' put some Heart Cologne in dat, an' Eve-an'-Adam into it - dat vial. Rub it into yore han's thoroughly, In de Name of de Fathah, an' dress yo'self down three times an' make yore wish. An' go an' have a talk wit 'im an' he'll think about it.
(You get the job from the boss?)
Yes.
Entry 4159
Well, it near about de same thin'. Yuh kin take yuh watah an' Hearts Cologne an' sprinkle it aroun' intuh yuh place. Have it intuh yuh pocket an' where yuh wit de cards. Dat'll bring yuh luck.
Entry 7236
[Playing cards is hoodoo's greatest method for revealing your past, present and future fortune. These professional manipulators of cards are usually called a reader or fortuneteller, though both latter terms may include crystal ball, pan of water, all sorts of special gifts, etc. The present rite, however merely starts with cards to discover the sex of a thief. For similar methods of divina- tion, See PLAYING CARDS, p.195f., and PLAYING CARDS SPECIAL, p.196f., both a part of DIAGNOSIS, Pp.165-217.] Yo' git chew a deck a [of] cahds [cards] playin' cahds, pu' [put] dem out dere lak in gamblin', an' yo' kin tell if it's a man or a woman. See, yo' cut [demon- strates], yo' shuffle dem cahds; yo' turn dem around an' den yo' shuffle de. Yo' cut dem three times an' yo' turn de face up. If it's a man, it goin' tuh be a jack; if it's a woman, it goin' tuh be a queen dat chew turn up, yo' see. A queen is fσ' a woman, lak dat. Now, if she is a colahed puson - it's a colahed woman - it goin' tuh be spade, queen a [of] spades; an' if it's a white woman, it goin' tuh be a queen a [of] di'monds, see. If it's a bright woman, it: s de queen a[of] hearts. See. De same wit de jack an' de king. See. Well, all right. An' aftah yo' cut dem cards an' find out how [who] it is, yo' take yo' dis S-lax [see later] powdah.
(What? Where do you get that?)
Yo' buy it at de drug sto'. It's HOODOO STUFF. Doctor Thomas [proprietor of the drug store] got it down dere.
(What do you call it?)
S-Lax powdah.
(Ex-lax?)
Yeah, it's a powdah.
(Not Ex-lax?)
No, not Ex-Zax. Dat's a candy. Dat's fo' - dat's candy. It's Ex-Zax powdah.
(And what is it called, this powder?)
Ex-lax powdah.
(All right.)
[Author gives up, resigns, etc.]
An' yo' buy it at Doctor Thomas Drug sto'.
(Doctor Thomas' Drug Store?)
Yeah, right down heah on Ramport Street. Yo' take dat stuff. An' aftah yo' take dat powdah - yo' take dat powdah an' yo' puts it on a lamp, yo' see, an' yo' burn it. Yo' see, yo' burn it ovah dere in a li'le pan, see. Well, aftah yo' burn it in a pan, yo' take dat an' yo' puts it - yo' take a red candle - not no black candle - see, yo' want dat back, a red candle, an' yo' burn dat. Yo' burn dat candle an' dat woman - yo' put [that] woman [her name] on de papah, yo' see. Yo' burn it ovah dat [lamp] an' ah betchah dat stuff'll come back tuh yuh.
(That they [she] stole.)
Yeah.
(What do you mean by "woman on that paper?")
[I want to be certain about this. My preceding understanding was wrong.]
Yo' see, yo' jis' put 'woman" - jis' write [the word] 'woman" on de papah. If it's a woman dat stole it [according to the preceding playing cards rite of divination] yo' write "woman" on dere. Yo' don' know 'er name. But if yo' know 'er name - it's bettah fo' yo' tuh know 'er name. If yo' know de puson's name, yo' put de name dere, an' yo' got 'er.
(I see. Where do you put that paper?)
Yo' put dat papah undah de li'le pan wit de candle on topa [top of] it an' yo' burn it. An' yo' goin' tuh burn dat stuff back tuh yuh.
(I see. What do you do with that powder?)
De powdah - yo' git de powdah at de drug sto'. See, yo' mix de powdah in wit dat stuff, yo' see.
(With what stuff?)
Mix de powdah an' burn it, yo' see, ovah de lamp. Yo' see, yo' burn dat pow- dah, see, in de pan. Den yo' stick de candle right up in de centah of dis [panl an' put 'er name right undah dat, yo' undahstan', an' yo' goin' tuh burn dat stuff back. [This burning brings dat stuff back.]
Entry 7237
Dere a preachah stayed in Boyce, Mississippi, Scotts County, an' some- one stole his suitcase an' he went tuh one of de gentlemen [doctors] an' de gen- tlemen tole him he'd git 'is suitcase back. An' so de fellah [doc- tor] went an' cut some cahds [cards] an' tole him tuh go tuh de stō' an' git 'im some sulphur, an' git 'im some salt, an' he give it tuh 'im. Den he [doctor] sprinkle dat ovah him [preacher] an' rubbed 'is [preacher's] hands an' [they] says he [preacher] throw it up in air where de wind blow it. An' he got 'is suitcase an' dere wusn't a thing tuk [taken] outa it. Dat's a true fac', he got 'is suitcase. [For wind- blowing rites, see Nos.5713-5718, Pp.2917-2918, etc.]
Entry 7252
Ah heard dat dey goes out an' gits incense an' dey burns incense. An' aftah usin' incense in dere house, dey goes tuh work an' dey git dem ademity cards - imadenithy. [At a guess I would say these are identity cards, cards containing pictures of people, which the rootman shuffles to increase the number of customers. This is a rite to increase business.] Why, dat's from de rootman. He'll go out an' he git dat an' he'll chew [it], an' evah time he chew dat way an' he'll spit. Evah time he chewin' an' he spit, why it draws a crowd mo' largah an' largah an'. dey content.
Entry 9969
Yo' take a frog and dry him. You take a frog and wrap him up and let hin die himself. Don't you kill him. Well, when he gets dry, you tote that in your pocket. You can take that and you can do anything you want with that frog. Just like if you a dice shooter, or anything I like that, you rub that [dried frog]. Jis' put it in your pocket and take and put your hand on that [frog] and go to work and shoot dice. Be lucky. Jes' like if you had one game, and if you don't have success with that, turn your back on that game. And select you a card place, if you play cards, and you'll lose one or two games and you know that you ought to win, turn your back on that game.
(How do you mean turn your back on it?)
What I mean, walk away from that game and go to the next game.
(I see, if you have this frog in your pocket.)
Entry 10832
And then you take a card, playing cards, you see; you know, like you [picture of man: jack or king].
(Playing cards?)
Yes. Well, you take him out and you'll turn him up behind your bed, you understand.
(Behind your bed, yes.)
Behind de head of your bed on de same side that you [man] sleeps. Now, this is a woman fer a man, and then on de other side, he kin do de woman de same way, you see [he uses female card]. And you'll put it there and then you'll take a broom what you have never swept with. I mean a new broom. You git nine straws out of that. And then you'll talk to him every morning. Everything you eat, you feed him and says good things about him. Don't say anything harsh. And he'll be compelled to come home to you.
(What card do you take out of that deck?)
Take de card that run for you.
(Oh, you have to run the cards?)
Yeah, now like you might run a spade. You might run a diamond. You might run a heart. You might run in a jack and you might run in a king, you see.
(I see.)
Well, you take de card that run for you.
(And you put that up behind your bed - upside down, you say?)
Oh, no! Don't turn dat upside down. You nail it behind your bed. Like I lays on de right side of de bed, well, you nail it on de right side of de bed.
(Behind the bed?)
Yeah, behind de bed, out of search from everyone. No one knows it but you. You do that to yourself. No one sees it.
(Is the face against the bed or the face out?)
The face is out. No, the face is out. The back of de card is against de bed. And you feed that with everything that you eat. Even now, like you would get water - just like you was really feeding him sure enuff. And you talks sweet things - like you 'pologizing, you know.
(I see, to this card?)
Yeah, to that card, for ninr mornings and he will be forced to come back. As to the woman [if a man is working this rite] she'll be forced to come back.
Entry 12504
Ah used tuh run a gamblin' joint, but ah'm not now. Well, ah went ovah by Harsville an' dis [hoodoo] person tole me if ah wanta do it, dat all ah had tuh do - he gimme two pieces of brown stuff. Ah don't know whut it wus, an'[he] say, yo' start, [he] say, yo' rub em [2 brown pieces] in yore han's befo' yo' put chure han's on any cards. Den put 'em [brown pieces] back in yore hip pocket. Put 'em in yore hip pocket an' nevah think of 'em again [that game].
(What did they look like? Were they stones or roots or what?)
Ah tell yo' whut it wus. Whut [do] dey call dis stuff heah whut dey put in food? Ah call it in a minute if yo' give me time.
(Cinnamon? Raisins? Nutmeg?)
Nutmeg! Dat's whut it wus.
(He gave you two?)
He gimme one - he didn't gimme one. He cut it. It wus cut. He cut it up an' gimme two of 'em. It wus a whole one. Well, yo' know how large a whole one is, but he cut it. When he cut it - seemed lak it wus 'bout dat big. Dese three pieces of it - jes' 'bout dat large. An' ah took it an' ah used it. (It was a whole nutmeg cut in two. That is all you had to do with that nut- meg?) Dat's right. Dat's all, jes' rub it. He tole me tuh do it. Well, ah tried it.
(It didn't work?)
It did work twice.
Entry 12703
It 'sposed tuh be, whut we use, is called quick lightnin' dust, Blue Ridge Mountain an' lodestone.
(What is Blue Ridge Mountain?)
Blue Ridge Mountain is 'sposed tuh be - well, hit's a dust. De quick light nin', de re'lly fac' [fact] about it, hit's a dust. Well, ah guess yo' know whut lodestone are, nog. Well, dose things, re'lly de fac' about it, suh, if yo'uses dose. Jes' lak if yo' puttin' oust medi- cine, or whatevah it is, at de end of a knife - grains. Yo' uses dose accordin' tuh yore fingah. Ah mean fingah an' toes. Re'lly de fac' about it, if yo' wants tuh make a wonderful [something] why yo' goes tuh wortt an' ases, jes' lay dey [anyone] has 10 fingers an' 10 toes. Well, yo' use 10 gralns roun' an'roun', it 'sposed tuh be gen'lly [generally] of dose 3 [fingers]. 3tunes 10 is 'sposed tuh be 30. Dat's a mixture den an' yo' uses it. Yo' goes tuh work with yore [ingredients] an' yo' drops yo' out 30 drops of Hearts Cologne on dat stuff. An' yo' den stitches it up [in cloth] very tight. It supposed tuh be until it a small object lak yore thumb. [And this thumb-like object is called a hand!] An' den jes' place it intuh yore right pocket, an' take it tuh a game, de really fac' 'bout it. An' den about every 10 minutes yo' changes dat thing from right tuh left [pocket] an' shuffle. yore cards den. Dat put chew den in good luck in good standin'. [Quick-lightning dust should be the soil near a tree struck by lightning and Blue Ridge Moumtain dust should be dirt from the Blue Ridge Mountains, these latter covering a great amount of space. The iden- tity of what a doctor uses or a hoodoo shop sells is not always a certainty.]