Subject:Moon
Entries
Entry 3912
[There is a fair amount of material about woman and de change of de moon (HOODOO p.946, line 40; p.359, Nos.956-957; also FACI, 2nd ed., p.220, No.4985, etc.).] Yo' take a woman, if yo' wanta change her periodic time, yo' kin change dat on 'er against de moon. Yo' kin take somepin [some of her blood], if yo' vanta put 'er in bad health on account of 'er periodic time. De firs' time yo' git one of 'er pieces, when she's menistratin' on de change of de moon, yo' bury it. De las' piece dat yo' got from 'er, from 'er las' ministration, bury it on de change of de moon - when de moon is fading away.
(When the moon is fading away.)
De moon is about to make its descent, yo' [can] see dat. Dey has got to de full moon an' dey come on down to de las' quartah. When de moon is about to make its nex' change, den yo' bury dis piece when de moon is changin'. Yo' bury dat pahtic'lah piece from 'er las' menstration an' she'll nevah menstrate propahly aftah dat long as she live. When dat's buried.
Entry 4127
A woman kin take her chamber lye an' put it in coffee fo' her man or fo' her hus- ban', de regular - dey says anyhow three times a week, an' in de new moon - wit de new moon assistance. Yo' always work in de moon becuz de moon governs de seasons. It controls from heaven to New York or any othah place, becuz where de moon is got dominion, why so in dis pow- ah it kin carry. So she takes dat an' she give him it in coffee say, three times a week, an' if she continue to do lak dat, HE'LL BECOME TO BE A COMPLETE SLAVE AN' SHE KIN DO HIM AS SHE PLEASE. He'll believe evahthin' she says is true an' evahbody else may be true, but what she says goes wit him. He don't believe whut nobody else says.
Entry 4721
If yuh kin git holt of 'is photograph or anythin', yuh kin git 'im back ag'in.
(Do you know just how they do that?)
Well, yuh git holt a piece of 'is clothin'. Now, if it's a woman dat wants 'im back ag'in, yuh git aholt of a piece of 'is clothes an' yuh dress it in cologne. Yuh take it an' fold it de way [direction] he is. If he is east, no'th, west, or south, yuh take dat piece of clothin', a small piece of it, an' fold it [demonstrates] an' make yore wishes.
(Fold it toward you.)
Towards yuh evah time. Points it de way he is an' fold it back evah time. An' yuh git yuh a couple of needles an' pin it each way, bottom an' top, an yuh split dat needle. Lets 'er wear one in 'er right shoe here, an' give her de othah one an' let 'er hold it in 'er han'. An' she kin walk - an' let 'er go straight tuh runnin' watah an' drop it ovahbo'd. Ketch de wind - she has tuh do dis on de grown [growing] of de moon an' ketch de wind blowin' towards de way she wants 'im tuh come. If she is in New York, ketch de wind blowin' disaway.
(Blowing south?)
Dat's right. Drop dis ovahbo'd an' walk backwards from it about nine steps, turn tuh left an' go on. Make her wishes an' he'll come right - in nine days he'll be dere.
(I didn't quite understand you about putting these needles?)
Yuh see, if yuh fold de clothes, prob'ly fold it dis way. Well aftah yuh git a little pad of it made, git yuh a needle on each side of it. Git chew a pair of keen - anythin' dat's sharp an' split dem needles in two.
(Oh, I see! You cut the whole package in half.)
De needles den will be on each side of it.
(Two halves of the needles will be in each side of the package.)
An' have dem needles so dey won't injure her foot an' let 'er wear it right in 'er shoe. Fasten it in dere in a way dat it won't slide backwards an' for- wards. Take dis half an' fold it in yore han' an' when it gits warm, when yuh go tuh de watah wit it - an' throw it ovahbo'd. Ketch de wind blowin' from de Way dat yuh want 'im tuh come home.
Entry 5555
Dey take chure track up, jis' lak if dey would do sompin tuh yuh tuh set yuh down an' make yuh suffah, an' cain't do nut'in tuh he'p yuhself. Dey take yuh track lak dis, see [demonstrates] - lak dat right from in de middle ["hollow" of track]. An' take up jis' about - ah know dat is de truth - take up de dirt, yuh know, an' dey put 'em on a piece of papah. Dey take de othah one disaway [demonstrates]. (They take one track - they pull it towards them and one they pull away from them.) Dat's de way de' do. An' dey take dat an' dey put it tuhgethah. An' den dey git tuh put it tuhgethah, dey goes tuh work an' dey take a little pot salt [com- Ron name for ordinary salt in a pot before salt-shaker days] an' dey put in dere. Dey sew it up in a piece of red flannel or new homespun. An' dey take dat on de young moon, now. On de' young moon de' do dat. An' dey take dat t'in' an' dey'll bury it in de earth. Well, yuh is punished. Yuh go an' cain't do nut'in. It'll git chew in hard luck. Well, den dey kin take dat an' when de tide comin' up, t'row 'em down in de watah - jis' toss 'em in de rivah. An' de rivah runnin' lak dat, go right dere an' t'row it lak dat. Dey cain't stop. T'row it in de rivah an' den yuh wheel aroun' lak dat, an' turn [your] back an' say, "Go on." Yuh kin be all right fer days. Dis mont' yuh'll have sompin, de nex' mont' yuh go 'long an' have headache an' evaht'in'. Yuh'll take dat an' dis an' dis [medicine] till it become....
Entry 5981
She disliked me.
(Who disliked you?)
This woman.
(I see. All right.)
She disliked me an' ah tole 'er [told her] ah had de headache, an' she couldn't give it to me herself, see. By me bein' young, she wus gon'a fool me. She tole me, she said, "Yo' git yo' some salt- petah an' sprinkle it in yore hair, an' evah mawnin' fer nine mawnin's aftah de new moon, " she say, "yo' git up an' meet de risin' sun an' comb yore hair fo'wards."
(Comb your hair what?)
Comb yore hair fo'wards.
(Comb your hair forwards, I see.)
An' ah say, "Ah nevah did comb mah hair dat way." She say, "It's not goin' hurtcha [hurt you]." An' ah went to anothah woman an' de othah woman tole me dat she wuz tryin' to run me crazy; said it wuz goin' make me go crazy if ah put dat saltpetah in mah hair an' combed it to de moon - [I mean] to de sun lak she done tell me.
(That would make you go crazy, you say? I see.)
Yes.
Entry 5982
Well, yo' kin take de hair outa de mole of a person's haid an' run 'em crazy. Yo' kin do dat. (How would you do that?) Well, yo' take de hair outa de mole of dere haid an' yo' takes an' yo' puts it in a bottle, an' yo' buries it in a bottle, an' yo' buries it on de da'k of de moon. See, dat's mah experience 'bout dat.
(And that runs them crazy?)
Yes, sir.
(I see.)
Entry 6226
Now a person kin take yore hair out of yore haid an' dey kin go tuh a tree an' cut a hole outa dat tree an' den put chure hair inside dat tree on de quartah of de moon [see later] an' after dey put chure hair in dat tree - dey puts a peg in dat tree [hole] an' dey drive dat peg fo' nine mawnin's. See evah mawnin' fo' nine mawnin's dey go out an' hit it fo' nine mawnin's. Now, dat peg, aftah dat peg be tapped fo' de nine mawnin's, dat's fo' tuh run yo' Crazy. Dat's tuh run yo' outa yore senses. Yo' don't have no senses atall - yo' be stone crazy.
(What do you mean, the quarter of the moon?)
Jis' lak when de moon firs' came out. Dat's whut ah call quartah, when it firs' come out. [PRESUMABLY THE VICTIM WILL SWELL UP WITH THE MOON, THEN BEGIN TO PALE AWAY ITH THE MOON, AND FINALLY DISAPPEAR WITH THE MOON.]
Entry 6469
[The two rites following explain each other:]
They say, kin get your fingernails. If you kin get a man's fingernails, or his toenails, or a piece of hair, you know, say, you get a piece of red flannen, I think, an' sew that up. An' you get chew a bottle of Hearts Cologne. An' I think you get that on the day when the moon's on the last quarter, I think. An' you fix that up and sew that up between nine and ten, an' make your wishes. An' then I think they wear that somewheres near the body, near the heart.
[Informant starts another hair rite:]
(I see. And what do they put in that bag? What would they put in that?)
Well, they's put in that a bag, it's some kind where they got their finger- nails and toenails or some of the hair where they - it's a kind of root they get dey call de Eve-and-Adam. See, those roots are twin roots together. They name one the man and the other one the woman. And then they keep it saturated, I think, in Hearts Cologne. They wear that near the body and make a wish for every stitch they make, sewing up that bag. They makes a wish. They make a bag an sews on it. They make a wish an' puts nine stitches each way [demonstrates]. (Nine stitches in the bag. This is a square bag, nine stitches on each side, nine stitches on each of the four sides of the square bag. I see. And that wish would get them, or something of that sort?) Yes, then they wear that near the heart. (That's different from the - adding that root? That's different from the first thing you told me?) Yes.
Entry 6676
She [a woman living in Wilmington] has been hurt fo' 'bout twelve yeahs an' right now ven [when] de moon is young dey's [there is] somepin lak a coottah [= cooter, any of sev- eral turtles or tortoisesl, she calls it, somepin lak dese ali- gatah coottahs. She say it spluttahs [splutter = sputter or spatter from here- demonstrates on her side] an' goes up nex' tuh 'er heart, an' goes back down. An' she says ven it spluttahs lak dat, she kin heah it spluttahin' in watah [water], jis' lak if it runs up an' she cud [could] feel de li'le feets of it, yuh know, ven it's open-lak, lak it's scrattin' [scratching?]. It goes up from 'er right side crossways [right to left] up through 'er laig. [Does this symp- tom signify anything in scientific medicine? In any case, we have here again one of those psychology-and-time rites, see Pp.350-356, v.1.]
Entry 6856
Evah new moon yo' have a spell. Dey do dis trick on de new moon. [You must] turn it back on de new moon.
Entry 6857
Folks always have a convulsion, as yo' know, [at that time] an' if yo' boil a aig, a hen aig - now, ah've proved dat mahself. Yo' BOIL A HEN AIG ON DE SILVAH MooN, de time dat de moon is young, on de firs' change of de moon. Yo' git a fresh-laid aig an' boil it an' crack a li'le hole in dis aig aftah it's boiled. An' take it tuh a ant heap, an' whenevah de ant eat all dat aig up, why it's no mo' convulsion or whatevah dose folks have. Ah've proved dat.
(Well, don't you do anything to those people who have the convulsions? At all? Don't they get any medicine or anything?) chamber lye. (In whose chamber lye?)
De one dat have de convulsions.
Entry 7954
I've heard them say that they can take coffin nails and then take an individual's, some parts of his clothes, and go way out in the forest somewhere where the sun shines on a tree and nail that, use those nails in driving, and maybe some un- derwear or coat or something or a part of a coat, on that tree and fix it so it can't fall off. And as long as it stays there, on every change of the moon the individual will weaken down, and then finally he gits so he can't have any activity of his limbs atall.
Entry 8202
Well, dere's a certain type of people dat believe in de wanishin' [van- ishing], dat yo' kin do away wit a person through an' by a photograph. Yo' could git de actual photograph of a person. Yo' take it an' on de first of de new moon, yo' carry it anywheres where dere's a tree or a stone, anything dat choo kin mark an' know it won't be moved. An' plant it face downward in de soil. An' dey claim dat when dat moon passes away, de nex' new moon will cuz some kinda affliction tuh ovahtake de person, an' dey will grajly [gradually] drift away tuh nuthin. Nuthin will relieve 'em. It impossible tuh cure 'em, until dey will fine'ly
[finally] jis' waste away de same way de photograph do.
Entry 8424
If yo' wan' tuh make a boy love yuh, yo' take a glass of watah, a glass dat choo're not gon'a evah use ag'in, an' turn dat pitchure down ovah dat glass an' put nine drops of Hearts Cologne or Blue Moon perfume, eithah one is jis' as good, in dat glass of watah. An' let dat pitchure stay ovah dat glass of watah until yo' see some results of dat boy comin' towards yuh. If de boy has turn ag'in [against] sho [you] all tuhgethah an' yo' kin git 'is pit- chure, why dat'll bring 'im back. Put de glass under de haid of yuh bed.
Entry 8526
(With the coconut, how do you do that?) Well, you take this coconut - get a fresh coconut with the Water in it and you punch out one of them eyes, and.you takes the name and you push it in there. If you want 'em to come to you, why you rolls, take and kick it and roll it to you, thataway. And you call this person name three times. You do's that for three morning on the full of the moon. If you want 'em to go from you, you put the name in there and you kicks it from you thataway. That's what you use the coconut for.
Entry 10747
Like when a woman is ministratin' by the light of the moon or ube dark of the moon. All that work [is] done with the moon. You get one of ber clothes [cloths] and bury it behind the [outside] toilet or in the [drainage] ditch [along the street or road]. jis' anywhere there is water stays at, somewhere itmiwl rot fast, and that will cause her to go crazy.
Entry 10915
Like if I got a woman and she living with another man and I want her to break up with him. Well, I take some hair from a dog and from a cat and I gets me a lemon. I cuts this lemon open and I put them two party's names in there - this woman and this man - names down in this lemon and this dog [and cat] hair. And I takes a candle and I light it, and I close it back up [see later] you know, so they won't fall from it. Close it right up and I bury it. On the dark of the moon, I do that. And they won't get along.
(Where do you bury that?)
I just take and bury it anywhere in my yard.
(I see. You seal that lemon back up with this wax from the candle?)
Yes, sir.
Entry 11285
Yeah, a goiture [goitre]. You kin go to a spring [running water] an' if it's [goitre] is bad, it might care [carry] you away [you could die]. You kin take - now, you go to a spring an' get choo some watah an' ever' momin', well, you'll jes' take that spring watah an' put it in a pan. Well, when you put it in a pan, you put a piece of ice about so big [demonstrates] in this watah an' wait till it git real col'. You kin put it on ice that night, if you wan'ta. Then in the mornin' pour it in a pan, then put a piece of ice on it an' you know it be plenty col'. Well, then you jes' take that like this here, look [demonstrates] put it right on that goijure [goitre]. Well, put it on there as the moon hit [it] waste away. But choo got ta do it when it [goitre] first begins. You can't let it git large on you. If you do, tain't no cure for you.
Entry 12154
Now, if a man's stayin' on a place an' yo' want him move'd from dere, yo' cut chew a growin' hickory stick an' carry it an' bury it down at his do'. If dat man has a mule, yo' kin always notice dere's a certain corner dat mule go tuh pee. Bury it right down somewheres near dere an' let it dere fo' nine days. Take it out. Let dat be on de young moon. An' go on to de cemetery an' bury it, but bury it wit de big end [of the stick] towards de sunset. An you' ll be right dere till dat house burnt down. (You have to bury this stick right where this mule waters on.)
Entry 12459
Now, dat works wit de moon. Now, when it's de new moon an' if he's gone an' she wants him tuh come back, she'll go tuh dat moon three times a week an' bow. Now, when dis moon gits full, she'll bow, an' every time she bow tuh de moon, dat is fer de moon tuh come down. She bows three times. An' wherever he is he is tuh come back. (Now she bows three times during the new moon?) Yes, sir, an' three times tuh de full moon, an' every time she bows, she wave her hands three times. Dat's fo' him tuh come back.
(She waves her hand at what, the moon?)
Yes, sir [demonstrates].
(Wave down like that?)
Yes.
(Does she go out three different nights to the new moon, or just once?)
Three fo' de new an' three for de full.
(And each time she goes out to the new moon she bows three times?)
Yes, sir, an' makes a wish an' say, "Will you please come back."
Entry 12460
I works with the moon. Now anything that choo start on the dark of the moon is not successful, see? Anything you wan'a be successful at is not successful. You starts on the third day of the new moon - see, on the third. Anything you want to be success- ful in, you start on the third day of the new moon. [Another excellent hoodoo woman.]
Entry 12461
Wit silver money dey have good luck. An' show it to de moon, an' he Walk back fo' so many - 'bout nine steps backwards; an' then yo' turn roun' an' hit those steps wit dat money, an' say de moon give yo' good luck. [This is a tricky rite to perform in moonlight. I suggest it could be come as follows: facing moon and holding silver coin in right hand, if you are right-handed, step backward with right foot, kneel down, touch track made with coin. Now step back with left foot, kneel down, touching this track with coin. Continue for the 9 steps and tracks.]
Entry 12462
If you want a woman, there's two or three ways that you can bring people to you. Just - the question you've asked me - there's two or three ways that you can do these things. It's always worked on the dark of the moon. See, just like if you want to do good, you do it on the new moon - of course, it be on the new moon and on the Balance. And if you want to do bad to them, you do that on the dark of the moon, work under the signs, the twelve signs. See.
(The twelve signs of the zodiac?)
Yes. See, just like if you want to make love or friendship, you set candles on a person that get the tendence[?] the two little Twins, at least. See. And if you want to do earth work, say, if you want to bury anything, you do that on the Balance. If you want to use any water from any river or anything, you use that on the Balance [surely the Waterman]. Just like if I want to break up a man and a woman. She done left me and I want her to come back to me. Well, I takes a linen sheet and I has it on the bed, after I done set my work[?] for her to come there, and I get morris [myrrh], aloes and cinnamon. [Preceding vord tendance = attention?]
(This myrrh, and what else?)
Aloes and cinnamon.
(Cinnamon?)
Yes, mixed in together. And I makes a powder and perfumes my bed with that. And she come there and [lay on] my bed, I ain't got to worry about her no more. See. She ain't going nowhere.
(She is going to stay right with you?)
Yes.