Jeudi: Curios

All forms of money can be used in root work for gaining wealth and in some cases luck. I keep an envelope of dollar and five dollar bills to which I add dried bayberry daily with a prayer of intention to provide all that my family needs, and a little extra. When I get a dollar or – particularly lucky – a dollar coin I place it in the envelope and add more bayberry. Not only does this help keep household funds on an even keel it also provides a stash of cash when the kids request a few bucks, usually somewhere between five and ten minutes before we need to leave for school. In most money workings such as this, drawing from the reserve is fine – even encouraged to get that lucky cash out in circulation. Just don’t ever take all the cash out of the envelope; leave at least a dollar bill and a coin to keep the magick working.

The coin of choice for your magick envelope, the one that stays put always to work for you, might just be today’s curio. The silver dime is coveted in hoodoo, particularly now since the U.S. government stopped minting them in 1946, and is sometimes called a mercury dime. Used in workings for wealth, health, luck and love, silver dimes can still be had through hoodoo suppliers.

All coins with faces on them are considered appropriate for guarding the health of the person carrying them. The idea is that the face on the pocket piece keeps watch for evil and jinxes while the holder is distracted. Silver dimes are considered the most powerful of the bunch and many root workers “dress” them occasionally with Florida water, whiskey or holy water to keep them effective. Sometimes the coin is worn in the shoe or sock. In other instances it is occasionally put under the tongue. If the coin turns black in any case, then evil workings are being done against the holder.

For luck, and gambling luck in particular, nothing beats a dime minted in a leap year. Some workers dress the dime and then wrap it in a two dollar bill to double the luck. The thought hear is that two unusual items will bring unusual luck. Catherine Yronwode, a folklorist, writer and herbalist whose incredible knowledge of hoodoo and root work is unsurpassed, notes that there may be a subtext to this old practice at her Lucky Mojo website (see sidebar; you can find silver dimes there, too). Since many prostitutes in the early part of the 20th century were paid two dollars on average, there may be an implication of “getting lucky” away from as well as at the gambling table.

Silver dimes are also added to mojo bags to attract love or lust. Generally, red flannel is used and the ingredients in the bag should amount to three, six or nine items. Here’s one for lust: In a red flannel bag place a silver dime, a piece of ginger, a sprinkling of red pepper, a coffee bean, a cinnamon stick, and an apple seed. With the intention of attracting a lover, sew up the bag and anoint it with a bit of vanilla essential oil or extract. Wear this next to your skin when you go out looking for love. If you hook up with someone and decide you’d like a relationship rather than a fling, open up the bag and replace the cinnamon stick with a sprig or sprinkle of rosemary. Repeat as above with the intention of a lasting love affair. Bon chance ~

Header: Silver Favourites by Lawrence Alma-Tadema