“Now listen, ah don’t use sulphur. Ah use sugah and salt – sugah is for tamin’, salt is for savin’ everything. No meat in de world kin be saved lessen dey use salt. Salt will save it. An’ sugah will sweeten de mind of anyone.” (Hyatt informant #1532, Vol 2. P. 115).
One of the most popular types of hoodoo spells is referred to as the “sweetener spell” because it involves the use of sweetening agents such as sugar (white, brown or powdered), Karo syrup, honey, molasses, pancake syrup or maple syrup in order to influence a person or situation to a desired result. Cakes, candies, fruits and sweet foods in general are also employed in sweetener spells. Contemporary sweeteners include honey granules, agave syrup and powdered fructose. Sweetener spells can be considered a form of compelling magick because they use subtle coercion as the underlying dynamic – the conjurer is intentionally attempting to compel a person to react or respond favorably to a specific situation. The desired final result is that you, the conjurer, is always the winner.
In the olden days, they used to match the color of the sweetener to the race of the target. For example, brown sugar, honey, or maple syrup would be used to represent people of color, even matching the hue of the individual’s complexion to the hue of the sweetener. White sugar or Karo syrup, would be used to represent white folks. Often the same train of thought would be used in writing petitions – brown paper was used if the target was a person of color and white paper was used of the target was Caucasian. This color symbolism is a form of sympathetic magic whereby it serves to provide a magickal link to the target by physically representing them in some fashion.
Karo syrup comes in light and dark and can be used to signify the race of an individual in a given work.
The manner in which sweeteners are used are quite diverse. They can be used as a base for a powder, added to oils, spiritual waters, perfumes, colognes, baths, libations and floor washes, used to fix candles or petitions papers, used as a floor sprinkle or as an ingredient in incense blends, and used to bribe or pay insects and animals like ants and hummingbirds to work for you. They can also be added to bottle spells or used as the primary ingredient in container spells. The honey jar is one of the more popular types of sweetener spells whereby the ingredients of the spell are added straight into a jar of honey and a candle is burned on top of the closed jar. Maple syrup and Karo syrup can also be employed in a similar fashion. Sometimes, a mound of sugar is used, and a candle is burned on top, or sometimes the sweetener is drizzled on and around a particular work to achieve the desired effect.
Sometimes sweeteners are color-coded to represent gender as opposed to race. For example, light Karo syrup can be colored pink to represent a woman or blue to represent a man. Just use a drop or two of food coloring. Sweeteners are also used in medicinal remedies. To drive a disease out of the body, for example, a concoction consisting of 1 tablespoon of dry mustard, 1 tablespoon of sugar and a pint of sweet milk is mixed well and given orally to the patient. It is believed to stimulate the bowels and when it passes through the patient, the disease is believed to be removed (Hyatt, Vol. 2 p. 1023).
Certain Spirits are known for their fondness for sweet foods and these types of foods are used as offerings when petitioning those Spirits for favors. For example, the orisha Oshun is well-known for her fondness for honey, and pumpkins drizzled with honey is a popular offering to her. St. Expedite is known for his fondness for pound cake, and petitions to him almost always include a slice of Sara Lee pound cake to sweeten him to a cause. Papa Legba, Elegba, and Ellegua all have a fondness for candy. A simple devotion to Legba, for example, consists of rubbing your body all over with three pieces of candy which is then offered to him on Mondays.
Sweeteners are also employed in the disposal of ritual remains or when left as offerings in the woods or wilderness. Whenever a work involves leaving ritual remains or ritual items outside with the intent of asking the Spirits in general, or a specific Spirit, to take the remains and transform them or otherwise manipulate them towards a personal goal, offerings of fruit are almost always left as payment. In short, you will be hard-pressed to disappoint anyone with sweet offerings because nearly everyone likes something sweet, whether they reside in the world of the Visibles or Invisibles.
Sweeteners are commonly employed in any type of magick that involves drawing a person, situation or condition to the conjurer. They are used in love spells, money spells, gambling spells, better business spells, and boss fix works, for example. Sweeteners can also be employed in left-handed magic (quite a few examples of sugar used in this manner can be found in the Hyatt texts). A piece of candy can be fixed with a drop of snake blood and when eaten by the target, it is said to cause the condition “live things in you” (Hyatt, Vol 2, p. 1037). In Death Conjure, black candles are sometimes fixed with both salt and sugar (Hyatt, Vol. 2, p. 1014). In this context, we see the dual nature of salt. Salt is known for its protective qualities as well as its drive away, withering qualities and preservation of a condition capability. Sugar does not have a dual nature, however. In this type of work, the conjurer is harnessing its coercive properties to influence the situation to a dire end. Similar to guns and medicines, sweeteners can be used positively or negatively. It is entirely dependent upon the intention of the conjurer as to the outcome of their use.
Boss Fix Powder
An old formula for the purpose of getting a job or persuading a boss to give you a raise or better position consists of the following:
- Good luck powder (a blend of powdered cinnamon, vanilla essence, powdered calamus, powdered sugar and ground patchouli)
- Drop of Holy Water
- Pinch of sugar
- Oil of rose
Add a drop of Holy water and a pinch of sugar to a small amount of good luck powder and add a pinch of this to a bottle of rose oil. Rub some of the formula on your wallet, use to anoint money and rub your hands with it before shaking hands with your boss. It can also be used to anoint doorknobs, chairs, light switches, or any surface the boss is likely to touch. Once the boss comes in contact with the oil, it is said he or she will respond favorably to your needs.
Simple Candle Spell of Protection
To prevent harm, keep evil people away, and drive away meddlers, dress a red candle with a special powder made from rice powder, brown sugar and saltpeter. Burn it on a mantle or altar every week to maintain safety.
To Bring Back a Wayward Lover
To bring back a lover who has gone astray, one only need a glass of sugar water. Mix up a glass of water with three teaspoons of sugar and right before sunrise, go to the front of the house. Toss the water in the direction in which it is believed the lover went. Then say, “As I throw this sugar, may it sweeten the mind of (lover’s name) and change him/her and bring him/her back home.” This is to be done three times. Then, take a plain glass of water and go to the eastern side of the home. With your back to the wall, throw the water over your left shoulder as hard as you can so that it hits the side of the house. Call out the lover’s name while doing this. It is said this ritual will compel the lover to return home.
Sweetener Jar to Keep a Lover Close
To keep a lover close, whether it be emotionally or to keep them from straying, prepare this sweetener jar. Just be sure that the person you are working on is someone you really want to keep around, because it tends to make them stick to you. To make this jar, you will need the following ingredients:
- Mason jar
- Taglock of your lover (i.e. hair, fingernails, photograph, handwriting sample)
- 3 drops of your blood
- Cinnamon stick
- Honey
- Karo syrup
- Something sweet your lover loves to eat (it will need to fit in your jar so keep that in mind - could be a candy bar, a donut, a cookie)
- Written petition stating exactly what you want
- Red candle
Fill the mason jar half full with honey. Add the other ingredients except the cinnamon stick. Prick your finger and allow three drops of blood to fall into the jar. Top with the appropriate color Karo syrup. Leave about 1- or 2-inch space from the top of the jar. Stir everything with the cinnamon stick, then leave the cinnamon stick in the jar and close it. Shake the jar really good to activate it. Burn a red candle on top of the jar. You should be focusing your intention while doing this work. State your intention out loud. After the candle burns down, place it under the bed and keep it there until the following day when you should retrieve the jar and shake it again, then burn another red candle on top of the jar. Repeat for seven days, then keep the jar under your bed. Shake the jar each day as you repeat your intention. Do not dispose of the jar unless you want to get rid of the person.
*This article is excerpted from a document that is part of Crossroad University’s Conjure Club. If you would like to receive eBooks and documents like this one directly to your inbox, check it out. It’s for serious students of conjure.