Gris gris is a system of talismanic, sympathetic magick that is on a continuum of intent and purpose. As in the past, gris gris continues to be used to assist in all matters of living and as charms of empowerment, whatever the intent.
Following are some examples of gris gris in various forms for various purposes, starting with how to make a gris gris bag. Gris gris should be assembled in the middle of your gris gris altar, the ingredients asperged with incense and if made as a bag, tied shut using hemp string, wax thread, or leather cording.
Following are some examples of gris gris in various forms for various purposes, starting with how to make a gris gris bag. Gris gris should be assembled in the middle of your gris gris altar, the ingredients asperged with incense and if made as a bag, tied shut using hemp string, wax thread, or leather cording.
How to Make a Gris Gris Bag
What follows is just a short primer on the basics of fixing a gris gris bag. Once you know the basics, the rest is up to you.
Traditionally, a gris gris bag is a 2-inch by 3-inch drawstring bag made out of red flannel, chamois, or leather. Special herbs, stones, personal effects, roots, bones, coins, metal lucky charms, crystals, good luck tokens, carved stones, and European seals and sigils that have been written with magickal ink on parchment paper are placed inside the bag. Other colors can also be used, according to their magickal symbolism. You should only put an odd number of items into your gris gris bag; never less than three and never more than thirteen. The items are blessed as they are placed into the bag and the whole bag is dressed with anointing oil or holy water. It is then smudged in incense of some kind, words of power are spoken into it, and it is breathed upon. These rituals are said to activate the magick of the gris gris.
In New Orleans, gris gris is often hidden from public view. It is always ritu- ally prepared in front of an altar and consecrated to the four elements: earth, fire, water, and air. Here are a few rules of thumb to remember when “fixing” a gris gris bag:
To create a gris gris, you should set up a basic gris gris altar. This altar should contain the four elements already mentioned: a bowl of water to represent the element water, incense to represent the element air, a bowl of graveyard dirt to represent the element earth, and a candle flame to represent the element fire. These elements should be arranged according to the Kongo cosmogram, a powerful symbol in Kongo cosmology. The cross pattern represents the crossroads; the division of the spiritual world from the earthly world at a sacred point which is the center. It is a circular cosmology, reflecting the belief that the journey of life is a continuous process as opposed to a beginning (birth) and an end (death). The four cardinal points of the Kongo cosmogram are read counterclockwise, starting at the bottom or southern point and going east, north, and west. Place the graveyard dirt at the bottom or southern point, which is where birth occurs and also where the container of our ancestors resides; the candle is placed in the east where the transformation of the individual begins as a full member of society; the incense is placed in the northern direction, the point of intellectual power; and the bowl of water is placed in the west, where comprehension, understanding, and the point of departure takes place. The gris gris itself should be placed in the center of the crossroads design and created on the center point of the cosmogram.
Note that there are other interpretations of the cardinal points and the one I have given is the one of my understanding.
*Excerpted from the Voodoo Hoodoo Spellbook.
Traditionally, a gris gris bag is a 2-inch by 3-inch drawstring bag made out of red flannel, chamois, or leather. Special herbs, stones, personal effects, roots, bones, coins, metal lucky charms, crystals, good luck tokens, carved stones, and European seals and sigils that have been written with magickal ink on parchment paper are placed inside the bag. Other colors can also be used, according to their magickal symbolism. You should only put an odd number of items into your gris gris bag; never less than three and never more than thirteen. The items are blessed as they are placed into the bag and the whole bag is dressed with anointing oil or holy water. It is then smudged in incense of some kind, words of power are spoken into it, and it is breathed upon. These rituals are said to activate the magick of the gris gris.
In New Orleans, gris gris is often hidden from public view. It is always ritu- ally prepared in front of an altar and consecrated to the four elements: earth, fire, water, and air. Here are a few rules of thumb to remember when “fixing” a gris gris bag:
- Gris gris can be created on the cardinal points of the Kongo cosmogram.
- Color symbolism is important. Choose a color specific to your need.
- Gris gris must contain an odd number of items: more than three, never more than thirteen.
- It must be filled with items that are specific to the desired purpose.
- It must be dressed with a liquid of some kind.
- Be very careful of the words you speak when making gris gris. Your words create energy that will become a part of the gris gris itself.
- Each ingredient can be smudged (asperged) or smoked in incense, and so can the final bag.
- A petition written in a magickal alphabet or a magickal seal or sigil drawn on a piece of parchment paper with a magickal ink is placed or sewn into the bag. Magick squares and other talismans can also be added to gris gris bags.
- Words of power are spoken over the bag as a means of activating the divine energy.
- The final act is to breathe upon the gris gris to give it life.
To create a gris gris, you should set up a basic gris gris altar. This altar should contain the four elements already mentioned: a bowl of water to represent the element water, incense to represent the element air, a bowl of graveyard dirt to represent the element earth, and a candle flame to represent the element fire. These elements should be arranged according to the Kongo cosmogram, a powerful symbol in Kongo cosmology. The cross pattern represents the crossroads; the division of the spiritual world from the earthly world at a sacred point which is the center. It is a circular cosmology, reflecting the belief that the journey of life is a continuous process as opposed to a beginning (birth) and an end (death). The four cardinal points of the Kongo cosmogram are read counterclockwise, starting at the bottom or southern point and going east, north, and west. Place the graveyard dirt at the bottom or southern point, which is where birth occurs and also where the container of our ancestors resides; the candle is placed in the east where the transformation of the individual begins as a full member of society; the incense is placed in the northern direction, the point of intellectual power; and the bowl of water is placed in the west, where comprehension, understanding, and the point of departure takes place. The gris gris itself should be placed in the center of the crossroads design and created on the center point of the cosmogram.
Note that there are other interpretations of the cardinal points and the one I have given is the one of my understanding.
*Excerpted from the Voodoo Hoodoo Spellbook.
Ritual Blessing of the
Gris Gris
In the Voodoo Hoodoo Spellbook, I give instructions for creating gris gris on the point of the Kongo cosmogram. Here is a ritual for blessing gris gris that you have already created, or gris gris in the raw, such as found insects, snake skins, or other items intended to be used as gris gris. This ritual comes from a description of Marie Laveau conducting a ceremony where she petitions Li Grand Zombi in the making and consecrating of gris gris. In the ceremony she is calling the spirits into the gris gris and uses candles and the flames of burning alcohol to accomplish the task.
Li Grande Zombi is always petitioned in Laveau Voodoo for the creation of gris gris. In this context, Li Grand Zombi refers to all of the snakes of the pantheon, not just the Temple Snake. This includes the Great Ones of Hoodoo: rattlesnake, water moccasin, and King Snake. For this working, you will need:
Ingredients
For this working you will need to create a little gris gris altar. Place the snake figurine in the center and two candles on either side of the snake. The saucer goes in front of the snake. Pour some Florida Water into the saucer. Light both candles with a match and then light the Florida Water. If you have never done this, you will have a beautiful, medium to low burning blue flame to work with.
Knock on the altar three times calling out “Li Grand Zombi!” with each rap. Then, say the following:
Li Grand Zombi, I appeal to you
Li Grand Zombi, you are the father
Ye! Ye! Madame Marie Laveau!
I have taken this gris gris from the bayou
Come and empower it with your swamp magic!
Ashé ashé ashé!
Now, take your gris gris and pass it quickly through the flames so that it does not catch fire. Allow the flames to burn out and place the gris gris in the wooden box on your Marie Laveau altar until ready to use.
Li Grande Zombi is always petitioned in Laveau Voodoo for the creation of gris gris. In this context, Li Grand Zombi refers to all of the snakes of the pantheon, not just the Temple Snake. This includes the Great Ones of Hoodoo: rattlesnake, water moccasin, and King Snake. For this working, you will need:
Ingredients
- 2 candles in the color appropriate for the intended use of the gris gris (white can be used as a generic color)
- Gris gris
- Fire-proof saucer
- Florida Water
- Matches
- Wooden box
- Snake figurine to represent Li Grand Zombi
For this working you will need to create a little gris gris altar. Place the snake figurine in the center and two candles on either side of the snake. The saucer goes in front of the snake. Pour some Florida Water into the saucer. Light both candles with a match and then light the Florida Water. If you have never done this, you will have a beautiful, medium to low burning blue flame to work with.
Knock on the altar three times calling out “Li Grand Zombi!” with each rap. Then, say the following:
Li Grand Zombi, I appeal to you
Li Grand Zombi, you are the father
Ye! Ye! Madame Marie Laveau!
I have taken this gris gris from the bayou
Come and empower it with your swamp magic!
Ashé ashé ashé!
Now, take your gris gris and pass it quickly through the flames so that it does not catch fire. Allow the flames to burn out and place the gris gris in the wooden box on your Marie Laveau altar until ready to use.
Common Household Gris Gris
Gris gris is everywhere, once you know what to look for.
If this is a kind of magic you wish to pursue, then get in the habit of saving things you might normally toss to use as gris gris or ingredients in a gris gris bag. Fruit peels like oranges and pomegranates, egg shells, chicken bones, spent candle wax, and onion peels are things you can save to have on hand when a need arises.
Basic Gris Gris Ritual for Healing
This is a very basic gris gris ritual for healing. It is good for mending a broken heart or helping to heal from grief of any kind. And it only requires four ingredients:
Wrap everything in a chamois cloth and place in a flannel or leather bag. Then say the following petition to Papa Legba (He is called Papa Labat/Lebat by older folks in New Orleans) to empower the bag:
Papa Labat, yay yay yay
Papa Labat, yay yay yay
Papa Labat, yay yay yay
Papa Labat, open the door and let the spirits through
Bless and empower this bag for your faithful servant
Bring him/her all good things in this life and in the life to come
In God’s name
Ashé ashé ashé!
Touch the gris gris to the top of your head, your heart, then your mouth, kissing the bag.
- Snakeskin
- 3 copper pennies
- Rose petals
- Lavender flowers
Wrap everything in a chamois cloth and place in a flannel or leather bag. Then say the following petition to Papa Legba (He is called Papa Labat/Lebat by older folks in New Orleans) to empower the bag:
Papa Labat, yay yay yay
Papa Labat, yay yay yay
Papa Labat, yay yay yay
Papa Labat, open the door and let the spirits through
Bless and empower this bag for your faithful servant
Bring him/her all good things in this life and in the life to come
In God’s name
Ashé ashé ashé!
Touch the gris gris to the top of your head, your heart, then your mouth, kissing the bag.
Snake Dust
Snake dust is a form of gris gris that is used in foot track magic, gris gris and mojo bags, to dust candles, added to bottle spells, and to fix petitions and seals. It consists of powdered snake sheds and bones (three species) with graveyard dirt and a cornstarch base.
How is Snake Dust Used?
Snakes are a common subject in the realm of hoodoo and folk magic. Their uses range the gamut from good luck to retribution, and the omens assigned to them as equally as varied. For example, to produce rain in times of drought, a snake that has been killed is hung on a fence belly up. This practice is believed to bring rain within 24 hours. To stop rain, a snake is killed and not turned over. Catching a snake at the end of a fishing line is said to indicate enemies are attempting to ensnare and kill you.
Snake sheds have multiple uses in Louisiana hoodoo and folk magic. For example, rubbing a snake shed in your hand will prevent a person from dropping and breaking dishes in the kitchen. Adding snake sheds to a mojo hand will bring a person good luck.
This powerful conjure dust can be used in mojo hands, gris gris, powders and to fix candles for protection and defense.
Snakes are a common subject in the realm of hoodoo and folk magic. Their uses range the gamut from good luck to retribution, and the omens assigned to them as equally as varied. For example, to produce rain in times of drought, a snake that has been killed is hung on a fence belly up. This practice is believed to bring rain within 24 hours. To stop rain, a snake is killed and not turned over. Catching a snake at the end of a fishing line is said to indicate enemies are attempting to ensnare and kill you.
Snake sheds have multiple uses in Louisiana hoodoo and folk magic. For example, rubbing a snake shed in your hand will prevent a person from dropping and breaking dishes in the kitchen. Adding snake sheds to a mojo hand will bring a person good luck.
This powerful conjure dust can be used in mojo hands, gris gris, powders and to fix candles for protection and defense.
Improve Finances
The Andinkra symbol Kareepa represents good fortune and sanctity.
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Draw the above symbol on a piece of torn brown paper bag that was used for carrying groceries. Sew the drawing in place on a 4-inch piece of leather or chamois cloth carefully, design side up. With each stitch say, “John over John” (this is an old Hoodoo practice that references the power of High John the Conqueror). Place a lodestone, a small, fixed wishbone from a chicken, some powdered High John the Conqueror root, a piece of Devil’s Shoestring root, black cat hair, and an alligator’s tooth. Sewing the symbol fixes it firmly in place so that it doesn’t waiver. Likewise, your finances should improve steadily and never waiver. Anoint the contents with Louisiana Van Van oil. Sew the bag together as a square toby. Carry it with you.[1]
The symbol is the Andinkra symbol (Kareepa) for good fortune and sanctity. The Andinkra writing system was developed by Ashanti craftspeople of Ghana. Each symbol is associated with an African proverb, offering a glimpse into the cosmology and worldview of the Akan way of life. "Kerapa te se okera. Okyiri fi." Sanctity like a cat. Abhors filth. Marie Laveau was well-known for using a variety of symbols and talismans like this one in her gris gris bags.
[1] The use of black cat bones was unfortunately popular in Marie Laveaux’s day. She may have used a black cat bone for this gris gris. Today, black cats are no longer used in a sacrificial way in New Orleans Voudou or Hoodoo. Therefore, I have substituted a fixed chicken wishbone for this work. Though the energy is vastly different, the properties of good luck and luck drawing are there. To prepare the wishbone, clean and dry it, and wrap it in a yellow cloth along with a magnet for one full month outside by a gate. You may paint it with 18 carat gold paint for added power.
The symbol is the Andinkra symbol (Kareepa) for good fortune and sanctity. The Andinkra writing system was developed by Ashanti craftspeople of Ghana. Each symbol is associated with an African proverb, offering a glimpse into the cosmology and worldview of the Akan way of life. "Kerapa te se okera. Okyiri fi." Sanctity like a cat. Abhors filth. Marie Laveau was well-known for using a variety of symbols and talismans like this one in her gris gris bags.
[1] The use of black cat bones was unfortunately popular in Marie Laveaux’s day. She may have used a black cat bone for this gris gris. Today, black cats are no longer used in a sacrificial way in New Orleans Voudou or Hoodoo. Therefore, I have substituted a fixed chicken wishbone for this work. Though the energy is vastly different, the properties of good luck and luck drawing are there. To prepare the wishbone, clean and dry it, and wrap it in a yellow cloth along with a magnet for one full month outside by a gate. You may paint it with 18 carat gold paint for added power.
Edible Gris Gris
An edible love powder consists of a half teaspoonful of sugar, teaspoonful of peppermint and a teaspoonful of grated candied orange peel. Give a teaspoonful of this mixture in a glass of wine and the person will love you forever. So says Marie Laveau.
Voodoo Powder
Voodoo powder is a potent conjure gris gris powder used as a last resort when your enemy just won't quit. I call it the "fuck around and find out powder." Break out the Voodoo Powder and fix candles, bottle spells, and doll babies. Use before any sort of Voodoo ritual to attract the good spirits and appease the negative and restless ones. Sprinkle in the area of the ritual. Sprinkle in all corners, on doors, and windows and burn a little with myrrh incense. Use prior to conducting a ritual of any type. It is especially good when offerings are being made.
Ingredients
Grind everything up in a coffee grinder or mortar and pestle. Amounts will depend on how much you want to make...it does not have to be specific for each ingredient. If you don't have something, substitute something else with the same magical properties. After you are finished making it, set it inside your gris gris box on your Marie Laveau altar and light a white or blue votive candle and set it on top. Ask Queen Marie to bless the powder for you and tell her what it is for. Leave it on her altar for seven days for full consecration. Pour her a glass of champagne or sparkling water in gratitude.
Ingredients
- Myrrh powder
- Graveyard Dirt
- Patchouli, powdered
- Mullein, powdered
- Vetivert root (powdered) or essential oil
- Pine essential oil
- Cloves, powdered
- Lime essential oil
- Cornstarch as a base
Grind everything up in a coffee grinder or mortar and pestle. Amounts will depend on how much you want to make...it does not have to be specific for each ingredient. If you don't have something, substitute something else with the same magical properties. After you are finished making it, set it inside your gris gris box on your Marie Laveau altar and light a white or blue votive candle and set it on top. Ask Queen Marie to bless the powder for you and tell her what it is for. Leave it on her altar for seven days for full consecration. Pour her a glass of champagne or sparkling water in gratitude.
Blood of Christ Gris Gris Bag
This gris gris is based on ingredients listed in Folk Beliefs of the Southern Negro by Newbell Niles Puckett. I have augmented the three ingredients he provided with additional roots consistent with the purpose of the gris gris, which he states is to “bring peace and safety” (Puckett). To make this gris gris bag you will need:
Add the ingredients to a red flannel bag and recite the Anima Christi Prayer over the gris gris.
The Anima Christi Prayer
Soul of Christ, sanctify me;
Body of Christ, save me;
Blood of Christ, inebriate me;
Water from the side of Christ, wash me;
Passion of Christ, strengthen me;
O good Jesus hear me;
Within your wounds hide me;
separated from you, let me never be;
From the evil one protect me;
At the hour of my death, call me;
And close to you bid me; That with your saints,
I may be praising you forever and ever.
Amen.
- Bloodroot
- St. John’s Wort
- Devil’s Shoestring
- Leaf and flower from a peace Lily
- Sugar
- Spice
- Bluestone
Add the ingredients to a red flannel bag and recite the Anima Christi Prayer over the gris gris.
The Anima Christi Prayer
Soul of Christ, sanctify me;
Body of Christ, save me;
Blood of Christ, inebriate me;
Water from the side of Christ, wash me;
Passion of Christ, strengthen me;
O good Jesus hear me;
Within your wounds hide me;
separated from you, let me never be;
From the evil one protect me;
At the hour of my death, call me;
And close to you bid me; That with your saints,
I may be praising you forever and ever.
Amen.