mojo

rolig I got to it through the ma.gnolia.com link she gives below. Jan 19, 2009

chained_bear I tried that but it did not bring up her profile. Jan 19, 2009

rolig If you check out Aviva's FB link, you'll see she's a woman (though you can never say for sure with virtuality). Jan 19, 2009

chained_bear I doubt he/she is actually reading anything he/she posted. Said person has apparently missed everyone's comments re: formatting, definitions, etc.--and everyone's "welcome" messages. Jan 19, 2009

bilby Avivamagnolia, a bit much don't you think? Go easy on the spices. Jan 19, 2009

reesetee Right--bad example, but that's the point I was making. Jan 19, 2009

vanishedone Not in Wikipedia's case, but the point applies to other copyrighted sources. Jan 19, 2009

reesetee I agree. And considering that's a direct pickup from Wikipedia down there, it could also be construed as a copyright violation, if someone were to get chesty about it. Jan 19, 2009

chained_bear avivamagnolia, I think you forgot to close your bold type--it made the rest of the page bold.

Also, thanks for your contributions, but on this page, particularly, it is approaching the appearance of spam. Jan 18, 2009

avivamagnolia Mojo Alert!

Want to see what a "mojo" looks like? Here's one variety:
Red Mojo Bag

Want to know more about "mojo" and its expression in the blues? Check this out:
LuckyMojo : Best Website on "Mojo" You're Ever Gonna Find!

How about the botanical remedies, spells, charms, and talismans related to this concept of "mojo?" Here's a great, annotated, illustrated list of herbs: MojoCat Herbs : Working the Mojo... Botanically, Medicinally : Rootwork Tools

How about a PhD thesis called Christio-Conjure in Voodoo Dreams, Baby of The Family, The Salt Eaters, Mama Day, and Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo

Take a look at my bookmarks (tagged "mojo," "women's mojo," and so on) posted on ma.gnolia.com:
Mojo Mania!

For more detail on its African and diasporic origins, here’s a worthy article: Conjure Craft: Hoodoo, Rootwork and Conjuring for the 21st Century

A quote from the article listed above:
“Hoodoo and Candomble are primarily healing traditions involved with herbs, plants, roots, trees, animals, magnets, minerals, and natural waters combined with magical amulets, chants, ceremonies, rituals, and handmade power objects, which empower the practitioner to take control of his or her own fate rather than placing power in the hands of deities or religious leaders like priests or priestesses. Hoodoo and Candomble are distinctly American (North and South); therefore, they are multicultural and reflect strong links between various indigenous groups, the Judeo-Christianity of the dominant cultures, and West African magical and medicinal herbalism of the Yoruba, Fon, Ewe, and others.�?

All my ma.gnolia.com tags, which I love to look at:

mojo hand, root bag, mojobag, rootbag, mojohand, toby, ~♥�?♥~, wanga, gris-gris, hoodoo, amulet, woman's mojo, women, hoodoo woman, female, mojuba, west africa, west african, prayer bag, bag of spells, spells, love spells, praise, homage, divination, nation sack, jack, jack bag, jack ball, gree-gree, gri-gri, fetish, fetishes, charm, charms, charm bag, oanga, conjure, conjuring, conjuration, conjure work, conjure woman, laying tricks, spellcasting, root work, rootwork, conjure hand, lucky hand, lucky mojo, trick bag, jomo, nation bag, memphis, tennessee, lucky hand root, orchid, orchid root, gamblers, gambling luck, tricks, luck, red, red flannel, love, green, green flannel, money, coins, love mojo, money mojo, white, white flannel, babies, baby mojo, blessing, baby blessing, blue, blue flannel, home, home mojo, obeah, leather, west indian, protection, purification, protect, purify, killing the hand, taboo, love drawing, magical protection, semen, condition oil, piss, silver dime, lodestone, fast luck oil, love me oil, van van oil, john the conqueror root, salt, fingernails, hair, pubic hair, nail clippings, dice, five-finger grass, bat heart, alligator tooth, badger tooth, rabbit foot, alligator foot, black cat bone, follow me boy oil, reconciliation oil, peaceful home oil, angelica root, balm of gilead, flax seeds, rosebuds, lavender, basil, wishing beans, red ink, catseye shell, plastic skull, five finger grass, jinx removing oil, stop evil oil, uncrossing oil, nails, rat bone, broken chain, broken ring, miniature dagger, pyrite, gravel root, roots, herbs, buds, flowers, leaves, feathers, tokens, stones, papers, notes, carvings, talismans, amulets, seals, parchments, 1920s, 1930s, mojo brand oil, lucky brown, articles, essays, stores, catalogs, shopping, lyrics, portals, theory, webring


Jan 18, 2009

avivamagnolia Mojo (pronounced ˈmoʊdʒoʊ ) is a term commonly encountered in the African-American folk belief called hoodoo. A mojo is a type of magic charm, often of red flannel cloth and tied with a drawstring, containing botanical, zoological, and/or mineral curios, petition papers, and the like. It is typically worn under clothing.

Types of mojos

Mojos are made for all sorts of purposes, many of them documented in blues music:

* In "Spider's Nest Blues" by Hattie Hart and the Memphis Jug Band, Hart wants to go to New Orleans to get her toby (mojo) "fixed" because she is "having so much trouble" -- the mojo is protective and its power is wearing off, as witnessed by the "bad luck" she is having.
* In "Mojo Hand" by Lightnin' Hopkins, the singer complains about a woman who is "always raising sand" (causing arguments and fights) and he wants to get a mojo hand so that the women will "come under his command" -- in other words, he wants to rule, control, and dominate a woman instead of being the target of her bickering...or at least influence her to be more subdued.
* In "Louisiana Hoo Doo Blues" by Ma Rainey, the mojo is protective of an established love relationship and the singer is going to Louisiana to get a mojo hand because she's "gotta stop these women from taking my man."
* In "Little Queen of Spades" by Robert Johnson, the woman has a mojo and uses it to gamble at cards and win, and the mojo explains her otherwise inexplicable winning streak: "everybody says she's got a mojo, 'cause she's been using that stuff".
* In "Hoodoo Hoodoo" by Sonny Boy Williamson I, the mojo is used to break up a love triangle: "I'm goin' down into Louisiana and buy me another mojo hand, all because I got to break up my baby from lovin' this other man."
* In "Mojo Boogie" by J. B. Lenoir, the narrator is given a jack (mojo) by his aunt but doesn't know how to use it: "I got one jack, sure is crazy / My aunt forgot to teach me, just how to operate it / I went to a night club, I was squeezing it tight / I believe that's the cause of them people's start to fight ." The mojo in this case causes people to quarrel.
* In "Hoodoo Lady Blues" by Arthur Crudup, the mojo is again protective of a relationship by causing a break-up with an outside lover. The narrator asks, "please give me a hoodoo hand; I wanna hoodoo this woman of mine, I believe she's got another man." As with Lightnin' Hopkins, what bothers the man is not sexual, rather it is the woman's argumentativeness: "Now, she squabbles all night long, she won't let me sleep / Lord, I wonder what in the world this woman done done to me."
* In "Crossroads" by Walter Hill, Willie Brown gives a mojo, "the Louisiana voodoo charm", to Eugene Martone (Macchio).
* In "Scarey Day Blues," "Talkin' to Myself," and "Ticket Agent Blues" all by Blind Willie McTell -- a woman has "got a mojo and she's tryin' to keep it hid." The hidden mojo is a metaphor for her hidden genitals and the male singer says that he's "got something to find that mojo with." The bag or purse-like mojo symbolizes female genitalia, and in this very sexualized sense, mojos are more often associated with women than with men. Preston Foster's "I've got my mojo working but it just don't work on you" was not intended as a song for Muddy Waters, and the first recording of that song was by a woman, Ann Cole.
* Interestingly, it seems "mojo" could imply all its meanings at the same time. This is exemplified in "Take Your Hands Off My Mojo," by Leola B. Wilson and Wesley Wilson recorded in New York on February 17, 1932. 1
* In "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me" Fat Bastard steals Austin's mojo.
* In "L.A. Woman" by the Doors, mojo is rising, just before "riding, riding." "Mr. Mojo Risin'" is an anagram for Jim Morrison and it came about because during the 1960s, Morrison apparently heard the word "mojo" on a recording by the Mississippi-born Chicago-style blues singer Muddy Waters, one of whose most popular songs was, "I Got My Mojo Working." 2
~ Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mojo Jan 18, 2009