One of the most common services that is requested of me is the Honey Jar, which is the go to love spell of Southern Hoodoo conjuring. Not only can the honey jar be used in matters of love, it can also be used to improve the attitudes of those with whom we interact in a professional or social context. In fact, people often will use honey jars to “sweeten” unpleasant coworkers or bosses and improve how they treat others or even to make a certain situation swing in their favor. Today I would like to teach you a simple version of the honey jar that can be done with ingredients readily available in most kitchens, but before we get to the instructions on how to make a honey jar, it’s important to define two very important terms: Hoodoo and Sympathetic Magic.
Voodoo and Hoodoo are separate yet related spiritual practices. In fact, many practioners of Louisiana Voodoo are also experts in Hoodoo. Voodoo is a religion of West African origin that came to Louisiana during the colonial period and was heavily influenced by Haitian Vodou by the influx of Haitian refugees to New Orleans following the toppling of French colonial rule in 1804. Voodoo has an elaborate pantheon of spirits and saints from whom favors can be requested though a series of codified rituals. Communal services and dances are also common in Voodoo. In contrast, Hoodoo is mostly a solitary practice that has its roots in African-American folk magic from the Southern United States which like Voodoo has West African origins but lacks the influence of French Catholicism so prevalent in Voodoo and relies more heavily on European sympathetic magic. In order to understand Hoodoo more clearly, we must examine the concept of sympathetic magic.
Simply put, sympathetic magic is the idea that like affects like in terms of conjuring. For example, in order to influence a person, one might make a doll, painting or drawing in the image of the desired target, ideally including a personal item such as hair, nail clippings or a piece of clothing and cast the spell onto the image resulting in the actual person feelings the effects. This type of magic brings to mind the Voodoo Doll, which contrary to popular belief is not a practice found in Voodoo itself but rather Hoodoo and European folk magic both of which rely heavily of sympathetic magic in their approach to spell casting. Ingredients in sympathetic magic spells tend to represent the desired changes you wish to manifest in the physical world, for example if you want to summon wealth you might grow some flowers and as they grow envision money coming into your life or if there is an unpleasant person in your life you might want to write his or her name on a piece of paper and place it in the freezer to “freeze” that individual from doing further harm. These are both examples of sympathetic magic. Perhaps the most widely known example of sympathetic magic and Hoodoo conjure work is the Honey Jar.
The Honey Jar is a simple spell based on the fundamental idea of sympathetic magic that like produces like. It is intended to draw a person to you and inspire feelings of love. As the name would indicate, honey is a fundamental ingredient. Building a honey jar is fairly easy. Simply place into a jar the name or photo of the person in question. Then add honey and whatever other sweet, pleasant smelling ingredients you’d like. My personal favorites are brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, molasses and rose petals. You are by no means limited to these items. The only must-have ingredient is honey. Beyond that let your imagination run wild. Once you have added all your ingredients, seal the jar shut and light a pink candle next to it. Meditate for a few moments and envision the person in question being drawn to you and entering into the type of relationship you’d like to have. Allow the candle to burn out on its own and place the honey jar in a discrete location and allow it to work its magic. Another more mild version of a honey sweetening in which the goal is to make a person treat you nicely, but not necessary inspire feelings of love, involves taking a photo or the name of the person in question, smearing it with honey and lighting a yellow candle next to it. I often instruct people to do this when dealing with an unpleasant boss or coworker.
I hope you have enjoyed learning about honey jars and if you decide to create one on your own, please share your experience with me. As always I thank you for taking the time to visit my blog and I wish you peace, happiness and abundant blessings!
