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The Conjuring of America: Mojos, Mermaids, Medicine, and 400 Years of Black Women’s Magic
The Conjuring of America tells the epic story of conjure women, who, through a mix of spiritual beliefs, herbal rituals, and therapeutic remedies gave rise to the rich tapestry of American culture we see today. Feminist philosopher, Lindsey Stewart, tells the stories of Negro Mammies of slavery; the Voodoo Queens and Blues Women of Reconstruction; and the Granny Midwives and textile weavers of the Jim Crow era. These women, in secrecy and subterfuge, courageously and devotedly continued their practices and worship for centuries and passed down their traditions.
Emerging first in the American South during slavery, these women were thrust into the heart of national conflicts over generations of African American life. They combined ancestral magic and hyperlocal resources to respond to Black struggles in real time, forging a secret well of health and power hidden to their oppressors. As a result, conjure informs our lives in ways remarkable and ordinary—from traditional medicines that informed the creation of Vicks VapoRub and the rise of Aunt Jemima’s Pancake Mix, to the original magic of Disney’s The Little Mermaid (2023), and the true origins of the all-American classic blue jean.
From the moment enslaved Africans first arrived on these shores, conjure was heavily regulated and even outlawed. Now, Stewart uncovers new contours of American history, sourcing letters from the enslaved, dispatches from the lore of Oshun and other African mystics. The Conjuring of America is a love letter to the real magic Black women used, their magic Black women, their herbs, food, textiles, song, and dance, used to sow rebellion, freedom, and hope.
Emerging first in the American South during slavery, these women were thrust into the heart of national conflicts over generations of African American life. They combined ancestral magic and hyperlocal resources to respond to Black struggles in real time, forging a secret well of health and power hidden to their oppressors. As a result, conjure informs our lives in ways remarkable and ordinary—from traditional medicines that informed the creation of Vicks VapoRub and the rise of Aunt Jemima’s Pancake Mix, to the original magic of Disney’s The Little Mermaid (2023), and the true origins of the all-American classic blue jean.
From the moment enslaved Africans first arrived on these shores, conjure was heavily regulated and even outlawed. Now, Stewart uncovers new contours of American history, sourcing letters from the enslaved, dispatches from the lore of Oshun and other African mystics. The Conjuring of America is a love letter to the real magic Black women used, their magic Black women, their herbs, food, textiles, song, and dance, used to sow rebellion, freedom, and hope.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published July 29, 2025
202 people are currently reading
2744 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
October 24, 2025
4.5 Stars!
"For many white people in the 19th century, there was always the fear that Black women could use their knowledge of herbs and roots to harm them when they were most vulnerable, sick, and ailing"
A very informative and fun look at how Black women throughout history used their spiritual traditions and "conjures" to heal their community. Vicks VapoRub was created by Black enslaved women who used ingredients found near them to heal their families and other enslaved people. White people stole the recipe and passed it off as their own creation. White people stealing from Black culture is eternal.
White people fear Black culture and our jealous of our creativity. Doctors found many of the spices and roots that Black Mammies used worked and they reported these findings as if the ideas were their own. I found it interesting to learn how political food became during the Black Power Movement when "soul food " was created as a euphemism for Black. The anti abortion movement rose because white men were mad that Black midwives knew which herbs could cause abortions and Black women ending their pregnancies meant less Black labor for the white capitalists.
"Even when those in power rise to threaten our freedoms even when we are killed with impunity by the police and denied control over our wombs we are not powerless."
This is a powerful piece of Black history. A must-read.
" This knowledge informs us that even in the breakfast of times power never lies solely in the hands of those who would oppress us."
"For many white people in the 19th century, there was always the fear that Black women could use their knowledge of herbs and roots to harm them when they were most vulnerable, sick, and ailing"
A very informative and fun look at how Black women throughout history used their spiritual traditions and "conjures" to heal their community. Vicks VapoRub was created by Black enslaved women who used ingredients found near them to heal their families and other enslaved people. White people stole the recipe and passed it off as their own creation. White people stealing from Black culture is eternal.
White people fear Black culture and our jealous of our creativity. Doctors found many of the spices and roots that Black Mammies used worked and they reported these findings as if the ideas were their own. I found it interesting to learn how political food became during the Black Power Movement when "soul food " was created as a euphemism for Black. The anti abortion movement rose because white men were mad that Black midwives knew which herbs could cause abortions and Black women ending their pregnancies meant less Black labor for the white capitalists.
"Even when those in power rise to threaten our freedoms even when we are killed with impunity by the police and denied control over our wombs we are not powerless."
This is a powerful piece of Black history. A must-read.
" This knowledge informs us that even in the breakfast of times power never lies solely in the hands of those who would oppress us."
![Profile Image for laurel [the suspected bibliophile].](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.gr-assets.com%2Fimages%2FS%2Fcompressed.photo.goodreads.com%2Fusers%2F1645808644i%2F7494844._UX200_CR0%2C6%2C200%2C200_.jpg&w=128&q=75)
December 22, 2025
Um, this was nothing short of stupendous.
Brilliantly researched, lovingly created.
Highly, highly recommend.
Brilliantly researched, lovingly created.
Highly, highly recommend.
July 28, 2025
The Conjuring of America is a breathtaking, bone-deep testament to the enduring power of Black women’s magic. At once a historical reckoning, a spiritual archive, and a richly layered celebration, this book doesn’t just tell a story it casts one.
From the first page, readers are drawn into a rhythmic, root-deep current that carries them through 400 years of conjure, healing, and ancestral fire. The mojos crafted from iron nails, red thread, graveyard dirt, and whispered prayers pulse with life. The mermaids from Mami Wata’s shimmering wake to Oshun’s golden laughter sing to the reader with salt-soaked voices. The medicine herbal, spiritual, communal isn’t just for the body. It’s for the soul, the spirit, the bloodline.
What makes The Conjuring of America so potent is its refusal to separate magic from history. Every charm is political. Every prayer is resistance. Every healing balm is an act of revolution. Black women’s bodies, stories, and spirits are the thread that stitches this country together and this book makes sure we feel that, page after page.
Whether it’s the conjure women who outwitted slave catchers, the hoodoo midwives birthing new generations into freedom, or the everyday mamas and aunties who laced their love with spells and strength, this book lifts them all into the sacred light they deserve. It’s as much about surviving as it is about thriving reclaiming joy, power, and sovereignty in a world that tried to erase it.
For practitioners, descendants, seekers, and scholars alike, The Conjuring of America is more than a book it’s an initiation. A call to remember. A reminder that Black women’s magic shaped this nation and it’s still shaping what comes next.
From the first page, readers are drawn into a rhythmic, root-deep current that carries them through 400 years of conjure, healing, and ancestral fire. The mojos crafted from iron nails, red thread, graveyard dirt, and whispered prayers pulse with life. The mermaids from Mami Wata’s shimmering wake to Oshun’s golden laughter sing to the reader with salt-soaked voices. The medicine herbal, spiritual, communal isn’t just for the body. It’s for the soul, the spirit, the bloodline.
What makes The Conjuring of America so potent is its refusal to separate magic from history. Every charm is political. Every prayer is resistance. Every healing balm is an act of revolution. Black women’s bodies, stories, and spirits are the thread that stitches this country together and this book makes sure we feel that, page after page.
Whether it’s the conjure women who outwitted slave catchers, the hoodoo midwives birthing new generations into freedom, or the everyday mamas and aunties who laced their love with spells and strength, this book lifts them all into the sacred light they deserve. It’s as much about surviving as it is about thriving reclaiming joy, power, and sovereignty in a world that tried to erase it.
For practitioners, descendants, seekers, and scholars alike, The Conjuring of America is more than a book it’s an initiation. A call to remember. A reminder that Black women’s magic shaped this nation and it’s still shaping what comes next.
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November 19, 2025This is one of Book Riot’s Best Books of 2025:
Since the beginning of the United States, Black conjure women, who combine traditional West African spiritual beliefs with herbal remedies and local resources, have been a balm to their communities. The legacy of these Mammies, Voodoo Queens, and Reconstruction-era Blues Women began, like so much of American history, in the South during slavery. Here, Feminist philosopher Lindsey Stewart traces their influence and legacy, which includes everything from blue jeans to Vicks VapoRub, to 2023's The Little Mermaid.
- Erica Ezeifedi
Since the beginning of the United States, Black conjure women, who combine traditional West African spiritual beliefs with herbal remedies and local resources, have been a balm to their communities. The legacy of these Mammies, Voodoo Queens, and Reconstruction-era Blues Women began, like so much of American history, in the South during slavery. Here, Feminist philosopher Lindsey Stewart traces their influence and legacy, which includes everything from blue jeans to Vicks VapoRub, to 2023's The Little Mermaid.
- Erica Ezeifedi
July 14, 2025
Thank you NetGalley for an arc of this book.
I am in awe of what I'm learning and how Stewart writes. The resilience of Black women is embedded within each chapter and section. From 400 years ago to today Black women & black girls have been defying odds, been creative, and heroic in every scenario they've encountered. I enjoyed reading about the origins of our customs. The habits that are engrained in us socially, historically, and spiritually. Overall, this book has given me a piece of myself and my history that I hadn't known and I'm looking forward to recommending this book to everyone I know.
I am in awe of what I'm learning and how Stewart writes. The resilience of Black women is embedded within each chapter and section. From 400 years ago to today Black women & black girls have been defying odds, been creative, and heroic in every scenario they've encountered. I enjoyed reading about the origins of our customs. The habits that are engrained in us socially, historically, and spiritually. Overall, this book has given me a piece of myself and my history that I hadn't known and I'm looking forward to recommending this book to everyone I know.
July 5, 2025
Apropos of its subject, the book is beautiful, tragic, and messy, but its importance wins out.
The thesis of the book is a study in the contemporary relevance of the Black Diaspora. The culture of the United States is Black, or Black-derived, and that culture derives from religions and other usually mystical traditions of different African nations. It is not in a 1:1 parity, but religion and custom, passing through the extractive process of the Middle Passage and synchronizing with Christianity, resulted in enslaved Black culture.
Most specifically, the book is focused on cultural archetypes. It is like a real life commedia dell'arte, where individuals in the community found stock roles, which also served as stock characters in U.S. culture more broadly. These roles (or those looked at in this book) are those filed by Black women, and are customarily possessed of a mystical quality: the conjure of the title, which, outside of its latinate derived usage in English from Ye Old Norman Conquest, is an AVVE term for magicians in general. These roles are a tribute to Black resilience under slavery and show up repeatedly in U.S. culture, or something deriving from them is.
That is the head of the book. Its heart is somewhere else entirely. The contrast there makes this both a must-read and a read with a full panoply of criticism.
The book is a delight. The author's enthusiasm is infectious, and her passion for her subjects is only matched by her sense of their contemporary import. But unfounded and unsupported assertions are everywhere. I have reservations about raising that as a complaint in that it drifts towards victim-blaming. What is the evidence, you ask. Hmm, funny that, it is almost as if there was systemic effort to obliterate it. Even if not intentionally, it sure is convenient that any effort to rectify the lacunae through reasonable supposition, removes that effort from an ability to challenge the existing paradigm.
When done with the heart of a feather it is necessary; done without it is how you get to racist Atlantis.
The range of influence points here is wide, including medicine, medical procedures, textiles, and food. The story here is important in that this is U.S. history, and the unique role of Black women therein is cool to read about, and particularly with as much spryness as this text does it.
If there is one thing that I wish to ask history writers it is to avoid trying to make everything sexy. History is interesting. You do not need to give it wings. Or indeed a tail, as in the case of this book, namely in the mermaids.
Explaining the mermaids is better done by investigating the more grievous accusation of the book's anti-science position. It is not, and is not so much that it at one point argues that the Black woman's folk magic is the real science, whereas medicine was just Christian-inflected nonsense. Except when the folk magic uses patent nonsense, like feeding people toenails, where the explanation becomes either the psychological treatment of people's ailments, or the representational qualities, such as with the use of menstrual blood in magical rites. I gave the arguments here an excruciatingly close read, yet they never tip over into a full blown truth of the magic, only walking up to the line.
It is not 1996 anymore, folks. When the enemies of science are in charge, the flirting with mystical thinking is not harmless. Both the medical establishment and the folk practices were wrong, but the medicine looks harsher in hindsight. You do not need this to sell me on the idea of the importance of the traditions of Black women in the United States.
The mermaid section gets framed with the 2023 Disney live action remake of The Little Mermaid, staring Halle Bailey, a Black woman, as the titular character. There is a connection between the subject material and mermaids, in at least one folk story. There is also mermaid symbology used by conjure practitioners, as well as seeing the role of aquatic spirits and water deities in general from folklore of different African peoples. This is the part that I think is fruitful in providing context for the beliefs and pointing out missing bits of history.
But the book teases as if this was all some whitewashed version of Yorba mystery rite. Getting through both the the Hans Christian Andersen story and the Disney animated version wihtout an invocation of the queerness in either is something, as is the mention of European, but not any other, traditions of fish-people. None of this is necessary. None of this increases the power of the facts of the book, that is the power of the Black women who contributed to it.
I guess the argument is that I am not the audience for this book in its celebration of Black womanhood for those who have been denied the relevance of it. But I kinda think that I am the audience. I love this material. The body of work here is expressive, contrarian, and detailed, with interesting lines of suggested further research. But, as with some other magical stories by Disney, the grandiosity is the downfall.
My thanks to the author, Lindsey Stewart, for writing the book, and to the publisher, Legacy Lit, for making the ARC available to me.
The thesis of the book is a study in the contemporary relevance of the Black Diaspora. The culture of the United States is Black, or Black-derived, and that culture derives from religions and other usually mystical traditions of different African nations. It is not in a 1:1 parity, but religion and custom, passing through the extractive process of the Middle Passage and synchronizing with Christianity, resulted in enslaved Black culture.
Most specifically, the book is focused on cultural archetypes. It is like a real life commedia dell'arte, where individuals in the community found stock roles, which also served as stock characters in U.S. culture more broadly. These roles (or those looked at in this book) are those filed by Black women, and are customarily possessed of a mystical quality: the conjure of the title, which, outside of its latinate derived usage in English from Ye Old Norman Conquest, is an AVVE term for magicians in general. These roles are a tribute to Black resilience under slavery and show up repeatedly in U.S. culture, or something deriving from them is.
That is the head of the book. Its heart is somewhere else entirely. The contrast there makes this both a must-read and a read with a full panoply of criticism.
The book is a delight. The author's enthusiasm is infectious, and her passion for her subjects is only matched by her sense of their contemporary import. But unfounded and unsupported assertions are everywhere. I have reservations about raising that as a complaint in that it drifts towards victim-blaming. What is the evidence, you ask. Hmm, funny that, it is almost as if there was systemic effort to obliterate it. Even if not intentionally, it sure is convenient that any effort to rectify the lacunae through reasonable supposition, removes that effort from an ability to challenge the existing paradigm.
When done with the heart of a feather it is necessary; done without it is how you get to racist Atlantis.
The range of influence points here is wide, including medicine, medical procedures, textiles, and food. The story here is important in that this is U.S. history, and the unique role of Black women therein is cool to read about, and particularly with as much spryness as this text does it.
If there is one thing that I wish to ask history writers it is to avoid trying to make everything sexy. History is interesting. You do not need to give it wings. Or indeed a tail, as in the case of this book, namely in the mermaids.
Explaining the mermaids is better done by investigating the more grievous accusation of the book's anti-science position. It is not, and is not so much that it at one point argues that the Black woman's folk magic is the real science, whereas medicine was just Christian-inflected nonsense. Except when the folk magic uses patent nonsense, like feeding people toenails, where the explanation becomes either the psychological treatment of people's ailments, or the representational qualities, such as with the use of menstrual blood in magical rites. I gave the arguments here an excruciatingly close read, yet they never tip over into a full blown truth of the magic, only walking up to the line.
It is not 1996 anymore, folks. When the enemies of science are in charge, the flirting with mystical thinking is not harmless. Both the medical establishment and the folk practices were wrong, but the medicine looks harsher in hindsight. You do not need this to sell me on the idea of the importance of the traditions of Black women in the United States.
The mermaid section gets framed with the 2023 Disney live action remake of The Little Mermaid, staring Halle Bailey, a Black woman, as the titular character. There is a connection between the subject material and mermaids, in at least one folk story. There is also mermaid symbology used by conjure practitioners, as well as seeing the role of aquatic spirits and water deities in general from folklore of different African peoples. This is the part that I think is fruitful in providing context for the beliefs and pointing out missing bits of history.
But the book teases as if this was all some whitewashed version of Yorba mystery rite. Getting through both the the Hans Christian Andersen story and the Disney animated version wihtout an invocation of the queerness in either is something, as is the mention of European, but not any other, traditions of fish-people. None of this is necessary. None of this increases the power of the facts of the book, that is the power of the Black women who contributed to it.
I guess the argument is that I am not the audience for this book in its celebration of Black womanhood for those who have been denied the relevance of it. But I kinda think that I am the audience. I love this material. The body of work here is expressive, contrarian, and detailed, with interesting lines of suggested further research. But, as with some other magical stories by Disney, the grandiosity is the downfall.
My thanks to the author, Lindsey Stewart, for writing the book, and to the publisher, Legacy Lit, for making the ARC available to me.
September 24, 2025
Lindsey Stewart has gifted us a very interesting book; it's well written, researched & historically accurate in documentation. She makes her case with aplomb, carefully sighting the mostly hidden nuances of conjure women through the ages of burgeoning America from slavery, through Reconstruction, Jim Crow and on to current times. Her examples of where things come from, how they came to be, many of which were usurped by the dominant forces ( yes, admittedly, that white supremacy scourge that ONCE was ) - products like Vicks Vapor rub, midwifery practices, denim blue jeans, Disney movie characters, certain food & artistic delights/traditions adopted into mainstream culture & even Coca-Cola. We are all richer as a society and should acknowledge these rightful contributions. Do these constitute justification for reparations? I'd say no ma'am, but this is not the focus of this book nor is it mentioned.
Of special interest due to contemporary cultural/political climate are opinions/quotes from New Orleans restaurateur Dooky Chase speaking of her gumbo cuisine that: 'you can have gumbos of people, too, mixtures of people coming together, and that's the gumbo we need to make in this country.' AND: 'we don't talk to one another. So we don't mix that gumbo, it doesn't gel because we're not talkin.' Uh hum, thank you, Charlie Kirk.
The penultimate chapter head reads: "Black Women Put Their Foot in This" which she describes as figurative & literal and is both complimentary as well as grossly culinary - hmm, read the book, yo. I only have a few detractions that are personal but I'll stick my chicken neck out and say them .. she fully supported Kamala while denouncing our current president which I would expect - why ?, you're smart too smart to not make that distinction of choosing crass but exceedingly capable over sentimental but wholly inept. The same for BLM .. scam organization fronting as good for black folks, yeah, right. But, so, not to detract from her otherwise fine accomplishment especially for many of her young black and any others who never knew the full extent of what influence mammies had over all who were cared for including the peckerwoods of southern repute. "What say home" says those in the know!
Of special interest due to contemporary cultural/political climate are opinions/quotes from New Orleans restaurateur Dooky Chase speaking of her gumbo cuisine that: 'you can have gumbos of people, too, mixtures of people coming together, and that's the gumbo we need to make in this country.' AND: 'we don't talk to one another. So we don't mix that gumbo, it doesn't gel because we're not talkin.' Uh hum, thank you, Charlie Kirk.
The penultimate chapter head reads: "Black Women Put Their Foot in This" which she describes as figurative & literal and is both complimentary as well as grossly culinary - hmm, read the book, yo. I only have a few detractions that are personal but I'll stick my chicken neck out and say them .. she fully supported Kamala while denouncing our current president which I would expect - why ?, you're smart too smart to not make that distinction of choosing crass but exceedingly capable over sentimental but wholly inept. The same for BLM .. scam organization fronting as good for black folks, yeah, right. But, so, not to detract from her otherwise fine accomplishment especially for many of her young black and any others who never knew the full extent of what influence mammies had over all who were cared for including the peckerwoods of southern repute. "What say home" says those in the know!
August 20, 2025
Book Overall/Execution: 4/5
Audiobook/Narration: 5/5
Audiobook/Narration: 5/5
September 24, 2025
A lot of footnotes to be sure but excellent reading and facts. You'll never look a bottle of Vicks Vap-o-Rub the same way again.
"It is no accident that today we face an increase in antiabortion rhetoric and legislation in tandem with a steep surge in anit-immigratrion speech and law."
"It is no accident that today we face an increase in antiabortion rhetoric and legislation in tandem with a steep surge in anit-immigratrion speech and law."
August 2, 2025
“It is our job to tend the gardens of our foremothers— to til the four hundred years of Black women’s magic that lie in the soil of this country…”
Reading this felt like a warm hug from the ancestors. It felt like the passing down of generational secrets and memories. It felt like sitting at the feet of our grandmothers and learning all of the ways that Black women have—and still continue—to contribute to the shaping of our country. With a conversational tone and smart writing, Stewart delivers an unapologetic love letter to the foremothers of our culture. Black Girl Magic isn’t just a catch phrase; it’s how Black women have passed down traditions steeped in wisdom and hope, full of the promise of a brighter future even when it seemed impossible. It’s all brilliantly encapsulated in this book that won’t soon be forgotten.
Thank you to Legacy Lit and NetGalley for this ARC!
Reading this felt like a warm hug from the ancestors. It felt like the passing down of generational secrets and memories. It felt like sitting at the feet of our grandmothers and learning all of the ways that Black women have—and still continue—to contribute to the shaping of our country. With a conversational tone and smart writing, Stewart delivers an unapologetic love letter to the foremothers of our culture. Black Girl Magic isn’t just a catch phrase; it’s how Black women have passed down traditions steeped in wisdom and hope, full of the promise of a brighter future even when it seemed impossible. It’s all brilliantly encapsulated in this book that won’t soon be forgotten.
Thank you to Legacy Lit and NetGalley for this ARC!
January 13, 2026
No one can tell the history of the conjuring of America as well as Lindsey Stewart. I heard the author interviewed on NPR and immediately wanted to read her book. She spoke of women like Marie Laveau, Harriet Collins and Harriet Jacobs, women who played a major role in the development of American food traditions and medicine. “Negro Mammies were conjure women who used local flora to heal minor ailments; nursed all the children on the grounds, both Black and white; cooked and organized food in the Big House; provided advice to younger enslaved women; and offered spiritual comfort, often by way of mojos, sacred amulets, to the enslaved.”
This book details the contributions these women made to modern America throughout history. For example “When Rutt’s Aunt Jemima and Kersands’s “Old Aunt Jemima” are laid side by side, they tell a story of two different Americas. At the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, Aunt Jemima’s pancakes gave whites the America they longed for — one where newly freed African Americans embraced the docility and domesticity posed by an imaginary Negro Mammy. But “Old Aunt Jemima” describes an America that has fallen short of providing the freedom it guarantees to all its citizens — an America that newly freed Blacks wanted to hold accountable for such failings. In Black America, Aunt Jemima rises like a ghost from kitchens across the nation, wielding the mojos of past Negro Mammies. Behind this popular pancake mix stands a secret history where Aunt Jemima is no longer a slave but a Black revolutionary.”
It discusses midwifery, hair, and gives a thorough, very interesting discussion on the history of Vicks Vapor Rub. She does an excellent job including modern day outcomes stemming from this history. If you want to learn detailed history of America’s true roots, read this book.
Referenced https://www.historynewsnetwork.org/ar...
This book details the contributions these women made to modern America throughout history. For example “When Rutt’s Aunt Jemima and Kersands’s “Old Aunt Jemima” are laid side by side, they tell a story of two different Americas. At the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, Aunt Jemima’s pancakes gave whites the America they longed for — one where newly freed African Americans embraced the docility and domesticity posed by an imaginary Negro Mammy. But “Old Aunt Jemima” describes an America that has fallen short of providing the freedom it guarantees to all its citizens — an America that newly freed Blacks wanted to hold accountable for such failings. In Black America, Aunt Jemima rises like a ghost from kitchens across the nation, wielding the mojos of past Negro Mammies. Behind this popular pancake mix stands a secret history where Aunt Jemima is no longer a slave but a Black revolutionary.”
It discusses midwifery, hair, and gives a thorough, very interesting discussion on the history of Vicks Vapor Rub. She does an excellent job including modern day outcomes stemming from this history. If you want to learn detailed history of America’s true roots, read this book.
Referenced https://www.historynewsnetwork.org/ar...
January 21, 2026
An incredible trove of information and stories on conjure, and how many Black women have used spirituality and religion from West Africa to survive the US. Living in Charleston, I was especially excited about the Gullah Geechee history and beliefs included here!
I loved the amount of history included in this book, the use of narrative elements in telling stories (especially the mermaid story in Charleston!), and Stewart sharing some of her own/family history throughout. So much here I have never learned before, including the origins of jeans in enslavement, vicks vapor rub being stolen from a Black family and conjure traditions, and how conjure women were the first holistic medical care providers in the US. I also have never read about Voodoo before, nor have I read a book that described religion that I had basically no exposure to before (only exception is having some info on Harriet Tubman's use of Hoodoo before this), and so this read was especially interesting.
Sometimes, information was a bit tough to follow (e.g., midwife history being shared in the section on textiles), and the final food section ended up feeling a bit long. But! This is an especially strong rec for people who want great detail on conjure women, and it's a great example of a book that describes religion/faith/spiritual beliefs/practices/origins/traditions alongside historical analysis/critique.
Listened on audio: love that this is narrated by the author! Good narration.
I loved the amount of history included in this book, the use of narrative elements in telling stories (especially the mermaid story in Charleston!), and Stewart sharing some of her own/family history throughout. So much here I have never learned before, including the origins of jeans in enslavement, vicks vapor rub being stolen from a Black family and conjure traditions, and how conjure women were the first holistic medical care providers in the US. I also have never read about Voodoo before, nor have I read a book that described religion that I had basically no exposure to before (only exception is having some info on Harriet Tubman's use of Hoodoo before this), and so this read was especially interesting.
Sometimes, information was a bit tough to follow (e.g., midwife history being shared in the section on textiles), and the final food section ended up feeling a bit long. But! This is an especially strong rec for people who want great detail on conjure women, and it's a great example of a book that describes religion/faith/spiritual beliefs/practices/origins/traditions alongside historical analysis/critique.
Listened on audio: love that this is narrated by the author! Good narration.
September 10, 2025
Just inhaled this entire book this afternoon. Fascinating exploration of Black women’s conjure that brought us everything from Vick’s vapo-rub to blue jeans. Pancakes, mermaids, soul food, sex… it just goes on and on – almost all out of the obvious forced necessity, but deeply informed by ancient knowledge and tradition. Just the section on the rich connections of quilted fabric, knotted string, hair care, abortions, and the rise of midwifery is amazing and well written. The whole book is a voluptuous whirlwind of mythology, connections, pragmatism, and life.
October 12, 2025
The content of this book is top notch. The author tells the stories that so many of have likely never heard and need to hear about Black Women and their impact on our history. The only reason I could not give this 5☆ was due to the general chaotic feel and repetitive nature of some of the stories. Overall, excellent read.
October 28, 2025
4.5/5 - Great read. I'm so upset at how mojos, hoodoo, voodoo, etc. has become bastardized in America and beyond. While I believe in modern science, I also believe in other forms of medicinal remedies, especially plants and herbs from the earth. It just comes to show you how racism ruined everything we know.
August 13, 2025
I am really glad I read this book! This was a great dive into over 400 years of history and Black Women Magic. I never knew anything about magic/medicine and found the midwifery chapter so interesting. I think Stewart did a great job researching, and the writing was thorough but concise. I didn’t want to put this one down.
Thank you Grand Central Publishing and Net Galley for this advanced copy.
Thank you Grand Central Publishing and Net Galley for this advanced copy.
November 6, 2025
3⭐️ This book was long and makes for a great book club read. I liked some of the stories and lore but there were some points that had opinions that read like facts and that bothered me a bit. The topics were unique to read about for me. Like the mammification chapter were very interesting and enlightening. Overall I had a decent time with this book and the book club.
July 22, 2025
The Conjuring of America is a sweeping, enlightening narrative. Lindsey Stewart delivers a powerful exploration into the overlooked legacy of Black women’s magic in shaping American culture. This book is an homage and urgent reminder of how magic has been a force for survival, defiance, and transformation in the United States. Drawing from 400 years of history, the book weaves together personal narratives, historical documentation, and cultural analysis to reveal how these women used conjure to heal, resist oppression, and maintain spiritual resilience. Stewart reframes American history through the lens of Black women’s conjure, crediting them as foundational to the nation’s cultural, medicinal, and spiritual fabric. It offers both a correction to traditional narratives and a celebration of ancestral magic as enduring resistance and empowerment.
Stewart instantly whisked me into a whirlwind of forgotten histories, ancestral gossip, and long-lost legends that my school textbooks definitely forgot to mention. It was like stumbling upon a secret society of Black women who’ve been running the show behind the curtains of history, and now they’ve stepped into the spotlight with jazz hands and receipts. I met the sharp-witted Harriet Jacobs, an African-American abolitionist whose pen cut deeper than a sword; Harriet Collins, a mammy with stories simmering like gumbo; Juliette, Marie Laveau’s enslaved confidante who probably knew more spells than Hogwarts; Gullah Geechee, South Carolina’s go-to conjure queen and keeper of ancestral wisdom; the light-footed cakewalk phenom Sarah Byrd who could dance circles around the patriarchy; and midwife Onnie Lee Logan, who brought babies into this world with strength and a whisper of spiritual grace. And that’s just scratching the surface.
Stewart doesn’t just write about these women, she resurrects them with pages so rich in detail that Google and Wikipedia felt entirely unnecessary! Each chapter is like a fresh episode in a high-drama, soul-deep docu-series, where new heroines emerge and their stories interlace like braids where each strand is glowing with the vibrant ashe of Black girl magic. This book will resonate with readers who enjoys:
- Black feminism and African diaspora studies
- Cultural history and social resistance
- Esoteric traditions and folk healing
- Anyone seeking a deeper understanding of how marginalized voices shape national identity
The Conjuring of America is a soulful sip of truth-telling tea brewed with centuries of strength, sass, and survival. Flipping through these pages felt like pulling up a chair at the table of women who have stared down the double-headed beast of racism and sexism with unmatched grace, grit, and a little ancestral side-eye. As a brown woman holding this treasure in my hands, I felt both humbled and electrified. Reading about the lives of Black women across time and space, I saw echoes of my own story, of navigating a world that often tries to shrink us, yet somehow we still rise with the power and unapologetic spirit of our ancestors. It’s comforting and exhilarating to know that while we may walk different paths, the courage to carve a life that is ours is a shared act of rebellion, art, and survival. Women's voices shall not be coffined no more.
Stewart instantly whisked me into a whirlwind of forgotten histories, ancestral gossip, and long-lost legends that my school textbooks definitely forgot to mention. It was like stumbling upon a secret society of Black women who’ve been running the show behind the curtains of history, and now they’ve stepped into the spotlight with jazz hands and receipts. I met the sharp-witted Harriet Jacobs, an African-American abolitionist whose pen cut deeper than a sword; Harriet Collins, a mammy with stories simmering like gumbo; Juliette, Marie Laveau’s enslaved confidante who probably knew more spells than Hogwarts; Gullah Geechee, South Carolina’s go-to conjure queen and keeper of ancestral wisdom; the light-footed cakewalk phenom Sarah Byrd who could dance circles around the patriarchy; and midwife Onnie Lee Logan, who brought babies into this world with strength and a whisper of spiritual grace. And that’s just scratching the surface.
Stewart doesn’t just write about these women, she resurrects them with pages so rich in detail that Google and Wikipedia felt entirely unnecessary! Each chapter is like a fresh episode in a high-drama, soul-deep docu-series, where new heroines emerge and their stories interlace like braids where each strand is glowing with the vibrant ashe of Black girl magic. This book will resonate with readers who enjoys:
- Black feminism and African diaspora studies
- Cultural history and social resistance
- Esoteric traditions and folk healing
- Anyone seeking a deeper understanding of how marginalized voices shape national identity
The Conjuring of America is a soulful sip of truth-telling tea brewed with centuries of strength, sass, and survival. Flipping through these pages felt like pulling up a chair at the table of women who have stared down the double-headed beast of racism and sexism with unmatched grace, grit, and a little ancestral side-eye. As a brown woman holding this treasure in my hands, I felt both humbled and electrified. Reading about the lives of Black women across time and space, I saw echoes of my own story, of navigating a world that often tries to shrink us, yet somehow we still rise with the power and unapologetic spirit of our ancestors. It’s comforting and exhilarating to know that while we may walk different paths, the courage to carve a life that is ours is a shared act of rebellion, art, and survival. Women's voices shall not be coffined no more.
July 30, 2025
This was a fascinating read. There are other reviews that better describe how this was about the spiritual and practical methods Black women used based on the traditions from where they were kidnapped from and the adaptions they made to the locations they found themselves in when they were enslaved. They used magic, herbalism, and psychological methods to provide medical help, mental and spiritual health, self-empowerment and rebellion. This tradition continued and influenced further developments in American culture that have been ignored, downplayed and appropriated by others.
I am a historian by education and training. I like documentation. And there was some here. Stewart has probed traditional and often overlooked sources. She also used oral traditions that can't be verified in the way most academics like. But how can they be when many of these traditions come from places that value oral transmission vs. recorded words, when Blacks were forbidden from learning to read and write, and hidden knowledge meant a better chance at survival and power when so much was taken from them. Oral traditions are just as valid as written documents, both of which have their strong points and weaknesses.
I found the part about mermaids the weakest of all the section. It felt to me that it was a bit of a stretch and the author went off on a bit of a tangent.
Overall, I would definitely recommend this. This work brought to light Black women's abilities and contributions to the Black experience and to the overall American history and culture. Words like magic and mojo may put off people who want a more "traditional" history but it would be a mistake to dismiss this work because of that. What some people call magic is what other people call religion. To dismiss religion from history is to ignore a major motivator of humans throughout time and all overall the globe. And it is not just about conjuring but also about medicine, food, and other industries that have been influenced what these women did.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I am a historian by education and training. I like documentation. And there was some here. Stewart has probed traditional and often overlooked sources. She also used oral traditions that can't be verified in the way most academics like. But how can they be when many of these traditions come from places that value oral transmission vs. recorded words, when Blacks were forbidden from learning to read and write, and hidden knowledge meant a better chance at survival and power when so much was taken from them. Oral traditions are just as valid as written documents, both of which have their strong points and weaknesses.
I found the part about mermaids the weakest of all the section. It felt to me that it was a bit of a stretch and the author went off on a bit of a tangent.
Overall, I would definitely recommend this. This work brought to light Black women's abilities and contributions to the Black experience and to the overall American history and culture. Words like magic and mojo may put off people who want a more "traditional" history but it would be a mistake to dismiss this work because of that. What some people call magic is what other people call religion. To dismiss religion from history is to ignore a major motivator of humans throughout time and all overall the globe. And it is not just about conjuring but also about medicine, food, and other industries that have been influenced what these women did.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
July 31, 2025
America was built on the lives and the blood of black women. These are the stories that created America but have been buried. Stewart’s fluid diction and direct conversational tone unearth corners of American history that are rarely discussed publicly. The history behind magic and conjure is written behind racism and the radical Christianity that has deemed the practice was anything but American. These are the stories of survival and how these common rituals, practices, and tasks have been looked down upon do to racism. Read this wholeheartedly and take your time to absorb the content. Something quite spectacular with Stewart’s prose is the way she breaks down each essay into chapters into a digestible format. Each conclusion had me wanting to learn more and grip the full context.
Conjure is a path to freedom and healing. When you look at the medical system today there are many racial biases that prevent proper care. Shunning the conjure women and that path was the beginning to the racist practices that are still taken as fact within the medical system. There are historical contexts to all the biases and judgement that harm the black community. Learn in depth about the way conjure women were demonized as a way to prevent medical care for those America deems less than. This is the history of the othering experience and the core of the racism that leads to the modern way in which racism skews American perceptions of black women.
The prose is a great example of how to weave information, folklore, and context without overloading the reader. A remarkable vision of a narrative that both informs and remains digestible for the readers. I thoroughly enjoyed the section on mermaids and learning the lore around the Orishas. Finally historical context without a euro-centric view of mermaids. Take your time as you read along and really absorb the information. Thank you Netgalley and Legacy Lit for the advanced digital copy. Happy Release Day!
Read more reviews, ARC insights, and recommendations at https://brujerialibrary.wordpress.com/
July 28, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for an eARC copy of The Conjuring of America by Lindsey Stewart.
The Conjuring of America by Lindsey Stewart reclaims and reveres a form of knowledge and resistance too often obscured by mainstream historical narratives: the power of Black women's conjure traditions. Blending Black feminist philosophy with cultural history, Stewart delivers a profoundly orifinal and deeply moving exploration of how enslaved and post-enslavement Black women used spiritual and herbal practices as both healing acts and acts of rebellion.
Drawing on oral histories, African diasporic lore-especially that of Oshun-and the voices of Black women writers and community elders, Stewart reveals how conjure emerged from the crucible of American slavery as a coded language of survival, empowerment, and care. The conjure women-Black Mammies, Granny Midwives, Candy Ladies-were not just caretakers or mystics; they were community strategists, spiritual rebels, and architects of liberaiton.
Stewart's work is her refusal to relegate conjure to the realm of folklore or superstition. Instead, she positions it as a practical, evolving philosophy-deeply political, inherently feminist, and inseparable from the struggle for bodily autonomy, civil rights, and Black flourishing. Her analysis connects 19th-century herbal healers to contemporary Black reproductive justice advocates and food justice organizers, showing how these practices echo across generations.
The Conjuring of America is a powerful act of restoration. It insists that the spiritual and practical traditions forged by Black women under the weight of systemic violence are not relics-they are blueprints for enduring freedom.
The Conjuring of America by Lindsey Stewart reclaims and reveres a form of knowledge and resistance too often obscured by mainstream historical narratives: the power of Black women's conjure traditions. Blending Black feminist philosophy with cultural history, Stewart delivers a profoundly orifinal and deeply moving exploration of how enslaved and post-enslavement Black women used spiritual and herbal practices as both healing acts and acts of rebellion.
Drawing on oral histories, African diasporic lore-especially that of Oshun-and the voices of Black women writers and community elders, Stewart reveals how conjure emerged from the crucible of American slavery as a coded language of survival, empowerment, and care. The conjure women-Black Mammies, Granny Midwives, Candy Ladies-were not just caretakers or mystics; they were community strategists, spiritual rebels, and architects of liberaiton.
Stewart's work is her refusal to relegate conjure to the realm of folklore or superstition. Instead, she positions it as a practical, evolving philosophy-deeply political, inherently feminist, and inseparable from the struggle for bodily autonomy, civil rights, and Black flourishing. Her analysis connects 19th-century herbal healers to contemporary Black reproductive justice advocates and food justice organizers, showing how these practices echo across generations.
The Conjuring of America is a powerful act of restoration. It insists that the spiritual and practical traditions forged by Black women under the weight of systemic violence are not relics-they are blueprints for enduring freedom.
November 28, 2025
I decided to borrow this on a whim as the title intrigued me. The intersection of "Black women magic" (which, in this case, can mean the medicines and treatments, practices and products and brands), with history, how Black women were viewed from slavery to the modern day, etc. Vicks VapoRub, for example, was something that Black enslaved women actually invented but was stolen by white people for their own profit.
And unfortunately this book is filled with similar stories that you may not have heard (I certainly had not about Vicks VapoRub). Throughout history we see how these inventions and creations were made, often out of pure necessity: either to fill the knowledge gap of how to treat a condition or because it was something that was inaccessible due to racism, misogyny, misogynoir, etc.
Overall, I thought this book contained a lot of good information but did not gel well. It read a lot like a list of facts and information occasionally with some storytelling of history and occasionally felt like two separate books were trying to work in one (like maybe it was a thesis and then was edited to have a more narrative structure?).There's definitely stuff to learn because it is stuff that you don't learn unless you seek it out, but I do wish it had better editing.
As mentioned, it is an important book. If you have an interest in history, Black women, the role of Black women regarding these variations inventions and creations, etc. this is probably a handy book to have and might make for a good resource. If you are just casually interested I would not rush out to read it.
Borrowed from the library and that was best for me.
And unfortunately this book is filled with similar stories that you may not have heard (I certainly had not about Vicks VapoRub). Throughout history we see how these inventions and creations were made, often out of pure necessity: either to fill the knowledge gap of how to treat a condition or because it was something that was inaccessible due to racism, misogyny, misogynoir, etc.
Overall, I thought this book contained a lot of good information but did not gel well. It read a lot like a list of facts and information occasionally with some storytelling of history and occasionally felt like two separate books were trying to work in one (like maybe it was a thesis and then was edited to have a more narrative structure?).There's definitely stuff to learn because it is stuff that you don't learn unless you seek it out, but I do wish it had better editing.
As mentioned, it is an important book. If you have an interest in history, Black women, the role of Black women regarding these variations inventions and creations, etc. this is probably a handy book to have and might make for a good resource. If you are just casually interested I would not rush out to read it.
Borrowed from the library and that was best for me.
September 5, 2025
*I received an ARC and beautiful finished copy of this book thanks to the publishers for my honest opinion*
This book traces the journey of Black conjure women across five eras—slavery, antebellum, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and the civil rights movement. From the mammy to the voodoo queen, the mojo-wielder to the granny midwife, and finally the ever-present candy lady, these figures show how Black women used conjure as a platform to confront racism, sexism, and classism throughout history; & I loved every moment of it!
I love reading about black history - especially when it comes to black women in America. I learned new things (like Vicks was actually taken from salves the slaves used to ward off colds) and it made me really look at how the government has always systemically tried to put black people down.
This book is an eye opener and I suggest everyone read it. I really liked that the author added women I have never heard of into this book, as well as women I have heard of (like Marie Laveau). It was also refreshing to see that some of the things my family does (such as making sure your home is clean on New Years & making black eye peas for New Years as well) is not just something MY family does; but seems to be incorporated in the black experience.
Overall, I suggest this book. It was refreshing! & thank you to the publishers for sending me an ARC and finished copy!
This book traces the journey of Black conjure women across five eras—slavery, antebellum, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and the civil rights movement. From the mammy to the voodoo queen, the mojo-wielder to the granny midwife, and finally the ever-present candy lady, these figures show how Black women used conjure as a platform to confront racism, sexism, and classism throughout history; & I loved every moment of it!
I love reading about black history - especially when it comes to black women in America. I learned new things (like Vicks was actually taken from salves the slaves used to ward off colds) and it made me really look at how the government has always systemically tried to put black people down.
This book is an eye opener and I suggest everyone read it. I really liked that the author added women I have never heard of into this book, as well as women I have heard of (like Marie Laveau). It was also refreshing to see that some of the things my family does (such as making sure your home is clean on New Years & making black eye peas for New Years as well) is not just something MY family does; but seems to be incorporated in the black experience.
Overall, I suggest this book. It was refreshing! & thank you to the publishers for sending me an ARC and finished copy!
August 5, 2025
📚✨ Book Review: The Conjuring of America by Lindsey Stewart ✨📚
This book wrecked me—in the best way. The Conjuring of America is a powerful, poetic excavation of a neglected part of American history: the monumental contributions of Black women to our culture, medicine, food, spirituality, and so much more.
Lindsey Stewart masterfully blends mythology, ancestral knowledge, and historical truths in a way that’s both beautiful and heartbreaking.
One minute, I was crying from laughter, the next from grief. Don't judge me; I'm emotional, y'all.
A standout moment? The section on Black women’s medical innovations—like their impact on midwifery and remedies that led to staples like Vicks VapoRub—was jaw-dropping. So many women were locked out of the very fields they helped shape.
✨ This isn’t just a book. It’s a call to remember, to honor, and to rethink everything we thought we knew. I’d recommend it to every adult, especially women and history lovers. Honestly, this should be mandatory reading in schools.
🔮 If you love powerful nonfiction, untold stories, or just crave something real—read this. You won’t regret it.
#TheConjuringOfAmerica #LindseyStewart #BookReview #BlackHistory #BlackWomenMatter #NonfictionReads #SpiritualHistory #TikTokReads #GoodreadsReview #MustRead #BookTok #ReadThisBook #Netgalley #Netgalleyreviewer
This book wrecked me—in the best way. The Conjuring of America is a powerful, poetic excavation of a neglected part of American history: the monumental contributions of Black women to our culture, medicine, food, spirituality, and so much more.
Lindsey Stewart masterfully blends mythology, ancestral knowledge, and historical truths in a way that’s both beautiful and heartbreaking.
One minute, I was crying from laughter, the next from grief. Don't judge me; I'm emotional, y'all.
A standout moment? The section on Black women’s medical innovations—like their impact on midwifery and remedies that led to staples like Vicks VapoRub—was jaw-dropping. So many women were locked out of the very fields they helped shape.
✨ This isn’t just a book. It’s a call to remember, to honor, and to rethink everything we thought we knew. I’d recommend it to every adult, especially women and history lovers. Honestly, this should be mandatory reading in schools.
🔮 If you love powerful nonfiction, untold stories, or just crave something real—read this. You won’t regret it.
#TheConjuringOfAmerica #LindseyStewart #BookReview #BlackHistory #BlackWomenMatter #NonfictionReads #SpiritualHistory #TikTokReads #GoodreadsReview #MustRead #BookTok #ReadThisBook #Netgalley #Netgalleyreviewer
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December 12, 2025This was so incredibly informative. I didn't know a lot of this - from the history of Vicks VapoRub, to Aunt Jemima, to midwifery and more. I appreciated how much Stewart packed into these pages, without it feeling too overwhelming or like a textbook.
As a non-Black reader, I felt grateful to learn, witness, and now be able to pass on this knowledge to others about the Black women who have shaped American history, but who were not given credit in our history books.
I'd absolutely recommend this to anyone and everyone - we should all learn about the innumerable ways in which Black women have built this country, and this book is just the tip of the iceberg.
content to note: I don't know what moniker to place this under, but it was definitely troubling, frustrating, and saddening to read about so much of Black history being erased when it comes to American origin stories, especially of popular brand-name products. So it really is encompassing of the racism, sexism (because this really does name the massive amount of labor and intellectual property of Black women being stolen and exploited), classism, colonization, slavery, segregation, and other intersectional systems of injustice that have been at play for centuries.
As a non-Black reader, I felt grateful to learn, witness, and now be able to pass on this knowledge to others about the Black women who have shaped American history, but who were not given credit in our history books.
I'd absolutely recommend this to anyone and everyone - we should all learn about the innumerable ways in which Black women have built this country, and this book is just the tip of the iceberg.
content to note: I don't know what moniker to place this under, but it was definitely troubling, frustrating, and saddening to read about so much of Black history being erased when it comes to American origin stories, especially of popular brand-name products. So it really is encompassing of the racism, sexism (because this really does name the massive amount of labor and intellectual property of Black women being stolen and exploited), classism, colonization, slavery, segregation, and other intersectional systems of injustice that have been at play for centuries.
October 8, 2025
Despite reading many books on Slavery and Black history I encountered so much new info in this book ! As necessary to read as an American, as Isabel Wilkerson’s book The Warmth of Other Suns, on the Great Migration ! Just like that work, each page is rich in detail and history about black women’s lives and effects on American culture, from recipes, to childbirth— the areas of life that we may find ubiquitous now were often influenced by Black Conjure Women. What’s really great is that the book flows like a story, and doesn’t make you struggle to handle all the facts. It was so good that I didn’t want it to end and was surprised it was 300 pages— I felt like it was longer with how many times I had to stop to ponder what I read or google something to read further on the subject ! I can’t wait to read her next book! Plus the end notes are extensive and will make for much more in depth reading in the future. This is definitely a book I want to buy & re-read through the years.
December 9, 2025
The concept of magic and cultural studies has always been intriguing to me. I listened to this as an audio book and I was absolutely captivated by the narrator. It’s broken down into a series of short story style topics. I found myself mesmerized by every detail. The writer did a phenomenal job creating a non-fiction story the read just like my favorite fiction novels. As a white person I have never been more enamored by black culture. This book does an incredible job capturing emotion and trauma while still celebrating a deeply misunderstood culture. My worldview has truly changed by this book. I grew up in the south, and my education of slavery, Jim Crowe, segregation, etc was a true failure. This book has really helped me to better understand how badly we have done at sharing the raw truth of our darker histories as a country. I love this book and I can’t wait to read it again and again.
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July 24, 2025I was able to get an ARC (advanced reader's copy) from Legacy Lit Books. So, thank you to Legacy Lit. Here's my review below!
The Conjuring of America is a much-needed nonfiction in the space of Black spirituality and its impact on American culture, especially though the lens of conjure women. However, it wasn't as expansive as I would have wanted it (I practice an ATR/ADR so my lens and scope is different).
What worked: The overall structure of the book was exactly what it said it would be about, mojos, mermaids, and medicine. The integration of slave narratives and the scholarly research that connected the pieces were well done. Many people do not know or understand how much Black women have put into some of the greatest parts of pop culture and medicine, although a lot of it was stolen. I, also, appreciate the author forewarning of Osun's input and interruptions. Those stories did help round out the understanding of the influence of the spiritual on the world today. And not to mention, a good amount of workings/medicines were included.
What didn't work: To me, for this to be about America, only certain geographically areas were highlighted, when conjure women were very significant throughout the southeast. So many conjure stories that have influenced the world today, but I do understand that structure of the book. As a research scholar myself, I, also, understand that without certain things written, you cannot necessarily use them in your work. Besides that, some things felt repetitive and dragged the book. Maybe Dr. Stewart set up the book to where wherever or whatever chapter you choose to read, you won't feel lost.
Overall, I do recommend this book to the beginner, the person who's just wanting to know more history, but for those of us who've been in the spiritual game for a while, I don't know if this book is necessarily for us. And that's okay. Eat the meat, spit out the bone. There are little nuggets for everyone in this one.
The Conjuring of America is a much-needed nonfiction in the space of Black spirituality and its impact on American culture, especially though the lens of conjure women. However, it wasn't as expansive as I would have wanted it (I practice an ATR/ADR so my lens and scope is different).
What worked: The overall structure of the book was exactly what it said it would be about, mojos, mermaids, and medicine. The integration of slave narratives and the scholarly research that connected the pieces were well done. Many people do not know or understand how much Black women have put into some of the greatest parts of pop culture and medicine, although a lot of it was stolen. I, also, appreciate the author forewarning of Osun's input and interruptions. Those stories did help round out the understanding of the influence of the spiritual on the world today. And not to mention, a good amount of workings/medicines were included.
What didn't work: To me, for this to be about America, only certain geographically areas were highlighted, when conjure women were very significant throughout the southeast. So many conjure stories that have influenced the world today, but I do understand that structure of the book. As a research scholar myself, I, also, understand that without certain things written, you cannot necessarily use them in your work. Besides that, some things felt repetitive and dragged the book. Maybe Dr. Stewart set up the book to where wherever or whatever chapter you choose to read, you won't feel lost.
Overall, I do recommend this book to the beginner, the person who's just wanting to know more history, but for those of us who've been in the spiritual game for a while, I don't know if this book is necessarily for us. And that's okay. Eat the meat, spit out the bone. There are little nuggets for everyone in this one.
September 10, 2025
Reading The Conjuring of America felt like discovering a hidden part of my own story, a soulful connection to the power, magic, and resilience of Black women across centuries. Lindsey Stewart’s words wrapped around me like a warm embrace, reminding me that the strength and wisdom passed down through generations is alive and vibrant within us today.
The stories of healers, conjure women, and midwives were deeply moving—they made me reflect on the unseen, everyday magic in my own life and the legacy of courage that shapes who I am. This book didn’t just inform me; it touched me emotionally and spiritually, leaving me inspired to honor and carry forward this incredible heritage of creativity and resistance with pride and gratitude.
The stories of healers, conjure women, and midwives were deeply moving—they made me reflect on the unseen, everyday magic in my own life and the legacy of courage that shapes who I am. This book didn’t just inform me; it touched me emotionally and spiritually, leaving me inspired to honor and carry forward this incredible heritage of creativity and resistance with pride and gratitude.
November 26, 2025
This historical study is interesting and often quite inspiring. Some of the information presented is well-known, but the author ties it together in new ways. There are lots of anecdotes, folktales, and personal stories enlivening the prose.
Lindsey Stewart writes about conjure women, and traces their influence from Africa to the slavery days in the Americas, and afterwards into the Jim Crow period. She studies the various incarnations of conjure women: from the Black Mammy to the Voodoo Queen and onwards to the Candy Lady. There’s a special focus on New Orleans and its unique culture. Much of the book is about resilience and survival, and she tells us how people were able to create community and to renew themselves spiritually.
Lindsey Stewart writes about conjure women, and traces their influence from Africa to the slavery days in the Americas, and afterwards into the Jim Crow period. She studies the various incarnations of conjure women: from the Black Mammy to the Voodoo Queen and onwards to the Candy Lady. There’s a special focus on New Orleans and its unique culture. Much of the book is about resilience and survival, and she tells us how people were able to create community and to renew themselves spiritually.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews