Conjuring the Calabash: Empowering Women with Hoodoo Spells & Magick

by Mawiyah Kai El-Jamah Bomani

"This book is about Black girl magick, queer girl magick, straight girl magick, trans magick, bisexual magick. It's about giving yourself the power to be fierce...Black women are Hierophants, Magicians, Empresses, and High Priestesses ." ―Mawiyah Kai El-Jamah Bomani

Authentic and unapologetic, this guide to magical spirituality empowers you to take back the power to heal and shine under your own strength. Written by an accomplished Hoodoo practitioner, Conjuring the Calabash features spells, recipes, and rituals that help you rise out of the constrictions around you.

Mawiyah Kai El-Jamah Bomani shows you how to bless your calabash (sacred womb) with love and reawaken your fullest potential through folk traditions, personal stories, and her favorite songs and pop stars. An inclusive and intersectional voice in contemporary Hoodoo, Mawiyah will help you become your fiercest self.

Genres: Nonfiction

288 pages, Paperback

Published November 8, 2023

Reviews

[El W. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the book on Hoodoo the world has been waiting for. Bomani is a priestess of Hoodoo, a Egun Medium, and an eighth generation Hoodoo practitioner, among many other things. Her expertise and familiarity is with more than just the facts of Hoodoo, but comes from a deep, deep root network of knowing that is only possible with ancestral connection.

For the Black women and men who can practice Hoodoo, if you’re brand new to practicing or studying Hoodoo, this book eases you in with Bomani’s experienced voice empowering you every step of the way. Exercises feature heavily, making up over 50% of this book. From the introduction to the last paragraph of the conclusion, it feels like Bomani is in the room with you, leading you on a journey that is personal, yet reminds you that you’re reading the legacy of hundreds of years of magic.

I really enjoyed the way the historical and cultural precedents that lead to Hoodoo’s unique magical mindset were explored in the introduction of each practice. The chapters have exercises, rituals, recipes, and magic peppered throughout, instead of simply at the end. And one of the recurring sections I loved the most was each chapter ended with “Juju on the Fly”, a spell you can do in less than ten minutes and bring with you throughout your busiest days. I also really loved the “Inspiring Voices” section introducing an empowering female musician to listen to while working through the concepts of the chapter.

With diverse and timely topics like sex magic, cyber-bullying, and jazz funerals, this is a book that says what other books have fallen short of. “Conjuring the Calabash” is about not only the practice of Hoodoo, but the cultural landscape it is so deeply ingrained in.

This is a book best enjoyed by Black women and men in the South of the US for the practical applications you’ll find, and for non-Black folks like me, it is a window into a fascinating, beautiful, empowering, and inspiring practice of magic. I look forward to revisiting this book in years to come as the definitive resource for Hoodoo written by an actual Hoodoo priestess the world has been needing. And I’ll recommend it to every student I have as an important cornerstone of a vital spiritual practice.

[Shirley Andrade · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Wealth of Information

The author discusses her early childhood in regard to her introduction to Hoodoo and provides some background information on Hoodoo itself. She provides a recipe for anyone to use, when seeking ancestral approval to become a servant to practice Hoodoo.

She discusses tools used in Hoodoo, and provides a vast variety of exercises and rituals for almost every life situation one may encounter.

I was very enlightened by the great information provided in this book and will definitely purchase a hard copy for reference. I highly recommend it.

[LittleRead · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this one and really learned a lot from the author. While I am not black, I love learning how others practice and consider us all sisters as practitioners. Besides, we all need to be our fiercest selves and support one another.

[Shelby *trains flying monkeys* · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is probably the best book I've read on Hoodoo in present day life. I do not practice because I'm white but I am interesting in learning and respecting. This book still uplifts all woman and I hope this author keeps writing.

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I borrowed this book from my library. But I loved it so much, I just purchased a copy to have for my very own. I love, LOVE, L-O-V-E this book. I enjoyed the writing style of this author and all the fabulous tips for Hoodoo gals!

[Author Mariette Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Self love

[Anandi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love how inclusive the author is and how well done this book is in its entirety. I love hearing about the city I live in and how things I have already done in my life are aligned.

[Colleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Conjuring The Calabash by Mawiyah Kai El-Jamah Bomani is an outstanding book on Hoodoo practice. Bomani shows us a very intimate, and authentic practice of Hoodoo. This is the best, and and most thorough book on the subject I have ever read. I highly, highly recommended buying this book. I hope this author writes many more books. She knocked this one out of the park!

[coco savage · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great view of the author's practice. Very empowering to anyone identifying as a woman.