Chas Bogan - The Secret Keys of Conjure: Unlocking the Mysteries of American Folk Magic

Llewellyn Publications

Woodbury, Minnesota

Copyright Information

The Secret Keys of Conjure: Unlocking the Mysteries of American Folk Magic 2018 by Chas Bogan.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any matter whatsoever, including Internet usage, without written permission from Llewellyn Publications, except in the form of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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First e-book edition 2018

E-book ISBN: 9780738754444

Cover design by Ellen Lawson

Interior illustrations by the Llewellyn Art Department

Zodiac man image by Mary Ann Zapalac

Llewellyn Publications is an imprint of Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Bogan, Chas, author.

Title: The secret keys of conjure : unlocking the mysteries of American folk

magic / by Chas Bogan.

Description: First Edition. | Woodbury : Llewellyn Worldwide, Ltd., 2018. |

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2017047404 (print) | LCCN 2017053048 (ebook) | ISBN

9780738754444 (ebook) | ISBN 9780738752891 (alk. paper)

Subjects: LCSH: Hoodoo (Cult) | MagicSouthern States. | FolkloreSouthern

States.

Classification: LCC BL2490 (ebook) | LCC BL2490 .B64 2018 (print) | DDC

133.4/30973dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017047404

Llewellyn Publications does not participate in, endorse, or have any authority or responsibility concerning private business arrangements between our authors and the public.

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Llewellyn Publications

Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.

2143 Wooddale Drive

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Manufactured in the United States of America

Contents

by Jacki Smith

: The Keys to Divination: Unlocking Psychic Awareness

: The Keys to Ritual: Unlocking Blessings

: The Keys to Curios: Unlocking Good Luck

: The Keys to Language: Unlocking Healing

: The Keys to Cleansing: Unlocking Spiritual Purification

: The Keys to Knots and Stitches: Unlocking Protection

: The Keys to Personal Concerns: Unlocking Influence

: The Keys to Scent: Unlocking Sexual Enticement

: The Keys to Sweetening: Unlocking Love

: The Keys to Setting Lights: Unlocking Wealth

: The Keys to Powders: Unlocking Justified Hexes

: The Keys to the Graveyard: Unlocking Spirit Conjuration

: The Master Key

Tricks

I

IV

V

VI

VII

VIII

IX

XII

XIII

Recipes

II

III

IV

V

VI

VII

VIII

IX

XI

XIII

Dedication

To my loving partners, Storm Faerywolf and Devin Hunter, for the many conversations that helped me organize my thoughts for this book, and for picking up the slack around our home and business while I was writing it.

To my many teachers, especially cat yronwode, without whom my knowledge and experience of these subjects would be so much more limited.

To my good friend Grey Townsend, for so many inspiring conversations in and outside of the hot tub. To Shelby of Coastside Conjure, for all her support, especially as it pertained to working with saints.

To those who attended my in-person classes for A Course in Modern Conjure , Jo Jenson, Rowan Rivers, Christine Rossi, and others, and helped me flesh out my thoughts and lessons in a way that has evolved into this book.

To the various communities that have supported my work:

The Brotherhood of the Satyrs

The various student communities at Mystic Dream Academy, most notably Black Rose Witchcraft and BlueRose Faery tradition

The Mystic Dream Psychic Guild

To all those folks who have frequented my shop, the Mystic Dream, and shared with me their magic. I have learned volumes simply by listening to others tell how Conjure is practiced by them.

Foreword

by Jacki Smith

The secret keys imply that once attained, you are privy to all that is unlocked. That is the lie that we tell ourselves when we are looking for a quick fix and instant expert status. This is the lie that we believe when we value the savant over the long-suffering adept. The truth is that once you attain a secret key, you then begin the journey. Once you unlock what that key restrains, you are now responsible for what is inside Pandoras box.

Folk magic comes from need, usually great need, that has created a reserve of nervous or desperate energy. When a seeker finds faith in spiritual solution, the burst of energy that comes from releasing those worries into a trick or a spell is the quickening of the magic. This is what makes Conjure and folk magic so powerful: we are using the primal energy of survival, the primal energy of creation. The energy can also make us heady and trick our ego into thinking we are experts and powerful magical doctors.

Is this one of the reasons Conjure spells are called tricks? We trick ourselves to move out of our own energetic way and we trick the momentum of our lives to the lives of others to change course. We can also trick ourselves into thinking there is no need to hone our craft, that we can turn to a book or a website and find the quick reference we need for our next crisis. In Conjure, your anima, or magical spirit, needs to be fed, worked with, and exercised for it to continue to power your magic. You must work your magic or your magic will not work for you. You must practice and know what magic feels like and acts like in your life to know its effect upon you or your client.

When you study with a Conjure doctor, they push you, they trick you into growing, they challenge your ego and humble you in front of your own spirit to experience the divine in action. Teachers are not necessarily kind, as they know more growth and knowledge are gained from adversity than from balance. This rare relationship is experienced one-on-one and is custom to the teacher and seeker. In the Kongo, you would sit in the funk (essence) of your elder to absorb the lessons they were teaching. In our twenty-first-century world, we no longer have the luxury of an elder to learn from. We have more seekers than elders, and we no longer have the abundance of time to apprentice at the feet of our aunties.