Description
Hoodoo in the Psalms: God’s Magick by Taren S. centres on the long-standing use of the Biblical Psalms within African American folk spirituality, while also acknowledging a wider, cross-cultural history of Psalm-based magick.
The Book of Psalms has been used for centuries as a spiritual and devotional tool across multiple traditions. Beyond formal religious practice, the Psalms have also been worked as spoken charms, protective prayers, and ritual texts within European folk magick, Jewish mystical traditions, and various forms of Christian folk practice. Within spiritual communities, specific Psalms are believed to align with particular intentions, including protection, justice, healing, prosperity, and spiritual defence.
This book focuses specifically on how these texts are used within conjure traditions, presenting over 160 structured workings that incorporate Psalms into practical, repeatable spiritual work. Rather than treating the Psalms purely as scripture, Taren S places them within a working context, offering examples of how verses are spoken, combined with tools, or integrated into ritual practice.
Her perspective is shaped by lived experience. Initiated as a High Priestess within American Witchcraft in 1995, she later spent over a decade working within a Haitian Voodoo Doctor’s botanica in the South Carolina Lowcountry as a spiritual counsellor and tarot reader. This environment exposed her to everyday, community-based use of Psalms alongside candles, oils, and prayer work.
- Contains over 160 complete workings using the Psalms
- Situates Psalm magick within conjure
- Covers intentions including protection, love, justice, healing, and prosperity
- Reflects practical use within botanica and community-based spiritual settings
- Suitable for both newer practitioners and those with established practice
Within African diaspora traditions, Psalms are often spoken with intention as part of ritual acts, sometimes combined with physical tools or offerings. Figures such as Marie Laveau are frequently associated with this blending of prayer and practical work, though methods vary widely depending on lineage and region.
At the same time, similar uses of Psalms appear in other traditions, where they may be recited for protection, written and carried, or incorporated into ceremonial rites. This shared thread reflects the adaptability of the text across cultures, while also highlighting the importance of understanding the specific tradition one is working within.
This book offers a structured way to engage with Psalm-based magick through a conjure lens, while encouraging readers to approach the material with respect for its cultural roots and spiritual depth.
