Since 2019, October has been recognized as Hoodoo Heritage Month. We break down what that means and how to celebrate it.
It started deep in the American South with wild herbs, healing roots, whispered prayers, African spirituality, Indigenous practices, Christianity, and more, all mixing with the determination to survive. We’re, of course, talking about Hoodoo, the centuries-old Black American spiritual tradition born of enslavement and passed down through generations as a means of healing, protection, resistance, and the preservation of ancestral knowledge. And it’s especially on our minds this time of year.
October is Hoodoo Heritage Month, a month-long celebration of the spiritual practice, its history, and enduring legacy.
Officially founded in 2019 by Mama Rue and the Walking the Dikenga Collective, Hoodoo Heritage Month honors the ancestors who first devised the practice, the practitioners who have worked to preserve the culture, and the ways it has survived through the generations. Yet the spirituality remains widely misunderstood, often confused for other practices or reduced to sinister stereotypes.
So as many continue to celebrate the spooky season, we’re breaking down what you need to know about Hoodoo Heritage Month.
Hoodoo is a Black American spiritual tradition of healing, protection, and ancestral magic that has been passed down through the generations. Also known as root work and conjure, the practice derives from a unique mixture of West and Central African practices, Indigenous spirituality, Christianity, botanical knowledge, and more. At its core, it’s about protection, healing, ancestral connection, and survival.
It involves rootwork, herbalism, honoring the ancestors, prayer, scripture, conjure, or performing rituals with set intentions, like bringing about good fortune or creating protection, and using objects such as root bags or protective charms.
At a time when many Black people living in this country were enslaved, stripped of their dignity, freedom, and wellness, Hoodoo became a way for them to find healing, protection, and ultimately survival. Through the intricate roots, careful use of herbs, prayers, and rituals, enslaved people were able to care for themselves and their communities when they fell ill or became injured, while maintaining a connection with their ancestors and African heritage and establishing protection.
Even generations after emancipation, Hoodoo remains an integral part of Black American life for many and continues to offer insight into how some of the country’s earliest Black folks lived and endured. Many have also observed similarities between the Black Church’s traditions and Hoodoo, showing just how far its influence extends in Black spirituality.
Hoodoo has long been misunderstood and sometimes outright demonized. One of the biggest misconceptions is that Hoodoo is synonymous with the devil, dark magic, or something worse. In reality, the tradition encompasses everything from healing and protection to spiritual empowerment. While practitioners may perform rituals intended to influence circumstances or seek justice, Hoodoo cannot be reduced to the frightening depictions often seen in popular culture. Yeah, we’ve seen Loretta Devine in “Spell” too!
Another common misconception is that Hoodoo, Voodoo, and Haitian Vodou are all interchangeable. While these traditions share African influences, they have distinct histories, beliefs, and practices.
There, of course, isn’t one way to celebrate Hoodoo Heritage Month. Some use it as an opportunity to honor ancestors, reconnect with spiritual traditions, share knowledge, and celebrate the people who helped preserve Hoodoo across generations. Depending on individual and family traditions, that might include prayer, ancestral offerings, community gatherings, or other forms of spiritual remembrance.
The month also includes a handful of special commemorative days recognizing different aspects of Black American history and spirituality, including Nat Turner Day on October 2, Day of Our Fathers on October 21, and Day of Our Mothers on October 25.
As much of the world prepares for Halloween, many who practice Hoodoo are preparing for a somewhat spooky day of their own: Man at the Crossroads Day, which also falls on October 31. And how fitting that a holiday honoring the mysterious spiritual figure believed to preside over crossroads, where the physical and spiritual worlds are said to intersect, would fall on a day already associated with ghosts, spirits, and all things supernatural.
In Hoodoo, crossroads are considered places of great spiritual power where one can seek guidance or even gain transformation. The man at the crossroads is said to be there to help make things shift and move in this lifetime. He closes and opens doors of opportunity, illuminates what a person needs over what they want, and he can shift a person’s luck. Of course, recognizing this day doesn’t have to mean quite literally hunting down some mysterious figure (no matter what blues singers have said); experts like the Afro Mystic note how it can also be about honoring the crossroads within yourself.
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