High John The Conqueror
(Ipomoea Purga or I. jalapa)
John the Conqueror, also known as High John the Conqueror, John de Conquer, and many other folk variants, is a folk hero from African-American folklore. He is associated with a certain root, the John the Conquer root, or John the Conqueroo, to which magical powers are ascribed in American folklore, especially among the hoodoo tradition of folk magic.
The root and its magical uses are mentioned in a number of blues lyrics. Regardless of which name is used, in these contexts "conqueror" is pronounced "conker" or sometimes "conqueroo".
Folk hero -
John the Conqueror was an African prince who was sold as a slave in the Americas. Despite his enslavement, his spirit was never broken and he survived in folklore as a sort of a trickster figure, because of the tricks he played to evade his masters. Joel Chandler Harris's 'Br'er Rabbit' of the Uncle Remus stories is said to be patterned after High John the Conqueror. Zora Neale Hurston wrote of his adventures ("High John de Conquer") in her collection of folklore, The Sanctified Church. She also makes reference to the root in her famous book, "Their Eyes Were Watching God."
In one traditional John the Conqueror story told by Virginia Hamilton, and probably based on "Jean, the Soldier, and Eulalie, the Devil's Daughter", John falls in love with the Devil's daughter. The Devil sets John a number of impossible tasks: he must clear sixty acres (25 ha) of land in half a day, and then sow and reap the 60 acres (240,000 m2) with corn in the other half a day. The Devil's daughter furnishes John with a magical axe and plow that get these impossible tasks done, but warns John that her father the Devil means to kill him even if he performs them. John and the Devil's daughter steal the Devil's own horses; the Devil pursues them, but they escape his clutches by shape-shifting.
In "High John De Conquer", Zora Neale Hurston reports that:
like King Arthur of England, he has served his people. And, like King Arthur, he is not dead. He waits to return when his people shall call him again. . . High John de Conquer went back to Africa, but he left his power here, and placed his American dwelling in the root of a certain plant. Only possess that root, and he can be summoned at any time.
John the Conqueror root -
The root known as High John the Conqueror or John the Conqueror root is said to be the root of Ipomoea jalapa, also known as Ipomoea purga, an Ipomoea species related to the morning glory and the sweet potato. The plant is known in some areas as bindweed or jalap root. It has a pleasant, earthy odour, but it is a strong laxative if taken internally. It is not used for this purpose in folk magic; it is instead used as one of the parts of a mojo bag. It is typically used in sexual spells of various sorts and it is also considered lucky for gambling. It is likely that the root acquired its sexual magical reputation because, when dried, it resembles the testicles of a dark-skinned man. Because of this, when it is employed as an amulet, it is important that the root used be whole and unblemished. Dried pieces and chips of the root are used in formulating oils and washes that are used in other sorts of spells.
Cecil Adams has claimed that John the Conquer root is the root of St. John's wort; however, according to Cat Yronwode, Cecil Adams is mistaken. St. John's wort root is thin and thread-like root, while John the Conquer root is a tuber. As the blues lyrics below make clear, John the Conquer root is carried by the user, and the spell is cast by rubbing the root, which could not be done with a filamentous root.
John the Conqueror Root
High John the Conqueror root is one of the staples of African-American folk magic. Its use in mojo hands is as ubiquitous as its qualities are varied, and its very name signifies power and prosperity to many.
There are three roots named for John the Conqueror. Each is in a separate botanical family and has a different method of use.
HIGH JOHN THE CONQUEROR
High John the Conqueror is the most prized of the three John roots. When Willie Dixon sings in "Hootchie Cootchie Man" that he has "a John the Conqueroo," he means a John the Conqueror root -- the hard, woody tuber of Ipomoea jalapa, a member of the morning glory family, and a relative of the common sweet potato.
Fresh John the Conqueror root has a unique, spicy fragrance, reminiscent of a combination of cherry-scented pipe tobacco, vetivert, cedarwood, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and mace. Like many other ipomoeas, some of which are psychedelic, it is rich in alkaloids, but in magical practice, the root is not ingested, probably because it is an extremely powerful laxative. Instead it is used whole -- carried on the person as a pocket piece or as an ingredient in a mojo bag, especially one designed to draw money, bring luck at games of chance, or enhance personal sexual power.
John the Conqueror roots are primarily "male" roots because they resemble the testicles of brown-skinned men. When carried as a lucky amulet, a man's root is always whole. No African American man i know with a family background in hoodoo practice would walk into my shop and buy a broken High John root, even if it was as big as a baby's head and cost two dollars!
The whole roots that we carry at our Lucky Mojo occult shop are available for examination by walk-in customers so that they may select the one that "speaks" to them. I had a man in here once who drove about an hour and a half to see us, just to select the right root for his mojo bag. He spent almost fifteen minutes going through the hundreds of roots we had, and in my opinion, he picked out the absolutely most perfect root in the shop, without a doubt. It was so good that if i had seen it first, i'd probably have kept it for display. He got a bargain at $5.00 -- for that was a really good root.
John the Conqueror chips and pieces are only used in making spiritual supplies. That's why you may get more weight in a bag of chips -- even as much as ten times the weight of a small, symmetrical whole root.
To obtain the maximum results from a whole John the Conqueror root, it is customary to "fix" it, either as a pocket piece or in a mojo. Here are a few of the many ways a John the Conqueror can be fixed:
To draw money to you: Wrap your folding bills around the root and keep it as a pocket piece. (Some people use a buckeye nut or nutmeg in the same manner.) Anoint the root regularly with John the Conqueror Oil, rubbing it in as you do so.
Another way to draw money : Wrap a John the Conqueror root, nine small pieces of Devil's Shoestring root and a silver "Mercury" dime in a $2.00 bill, folding the bill toward you, not away from you. If the dime and the bill bear leap-year dates, so much the better. Fix in a red (some say green) flannel mojo bag and anoint with Van Van Oil, John the Conqueror Oil, Hoyt's Cologne, or Money Drawing Oil. Wear it when playing the lottery or betting on horses, or place it near the door of your place of business to draw money to you through personal power.
For luck in games of chance where deft finger-work is required: Combine a John the Conqueror root and a silver "Mercury" dime with a Lucky Hand root and wrap them as above in a $2.00 bill. Dress the mojo with Lucky Hand Oil or red Fast Luck Oil or with the urine of your lover, and wear concealed on your person while at the card table.
For luck in gambling: Fix a mojo bag (either red flannel for success or green flannel for money) with a Lucky Hand root , a pinch of five-finger grass, a miniature pair of dice, and a John the Conqueror root. Add a dried bat heart or an alligator tooth or badger tooth or an alligator foot or rabbit foot. Anoint with red Fast Luck Oil, John the Conqueror Oil, or with the urine of your lover.
To exercise sexual attraction over women: Fix a John the Conqueror root in a red flannel mojo bag with a lodestone that has been dressed with magnetic sand. Anoint with Lodestone Oil, Kiss Me Now! Oil, Come to Me Oil, Love Me Oil, or other love-drawing oil and wear the mojo concealed below your waist. (A woman wishing to make a similar charm to attract men might add a Queen Elizabeth root to the John the Conqueror root and anoint the mojo with Follow Me Boy Oil.)
To win the love of a specific woman: Wrap a John the Conqueror root in a piece of parchment paper on which you have written her name nine times in Dragon's Blood ink and -- if possible -- include with it a lock of her hair or an article of some kind that has touched her person. Anoint with Come to Me Oil, Love Me Oil or Stay With Me Oil and wear in a red flannel mojo bag concealed below your waist. (A woman wishing to make a similar love spell to attract and hold a specific man might add a Queen Elizabeth root to the John the Conqueror root and anoint the mojo with a mixture of Follow Me Boy Oil and Stay With Me Oil.)
To Change a Friend into a Lover: place a John the Conqueror root, a small piece of Lodestone, and a few hairs or a snippet of clothing from the one you want in a red flannel bag. Dress the contents with Magnetic Sand and anoint the bag with Attraction Oil once a day. Carry this love charm on you while awake and keep it beneath your pillow while asleep.
High John the Conqueror is also prepared in the form of anointing oil, spiritual incense, scented sachet powders, and ritual bathing and cleaning supplies. Each bottle or packet of these spiritual supplies should contain broken pieces of the root, plus other essential herb extracts. (Beware of modern so-called "Hi-Conquering" or "Hi-John" products that are made up of nothing more than synthetic oils, dyes, and fragrances; real High John the Conqueror spiritual supplies MUST contain pieces of the root.)
High John the Conqueror Oil is used to "feed" John the Conqueror roots and to dress mojo bags, and offertory candles that are used in spells of commanding, personal mastery, and courage. It can also be worn by a man on his body, to strengthen his nature or help him when he is gambling. Along with Lodestone Oil, Van Van Oil, and Fast Luck Oil, High John the Conqueror Oil is probably the most traditional of all hoodoo formulas, and it is still among the most popular.
From: http://www.luckymojo.com/johntheconqueror.html
From "Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs" -
He cautions that High John the Conqueror is poison.
It's element is Fire and it's planet is Mars. It has powers regarding Money, Love, Success, Happiness.
Magickal uses: Anoint one of the roots with mint oil and tie up in a green sachet. Carry to attract money.
John the Conqueror is also carried to stop depression, bring love and success, protect from all hexes and curses, and to break and destroy spells and hexes.
To make a simple anointing oil suitable for all purposes, take three High John the Conqueror roots, make small cuts into them with a sharp knife, and place these in a bottle of vegetable, oilive or mineral oil. Let thge roots in the oil for several weeks. Leave the roots in oil and use as desired: to anoint candles, sachets and so on.
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