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The Spellbook · Protection

The Spellbook · Vodou & Hoodoo

Chalk Cross and Psalm 23 for a Protected Threshold

A hoodoo protection for the doorway: drawing a chalk cross at the threshold and praying Psalm 23, with the Bible's place in African American conjure.

  • TraditionAfrican American hoodoo and Protestant folk piety, southern United States, 19th–20th century
  • ForProtection, Home & hearth, Peace
  • DifficultySimple
  • Time15 minutes
  • WhenOn moving in, after trouble at the door, at the start of a week, or each Sunday morning
This missal was collected by William K. Bixby, who donated it to the Missouri History Museum as part of his collection of papers. The document is the oldest item in the Archives. Dr. Susan L'Engle from St.…
This missal was collected by William K. Bixby, who donated it to the Missouri History Museum as part of his collection of papers. The document is the oldest item in the Archives. Dr. Susan L'Engle from St.…Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

This working joins two of the most characteristic elements of hoodoo: the protective power of the cross, marked at the place where trouble might enter, and the reading of the Psalms as prayers of power. The householder cleans the doorstep, draws a cross in white chalk on or just inside the threshold, and reads Psalm 23 aloud over it, asking God's protection on the house and all who live there. It is simple, quiet and deeply rooted in African American Christian practice.

How to do it§

  1. Clean the doorway. Sweep the step and wipe the threshold. If you like, sprinkle a few drops of salted water across it and let it dry.
  2. Prepare in prayer. Stand inside the door, light the candle if you are using one, and take a moment to quiet yourself. Hold the Bible open at Psalm 23. Read it with attention: Psalm 23.
  3. Draw the cross. Kneel and draw an equal-armed cross in white chalk in the middle of the threshold, on the step or on the inside floor just behind the door. Some draw a cross on the inside of the door frame or at the top of the door instead. As you draw, say: "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost."
  4. Read the psalm aloud. Standing over the cross, read Psalm 23 in full. Verse 4 is the heart of it for protection: "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me."
  5. Make your petition. In your own words, ask that the house be guarded, that harm turn back at the door, and that peace stay within. Name the people of the household.
  6. Close. Say "Amen", touch the door frame, and snuff the candle.
  7. Renew. Redraw the cross when it wears away or after rain, and read the psalm again — weekly, monthly, or whenever there is cause. If the chalk is on a public step, a small cross inside the door frame is a discreet alternative.

Origins and history§

The Bible has been central to hoodoo for as long as the tradition has been recorded. Practitioners interviewed by folklorists often spoke of it as the greatest conjure book, and Zora Neale Hurston, in Mules and Men (1935), described conjurors who regarded Moses as the supreme worker of power. The Psalms were especially valued: they were read over roots, oils and washes, carried written on paper, and prayed for protection, healing, success and justice. From the late nineteenth century, cheap editions of Secrets of the Psalms, an English version of a German compilation attributed to Godfrey Selig and ultimately drawing on the Jewish Shimmush Tehillim, circulated widely and were sold by spiritual suppliers, though many workers relied on oral tradition rather than books. Psalm 23, beloved throughout African American churches, is among the psalms most often used for protection and comfort.

Yowa, atau Palang Dikenga, ialah satu simbol dalam kerohanian Bakongo yang menggambarkan dunia fizikal, dunia rohani (leluhur), sungai Kalûnga (garisan) yang memisahkan kedua-dua alam, empat titik matahari, dan…
Yowa, atau Palang Dikenga, ialah satu simbol dalam kerohanian Bakongo yang menggambarkan dunia fizikal, dunia rohani (leluhur), sungai Kalûnga (garisan) yang memisahkan kedua-dua alam, empat titik matahari, dan…Haziq Faruqi · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

The cross has a double heritage in this setting. It is the central Christian sign, traced in blessing and set over doorways in many Christian folk cultures. Art historians and anthropologists such as Robert Farris Thompson have also argued that the Kongo cosmogram — a cross within a circle marking the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead — lies behind the importance of crossroads and crossmarks in African American and Afro-Caribbean tradition. Crosses drawn, cut, laid in salt or made of crossed pins appear throughout the protective practices recorded by Hyatt. White chalk and white clay are used for sacred marks in many West and Central African and Afro-Caribbean traditions as well. Historians including Yvonne Chireau stress that for most practitioners there was no contradiction between conjure and Christian faith. See hoodoo and rootwork and folk Christianity.

Variations§

Some draw the cross with a finger dipped in olive oil that has been prayed over, or trace it in salt (see Salt and Rosemary at the Threshold). Psalm 91 is often read for protection instead of, or as well as, Psalm 23. In Afro-Cuban and Puerto Rican practice, cascarilla — chalk made from eggshell — is used to mark protective crosses; in Britain and India, decorative chalk or rice-flour patterns on doorsteps have their own histories of household luck.

Safety and good sense§

Use only ordinary chalk, keep candles in stable holders away from the door and its draughts, and never leave a flame unattended. Do not draw on a landlord's or neighbour's property without permission. Prayer and blessing can bring comfort and courage, but where there is danger or threat, contact the police or appropriate services; spiritual protection is no substitute for legal or practical help.

Sources and further reading§