A lodestone is a naturally magnetic piece of the iron ore magnetite, and in African American hoodoo it is the classic "drawing" stone: because it pulls iron to itself, it is believed to pull money, customers and good fortune to its keeper. Rootworkers have long kept lodestones in a bag, a dish or a jar, "dressed" with oil and "fed" with magnetic sand, beside the cash drawer or among the household's papers. This working sets a lodestone in a small jar with coins and money herbs as a living charm to be tended week by week.

How to do it§

Choose the stone. Buy a natural lodestone from a reputable supplier and test it with a pin or paper clip: a true lodestone holds it. Many workers prefer a pair, traditionally called a "male" and a "female" stone, though one is enough. Avoid shaped ceramic magnets, which are not part of the tradition.
Cleanse it. Rub the stone with a little dry salt and brush it off, or pass it through incense smoke. Do not soak it in water, which makes magnetite rust.
Name and "baptise" it. Hold the stone and give it a name and a purpose in plain words, for example: "I name you Steady Pay. Draw money to this house honestly and keep it here." Hoodoo practice often christens a lodestone in this way, sometimes with a drop of whiskey or cologne on the stone; the wording here is modern.
Write the petition. On the brown paper, write what you want in a single sentence (for example, "Steady work and fair wages for this household"). Fold it towards you, which in hoodoo signifies drawing in, and place it in the bottom of the jar.
Assemble the jar. Add the coins, the cinnamon, basil and bay leaf, then set the lodestone on top. Dress the stone with one or two drops of oil and sprinkle a pinch of magnetic sand over it, so that the filings bristle on its surface; rootworkers call this feeding.
Place it. Close the jar and keep it where money enters or is kept: near the till of a shop, in a desk drawer with bills and pay slips, or on a shelf by the front door. If you like, wrap it in green or gold cloth.
Feed it weekly. Once a week, on the same day, open the jar, add a drop of oil and a pinch of sand, and add a coin when you can. Say your purpose again. A neglected lodestone is said to "go to sleep".
Finish. When the purpose is fulfilled, thank the stone. It may be kept for a new purpose after cleansing; the herbs and paper can be buried in your garden or a plant pot.

Origins and history§

The magnetic stone has fascinated people since antiquity. Greek and Roman writers, Pliny the Elder among them, recorded its power to attract iron, and medieval lapidaries attributed to it virtues of reconciliation and persuasion. In the Black Atlantic world, this European learning met Central and West African traditions of minkisi and charm bundles, in which minerals and other substances were "fed" and treated as active agents. The result in the American South was a distinctive practice of carrying, naming and feeding lodestones.

The folklorist Newbell Niles Puckett reported lodestones in Southern charm practice in Folk Beliefs of the Southern Negro (1926), and Zora Neale Hurston described their use in her study "Hoodoo in America" (1931). Harry Middleton Hyatt's vast collection of interviews, recorded mainly between 1936 and 1940 and published from 1970, preserves dozens of informants describing lodestones fed with steel dust, kept in red flannel or in a "hand" (a mojo bag), and used for luck in gambling, work and business. From the 1920s, drugstores and mail-order curio companies in Chicago, New Orleans and elsewhere sold lodestones in pairs together with "magnetic sand" and branded oils. Carolyn Morrow Long's Spiritual Merchants (2001) traces how this trade shaped the practice, sometimes by repackaging older folk materials and sometimes by inventing new products.

Storing the stone in a jar rather than a bag belongs to the same family as hoodoo sugar and honey jars, in which a container holds a petition and its "ingredients" together. It is a household form of the working rather than an ancient one.

Variations§

Gamblers carried a single lodestone in the pocket and rubbed it before play. Some workers keep a pair of lodestones in a saucer with a silver dime, or tie them into a flannel bag with Five-Finger Grass and cinquefoil for business luck. Others use "money-drawing" incense or oil instead of herbs. In shops, a lodestone was sometimes kept under the counter with the first coin taken in on opening day.

Safety and good sense§

Magnetic sand is fine iron powder: keep it away from children, pets, electronics and credit cards, and wash your hands after handling it. Dilute commercial oils and do not apply them to the skin without a patch test. Keep the jar out of reach of small children, who might swallow small coins or stones. A lodestone is a focus for hope and attention, not a financial plan; if money troubles are serious, a debt adviser or a free advice service will help more than any charm.

Sources and further reading§

Hoodoo—Conjuration—Witchcraft—Rootwork — Harry Middleton Hyatt, 1970
Folk Beliefs of the Southern Negro — Newbell Niles Puckett, 1926
Spiritual Merchants: Religion, Magic, and Commerce — Carolyn Morrow Long, 2001
Conjure in African American Society — Jeffrey E. Anderson, 2005
Black Magic: Religion and the African American Conjuring Tradition — Yvonne P. Chireau, 2003
Hoodoo Herb and Root Magic — Catherine Yronwode, 2002