Road Opener Candle Working to Clear Blocked Paths

A road opener working is performed when life feels blocked: job applications go unanswered, plans keep stalling, or one bad turn follows another. In hoodoo and in the Latino botánicas where "Abre Camino" (Open the Road) candles and herbs are sold, a candle is dressed and burned with prayer to clear obstacles and open new opportunities. It is a working for one's own way forward, and it is customarily paired with practical action.

How to do it§

1. Name the road. On the paper, write your name and the path you want opened: "work", "my studies", "a home of my own". Keep it about your own life.
2. Carve the candle. With the pin, carve your name down one side of the candle and a simple image of a key or an open door on the other. If you use a seven-day glass candle, write on the paper instead and place it under the glass.
3. Dress the candle. Rub a little oil on the candle, working from the base towards the wick — away from yourself — to push obstacles out of the way, as many workers do. For glass candles, put three drops of oil on the top of the wax.
4. Set the altar. Place the candle in its holder on the plate. Lay the old key in front of it and the folded paper beneath the holder.
5. Pray. Light the candle and pray in your own words for the way to open. Many workers read a psalm; Psalm 23 is used for guidance, and the opening of Psalm 118:19 is apt: "Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them." State your purpose plainly.
6. Burn and attend. Let a taper burn for a set time each day — fifteen minutes is usual — snuffing it between sessions; or let a seven-day candle burn while someone is at home and awake, extinguishing it when you go out or sleep. Each time you light it, touch the key and repeat your prayer.
7. Walk through. In the days of the working, act: send the applications, make the calls, visit the place. Hoodoo has always expected the client to do their part.
8. Finish. When the candle is spent, keep the key on your key ring or in your purse as a charm. Dispose of wax remains in the household rubbish or bury them at a crossroads; some leave a coin there as thanks.

Origins and history§

Opening the road — removing "crossed conditions" and blockages — is a long-standing aim of hoodoo, which developed among African Americans in the southern United States from the period of slavery onward. Practitioners interviewed by Harry Middleton Hyatt describe many ways of "uncrossing" and of clearing a person's path, often with candles, washes and Bible verses. In the twentieth century, mail-order spiritual suppliers and urban shops sold candles and oils named for such purposes, and "Road Opener" became a standard product name.

In Spanish-speaking communities the same aim is expressed as abrir caminos. Botánicas in Cuban, Puerto Rican, Dominican and Mexican neighbourhoods sell Abre Camino candles, sprays and the herb called abre camino (a name applied to more than one plant). In Afro-Cuban religion the opening of roads is associated with the orisha Elegguá, but serving the orishas belongs to initiated practice in Santería (Lucumí) and is not described here; the household candle working above follows the open folk practice shared by hoodoo and botánica customers. Historians such as Carolyn Morrow Long have shown how such candles grew out of an exchange between African American, Latino and Catholic devotional cultures in American cities. See hoodoo and rootwork.

Variations§

Some combine orange (for opportunity) with a white candle for clearing first. A road-opening bath with lemongrass and a little Van Van oil may precede the candle (see Van Van Oil). Others carry three keys in a mojo bag, or burn a small candle at a literal crossroads, where it can be watched safely.

Safety and good sense§

Glass-encased candles can overheat and crack: place them on a heat-proof plate, away from curtains, shelves and drafts, and do not leave them burning when you are out or asleep. Keep oil off the wick. Snuff tapers rather than blowing them out. Keep candles away from children and pets. A road opener working may give heart and focus, but it is no substitute for career advice, legal help or financial guidance.

Sources and further reading§

• Hoodoo—Conjuration—Witchcraft—Rootwork — Harry Middleton Hyatt, 1970
• Spiritual Merchants: Religion, Magic, and Commerce — Carolyn Morrow Long, 2001
• Black Magic: Religion and the African American Conjuring Tradition — Yvonne P. Chireau, 2003
• Hoodoo Herb and Root Magic — Catherine Yronwode, 2002
• Santería: An African Religion in America — Joseph M. Murphy, 1988