Snuff (we use Grizzly or Copenhagen)
Asafoetida
Dirt from a ditch
5-inch by 5-inch piece of brown paper bag
Red string
First cleanse your oil lamp by washing it in a solution of 1 cup water, ½ cup vinegar, and 1 tablespoon baking soda while praying Psalm 23 three times (see page 66).
Once it has dried, attach your petition to the wick or write it on it. Place your personal concerns in first or those of the one you wish to protect. These can be one thing from each member of the household as well.
Take the red and black pepper, snuff, asafoetida, and dirt from a ditch and wrap them in a bundle in the brown paper and tie it off with a red string.
Place the bundle inside on top of the concerns and fill the basin with oil. Once it is full, pray Psalm 44:1–7 three times as the hand of the clock goes down from 12 to 6, whether morning or night:
1 We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in the times of old.
2 How thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand, and plantedst them; how thou didst afflict the people, and cast them out.
3 For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them: but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favour unto them.
4 Thou art my King, O God: command deliverances for Jacob.
5 Through thee will we push down our enemies: through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us.
6 For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me.
7 But thou hast saved us from our enemies, and hast put them to shame that hated us.
Once you have prayed over the herbs and concerns, blow your breath into the basin three times in the name of the Trinity and close the basin. Then light the flame and let it burn until 6 P.M. Never let the lamp run totally out of oil. Not only will this not be good for the work, but it also brings bad luck.
The body and the home aren't all that need protecting, though. There are threats that can affect your income as well, and the stability of the home itself. Let's turn now to stimulating or tying up money to gain or to cause loss.
7
A DIME, A DOLLAR
Appalachian Americans have made a living in more ways than can be counted, whether it's farming livestock for meat, milk, or eggs; growing tobacco, corn, and other crops; root digging for ginseng, galax, moss, bloodroot, or goldenseal; hunting for hogs, deer, and bears; or mining coal or loading timber, we are resourceful and stubborn. While our ways of live are changing from farming and root hunting to retail and fast food, we still need to keep the lights on and food on the table. The scenes may change, but the needs of the people don't. The following are some recipes for bringing money, paying customers, luck, and employment.
TO FIX YOURSELF FOR MONEY
After taking a cleansing bath, powder your hands and feet with arrowroot powder. (Papaw Trivett used arrowroot powder for luck and success whenever he went down to the casinos, made a business deal, or bought a house to fix up and flip. It was one of the only roots I know of him using, but he had luck with it every time.) Then sprinkle new salt in your shoes or anoint yourself with oil over which Deuteronomy 28:1–8 has been recited seven times:
1 And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:
2 And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God.
3 Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.
4 Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.
5 Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store.
6 Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.
7 The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways.
8 The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
Back in the day, a lot of folks all over the country carried or wore lucky encased pennies. The encasing had lucky symbols fashioned around the coin such as a four-leaf clover, a wish bone, and a horseshoe. They often had such sayings as “Keep Me and Never Go Broke” or “Carry Me and Have Good Luck,” which were sometimes shortened to “KMANGO” or “CMAHGL.” The one I wear is from Rock City, Lookout Mountain, in Tennessee.
There always comes a time that your luck in money may seem like it is running out. Bills eat everything and you can't hold a dollar tight enough to make the eagle scream. It's possible your luck has changed, but it's also possible you may have been crossed up in some way. To change your luck around and uncross your money, wash your feet in a solution of warm water and your own urine for a week. Sounds awful, but it works mighty fine!
ATTRACT MONEY
Different things have been used for money in Appalachia, from bear, deer, and coon skins to coins and even playing cards. A lot of the “money” used back in the day was simply items traded off for other things of value. Things that were up for offer included pigs, cattle, mules, beans, corn, and bread. Many practitioners, especially the midwives, accepted these in return for their services. I've been given chickens, turkeys, deerskins, bear fat, whiskey, and more in return for my charms and roots. Attracting money is nothing more than sweetening up your luck in business and trade. Here are a few ways to do it:
Soak a used horseshoe in whiskey for three days as the moon grows. Wash your hands with this whiskey whenever you head to make a business deal.
Carry the left hind foot of a gray rabbit in your left pocket and feed it with arrowroot powder by powdering it down. Carry it with the toes pointed upward.
Take two white candles and inscribe your name on one and “Money” on the other. Anoint them with olive oil, rubbing upward from bottom to top while praying Psalm 23:1 seven times: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”
Take an empty tin can and pour some wax from the candle down in the center and fix your name candle on top. Surround the candle with salt, cornmeal, and snuff dipped in molasses.
Place the money candle in a candle holder to the far left of the first.
