​Red bricks can be seen all over New Orleans, from the old brick streets to the brick graves in the Cities of the Dead. New Orleanians have found a variety of esoteric uses for them-- they are the preferred writing implement for marking 3 cross marks on the grave of our infamous Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau and they are used in pulverized form at the front door to keep away evil. It comes as no surprise that red bricks would also be used in the makeshift shrines seen around the city in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina.
​

But where did this practice come from? One can only surmise; but, the fact of the matter is that red ochre clays have been used medicinally and ritualistically since the earliest of times. For example, medicinal use of red ochre clay is described in the Ebers Papyrus from Egypt, dating to about 1550 B.C. (Ferguson, 2006). And, ochre pigments were used by Cro-Magnon artists who painted prehistoric cave paintings in southern Europe between 32,000 and 10,000 years ago.


Residues of red ochre clays have been found in burial contexts all over the world from Paleolithic peoples in Europe to Late Holocene peoples of the Americas. Red ochre paint was used to imbue the newly departed with symbolic blood. For example, a human burial ground was found at Caplen Mound on Galveston Island, Texas which had a clam shell covered with a thin layer of red ochre. The shell was found within the grave and is assumed by archeologists to have functioned as the receptacle which held the paint used during body preparation rituals (Campbell, 1957).


Many suggest that the origin of the use of red brick dust can be traced to traditional African irosun powder. Irosun powder is red dust produced by termites from the barwood (Pterocarpus osun) and camwood (Baphia nitida) trees. Termites eat the outer white portion of the wood, leaving the heartwood to produce the reddish powder called osun. Irosun powder is used in Ifá for divining purposes; it is sprinkled on the divining tray by the diviner and figures of Ifá are marked on the tray in the powder (Bascom, 1991).
​

In New Orleans, the most commonly known use for red brick dust is its application in pulverized dust form to the front steps of the home as a means of keeping evil away. It is said that red bricks were taken from the Dumaine Street Brickyard—the earliest place in New Orleans in which Voodoo rituals occurred—and were used in rituals and floor washes. The last reference to the Dumaine Street Brickyard in print was in connection with Voodoo Queen Sanité Dédé in 1825. Since that time, red bricks remain plentiful and can be procured all over the city.
​

The use of red bricks has been mentioned in a number of writings. In the The Life and Works of Marie Laveau, for example, Raul Canizares (2001) talks about hex-proofing the home Orleans-style:
​

​It should come as no surprise that Robert Tallant (1984) has something to say about red brick dust as well. He writes about it in his book Voodoo in New Orleans:

The use of red brick dust as first line of defense in the home is not the only way it is used in the context of New Orleans Voodoo. For example, Milo Rigaud (2001) in Secrets of Voodoo describes how vévés are traced on the ground using several different kinds of flour and assorted powders-- cornmeal, ashes, coffee grounds, brick dust, powdered bark and roots—while the vévé itself comprises the various symbols of the mysteries petitioned during Vodou ceremonies.

In addition to its use in protective works, red brick dust has been used in a variety of different ways to exploit its powerful protective properties. Here are a couple of ways in which red brick dust is used in New Orleans Hoodoo.
 
To Conjure a Person
To conjure a person, fill a bottle with red brick dust, a piece of devil’s shoestring, 9 navy beans, and 9 rusty nails. Top off with white lightning (moonshine), shake well while uttering a few choice words, then throw in the sewer. This conjure is sure to make a person very sick.
 
To Swell a Man
To swell a man and keep him from bragging, take a red brick and dress nine black candles on which the target’s name has been etched with a rusty nail. Write the same name on a piece of paper with Dragon’s Blood ink and place it face down on the brick. Tie the paper securely to the brick with twine. Light one candle per day for nine days. After the last candle has burned, throw the brick along with the candle remains in the canal or the sewer. “Just like the brick soaks up the water, so that man will swell” (Hurston, 1935).

To Nullify Evil
To nullify an evil work, sprinkle some red brick dust on top of the crossed object.
 
Red Brick Floor Wash
Make a wash with red brick dust. Wash doors and windows to keep out enemies.
 
Red Brick Dust Candle Fix
Add a pinch of red brick dust to candles for protection.
 
Red Brick for Safe Travel
Keep a chunk of red brick in the trunk of your car for protection and safe travel.
 
Red Brick Dust Barrier for Protection
Use red brick dust in your windows and doorways to keep out enemies.

Shake the Devil Off Powder
Powder to prevent from being crossed: crush up red brick dust and dragon’s blood and sprinkle around the home. This can also be added to floor washes and used to dust candles and petition papers.

_____________________________________
* This article is excerpted from the book Red Brick Dust: A Traditional New Orleans Conjure Curio by Denise Alvarado, In press.

​In ancient times, people tended to use the concept of resemblance in the application and practice of medicine and the law of similarity to the practice of magic. These ideas were central to the understanding and prediction of which plants, roots and herbs would be curative of specific diseases, and which would have a supernatural effect on a given condition. Using the concept of resemblance, for example, ailments of the spleen were treated with the the common fern Asplenium scolopendrium as it bears a striking resemblance to a spleen. The leaf of Hepatica acutiloba was shaped like the liver, so it was used to treat liver disorders, and the leaf of the Cyclamen persicum resembles an ear, and so it was used to treat earaches. This ideology was prevalent through the 16th century.

In the 1500s, Paracelsus von Hohenheim (1493–1541) referred to the concept of resemblance as the Doctrine of Signatures. He believed that by observing the physical properties and characteristics of plants one could tell which ones were used in healing the conditions of humankind. Characteristics such as smell, shape, color, the time of growth, and when a flower blossomed were all indicators of a specific plants’ given medicinal use. Paracelsus noticed that the Christmas rose (Helleborus niger) flowered in winter, for example, and thus concluded that it had rejuvenating powers. He then introduced it to the pharmacopoeia and recommended it for elderly people (Pearce, 2008).

In the early 1600’s Jakob Böhme (1575-1624) from Görlitz, Germany wrote "Signatura Rerum; The Signature of all Things". His book espoused a spiritual philosophy; however it soon was adopted for its medical application. The Doctrine states that, by observation, one can determine from the color of the flowers or roots, the shape of the leaves, the place of growing, or other signatures, what the plant's purpose was in God's plan. The central idea to the Doctrine of Signatures is the belief that everything was created with God the Creator’s divine signature. The Heavenly artist signed each living thing with a special mark indicating the purpose for the creation of the organism. We know the purpose by observing the visual cues and signature associations. This idea is not limited to just plants, however. It has also informed us as to the use of how animal parts and minerals have been used medicinally.

Although the Doctrine of Signatures traditionally refers to plants and their characteristics, in Southern rootwork the same train of thought is applied to animals and minerals. If the goal is for a couple to fight like cats and dogs for example, cat and dog hair is employed in workings and formulas. If help is needed with making important decisions, crossroads dirt may be used. If an improvement in finances is desired, then dirt from a bank may be used.
​

Dirt from a bank - Use to attract money, heal financial woes, fix credit, and secure a loan. Anoint a green candle with Algiers Fast Luck Oil and dust with dirt from a bank and burn during a waxing moon.

Crossroads dirt - Use for decision making and opening roads. Anoint a Red Candle with Papa Legba Conjure Oil and set in a dish of crossroads dirt and burn during a waning moon to remove obstacles. 

Dirt from a police station - Use to guard and protect your home and property or to send the law someone's way who deserves it. Sprinkle some dirt from a police station in some cactus placed by the front door to keep the law away or add to Peace Lillies indoors to maintain order inside the home.

Dirt from a court house- Use to influence or win legal cases and to achieve justice in a situation. Anoint a yellow candle with Court Case Conjure Oil and dust with dirt from a courthouse. Burn three days before going to court.

Church Dirt - Used for blessings, protection, and purification. Sprinkle a little in the four corners of the house to cleanse it of negativity. Anoint a white candle with Mama Mary Spiritual Oil and dust with some church dirt and burn at any time in the living room to foster peace and harmony in the home, and to attract blessings.

Graveyard Dirt - Graveyard dirt is employed for literally hundred of tricks and spells. Employed in aggressive love magic, curses, protection work. Dirt from the grave of a loved one can be kept on your Ancestor Altar.

Dirt from a Mudslide - Use to make sticky situations and clingy individuals slide away from you. Mix rain water, mud, and okra and put in a jar along with a photo of the person you want to stay away from you, or a written petition of the situation you wish to slide off of you. Seal it, shake it, and bury it somewhere far away from your home.

Dirt from a Rose Garden - Use to make love grow, nurture romantic relationships, and to foster love. Add to mojo bags or dust a red candle and burn during a full moon.

Dirt from a Vegetable Garden - Use to attract abundance and ensure your family will never go hungry. Keep a small amount wrapped in a paper on which you have written the 23rd Psalm.

I am happy to offer a select number of mineral and zoological specimens for use in your magickal or educational pursuits. These specimens are provided for their ethnographic value and interest only. The use and application of our mineral and zoological specimens is solely at the customer's risk.

Find a full selection of Conjure Dirts, Dusts, and Minerals at Creole Moon.

​If you should wake up in the morning and find a little black coffin on your front porch, what would you do? Would you open it? What if you opened it and found a doll inside that had your photo attached to it?

That’s exactly what happened to Commissioner Zenaida Denizac of Deltona Florida in the summer of 2008. As her husband headed out to her mailbox early one morning, he stumbled upon a black plastic dish that contained a creepy, wax covered voodoo doll with a photo of his wife’s face attached to it. It was burned, covered in black powder and stuck with pins all over its body.

You might say you aren’t superstitious, and that you don’t believe in magick and Voodoo. Commissioner Denizac did. "These are faceless cowards, people with small minds, trying to deviate me from the job I was appointed to do," Denizac said on the news. "I'm not afraid. I'm still going to speak my mind. Nothing is going to shut me up."

Still, the doll was considered a threat to the safety and wellbeing of the Commissioner by authorities, prompting beefed up security and a full-blown investigation. No one believes in this Voodoo stuff, though, despite the fact that folks looked over their shoulders for a few serpents and rainbows for weeks following the incident...(excerpt from the Voodoo Doll Spellbook, Alvarado, 2014).

​Coffin conjure - and little black coffins in particular - are a signpost of New Orleans' brand of Voodoo. A powerful form of psychological warfare, coffins have been used to intimidate unwanted neighbors to move and to bring about the unnatural and untimely deaths of enemies.

Coffins can also be used for transformative works as well. Much like the symbolism of the Death card in the tarot, death does not always indicate the actual physical expiration of a human being. It could symbolize the cessation of a bad habit or the end of a time of misfortune, or it could mean the transformation from one condition to another, usually improved, state of being.

Coffin conjure typically involves the use of special curios, powders, oils and herbs and our Coffin Conjure section includes these items. Coffin nails, graveyard dirt, goofer dust, herbes of the dark arts, little coffins and doll babies are among the two headed conjurer's arsenal.
​

This is a trippy little movie I put together about 8 years ago...it's got a bunch of coffin dolls in it for those who may be interested.
Music courtesy of Studio Voodoo.
​