Book Review: Hoodoo Honey and Sugar Spells

 

• Title:  Hoodoo Honey and Sugar Spells: Sweet Love Magic in the Hoodoo Tradition 
• Author: Deacon Millet
• Publisher: ‎ Lucky Mojo Curio Company (April 28, 2013)
• Language: ‎ English
• Paperback: ‎ 96 pages
• ISBN-10: ‎ 0971961247
• ISBN-13 : ‎ 978-0971961241

Review

They say that you can't judge a book by it's cover, but it also goes that there's an exception to every rule. Such is the case with Hoodoo Honey and Sugar Spells. It is clear that a great deal of attention-to-detail went into the book's design and no where is this more evident than with the cover-art. At first the art work seems simple, but a closer look reveals tiny details such as the bee and honeycomb motif along the edge and back cover that creates a sense of quaintness in keeping with the down-home origins of the subject matter.

The contents of Hoodoo Honey and Sugar Spells is no less impressive. The book opens with a brief overview of what Hoodoo is as well as what Hoodoo is not. From there it goes into specific details regarding the various types of sweeteners and how they are used in the practice of Hoodoo. This, in turn, is followed by a plethora of recipes, spells, and "tricks" for a wide variety of purposes (including a few for which one would not naturally think to include sweeteners). The remainder of this little tome is filled up with a large section of frequently asked questions pertaining to Honey Jars and Sweetener-Spells taken from the Lucky Mojo forum. In many cases, the reader is given several answers representing different perspectives as represented by forum moderators and options related to their question.

Hoodoo Honey and Sugar spells is written in an easy-to-understand style with brief but clear directions for each spell or concept given such as the section on how to write petitions. Deacon Millet has done what many other books on magic and the occult so often fail to do in that he doesn't just tell you what to do to lay your trick but also why you do what you do; which is an important factor in allowing the student to both understand the importance of tradition and increase his or her chances of success. It is clear that the subject matter of Hoodoo Honey and Sugar Spells is one close to Deacon's heart as his openness, kindness, and generosity of spirit really comes through in his writing. There is very little, if anything, I can point out which is erroneous or lacking in this book except that maybe it is too short! Do yourself a favor, add it to your book-shelf today!

- Carolina Dean