MIPC: To Keep a "Black Witch" in Line

Note: MIPC stands for Magic in Popular Culture and this is a series of posts in which I take a magical belief or practice from a work of fiction such as movies, books, comic books, or tv shows and analyze them against real-world magical beliefs and practices.

To Spell or Belief 

A mojo bag containing a bear claw, a little bell, copper wire, and buttons are anathema to a black witch as well as the sound of breaking glass. 

Karl Kolchak

Kolchak: The Night Stalker

The Trevi Collection  Air Date: Jan 24th 1975

Commentary

For the purposes of this article, please note that the term Black Witch refers to an evil witch - one who practices black magic -  and has no racial connotations. Now within the context of the episode, Madame Trevi keeps such a mojo bag in an oak box hidden in an armoire behind her desk. It is guarded by several brass bells hanging on silver cords over the box. In addition to these items, there are several scrolls with binding symbols draw on white paper and tied with purple ribbon. 

Let's take a look at some of these items and why they may have been chosen for the purpose of protecting oneself from an evil witch. 

• Bell- It was once believed that ringing church bells at night would cause witches to fall off of their brooms if they happen to be flying over head. Ringing bells are also said to break up negative energy and chase evil away. 
• Copper Wire- I associate copper with the planet Venus and therefore money and love spells. However, according to Cunningham's Encyclopedia or Crystal, Gems, and Metal Magic copper protects against negativity. `Another source, Holland's Grimoire of Magic Correspondences echoes this belief. 
• Bear Claw- The fang or claw of any predatory animal is a formidable talisman of protection. 
• Binding Sigils- Sigils are a form of symbolic magic which allows the individual attract or repel people or things. 
• Buttons- This one had me scratching my head a little bit. I have a button in my  bone-reading set which symbolizes attachment to something (hint: look to surrounding bones to figure out what someone is attached to and if it is good or not.) In this respect the button may be used to attach the spell to the witch in question rendering him or her powerless against you. It could also be that the button belong to the witch and is included in the mojo bag to make it more personal. 

With this in mind, I would say that these are powerful tools to protect you from an evil witch or other practitioner who is working magic to do you harm. However, I may substitute a devil pod aka bat nut in place of the bear claw. 

Real World Application 

Pictured: Mirror Box ©2021 Carolina Dean 

This is actually an area where I have some real world experience. As a professional rootworker I have, on occasion, gotten involved in witch wars or otherwise become the target of evil magic. However, even before all that when I was just a fledgling witch myself I met a woman who we will call Jezebel. 

Jezebel wasn't just a woman, she was a witch. Not only that she was a public witch. In much the same way as Laurie Cabot before her, Jezebel lived as a witch 24 hours a day dressing in flowing black robes, with silver jewelry, and a crystal ball tipped staff. I was fascinated by her. She was only ten years older than me and had traveled all over, owned a Pagan book store at one time, met famous witches such as the Farrars, and to top it all off she made her living as a prostitution whore (to quote Teresa Guidice) !

Now outwardly, Jezebel identified as Wiccan -an it harm none, and all that. However, she had no problem cursing her enemies. She explained to me that her family tradition of witchcraft included elements of Witchcraft, Hoodoo, and Voodoo. She regaled me with tales of learning tarot and sex magic from her Aunt and herbal magic and medicine from her Grandmother. Her Grandfather was an actual Horse Whisperer from which she inherited her love of animals. 

Jezebel never initiated me into her family tradition of witchcraft and I never asked her to. However, I learned a lot from her when we would occasionally get together to cast spells, perform Full Moon rituals, etc... Sometimes it was just me and her and other times it was some persons or other who drifted in and out of her life. 

She got involved in local politics and drew the ire of the town. At one point we got together and cursed the mayor of our town, who also happened to have been my high school principle and (allegedly) a member of the KKK- so I had no problem joining in the fun. At one point I became uncomfortable with some of the things she wanted to do and I decided to put some distance between us. 

I sincerely tried to part as friends but she did not make it easy. It was around this time my life spun out of control. I got in trouble with the law. I lost my job. I lost my home and I was facing serious jail time. Coincidentally, I was experiencing my Saturn Return during this time as well. However, I wasn't as into astrology as I am today.  I was so occupied trying to put my life back together that I totally forgot all about Jezebel. Later it occurred to me that in addition to my own poor choices, my Saturn Return amplified the black magic that Jezebel was directing at me because she didn't want anyone to know her dirty little secret(s) because she had dreams of running for office herself (which she eventually did and lost) 

When I finally settled down I found myself all the way across the country in Washington State. As Saturn began to move out of orb from it's position in my Natal Chart, things began to stabilize for me. I got a new job here in Washington and my own apartment. It was then that I began taking steps to protect myself using the knowledge that Jezebel had taught me herself and other things I had learned on my own. 

First, I constructed a mirror-box (see image above). Then I fashioned a doll-baby in her likeness. I had been a good little witch and had previously collected hair from her brush when visiting her home. I also had photos and her signature on certain legal documents in case I ever needed it. All these things were placed inside the doll which I baptized in her name. I bound and gagged the doll and placed it in the mirror box face down having remember reading story about how people suspected of being vampires were buried upside down. The belief was if they tried to dig their way out they would dig deeper into the earth. 

I burned a black candle on the four corners and center of the box letting the wax run down. When they were spent I bound the box with black thread wrapping it around and around the box as I called down curses on her head trapping her spirit inside the box forever and taking away her power to do me or anyone else harm again. 

The Results 

I keep my evil eye on Jezebel checking in with her on occasion through divination. In 2015 she was the subject of a documentary focusing on her lawsuit against my home town over prayer at town council meetings.  I have not been able to view the documentary myself but in the preview she talks about being a prisoner in her own home. It appears that we cursed each other. I cannot go home and she cannot leave. 

I also have family who live in the same town -just one street over from Jezebel - and there have been some news reports about her activities such as speaking at town council meetings (and getting shut down!) Through various sources, including some of her own posts on social media, I have learned that her home was condemned by the town forcing her to move into the house next door to her own. She also had a mild stroke not too long ago after a mix up with her medication and has since been housebound. 

- Carolina Dean