They Called It Faith, But It Was Power
When I was growing up, I was taught about Harriet Tubman and Nat Turner, like most of us were, through the watered-down lens of the American classroom. Harriet was “The Moses of her people,” and Nat Turner was “a religious fanatic who led a rebellion.” They told us they were brave, faithful, devoted to God.
But what they didn’t tell us, what they never wanted us to know, is that both Harriet and Nat were rootworkers.
They were hoodoos.
They walked with spirit.
They heard from God because they knew how to listen.
This is the other side of the story. The side that was hidden, demonized, and rewritten by those who feared the power of our ancestors because they couldn’t control what they couldn’t understand.
Harriet and Nat didn’t just pray for freedom. They conjured it.
Harriet Tubman – The Seer Who Walked with Spirit
Let’s start with Harriet.
Born Araminta Ross, she was never just an ordinary woman. From a young age, she was marked... chosen. After a traumatic head injury from a slave master’s blow, she began experiencing visions, prophetic dreams, and divine instructions. History books call them “visions from God,” but baby, in the language of our ancestors, that’s second sight. That’s spirit walking. That’s rootwork.
Harriet didn’t rely on maps or white men’s directions. She relied on her dreams. She used astrology. Spirit would show her which way to go, which house to stop at, when to move and when to wait. Every journey she took was guided by divine intuition and ancestral downloads in motion.
Before each rescue, she anointed herself with oils and prayed the Psalms for protection. She carried roots, herbs, and charms to guard her and those she led. Folks whispered that Harriet could make herself invisible, that no dogs could catch her scent, and no bullet could touch her. That ain’t superstition, that’s protection work!
She worked the land, so she knew every root that healed, every leaf that hid her, every river that washed away tracks and crossed dimensions. Harriet was a rootworker in the truest sense using what the earth gave her to protect her people.
If you’ve ever prayed over your candle, anointed your feet with oil before stepping into hostile ground, or followed spirit when logic said “don’t,” then you already know Harriet’s language.
Her light was our ancestor’s lantern. And she walked with spirit so closely, even death feared her.
Nat Turner – The Prophet Who Heard the Ancestors Speak
Now let’s talk about Nat.
Historians call him “a preacher.” But his sermons weren’t Sunday morning speeches. They were prophecies. Nat Turner saw visions, heard messages, and read divine signs in nature. The way Africans have done for thousands of years.
He studied the sky, the moon, the patterns in the wind. When the 1831 solar eclipse turned the sun dark, he knew it was the ancestors speaking, a cosmic omen. Spirit told him: It’s time.
The rebellion he led wasn’t only a physical revolt. It was spiritual warfare. Nat and his followers used charms, prayers, and psalms, the same elements found in hoodoo, to shield themselves and to strike fear in their oppressors. They walked in the knowledge that God and the ancestors stood behind them.
Nat’s gift of prophecy came from the same ancestral line as the diviners, dreamers, and root doctors of West Africa.
He was a seer.
He was a conjurer.
He was a man possessed with the spirit of liberation.
And like every prophet before him, white America called him crazy. They called him demonic. Because they could not fathom a Black man who could hear the voice of God without their permission.
Hoodoo Was the Language of Freedom
When our ancestors were stolen from their land, they couldn’t bring much, no drums, no altars, no holy texts. But they carried something even stronger: knowledge.
Hoodoo was born out of survival. It was the magic of the enslaved, power hidden in plain sight. They couldn’t speak their language, so they spoke through symbols.
They couldn’t practice their religion, so they masked it in the Bible.
They couldn’t fight openly, so they used the roots under their feet.
Our people used herbs to heal, to curse, to protect, and to escape. They used conjure bags filled with High John root, Devil’s Shoe String, and lodestone. They burned candles and read Psalms because every Psalm is a spell when spoken with faith.
Harriet and Nat both understood this language. They didn’t beg for deliverance. They commanded it.
This is why Hoodoo was demonized. Because it was effective.
Because every time a slave disappeared in the night, every time a rebellion rose, every time someone “found favor” where they weren’t supposed to, white supremacy couldn’t explain it.
So they called it witchcraft.
They called it evil.
They tried to make us fear our own medicine.
But baby, we were never powerless. They just told us we were.
The Erasure of Spiritual Truth
The whitewashing of Black history runs deep. They needed to keep Harriet and Nat “safe” for public consumption and palatable for textbooks and children’s stories.
So they stripped away the spirit work. They erased the herbs, the candles, the dreams, the divination, and left only “Christian faith.”
Now don’t get me wrong, many of our ancestors found strength in the church, because that’s where we hid our power.
But the real truth? The Bible was a spell book in the hands of the enslaved. They prayed the Psalms the same way we recite affirmations and chants today, not for religion, but for results.
Psalm 35 for protection.
Psalm 23 for peace.
Psalm 91 for invisibility.
Harriet knew those verses by heart. Nat preached them like battle cries. And that’s exactly what they were... war spells cloaked in scripture.
Hoodoo as Spiritual Warfare
Hoodoo has always been a weapon of liberation.
When they whipped our bodies, we healed with herbs.
When they tried to break our spirits, we prayed and conjured.
When they took our freedom, we dreamed it back into existence.
That’s the root of our magic, survival through divine connection.
Harriet’s lantern was more than a light in the dark. It was a spiritual beacon.
Nat’s sword was more than a blade. It was an extension of ancestral vengeance.
And that same current of power still runs through us today.
Every time you dress a candle with Rich Bitch Conjure’s Blockbuster Oil to remove obstacles…
Every time you cleanse with Angelica Cleansing Oil to break spiritual bondage…
Every time you anoint your crown with Crown of Success Oil to walk in divine favor…
You’re tapping into the same current Harriet and Nat did.
Freedom isn’t something we wait for... it’s something we conjure.
Freedom Fire Ritual – Honoring the Spirits of Resistance
Let’s honor the ancestors who fought both seen and unseen battles.
This ritual calls on the spirit of Harriet Tubman, Nat Turner, and every unnamed rootworker who conjured liberation into being.
You’ll need:
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1 red candle (for power and courage)
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1 white candle (for protection and purity)
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Rich Bitch Conjure’s Blockbuster, Angelica Cleansing, and Crown of Success Oils
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Herbs: bay leaf, cinnamon, tobacco, and rosemary
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A bowl of water (for offerings)
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A glass of Florida Water for cleansing
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Psalm 35
Steps:
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Begin by cleansing your space with Florida Water or smoke from white sage.
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Dress both candles with the oils. Sprinkle the herbs around them in a circle.
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Light your incense or Rich Bitch Conjure’s Luxury Incense Stick – Protection or Crown of Success Blend.
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Speak aloud:
“I call on the spirit of Harriet Tubman, Nat Turner, and every ancestor who fought for freedom.
Stand with me as I claim my liberation — in spirit, in wealth, in purpose, in power.” -
Read Psalm 35 out loud with conviction.
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Write down one area of your life where you’re ready to be free, financially, emotionally, spiritually.
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Burn that paper in the flame of the red candle while saying:
“As this burns, I am unbound.
I am the spell my ancestors cast for freedom.” -
Thank the ancestors and pour the water onto the earth.
Perform this ritual whenever you feel trapped, oppressed, or disconnected. It is a remembrance of who you come from... the conjurers, the liberators, the unbreakable ones.
Reclaiming Our Power
Hoodoo isn’t just candles and oils. It’s ancestral technology. It’s encoded power passed down through hands that picked cotton, built nations, and never lost faith in their own magic.
Harriet and Nat were never victims. They were architects of freedom.
They didn’t just fight for us. They conjured for us.
And now, it’s our turn to walk in that power.
Every ritual, every prayer, every bottle of oil you use is an act of remembrance.
When you anoint yourself with power, you’re saying: I will not forget what they tried to erase.
We are the living continuation of their work.
We are the conjurers of our generation.
So keep conjuring, baby.
Keep praying your Psalms.
Keep dressing your candles.
Keep speaking your affirmations.
And keep remembering:
Freedom was never given. It was conjured.
Closing Words from LadyDi
When I light my candles, I think of Harriet walking through the night with nothing but faith and fire. I think of Nat looking up at that darkened sun and saying, “Now.”
That’s the energy I channel into every ritual I perform and every bottle I craft. Rich Bitch Conjure is my way of honoring them — transforming pain into power, bondage into brilliance, survival into sovereignty.
The same roots that freed them are the roots that elevate us now.
That’s Hoodoo.
That’s legacy.
That’s liberation.
So go ahead! Reclaim your roots, honor your ancestors, and conjure your freedom.