What I really dislike about making mojo bags is making the bag itself, especially the fiddly little overlap at the top where the string goes on. Yes, I know there are such things as prefab mojo bags. Much cheaper, when you factor in labor costs. But I have all this lovely red flannel … Well, next week I’m going to spend an afternoon making a whole bunch of mojo bags. You have my permission to nag me about it.
I taught myself how to sew just so I could make my own mojo bags. It was traumatic, but I put on my big-boy pants and just learned. Now I can sew those, too.
Unless you’re making a bag to be reopened, you don’t need to make it fancy. Simply tying up the cloth (from either red flannel or from an appropriate piece of clothing) will do. The store bought tradition has a lot of people feeling the bag making process should be labor intensive.There’s really no need for them to look like the ones in the stores. It is fun though if you have a knack for sewing. ~Blessings~
That’s a good point, mariev. There are so many traditional ways to make container spells. Some people even put them in lockets. You’re also right about the expectations generated by the supply houses, many of whom do beautiful work. My colleague Charles Porterfield says that such “minor” details are psychopomps — soul-guides. I believe he’s right.
I’ve done hot-foot work with a white candle, cooking oil, salt and pepper — but I’d rather have a red candle with the good old sinus-clearing Hot Food Powder, wouldn’t you? And if I can’t have that, I’ll wrap some red paper around a white novena candle and put a few drops of Tabasco on it, if that’s all I have.
Same with mojo bags. You can make them look as nice as anything you can get from Lucky Mojo or The Good Luck Shop, once you know how. Or you can (for instance) fold a pinch of herbs into a tiny prayer paper and slip it under someone’s doorstep to make them move out — and it’ll be cleverly disguised as a tiny piece of litter.
Now I’m starting to ramble. But God is in the tangents, right? 🙂