"Laying down tricks in the form of wavy lines, circles, and cross-marks on the ground is an old African custom that came to America in slavery times. Spitting into the design activates it, and when the enemy walks over the powder, he or she is said to be "poisoned through the feet," bringing on a Jinx and creating Crossed Conditions that result in all-around bad luck and long-lasting illness."
-- The Lucky Mojo Curio Co. catalogue
The labels shown here are from packages of Lucky Mojo brand Crossing crystal salts for putting in the laundry or performing a ritual floor wash. and incense for fumigating an area to be cursed.
Like the rest of the Lucky Mojo line, these products contain genuine herbs and herbal essential oils, not synthetic fragrances. The ingredients in Crossing formulas may include Salt, Cayenne Pepper, Black Pepper, Sulphur, Graveyard Dirt, crossroads dirt, ashes, crushed snail shells, spider webs, crushed insects, unravelled hemp rope, gum arabic, rattlesnake dust (powdered shed skin of a rattlesnake), black hen's eggs, and other herbs and essences. Lucky Mojo labels are adapted from vintage packaging and in many cases the images are as traditional as the ingredients themselves.
Crossing is a strongly African concept in hoodoo, a sub-set of the tradition known as direct foot-track magic, whereby one can affect another by
The word "Crossing" has several meanings in the hoodoo tradition. In its original form, it refers to laying down a trick in a "quincunx" "five-spot" or "X" pattern or creating a "cross-mark," such as a circle with an "X" through it, to "poison" an enemy who steps in it. Crossing is thus a form of direct foot-track magic and it may be the oldest and most African of this type of spell.
Cross-marks and "wavy snake lines" intended to hurt an enemy can be laid down with small stones, inscribed in the dust with a sharp stick, or drawn with chalk or sprinkled Crossing Powder on a sidewalk or street. The marks are placed in the foot path of the victim and activated by spitting into them while cursing the one for whom they are laid.
What happens to innocent people who walk over such marks is a matter of debate. Some folks will tell you that the cross-mark only affects the one it was put down for -- but almost as many people will tell you to never walk across such a mess when you see it, because you just might get crossed or "hurt through your feet" anyway.
Jinxing includes all the forms of crossing mentioned above, and is sometimes used as a synonym for crossing, but it also includes a few other tricks. For instance, people who have been verbally cursed, have had their foot-tracks whipped, have had black candles burned on their names, have been "throwed after" (that is, had bad-luck herbs, sachet powders,, or minerals thrown behind their backs by their enemies after they passed by), or who have been "dressed" or "poisoned" or "throwed for" with powders, insects, snake dust, or spiders secretly placed on their are usually said to be Jinxed.
In theory, while only a person who actually steps across a cross-mark or a trick laid in "quincunx" pattern could be said to be literally "crossed" or suffering from "crossed conditions," in practice those terms have almost become synonyms for jinxing and are casually applied to anyone who is jinxed or is undergoing bouts of bad luck and trouble, even if the cause is not known.
After you have crossed or jinxed someone, you will need to purify yourself. Many people do this by lighting 2 white offertory or crucifix candles and taking a bath in purifying herbs. Hyssop herb is what is recommended in the Bible for purification from sin, while rue herb is used to repel evil and thus ward off prossible retaliation. The hyssop bath is something you can make up yourself from hyssop leaves, or you can buy ready-made Hyssop Bath Oil, Cast Off Evil bath or Uncrossing Bath Crystals with Hyssop and Rue.
The 51st Psalm tells you how to use the hyssop bath. After you brew it and let it cool, you don't need to fill a tub of water, just use a pan full. Stand between the 2 white candles , recite the 51st Psalm, and pour the hyssop-water over your head. After this bath, some people then use the dirty wash water as a floor wash to wash down any room where they might have performed a crossing or jinxing spells and to clean the doorstep of the house so no evil can enter in. In any case, once you are done with the bath and/or wash water, it must be properly disposed of. Carry it out of the house and pour it on the ground at a crossroads (not down the drain). Then go home and light a candle dressed with Cast Off Evil Oil. This will bring you relief from the sin of having created crossed conditions for your enemy.
If you suspect that someone is trying to cross you by laying tricks for you to walk over, you can protect yourself by sprinkling Fear Not to Walk Over Evil Powder in your pathway. If you have already been crossed, jinxed, or throwed for, you can perform an Uncrossing or Jinx-Breaker spell to take off the jinx.
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