Black Witch's Salt in New Orleans Hoodoo

[SunKat]

Black ritual salt, also called Witch's’ Salt, Sal Negro and Drive Away Salt, is a colored salt used in many occult practices. Black salt is composed of salt plus a blackening agent. It traditionally consists of the char and soot from the bottom of a cauldron mixed with normal table salt, salt mixed with black pepper, salt mixed with charcoal, or salt dyed black. While regular salt and Kosher or Blessed salt are used for purification and protection purposes, black salt is used to drive out negativity or drive away evil influences and people from a space or person. Black salt can also be used in malevolent and defensive magic being an ingredient in foot track magic and gris gris, for example.

Black Salt is a great conjure to have around because of it is inexpensive to purchase, relatively easy to make (though admittedly a bit time consuming), and is very flexible in its application. It can be used for cleansing, protection, charging scrying mirrors, defensive magic, keeping away bad neighbors and dressing candles for revenge work, among a host of other things.

Black Salt is one of the most traditional conjures found in southern Hoodoo and rootwork, especially in New Orleans. For example, the following excerpt from Harry Middleton Hyatt’s Hoodoo - Conjuration - Witchcraft - Rootwork, a 5-volume, 4766- page collection of folkloric material gathered between 1935 and 1939, gives a good example of the use of black salt in the form of salt and pepper in a floor wash for protection. Several other examples of Black Salt conjures follow as well.

Salt and Black Pepper Floor Wash for Protection
1459. The best thing you do, when you go out early in the morning, if you got – before you leave your home, if you feel that such as that is carrying on around you, you take such an ordinary thing as -- take salt, black pepper, and mix that together in a bottle, and scrub your place out. Don't scrub it inward, see. Always scrub out from your place.

And with that water you mix salt and black pepper and scrub every morning before the sun rise. Make that a habitual habit to scrub in the morning before the sun rise – every morning scrub out your door before de sun rise, and that will give you a natural protection against anything that's evil. Somebody's put something against you, down for you that will give you protection against that.
[New Orleans, La., (828), 1214:4.]

To Keep a Person from Returning Home
Black Salt is used in many variations of the keep someone from returning conjure. For example, to keep someone from returning to your home - whether a visitor or cheatin’ partner - take a handful of black salt and throw it after them as they leave and holler “Get out of here and don’t come back!” and they won’t be able to return.

Another version of this trick goes like this: If someone comes to your house you don't want them to come back, throw a handful of salt at them and say, 'In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost; move on' - and they say they will never come back again.

Yet another variation of this spell goes like this: To prevent a troublesome person from returning to the home, throw black salt on the porch or sidewalk after them as they leave and then quickly sweep it out to the street while cursing them out.

A fourth version of this work is this: If someone comes and you don't want them to come back, put salt and black pepper on the carpet. When they leave, take a broom and sweep it out the door and into the street and they will not come back.

Doll Baby Conjure
To gain revenge on an enemy, sprinkle black salt into a doll baby along with a personal concern from the enemy, such as a photograph or some of their hair.

Nullify Evil Conjure
If someone comes to your house and you think they are putting an evil spirit on you, just as soon as they leave, sprinkle salt all around the chair they were sitting on and put a little on the seat of the chair, and they can't do you any harm.

Bottle Spell to Curse an Enemy
To a bottle or jar of any size, add 3 teaspoons of Black Salt to thunder water (water collected during a thunder storm). Add graveyard dirt, black pepper, some Black Devil Oil and a petition with the enemy’s name written on it. Close the lid and shake well while cursing your enemy. Dump the solution on the hood of your enemy’s car or bury it in their yard. Alternately, sprinkle some around their doorstep or sidewalk near the passenger side door so that they will step in it and carry it into their homes and car floor mats.

Make an Unwanted Guest or Visitor Leave
For the visitor or guest who has overstayed their welcome, take a broom and stand it up on end (bristles up) in the corner outside the front door. Sprinkle some Black Salt on top of the bristles and say: “You (state the person’s name) have overstayed your welcome and it is time for you to leave, In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit – so be it.” Within minutes they will become restless and leave.

To Protect a Candle Work from Being Jinxed
To keep someone from potentially jinxing a work, Place your candle and petition paper on a fire-proof dish and spread a line of Black salt around the entire plate to protect it from spiritual sabotage.

Reference

Hyatt, Harry Middleton, M.A. Hoodoo, Conjuration, Witchcraft, Rootwork. Vol. 2, (1970)