The Tide Turns: Reversal Work in Hoodoo Tradition

Spiritually aware people are able to sense the subtle shifts of the energy all around them. It feels like the waves of the ocean influencing their lives with every push and pull of its ever changing tides. Sometimes the tide brings with it blessings, opening doors and creating new opportunities for love and luck to enter our lives. But, sometimes it can be like a tempest with heavy crashing waves which feel imposing and relentless. When a storm is brewing on the horizon but has not yet arrived at your front door, the experienced spiritual worker turns to reversal work. 

Reversal work refers to spiritual/magical rituals which are aimed at turning back the tide of negative energies like bad luck or curses and hexes. The phrase “return to sender spell” is widely used in contemporary folk magic and online communities. It also refers to rituals designed to reflect harmful energy—curses, ill will, hexes—back to their origin. As enslaved Africans mingled with Christian symbolism and Northern occult styles, they adopted candle magic, Christian Psalms, and symbolic mirrors. This likely influenced how reversal or reflection workings were framed and later renamed. 

To truly understand what reversal magic is and what it is capable of, we have to take a look at historical accounts from documents like the Federal Writers Project and the Hyatt Volumes which are both widely considered to be source materials. Several slave narratives collected by the FWP recount practices using magic to turn harm back on the sender. Some narratives describe the use of graveyard dirt, mojo powders, and spiritual rituals to create confusion or illness among pursuers or oppressors—classic features of reversal magic. These tales trace back to the Ghulla Geechee communities in Georgia and Sea Islands. They include accounts from former enslaved individuals using conjure to confuse dogs tracking freedom seekers, and applying graveyard dirt to thwart overseers—strategies akin to sending negative energy back to its source.

Hyatt’s mid-century collection remains one of the most extensive repositories of Hoodoo rituals. It contains multiple spells aimed at undoing or reflecting curses. Within Hyatt’s section "HOW TO UNDO A BEWITCHMENT OR A HOODOO SPELL," we find several reversal-oriented spells:

“If someone is bothering you and you don't want them to … take a handful of salt and call their name and throw it over your right shoulder … and they will not bother you.”

“If you think someone has a spell on you, put red pepper and salt in all four corners of the room. It will take the spell off.”

Another example describes burying a fork at a crossroads using the target's name to curse them in return. Though aggressive, it demonstrates reflective magic using sympathetic ritual techniques.Hyatt also catalogs reversing powders and oils, referred to frequently in his lore as tools to rebuff or send back spiritual attacks—precursors to modern reversal products.

Hoodoo is an organic tradition which grows and expands in tandem with African American culture. Over time, the specific rituals of reversal magic have evolved. Through history we can see how this work has changed according to the needs of the African American community. 

Timeline & Cultural Context

In my experience, reversal work should be applied as a maintenance ritual, meaning that it should be done regularly to avoid bad luck altogether. I have found that reversal work is especially effective against other practitioners who may wish you harm by sending hexes or curses. Because magic rides the invisible waves of energy all around us in order to manifest, a hex or curse can easily be reflected back to its sender by directly influencing those same invisible waves. It's like a game of tennis, to be aware of an impending storm and then to catch it by doing a ritual to reverse its influence takes talent and skill if you hope to win. 

Reversal work alone can be very effective against small attacks, but against larger spiritual attacks, it is often not enough to turn back the tides on its own. Reversal work should be one aspect of a larger practice of spiritual hygiene. The practice of maintaining one's spiritual hygiene should include regular rituals of divination, cleansing work, protection work and reversal work. This specific combination of rituals will make you aware of spiritual attacks before they happen, wash away any effects of negative energies, protect against future attacks and finally send that energy back to wherever it originated. 

Over the many years of my practice and study of hoodoo, I have performed countless reversal spells. One particular case of when I've applied this specific type of work happened during a time where I was at spiritual war with another accomplished practitioner in New Orleans. Like I previously said, it was just like an intense game of tennis, he would send something my way and then I would send it right back. Reversal work came in handy as I wasn't yet ready to perform the intense negative work which would need to happen to win the match for good. Reversal work staved off the worst effects of his work and it allowed me the time to gather my tools and launch a powerful curse in his direction. Oh yes, I used several spells to eventually turn back the tide which I will now share with you but a few. 

Return to Sender Post Office Dirt Spell

To send bad energy, gossip, or malicious work back to the sender using symbolic reversal and spiritual mail.

 Ingredients:

• A small amount of post office dirt (gathered from a post office doorway or steps)

• Black salt

• A red or black envelope

• A paper with the words “Return to Sender” and the person’s name (if known)

• A piece of mirror or foil

Instructions:

1. On a piece of paper, write:
   “All harm, all pain, all envy and hate—
   Go back to the one who sent you.
   Return to sender.”

2. Place the paper inside the envelope with the mirror (face inward) and a pinch each of post office dirt and black salt.

3. Seal the envelope and dress it with crossing oil or vinegar.

4. Leave it discreetly at a crossroads, behind a post office, or mail it without a return address (some workers do this to seal the spell).

5. State aloud:
   “What you sent, I now return. May you own your fire and burn.”

Red Pepper Bottle Spell for Reversal

To break a curse and reflect harmful energy using fire-based elements.

Ingredients:

• A small bottle or jar

• Red pepper flakes

• Salt and vinegar

• A photo or name paper of the target

• Pins or nails

• Optional: urine or graveyard dirt (for stronger protection)

Instructions:

1. Place the person’s name (or photo) in the jar.

2. Fill the jar with red pepper, salt, vinegar, and a few rusty nails or pins.

3. Add graveyard dirt if you seek ancestral justice or urine for personal domination/protection.

4. Seal the jar tightly and shake it while praying:
   “Your fire is your own, not mine. Your curse returns by design.
   All evil you sent, may you feel it threefold.”

5. Hide the jar in a dark corner of your home, or bury it near the person’s dwelling (if justified and accessible).

6. Shake the jar once daily for 9 days, commanding the reversal to be complete.

Black Candle Mirror Reversal Spell

To reflect spiritual attacks, gossip, curses, or ill wishes back to the source.

Ingredients:

• 1 black candle

• 1 small mirror

• Reversing oil (or a homemade version: olive oil + crushed red pepper + black salt)

• A pinch of cayenne pepper

• The target’s name (optional, if known)

Instructions:

1. Dress the black candle with reversing oil, pulling the oil from the wick down to the base—symbolizing sending the energy down and away from you.

2. Sprinkle cayenne pepper around the candle base for added heat and drive.

3. Place the mirror face-up under the candle holder. The mirror should reflect the flame back.

4. If you have a target's name, write it on a slip of paper and place it under the mirror.

5. Light the candle and pray Psalm 7 or 109, asking that any harm meant for you be returned to the sender.

6. Let the candle burn down completely (or in stages over several days).

Dispose of the mirror and candle remains at a crossroads or bury them at the base of a tree, asking the spirits of nature to carry the energy away from you.

“What you sent, I now return. May you own your fire and burn.”

To walk the path of Hoodoo is to learn the language of tides—the spiritual forces that rise and fall beneath the surface of our lives. It is to understand that not all storms are meant to be avoided. Some must be faced, eyes wide open, feet planted firmly in the earth, hands working the old ways passed down through blood, bone, and breath.

Reversal work is more than a reaction to spiritual harm—it is a proclamation of sovereignty. It is the assertion that your spirit will not be moved, that you are not merely the target of someone else's will, but a living, breathing force with the power to deflect, to shield, and to return. In the old days, this was called "setting things right." Not vengeance. Not spite. But balance—cosmic justice enacted through root and ritual.

The historical path that brought us here is soaked in complexity. From the Kongo Basin to the cotton fields of the American South, through the Psalms of the enslaved and the powders of the conjure doctor, reversal work has evolved. Its names have changed—once called uncrossing, counter-magic, confusion work—now known in some circles as "return to sender." But its heart remains the same. It is the will to survive and the power to reclaim one’s fate from the jaws of malice.

In my own life, reversal work has been a lifeline—a sword when I needed to fight, a shield when I needed protection. It is both immediate and patient. A well-laid reversal spell can simmer like a pot on a low flame, gradually seeping into the bones of the situation until justice begins to bloom. And sometimes, it strikes like lightning—quick, fierce, and final. But it always arrives on time, if worked with skill, clarity, and a clean conscience.

I have learned, too, that reversal work is most powerful when done not from fear, but from awareness—a kind of spiritual intelligence. It is not simply about retaliation. It is about resonance. When someone sends harm, they send a vibration, a pulse. Reversal work does not just send it back—it amplifies it with the weight of your ancestors, with the wisdom of the land, with the prayers of those who came before you.

But no tool, no spell, no bottle or candle can stand alone. Reversal work must be part of a sacred rhythm. Divination opens your eyes. Cleansing clears your path. Protection steadies your hand. And reversal… reversal sharpens your aim. Together, these form the armor of the rootworker—spiritual hygiene practiced not just in ritual, but in lifestyle, in habit, in presence.

To those who would walk this path: know that every return is also a reckoning. Not every battle requires fire. Not every enemy deserves your energy. But when it is time—when your spirit says, Now is the moment—may you light your candle with steady hands. May your mirror be polished. May your jar be sealed with intent. And may the tide turn, not in anger, but in balance.

And when it is done, let it be done. Cleanse yourself. Thank your spirits. Breathe deep.

Because you do not return energy out of fear. You do it because you have the right to peace.

You do it because your spirit knows the power of stillness after the storm.

And because when the next wave comes—and it always will—you will be ready again.