Is it a hex or governmental vex?

It could be a friend, but there's an even bigger curse looming over our heads

Hexes, curses, and bad bad bad juju…tends to be the more popularized conversations around magic, ancestral spirituality, and other seemingly “occult” leaning practices. As a full time ancestral medium “am I hexed?” is probably one of my most FAQ’s outside of “do they [spirits] have anything to say about my relationship?” …which I hate to say.. is sometimes the very hex itself, but I digress.

I think that the lore of a grandmother being cursed by her neighbor or the a scorn lover burying the draws of their ex in the cemetery have rightfully made many of us weary about the possibility of being harmed by previous loved ones and sometimes even strangers. This is a valid, and the point of this essay is not to suggest that curses and hexes are not real, but that it’s not always the people we think it is.

Curses happen when we cut people off in the road and they “curse” us out, they happen with deep malevolent stares because our hair is green or we dared to dress “like that” in front of a conservative bunch. But one of the biggest hexes I’ve seen are those that happen structurally, institutionally, and you bet intentionally.

Have we considered what may be the spiritual implications of anti-blackness, structural neglect, food deserts, anti-dei and and and….?Could this not also be one of the biggest hexes that we are attempting to navigate- the powerful, strong, and even ancient spirits of colonialism and earth violence? My assertion is not that we do not need to protect ourselves from the one on one nastiness that we can count on because of humanness, but how do we bury these very strong institutional ghosts in their graves, as a means to address our desires for a better world and sovereignty?

Watch my latest Youtube video to discuss hexes, curses, how to tell if you’ve been the recepient of one, and herbal medicines and workings that can help alleviate them. If you’re really really curious, consider signing up for my Hoodoo with Juju Course: Old and Contemporary African American Spirituality for Healing + Liberation.

In times like these, fear is a spirit who is vying for all of our attention and time... but remember “for every curse, there is the reverse”

Juju Bae is Osun Priestess, ancestral healer, writer, and self proclaimed bad bitch witch from Baltimore. She is the author of The Book of Juju: Africana Spirituality for Healing Liberation and Self-Discovery and host of award winning show A Little Juju Podcast. Her interests include deciphering ancestral wisdoms, Black spiritual tradition, and the mundane magic in the everyday . Her writing mystical musings can be found…on Substack.