To Bind or Not To Bind...That is the Spell.

Where do the lines get drawn around "love" bindings and with whose blood do we draw them?

“Don’t ever eat the spaghetti of a single woman, she’s trying to trap you”

“If you didn’t see her make your coffee, don’t you dare drink it!”

“I tried a plate of hers one day, and I got stuck with her for life!”

Whew, the very gendereddd layers, of what many folks call “love” workings, blood magic, and binding spells. A binding: to restrict the actions of another person or thing. Sometimes, it’s way to attach oneself to the the thing in question, and ensure its movements, whether that be physical, emotional or otherwise, are limited and sometimes controlled. The amount of stories across Diasporan cultures that surrounds women binding a partner, has filled the lore books with the tale of scorned lovers, and enforced stereotypes of the crazed and distrustful woman, willing to do absolutely anything for the attention and love of a man, even though that’s who ya’ll said we needed…

Blood, in my tradition would be something that I’d call a “personal concern”. It is the life force and the fluid that keeps us living and activated. Our blood identifies us, carries our unique traits, and connects us to our ancestors and descendants. It is why in many Africana Spiritual Systems, blood sacrifice of animals is one of the most sacred offerings that can be given to a godly body. The blood is a respected source of life, and thus an animal offering it’s life on our behalf is a mighty sacrifice that is worthy of high honor and respect.With blood being this sacred from an indigenous perspective, it is no wonder why it’s sacredness has turned into a frenzy of blood spaghetti and stews in patriarchal modernity. There’s power in the blood.

Binding rituals although often spoken about callously, have actually been a ritualized way that many have attached themselves to better futures, lives, and means for their families. For example, take an enslaved woman, seeking to bind herself to her also enslaved (or even freed) husband; to interlock their destinies so one may not be sold without the other to ensure they never part. Take a woman in 1968 before the Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974 who wanted a loan or credit and could legally be discriminated based on gender against by bank lenders, especially if she was unmarried and especially if she wasn’t white. In many cases women have and do need men, for semblances of security and access, as highlighted by western laws and policy. A bind to a man may not look so bad when it’s been societally deemed that you need him for your survival.

Do I think that binding rituals can and do cross many lines around consent and autonomy, yes. Have I heard horror stories of what it means to attach yourself to someone who doesn’t love you/without their consent (for whatever crazed or valid reason) and once that person tries to leave that spell backfires often leading to emotional, physical violence, stalking, and even death of the person who did the spell, unfortunately yes. For these reasons alone, I often urge people AGAINST binding their partners, exes or even sneaky links because it almost always backfires and or creates a severing process more arduous than the bind itself. Trust me I know. Some years ago, I’ve bound a lover too, and the loops, knots, and ties on that joker still linger long after my right mind has moved on. That’s the truth. And it was not tied to needing money, a bank account, or child support… it was the lust of desperation and depression intertwined with goood fucks and alcohol that had me losing my mind so much so that I knew this person would absolutely ruin me and still I wished to be ruined, as long as we were together. Sick, sick, shit lol.

Do I think that there are people that use bindings for reasons that are absolutely ridiculous? Yes. And unfortunately because of masculine male glorified societies, people often do lose their minds for the prized affection and attention of a man who is often just, regular. Which is why binding is never just a crazy mf, it’s everything everywhere all it once. That’s why I don’t judge, but I might beg you to reconsider and read some literature on the subject…

Intention, control and choice. These are themes that show up a lot for me spiritually, particularly in Black American Hoodoo, a healing and harming tradition (as coined by Dr. Yvonne Chireau). In my spiritual identity as a Hoodoo, an identity that troubles the waters around power and control, how do we reason the clear purpose of spiritual work (which is essentially to manipulate) and our deeper considerations around respecting choice and boundaries. Who gets to choose, and how much do societal norms influence what we believe our choices to be? Is it okay to bind my child for protection, but not my child’s father for child support? How might we weigh the risks and benefits of such choices? Where do the lines get drawn, and with whose blood will we draw them?

Join Juju’s Hoodoo Course in March on Crowdcast to talk more on the ethics of binding work, spells, ancestral ritual, and more.

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.