High John the Conqueror

High John the Conqueror roots (Ipomoea jalapa or Ipomoea purga) are carried to overcome overwhelming odds against you, legal matters, luck, money, gambling, personal power, success, physical strength, sexual prowess, and for men to attract women. They can be ground into shavings to add to any incense or use alone for all of these purposes. They can be chipped or soaked whole in aftershave tonics for a hand wash for gambling, or to pick up women. You can anoint a root with just about any magick oil to dedicate it to that purpose. An all-purpose magick oil can be made by soaking a whole root (or three small roots) in vegetable oil for a couple of weeks.

High John was said to be an African prince or king who was enslaved, but who through his intelligence, charisma, and magick, was always able to end up ruling his putative master and became a very wealthy man even though he was technically a slave. Just about every Caribbean island plus New Orleans claims High John as a resident or ancestor spirit. This root which is said to have been his main source of magickal power is a staple of HooDoo and Southern herb magick. The root comes from Mexico, so the original High John may have consulted with Mexican Native American magicians to find a substitute for his African power herb. The vine resembles Morning Glory.

There is significant disagreement about which planet corresponds to High John the Conqueror Root. I have finally settled on a firm opinion. High John is a perennial relative of the Morning Glory, and the root is the useful magickal part. When it is sliced, as for drying, it betrays the growth year rings, which correspond to the rings of the planet Saturn. Considering the very broad uses of High John for luck, money, legal aid, overcoming odds, etc, we could easily lump these intentions into the broad category of Destiny workings, which is ruled by the planet Saturn. Regular Morning Glory is ruled by Saturn as well.

The below correspondences are vis Cunningham, Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs in plain text, C.L. Zalewski, Herbs in Magic and Alchemy in brackets, or my own interpretations in parenthesis.

For other potions to bring Luck, see my blog article.

For other potions for protection, see my blog article on magick of protection.