Also called justice spell, spell to win a court case, Little John to chew, court case root
A calming justice ritual for someone facing a hearing, built on hoodoo court case work with galangal root and on the Egyptian image of Ma'at's feather of truth. It is a ritual for steadiness and a fair hearing. It is no substitute for a lawyer.
TraditionAfrican American hoodoo court case work
RegionSouthern United States
Era20th century to present
Moon☽ Waxing moon
DayThursday · Jupiter
ElementAir
Difficulty●●○ Moderate
Time15 minutes a night for nine nights, then court day
Tonight's moon is read when the page loads.
The working
First, the practical part: hire or speak with a lawyer, a legal aid office or a court self-help centre, and do everything they tell you. A spell is no substitute for a lawyer.
Write a short petition asking for a fair hearing, a clear head and an outcome that is just. Do not write anyone else's name or ask for harm to them.
Each night for nine nights, light the brown candle on the petition with the feather beside it, and read the petition or Psalm 35 aloud. Snuff the candle after a few minutes.
Put the galangal, a pinch of calendula and the folded petition into the cloth bag.
On court day, dress neatly, carry the bag in a pocket, and be on time. Speak only when asked and answer truthfully.
If you want to follow the old chewing custom, chew a thin slice of fresh culinary galangal at home or in the car beforehand, as you would the food spice, and swallow or discard it there. Never spit in a courthouse; it can bring a contempt charge.
After the case, whatever the outcome, give thanks and bury the herbs or put them in the compost.
Take care: A spell is no substitute for a lawyer; get legal advice first. Only chew fresh culinary galangal as the food spice, never curio-shop root sold as not for consumption. Never spit or perform any ritual inside a courthouse.
Versions across time and place
i
Little John to Chew
African American hoodoo · 20th century to present
Galangal root, sold as Little John to Chew or Court Case Root, is softened in sugar water and chewed during the hearing, with the juice spat discreetly where the judge will walk. Because that is impractical and risky today, many practitioners carry the root in a mojo bag instead, along with deer's tongue for eloquence and calendula for winning.
Uses: galangal root, deer's tongue leaf, calendula, Court Case oil
Recorded in: Lucky Mojo Curio Co., Court Case page
ii
Psalm 7 face wash
Hoodoo psalm work · 20th century to present
Beginning nine days before court, the worker reads part of Psalm 7 over a glass of water each night and morning, then washes the face with it on court day. Brown candles dressed with Court Case oil are often burned across nine nights alongside it.
Recorded in: Lucky Mojo Curio Co., Court Case page
iii
The feather of Ma'at
Ancient Egyptian religion · New Kingdom, c. 1550 to 1070 BCE
In the Book of the Dead the heart of the deceased is weighed against the feather of Ma'at, the goddess of truth, order and justice, while the dead person declares they have not done wrong. Modern practitioners use a feather as a symbol of a fair, balanced judgment rather than of victory.
Recorded in: Book of the Dead, spell 125; Maat (Wikipedia)
History
Court case work is one of the oldest named specialties in hoodoo. Root doctors in the South and later in northern cities were consulted by clients facing arrest, eviction or custody fights, often in a legal system that treated Black defendants unfairly. Galangal, a ginger-family root from Asia that reached Europe in the Middle Ages, became known as Little John to Chew, and chewing it in court was the signature act. Conjure shops sold Court Case oils and powders through the twentieth century.
The image of justice as a weighing goes back much further. Egyptian funerary papyri from the New Kingdom show Anubis weighing the heart against the feather of Ma'at, and spell 125 of the Book of the Dead lists the wrongs the dead deny. Pairing that feather with a hoodoo court bag is a modern blend. The steps here keep the parts that ask for fairness and leave out the hoodoo workings aimed at opponents.
