Also called silence spell, spell to stop gossip, anti-gossip spell, slander protection
A protective working for when people are talking about you: a small slippery elm and salt sachet, a snake plant by the door, and a psalm against lying lips. It shields you and your reputation; it does not gag, bind or harm anyone.
TraditionAfrican American hoodoo, with Jewish and biblical teaching on harmful speech
RegionUnited States
Era20th century to present; Psalm 120 ancient
Moon☾ Waning moon
DaySaturday · Saturn
ElementEarth
Difficulty●○○ Simple
Time20 minutes
Tonight's moon is read when the page loads.
The working
Light the candle and read Psalm 120, a prayer for deliverance from lying lips and deceitful tongues, or Psalm 37, which hoodoo workers use against slander.
Put the slippery elm and a spoonful of salt into the cloth bag and tie it shut. Slippery elm is the hoodoo herb for soothing slander and gossip.
Hold the bag and say what you want: that talk about you passes without sticking, and that people who matter see you clearly.
Carry the bag at work or school, or keep it near where you meet people.
Set the snake plant near your front door or desk. In hoodoo its sword-shaped leaves are said to cut through lies spoken in a home.
Do your part in daylight: keep your own speech clean, write down facts if the gossip becomes harassment, and tell a manager, teacher or HR when needed.
Snuff the candle. Refresh the salt each new moon until the talk dies down.
Take care: Slippery elm here goes in a bag, not in food or tea. If gossip becomes bullying, threats or workplace harassment, keep records and report it; that is the protection that holds up.
Versions across time and place
i
Stop Gossip formula
African American hoodoo · 20th century to present
Conjure shops sell Stop Gossip as an oil, sachet powder, bath and candle built around slippery elm. Practitioners dress their bodies or workspaces, bathe before dawn while reciting Psalm 37, or burn a dressed candle. Some older versions carve the gossiper's name on the candle; this page leaves that out and keeps the self-protective parts.
Uses: slippery elm, Stop Gossip oil, Psalm 37
Recorded in: Lucky Mojo Curio Co., Stop Gossip page
ii
Snake plant against lying tongues
Hoodoo houseplant lore · Living practice
Casas writes that the snake plant, called mother-in-law's tongue, is kept in homes for its anti-gossip power and to keep lying tongues from disrupting a household. The sharp leaves are said to cut through works sent against you.
Recorded in: Starr Casas, Hoodoo Herbal (Weiser, 2022)
iii
Guarding your own tongue
Rabbinic Judaism · 1873
The first book devoted entirely to the laws of speech treats lashon hara, true but damaging talk, and rechilut, tale-bearing, as serious sins for the speaker and the listener. Its title comes from Psalm 34, which asks who desires life and answers: keep your tongue from evil. It is ethics rather than magic, but it is the oldest systematic stop-gossip teaching.
Recorded in: Yisrael Meir Kagan, Chofetz Chaim (Vilna, 1873)
History
Slander has worried people as long as there have been neighbours. Psalm 120 is a cry for rescue from lying lips, and Psalm 34 tells the reader to keep their tongue from evil. In 1873 Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan published the Chofetz Chaim in Vilna, the first book to organise Jewish law on gossip and harmful speech. It became so influential that its author is still known by its title.
In hoodoo, gossip work uses slippery elm, the soothing bark that herbal medicine uses for sore throats, on the logic that it smooths and quiets speech. Conjure shops sold Stop Gossip formulas through the twentieth century, and practitioners paired them with Psalm 37. Some hoodoo stop-gossip spells target the talker directly with tongue and knot imagery; this entry keeps to the protective side and puts the responsibility for harmful speech back on the speaker.
