High John the Conqueror root is the most famous root in Hoodoo, and it is carried for one thing above all others: the power to win. It is a dried root the size of a walnut, named for an African American folk hero who outsmarted every master set over him, and for more than a century it has ridden in pockets and mojo bags for luck, money, courage, court cases, and mastery over whatever stands in your way.
This page tells you who High John was, what the root is and what it isn't, what it means, and exactly how to use it, from the first drop of oil to the words you say over it.
What High John the Conqueror Root Is
High John the Conqueror root is the dried root of Ipomoea jalapa, a Mexican morning glory relative also called jalap, and it is sold whole as a hard, dark, gnarled lump about the size of a walnut.
The plant grows in the mountains of eastern Mexico and is a cousin of the sweet potato and the garden morning glory. Its root was once a well-known purgative in European medicine, which is why it reached the American South through the drug trade in the 1800s and why it should never be eaten today. Root workers wanted it for a different reason. The root is hard, heavy, dark, and knotted, and it keeps for years without crumbling, which makes it a natural talisman. Cut or broken, it shows a pale inside with dark rings, and old-timers say a good root is one that feels heavier than it looks.
High John is one of three "John" roots in Hoodoo, and they are not interchangeable. The table below sorts them out.
| Root | Plant | What it looks like | What it's for |
|---|---|---|---|
| High John the Conqueror | Ipomoea jalapa (jalap, a morning glory relative) | It is a hard, heavy, dark brown to black knob about the size of a walnut, roughly round with a wrinkled skin, and it has almost no smell until it is oiled. Cut open, it is pale inside with dark rings. | Power, mastery, luck, money, court cases, and winning. It is carried whole and fed with oil, never eaten. |
| Little John to Chew, or Chewing John | Alpinia galanga (galangal, a ginger relative) | It is a small, pale tan to reddish-brown piece of rhizome with fine rings, and it looks like dried ginger and smells sharply of ginger and pepper. It is usually sold in chips or short lengths. | Court cases and persuasion. It is chewed and the juice is spat on the courthouse floor or the ground before you speak. |
| Low John, Dixie John, or Southern John | Trillium species (beth root) | It is a small, thin, wrinkled, tan to brown rhizome with tiny rootlets, lighter and softer than High John, and it has a faint earthy smell. It is usually sold in small pieces. | Love, family peace, and domestic harmony. It is kept in the house or added to baths. |
If a shop sells you "John the Conqueror root" that is small, pale, and smells of ginger, it is Chewing John. The whole High John root is dark, dense, and has almost no smell until it is oiled.
Who High John the Conqueror Was
High John the Conqueror was a folk hero of enslaved African Americans in the South, an African prince sold into slavery who could not be broken, who outwitted every master with laughter and cunning, and whose spirit, the stories say, went into a root when he left so that his people would always have his power at hand.
The stories were told on plantations from the early 1800s on. High John is a trickster in the line of Anansi and Br'er Rabbit, and in the tales he is always laughing, always one step ahead, tricking the master out of his crops, his money, and his dignity while never once losing his own. In some tellings he is a real man, in some a spirit, and in some he rode to America "on the wind" ahead of the ships. Zora Neale Hurston wrote the most famous account of him in 1943, in an essay called "High John de Conquer," where she described him as the hope and the laughter that kept people alive, and said that when freedom came he went back to Africa but left his power in a root "for his people to use."
That root is the one you can hold. In Hoodoo, the root is not a symbol of High John; it is his conquering spirit in a form you can carry, and that is why it is treated the way it is: kept whole, fed, spoken to, and never thrown away. The blues carried the root into the rest of American culture. Willie Dixon's "Hoochie Coochie Man" and Muddy Waters's recordings put "John the Conqueror root" on jukeboxes in the 1950s, and it has been on them ever since. The documented history of John the Conqueror has the sources.
High John the Conqueror Spiritual Meaning and Magical Properties
High John the Conqueror root means mastery, and its magical properties in Hoodoo are power, luck, success, money, courage, and victory in any contest, from a court case to a card game to a job interview.
Every use of the root comes back to the story. High John won by being stronger of will and quicker of wit than the people who held power over him, so the root is carried by anyone who has to face someone or something bigger than themselves. Traditionally that meant a landlord, a judge, a boss, a rival, a debt, or a run of bad luck. The root is also one of the classic roots of men's power in Hoodoo, carried for confidence, sexual vigor, and the ability to draw a lover, and it sits in the same family as the purple High John candle and the "Hoochie Coochie" mojo of the blues. Women carry it too, and always have, for the same mastery and the same luck.
In plainer terms, here is what root workers reach for it for:
- Luck and gambling. The oldest use. A fed High John root in the pocket at the card table or the racetrack.
- Money and business. Kept with cash, in the register, or in a money mojo.
- Court cases and legal trouble. Carried into the courtroom, often with Chewing John and a petition.
- Confidence and mastery. Held before an interview, a negotiation, a confrontation, or a performance.
- Protection and dominion. Kept at the door or buried at the property line to claim the ground.
- Breaking a jinx or a run of bad luck. Carried and fed daily until the run turns.
- Love and attraction. Traditionally for men drawing a partner, but used by anyone who wants to be noticed.
How to Use High John the Conqueror Root
To use High John the Conqueror root, you keep the root whole, anoint it with oil, tell it what you need it to do, and carry it on you or keep it where the work is, feeding it a drop of oil every week or whenever you ask something big of it.
That is the whole method. The sections below are the specific jobs.
Carry It
The plainest use of High John is to carry the whole root in your pocket, your bag, or a small red flannel bag against your body. Feed it a drop of oil first, hold it, and tell it what you need. Then leave it alone and let it work. Many root workers carry the same root for years.
Feed It
A High John root that isn't fed goes quiet. Feeding means anointing it with a few drops of oil, and the traditional oils are High John the Conqueror oil, Van Van, or a money oil, though plenty of old workers used whiskey or a drop of their own cologne. Rub the oil into the root with your thumb while you speak to it. Once a week is the usual rhythm, and always before a big day.
Put It in a Mojo Bag
High John is the classic heart of a mojo hand, the small red flannel bag of roots, herbs, and curios that Hoodoo workers carry for a single purpose. A money mojo might hold High John, a lodestone, a pinch of cinnamon, and a silver dime. A court mojo might hold High John, Chewing John, calendula, and a slip of paper with the judge's name. A luck mojo might hold High John, a rabbit's foot, and a pinch of five-finger grass. Tie the bag, feed it with oil or whiskey, and keep it hidden on your body. Nobody else touches it.
For Money and Gambling
Keep a fed High John root with your money: in the register, the cash box, the wallet, or the jar where you keep tips. Gamblers carry one in the pocket nearest the cards or the wheel and feed it before they play. Set one beside a green candle dressed with money oil and let the candle burn down beside it. The candle dressing guide has the method.
For Court Cases and Legal Trouble
Carry High John into the courtroom in your pocket, fed that morning, and hold it in your hand while the other side is speaking. Root workers pair it with Chewing John, which is chewed and the juice spat quietly on the courthouse floor or the ground outside, and with a petition paper naming the outcome you need, placed under a brown or purple candle at home for the run of the case. Put the root on top of your legal papers between hearings. A honey jar spell for the judge is the classic companion working: the jar sweetens the court while the root gives you the strength to stand in it.
For Confidence, Interviews, and Confrontations
Hold the root in your hand for a minute before you walk in, and say what you need out loud: this job, this raise, this conversation. Then put it in your pocket and go in. This is the "mastery" use, and it is the one most people come to High John for today. For a boss who needs softening rather than conquering, pair the root with a honey jar spell.
For Protection and Claiming Your Ground
Bury a whole High John root at the front door or at each corner of the property to claim the ground and keep trouble out. Some workers keep one on the doorframe or in a bag behind the front door instead. Pair it with a protection symbol traced on the door in Florida Water if you want belt and suspenders.
On the Altar and as an Offering
Keep a High John root on the working altar as the seat of power for any spell about winning, and dress it along with the candle. The root is also an offering in its own right. Set it before the ancestors or before whatever spirit you work with when you ask for strength, and set a glass of water or a small pour of whiskey beside it. Root workers who keep a relationship with High John himself give him whiskey, a cigar, and a coin.
How to Dress and Feed a High John Root, Step by Step
Dressing a High John root takes five minutes: you wash your hands, oil the root while you speak your purpose over it, and carry it, and you repeat the oil once a week.
- Wash your hands and, if you like, wipe them with Florida Water. You are about to handle something you mean to keep for years.
- Hold the root in your dominant hand and look at it. Notice its weight, its shape, which side is the "top."
- Put three drops of oil in your palm. High John oil is traditional, and Van Van, money oil, or plain olive oil with a pinch of cinnamon all work.
- Rub the oil into the root with your thumb, turning it so every side is touched, and say what the root is for. Be specific. "Win this case." "Bring the money to cover the rent by the first." "Make me the one they hire."
- Name it if you want to. Many workers give their root a name and speak to it by that name from then on.
- Carry it in a pocket, a bag, or a red flannel bag against the body. Keep it out of other people's hands.
- Feed it weekly with a drop or two of oil, and again before any big day. A root that has done a big job gets a thank-you and a drink.
- If it ever cracks or breaks, don't throw it away. Keep the pieces together in the bag, or bury it at the property line with thanks and start a new one.
High John Oil, Candles, Incense, and Powder
High John the Conqueror oil, purple High John candles, High John incense, and High John sachet powder are all ways of carrying the root's power into a working, and each has its own job: the oil feeds the root and dresses candles, the candle burns for the goal, the incense clears and charges the room, and the powder goes where you walk or sign.
- High John the Conqueror oil is a condition oil built on the root, usually with a piece of root in the bottle. Use it to feed the root, to dress candles for money, court, and mastery, to anoint your hands and pulse points before a big day, and to dress a petition paper. The oil with a piece of root inside is the traditional form. It is for the outside of the body only.
- High John candles are purple, the color of power and mastery, and a purple candle dressed with High John oil is the standard candle for court cases, promotions, and conquering a rival or a habit. Burn one beside the root.
- High John incense is burned before a working to set the room, and gamblers and business owners burn it in the morning. It comes as loose powder for charcoal or as sticks.
- High John sachet powder is dusted lightly where the work needs to land: in your shoes before court, on a job application, on the money in the register, or across the threshold. The sachet powder is the form that goes on paper and in shoes, and the floor sweep is the one for the shop or the front room.
- High John wash and cologne are for the body and the house: a capful of the wash in a bath or a mop bucket, or a splash of the cologne on the neck and hands before you go in.
A High John the Conqueror Prayer, Charge, or Affirmation
Words said over a High John root are what turn a root into a working root, and the traditional charge is spoken plainly, in your own words, while you rub the oil in.
There is no single official High John prayer. Root workers have always used what they were raised with: a psalm, a spoken petition, a few words to High John himself, or an affirmation of what they mean to do. Here is a charge that works as any of those. Say it in whatever voice is yours, and replace the last line with your own purpose.
High John, conqueror, who was never broken and never bowed,
who laughed at the master and walked away free,
lend me your wit, your luck, and your unbeatable will.
Ride with me in my pocket, stand with me in the room,
and when the day is done, let it be said that I won.
[Name what you need.] So it is.
Many workers add Psalm 23 or Psalm 91 over the root, and many say nothing but the goal itself, three times. Both are traditional.
High John and Hoodoo: Honoring the Tradition
High John the Conqueror root belongs to Hoodoo, the folk magic of enslaved and free African Americans in the South, and it carries the memory of people who used it to survive, so it is best learned from practitioners within that tradition and worked with respect for where it comes from.
That does not mean you cannot carry the root. It has been sold at drugstores and botánicas to everyone since the 1800s, and High John, in the stories, helped anybody who needed help. It does mean a few things in practice. Learn the story before you buy the root, and tell it right. Buy the root from people who know what it is. Don't call it "voodoo," which is a different religion with its own priests. If you want to go deeper than this page, Donna Rose's High John the Conqueror Charms & Rituals is the classic botánica-counter manual, and the workers who wrote the tradition down, from Zora Neale Hurston to the contributors to Llewellyn's Complete Book of North American Folk Magic, are the voices to read next.
Safety
High John the Conqueror root is a talisman for carrying, not an herb for eating, and Ipomoea jalapa is a strong purgative, so the root, the oil, and the powder stay out of the mouth.
- Never eat, chew, or brew High John root. The "chewing" John is a different plant, galangal. If you want a High John bath, set the root in a small dry bowl floating in the bath water so the essence is there without the root ever touching the water you sit in.
- Keep the root, oil, and powder away from children and pets. A dog will chew a root.
- Try High John oil on a small patch of skin first. Condition oils carry essential oils that can sting.
- Dress candles and let them dry before lighting, and never spray cologne or wash toward a lit candle.
Where to Buy High John the Conqueror Root
High John the Conqueror root is sold whole at botánicas, spiritual supply shops, and online, and a good root is dark, dense, heavy for its size, and sold whole rather than chipped.
- A whole High John root is the form you carry and feed. One root is a lifetime's root if you keep it fed.
- High John the Conqueror oil is the companion, for feeding the root and dressing candles.
- The incense, sachet powder, floor sweep, wash, and cologne are the forms for the room, the paper, the floor, and the body.
Ask what plant is in the bag if you buy in person. "John the Conqueror" on a label can mean any of the three roots.
High John the Conqueror FAQ
What Is High John the Conqueror Root?
High John the Conqueror root is the dried whole root of Ipomoea jalapa, a Mexican morning glory relative, and it is the most famous root in Hoodoo, carried for power, luck, money, court cases, and mastery.
Who Was High John the Conqueror?
High John the Conqueror was a folk hero of enslaved African Americans, an African prince sold into slavery who outwitted every master and could not be broken, and whose spirit, the stories say, went into the root that carries his name.
What Is High John the Conqueror Root Used For?
High John the Conqueror root is used for winning: luck, gambling, money, court cases, job interviews, confidence, protection of the home, and breaking a run of bad luck. It is carried whole in a pocket or mojo bag and fed with oil.
How Do You Use High John the Conqueror Root?
You use High John root by keeping it whole, anointing it with High John or Van Van oil while you say what you need, carrying it on your body or keeping it where the work is, and feeding it a drop of oil every week.
What Are the Magical Properties of High John Root?
The magical properties of High John root in Hoodoo are mastery, power, luck, success, money, courage, victory in contests, protection, and, traditionally, sexual vigor and attraction.
What Is the Difference Between High John, Low John, and Chewing John?
High John is Ipomoea jalapa and is carried for power and luck, Chewing John is galangal and is chewed for court cases, and Low John is trillium root and is kept for love and family peace. They are three different plants with three different jobs.
Can You Eat High John the Conqueror Root?
No, you cannot eat High John the Conqueror root, because Ipomoea jalapa is a strong purgative. The root is carried, never chewed or brewed. Chewing John, which is chewed, is a different plant.
What Is High John the Conqueror Oil Used For?
High John the Conqueror oil is used to feed the root, to dress candles for money, court, and mastery, to anoint the hands and pulse points before a big day, and to dress petition papers. It is for the outside of the body only.
What Color Is a High John the Conqueror Candle?
A High John the Conqueror candle is purple, the color of power and mastery, and it is dressed with High John oil and burned beside the root for court cases, promotions, and conquering a rival or a habit.
What Are Good Offerings for High John the Conqueror?
Traditional offerings for High John the Conqueror are whiskey, a cigar or tobacco, a coin, and a glass of water, set beside the root when you ask him for strength or thank him for a win.
Is There a High John the Conqueror Prayer?
There is no single official High John the Conqueror prayer. Root workers speak a plain petition over the root while they oil it, and many add Psalm 23 or Psalm 91 or say the goal three times. A charge that works as a prayer or an affirmation is above.
Is High John the Conqueror Only for Men?
No, High John the Conqueror is not only for men. The root is traditionally tied to men's power and attraction, and women have carried it for luck, money, court, and mastery for as long as it has been sold.
Is High John the Conqueror Root Hoodoo or Voodoo?
High John the Conqueror root is Hoodoo, the folk magic of African Americans in the South, and not Voodoo, which is a religion with its own priests and spirits. Hoodoo is best learned from practitioners within the tradition.
How Long Does a High John Root Last?
A High John root lasts for years, and many root workers carry the same root for a lifetime. It only needs to be kept fed with oil and out of other people's hands.
Keep the root whole, keep it fed, and tell it what you need. High John was never beaten, and the people who kept his story alive needed that to be true. When you carry the root, you carry that.
