WORKING WITH SPIRIT
To others a spirit may be an entity who, although deceased, remains connected to the earth and to the living through some kind of physical link.
Some of the links that tie the dead to the living are the homes they lived in, the places where they died, and the places they are buried. Working with such spirits is often as simple as making a place for them in your home. The practitioner can invite spirits into their home or onto an altar to dwell. In the olden days some practitioners actually kept bones from their loved ones on their ancestor altars. Even lucky hands were made with finger bones which made them true hands. I would not advise this in this day and time because it is against the law to have human bones. If you are caught with human bones you could end up in jail. Graveyard dirt is much more acceptable and is not illegal to use or to collect.
There are several ways to collect graveyard dirt that is to be used in conjure work. First you must find the grave that you wish to get the dirt from. Then you need to call to the spirit of the person and ask permission to remove some of the dirt. Once you have been given permission you will need to buy the dirt. This can be done by leaving three dimes or pennies on the head stone of the departed or by leaving a gift of flowers, beer, whiskey, cigars and plates filled with food. If the payment is whiskey, you can bring a miniature bottle of whiskey and place it at the headboard or the heart area. Whatever you feel is right for you. These offerings are left on top of the grave. Some say that if you really expect the spirit to work for you then you must pay them in cash. I usually leave three dimes and a cigarette for my mama and whiskey and a cigar for my dad. As I said, do what ever feels right for you.
I need to caution you here, graveyard work can be very dangerous if you don’t know what you are doing. Read my graveyard work site. I don’t care what anyone says. You should only work with your own ancestors; it is not safe to work with people you don’t know. You don’t have a clue how these people were in life. You don’t know anything about them. These people don’t know you or care about you. You should work with people who loved you in this life. You are also taking a chance that this spirit will wreak havoc on your life or turn the work on someone else. If you don’t have hands on experience in this type of work, please leave it alone. It is not safe to mess with this type of work just because you read how to do the work somewhere.
Some practitioners don’t feel it’s important whose grave they collect the dirt from. These practitioners are more concerned with where the grave is located rather than who is buried there. I’m not sure this is a safe way to collect dirt, because you don’t have any idea what kind of spirit you will be bringing into your home. To me the safest way to collect dirt would be from family members who loved you and are willing to help you. As with everything else you have to do what feels right for you.
There are three basic graveyard spells; one is worked in the graveyard without burial, burial in the grave yard, and spells that call for grave yard dirt. In the first type of spell work you would perform the ritual at the grave. You would call upon the spirit of the grave to assist you in your work. I have heard that it is not necessary to pay the spirit in this type of work; but I would think that if you don’t pay for the help you may not get
the help you are asking for. So my advice is anytime you petition a spirit to come to your aid; pay them for their help.
For the next work you would call on the spirit and basically ask them to hold what ever it is you are working on for you. Tell them you are leaving the item in their care until you return for it. Thank them for their help, pay them then leave.
The last graveyard spell is using graveyard dirt in spell work. The dirt is usually mixed with other ingredients and either used as a sprinkle or used in jars, and conjure bags which are carry on you. Graveyard dirt can be used for light or dark work, depending on what the practitioner chooses to use it for. It is a very powerful tool to use in any spell. When working with graveyard dirt one needs to be very cautious. You know the old saying watch what you ask for you just might get it.