High John The Conqueror Review
I just finished reading my review copy of High John the Conqueror by Brother Ash. Who you might know from his excellent blog Crossroads of Sorcery. I am happy to report that this chapbook (just 19 pages) is a fitting tribute to the Trickster King whose signature root is perhaps the most ubiquitous in all of American Folk Magic.
It is the root that most people hear his name by. It is used in countless spells for power, increasing male nature, influence, mastery over bosses, and of course money drawing. This book has no shortage of spells involving the root – including the most detailed instructions for making the Jack Ball that you are ever likely to find in print.
The real strength of the book however is not in the treatment of the root, but of the spirit. Comparatively few people workers outside of African American communities think of High John as a spirit that can be invoked and supplicated. I was taught how to do this years ago by the owner of the Globe in Lakewood NJ, and wrote about him as a spirit in Financial Sorcery, but outside of Zora Neal Hurston’s Mules and Men, I have not seen a lot else on him as a man and as a spirit. I am delighted to see his legend and presence given a proper treatment in this text.
