Conjure offers practical fixes for a variety of human concerns. These often exhibit names playfully denoting their purpose, such as those we will be exploring in this article, namely Uncrossing, Run Devil Run, Cut & Clear, Hot Foot, and Road Opener. These remedies can take a variety of forms, such as ritual acts that constitute a magic spell, or, just as commonly, these are formulated as all manner of products, such as condition oils, sachet powders, herb blends, soaps, and so on. Any mundane product, from hair gel to fabric softener, can be infused with mystical purpose. In this manner Conjure seeks to make sacred all aspects of life. For those of us with little time on our hands, Conjure provides us the opportunity of turning the time we spend mopping our floor into a magical act meant to rid our home not just of dust bunnies, but of negative energies as well.

About those negative energies… they can be perceived in many ways. Sometimes they manifest as jinxes, creating a variety of irritating setbacks. Other times they are expressed as bad habits, ranging from addiction to senseless routines (my tendency to repeatedly check my Facebook feed between writing these paragraphs illustrates one of my personal bad habits). They may be found in our inability to move on from a relationship, even after it has ended, whereby all manner of negative baggage weighs us down. Or, it may be that an abuser continues to occupy our daily life, in which case the matter is less about us learning to move on, but about taking actions to move them to a place where they can no longer cause us harm. The road we travel can accumulate all manner of obstacles, and to move forward we must take steps to clear the highway. Here are 5 of the most effective tricks to make those changes in your life.

1. Uncrossing: The term "crossed condition" is commonly used to a describe someone experiencing bad luck in an area of their life. Examples of crossed conditions include someone from whose hand the dice roll low beyond probability, or someone whose love life is unreasonably fraught with melodrama, or someone whose wellbeing suffers from uncanny accidents. Everyone experiences a cloudy day, so the key to recognizing a crossed condition is in its ceaselessness and severity. Often, some form of divination is consulted to understand if one is simply a victim of circumstance, or if they have truly been crossed. Uncrossing tricks are meant to remove what is crossing you, what is often understood to be the effects of a curse or jinx.

When doing uncrossing work, I prefer baths, as the notion of washing away negative energy and its influence leaves me feeling renewed. The following constitutes a quick and easy uncrossing bath.

Since the confines of this article prohibit me from a lesson on how to make soap, I will instead inform you of the easy way, which is to purchase a container of liquid body soap, unscented, and add ingredients to that. There are many commercial Uncrossing products that can be found from a variety of spiritual supply houses, and you are free to use such. Uncrossing oil, such as should be available from your local occult store or else online, can be poured into an otherwise mundane bottle of liquid soap. Be sure to test the oil on your skin first to be sure you won't have an allergic reaction to it. If, however, you wish to forgo the commercial route, you may create your Uncrossing formula from scratch. Most formulas for Uncrossing utilize lemongrass, so that would be an ideal botanical with which to begin, either by adding dried herbs to your liquid soap, or some essential oil (a few drops ought to do). More complex recipes come about by research and experience, but basic lemongrass will do on its own.

You can use this soap for all manner of spiritual bathing, such as in a soaking bath, or the shower. But let's say you haven't the time for either of those options; in that case, washing your arms alone will do. Simply, you will want to be shirtless and in front of a sink. Pour some of the soap in your hand and rub your palms together. Place the palm of your right hand at the top of your left arm, then spread the soap to that arm's fingertips. Next, use your left hand to spread the soap on your right arm. Alternating hands, make these motions three times. When finished, take a wet towel and wipe away the soap with similar motions, until the soap is all gone and your arms are clean. Cross your forearms in front of your face, making each hand into a fist. Uncross yourself by imparting your arms, reaching forward and unclenching your fists and opening your hands.

2. Run Devil Run: Many things may bedevil you that can be sent running following Run Devil Run work, but I find it to be most useful for ridding oneself of bad habits. In cases of serious addiction, there are many more steps that one may need to take, this magical remedy being but one. In other situations, however, the power conjured from working with Run Devil Run may be everything you need to invoke confidence in your ability to overcome the unwanted impulses that otherwise control you.

Get yourself a new sock that has never been worn, and fill it with the dried ingredients of rue, cayenne pepper seeds, and a pinch of sulphur. You need only add enough to fill the sock's toe to the size of a golf ball. Tie the sock closed so that its contents are packed tight, and cut the remaining sock material away. This is something for you to carry with you, and whenever you feel the desire to indulge in a bad habit you are wishing to be rid of, give the ball a squeeze. When doing this, I like to say something like the following, replacing the name Devil with whatever I wish to banish, such as by saying, "Run Cigarette Run" or, "Run Procrastination Run." At its simplest, this resembles the more traditional mojo bags that are common in Conjure, though this adds the function of a stress ball, while giving you a physical action to perform that will aid in actively helping change your behavior.

3. Cut and Clear: I find that Cut and Clear work is most effective for severing ties to persons whose impact on our emotions is negative. Such a person may be an ex who you know is bad for you but for whom you continue to have unwanted emotions for, or perhaps an old friend who has succumbed to drug addiction and despite your attempts to help them does nothing but steal from you. Each of us has a personal limit to what we are willing to put up with in a relationship, though many of us have a hard time walking away even when we know that's what we ought to do. Cut and Clear aids us in cutting the cords that connect us to individuals we would do better to move on from. It is one of those Hoodoo methods that has been adopted into wider use, as it ties into the concept of Aka cords, which among certain Huna and Quantum Energy practitioners are understood to be cords of etheric energy that connect one person to another. Think of Cut and Clear as manifesting a sharp pair of scissors, cutting the cords that bind us to those we would do better without.

For this simple Cut and Clear job you will require some cord. Exact measurements are unnecessary; however, it needn't be long and shouldn't be thick. A foot in length and half inch in diameter works well. Cloth cord works better than nylon, the former being easier to cut. To cut it, you will need a pair of scissors, ones big enough to do the job of cutting through the cord without breaking. Before you do your cutting, you will first place a knot on each side. Laying the cord before you, on the right end tie a simple overhand knot, and speak your name into the knot as you tie it tight. Now, on the left side, tie another, this time saying the name of whomever it is you wish to become free from. With both ends tied, you simply cut the cord in the center, separating the two knots and by extension the two people they represent. Since words play a part in this trick, I suggest saying something like the following while the scissors sever the cord:

I cut the tie that bound us together
As I go one way, they go the other.

Take the knotted end that represents your former consort, and bury it at the foot of a tree. Keep the end that is yours, and keep it safe.

4. Hot Foot: With Cut and Clear we dealt with a situation in which we needed to surgically sever our emotional connection to an unworthy individual, but sometimes it is not our inability to walk away that is the issue, rather, the person doing us harm must be made to remove themselves. The purpose of Hot Foot is to cause someone who is harming you to move away. It works by lighting a hyperbolic fire beneath them, forcing them to hastily hoof it elsewhere.

Being from Northern California, where I see a fair amount of tumble weeds, my preferred method would be to write the name of the person I need to be rid of on a slip of paper. Next I take a small, hot, red pepper, and place the name paper inside of it. This will be tied or taped to a tumbleweed. Tumbleweeds are often found against fences or rocks where they have been immobilized, so after attaching the name paper to the weed with a tie or tape, I would lift the tumbleweed up, and throw it westward.

If your area is tumbleweed free, worry not, for there are many ways to Hot Foot a person. Sticking with the earlier elements of this spell, you could visit a truck stop and somehow misplace your pepper in the back of a truck headed out of town. Magic often requires creativity.

5. Road Opener: You don't always know what negative forces lay ahead of you, but before starting any journey it is a good idea to clear the path of debris. Road Opening work is good for literal road trips, as well as for any planned venture in your life.

All you will need to this is a handful of rock salt—that kind that is commonly used to remove ice from the road, a plate (dinner-sized is good), and a tub of water large enough to place both feet in. Holding the salt in the palm of one hand, spend a moment with thoughts concerning where it is you wish to go, be it a brief trip or life-changing action. Spread the salt on the plate in a single layer before you. Now, use your index finger to make a cross through the center of your salt, moving from the top down towards you, then from left to right, by which time the salt should be separated in 4 quarter piles, with a crossroad in the middle. Now for the relaxing part… you will submerge the plate into the tub, thereby adding the salt to the water; remove the plate, and place your feet into the tub. Spend this time planning for wherever it is you wish to go, knowing that your feet will not be troubled as take your journey. When finished, allow your feet to air dry. You may empty the contents of your foot bath down the bathtub drain, though not the toilet. Keep a jar of the water, and find a crossroads where you can pour it out and dispose of it in a more traditional manner.

The above are five easy ways to work Conjure, each containing some traditional elements, while illustrating the creativity one can apply to such work. Keep in mind that the definitions applied to each trick are not universal, and shift from one Conjure worker to another. When buying a product from a supplier, you want to do your research to find out how they intend for their product to be used. While one Conjure Doctor's Run Devil Run may be formulated to chase away ghosts, another's may have been made with ex-husbands in mind. The focus and intention you apply to your spell is important, but are not factors that necessarily overrule that which has already been applied by the maker of whatever product you are using.