Description
War Water – Hoodoo enemy wash
War Water is an act of aggression towards an enemy. Two of the main ingredients are rusting nails and rotting spanish moss, which creates an offensive odor. Historically, War Water was thrown on the doorstep of an enemy hard enough for the bottle to break. The odor and the visible label were considered to be “declaring war.”
Since the Roman god Mars was the god of war and his symbolic metal was iron, it seems pretty clear that War Water is a European contribution to hoodoo. It may have originally been compounded as a blood tonic or strengthener of courage, but in the hands of African-American folk-magicians, it became a tool for laying tricks against an enemy by means of hostile foot track magic, causing “poisoning through the feet” and making everyone in the household quarrel and fight one another.
One, 4 ounce bottle.
