A petition paper or name-paper is commonly used for attracting, controlling, and influencing a certain situation. They are basically the map of the spellwork and give specfic directions of what you want to happen, basically on what you want the spirits and power you put into the spell work to do.
The name-paper is a talisman, having written on it a certain intention of how you want the working to go forward.
Petitions are usually written on a piece of ordinary, brown grocery bag paper. Torn on all four sides to form a square or for those that want a neater square, a scissor will be your best friend. There are several styles of making a name-paper:
The name paper is a petition that has the target's name written an odd number of times(3,7,9,13). The number of times varies upon the intent of the working: 3 is for manifestation, 7 is used quite alot for prosperity and gambling, 9 is used for imposing will on others or gaining control over a situation, and 13 is a number used to uncross a person or yourself.
Crossed names are petitions where two people's names have been crossed over, the person that wants to gain the upper hand will cross over the name of the target. For example: once writtten the target's name, the paper is turned 90 degrees clockwise and the the name of the person who wants to gain the upper hand is written. The name would be on top of the target's, symbolizing dominace and gaining control over the situation. For crossed names, a written petion would usually be going around the names stating a wish such as "Love me".
To push someone away from you or for reversal, writing a name backwards on a petition is used.
It is common to dress the paper once the petition is written, with an oil relating to the goal of your working. For example: To a petition whose purpose is to attract a specific suiter, you would use oils such as "Follow Me Boy" or "Come to Me".
Some people may also use color symbolizing the purpose of their working, such as red for Love or green for prosperity. The manner in which name-papers are carried out really varies on the style of the practitioner, some may use different colors as stated above or some may prefer to use a pencil.
Thank you for taking the time to read, hope you enjoyed!
This was such a wonderful thread. Hoodoo does having some interesting practices within it. Petition Papers Hoodoo has been saved as a favorite of mine on this website.
What would happen if someone or yourself burned the petition paper in a candle? What do you do with it later on?
Well what is done with petition paper really depends upon the rootworker or the working at hand. For example if you were to do a honey jar, you might prefer to put the paper at the bottom of the jar and then pour the honey on top it. Or you might burn the petition with a candle, again it really depends on the practitioner.
