Every term, ritual, herb, oil, and spiritual concept used in our practice — defined plainly, with origin, usage, and category. Baba Ali's own tradition is Senegalese, rooted in the Serer and Wolof lineage; this reference notes related spell-craft terms for the curious and the committed alike.
A foundational rite performed to clear inherited family patterns — generational habits of betrayal, abandonment, or unworthiness in love — that block the present-day relationship.
A South American herb (eupatorium villosum) burned or dressed onto candles to clear obstacles. Often added to love work where the path between two people has been blocked.
The dedicated sacred space where casting takes place. Mine includes a portrait of my grandmother, a small ancestral carving from Senegal, river water in a clay vessel, and candles for the four directions.
A spiritual blessing and gift passed down through a marabout's family line in Senegalese tradition. My father carried it as a marabout; I am his apprentice in carrying it forward.
A class of spells that locks an energetic tie between two people in place. Bindings can be loving (marriage), severing (third-party removal), or protective.
Sea salt blended with charcoal and ash from a protective fire. Used to lay protective lines around the altar — never sprinkled toward a person.
Rung three times to open and close every casting. The vibration "wakes" the altar at the start and "seals" the working at the end.
The process of anointing a candle with ritual oil and rolling it in herbs to charge it with intent. Direction of dressing matters — toward you for attraction, away for banishment.
Heat, speed, and passion. Cinnamon accelerates manifestation. It is used cautiously — overdose, and the work becomes obsessive rather than loving.
An herbal bath the client takes at home, three consecutive evenings before the casting. Composed of seven herbs corresponding to the seven powers.
The divination instrument of West Africa. Sixteen shells are thrown onto a beaded mat; the pattern they fall in points to an Odu (verse) that guides the working.
A blend pressed by hand for a single client, based on what the shells revealed. Typical base is sweet almond oil with seven herbs steeped for forty days.
A traditional folk-magic blend including graveyard dirt, sulfur, and herbs, associated with harm work in some traditions. I do not work with goofer dust — it is included here because clients ask. Used in harm work I refuse to do.
Soil from a respected ancestor's resting place, gathered with proper offerings. Used only in ancestral work, never in love spells. Common in films, rare in ethical practice.
A small glass jar filled with raw honey, a written petition, and personal items. Sealed and burned upon weekly. The flagship "sweetening" working in love casting.
A remote blessing performed over the client's home or shared space, using a photo or floor plan when the practitioner cannot visit in person.
A purifying herb mentioned in scripture across many traditions. Used to cleanse the altar and the client before deep relational work.
Burning local resins and herbs to purify the altar and consultation space before a reading, drawn from Senegalese spiritual practice.
The formal calling-in of an ancestor or spirit at the beginning of a casting. Spoken in the Serer and Wolof tradition, with specific rhythms where appropriate.
The position of the moon at the moment of casting. Waxing for attraction, full for binding, waning for banishment, new for new beginnings.
The moment the spell's effects appear in the visible world — a text, a meeting, a change of heart. Most clients see initial manifestation within the standard 3–7 day window.
A small flannel pouch carrying charged items — herbs, a written name, a coin, a personal token. Carried on the body to keep the working active.
A shallow clay or wooden bowl used to present fruit, water, or millet to the ancestors at the start of a working.
A class of workings that clear obstacles standing between two people, guided by ancestral direction rather than any single named spirit.
A blessing offered with honey, oranges, and light — for sweetness, prosperity, and love work in Senegalese coastal tradition. The primary sweetening rite of this practice.
Crimson cotton or silk thread used in binding work. Tied in a figure-eight knot across the names of two people to seal the energetic tie.
Dried whole on a wooden rack. Red for passion, pink for tenderness, white for new love. Sprinkled around candles or sewn into mojo bags.
The closing stage of a casting where the working is locked in place — usually with red wax, a final invocation, and the ringing of the brass bell.
A class of workings that "sweetens" how the target feels toward you. Honey jars are the most famous form. They cannot create love — only enhance what exists.
A drawn symbol that condenses a written intention into a single graphic glyph. Inscribed on parchment and placed inside the working.
A specific casting that severs the energetic tie between a partner and a rival, without inflicting harm on either. Ethical separation, not retribution.
A small charged object — a coin, a stone, a pendant — that carries the working with you after the casting is sealed.
The respected keepers of spiritual knowledge in Senegalese village life — the source of the family training and techniques used in this practice.
A clay or glass vessel holding blessed river or sea water, kept on the altar and used to cleanse ritual items before a casting.
The maternal ancestral spirit, invoked when love work requires emotional healing of deep, old wounds — especially abandonment.
The core principle of Senegalese ancestral practice: the practitioner submits to what the ancestors reveal, not to what the client wants to hear.