Ancestral Tools for Modern Protection
In the Hoodoo tradition, we use seasoned railroad spikes as powerful spiritual tools to anchor and protect one's home, land, and energetic boundaries. These iron relics, heavy with history and strength, have long been used in Southern Black folk magic to "nail down" safety, peace, and sovereignty. Whether you live in the country, the city, or somewhere in between, working with railroad spikes can help you spiritually fortify your home with the power of ancestral protection and intention.
In this blog post, I’ll walk you through the history and symbolism of railroad spikes in Hoodoo, share related folklore and cultural context, and give you a step-by-step tutorial on how to use them to protect your home. I’ll also show you how to integrate tools from our shop—including our Protection Ritual Oil, Protection Herb & Root Blend, and Fiery Wall of Protection Candle—to empower your spellwork even further.
The Hoodoo History of Railroad Spikes
Railroad spikes have long been used in Hoodoo as ritual tools to secure spiritual boundaries and to open roads. Hoodoo, also known as Rootwork or Conjure, is a cultural collection of Black American folk magic traditions rooted in West African spirituality, Christianity, Chinese herbal medicine, and Indigenous Animist plant, spirit, and land knowledge ways.
The use of iron, especially wrought iron, in protection work goes back centuries. Iron is believed to have the power to repel evil spirits, cut harmful energy, and ground spiritual forces.
Railroad spikes specifically gained prominence due to their accessibility during and after the rise of the railroad industry. These iron nails, discarded or found near tracks, were often collected by rootworkers to serve as boundary markers for land protection spells, and tools for road opening rituals.
Symbolically, driving railroad spikes into the four corners of a property is a way of claiming that space spiritually and physically. It is a form of protection rooted in land sovereignty, spiritual resistance, and ancestral defense.
Iron Nails, Railroad Spikes, & Cemetary Gates
The spiritual meaning of iron in Hoodoo has ancestral and cross-cultural roots, deeply tied to African cosmology and protective practices that were carried into the Americas through the transatlantic slave trade. In many West and Central African traditions—particularly among the Yoruba, Kongo, and Fon peoples—iron is sacred and associated with divine forces of protection, war, and transformation. For example, in Yoruba religion, the Orisha Ogun is the spirit of iron, a powerful warrior and blacksmith who governs metalwork, tools, and boundaries. Enslaved Africans brought these beliefs with them, and though Hoodoo is not an Orisha tradition, the reverence for iron as a protective and powerful force carried over and took root in new cultural soil.
In the context of Hoodoo, iron is believed to “cut” through negative energy, ward off evil spirits, and anchor spiritual boundaries. This is why tools like railroad spikes, nails, horseshoes, and even iron keys are often used in spells for protection, hex-breaking, and securing property.
Iron fences and gates around cemeteries also have deep spiritual symbolism. Cemeteries are liminal spaces—gateways between the world of the living and the dead—and iron fences serve both a physical and spiritual boundary. Folklore holds that spirits cannot easily cross iron, and the fencing helps to keep restless or malicious spirits contained. In Hoodoo and other folk traditions, these fences are not just decorative—they’re spiritual barriers that maintain order in sacred ground. Practitioners often ritualistically gather dirt from the inside or base of these fences for workings related to protection, justice, or spirit communication, always with great respect for the dead.
Railroad Ties To Hoodoo, Blues, & Culture
In Hoodoo tradition, the use of iron and nails—especially when accompanied by prayer, psalms, and offerings—is known to “lock down” safety. Psalm 91 is often spoken over the spikes as a spiritual shield. Known as the "Soldier's Psalm," it’s a prayer of divine protection, refuge, and strength.
Railroad imagery is also woven into the fabric of the Blues, a musical form born from the same Black and Indigenous cultural roots as Hoodoo. (See my favorite documentary, Rumble, for additional context and rich resurrection of history) Songs like "This Train is Bound for Glory" and "John Henry" echo the spiritual power of railroads and the Black experience with them. Some bluesmen were known to carry spikes, horseshoes, or other iron charms for protection while traveling, especially through sundown towns and other locations of notable racialized violence.
As a Black and Indigenous Hoodoo practitioner, my educated theory is that the significance of the railroad in our culture is rooted in the history of our enslaved Ancestors, the trans-continental railroad, and labor.
Railroads hold deep cultural and spiritual significance in the historical context of Hoodoo because they were directly tied to the lives, labor, and movement of Black people during and after slavery in the American South.
The rise of the railroad industry coincided with the post-Emancipation era, where many formerly enslaved people became railroad workers—laying tracks, driving spikes, and building the infrastructure of industrial expansion, often under harsh and exploitative conditions.
As such, railroads became symbolic of both bondage and freedom, of labor and migration, of danger and possibility.
In Hoodoo, railroad spikes were not just tools of the trade—they became accessible instruments of power, imbued with the energy of motion, protection, and crossing spiritual thresholds. The tracks themselves were liminal spaces, often used in spellwork to send away curses, and malicious people or to bury spells where their power would be carried far and wide. Just as the railroad connected towns and carried people to new destinies, it also carried the spirit of resourceful resistance, reclamation of power, and spiritual sovereignty that is central to Hoodoo.
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What You'll Need for the Home Protection Ritual
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A set of 4 wrought iron railroad spikes (available in our shop here)
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A Psalm 91 prayer card (or print/write it out)
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A hammer or mallet for driving the spikes
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Glass of water and small food offering for your spirits/ancestors
Optional:
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Florida Water, salt or incense smoke for cleansing
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White or black cloth or bandana for head covering (out of respect during prayer)
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Step-by-Step: Railroad Spike Home Protection Ritual
Step 1: Cleanse Your Tools and Space
Start by spiritually cleansing your spikes and tools using Florida Water, smoke from cleansing herbs, or incense. You may also want to lightly wash the spikes with saltwater and let them dry in the sun.
Step 2: Set Your Spiritual Intentions
Create a quiet space. Light your Fiery Wall of Protection Candle and call in your ancestors, guides, or protective spirits. Offer them water and food. Speak from your heart, asking for their guidance and protection.
Step 3: Dress the Spikes
Anoint each spike with our Protection Ritual Oil. Then roll or sprinkle them with the Protection Herb & Root Blend. As you do this, speak Psalm 91 aloud or in a whisper, charging the spikes with divine protection.
Step 4: Drive the Spikes
Take the spikes to the four corners of your property or the corners of your home if you’re in an apartment or shared space. Drive them into the ground with strong, intentional hammer strikes, saying:
“By the power of the ancestors, the blood of the Earth, and the spirits who walk with me—this home is protected. Nothing unwanted shall cross this line.”
Step 5: Seal and Offer Thanks
Return to your altar or candle. Speak Psalm 91 once more in full. Thank your spirits and ancestors for their presence. Let the candle burn as long as safe and dispose of offerings respectfully.
Tips for Apartment or Indoor Adaptation
If you can’t drive spikes into the ground, place them in the four corners of your home wrapped in red cloth, and place small bowls of salt or brick dust with them. Anoint and pray over them regularly. Make regular offerings to the land and its original people.
Working with Spirits Respectfully
Always approach spiritual protection work with reverence. If you’re calling on Ancestors, choose elevated spirits, consider their values, and leave them thoughtful offerings. Speak directly, honor your lineage, and trust that their protection is rooted in love and survival. And if all else fails, book a consultation with a Hoodoo Rootworker... like yours truly. ;) Pro-tip: only purchase graveyard dirt from TRUSTED sources.
FAQ: Can I Use This Spell or Hoodoo Tools If I Am White or Not Black?
Yes, but it’s essential to do so with deep respect and cultural awareness. Hoodoo is a sacred Black American tradition born from the resistance, resilience, and spiritual genius of enslaved Black people in the U.S. If you are non-Black and feel called to this work, or have been guided to this work by a Black practitioner, approach with humility and gratitude. Educate yourself on the history and context, support Black-owned Hoodoo shops and practitioners—like ours—and be a student of the tradition, not a taker or exploiter. Your respectful participation can be part of a larger commitment to decolonial healing and reciprocity. ♥︎
Final Thoughts: Root Down & Rise Up
Railroad spike protection rituals are powerful acts of reclamation, especially for those healing from trauma, displacement, or spiritual harm. You’re not just defending your home—you’re anchoring your power, peace, and connection to the land spirits and those who came before you.. whether you're native to the soil or not, it's about reverence.
Whether you’re warding off bad energy, reclaiming stolen space, or simply tending your spiritual perimeter, may this ritual serve as a reminder: your protection is sacred, ancestral, and unshakable.
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About the Author
Metztli Wolf is a trauma-informed psychic, evidential medium, evolutionary astrologer, and Hoodoo practitioner living on the sovereign land of the Kalispel people in NE Washington, where they co-steward Black Moon Wolfdog Sanctuary—a nonprofit rescue for red-tagged, high-risk wolfdogs. As the founder of Revolutionary Mystic, Metztli creates eco-friendly spell tools and spiritual resources for radical witches, ancestral workers, and animal advocates. Metztli’s work centers Ancestral healing, spirit communication, and the reclamation of Black and Indigenous spiritual technologies rooted in resistance and sacred care.
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