Crossroads magick A place where two roads cross has always been a magical location. It is a useful place for leaving offerings, burying spells or candle stubs and is thought to be where the worlds meet; a place of spirits.

You can make your own crossroads if you aren’t near one and need it for your spell or laying tricks. You can draw with chalk or sprinkle an outline with powder’s or salt to make a circle with a cross inside. You can draw it on the ground or on your altar. This is commonly referred to as a ‘cross mark.’ If you need to be a bit more discreet you can just make dots where the lines would touch the edge of the outer circle and center spot, this is referred to as a ‘five spot.’ This is also sometimes called a quincunx or a cosmogram.

The five spot is generally used for sealing and fixing spells in place. You place items at each of the five spots; what you put there depends on location and the type of spell. Items used might be graveyard dirt, sachet powders, salt or powdered minerals.

If you access the floorboards in a room, this is much preferred. Then you can fix the trick by laying five bundles of ingredients, such as roots, personal items, herbs, stones etc; literally under the floorboards at the five spots. You could also use thick rugs or items of furniture within the house to hide the bundles under.

If you have fitted carpets on the floors you could use spiritual waters to mark the five spots, but any liquid is considered a temporary measure as it evaporates and will need to be renewed.

You can also fix a protection trick by using four spot points outside your property, one at each corner. This makes it easier for burying bundles of ingredients. The center point can be more discreet as it will be inside the house and is quite often salt.

Candle spells often incorporate the five spot method. Sachet powders are used at the four outer points and items from the spell left in the center while the candle spell burns.

Crossroads are an excellent place for crossroad rituals (or spells) and also a good place to dispose of used spell remnants. To dispose of an item at the crossroads, throw it over your left shoulder towards the middle of the crossroads and walk away, never look back.

Candle wax stubs, ashes and leftover sachet powders are also good items to dispose of at a crossroads, especially if the items have been used in jinxes or harmful tricks. 

Excerpt from the book, Pagan Portals- Hoodoo: Folk Magic, chapter 14 by, Rachel Patterson.