Pentamegistus

Hoodoo’s golden age (the early 1900’s) left us a number of valuable books. Arguably the least known is a curious 63 page text, titled Mystic Secrets of Mind and Power: The Key to Success, anonymously published in 1942. This is an extremely obscure work; the sole reference I found was in Robert Tallant’s Voodoo in New Orleans , and couldn't even locate the original publisher. Consequently, I decided to highlight it here, that it may become better known. The anonymous author may have been any of the early prolific writers on Hoodoo listed here , but his/her identity remains a  mystery. Mystic Secrets is a guidebook to psychological self improvement, inspired by New Thought, with a section on the virtues of herbs and substances commonly used in rootwork, a table of lucky and unlucky days, and a chapter on prayer. The first few chapters address methods for overcoming fear (especially irrational fear), with useful techniques, such as shifting the mind’s focus to physical activit...