" Once upon a time, we were Africans involved in a unique lexicon of beliefs, lore, stories, and customs that were designed to help integrate us into an environment filled with plants, animals, elements, and a complex array of spirits. With the advent of slavery, the physical bond with the motherland was broken, but like seeds lifted from a ripe plant by wind, we found fertile ground in distant lands elsewhere. "

― Stephanie Rose Bird , Sticks, Stones, Roots & Bones: Hoodoo, Mojo & Conjuring with Herbs