Quick Specs
- Type: Silver magnetic sand (iron filings), lodestone food
- Size: 1 oz
- Color: Silver (lighter variety, distinct from black magnetic sand)
- Best for: Feeding and maintaining lodestones, mojo bags, money and love drawing spells
Silver Magnetic Sand: The Practitioner’s Supply for Lodestone Work
Magnetic sand is iron filings, and its role in hoodoo and conjure practice is specific: it is the primary food used to maintain a lodestone. In rootwork tradition, a lodestone is not treated as an inert stone but as a living presence. It is named, worked, and fed on a regular basis to keep its drawing power active. Without periodic feeding, practitioners understand the lodestone to lose its effectiveness. Magnetic sand, sometimes called anvil dust in older conjure literature, is what the lodestone eats. A pinch is sprinkled directly onto the stone, accompanied by prayer or spoken petition stating what you are feeding it to draw.
The silver variety is a lighter-colored iron filing that distinguishes itself visually from the black magnetic sand more commonly found in wholesale lots. Some practitioners prefer silver for money and luck drawing, associating the color with coins and prosperity, while using black for more assertive drawing or protection work. Both are functionally iron filings with the same magnetic properties. Browse my lodestones and magnetic sand collection to see lodestones and related supplies.
How Lodestone Feeding Works in Conjure Practice
The feeding ritual is simple but deliberate. Once a week, or more often if the lodestone is working hard on a specific petition, you take a small pinch of magnetic sand and dust it over the stone. The iron filings cling visibly to the magnetite, which is part of the symbolism: as the sand clings to the stone, so may the desired good cling to you. The feeding is accompanied by prayer naming the lodestone, acknowledging its purpose, and restating the petition. Over time, a well-fed lodestone accumulates visible layers of magnetic sand and develops what practitioners describe as a seasoned, working quality.
Beyond lodestone care, magnetic sand has secondary uses in mojo bags where it serves as an active ingredient for drawing work, on candles during money or love spells where a pinch is pressed into dressed wax, and as a component in gris-gris bags assembled for specific petitions. A 1-oz supply provides ample material for months of consistent weekly lodestone feeding or repeated spell work.
How to Use Silver Magnetic Sand
The traditional hoodoo method for feeding a lodestone with silver magnetic sand as part of ongoing conjure work.
- Prepare Your Lodestone and Set Your Intention
Place your lodestone on a non-metal surface such as a ceramic dish or cloth on your altar. Hold a pinch of silver magnetic sand between your fingers. Speak your petition aloud: name the lodestone, state what it is fed to draw, and thank it.
- Feed the Lodestone with Magnetic Sand
Sprinkle the pinch of silver magnetic sand directly onto the lodestone. The filings cling to its surface due to natural magnetism. This clinging is the core ritual symbolism. Repeat your petition as you apply the sand, keeping intention clear.
- Dress with Oil and Return to Its Place
After feeding, apply a drop of condition oil suited to the lodestone’s purpose, such as van van or lodestone oil. Return it to its working spot on your altar. Repeat weekly, or more often when working an active, time-sensitive petition.
The Tarot Fellow Standard
Magnetic sand is one of those supplies that sells fast because serious rootworkers go through it steadily. I carry the silver variety alongside standard black because practitioners working money or luck petitions often request it specifically, and it is harder to find in small quantities at the retail level. A 1-oz supply is the right starting quantity for someone establishing a regular lodestone feeding practice without overcommitting before they know how frequently they’ll work. For the broader context of conjure and hoodoo practice, browse my hoodoo and Santeria collection.
Frequently Asked Questions
Lodestone food, which is magnetic sand or iron filings, is used to maintain a lodestone in conjure practice. Feeding keeps the drawing power active. A pinch is applied weekly while stating the petition, letting iron cling to the magnetic stone.
Sprinkle a small pinch of magnetic sand over your lodestone while speaking your petition aloud. The filings cling to the stone naturally. Follow with a drop of condition oil, then return the lodestone to its altar position. Repeat weekly.
Both are iron filings with identical magnetic properties. Silver magnetic sand is lighter in color. Some prefer silver for money and luck drawing, associating it with prosperity, while reserving black for protection-focused lodestone work.
Lodestones are the primary use, but magnetic sand also goes into mojo bags as a drawing ingredient, is pressed into dressed candles for money or love spells, and is added to gris-gris sachets. A lodestone amplifies the work but is not required.
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