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Interesting and fun explanations of mojo below.....of course, being a total crude empiricist and anti-metaphysician (hail David Hume!), I lean toward the more literal (i.e., empirical) denotations of the term. I like the one about male virility below.....interestingly, I don't see a definition that is easily applied to a guitar, unless a guitar can have sexual prowess or charisma. :) I once had a women tell me that the wood of my guitar was alive and spoke to her, to such an extent that she "knew" it was from a particular log of wood in some region of the country. Of course, there was the slight problem that the guitar was not carved, but made of plywood. So much for the accuracy of the voices in her head. K- ********************** Mojo >From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Mojo is a term commonly encountered in the African-American folk belief called hoodoo. A mojo is a small bag, a type of magic charm, often of red flannel cloth and tied with a drawstring, containing botanical, zoological, and/or mineral curios, petition papers, and the like. It is typically worn under clothing. Terminology and manner of use The word Mojo traces its origins to Africa and entered the English language during the era of slavery in the USA. It has been widely known from the 19th century and early 20th century to the present. Other regional names for mojo bags, or for specific types of mojos, include gree-gree (a Bantu word typically spelled gris-gris by people in Louisiana because of the state's francophone origins), mojo hand, conjure bag, conjure hand, toby, jomo, and nation sack. In Haiti, the usual name for this sort of charm bag among those of African descent is a wanga, oanga, or wanger. Mojo hands are carried for their supernatural powers, such as protecting from evil or crossed conditions, drawing love, or bringing good luck or success in gambling and other money matters. A mojo bag can also be prepared for use in more nefarious spell-craft, such as to render a man impotent by tying his nature. The mojo bag usually contains a mix of herbs, powders, personal concerns such as a hair or fingernail clippings, sometimes a coin or dice, a lodestone, a petition paper or prayer, and other objects thought to promote supernatural action or protection. The tying of the bag is an important part of its making, as this keeps within it the spirit whose aid is being sought. Once thus fixed and prepared, the mojo is fed to keep it working, generally with a liquid, such as a perfume, an anointing oil, or, in some cases, a drop of urine. References to mojos, nation sacks, and tobies are common in 20th century rural and urban blues songs by musicians such as Blind Willie McTell, Robert Johnson, Blind Lemon Jefferson, the Memphis Jug Band, Muddy Waters, and Lightnin' Hopkins. Some of the earlier blues tunes were covered by white rock & roll bands in the 1960s and beatboxers in the 2006s. The tunes thus reached audiences unfamiliar with the folk beliefs referred to in the lyrics of the songs. The exposure of uninformed audiences to the word mojo led to misunderstanding and additional uses of the word, usually to refer to male virility, libido, or the penis. This misunderstanding was popularized by Jim Morrison of The Doors, who named himself "Mr. Mojo Risin" - an anagram of Jim Morrison - in the song "L.A. Woman". This usage of the word was turned to comedy in the 1999 film Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, in which the title character has his mojo stolen, and loses his confidence and sexual prowess. Some other slang meanings of mojo in common use include: charisma, karma, cocaine and thing (as in "Gimme that mojo!"). Despite these variant usages, the word mojo continues to be widely used to mean what it always has meant in the African-American community -- namely, a conjure hand.