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song by Blind Lemon Jefferson , links the rabbit's foot tradition with the bones of the dead.]] THE LEFT HIND FOOT OF A RABBIT The belief originates in the system of African-American folk Magic known as '' Hoodoo ''. A number of strictures attached to the charm that are now observed mostly in the breach:
A SUBSTITUTE FOR BONES FROM A HUMAN CORPSE? The various rituals suggested by the sources, though they widely differ one from another, share a common element of the uncanny, and the ''reverse'' of what is considered Good-omened and Auspicious . A rabbit is an animal that Shapeshifting Witch es such as Isobel Gowdie claimed to be able to transmogrify themselves into. Witches were said to be active at the times of the full and new moon. Silver bullets, of course, are reputed to be sovereign against uncanny creatures such as Werewolves . These widely varying circumstances may share a common thread of suggestion that the true lucky rabbit's foot is actually cut from a shapeshifted witch. The suggestion that the rabbit's foot is a substitute for a body part from a witch's body is corroborated by other folklore from hoodoo. in hoodoo magic. Given the traditional association between Black Cat s and Witchcraft , a black cat bone is also potentially a substitute for a human bone from a witch. Hoodoo lore also uses graveyard dust, soil from a Cemetery , for various magical purposes. Dust from a Good person's grave keeps away Evil ; dust from a Sin ner's grave is used for more nefarious magic. The use of graveyard dust may also be a Symbolic appropriation of the parts of a Corpse as a Relic , and a form of Sympathetic Magic . A WIDELY AVAILABLE CHARM In any case, the rabbit's foot is dried out and preserved, and carried around by Gamblers and other people who hope it will bring them luck. Rabbit's feet, either authentic or imitation, are frequently sold by curio shops and vending machines. Often, these rabbit's feet have been Dye d various colours, and they are often turned into Keychain s. Few of these rabbit's feet carry any Warranty concerning their Provenance , or any evidence that the preparers even tried to comply with the Ritual s held to be ''de rigeur'' by the original tradition. Some may be confected from Fake Fur and Latex "bones." President Theodore Roosevelt wrote in his autobiography that he had been given a gold-mounted rabbit's foot by John L. Sullivan as well as a penholder made by Bob Fitzsimmons out of a horseshoe. A 1905 anecdote also tells that Booker T. Washington and Baron Ladislaus Hengelmuller , the Ambassador from Austria , got their overcoats confused when they were both in the White House to speak with President Roosevelt; the ambassador noticed that the coat he had taken was not his when he went to the pockets searching for his gloves, and instead found "the left hind foot of a graveyard rabbit, killed in the dark of the moon." {Link without Title} Other newspaper stories reported the incident but omitted the detail about the rabbit's foot. In addition to being mentioned in blues lyrics, the rabbit's foot is mentioned in the American Folk Song "There'll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight," once popular in Minstrel Show s; one line goes: "And you've got a rabbit's foot To keep away de hoo-doo." {Link without Title} Humorist R. E. Shay is credited with the witticism, "Depend on the rabbit's foot if you will, but remember it didn't work for the rabbit." {Link without Title} REFERENCE
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