One of the more devious, yet often retold methods of capturing love involves the lowly footprint. From Europe to Africa, a woman would watch where the feet of her desired man would land. If the dirt or sand held the shape of his foot or shoe print, the woman would quietly sneak upon the print and gather the dirt or sand from it. Kept in a pouch, whether it was a red pouch to symbolize love or a simple, plain cloth pouch, the dirt was kept either on the woman’s person or safely tucked into her bedding to draw the man to her.
Unfortunately for the man, the footprint dirt could also be used to bring him harm. Like hair or fingernail clippings, the footprint represents the person it came from. A woman could lightly hold the pouch of dirt over a candle flame to warm the man’s heart towards her or she could toss the whole pouch into a blazing fire, condemning him to a burning madness.
