Black Cat Bone

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A Black Cat Bone was part of the 1930's era bluesman's arsenal of charms and curios, circumspectly kept to ward off evil, make money and hypnotically attract the fairer sex. The aforementioned items, securely kept in a mojo bag would give the bearer that extra-edge and confidence he needed to prosper and succeed in an era laden with depression and poverty.

...Got a black cat bone, got a mojo too,I got 'john the conqueror' root, I'm gonna mess with you... Hootchie Cootchie Man, Muddy Waters

[edit] Hoodoo Magic

A Black Cat Bone is a rare and expensive Hoodoo magic charm, usually sought so as to bring back a wayward lover. From the Black Cat Bone weblog:

According to Catherine Yoronode, author of "Hoodoo In Theory and Practice", Hoodoo practitioners "believe every black cat has within its body one bone that will either grant the owner invisibility or can be used to bring back a lost lover. To secure this bone, they said, a black cat must be thrown alive into a cauldron of boiling water at midnight. The animal dies in agony, and the heartless practitioner boils the carcass until the meat falls off the bones. Some say that the special bone will be the top one left when the water boils away, others say it can only be found by placing each bone in turn beneath the tongue while an assistant stands by to notify the practitioner that he has become invisible, and still others swear that if all the bones are thrown into a stream that runs north (uncommon in most of North America), the desired bone will be one that floats on the water and heads south. Once found, the black cat bone is carried in a mojo bag and anointed with Van Van Oil to bring back a lost lover. The oil or fat of the cat is bottled for use as a candle dressing and for anointing gambler's charms."

Charms were also made in a similar way sifting toad bones for the one special bone.