Voodoo came to New Orleans in the early 1700s, through slaves brought from Africa's western “slave coast.”
Like so many things New Orleans, Voodoo was then infused with the city's dominant religion, Catholicism, and became a Voodoo-Catholicism hybrid sometimes referred to as New Orleans Voodoo.
Voodoo is a fusion of religious practices from Africa that is a derivative of the world’s oldest known religions.
It has been around since the beginning of human civilization.
There is no single founder of Voodoo and there is no approximate date for the origin of Voodoo spirituality.
According to the beliefs of Voodoo, and much like Shinto, there are thousands of Spirits that interact with humanity.
These Spirits, called Lwa were once human.
Voodoo vs Hoodoo-Are they the same thing or totally different?
Both Voodoo and Hoodoo are a melting pot of different beliefs, practices and religious elements; both have roots in Africa with aspects of ancient worship.
This is where their similarities end.
Voodoo vs Hoodoo – Differences
Voodoo is a religion that has two markedly different branches – New Orleans/Louisiana Vodou and Haitan Vodou. Voodoo is a religion that’s practices by thousands if not millions of people.
Hoodoo is not a religion, rather a set of practices that draw heavily from folk magic, especially that which originated on West Africa and tends to be practiced in Louisiana, though it’s practice is not exclusive to that region.
As Voodoo is an established and recognised religion that has set and established practices and traditions.
It has it’s own leaders, teachers, representatives, services and rituals.
It’s this organization that makes Voodoo and Hoodoo different.
Hoodoo has it’s base in folk magic and folk traditions calling on Loas using the saints from Roman Catholicism; where as Voodoo invoke Loas using African deities.
Voodoo practitioners don’t worship through the Catholic Saints.
Many Hoodoo practitioners are often drawn to other spiritual practices or traditions too.
Many who are practitioners of Hoodoo are known as Root Doctors or Root Healers.
For some who practice Hoodoo see it as a form of personal power to either help themselves or to help others.
Hoodoo practitioners help or guide others with their knowledge of herbs, roots, crystals, animal parts and sometimes a range of bodily fluids.
Hoodoo is practiced based on the person’s inclinations, desires and intentions.
With access to the Loas the Hoodoo practitioner can access the knowledge of the God’s and other supernatural beings to help in a wide range of areas in your life – from love, abundance and luck to banishing, protection and wading.
Voodoo is essentially the root from which Hoodoo grew because of the persecution of followers, but for those who are followers of Voodoo it’s more than just a religion, it’s a way of life, a core facet of their daily lives.
Voodoo is very popular in areas like Mississippi and Louisiana, being most notable in New Orleans. Voodoo was brought to the USA via Haiti which was a former French colony.
Hoodoo however was brought by those who were bound into servitude from Africa.
Voodoo is sometimes considered to be purer than Hoodoo, but Hoodoo is actually a denomination of Voodoo – like Catholicism is a denomination of Christianity.
Voodoo influences so many areas of society from music and art to justice and language and from medicine to spirituality.
It reaches far and deep into people’s lives whereas Hoodoo is only a small facet of the truth that’s held in voodoo and tends to focus on the spiritual aspect more than anything else.
Let the Spirits of the Earth, Sun and Moon Guide you.
