New Orleans Voodoo

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.

Voodoo Dolls

There's more to Voodoo dolls than usually portrayed. 

A voodoo doll doesn’t actually symbolize a person in the respect that what happens to it, happens to the person. Instead, a doll is only associated with the person in question—usually by using a photo of the person, or something that was in personal contact with them, like a lock of hair (attaching this personification is actually the purpose of the voodoo straight pin usually seen in a voodoo doll, which is commonly believed to be an instrument of pain).

Other things are usually added to the doll, depending on the intended purpose. 

Garlic, flower petals, perfumes, or even money can be added—not as a direct message to the person, but as an appeal to the spirits to open themselves to the doll and the desires of those involved. 

The voodoo doll can be used for all kinds of reasons, and most have good intentions.

The voodoo doll itself is neither good or bad but, it reflects those person using it.

Witchcraft in the Philippines

In the Philippines, this folk medicine woman is reading candles, also known as candle wax or candle drip reading. 

It's a form of scrying where the candle wax is either dripped or dropped into water where it forms a shape that's interpreted by the Witch.

This Filipino medicine woman has been reading candles as a living and is visited by locals for all kinds of reasons - sometimes it's about dwarves and other beings which have been disturbed by people. 

The psychic rituals are meant to satisfy the dwarves or whoever, so that they may forgive the human victim and reverse the punishment.

There are several methods practitioners use in TAWAS:

The Egg

A raw egg is cracked into a glass of water and gently shaken, the egg white starts taking on different forms. The egg-

white is examined for any change in shape that might suggest the nature of the illness.

The Paper

A piece of blank paper, about 4- by 4-inch square, whispered with prayers (bulong), is "crossed" over the body of the patients area of affliction then examined for an shadows or shades for clues to determine the cause of the illness.

Cigarette rolling paper

The paper is smudged with coconut oil; then the healer breathes on it while whispering his prayers chosen. The paper is then brought up to a light to "read" the shapes that have formed that will suggest the diagnosis or cause of the condition.

Candles

A piece of candle is heated and melted on a spoon, then placed in water. 

The shape taken by the candle on the water will suggest the nature of the medical issue to the healer. 

Very often. shapes of dwarfs or elves are seen, and treatments are prescribed.

There is an awareness of Witchcraft and Voodoo in the Philippines that has brought the craft into the mainstream.

Although these practices have been considered taboo since Catholicism was introduced in the 15th century, many Filipino witches are still practicing their ancient customs.

Richard Quezon, the mayor of Siquijor town, the capital of the province, remembers being terrified by stories of evil witches in the mountains that rise from the middle of the island.

“Before, everyone went to healers for things like liver problems or cancer,” he said. “But now, with modern medicine, only those who can’t afford to go to the hospital seek out healers.”

Quezon defends witchcraft. Last month he went to a witch because of a skin condition that wouldn’t go away.

“The medicine from the pharmacy didn’t work, but the herbs and spells from the healer worked right away,” he said. “Some things science can’t explain.”

Rootwork

Marie Laveau Voodoo

We’ve been in New Orleans for several months now and our interest in Marie Laveau as a Voodoo practitioner is why we are sharing this post again.

This Voodoo box below was the one Marie Laveau used, or one of her disciples.

It’s from around 1850.

Marie Laveau became the most famous and powerful Voodoo Queen of New Orleans. 

She was respected and feared by all. Voodoo in New Orleans was a blend of West African religion and Catholicism. 

It is believed that you can come to Marie's tomb and ask for something. 

She accepts money, cigars, white rum and candy as offerings. 

Appeals must be made 3 times with full concentration. 

In voodoo it is believed that when a Voodoo Queen dies her spirit re-enters the river of life and moves to the next realm, adjacent to this one. 

Her spirit will always be here, close at hand, in New Orleans. To this day, people still visit her tomb with the hope that she will grant their wishes." Midge, tour guide for Hoodoo Tours, LTD in Voodoo on the Bayou

"Marie Laveau was a voodooienne. She was the queen of them all.”

Above photos is Marie Laveau’s tomb before restoration. 

The photo below is after the restoration.