Spirituality for Living

Voodoo is a belief misunderstood. It originates from the Fon word Voudon which means: the power; that who is invisible; the creator of all things. It is the infusion of Traditional African beliefs with Catholicism.

Voodoo is basically African shamanism. In the world of voodoo, any domain of life you personally live in and anything you are working with has a spirit. This is why it exists.

“My grandfather was a voodoo priest. A lot of my life dealt with spirituality. I can close my eyes and remember where I come from.” Wyclef Jean

Voodoo Practice

Voodoo is basically African Shamanism. There was a first great spirit, the source of all life and creation, but he created the world not as separate from himself but as an act of self expression. Dancing. As he revealed more of his inherent power, or ‘ashe’ as it’s known, he took the form of various spirits known as Loa. Loa were spirits of the elements and of various forces of life, like death or birth. Ma’at, which was the organized religion of Egypt, stemmed from the more primal voodoo, but they shared much in common as they did with many… Seek More

Relationship with Spirit

I wonder how Machiavelli would be seen back in the day? As you know, Machiavelli had considerable influence as a strategist, but not much virtue. His power came from “not revealing the rules of the game”, and for supposedly not having much virtue but he would not have been villainized in African culture.  His guidelines in ‘The Prince’ spoke more of peaceful influence tactics than war. He advised his liege even when in exile that if he would grow his kingdom he needed to do it by making the conquered love him. By conquering not with soldiers, but with influence. In… Seek More

Ritual Path

There are basically two ritual paths, and you will find one or the other in any faith. An exoteric path and an esoteric. An ecstatic path or a contemplative, same thing. Though one is seen as holy and is approved, and the other tends to get demonized. There is even a story from the Bible of that schism. King David danced naked when inspired during his coronation. The rabbinical caste frowned and shook there venerable heads. They saw his behaviour as unholy, unworthy of the Christ or christened one, the king of the nation of Israel, but he was dancing as… Seek More

Voodoo & Hoodoo

Some topics I do require some anchor in peoples personal experience. I have no intention of beating around the bush as they say. I just have to have the groundwork for the main ideas to make sense. So shall we begin today’s topic of voodoo? Voodoo… whodoo. Actually, the other spelling would be hoodoo, and we will go into the difference. Western culture, as we know it mostly, is a minority in how it views religion and spirituality. In pretty much all of the Asian continent, religion is seen more as a grand body of wisdom than some faction for… Seek More

Voodoo Roots

Does voodoo have Spanish roots? Santeria does. How old is voodoo? Vodun has prehistoric roots tracing back to the oldest oral traditions of the people of Benin and surrounding regions, but some form of Catholicism is incorporated into many of the forms voodoo traditions take. I know a tradition in Spain says that the youngest daughter cannot marry and must care for her mother until the mothers death. The mother can do things in her after life if the daughter refuses to obey. Is this related to Santeria? Not strictly no, and actually, not unlike the gurus of India, there… Seek More

Harnessing Ashe

Voodoo must have some pretty powerful magick, things that should not be attempted by just anyone. Voodoo dolls can be seriously harmful, right? The voodoo doll by itself is harmless. The voodoo priest/priestess or hoodoo man or woman needs powerful ashe to have those techniques work as they should. Ashe is spirit, and they build ashe through divine providence as well as ecstatic ritual and regular devotions to their patron saint. Doesn’t the subject also have to believe in the doll? They do not have to believe in the doll. Even contemporary scientific research backs this up. The ritual, especially… Seek More

Master of the Head

In Voodoo, they call ones patron loa “master of the head”, and even if you aren’t called upon to be a priest or anything, they still often identify a master of the head for a person. Is “master of the head” similar to discursive thought? I imagine so, just without the abstract model of thought. They objectify their experience. They feel ones primary duty is to preserve their friendship with the master of the head. This is how one grows personally. One loa in particular is a warrior spirit, hot headed. So if your master of the head is this… Seek More

Voodoo Thought

Perhaps some clarification of Voodoo thought as it relates to the Bible. Some of the Voodoo practices that are seen as so sinister have regular precedent in the Old Testament, even in the New Testament and in those books the later church judged as apocryphal. Like the idea of cursing there are references to it in the Old Testament being asked of by priests, even being done without request. Sacrifice? Animal sacrifice is in the Bible also. A Hoodoo practitioner uses the Bible as their grimoire. This is even part of the reason why we use the word grimoire. Grimoire… Seek More