Voodoo spells are hot sh*t. Everyone wants to sell you an expensive little bottle of love, money, magick. It’s a monstrous business, and even though I am an initiated Voodoo Priestess, I’m not really sure why. Most of the time the stories I hear are about hucksters and haters and people would probably be better off just throwing their money away. There are a few truths that I think might help people better understand what is and what isn’t possible with a Voodoo spell. Good luck, and if you’re going to go to a new practitioner for a Voodoo spell please do so with your eyes and your mind open. As they used to say on the cop show Hill Street Blues, “Let’s be careful out there.”

1.Be Careful What You Wish For.

This might as well be the cardinal rule of Magick. This tired trope gets repeated so damn often because it’s true. My favorite cautionary tale about this I call the “Got to Have Pat” story. I’ve been telling it for over a decade. It never gets old. The story was told to me by a dear friend who actually got mixed up in trying to help these people. Note: the following names have been changed to protect the ignorant. Hoodoo Joe (let’s call him) was in love, not a casual love, an all consuming passion that drove his every thought. He had been involved with a man named Pat. Pat was a rogue, a bad boy, a Lothario, in short, he couldn’t keep it in his pants. Hoodoo Joe spent many nights waiting, worrying, and weeping for a situation that never came. Early on in the game of love, he started to turn to Hoodoo practitioners and root workers for help. He performed one unsuccessful spell after another, until he had amassed an entire room in his home dedicated to altars and spellwork designed to bring about the results he wanted. Finally, he was successful. Pat moved in and they were both dead of AIDS within the year. Now, I don’t think Voodoo spells caused Hoodoo Joe’s demise, but maybe he should have opened his mind up to different possibilities.

2.You get what you pay for, and put into it.

This doesn’t mean you have to pay thousands of dollars to get what you want, but your success will be built on the time, money and effort you put into it. Very often when people contact me for spellwork they have no interest or desire in doing what it takes to make the process successful. Money as I have said is one component, you don’t expect your doctor or your lawyer to work for free do you? Spells also become more effective when directly connected ingredients are used. For example if you are working to heal someone, it’s best to have them there, if they can’t be there then try to use some of their hair or handwriting as a link to their physical self. My experience is that people can be just plain lazy, and they don’t want to bother to get or perform the necessary elements for success.

3. Voodoo Doctors Specialize.

Medical doctors specialize and Voodoo doctors ( another name for practitioners) also specialize. Be a little wary of going to someone who says they can do everything well. Many spellcrafters, myself included, work in partnership with other practitioners to make sure they can carry spells for all situations, even if they didn’t create all the magic themselves. You wouldn’t go to a foot doctor for a headache, so don’t put your foot in your behind and think one guru can solve all your problems.

4. More, More, More…How Do you Like it?

Voodoo practice follows a general rule of increase. By that I mean the situation you are working on can, in effect,

build up a tolerance for whatever spiritual solutions you are throwing at it. One day a situation might be helped by a single candle, the next time you may need two, after that four, … I knew one man who was up to 24 candles to solve his problem before he decided to change things up.

5. It Ain’t Easy.

I got a question the other day from a woman who wanted a love spell to return her lost love. Now this situation has it’s own issues, see number 1 above, but the other problem is that she was located in Indonesia. As much as I would love to have mastered the magick or the logic of the Customs department, many of the ritual items we use in New Orleans Voodoo and Haitian Vodou spells are not easily transported or are forbidden across international lines. Most spells have herbal ingredients, and sometimes animal ones too, you can see the potential problems.

This is obviously just a beginning, only five of nine. Tune in Next Time on Voodoo Universe as the list goes on with more truth about Voodoo Spells.