Santeria (Lucumi) and New Orleans Voodoo are both “get your hands dirty” religions, literally. Some even theorize that the reason participants frequently wear spotless white clothes, only to the roll around on the ground and dirt is a test of practitioners devotion and resolve.
The New Year is a time for new beginnings. Out with the old and in with the new as the saying goes. This year the New Year coincides with the new moon. This moon phase is traditionally a time for many pagans to begin new projects, start new ventures, and welcome newness as a whole. This is a time for buying new brooms, magical and otherwise, and cleaning house, both literally and figuratively.
So much of what I see today in the pagan community is extreme emphasis on pomp and circumstance. It seems as if the pageantry and costuming have taken over the substance of the religion and I’m left scratching my head. One way to get back to the ancestral roots of these practices is to perform a spiritual cleaning, start with a Broom, Besom or Scourge.
Magic Floor Washes
New Orleans Voodoo, Hoodoo and Santeria (Lucumi) all rely heavily on the use of floor washes to cleanse both sacred and mundane spaces. These can be as simple or as complex as the situation calls for. Some people periodically sprinkle their thresholds and window ledges with Florida water, sea water, or holy water. Sometimes I like to use other spiritual waters from sacred places: waterfalls. Glaciers, Significant streams, and even tap water can be used to represent the spirit of place. One of my spiritual teachers used to make his own spiritual water by shredding pieces of paper from a significant event and adding those to a bottle to infuse the energy into the water.
Make a Ritual Broom or Scourge
The first step in doing a spiritual cleansing is to make a ritual broom. There are many places to find detailed instructions for making a Witches’ broom or Besom. They can be found at briar-rose.org, witchway.net, and from Patheos’ own writer M. Horatius Piscinus’ post on ritual items which also mentions useful suggestions for crafting a besom.
In Santeria, and occasionally New Orleans Voodoo instead of a ritual broom, a bunch of flowers and herbs are bound together to use as a tool for sacred blessings and cleanings. Very often these include white mums, basil, yarrow, palms, and ferns, and most importantly whatever hers and botanicals are readily growing in the immediate area. They are strung together with ribbon or natural cord and then used to sweep and brush the area, and the individual. Afrterwards they are placed at a crossroads or a specific place determined by divination.
Blessing and Protection Floorwash
Spring Water
Kolonia 1800 with Sandalwood (Con Sandalo)
Lime Oil
Lavendar Oil
Mix all ingredients, leave in a sunny window for 24 hours then use liberally on your home and yourself.
Many ready made cleansing formulas are available at your local botanica or Santeria supply store. One of my favorite formulas for cleansing is Van Van Oil and Bath, which could be used as is, or easily turned into floorwash. Formulas for these usually include lavendar, vanilla and vetivert. One of the best commercial formulas can be obtained from the Lucky Mojo website. Cleansings should be performed on a regular basis, especially before any major ritual or working. For more information on cleansing please check out Cleaning House with Voodoo. Stay clean people!
Dia de los Muertos Shrine for honoring the ancestors, Tropenmuseum, Amsterdam. Photo by Lilith Dorsey.
The struggle to connect with the Divine energies is a timeless one. Clearly it is difficult to know exactly where to begin. A wise young gentleman who attended my lecture this weekend at NYC Pagan Pride, asked me what I recommend for people just starting out who wish to reach out towards the ashe or energy of the different gods and goddesses of the Afro-Caribbean traditions of Vodou, Voodoo, or Lucumi (Santo.) Good question. I think that there are a few respectful and beneficial practices that would be appropriate for just about anyone to try.
Cleanliness Is Next to Wha?
I can not put enough emphasis on the importance of spiritual cleanliness. That’s so nice I will say it twice. I can not put enough emphasis on the importance of spiritual cleanliness. Florida water, white and/or black salt, bluing, rose water, lavender, cypress, whatever works for you, use it often and everywhere you can. I recommend using spray bottles to make sure you can quickly refresh not just yourself, but your windows, doors, corners, workspace, children, pets, and whatever ever else need be. It is important to alternate formulas, and also to make sure you include elements both for removing negativity and bringing in new blessings.
Dead Again
After a person has addressed their own personal cleanliness and the state of their spiritual space I suggest setting up an ancestor shrine. Again, this is something than can be done by anyone, it does not matter what your spiritual traditions
Ancestor Offerings at the Voodoo Spiritual Temple, New Orleans. Photo by Lilith Dorsey.
or whether you are 15 years old or 115. I have seen creations as simple as a glass of water and a white candle to much more elaborate manifestations. You may include pictures if you wish of those that have passed, however be sure not to include any photos of living people. Some believe that this may invite you to join them sooner than need be. In some spiritual houses they separate the male and female ancestors’ photos. Some individuals also take care not to place individuals who disliked each other in life next to each other in death. As always follow the directions of your godparents and spiritual teachers in this matter. In the Voodoo Spiritual Temple in New Orleans, of which I am a long standing participant, we frequently give offerings of food, flowers, tobacco, and alcohol as part of our tribute to the dead. We try to match the offerings with the things people enjoyed in life. People often ask me what they should do if they were adopted or don’t have a complete list of their ancestors. Well very few people have a complete list, after years of slavery, relocation, colonialism, records are less than complete and accurate. In those instances I recommending not only adding friends who have passed to the shrine, which is something anyone can do, and also using some meditation and divination to come up with possibilities for inclusion. Also a note about objectionable ancestors, as a rule I would not include these individuals either, if you wouldn’t have had them over for thanksgiving dinner, they don’t really have a place here. If created with respect and care an ancestor shrine can be a welcome addition to any spiritual practice.
“Let everyone sweep in front of his own door, and the whole world will be clean.” –Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
I have been lecturing on Voodoo and Santeria for over fifteen years, and believe me I get a lot of weird questions. Many people wish to connect with the energies of the religion but are not initiated or under the proper guidance of their spiritual godparents. I had one woman after I became distracted after the end of my workshop come over dip her finger in the liquified candle wax from my Oshun candle and anoint her dog. I thought I saw something out of the corner of my eye but I let it go. Some time later I saw her again at one of my lectures and she listened intensely as I spoke of Oshun,
Oshun altar for the feast of Caridad del Cobre.
the goddess of love and fertility. When the class was over, she came up to me and confessed the deed. I ask her what the dog was like now, she said it ate all her underwear. Obviously I don’t recommend this as a method of connecting with spirit, although it was quite amusing. There are several ways in Voodoo and Santeria to connect by performing ritual cleansings of your space. Some of the simplest involve the sprinkling of Florida Water and black salt in the corners of the home during the waning moon, this can be done in conjunction with the burning of white and/or black candles. My favorite brand of Florida Water is from Murray and Lanman. It has an amazing scent and is the best all-purpose cleansing water available over the counter. According to the Lanman & Kemp-Barclay & Co., the formula was introduced on “February 14, 1808. Immediately it gained popularity and approval from the consumer and became a worldwide, well-known cologne, not only because of it’s delightful fragrance but also because of the more than twenty uses attributed to it.” I’m not exactly sure what those twenty uses are, but I know my Sicilian grandmother used it for spiritual blessings and for St. Anthony. I’ve have met Peruvian shamans that use it to cleanse and individual of negative energy. In Santeria it is used as a necessary ingredient in many different Orisha baths and floor-washes. I’d love to hear from people out there as to their favorite uses, please leave them in the comments of this message. Maybe we can find twenty or even more.
Pick a Coconut That Looks Like You….
Another simple cleansing can be performed with the use of a fresh coconut. Pick a coconut whose markings resemble your facial features. I know that sounds bizarre, but once you start looking at different coconuts you will start to see what I am talking about. Cover it with cascarilla, or powdered eggshell, available in botanicas (Santeria supply shops), and kick it around all the corners of your house. Do your best not to touch it with your bare hands, as it will be absorbing all the negative energy in your area. When all the corners have been covered, kick it out your front door and onto the open earth. If you are a city dweller you can literally “kick it to the curb.” For those who live in a more pastoral setting, kick it under a tree. Then you are finished. This spell should be performed before moving into a new home, before ritual, and whenever you feel the energy is becoming uneasy. These are some great ways to get started or continue to keep clean for a spiritual life.
Juju The Web Series photo courtesy of Moon Ferguson. All rights reserved.
It takes a lot to get me excited, and I can honestly say I’m really excited for Juju: The Web Series. The importance of Black people telling Black stories can not be underestimated, so when I got the chance to interview creator Jhe Moon Ferguson about her new project Juju: The Web Series, I couldn’t wait. The show blends Black Girl Magick, Ancestors, and Divine Sisterhood into a beautiful whole. Read more and see how it all came to be.
How did the idea for Juju: The Web Series come about?
It literally woke me out of my sleep. I had just finished watching the entire 7 seasons of The Vampire Diaries. And in the series finale, everyone got a happy ending except for the Black witch Bonnie– who is also one of the main characters. Her character arc was solely on disrespecting her ancestors to help her vampire friends and the mess they created. That show took everything from her. Her grandmother, mother, father, ancestors, boyfriends. She couldn’t catch a break. I didn’t like it. I then binged Charmed (the original) the get ideas on how to write and shoot magic, and create potions. I saw the how unrealistic it was, and again– no Black witches. So I created something of my own.
What is your dream for this series ?
My dream for this series is for it to get picked up on a major television network or streaming platform.
What is your background in film ? In African Traditional Religions ?
I went to school at Miami Dade College (Miami, Florida) for film production. I then went to Southern New Hampshire University (online) to continue my education in Screenwriting. Film school is more technical, I wanted to strengthen my writing because the script is the foundation. Before Juju, I produced three short films on mental health in the Black & West Indian community. One of which was accepted to the African American Women in Cinema Film Festival in March 2018.
So, for Juju, I focused on the story of my direct culture, Jamaican. I started it with one Jamaican American witch with relatives who do Obeah. But I figured it was to easy, and I wanted to build multiple worlds. So I added two more witches of Cuban & Haitian descent with traces of Vodou & Santeria in their bloodlines. I did months of research in the library and online which pulled me into a Blackhole. The history of Voodoo/Vodou, Santeria, and Obeah traces back to West Africa and African Tradition Religions. This then pulled me into learning about it for myself and my own spirituality rather than just for the show. (I was always spiritual, but I tapped into a whole new state of being and consciousness). So my background is still new, as I am still learning and exploring.
Can you tell us about some of the other creators involved in the project?
I have a very strong team behind Juju. I put together a writer’s room of six Black women. We are Afro-Latina, Afro-Caribbean, Queer, Straight, Witches, Bold, and many more. My crew was the same, mostly women who share the same passion for stories of marginalized groups in the supernatural realm. The men on our crew are just as great, respectful, kind, advocates for women and their safety. The universe blessed me with awesome people for this project.
Still from Juju: The Web Series courtesy Moon Ferguson. All rights reserved.
Your tagline mentions that these witches aren’t from Salem? Do you feel that the Salem community has excluded Witches of color? Where do your Witches call home?
When the mass hears witches, you automatically think Salem. Salem witches are a part of American history (i.e. The Salem Witch Trials). I didn’t want people to assume that for my witches. They are indeed first-generation witches (like myself) whose mothers are Caribbean (Jamaican, Haitian, and Cuban), so essentially the West Indies is their home. However, in the pilot, the matriarch of their family (the first witch in their bloodline) is from Nigeria. She [Adaoma] was brought here (Salem) by the Atlantic Slave Trade and had some good and bad experiences with the [White] Salem witches. (I don’t want to give away the backstory, lol). I know when people think of Salem witches, they aren’t thinking of Black witches. I’ve researched the stories of the three Black Salem Witches for the series as well: Tituba, Mary Black, and Candy. In our series, we bring these characters to life as they are friends to Ada. (more backstory exclusive lol)
How do you feel that this project can combat some of the stereotypes about Black Witches?
Our witches get to have fun with their magic and use it for the good of the people. A supernatural show isn’t good unless you have villains of course, but our witches are good witches. Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Louise from Teen Witch, The Halliwell sisters all used their magic to have fun with and to save people. That’s what my witches get to do as well. A lot of times, Black witches in shows are portrayed as villains who use Black magic for evil intent. I wanted to stop that.
Since I ask this question to other creators of media concerning Black spirituality I feel it is only fair to ask you too, do you have a consultant to advise on Spiritual matters and depictions in Juju the Web series? Why or why not?
Yes! Of course. I am still learning about the depths of spirituality myself. I can only speak on my Jamaican & Cuban background as far as culture and religion. Throughout this series, I have asked questions of friends who have practiced longer than I have and my Nigerian friends about the culture of Yoruba and Igbo. I’m always asking questions because I want it to be accurate and I don’t want to mess anyone’s culture up. I plan on having more spiritual writers for season two.
There is a legacy of Black Women filmmakers representing African Traditional Religion on film – starting with Julie Dash’s Daughters of the Dust, Kasi Lemmons’ Eve’s Bayou, and even my film Bodies of Water, how do you feel that this work will fit in with that?
This is good company! I just hope people view this story the way they view the queens you listed above. We have so many themes, layers, and moods in this series. It can be very serious and deep, lighthearted, yet heavy, and just plain fun. I hope people accept the mood changes in storylines because that’s the depiction of life.
Where can we see Juju: The Web Series?
We will premiere it on Youtube at the end of the year.
How can we help ?
DONATE!!! We are raising funds to finish the series this summer! If we don’t make our goal, we make nothing! So it’s important to spread the word, because this is a story we want to share with the culture. http://kck.st/2VLCkRN
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram! @jujuwebseries
For those who would like a peek at what these Witches have in store, watch the trailer :
As always if you have enjoyed what you read here please remember to like, comment, and share !
Love movies photo. Images courtesy of wikimedia commons.
Love is in the air and on the calendar. Valentine’s Day is only a few days away, and for most of us this means our thoughts turn to love. I thought it would be fun to compile a list of my favorite love movies. My new book Love Magic means I have love on the brain, and my Masters degree in Cinema means I always have movies on the brain. This love movies list contains epic love stories, classic love stories, weird love stories, and wonderful love stories featured here. You may need to search a bit to find some of the titles but I promise it’s worth your time. They aren’t in any particular order, I could never rank them I just love them all. May they bring a little love and magic to your lives !
Like Water for Chocolate (1992) – This is one of my favorite love movies of all time. When the film was released Playboy magazine called it “erotic and delectable,” and it is certainly both of those things. Written by Laura Esquivel, who also wrote the book, the film is powerful, magickal, inspiring, and tender. In my Love Magic book I even include a recipe for Roasted Rose Chicken inspired by this film. The recipe is designed to grace your table with loving blessings.
Lovers of the Arctic Circle (1998) This is a love movie about two people destined to be together, but always forced to be apart. One of the best quotes from the film is ” I could tell my life story as a train of coincidences. ” Writer/director Julio Medem said “wanted to write a movie about the love as the most powerful force, something that never ends and it’s forever between two people.” This lesser known foreign film is definitely worth seeking out.
Harold and Maude poster. Image courtesy of wikimedia commons.
Harold and Maude (1971) Legendary director Hal Ashby crafts us an amazing masterpiece about love, death and everything in between. Starring Bud Cort and film great Ruth Gordon this film is funny, charming, and also inspiring. The tagline for the film is “They were meant to be. But exactly what they were meant to be is not quite clear. ” I feel like most people know what that statement means. The best magical quote from the movie is when Maude says “The earth is my body; my head is in the stars.” But Maude continues to give us deep wisdom in the brilliantly written script. Her most quoted moment is when she says “You know, at one time, I used to break into pet shops to liberate the canaries. But I decided that was an idea way before its time. Zoos are full, prisons are overflowing… oh my, how the world still *dearly* loves a *cage.*”
True Romance (1993) Written by Quentin Tarentino, and directed by Tony Scott this is one of the best love films of all time. The cast is full of Hollywood legends – Patricia Arquette, Christian Slater, Dennis Hopper, Brad Pitt, Samuel L. Jackson, Christopher Walken, James Gandolfini, and Gary Oldman. Arquette’s insightful monologue about love says –
“I had to come all the way from the highway and byways of Tallahassee, Florida to MotorCity, Detroit to find my true love. If you gave me a million years to ponder, I would never have guessed that true romance and Detroit would ever go together. And til this day, the events that followed all still seems like a distant dream. But the dream was real and was to change our lives forever. I kept asking Clarence why our world seemed to be collapsing and things seemed to be getting so shitty. And he’d say, “that’s the way it goes, but don’t forget, it goes the other way too.” That’s the way romance is… Usually, that’s the way it goes, but every once in awhile, it goes the other way too.”
Wild At Heart (1990) This film is auteur David Lynch’s romantic masterpiece. It won the Palme d’Or award at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, and it is clearly a classic. Without giving away any spoilers, it tells the story of love on the run. It features one of the best film lines ever spoken by female lead Laura Dern – ” This whole world’s wild at heart and weird on top.” This is one of the hottest films of all time, just check the trailer and see for yourself.
Of Human Bondage (1934) The tagline for this film is “The Love That Lifted a Man to Paradise……and Hurled Him Back to Earth Again”The cinematic adaptation of W. Somerset Maugham’s novel of the same name. It stars Bette Davis in one of her earliest and best performances. One of her best screen moments ever is when she yells : “after ya kissed me, I always used to wipe my mouth! WIPE MY MOUTH!”
Submarine (2010) Written and directed by comic genius Richard Ayoade this films shows us young love in all it’s awkward glory. My favorite line is “Well, you know, I thought it would be nice to get some mutual interests… now that we’ve had sex… other than spitting and setting things on fire.”
Witches of Eastwick (1987) The tagline for this film is “Three beautiful witches, one lucky devil.” Ultimately the film stresses the important magickal principle – Be careful what you wish for. The witches conjure up their best wishes and their worst nightmare- handsome…nice eyes, nice a**. The solution quickly becomes the problem. It stars some of the most famous names in cinema – Jack Nicholson, Cher, Susan Sarandon, and Michelle Pfeiffer. It features the classic line “I hope his dick is bigger than his I.Q.”
Say Anything (1989) Watch John Cusack at his teenage best saying”I gave her my heart, she gave me a pen.” In a way this is the defining love movie for my generation. Everyone I have ever dated has threatened to re-create the boom box scene (I’m still waiting.) This is a tale of love hard won, and of an underdog triumphing in the end.
Waterloo Bridge (1940) This movie stars Vivien Leigh, in her first film after Gone with the Wind ( which is also a classic romance not to be missed.) It portrays some deep moments of love and pain as our heroine turns to prostitution. It features some great lines like “If I don’t feel sorry for myself, who will?”
The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988) This film stars Daniel Day Lewis. It contains some powerful and profound thoughts about love. One of my favorite speeches talks about the difficulties of love – “I was forced to love my mother, but not this dog. You know, Tomas… maybe… maybe, I love her more than I love you. Not more. I mean in a better way. I’m not jealous of her. I don’t want her to be different. I don’t ask her for anything.”
Across the Universe (2007) – I couldn’t create a list of love movies without including at least one musical, and this is one of the most spectacular. Julie Taymor builds and artful masterpiece around the music of the Beatles. The lines and the lyricism transport you to another place and time.
Jude: Where are we going? Lucy: Out of our minds! Jude: Where are you taking me? Lucy: Down the rabbit hole!
Please check the next post on Voodoo Universe as the list continues, and remember to share the love… movies that is !
The whole thing started with a hand. Not a mojo hand, made of herbs and other spiritual items, that jazz legends like Muddy Waters and Lightning Hopkins liked to sing about, but a real hand. J.S. Holland on the blog Report from the Florida Zone writes today about a Voodoo Funeral Home that found itself in an interesting situation back in the late 1990’s. The story is this, in November 1997 a hand was discovered in the Manatee River. The hand had been removed by funeral embalmer Paula Green-Albritton, in an attempt to make a “helping hand.”In addition to removing the corpse’s hand she had sewn 12 different dolls up inside the body, these were designed to hex her enemies and have them rot, just as the dolls themselves were rotting. One of the cursed people was her ex husband, when interviewed his comment was “she trying to run me crazy.”
In the past I have spoken to a funeral director who told me that legally I was allowed to put anything inside the coffin that I wished. Some Afro-Diasporan traditions like Palo Mayombe require certain things to be done with the body after death. It is my understanding that there is an underground network of funeral homes that can be accommodating in those situations. It seems however if one is allowed to donate their body to science, why then are they not permitted to have it used for religious purposes. I’m not responding to an article written about why scientists dissect and dismember bodies for the good of the whole? Why is this any different? I’m not saying it isn’t, but should it be ? What are the legal ramifications, and why does this upset people so? Is it because it’s Voodoo ? Some people get offended by religious sacrifice of animals but not scientific testing , some people are outraged by both. Now, people and animals are every different, but I think some of the same religious freedom arguments can be invoked. I’m not saying that cutting off hands, or anything else is part of my experience as a Voodoo priestess and researcher for over two decades. There are extremists in any religious tradition and we should not all be punished for those who wish to drag an ancient religion down to it’s lowest common denominator. But why is the penalty for putting a note or a nail into a dead body, the same, if not worse than that for necrophilia. Many states did not even have laws against necrophilia on the books until recently.
A Helping Hand is a documentary made by Nathan Alexander and Nicklas Wilson about the case. The film is quite graphic, especially the investigations by the authorities, it gives all the details of what happened. It shows some of Paula’s intended victims, whose names were on the dolls. It interviews one old southern gentleman who explains his position thusly, “I don’t give a damn what they do [with his body after he’s dead], I won’t know nothing about it… I’ll be damn lucky if I don’t go to hell anyway, just don’t cut my dick off and eat it.” However amusing that may be, this issue really does raise a lot of questions. No, I don’t believe anything should be done to a body against the individual’s and family’s wishes, but why aren’t people allowed to have their body treated as they want after death, especially in the case of Palo and other traditions that require certain bones to be utilized. Wasn’t the U.S. Founded on religious freedom?
Would you go… photo by Lilith Dorsey.
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