Most people's exposure to the Voodoo religion comes unfortunately in the form of horribly bad movies. Zombies, possession, and Voodoo dolls crying out to Damballa are only some of the ludicrosity that Hollywood has chosen to display. Read more
Most people's exposure to the Voodoo religion comes unfortunately in the form of horribly bad movies. Zombies, possession, and Voodoo dolls crying out to Damballa are only some of the ludicrosity that Hollywood has chosen to display. Read more
Sex sells. Sin sells. Voodoo sells. It's true, I didn't make it up. The current season of American Horror Story Coven uses a bizarre mix of reality and supreme fantasy to get its point across, a major clothing manufacturer places a giant veve (ritual symbol) for Papa Legba in its store window to sell t-shirts, and I'm left shaking my head. Read more
LGBTQ themes in Voodoo, Santeria aka Lucumi, Haitian Vodou, and other Afro-Diasporan traditions by an actual practitioner. Read more
There are many different ritual coffee drinks used around the Afro-Diasporan world. Many of these are alcoholic and are used both as offerings to the Voodoo gods, and fortification for the worshippers. Read more
The latest video installment of Fire Fire Fireside chats. This time I take a look at the realities and the myth of Voodoo and Zombies, and even share a few pictures of me joining in the fun. Read more
For the past decade I have been teaching a workshop on Psychic Photography, Video and Audio Recording. The following advice can be utilized not just for capturing ghosts on film, but for recording rituals (when permitted) and other spiritual happenings. Read more
One of the most puzzling things for people both inside and outside the traditions of Voodoo and Santeria, also known as Lucumi, is the inclusion of other religions' iconography. If you inquire about this to practitioners you will most likely get a variety of answers ranging from, colonial oppression, to secrecy, to beliefs that these individuals were part of the religion itself. Read more
Samhain or Halloween as it is more commonly celebrated is undoubtedly a time for celebrating the ancestors and in that spirit I present the following recipe based on one from my cookbook African-American Ritual Cooking. This Voodoo recipe for Sweet Potatoes is a New Orleans style take on the bountiful yam featuring two of the city's favorite ingredients Bourbon and Pecans. Read more
There may have been other Voodoo priestesses before her in the city of New Orleans, but there was no one like Marie Laveau, except maybe her daughter, but I will explain that later. This legendary Voodoo woman was said to do everything from providing psychic consultations for Queen Victoria to concocting psychedelic gumbo for inmates sentenced to hang in the gallows. Read more
The following ancestor poem is in honor of this Shocktober and Halloween. I wrote it some years back about the lascivious spirits of the dead in Voodoo. Please feel free to comment, share or add your own poetic Ancestral musings! Read more
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