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Articles  & Information

Following is a list of articles and information that I have either collected off of the internet or compiled and written myself. The information provides information about various aspects of Voodoo, the origins of Voodoo, as well as different cosmologies, cultures, mythologies, and related metaphysical issues.

Find educational videos here.


The real act of discovery is not in finding new lands, but in seeing with new eyes. - Marcel Proust


NOTICE: Some material contained in some articles on this web site were written by European-Americans from an outsider's perspective. Clearly, some of these authors were racist and used derogatory language and this attitude is reflected in their writing. The texts are nonetheless presented in their entirety because they provide an indispensible account of the customs, beliefs, and practices of the African American south during the 19th century. You are reminded to consider the information you read within the social and political context of the time in which it was written. The racist and derogatory attitude reflected in these articles in no way reflects my personal belief system; the articles are presented for educational and informational purposes only.

 Denise Alvarado  


About Yuletide

This page is a collection of information, recipes, customs, traditions, legends, and crafts in celebration of the Yuletide season.

 

The Action in Attraction: 10 Things You Can Do Today

Michelle L. Casto

 

Ananse the Spider The story of the African trickster spider Spirit, Ananse, from the Metropolitan Museum of Art podcast.

 

Away With Obeah Laws Say Rastafarians

By Sam Pragg, IPS, 20 January 1999. Obeah is an ancient practice which is said to have been adopted from Africa after the slaves from the West Coast of the continent came to the Caribbean.

 

Benin-Voodoo

About 60 percent of this West African nation's people follow voodoo, which originated in the region, but the Marxist regime that came to power in 1972 discouraged its practice.

 

Black Cat Folklore

By Denise Alvarado

Historically, black cats were symbolically associated with witchcraft and evil. This article covers black cat superstitions, deities, and folklore.

 

British psychiatry: from eugenics to assassination

By Anton Chaitkin, Executive Intelligence Review, V21 #40, [30 July 2002]

 

Chakras

By Denise Alvarado

An Integrated System of Healing that Reflects the Mind-Body Connection 

 

Day of the Dead

By Denise Alvarado

This article discusses the ancient Mexican holiday Dia de los Muertos or Day of the Dead. Included is a description of art characteristic of Day of the Dead, such as papel picado, skull art, and free papel picado patterns.

 

Dialog on the Taino

The generally accepted view is that Petwo Voodoo is certainly not African, featuring practices not found at all in Africa, like zomibification and a much greater reliance on the violent side of the spirits...

 

Dragons and Dragon Lore

By Denise Alvarado

The dragon is a mythical creature typically depicted as a gigantic and powerful serpent or other reptile with magical or spiritual qualities. On this page find dragon Classifications, Types of Dragons, European Dragons, Asian Dragons, Egyptian Dragons, African Dragons, Babylonian Dragons, Indian Dragons, the Ouroboros, Dragon Spells, Dragon Lore, and the Legend of St. George and the Dragon.

 

 

Drums and Shadows

This book focuses on a set of beliefs and magical practices (some of which are today known as 'Hoodoo'), including root doctoring, the existence of spirits, talismans, lucky and unlucky acts and omens and more.

 

Enûma Elish

By Denise Alvarado

The Enûma Elish is a great Assyrian poem, or series of legends, which narrates the story of the Creation of the world and of humankind. A brief history of the Enûma Elish is provided, followed by the Seven Tablets of the History of Creation in their entirety.

The Evil Eye

Faces of Africa Photo Gallery

"A Voodoo devotee surrenders himself to the spirit of his personal deity. His eyes roll upward and his pupils disappear, leaving only the whites. Depending on which direction the eyes roll, observers can tell what spirit has possessed him. This man, with his eyes rolled toward the sky, is possessed by Hebioso—the thunder god." Photographers Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher, writing in the book Faces of Africa

Fairy Lore

Fairy Power from Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms, and Superstitions of Ireland

by Lady Francesca Speranza Wilde [1887]

Fairy Spells

First hand accounts of zombification

A dialogue on Bob Corbett's Haiti List, December 1995. Sources for zombification. Wade Davis (brief).

Freya

The Golden Guide to Hallucinogenic Plants

by Richard Evans Schultes
 

This unique Golden Guide surveys the role of psychoactive plants in primitive and civilized societies from early times to the present. The first nontechnical guide to both the cultural significance and physiological effects of hallucinogens, HALLUCINOGENIC PLANTS will fascinate general readers and students of anthropology and history as well as botanists and other specialists. All of the wild and cultivated species considered are illustrated in brilliant full color.

 

 

Haiti: Possessed by Voodoo

Sharon Guynup, National Geographic Channel, July 7, 2004

In Haiti voodoo believers pray and perform animal sacrifices to feed—and
beckon—the spirits.
The ceremony begins with a Roman Catholic prayer. Then three drummers begin to play syncopated rhythms. The attendees begin to dance around a tree in the center of the yard, moving faster and harder with the rising pulse of the beat. The priest draws sacred symbols in the dust with cornmeal, and rum is poured on the ground to honor the spirits.

 

 

Haiti-Spirit Politics

By Paisley Dodds, AP, 30 October 2002. At a time of deepening poverty and despair, many people in this Caribbean country see only one way out; Voodoo is Haiti's only hope. We have nothing else—unless you're willing to risk your life to make it to the United States.

 

Haiti Voodoo

By Michael Norton, AP, 26 July 2003. Although millions still practice Voodoo—now a state-sanctioned religion in Haiti—some are turning their backs on the religion brought from Africa, testing other faiths as their Caribbean nation grapples with growing instability and poverty. A growing number, estimated at 30 percent, identify themselves as Protestant, and adamantly oppose Voodoo.


"In any religion, there is room for perversion of the religious doctrine"

- Wade Davis


 

The Haitian Revolution: Part I: Prelude to the Revolution: 1760 to 1789

The shortest account which one typically hears of the Haitian Revolution is that the slaves rose up in 1791 and by 1803 had driven the whites out of Saint-Domingue declaring the independent Republic of Haiti. This essay addresses the often overlooked complexities of the Haitian revolution.

 

Handwriting Analysis

Information for handwriting analysis resources.

Haunted New Orleans Wish Spell

Herbal Mojo

History of New Orleans Voodoo

Hoodoo Voodoo Lore

How to Conduct a Séance

How to Make a Day of the Dead Altar

How to Make a Voodoo Doll

Ideomotor Effect

In this paper, Carpenter explains his theory that muscular movement can be independent of conscious desires or emotions. Discussion as it pertains to Ouija board phenomenon.

 

Introduction to Voodoo in Haiti

By Bob Corbett, March 1988. Basic concepts, key terms, and issues discussed in outline form.

Kwanzaa

Last of the Voudoos

Law of Attraction

Marie Laveau

Inside Voodoo: African Cult of Twins Marks Voodoo New Year
In his small village, Ameko shares a genetic predisposition to produce twins and a fervent belief in twins' special place in the vodun. Like other indigenous peoples in this part of West Africa, Ameko believes twins are living deities that symbolize fertility. He worships them as a member of what is known as the Cult of the Twins.

Reporter Lorne Matalon's African assignment was part of the National Geographic Society's ongoing Ethnosphere Project, a five-year series of expeditions to study cultural diversity.

Mini-Guide to New Orleans, Louisiana

Mules and Men

MYTHS AND LEGENDS of the Bantu

 

Myths of Ífè

 

Native American Fetishes

 

Native American Wellness: A State of Affairs

 

New Orleans Superstitions

 

Nothing to lose but your chains, white slaves

Haiti Briefing extract, 27 August 1998. Review of press coverage of two Vodou Nation performances of houngan Edgar Jean-Louis, and Boukman Eksperyans in London and Liverpool in May. The enduring fascination Vodou holds for westerners is based on old stereotypes. Cultural imperialism is at its worst when religious discourse strays into ethnic comparisons.

 

On Voodoo

Hugh B. Cave

There are ceremonies offered in or near Port-au-Prince for tourists, which are little more than folklore presentations staged for money. Real Voodoo is a religion, concerned not with tourists but with the invocation and worship of gods and spirits.

 

Ouija Board

Parapsychology and the Paranormal - Part I

Prayer to the Seven African Powers

The Rainbow Bath

This is an excerpt from the upcoming book by Denise Alvarado that focuses on spiritual baths in the Hoodoo tradition.

 

Reexamining U.S. Slaves' Role in Their Emancipation

Hillary Mayell for National Geographic News, December 6, 2002

The 13th Amendment abolishing slavery in the United States was ratified 137 years ago today, on December 6, 1865. Fittingly, today is also the start of a conference at Yale University focusing on the often overlooked role that enslaved Africans played in freeing themselves.

 

Religious Rituals

By Jeffrey B. Cohen, The New York Times, Sunday 19 January 2003. Elizabeth McAlister, an assistant professor in the Religion Department at Wesleyan University, discusses vodou and the Rara festival.

 

A short list of major loa

By Bob Corbett, 16 July 1995. A characterization of the loa (gods) in the Voodoo religion.

 

Story of Zombi in Haiti

The Supernatural Caribbean

Teaching the Truth About Thanksgiving

Texts of the Philokalia

The Science of Getting Rich

The Secret

The Story of Ogun and Oshun

Trolls

Voodoo a Legitimate Religion, Anthropologist Says
Voodoo is widely regarded as a mysterious and sinister practice that's taboo in
many cultures.

Voodoo Blood Rite: Reporter on African Ritual
In the small village of Zooti in southern Togo, West Africa, residents practice
voodoo.

Voodoo Death

By Walter Cannon

This is the seminal 1942 article by anthropologist Walter Cannon that explores the effect of Voodoo curses on physical health.

 

Voodoo Gods and Goddesses

Voodoo Holidays

Voodoo in New Orleans - Investigative files - Louisiana

Skeptical Inquirer,  Jan-Feb, 2002  by Joe Nickell

 

 

Vodou is fully recognised as a religion in Haiti

A presidential decree dated April 4, 2003 recognizing Vodou as a religion indicates that all Vodou chiefs, temple officials, officials at a sacred site, as well as all Vodou organizations or associations are empowered to file a request for recognition by the Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs.

 

Voodoo Photo Gallery 1

Photographs by Jean-Claude Coutausse, copyright National Geographic Society

 

Voodoo Photo Gallery 2

Photographs and captions by Chris Rainier, copyright National Geographic Society

Voodoo Resources

Voodoo Spells

Voodoo Vévés

Vodou's Veil

By Jaqueline Charles, jcharles@herald.com, posted on Saturday 03 May 2003. Vodou is practiced here in South Florida: Shrouded in a veil of secrecy in hidden-away temples that double as private homes, and storefront religious stores known as botanicas. Impact of recognition.

When are Magic Spells Performed?

Will the Real Santa Claus Please Stand Up?

Woman's Mysteries of a Primitive People

 

West African Voodoo Dancing Masks Photo Gallery

Drummers and singers are an integral part of voodoo ceremonies, acting as the conduit for the spirits to journey into the ceremony like this Gelede mask ceremony in Benin, West Africa. The powerful sound evokes the deity to visit voodoo mask dances.

 

What is Voodoo?

By Mambo Michelle

The question of what exactly is New Orleans Voodoo is challenging. There is some controversy within the community of Vodouisants regarding New Orleans Voodoo. Many feel that New Orleans Voodoo simply is a marketing tool of the City of New Orleans. Others feel it is a deep and hidden portion of New Orleans culture that is only just beginning to get the respect it deserves. The truth probably lies somewhere in between these two views.

 

Yoruba Legends

 

Zulu Oral Art

H. C. Groenewald

 

 


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"Great Spirits have always encountered violent opposition frommediocre minds" - Albert Einstein

 


Educational Voodoo Videos


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