Are there any practioners of voodo or witch doctors among the registered users here? I would like to know more about this particular school of witchcraft

[Angelfyre]

I'm curious about Voodoo as well.   Does anyone have any insight on its strengths and weaknesses?

[jordyn]

voodoo isn't really witchcraft...that's about all i know about it...this may help;

http://www.srsd.org/search/studentprojects/june97/voodoo/page1.htm

Voodoo is a religion, Hoodoo is witchcraft. Most people confuse the two.

The above link seems to be dead...

Voodoo (or, Voudun, voudou, vodou, etc.) is an eclectic religion that celebrates the ancient gods of aboriginal Africa.  There is an entire pantheon of Voudun gods, from the very Great Papa Legba (the keeper of the gates of magic) to the guardian of the graveyards, Baron Samedi and his wife, Marinette, and everyone in between.

There are two different sides to each Voudun god, or, Loa (Lwa).  There is the normal (Rada) side invoked during seasonal ceremonies that are almost always benign in nature, and there are the Petro aspects of the Loa -- their war-like or darker natures.  For example, Papa Legba, the serpentine god of travel, crossroads, and the keeper of the gates to the spirit realms.... normally a joyous, bannevolent god of fortune and good luck.  His Petro aspect, though -- Kalfou (Kalfu) is not a man to be triffled with.  While Papa Legba generally grants passage of good spirits to Earth to help those in need, when angered, Kalfou sends forth plagues of evil spirits to torment and harass with.

Gods in Vodou are not worshipped, per say.  They are served.  Generally, each person takes one of the Loa as their personal everyday god (or goddess).  During ceremonies, fervent practitioners will allow themselves to be 'ridden' by their Loa, in order to give the god some time to enjoy on Earth.  Conveniently, these ceremonies are usually highly festive and light-hearted, so the Loa get to have a good time in the process.  The person who allows themselves to be ridden is called a 'cheval', or 'horse' , for that is how practitioners view the process.  The Loa are thought to descend onto the person as if riding on their shoulders.  The process is said to involve a sense of pressure in the back and top of the head as the Loa basically 'climbs in'.  The person then blacks out, and wakes up after the Loa has left.  Faithful 'cheval' are gifted with good luck by their riders.

Vodou in and of itself doesn't really involve a lot of spells and magic.  The Mamba or Mambo (Vodou priestess/preist) usually calls upon the Loa in prayer on behalf of a person who requests it.  Communities support their Mambo within their temple by providing food and occasionally money to help provide for ceremonies.  In some communities, the Mambo will live with a new family every night in order to ease the burden on the whole community.  (Think of live-in doctors or teachers back in the Day).  Mambos that become evil are called Bokors, and are pretty much an anti-priest.  While they fulfill much of the same function as a Mambo, the Bokor will usually only do so for personal profit.  Bokors are also responsible for the "black magic" so often seen in movies, etc.  Raising zombies and laying hexes are all part and parcel with the Bokor.  Bokors are a vast, vast minority within the vodou community, though.  Persons thought to be Bokors are usually driven from towns and villages (where there is an appropriate Mambo to combat them), or they are killed outright in their sleep (possibly by hiring another Bokor, or just plain mob violence).

 So that's the basics of Vodou.  Please -- if you're going to try it, be respectful of it and of the Loa.  You don't like bums creeping around and asking you for change, so why would the Loa really want the spiritual equivalent?  This is not to say that you shouldn't practice the religion -- this is simply to say that you should make yourself very aware of your responsibilities and your OBLIGATION to it.  Once you awaken a Loa, you don't really just send them packing with a "oh, sorry... this isn't really working out. See you later..."  The best way to get into the practice is to find a Mambo and join a temple.  The South and the East Coast are riddled with them -- you just have to know how and where to look.

That's all for now - Post any more questions you have and I'll try to answer them.

~ Loup

[Angelfyre]

Well lets say that some bokor put a hex on you.  How would you fight it?  I seem to remember that Voodoo gains its power from the victims belief in it.  So if you don't believe that Voodoo has any power then it can't effect you.

(and no I don't think I was hexed.  )

[jordyn]

Well lets say that some bokor put a hex on you.  How would you fight it?  I seem to remember that Voodoo gains its power from the victims belief in it.  So if you don't believe that Voodoo has any power then it can't effect you.

(and no I don't think I was hexed.  )

this is quite a debate in the occult world...if a person doesn't believe a spell will work, it won't...i don't believe it should affect a person that doesn't believe, but i'd look into some sort of defense, just in case.  I know nothing about voodoo, so i'd definitly want to know what was coming my way.

but if a persons doesn't know about the spell, how can the person relate something not so good happening to them to a spell that may or may not be working?

my first guess would be bad luck and then look into methods for changing it...but i'm a believer in spells, the last thing i would consider is someone casting one on me, but if i realized it...i'd know how to defend and fight back.

If you were hexed by a bokor, you'd have to find a Mambo to help get rid of the curse, that is to say if you survive that long.  Bokor hexes are nothing to be trifled with.  They are the work of gods, not simple back-water hocus-pocus.  Bokors draw their "power" from being priests to the darker, Petro aspects of the Loa, or through other "evil" spirits of similar ilk.  It's not a matter of protecting yourself against a Bokor -- it's a matter of protecting yourself against a god.  The only way to do that is to get someone to help appease that Loa, or to find help from another, more sympathetic Loa. 

So, in short, if you've been "hexed" by a Bokor, then you're screwed, because no matter how hard you bury your head in the sand, it won't change the fact that there's some very powerful s**t that's got it out for you. 

~ Loup

[jordyn]

but what if you have a different god that would interact on your behalf, surely the bokor aren't the gods of all gods?

The problem that occurs here is that Vodou doesn't really mix pantheons very well... so for example if a Bokor put a curse on you, you might be able to go to a Catholic priest to have it removed (if the priest believed you, which, in my experience, they don't).  Usually if you're going to trump a Loa, you have to move a step up the ladder.  Like if someone got Baron Cimitiere to give you some kind of wasting disease, you might go to Danballa or even Papa Legba to have him/her lift the Baron's curse... (By "you" of course I mean a Mambo acting on your behalf).

I've never really seen much literature about mixing pantheons in this respect, though.  So if the Baron has it out for you, can you petition to Pan to get the curse removed...?  Well I suppose that all depends on who would win in a fight.  (Ha-ha, my gods better than your god)  Then you get into the whole argument of which belief structure is correct, and it only goes downhill from there.

The Bokor are not the gods of all gods.... they're not gods at all, really (sorry if I'm misreading that) - they are basically evil priests that devote themselves to a single dark power.  Sometimes a Bokor will serve more than one Petro Loa, or even a Petro and Rada Loa together, but it's always for personal gain, revenge, etc. -- not at all for the spiritual well-being of the community.  (It's also difficult to devote yourself to more than one Loa, Petro or otherwise, because they get very jealous of one another and HATE competing for attention.)

~Edited for spelling~

[Phantom X]

Thank you Loup. This is the first time ive learned something useful this summer!

[rider.mig18]

Are there any practioners of voodo or witch doctors among the registered users here? I would like to know more about this particular school of witchcraft

I like Woodoo Magic.

[rider.mig18]

Thank you Loup. This is the first time ive learned something useful this summer!

Sure, Loup_Garou is really COOL!

[Mr. Maggot]

Vodoun's a fascinating religion that  has often been tied to the global  awakening of a black diaspora sundered from its roots in Africa for far too long. Most Mambos are insistent on the point that the Lao or Orisha will only call out to the heir of Africa's spiritual and racial heritage. 

[David]

yes what would you like to know???