New to Voodoo, Looking for Advice

Discussion of the different types of witchcraft and pagan paths.
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Tayloki

New to Voodoo, Looking for Advice

Post by Tayloki »

Hello! I am new to this website (A little lost, actually) and I need some help. Everything is welcome.

Let me tell you my problem.

I recently stopped being a Christian (I didn't get along very well with the religion and some of its followers (i.e., my grandfather) and so I found a religion called Voodoo. I'm a newbie to it and would like some help, since all the sites I visited were either confusing or fake. My friend suggested this website and I am hoping any one of you could help. These are important things I must know:

1. Ancestor Altar. I sorta have one already made but I want to know more.

2. Oils. I learned that these are important.

3. Casting a spell. I heard that with voodoo, you can do this. But I'm not quite sure

4. Just about everything



So there they are! And don't worry. I have a Wiccan friend (The one I mentioned earlier) who will kick my butt if I use any spell casting for evil. I also know right from wrong.

Anywho, THANKS AGAIN! I REALLY need all the help I can get. Thank you and I love you(For the help of course)! :D
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Falcon_Heart27
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Re: New to Voodoo, Looking for Advice

Post by Falcon_Heart27 »

Welcome, Tayloki. :) I have found that this is a wonderful online community. Spend a lot of time browsing the forums, read a LOT. It helps. The more you know....


~Falcon
Tayloki

Re: New to Voodoo, Looking for Advice

Post by Tayloki »

Thank you Falcon! Though that doesn't really answer any of my questions, I still appreciate being welcomed.
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Kassandra
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Re: New to Voodoo, Looking for Advice

Post by Kassandra »

Tayloki wrote:These are important things I must know:

1. Ancestor Altar. I sorta have one already made but I want to know more.

2. Oils. I learned that these are important.

3. Casting a spell. I heard that with voodoo, you can do this. But I'm not quite sure

4. Just about everything
Hi Tayloki, and welcome to the board. smiley_dance


Housekeeping Notes

A few housekeeping things I did, just for clarification. Since your post was mainly asking questions about religion, and not so much an introduction about you personally, I moved your post to this forum, "Types of Witchcraft." If you'd like, you could post another introduction post in the "Member Profiles and Introductions" forum again, this time actually telling us a little about you (beyond questions about Voodoo practice). Or, you could leave this post as your intro, that's fine, no worries.

Also, I noticed in your original post you had several religions listed in the title that are closely related to Voodoo. But, since you state in your post that you are now a Voodoo practitioner, I changed your title to reflect that, and deleted the other names since your questions are not about them. OK, enough about housekeeping and onto your questions.


EUTM Witchy Demographics

It's great that someone had high enough regard for this site that they pointed you in this direction, but I hope you don't get disappointed with few if any responses. Perhaps that individual didn't know the makeup of the members here (or it was your Wiccan friend who referred you? that would make sense, as he or she might have had a lot of responses to his or her questions regarding Wiccan practices).

You may or may not have noticed this board is primarily Wiccan. Those here not Wiccan still primarily follow one or another of a European diasporic family of magical practices. And, some belong to covens, but by far most here are solitary practitioners.

So, that is a rough outline of the general population here. And notice I used modifiers like "most" and "primarily," which of course means the rough sketch does not mean "all" members here share the same characteristics. In fact, I would say "ecclecticism" prevails here, lol.


Source Material

Practitioners

As far as Voodoo goes, there have been and are some members here who state they practice Voodoo, including one young guy who was working toward becoming a houngan (meaning a Voodoo priest, and a Voodoo priestess is a mambo, but you probably already knew all that). Don't know whatever happened to him. He was pretty fun, though --Guardian Wolf, I think his handle here was. You might look up some of his old posts, as he often compared Wicca with Voodoo, the differences and similarities in practices and approaches (mostly the differences, though, lol).

Aside from that, not many Voodoo practitioners here, so don't have your feelings hurt if you really don't get many responses to your OP. People here are very friendly and helpful. But, African diasporic religions (let's call them, "ADRs" so I don't have to keep typing that out) are not the focus of this board. I have made a few posts about hoodoo, but it is not the same as Voodoo. For example, one big difference is a Voodoo practitioner might honor African loa and/or Catholic saints (or Catholic saints as "stand-ins" for the loa), whereas hoodoo is folk magic and not an actual religion, and if Christianity is combined with it it will tend to be Protestant-based.


Written & Online Sources

Finally, regarding your questions, the use of oils, ancestor altars, and spell casting are prominent in Voodoo, as they are in other ADRs. These are very deep, involved topics, and you're not going to get a lot of information about them in one thread on a message board like this. This is a vast topic! There are many, many ingredients used in ADRs like Voodoo, and their composition and purposes won't be covered in one thread. It's really something you just have to practice for yourself to learn.

The good news is we live in an age where there are books about everything, things that used to only be learned in private, from teacher to student, from master to apprentice, etc. I think there are so many solitary practitioners today because the availability of information has knocked out the middle man (i.e., the teacher, master, etc.), so to speak.

This has its pros and cons, of course. There are a lot of good books out there, but then there are a lot of stinkers out there, too. Some books are just plain stupid, embarrassingly so. It doesn't take much to publish a book nowadays, let alone a blog post, or even to open one's own website. So, though the distribution of information is vast, the quality of that information varies greatly.

Nevertheless, using your intuition as you read things, I think you could learn a lot of good stuff through books and the internet, trial and error, and experience. Along the way, you will come across authors with valuable information. Be advised that since Voodoo is a variant of the Vodoun practiced in Haiti, which itself is a variant of the vodou practiced in West Africa....there are both ardent proponents for, and equally ardent critics against Voodoo.

For example, this author, who wrote a pretty nice, succinct summary of ADRs, calls Voodoo an "imaginary religion" (see: African Traditional & Diasporic Religion).

Whereas on the other hand, author Denise Alvarado has spent an entire lifetime promoting Louisiana Voodoo, and has become a popular go-to person for instruction and guidance. You could read her website writings and books, and try some of the techniques she teaches, and I bet you'd learn a lot. Also, you might find a group of Voodoo practitioners locally, and learn from them.

Above all, try not to get mired in all the sectarianism and rants out there, and try instead to just focus on getting an overall picture of your chosen religion, and most importantly, focus on selecting practices and beliefs you find useful and meaningful to your life --that's the main thing. Let the rest go, or at least file it all away for now.

That's my advice to you, and I hope something of this helps.



.
Tayloki

Re: New to Voodoo, Looking for Advice

Post by Tayloki »

Thank you!! Thank you soooo much! This has helped a lot and I really appreciate your advice.
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Kassandra
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Re: New to Voodoo, Looking for Advice

Post by Kassandra »

.

Glad it helps.



.
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Re: New to Voodoo, Looking for Advice

Post by SnowCat »

Welcome Tayloki. I hope that you are able to find at least some of what you need here. If, in your spiritual travels, you find yourself pulled to something in addition to Voodoo, I would also explore whatever else is calling you. Many of us here are eclectic solitaries. The old song "Don't Fence Me In," is playing in my head right now. Above all, honor yourself and your path. The rest of it has a way of working out.

Snow
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Tayloki

Re: New to Voodoo, Looking for Advice

Post by Tayloki »

Thank you for the welcoming, SnowCat! I really appreciate it.
LadyL

Re: New to Voodoo, Looking for Advice

Post by LadyL »

I think you are more Spiritual than religious and that's okay. Nobody ever really fits neatly into anyone else's box.

I've learned more about Hoodoo but not enough to feel comfortable giving specifics. Like anything, read, read, read!

As your work, pay attention to your gut. By that I mean, what are you drawn to? When you find things that speak to you, you will be more powerful in your intention. Regardless of what kind of spellwork you do the power is in the Intention.
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New to Voodoo, Looking for Advice

Post by mrsdavid1975 »

I would just like to point out. .. You said you have a Wiccan friend who would kick your butt if you do anything " evil". Wicca is a very " white light" religion and voodoo is nothing like that. Voodoo falls under one of the ones where there is no good/ bad so much as there is a need for work and you do the work.

There is no such thing in voodoo as " harm ye none ".

So I think the first thing you should research is. .. What type of work do you consider " good or bad". .. And where would you feel most comfortable ? ..

There are other works that deal with ancestor work as well.

This is why (I think) MOST of us here are eclectic practitioners.

I know I fall most closely into the traditional / hedgewitch box. .. I am also very loyal to my native ancestry .. So folk medicine and herbs are a huge thing with me. I don't believe hot footing someone or bringing karma to them is " evil" as many witches do. I will do almost any spell unless it harms animals. .. I thank plants before I take them. If a feather is in my yard, I consider it a gift .. And I thank the birds for giving me the gift. I don't believe in screwing with a person's will and emotions too much either. I also do work with sigils and psalms. My point is .. If you feel drawn to something really study it and understand the nature of every beast.

You will probably go through a million labels before you find home.

This forum is a beautiful place ,though. The people are amazing. They are supportive and helpful in many ways. There is so much to learn ! I am happy for your path. I hope you enjoy it.

Nice to meet you'!
derek-of-spades

Re: New to Voodoo, Looking for Advice

Post by derek-of-spades »

Hi there,

I'm predominantly wiccan centered but I have used elements of voodoo in some of my magical workings. I often make dolls for people that I hand sew. I fill them with gem stones or other symbolic things. I only use them for positive outcomes. I stand by the "an it harm none do what ye will" rule of the wiccan rede.
Admittedly I know very little about the traditional voodoo, but I thought I'd put in my two cents ;)
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Re: New to Voodoo, Looking for Advice

Post by Lord_of_Nightmares »

Voodoo is a religion that requires initiation in Haiti. (Unless you are talking about Lousiana voodoo which is something else, entirely.) Hoodoo is just the magical workings and has a lot of roots in America.
I am the Earth, The Sun and the Stars
And I am the also the Moon
I am all animal and birds,
And I am the outcast as well, and the thief
I am the low person of dreadful deeds,
And the great person of excellent deeds
I am Female. I am Male and I am Neuter.
- Devi
Violet141

Re: New to Voodoo, Looking for Advice

Post by Violet141 »

There is a branch of magic that passes itself off as voodoo magic but is actually simple witchcraft. Do not think it is a good thing that you happen to have cast Haitian voodoo love spells belonging to this branch of magic. Voodoo spirits are closely watching those who dared to say their name and severely punish everyone encroaching on their strength and power.  
Last edited by Kassandra on Mon Mar 28, 2016 9:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Removed link in this post to a psychic hot line website. If you'd like to advertise it, please do so at the Websites forum. thx
CallOfCthulhuNj

Re: New to Voodoo, Looking for Advice

Post by CallOfCthulhuNj »

Hi,...this may not be the correct place to write this but anybody familiar with voodoo know what this curse means?
"bazagrah" It's apparently a voodoo curse, and id like to know the exact use, and effect on using it...
Thanks
~Heather
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SpiritTalker
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Re: New to Voodoo, Looking for Advice

Post by SpiritTalker »

I googled it and found it's a Cajun/creole term meaning Satan.
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