Money spells to change your life & make you wealthy & remove all money problems. Voodoo money spells to get money. Voodoo spells to win lots of money.
Witchcraft money spells, voodoo money spells, powerful money spells, black magic money spells, white magic money spells, illuminati money spells & muthi money spells.
Money Spells will improve your financial situations & help you make more money in your life. After using money spells you will have more luck with money in your life.
African voodoo http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Voodoo healer http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Voodoo spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Love spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/voodoo-lost-love-spells.html
Money spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/money-spells.html
Revenge spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/revenge-spells.html
Curses spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/curses-spells.html
Showing posts with label african voodoo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label african voodoo. Show all posts
Friday, 4 November 2016
African voodoo love spells
Voodoo love magic spells can over whelm you with the way they can quickly get into action and make your love desires a reality.
Many of the deities usually prefer to give their support to the actions involves creating, strengthen love and unity.
Since this spell is cast with good intentions, it attracts many spirits to get involved in making that spell a successful.
Usually voodoo love magic is cast using different ingredients depending to the actual task the spell is going to perform, i.e. Acacia nilotica, and lantana camala; these herbs can be mixed together with your own blood or with soil stepped on by your soul mate under a full supervision of the deities or spirits to cast spell of love.
This spell can either be a love spell to attract new love, improve your love or a lost love spell to bring back your lost lover.
A voodoo love magic spell of this kind can overpower any type of situation delivering its powerful energy to your targeted person.
We all know how sometimes having search a high power how temptation it can be to many people and make them to cast spells with bad intentions.
These kinds of behaviors are highly discouraged and still there is another way of protecting your interests from people of such behaviors by casting a voodoo love protection spell.
This spell is cast almost in the same way as casting a love spell but this time you add more ingredients for it to be able to shield your relationship.
It obviously that this spell works exactly as voodoo binding love spell but voodoo love protection spell is customized to protect your relationship from any kind of attack which can put it in danger.
African voodoo http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Voodoo healer http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Voodoo spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Love spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/voodoo-lost-love-spells.html
Money spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/money-spells.html
Revenge spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/revenge-spells.html
Curses spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/curses-spells.html
Many of the deities usually prefer to give their support to the actions involves creating, strengthen love and unity.
Since this spell is cast with good intentions, it attracts many spirits to get involved in making that spell a successful.
Usually voodoo love magic is cast using different ingredients depending to the actual task the spell is going to perform, i.e. Acacia nilotica, and lantana camala; these herbs can be mixed together with your own blood or with soil stepped on by your soul mate under a full supervision of the deities or spirits to cast spell of love.
This spell can either be a love spell to attract new love, improve your love or a lost love spell to bring back your lost lover.
A voodoo love magic spell of this kind can overpower any type of situation delivering its powerful energy to your targeted person.
We all know how sometimes having search a high power how temptation it can be to many people and make them to cast spells with bad intentions.
These kinds of behaviors are highly discouraged and still there is another way of protecting your interests from people of such behaviors by casting a voodoo love protection spell.
This spell is cast almost in the same way as casting a love spell but this time you add more ingredients for it to be able to shield your relationship.
It obviously that this spell works exactly as voodoo binding love spell but voodoo love protection spell is customized to protect your relationship from any kind of attack which can put it in danger.
African voodoo http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Voodoo healer http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Voodoo spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Love spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/voodoo-lost-love-spells.html
Money spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/money-spells.html
Revenge spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/revenge-spells.html
Curses spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/curses-spells.html
African Spritual Religious Systems
Voodoo (Vodun) is a derivative of the world's oldest known religions which have been around in Africa since the beginning of human civilization.
Some conservative estimates these civilizations and religions to be over 10 000 years old. This then identify Voodoo as probably the best example of African syncretism in the Americas
Although its essential wisdom originated in different parts of Africa long before the Europeans started the slave trade, the structure of Voodoo, as we know it today, was born in Haiti during the European colonization of Hispaniola.
Ironically, it was the enforced immigration of enslaved African from different ethnic groups that provided the circumstances for the development of Voodoo.
European colonists thought that by desolating the ethnic groups, these could not come together as a community.
However, in the misery of slavery, the transplanted Africans found in their faith a common thread. They began to invoke not only their own Gods, but to practice rites other than their own.
In this process, they comingled and modified rituals of various ethnic groups. The result of such fusion was that the different religious groups integrated their beliefs, thereby creating a new religion: Voodoo.
The word "voodoo" comes from the West African word "vodun," meaning spirit. This Afro-Caribbean religion mixed practices from many African ethnics groups such as the Fon, the Nago, the Ibos, Dahomeans, Congos , Senegalese, Haussars, Caplaous, Mondungues, Mandinge, Angolese, Libyans, Ethiopians, and the Malgaches.
African voodoo http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Voodoo healer http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Voodoo spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Love spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/voodoo-lost-love-spells.html
Money spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/money-spells.html
Revenge spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/revenge-spells.html
Curses spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/curses-spells.html
Some conservative estimates these civilizations and religions to be over 10 000 years old. This then identify Voodoo as probably the best example of African syncretism in the Americas
Although its essential wisdom originated in different parts of Africa long before the Europeans started the slave trade, the structure of Voodoo, as we know it today, was born in Haiti during the European colonization of Hispaniola.
Ironically, it was the enforced immigration of enslaved African from different ethnic groups that provided the circumstances for the development of Voodoo.
European colonists thought that by desolating the ethnic groups, these could not come together as a community.
However, in the misery of slavery, the transplanted Africans found in their faith a common thread. They began to invoke not only their own Gods, but to practice rites other than their own.
In this process, they comingled and modified rituals of various ethnic groups. The result of such fusion was that the different religious groups integrated their beliefs, thereby creating a new religion: Voodoo.
The word "voodoo" comes from the West African word "vodun," meaning spirit. This Afro-Caribbean religion mixed practices from many African ethnics groups such as the Fon, the Nago, the Ibos, Dahomeans, Congos , Senegalese, Haussars, Caplaous, Mondungues, Mandinge, Angolese, Libyans, Ethiopians, and the Malgaches.
African voodoo http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Voodoo healer http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Voodoo spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Love spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/voodoo-lost-love-spells.html
Money spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/money-spells.html
Revenge spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/revenge-spells.html
Curses spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/curses-spells.html
African voodoo spells
African cultures are where voodoo practices originated and then spread all over the world. Usually Africans take voodoo practices as a way of living and beliefs which plays a huge role in day to day life.
A voodoo practice complies of communicating to the spirits and relying to the nature. African voodoo practitioner must be well trained in all aspects of healing, communicating with spirits, cursing and casting spells etc.
Almost all spells cast by African voodoo priest must have the attachment with herbs and spirits which regularly consulted to ensure the smooth working of the spell.
A voodoo priest is trained from tender age and made to rise in ranks according to how that individual capable of learning and mastering all strings attached to being priest or priestess.
The voodoo practitioners are well aware of the presence of God and his angels, deities, ghosts and spirit guides.
All those tittles form a spiritual world to which rituals and other ceremonies are regularly performed to bring closer those spirits to human beings.
These spirits are part and partial to daily activities of African societies responsible for the well being of human.
Being the African voodoo priest or priestess does not come cheaply since you spend years in training to attain various skills in voodoo magic whereby, to be a qualified voodoo practitioner you must have passed all the tests which even includes casting of different spells as well as reversing them.
To search a skillful voodoo priest and which easy access to different ingredients since most of the spells are cast using natural ingredients gives the added advantage to a voodoo practitioner to cast a well planned, skillful and high energetic spell.
Every voodoo practitioner in many cases has a deity which takes the lead amongst all spirits a priest or priestess summons.
The strength of this deity determines the power of the priest, some priests can be able to summon over 100 deities which adds to his spell casting success rate because these deities are capable of making the spells stronger and successful each time you cast them
African voodoo http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Voodoo healer http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Voodoo spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Love spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/voodoo-lost-love-spells.html
Money spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/money-spells.html
Revenge spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/revenge-spells.html
Curses spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/curses-spells.html
A voodoo practice complies of communicating to the spirits and relying to the nature. African voodoo practitioner must be well trained in all aspects of healing, communicating with spirits, cursing and casting spells etc.
Almost all spells cast by African voodoo priest must have the attachment with herbs and spirits which regularly consulted to ensure the smooth working of the spell.
A voodoo priest is trained from tender age and made to rise in ranks according to how that individual capable of learning and mastering all strings attached to being priest or priestess.
The voodoo practitioners are well aware of the presence of God and his angels, deities, ghosts and spirit guides.
All those tittles form a spiritual world to which rituals and other ceremonies are regularly performed to bring closer those spirits to human beings.
These spirits are part and partial to daily activities of African societies responsible for the well being of human.
Being the African voodoo priest or priestess does not come cheaply since you spend years in training to attain various skills in voodoo magic whereby, to be a qualified voodoo practitioner you must have passed all the tests which even includes casting of different spells as well as reversing them.
To search a skillful voodoo priest and which easy access to different ingredients since most of the spells are cast using natural ingredients gives the added advantage to a voodoo practitioner to cast a well planned, skillful and high energetic spell.
Every voodoo practitioner in many cases has a deity which takes the lead amongst all spirits a priest or priestess summons.
The strength of this deity determines the power of the priest, some priests can be able to summon over 100 deities which adds to his spell casting success rate because these deities are capable of making the spells stronger and successful each time you cast them
African voodoo http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Voodoo healer http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Voodoo spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Love spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/voodoo-lost-love-spells.html
Money spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/money-spells.html
Revenge spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/revenge-spells.html
Curses spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/curses-spells.html
The Essence of Voodoo
Within the voodoo society, there are no accidents. Practitioners believe that nothing and no event has a life of its own. That is why "vous deux", you two, you too. The universe is all one.
Each thing affects something else. Scientists know that. Nature knows it. Many spiritualists agree that we are not separate, we all serve as parts of One.
So, in essence, what you do unto another, you do unto you, because you ARE the other. Voo doo. View you. We are mirrors of each others souls.
God is manifest through the spirits of ancestors who can bring good or harm and must be honored in ceremonies. There is a sacred cycle between the living and the dead.
Believers ask for their misery to end. Rituals include prayers, drumming, dancing, singing and animal sacrifice.
The serpent figures heavily in the Voodoo faith. The word Voodoo has been translated as "the snake under whose auspices gather all who share the faith".
The high priest and/or priestess of the faith (often called Papa or Maman) are the vehicles for the expression of the serpent's power. The supreme deity is Bon Dieu.
There are hundreds of spirits called Loa who control nature, health, wealth and happiness of mortals. The Loa form a pantheon of deities that include Damballah, Ezili, Ogu, Agwe, Legba and others.
During Voodoo ceremonies these Loa can possess the bodies of the ceremony participants. Loa appear by "possessing" the faithful, who in turn become the Loa, relaying advice, warnings and desires. Voodoo is an animist faith.
That is, objects and natural phenomena are believed to possess holy significance, to possess a soul. Thus the Loa Agwe is the divine presence behind the hurricane.
Music and dance are key elements to Voodoo ceremonies. Ceremonies were often termed by whites "Night Dancing" or "Voodoo Dancing".
This dancing is not simply a prelude to sexual frenzy, as it has often been portrayed. The dance is an expression of spirituality, of connection with divinity and the spirit world.
Voodoo is a practical religion, playing an important role in the family and the community. One's ancestors, for instance, are believed to be a part of the world of the spirits, of the Loas, and this is one way that Voodoo serves to root its participants in their own history and tradition.
Another practical aspect of Voodoo ceremonies is that participants often come before the priest or priestess to seek advice, spiritual guidance, or help with their problems.
The priest or priestess then, through divine aid, offer help such as healing through the use of herbs or medicines (using knowledge that has been passed down within the religion itself), or healing through faith itself as is common in other religions. Voodoo teaches a respect for the natural world.
Unfortunately, the public's perception of voodoo rites and rituals seems often to point to the evil or malicious side of things. There are healing spells, nature spells, love spells, purification spells, joyous celebration spells.
Spirits may be invoked to bring harmony and peace, birth and rebirth, increased abundance of luck, material happiness, renewed health.The fact is, for those who believe it, voodoo is powerful. It is also empowering to the person who practices it.
African voodoo http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Voodoo healer http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Voodoo spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Love spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/voodoo-lost-love-spells.html
Money spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/money-spells.html
Revenge spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/revenge-spells.html
Curses spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/curses-spells.html
Each thing affects something else. Scientists know that. Nature knows it. Many spiritualists agree that we are not separate, we all serve as parts of One.
So, in essence, what you do unto another, you do unto you, because you ARE the other. Voo doo. View you. We are mirrors of each others souls.
God is manifest through the spirits of ancestors who can bring good or harm and must be honored in ceremonies. There is a sacred cycle between the living and the dead.
Believers ask for their misery to end. Rituals include prayers, drumming, dancing, singing and animal sacrifice.
The serpent figures heavily in the Voodoo faith. The word Voodoo has been translated as "the snake under whose auspices gather all who share the faith".
The high priest and/or priestess of the faith (often called Papa or Maman) are the vehicles for the expression of the serpent's power. The supreme deity is Bon Dieu.
There are hundreds of spirits called Loa who control nature, health, wealth and happiness of mortals. The Loa form a pantheon of deities that include Damballah, Ezili, Ogu, Agwe, Legba and others.
During Voodoo ceremonies these Loa can possess the bodies of the ceremony participants. Loa appear by "possessing" the faithful, who in turn become the Loa, relaying advice, warnings and desires. Voodoo is an animist faith.
That is, objects and natural phenomena are believed to possess holy significance, to possess a soul. Thus the Loa Agwe is the divine presence behind the hurricane.
Music and dance are key elements to Voodoo ceremonies. Ceremonies were often termed by whites "Night Dancing" or "Voodoo Dancing".
This dancing is not simply a prelude to sexual frenzy, as it has often been portrayed. The dance is an expression of spirituality, of connection with divinity and the spirit world.
Voodoo is a practical religion, playing an important role in the family and the community. One's ancestors, for instance, are believed to be a part of the world of the spirits, of the Loas, and this is one way that Voodoo serves to root its participants in their own history and tradition.
Another practical aspect of Voodoo ceremonies is that participants often come before the priest or priestess to seek advice, spiritual guidance, or help with their problems.
The priest or priestess then, through divine aid, offer help such as healing through the use of herbs or medicines (using knowledge that has been passed down within the religion itself), or healing through faith itself as is common in other religions. Voodoo teaches a respect for the natural world.
Unfortunately, the public's perception of voodoo rites and rituals seems often to point to the evil or malicious side of things. There are healing spells, nature spells, love spells, purification spells, joyous celebration spells.
Spirits may be invoked to bring harmony and peace, birth and rebirth, increased abundance of luck, material happiness, renewed health.The fact is, for those who believe it, voodoo is powerful. It is also empowering to the person who practices it.
African voodoo http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Voodoo healer http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Voodoo spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Love spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/voodoo-lost-love-spells.html
Money spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/money-spells.html
Revenge spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/revenge-spells.html
Curses spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/curses-spells.html
Voodoo and its fight to survive
Despite Voodoo's noble status as one of the worlds oldest religions, it has been typically characterized as barbaric, primitive, sexually licentious practice based on superstition and spectacle.
Much of this image however, is due to a concerted effort by Europeans, who have a massive fear of anything African, to suppress and distort a legitimate and unique religion that flourished among their enslaved Africans.
When slavers brought these peoples across the ocean to the Americas , the African's brought their religion with them.
However, since slavery included stripping the slaves of their language, culture, and heritage, this religion had to take some different forms.
It had to be practiced in secret, since in some places it was punishable by death, and it had to adapt to the loss of their African languages.
In order to survive, Voodoo also adopted many elements of Christianity. When the French who were the colonizers of Haiti , realized that the religion of the Africans was a threat to the colonial system, they prohibited all African religion practices and severely punished the practitioners of Voodoo with imprisonment, lashings and hangings.
This religious struggle continued for three centuries, but none of the punishments could extinguished the faith of the Africans. This process of acculturation helped Voodoo to grow under harsh cultural conditions in many areas of the Americas .
Voodoo survives as a legitimate religion in a number of areas of the world, Brazil where it is called "Candomblé" and the English speaking Caribbean where it is called “Obeah”.
The Ewe people of southern Togo and southeastern Ghana -- two countries in West Africa -- are devout believers.
In most of the United States however, white slavers were successful in stripping slaves of their Voodoo traditions and beliefs.
Thus Voodoo is, for most African Americans, yet another part of their heritage that they can only try to re-discover.
The strength that the Africans in Haiti gained from their religion was so strong and powerful, that they were able to survive the cruel persecution of the French rulers against Voodoo.
It was in the midst of this struggle that the revolution was conspired. The Voodoo priests consulted their oracle and learned how the political battle would have to be fought in order for them to be victorious.
The revolution exploded in 1791 with a Petr— ritual and continued until 1804 when the Haitians finally won independence. Today the system of Voodoo reflects its history.
We can see the African ethnic mixture in the names of different rites and in the pantheon of Gods or Loas, which is composed of deities from all parts of Africa .
African voodoo http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Voodoo healer http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Voodoo spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Love spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/voodoo-lost-love-spells.html
Money spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/money-spells.html
Revenge spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/revenge-spells.html
Curses spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/curses-spells.html
Much of this image however, is due to a concerted effort by Europeans, who have a massive fear of anything African, to suppress and distort a legitimate and unique religion that flourished among their enslaved Africans.
When slavers brought these peoples across the ocean to the Americas , the African's brought their religion with them.
However, since slavery included stripping the slaves of their language, culture, and heritage, this religion had to take some different forms.
It had to be practiced in secret, since in some places it was punishable by death, and it had to adapt to the loss of their African languages.
In order to survive, Voodoo also adopted many elements of Christianity. When the French who were the colonizers of Haiti , realized that the religion of the Africans was a threat to the colonial system, they prohibited all African religion practices and severely punished the practitioners of Voodoo with imprisonment, lashings and hangings.
This religious struggle continued for three centuries, but none of the punishments could extinguished the faith of the Africans. This process of acculturation helped Voodoo to grow under harsh cultural conditions in many areas of the Americas .
Voodoo survives as a legitimate religion in a number of areas of the world, Brazil where it is called "Candomblé" and the English speaking Caribbean where it is called “Obeah”.
The Ewe people of southern Togo and southeastern Ghana -- two countries in West Africa -- are devout believers.
In most of the United States however, white slavers were successful in stripping slaves of their Voodoo traditions and beliefs.
Thus Voodoo is, for most African Americans, yet another part of their heritage that they can only try to re-discover.
The strength that the Africans in Haiti gained from their religion was so strong and powerful, that they were able to survive the cruel persecution of the French rulers against Voodoo.
It was in the midst of this struggle that the revolution was conspired. The Voodoo priests consulted their oracle and learned how the political battle would have to be fought in order for them to be victorious.
The revolution exploded in 1791 with a Petr— ritual and continued until 1804 when the Haitians finally won independence. Today the system of Voodoo reflects its history.
We can see the African ethnic mixture in the names of different rites and in the pantheon of Gods or Loas, which is composed of deities from all parts of Africa .
African voodoo http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Voodoo healer http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Voodoo spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Love spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/voodoo-lost-love-spells.html
Money spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/money-spells.html
Revenge spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/revenge-spells.html
Curses spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/curses-spells.html
The relationship between Mawu and Voodoo
he absolute transcendence
attributed to Mawu does not allow one to conceive of his relationship
of immanence with humanity.
Yet the human spirit needs a relationship of salvific proximity, of easy access to the Supreme Being. And since creatures manifest the Creator, man finds sacred forces in certain phenomena or situations that are beyond his understanding. It is through this vision of the world that Vodun emerges.
African voodoo http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Voodoo healer http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Voodoo spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Love spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/voodoo-lost-love-spells.html
Money spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/money-spells.html
Revenge spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/revenge-spells.html
Curses spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/curses-spells.html
Yet the human spirit needs a relationship of salvific proximity, of easy access to the Supreme Being. And since creatures manifest the Creator, man finds sacred forces in certain phenomena or situations that are beyond his understanding. It is through this vision of the world that Vodun emerges.
For the people of South Benin, Mawu is good, but he does not concern himself directly with man; he is omnipotent but has delegated his power to the Vodun(s).
Hence the Vodun(s), recognized as Mawu’s creatures, according to the Fon expression "Mawu wê do Vodun lê",
are Mawu’s representatives among men, signs of the divinity’s
immanence in response to the spiritual desires of mankind.
In this
sense, Vodun designates all that is sacred, all power coming
from the invisible world to influence the world of the living,
everything that is mysterious.
For this reason, it is explicitly
distinct from Mawu. But we find that there is no actual worship of the
latter in the tradition, except certain spontaneous prayers or
references such as "Mawu na blo" (God will act), "Kpê Mawu ton" (may God decide thus) used on different occasions.
The Vodun(s)
receive the worship because of their proximity to man compared to
Mawu. Divine qualities are attributed to them, characterised as the
spirits they are considered to be above all natural laws.
All these
attributes are the work of Mawu. Examining the internal dynamics of
the Vodun pantheon will give a clearer idea of the dependent relationship the Vodun(s) have with Mawu.
African voodoo http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Voodoo healer http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Voodoo spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Love spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/voodoo-lost-love-spells.html
Money spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/money-spells.html
Revenge spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/revenge-spells.html
Curses spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/curses-spells.html
The Origins of Voodoo
In A.D. 64, a great fire broke out in Rome for six days, and
devastated much of the city. According to the writer Tacitus, “Nero
fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class
hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace.”
The “abominations” committed by the early Christians were said to be cannibalism and incest, based on rumours circulating in Rome at that time which stemmed from a misunderstanding of the Eucharist.
This episode in the history of the Early Church shows how easily a religion, especially a relatively secretive one, can be misunderstood and misrepresented.
A similar case can perhaps be seen in the religion known as Voodoo (also known as Vodou or Voudon). For many, the word ‘Voodoo’ conjures up images of magical dolls with pins stuck in them to inflict pain on one’s enemies and the resurrection of the dead as zombies.
These images are the result of the misrepresentation of Voodoo by popular culture, and do not accurately represent Voodoo as understood by its practitioners.
Voudon refers to "a whole assortment of cultural elements: personal creeds and practices, including an elaborate system of folk medical practices; a system of ethics transmitted across generations [including] proverbs, stories, songs, and folklore... voudon is more than belief; it is a way of life," wrote Leslie Desmangles, a Haitian professor at Hartford's Trinity College in "The Encyclopedia of the Paranormal" (Prometheus Books, 1996).
“Voudon teaches belief in a supreme being called Bondye, an unknowable and uninvolved creator god,” reports Live Science .
“Voudon believers worship many spirits (called loa or Iwa), each one of whom is responsible for a specific domain or part of life.
So, for example, if you are a farmer you might give praise and offerings to the spirit of agriculture; if you are suffering from unrequited love, you would praise or leave offerings for Erzulie Freda, the spirit of love, and so on. In addition to helping (or impeding) human affairs, loa can also manifest themselves by possessing the bodies of their worshipers.
Followers of voudon also believe in a universal energy and a soul that can leave the body during dreams and spirit possession.”
When African slaves were brought to the Americas to work on plantations, they brought Voodoo with them. Their white masters, however, had other plans regarding the religious practice of their slaves.
A 1685 law, for instance, prohibited the practice of African religions, and required all masters to Christianize their slaves within eight days of their arrival in Haiti.
Although the slaves accepted Roman Catholicism, they did not give up their traditional beliefs either. Instead, the old and the new were syncretised, producing some unique results.
Many of the Catholic saints were identified with traditional Voodoo lwas (spirits) or held a double meaning for the practitioners of Voodoo. For instance, in Haitian Voodoo, St. Peter is recognised as Papa Legba, the gatekeeper of the spirit world, whilst St. Patrick is associated with Dumballah, the snake lwa.
Although African slaves were brought to Haiti and New Orleans about the same time, i.e. the 1720s, the development of Voodoo practice in each area is quite different.
In Haiti, Voodoo became a force that gave strength to and sustained the slaves through their hardships and suffering.
Between 1791 and 1804, a series of slave revolts inspired by Voodoo practice culminated in the expelling of the French from Haiti.
The colonists who survived fled to New Orleans, some accompanied by their French-speaking slaves who were Voodoo practitioners.
It is from these new arrivals that Voodoo began to grow in New Orleans. Although Voodoo was practiced in that part of the United States prior to 1791, it was not as strong a force as in Haiti, and was brutally suppressed each time it emerged. It was only in the 19 th century that Voodoo practices in New Orleans were codified by the enigmatic Marie Laveau.
African voodoo http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Voodoo healer http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Voodoo spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Love spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/voodoo-lost-love-spells.html
Money spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/money-spells.html
Revenge spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/revenge-spells.html
Curses spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/curses-spells.html
The “abominations” committed by the early Christians were said to be cannibalism and incest, based on rumours circulating in Rome at that time which stemmed from a misunderstanding of the Eucharist.
This episode in the history of the Early Church shows how easily a religion, especially a relatively secretive one, can be misunderstood and misrepresented.
A similar case can perhaps be seen in the religion known as Voodoo (also known as Vodou or Voudon). For many, the word ‘Voodoo’ conjures up images of magical dolls with pins stuck in them to inflict pain on one’s enemies and the resurrection of the dead as zombies.
These images are the result of the misrepresentation of Voodoo by popular culture, and do not accurately represent Voodoo as understood by its practitioners.
Voudon refers to "a whole assortment of cultural elements: personal creeds and practices, including an elaborate system of folk medical practices; a system of ethics transmitted across generations [including] proverbs, stories, songs, and folklore... voudon is more than belief; it is a way of life," wrote Leslie Desmangles, a Haitian professor at Hartford's Trinity College in "The Encyclopedia of the Paranormal" (Prometheus Books, 1996).
“Voudon teaches belief in a supreme being called Bondye, an unknowable and uninvolved creator god,” reports Live Science .
“Voudon believers worship many spirits (called loa or Iwa), each one of whom is responsible for a specific domain or part of life.
So, for example, if you are a farmer you might give praise and offerings to the spirit of agriculture; if you are suffering from unrequited love, you would praise or leave offerings for Erzulie Freda, the spirit of love, and so on. In addition to helping (or impeding) human affairs, loa can also manifest themselves by possessing the bodies of their worshipers.
Followers of voudon also believe in a universal energy and a soul that can leave the body during dreams and spirit possession.”
When African slaves were brought to the Americas to work on plantations, they brought Voodoo with them. Their white masters, however, had other plans regarding the religious practice of their slaves.
A 1685 law, for instance, prohibited the practice of African religions, and required all masters to Christianize their slaves within eight days of their arrival in Haiti.
Although the slaves accepted Roman Catholicism, they did not give up their traditional beliefs either. Instead, the old and the new were syncretised, producing some unique results.
Many of the Catholic saints were identified with traditional Voodoo lwas (spirits) or held a double meaning for the practitioners of Voodoo. For instance, in Haitian Voodoo, St. Peter is recognised as Papa Legba, the gatekeeper of the spirit world, whilst St. Patrick is associated with Dumballah, the snake lwa.
Although African slaves were brought to Haiti and New Orleans about the same time, i.e. the 1720s, the development of Voodoo practice in each area is quite different.
In Haiti, Voodoo became a force that gave strength to and sustained the slaves through their hardships and suffering.
Between 1791 and 1804, a series of slave revolts inspired by Voodoo practice culminated in the expelling of the French from Haiti.
The colonists who survived fled to New Orleans, some accompanied by their French-speaking slaves who were Voodoo practitioners.
It is from these new arrivals that Voodoo began to grow in New Orleans. Although Voodoo was practiced in that part of the United States prior to 1791, it was not as strong a force as in Haiti, and was brutally suppressed each time it emerged. It was only in the 19 th century that Voodoo practices in New Orleans were codified by the enigmatic Marie Laveau.
African voodoo http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Voodoo healer http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Voodoo spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Love spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/voodoo-lost-love-spells.html
Money spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/money-spells.html
Revenge spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/revenge-spells.html
Curses spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/curses-spells.html
Thursday, 3 November 2016
Types of Voodoo
It would be a vain enterprise to claim to enumerate the types of Vodun or to classify them exhaustively.
With this important background, in our approach we will focus on the mystical origin of the Vodun(s) as proposed by Fr. Mêdéwalé Jacob Agossou in Gbêto et Gbêdoto.
Firstly, the Vodun(s) are considered as the sons of Mawu, God the Creator. Here are the seven most important of these:
Sakpata: This is the eldest son of Mawu to whom the earth was entrusted: "Ayi Vodun", the Vodun of the earth. His power is feared and terrifying. His attributes are the arm of smallpox, scissors, a chain and black, white and red spots. Sakpata has many sons, including the Vodun of leprosy (Ada Tangni), and of incurable sores (sinji aglosumato).
Xêvioso (or Xêbioso): This is the Vodun of the sky (Jivodun) who manifests himself in thunder and lightning. He is Mawu’s second son and is considered a Vodun of justice who punishes thieves, liars, criminals and evil-doers. His attibutes are the thunderbolt, the double axe, the ram, the colour red and fire. Xêvioso has several sons including Sogbo, Aklobè, Avlékété.
Agbe: This is the Vodun of the sea (Tovodun). He is also known as Hu. He is represented by a serpent, a symbol of everything that gives life. One of his powerful children is Dan Toxosu who manifests himself in the birth of monster babies.
Gu: This is the Vodun of iron and war. He gives man his different technologies. He is the Vodun who does not accept complicity with evil. Therefore he is capable of killing all accomplices in acts of infamy if he is appealed to. This is expressed by the Fon saying "da gu do".
Agê: This fifth son of Mawu is the Vodun of agriculture and the forests. He reigns over animals and birds.
Jo: This Vodun is characterized by invisibility. He is the Vodun of the air.
Lêgba: This is Mawu’s youngest son. He received no endowments at all because all had already been shared out among his elders. He is jealous, and it is he who loosens the rigid structure of the pantheon. He is the Vodun of the unpredictable, of what cannot be assigned to any other and he is characterised by daily tragedies; all that is beyond good and evil.
Alongside Mawu’s sons, one finds other Vodun(s) that are protectors of equally important clans. These are the Toxwyo: eponymous deified ancestors. They maintain a link between the invisible world and human beings in their daily lives.
African voodoo http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Voodoo healer http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Voodoo spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Love spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/voodoo-lost-love-spells.html
Money spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/money-spells.html
Revenge spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/revenge-spells.html
Curses spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/curses-spells.html
With this important background, in our approach we will focus on the mystical origin of the Vodun(s) as proposed by Fr. Mêdéwalé Jacob Agossou in Gbêto et Gbêdoto.
Firstly, the Vodun(s) are considered as the sons of Mawu, God the Creator. Here are the seven most important of these:
Sakpata: This is the eldest son of Mawu to whom the earth was entrusted: "Ayi Vodun", the Vodun of the earth. His power is feared and terrifying. His attributes are the arm of smallpox, scissors, a chain and black, white and red spots. Sakpata has many sons, including the Vodun of leprosy (Ada Tangni), and of incurable sores (sinji aglosumato).
Xêvioso (or Xêbioso): This is the Vodun of the sky (Jivodun) who manifests himself in thunder and lightning. He is Mawu’s second son and is considered a Vodun of justice who punishes thieves, liars, criminals and evil-doers. His attibutes are the thunderbolt, the double axe, the ram, the colour red and fire. Xêvioso has several sons including Sogbo, Aklobè, Avlékété.
Agbe: This is the Vodun of the sea (Tovodun). He is also known as Hu. He is represented by a serpent, a symbol of everything that gives life. One of his powerful children is Dan Toxosu who manifests himself in the birth of monster babies.
Gu: This is the Vodun of iron and war. He gives man his different technologies. He is the Vodun who does not accept complicity with evil. Therefore he is capable of killing all accomplices in acts of infamy if he is appealed to. This is expressed by the Fon saying "da gu do".
Agê: This fifth son of Mawu is the Vodun of agriculture and the forests. He reigns over animals and birds.
Jo: This Vodun is characterized by invisibility. He is the Vodun of the air.
Lêgba: This is Mawu’s youngest son. He received no endowments at all because all had already been shared out among his elders. He is jealous, and it is he who loosens the rigid structure of the pantheon. He is the Vodun of the unpredictable, of what cannot be assigned to any other and he is characterised by daily tragedies; all that is beyond good and evil.
Alongside Mawu’s sons, one finds other Vodun(s) that are protectors of equally important clans. These are the Toxwyo: eponymous deified ancestors. They maintain a link between the invisible world and human beings in their daily lives.
African voodoo http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Voodoo healer http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Voodoo spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Love spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/voodoo-lost-love-spells.html
Money spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/money-spells.html
Revenge spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/revenge-spells.html
Curses spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/curses-spells.html
West African Voodoo
In Africa today, voodoo is an animist religion with plenty in common
with the indigenous beliefs found across the continent.
It does have a dark side, of course — market stalls in Benin and neighbouring Togo sell voodoo dolls riddled with nails.
The line between voodoo and juju (witchcraft) is blurry, and the latter does give rise to some heinous behaviour.
A few years ago, a Nigerian lynch mob demanded the police incarcerate a goat, which they believed to be a shape-shifting car thief.
However, for millions of Africans, voodoo is less about skullduggery than about showing respect to their ancestors.
Fetish shrines stand guard outside family compounds, topped with animal skulls and littered with offerings such as food and palm wine.
Communication and good relations with the ancestors, who live in a spirit world ruled by the supreme deity Nana Buluku and twins Mawu and Lisa (voodoo reveres twins), is seen as the key to a healthy, prosperous life.
A common way of communicating with the dearly departed is by entering a trance and becoming possessed by a spirit — a powerful example of which is the cowrie shell-masked figure of the Egungun.
Men in this state do genuinely speak with an unnerving, otherworldly voice, and touching them or looking into their eyes is supposedly fatal.
When I met an Egungun in Benin, surrounded by excitedly shrieking children, I became the butt of a jibe from beyond the grave; the character quipped, ‘Eh, le blanc’ (the French-speaking country’s equivalent of ‘hey whitey’).
Entering such a trance is normally the role of the priest, or juju man, who has an important place in the community for his ability to contact the dead.
Consulting the priest normally involves a trip to the fetish market with a list of the ingredients he needs to make a gris-gris (talisman or charm); rather like visiting the chemist with a prescription from the doctor.
The markets are stacked with animal parts from monkey testicles to bat wings, thunderstones and other curios.
In Togo, there is an impressive fetish market on the outskirts of the
elegantly decaying coastal capital, Lomé.
The Marché des Féticheurs’s tables and mats are piled with grisly items such as porcupine skins, snake heads and monkey skulls; if you go shopping, check you are not buying an endangered animal part.
Most markets in Togo and Benin have a section devoted to fetishes, while the latter country has some famous sites such as Ouidah’s Sacred Forest and Python Temple.
Don’t expect to live out your Indiana Jones fantasies at the latter, although an attendant may drape a sleepy python around your neck for a photographic opportunity.
Ouidah was the final stop on African soil for slaves sold across the Atlantic by the Kings of Dahomey – the fearsome, human-sacrificing rulers immortalised in Bruce Chatwin’s novel The Viceroy of Ouidah.
You can follow the slaves’ footsteps on the Route des Esclaves, a 4km track from the Portuguese fort to the beach, lined with fetishes and monuments and concluded by the Point of No Return memorial. Egunguns converge on the Voodoo Festival there in January, while another fascinating Beninese spot is Abomey.
The town was the seat of the Dahomey dynasty and you can tour their centuries-old palaces and temples, which are slowly crumbling into the dusty lanes.
African voodoo http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Voodoo healer http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Voodoo spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Love spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/voodoo-lost-love-spells.html
Money spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/money-spells.html
Revenge spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/revenge-spells.html
Curses spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/curses-spells.html
It does have a dark side, of course — market stalls in Benin and neighbouring Togo sell voodoo dolls riddled with nails.
The line between voodoo and juju (witchcraft) is blurry, and the latter does give rise to some heinous behaviour.
A few years ago, a Nigerian lynch mob demanded the police incarcerate a goat, which they believed to be a shape-shifting car thief.
However, for millions of Africans, voodoo is less about skullduggery than about showing respect to their ancestors.
Fetish shrines stand guard outside family compounds, topped with animal skulls and littered with offerings such as food and palm wine.
Communication and good relations with the ancestors, who live in a spirit world ruled by the supreme deity Nana Buluku and twins Mawu and Lisa (voodoo reveres twins), is seen as the key to a healthy, prosperous life.
A common way of communicating with the dearly departed is by entering a trance and becoming possessed by a spirit — a powerful example of which is the cowrie shell-masked figure of the Egungun.
Men in this state do genuinely speak with an unnerving, otherworldly voice, and touching them or looking into their eyes is supposedly fatal.
When I met an Egungun in Benin, surrounded by excitedly shrieking children, I became the butt of a jibe from beyond the grave; the character quipped, ‘Eh, le blanc’ (the French-speaking country’s equivalent of ‘hey whitey’).
Entering such a trance is normally the role of the priest, or juju man, who has an important place in the community for his ability to contact the dead.
Consulting the priest normally involves a trip to the fetish market with a list of the ingredients he needs to make a gris-gris (talisman or charm); rather like visiting the chemist with a prescription from the doctor.
The markets are stacked with animal parts from monkey testicles to bat wings, thunderstones and other curios.
The Marché des Féticheurs’s tables and mats are piled with grisly items such as porcupine skins, snake heads and monkey skulls; if you go shopping, check you are not buying an endangered animal part.
Most markets in Togo and Benin have a section devoted to fetishes, while the latter country has some famous sites such as Ouidah’s Sacred Forest and Python Temple.
Don’t expect to live out your Indiana Jones fantasies at the latter, although an attendant may drape a sleepy python around your neck for a photographic opportunity.
Ouidah was the final stop on African soil for slaves sold across the Atlantic by the Kings of Dahomey – the fearsome, human-sacrificing rulers immortalised in Bruce Chatwin’s novel The Viceroy of Ouidah.
You can follow the slaves’ footsteps on the Route des Esclaves, a 4km track from the Portuguese fort to the beach, lined with fetishes and monuments and concluded by the Point of No Return memorial. Egunguns converge on the Voodoo Festival there in January, while another fascinating Beninese spot is Abomey.
The town was the seat of the Dahomey dynasty and you can tour their centuries-old palaces and temples, which are slowly crumbling into the dusty lanes.
African voodoo http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Voodoo healer http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Voodoo spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Love spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/voodoo-lost-love-spells.html
Money spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/money-spells.html
Revenge spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/revenge-spells.html
Curses spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/curses-spells.html
Things You Didn’t Know About Voodoo
Voodoo is perhaps one of the
world’s most misunderstood religions. Most depictions of voodoo show a
dark, mysterious religion that revolves around animal sacrifices,
casting harmful spells, and using dolls to hurt others.
That’s about as far from the truth as you can get, and the real stories behind voodoo are proof that you can’t believe everything you see on television.
There are three main types of voodoo, each drawing their sphere of influence from a different place. West African voodoo is still practiced by around 30 million people, particularly in nations like Ghana and Benin.
Rituals and beliefs are extensive, and largely untouched by the outside influences that have shaped other types of voodoo.
Louisiana voodoo is a unique brand of voodoo practiced, as its name suggests, mainly in Louisiana and the southeastern United States.
Though brought over from West African voodoo, this form as been heavily influenced by the practices of Spanish and French settlers, as well as the Creole population.
Haitian voodoo, practiced in Haiti, has been largely shaped by its French influence as well as Christianity.
At first glance, it seems that a religion that revolves around spiritual possession, potions, and the worship of ancestors would have little to do with Christianity.
However, there are strong parallels; in the case of Louisiana and Haitian voodoo, many Christian traditions, beliefs, and figures have been incorporated into this flexible religion.
The spirits are central to the practice of voodoo, and many of the central figures have Christian counterparts.
Aida Wedo is a virginal figure of Mary, while Legba, the guardian gatekeeper, is a mirror image of St. Peter.
In voodoo, important spirits that believers connect with are called the loa (or lwa); in some locations, these loa and their families can be called by the names of the Catholic saints they represent. In West African voodoo, there is a very Christian belief that there is one supreme god ruling all.
The parallels between voodoo and Christianity are so strong that there is no animosity between the two parties, and in many areas they peacefully coexist.
While at one time practitioners who had also been baptized could expect repercussions from the church for partaking in voodoo ceremonies, now priests from both sides are working hand-in-hand to help bring peace and prosperity to Africa, the birthplace of voodoo.
In fact, Pope John Paul II has spoken at length about the esteem with which he holds practitioners of voodoo, acknowledging the “fundamental goodness” inherent in their practices, teachings, and beliefs. He even attended a voodoo ceremony in 1993, helping to cement the amiable coexistence of these two seemingly opposite religions.
Voodoo dolls are more complicated than they’re usually portrayed. A voodoo doll doesn’t actually symbolize a person in the respect that what happens to it, happens to the person.
Instead, a doll is only associated with the person in question—usually by attaching a picture of the person, or something that was in intimate contact with them, such as a lock of hair (attaching this personification is actually the purpose of the voodoo straight pin usually seen in a voodoo doll, which is commonly believed to be an instrument of pain).
Other things are usually added to the doll, and these vary based on the intended purpose. Garlic, flower petals, perfumes, or even money can be added—not as a direct message to the person, but as an appeal to the spirits to open themselves to the doll and the wishes of those involved.
The voodoo doll can be used for a huge variety of purposes, and most are benevolent. The voodoo doll in itself is not an evil or dark thing, but, like many religious and secular symbols, it can be made dark by the person who wields it.
Marie Laveau is one of the names most commonly associated with voodoo, and consequently she has become something of a surreal, larger-than-life figure.
Even what’s known for sure seems debatable. She was said to be born the illegitimate daughter of a Creole plantation owner and his half black, half Native American mistress.
Her first marriage ended when her husband disappeared under mysterious circumstances; her second, common-law marriage, however, lasted years and gave her 15 children.
One of these children, Marie Laveau II, followed in her mother’s footsteps as a voodoo priestess and is thought to be the source of rumors that the elder Laveau lived decades longer than any mortal person should.
In addition to counseling those in need and selling gris-gris to everyone in all walks of life, she was also a hairdresser.
This allowed her intimate access to some of the most powerful people in New Orleans, who she would counsel while at the same time use to gather secrets and inside information on others in the city, helping to cement her position of relative power.
Just how much power Lavaeu had has long been debated, but what can’t be debated is that her public performances and rituals elevated voodoo into the public eye.
Also beyond debate is her selfless concern for those she shared her city with; her work giving assistance to the homeless, the hungry, and the sick is well documented. Even today, visitors to New Orleans leave offerings at the place where she is supposedly buried and ask for her assistance.
Someone who practices voodoo is often accused—especially by Hollywood—of being a powerful person who orders the spirits to do their bidding.
That’s not the case at all; in fact, the opposite is true. Voodoo practitioners see themselves as servants of the spirits. They don’t actually tell the spirits to do anything; they provide offerings and honor, and then ask.
Voodoo priests and priestesses undergo a long period of training before performing any ritual that opens themselves up to spiritual possession.
During these rituals, one of the two spirits that inhabit the body—the ti bon ange—leaves the body so the spirit of a loa can possess it.
The ti bon ange is the portion of the spirit that contains the individual, and must be protected when the individual is hosting a loa. The other part, the gros bon ange, is a spirit that is shared among all the living.
Again harkening back to the voodoo doll and the stereotypes around it, many think of voodoo as a dark religion led by people wielding power to damage the spirit and body.
On the contrary, much of voodoo centers around healing and herbalism. One of the most important reasons for summoning a spirit in a voodoo ritual is to ask for aid in healing the sick and the injured.
Healing is a spiritual idea as well as a physical one, and practitioners can focus on healing a broken heart or changing a person’s luck for the better, as well as healing the body.
Voodoo priests and priestesses do acknowledge that they are not all-powerful when it comes to diagnosing and healing, however, and will recommend modern medicine and treatment if they deem the situation beyond their control.
Many cultures recognize white magic as the good, healing sort of magic, while black magic is the darker sort.
In voodoo, there is no distinction between white and black. Instead, when an evil spirit is conjured or bribed by an evil person to do something bad, it’s called red magic.
The color of the spirit is red, and when a practitioner allows an evil loa to take possession of them, their eyes turn red, showing that evil is present.
Sometimes a benevolent spirit can turn evil by the wishes that are imposed on it. This is in complete contradiction to the actual teachings of voodoo, which center around the good and the charitable. Part of the role of a female practitioner (a Queen) and a male practitioner (a Doctor) is to stop red magic before it happens.
In another striking similarity to Christianity, the voodoo pantheon has three main tiers. At the top is a single God, who is a present yet distant figure.
The loa make up another tier—spirits that interact with mortals on a regular basis. The individual’s deceased relatives play an important role in their spiritual life as well, as honoring one’s ancestors is an important part of voodoo. The third tier is the mortals themselves.
One of the fundamental concepts of voodoo is the relationship between these tiers; Papa Legba is one of the most important of the loa, as he is the gatekeeper between the mortal realm and the divine.
All mortal contact with the loa goes through Legba, and it is said that he opens the gates between worlds. A reflection of St. Peter, he is also the guardian of the home, the crossroads, and travel.
The images of you commonly see of voodoo practitioners dancing with snakes aren’t done for the shock value.
The snake is hugely important in the mythos of voodoo. Damballa, or Danballa, is the serpent god and the oldest of the voodoo pantheon.
He is said to have been the one to create the world. Damballa created the water from his shed skin and the stars in the sky from his coils.
He is married to Ayida Wedo, the rainbow, in an eternal love that represents the balance between the male and the female.
He represents wisdom and the mind, and is associated with symbols like the color white, eggs, bones, and ivory.
The protector of the helpless and young children as well as the handicapped and the deformed, he is said to transport the souls of the dead to the afterlife.
Priests and priestesses can be possessed by the spirit of Damballa, but they do not speak; instead, they hiss.
Animal sacrifice has always played an important part in voodoo rituals, but the reason is not because of a morbid fascination with death or blood.
The loa use energy in their communication with mortals, along with the general running of their day-to-day affairs.
By sacrificing animals and offering them to the loa, practitioners believe they are combining the life force of the animal with the life force of the loa, rejuvenating the spirit.
The meat and blood of the animal is often cooked and consumed as part of the ceremony. Some spirits have animals that are typically associated with them in sacrifice; chickens, for example, are often offered to Damballa.
African voodoo http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Voodoo healer http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Voodoo spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Love spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/voodoo-lost-love-spells.html
Money spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/money-spells.html
Revenge spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/revenge-spells.html
Curses spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/curses-spells.html
That’s about as far from the truth as you can get, and the real stories behind voodoo are proof that you can’t believe everything you see on television.
There are three main types of voodoo, each drawing their sphere of influence from a different place. West African voodoo is still practiced by around 30 million people, particularly in nations like Ghana and Benin.
Rituals and beliefs are extensive, and largely untouched by the outside influences that have shaped other types of voodoo.
Louisiana voodoo is a unique brand of voodoo practiced, as its name suggests, mainly in Louisiana and the southeastern United States.
Though brought over from West African voodoo, this form as been heavily influenced by the practices of Spanish and French settlers, as well as the Creole population.
Haitian voodoo, practiced in Haiti, has been largely shaped by its French influence as well as Christianity.
At first glance, it seems that a religion that revolves around spiritual possession, potions, and the worship of ancestors would have little to do with Christianity.
However, there are strong parallels; in the case of Louisiana and Haitian voodoo, many Christian traditions, beliefs, and figures have been incorporated into this flexible religion.
The spirits are central to the practice of voodoo, and many of the central figures have Christian counterparts.
Aida Wedo is a virginal figure of Mary, while Legba, the guardian gatekeeper, is a mirror image of St. Peter.
In voodoo, important spirits that believers connect with are called the loa (or lwa); in some locations, these loa and their families can be called by the names of the Catholic saints they represent. In West African voodoo, there is a very Christian belief that there is one supreme god ruling all.
The parallels between voodoo and Christianity are so strong that there is no animosity between the two parties, and in many areas they peacefully coexist.
While at one time practitioners who had also been baptized could expect repercussions from the church for partaking in voodoo ceremonies, now priests from both sides are working hand-in-hand to help bring peace and prosperity to Africa, the birthplace of voodoo.
In fact, Pope John Paul II has spoken at length about the esteem with which he holds practitioners of voodoo, acknowledging the “fundamental goodness” inherent in their practices, teachings, and beliefs. He even attended a voodoo ceremony in 1993, helping to cement the amiable coexistence of these two seemingly opposite religions.
Voodoo dolls are more complicated than they’re usually portrayed. A voodoo doll doesn’t actually symbolize a person in the respect that what happens to it, happens to the person.
Instead, a doll is only associated with the person in question—usually by attaching a picture of the person, or something that was in intimate contact with them, such as a lock of hair (attaching this personification is actually the purpose of the voodoo straight pin usually seen in a voodoo doll, which is commonly believed to be an instrument of pain).
Other things are usually added to the doll, and these vary based on the intended purpose. Garlic, flower petals, perfumes, or even money can be added—not as a direct message to the person, but as an appeal to the spirits to open themselves to the doll and the wishes of those involved.
The voodoo doll can be used for a huge variety of purposes, and most are benevolent. The voodoo doll in itself is not an evil or dark thing, but, like many religious and secular symbols, it can be made dark by the person who wields it.
Marie Laveau is one of the names most commonly associated with voodoo, and consequently she has become something of a surreal, larger-than-life figure.
Even what’s known for sure seems debatable. She was said to be born the illegitimate daughter of a Creole plantation owner and his half black, half Native American mistress.
Her first marriage ended when her husband disappeared under mysterious circumstances; her second, common-law marriage, however, lasted years and gave her 15 children.
One of these children, Marie Laveau II, followed in her mother’s footsteps as a voodoo priestess and is thought to be the source of rumors that the elder Laveau lived decades longer than any mortal person should.
In addition to counseling those in need and selling gris-gris to everyone in all walks of life, she was also a hairdresser.
This allowed her intimate access to some of the most powerful people in New Orleans, who she would counsel while at the same time use to gather secrets and inside information on others in the city, helping to cement her position of relative power.
Just how much power Lavaeu had has long been debated, but what can’t be debated is that her public performances and rituals elevated voodoo into the public eye.
Also beyond debate is her selfless concern for those she shared her city with; her work giving assistance to the homeless, the hungry, and the sick is well documented. Even today, visitors to New Orleans leave offerings at the place where she is supposedly buried and ask for her assistance.
Someone who practices voodoo is often accused—especially by Hollywood—of being a powerful person who orders the spirits to do their bidding.
That’s not the case at all; in fact, the opposite is true. Voodoo practitioners see themselves as servants of the spirits. They don’t actually tell the spirits to do anything; they provide offerings and honor, and then ask.
Voodoo priests and priestesses undergo a long period of training before performing any ritual that opens themselves up to spiritual possession.
During these rituals, one of the two spirits that inhabit the body—the ti bon ange—leaves the body so the spirit of a loa can possess it.
The ti bon ange is the portion of the spirit that contains the individual, and must be protected when the individual is hosting a loa. The other part, the gros bon ange, is a spirit that is shared among all the living.
Again harkening back to the voodoo doll and the stereotypes around it, many think of voodoo as a dark religion led by people wielding power to damage the spirit and body.
On the contrary, much of voodoo centers around healing and herbalism. One of the most important reasons for summoning a spirit in a voodoo ritual is to ask for aid in healing the sick and the injured.
Healing is a spiritual idea as well as a physical one, and practitioners can focus on healing a broken heart or changing a person’s luck for the better, as well as healing the body.
Voodoo priests and priestesses do acknowledge that they are not all-powerful when it comes to diagnosing and healing, however, and will recommend modern medicine and treatment if they deem the situation beyond their control.
Many cultures recognize white magic as the good, healing sort of magic, while black magic is the darker sort.
In voodoo, there is no distinction between white and black. Instead, when an evil spirit is conjured or bribed by an evil person to do something bad, it’s called red magic.
The color of the spirit is red, and when a practitioner allows an evil loa to take possession of them, their eyes turn red, showing that evil is present.
Sometimes a benevolent spirit can turn evil by the wishes that are imposed on it. This is in complete contradiction to the actual teachings of voodoo, which center around the good and the charitable. Part of the role of a female practitioner (a Queen) and a male practitioner (a Doctor) is to stop red magic before it happens.
In another striking similarity to Christianity, the voodoo pantheon has three main tiers. At the top is a single God, who is a present yet distant figure.
The loa make up another tier—spirits that interact with mortals on a regular basis. The individual’s deceased relatives play an important role in their spiritual life as well, as honoring one’s ancestors is an important part of voodoo. The third tier is the mortals themselves.
One of the fundamental concepts of voodoo is the relationship between these tiers; Papa Legba is one of the most important of the loa, as he is the gatekeeper between the mortal realm and the divine.
All mortal contact with the loa goes through Legba, and it is said that he opens the gates between worlds. A reflection of St. Peter, he is also the guardian of the home, the crossroads, and travel.
The images of you commonly see of voodoo practitioners dancing with snakes aren’t done for the shock value.
The snake is hugely important in the mythos of voodoo. Damballa, or Danballa, is the serpent god and the oldest of the voodoo pantheon.
He is said to have been the one to create the world. Damballa created the water from his shed skin and the stars in the sky from his coils.
He is married to Ayida Wedo, the rainbow, in an eternal love that represents the balance between the male and the female.
He represents wisdom and the mind, and is associated with symbols like the color white, eggs, bones, and ivory.
The protector of the helpless and young children as well as the handicapped and the deformed, he is said to transport the souls of the dead to the afterlife.
Priests and priestesses can be possessed by the spirit of Damballa, but they do not speak; instead, they hiss.
Animal sacrifice has always played an important part in voodoo rituals, but the reason is not because of a morbid fascination with death or blood.
The loa use energy in their communication with mortals, along with the general running of their day-to-day affairs.
By sacrificing animals and offering them to the loa, practitioners believe they are combining the life force of the animal with the life force of the loa, rejuvenating the spirit.
The meat and blood of the animal is often cooked and consumed as part of the ceremony. Some spirits have animals that are typically associated with them in sacrifice; chickens, for example, are often offered to Damballa.
African voodoo http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Voodoo healer http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Voodoo spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Love spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/voodoo-lost-love-spells.html
Money spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/money-spells.html
Revenge spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/revenge-spells.html
Curses spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/curses-spells.html
What is voodoo
African voodoo for healing, african voodoo for love, african voodoo for money, african voodoo for protection & african voodoo for revenge
Voodoo originated in the African kingdoms of Fon and Kongo as many as 6,000 years ago. The word "voodoo" comes from the Fon language, in which it means "sacred," "spirit" or "deity."
Other words used in Voodoo today also come from the Fon and Kongo languages. For example, a Voodoo priestess is often referred to as a mambo or manbo.
This is a combination of the Fon word for "mother" or "magical charm" and the Kongo word for "healer." The Fon kingdom was located in what is now southern Benin, a region some anthropologists refer to as the "cradle of Voodoo."
People also practice Voodoo in Togo, Ghana and other countries in northwestern Africa. Approximately 30 million people in Togo, Ghana and Benin practice Voodoo today. Voodoo is also an official religion in Benin, where as many as 60 percent of the people are followers
Since Voodoo is primarily an oral tradition, the names of gods, as well as the specifics of different rituals, can change in different regions or from generation to generation.
However, African Voodoo has several consistent qualities no matter where people practice it. Along with the belief in multiple gods and spiritual possession, these include:
Many of these traits, particularly ancestor worship, polytheism, and the importance of music and dance, are also important in other African religions.
So, in practice, Voodoo looks a lot like other traditional African religions. Many observances appear to be part celebration, part religious service incorporating rhythmic music, dancing and songs.
Many rituals take advantage of the natural landscape, such as rivers, mountains or trees. Through decoration and consecration, ordinary objects, like pots, bottles or parts of slaughtered animals, become sacred objects for use in rituals.
In parts of Africa, people who want to become spiritual leaders in the Voodoo community can enter religious centers, which are much like convents or monasteries.
In some communities, initiates symbolically die, spending three days and nights in complete seclusion before being returned to the outside world.
Initiates learn the rituals, colors, foods and objects associated with different deities, as well as how to communicate with the loa. The spirits have different personalities and different requirements of their followers, much like the gods in Greek and Roman myths.
Some people associate Voodoo with evil, but many of its rituals, even those that include the sacrifice of live animals, focus on respect and peace.
Its religious leaders become community leaders, providing guidance and settling disputes. Leaders also frequently provide medical care in the form of folk medicine.
Priests, priestesses and other practitioners typically dedicate their work to helping and caring for others. Curses, witchcraft and spells designed to do harm fall instead into the category of bo.
However, most anthropologists agree that Voodoo leaders have a working knowledge of bo, which is separate from Voodoo, believing that understanding how it works is necessary to fighting it.
Sorcerers known as botono, rather than Voodoo priests and priestesses, are said to control more sinister spells. In some cases, though, people act as both priests and botono, depending on the situation.
This African form of Voodoo is a precursor to the Voodoo practiced in Haiti and other parts of the Western hemisphere.
The regions of Africa where Voodoo has thrived are also areas that were heavily trafficked during the slave trade. Slavery brought Voodoo to the Americas. Next, we'll look at the changes to Voodoo that took place on the other side of the Atlantic.
If one twin dies, the other will often carry a twin doll, believed to carry the deceased sibling's spirit. In Haitian Voodoo, twins have special powers that can be dangerous, and a ceremony to the loa Dossou prevents them from doing harm. In Benin, twins also symbolize fertility
African voodoo http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Voodoo healer http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Voodoo spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Love spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/voodoo-lost-love-spells.html
Money spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/money-spells.html
Revenge spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/revenge-spells.html
Curses spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/curses-spells.html
Voodoo originated in the African kingdoms of Fon and Kongo as many as 6,000 years ago. The word "voodoo" comes from the Fon language, in which it means "sacred," "spirit" or "deity."
Other words used in Voodoo today also come from the Fon and Kongo languages. For example, a Voodoo priestess is often referred to as a mambo or manbo.
This is a combination of the Fon word for "mother" or "magical charm" and the Kongo word for "healer." The Fon kingdom was located in what is now southern Benin, a region some anthropologists refer to as the "cradle of Voodoo."
People also practice Voodoo in Togo, Ghana and other countries in northwestern Africa. Approximately 30 million people in Togo, Ghana and Benin practice Voodoo today. Voodoo is also an official religion in Benin, where as many as 60 percent of the people are followers
Since Voodoo is primarily an oral tradition, the names of gods, as well as the specifics of different rituals, can change in different regions or from generation to generation.
However, African Voodoo has several consistent qualities no matter where people practice it. Along with the belief in multiple gods and spiritual possession, these include:
- Veneration of ancestors
- Rituals or objects used to convey magical protection
- Animal sacrifices used to show respect for a god, to gain its favor or to give thanks
- The use of fetishes, or objects meant to contain the essence or power of particular spirits
- Ceremonial dances, which often involve elaborate costumes and masks
- Ceremonial music and instruments, especially including drums
- Divination using the interpretation of physical activities, like tossing seed hulls or pulling a stone of a certain color from a tree
- The association of colors, foods, plants and other items with specific loa and the use of these items to pay tribute to the loa
Many of these traits, particularly ancestor worship, polytheism, and the importance of music and dance, are also important in other African religions.
So, in practice, Voodoo looks a lot like other traditional African religions. Many observances appear to be part celebration, part religious service incorporating rhythmic music, dancing and songs.
Many rituals take advantage of the natural landscape, such as rivers, mountains or trees. Through decoration and consecration, ordinary objects, like pots, bottles or parts of slaughtered animals, become sacred objects for use in rituals.
In parts of Africa, people who want to become spiritual leaders in the Voodoo community can enter religious centers, which are much like convents or monasteries.
In some communities, initiates symbolically die, spending three days and nights in complete seclusion before being returned to the outside world.
Initiates learn the rituals, colors, foods and objects associated with different deities, as well as how to communicate with the loa. The spirits have different personalities and different requirements of their followers, much like the gods in Greek and Roman myths.
Some people associate Voodoo with evil, but many of its rituals, even those that include the sacrifice of live animals, focus on respect and peace.
Its religious leaders become community leaders, providing guidance and settling disputes. Leaders also frequently provide medical care in the form of folk medicine.
Priests, priestesses and other practitioners typically dedicate their work to helping and caring for others. Curses, witchcraft and spells designed to do harm fall instead into the category of bo.
However, most anthropologists agree that Voodoo leaders have a working knowledge of bo, which is separate from Voodoo, believing that understanding how it works is necessary to fighting it.
Sorcerers known as botono, rather than Voodoo priests and priestesses, are said to control more sinister spells. In some cases, though, people act as both priests and botono, depending on the situation.
This African form of Voodoo is a precursor to the Voodoo practiced in Haiti and other parts of the Western hemisphere.
The regions of Africa where Voodoo has thrived are also areas that were heavily trafficked during the slave trade. Slavery brought Voodoo to the Americas. Next, we'll look at the changes to Voodoo that took place on the other side of the Atlantic.
In many Voodoo communities, people consider twins to be sacred. According to the tradition, twins have two halves of the same soul.
If one twin dies, the other will often carry a twin doll, believed to carry the deceased sibling's spirit. In Haitian Voodoo, twins have special powers that can be dangerous, and a ceremony to the loa Dossou prevents them from doing harm. In Benin, twins also symbolize fertility
African voodoo http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Voodoo healer http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Voodoo spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Love spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/voodoo-lost-love-spells.html
Money spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/money-spells.html
Revenge spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/revenge-spells.html
Curses spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/curses-spells.html
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