Dear Just Play,
As noted here by Mr. Daniels in the comment, it is wrong to assume
that Voodoo is "magic", and is different from "religion". I am
starting with this point, which is number five on your questions,
because it has an impact also on other questions about Voodooo, namely
(1), (2), (6) and (7).
Read for example, the Ecyclopaedia definition of Voodoo:
" [from the god Vodun], religious beliefs and practices, African in
origin and also held by certain Caribbean peoples, particularly in
Haiti, where voodoo was granted official religious status in 2003.
Similar observances are found in Jamaica, under the name pocomania,
and in parts of the United States and in the Guianas. A highly
developed voodooistic religion known as candomblé is found in Brazil.
Although the magical aspects of voodoo are related to beliefs and
practices found throughout the world, the basic features of voodoo
were brought by slaves from W Africa (particularly those from what is
now Benin), where the name originated and where the religion is still
practiced. Voodoo contends that all of nature is controlled by
spiritual forces which must be placated through offerings and animal
sacrifice; ecstatic trances and magical practices play an important
role in its ritual. In the New World, Christian elements were
introduced, and the African deities became identified with various
saints. At various time attempts have been made to suppress voodoo,
but voodoo survived and continues to flourish." (SOURCE: Encyclopedia
information about voodoo
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003,
Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press.).
Wikipedia also dispels the myth of "voodoo dolls" - it is not part of
voodoo at all, but part of the image of voodoo in popular culture:
"The practice of sticking pins in "voodoo dolls" has been used as a
method of cursing an individual by some followers of what has come to
be called "New Orleans Voodoo", which is a local variant of hoodoo.
This practice is not unique to New Orleans "voodoo" however and has as
much basis in European-based magical devices such as the "poppet" as
the nkisi or bocio of West and Central Africa. In fact it has more
basis in European traditions, as the nkisi or bocio figures used in
Africa are in fact power objects, what in Haiti would be referred to
as pwen, rather than magical surrogates for an intended target of
sorcery whether for boon or for bane. Such "voodoo" dolls are not a
feature of Haitian religion, although dolls intended for tourists may
be found in the Iron Market in Port au Prince. The practice became
closely associated with the Vodou religions in the public mind through
the vehicle of horror movies." (SOURCE: Wikipedia, Voodoo,
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voodoo>).
The site "Religious Tolerance" also adds some insights: "Today, there
are two virtually unrelated forms of the religion:
- the actual religion, Vodun practiced in Benin, Dominican Republic,
Ghana, Haiti, Togo and various centers in the US - largely where
Haitian refuges have settled.
- an evil, imaginary religion, which we will call Voodoo. It has been
created for Hollywood movies, complete with "voodoo dolls", violence,
bizarre rituals, etc. It does not exist in reality, except in the
minds of most non-Voduns." (SOURCE: Religious Tolerance, Vodun and
Related Religions <http://www.religioustolerance.org/voodoo.htm>).
(1) The Power of Voodoo
=======================
Back to question number one, if Voodoo is not some sort of "magic" and
certainly not a scientifically proven method, it is difficult to say
how "effective" it is. Similarly to other belief-based rituals, where
one is healed (or cursed), the effectiveness depends on the belief of
the participant in the power of the process. For comparison, exorcism
in the Catholic Church would be "effective" only towards someone who
believes in its effectiveness. "Professor Jonathan Lear of the
University of Chicago recently commented in conversation that voodoo
curses are highly effective because the cultures in which voodoo is
practiced place a great amount of faith in their effectiveness."
(SOURCE: Matthew Pianalto, "Death Is Not a Side Effect:
Antidepressants and the Suicide Problem",
<http://comp.uark.edu/~mpianal/deathisnot.htm>).
According to an article cited by Bob Corbett, it is not only a matter
of faith, but also of resources: when there is no effective modern
medicine around, the medicine man has a strong status. "Later on some
physicians bring penicillin to his clinic and it begins to clear up
yaws. He says: "Penicillin turned out to be more effective than all
our antivoodoo campaigns in Haiti." [In bringing people from Voodoo to
Catholicism!]" (SOURCES: Bob Corbett, Notes on: THE ISLAND OF MY LIFE:
FROM PETTY CRIME TO PRIESTLY MISSION By Roger Riou. Delacorte Press,
New York, 1975., <http://www.webster.edu/~corbetre/haiti/notes/riou.htm>).
Further Reading on the Subject
------------------------------
Booth, William. "Voodoo Science," Science. April 15, l988. p. 274.
Book: Secrets of Voodoo by Milo Rigaud
(2) Learning Voodoo
===================
As established before, voodoo is not "magic" but a religion, and it is
therefore quite different than the images that one has from horror
films.
Naturally, the way to learn the religion, as in many traditional
religions, is to become an apprentice of a Voodoo priest in a place
like Haiti. However, there are other ways as well:
- Reading voodoo books:
An answerer in the "Answer Bag" advises: "There's no secret
incantation to follow in "doing" voodoo, you just have to learn it's
teachings and practice the religion. The best place to start is a
library or bookstore (probably under "new age", despite the irony that
most religions found there are pre-christian). I've found most web
sources to be broad or unhelpful. Keep in mind that, like all
religions, whichever source you learn from will probably be fairly
unique as each household tends to have differant guidelines.
Ultimatally, it all comes down to the sad truth that there isn't much
magic in the world, and as much as we'd love to beleive there is some
obscure art out there that only a few have tapped into, voodoo would
not beconsidered one of them." (SOURCES: "Where can I learn to do
voodoo?", <http://www.answerbag.com/a_view.php/23210>).
Let me give you several recommendations:
- The Complete Idiot's Guide(R) to Voodoo by Shannon R Turlington
- Urban Voodoo: A Beginners Guide to Afro-Caribbean Magic by S. Jason
Black, Christopher S. Hyatt
- Voodoo and Hoodoo by Jim Haskins
- Voodoo Charms & Talismans by Robert Pelton
- Voodoo and magic practices by Jean Kerboull
- The Voodoo Magic Course by Brother MOLOCH 969
- Dr. Snake's Voodoo Spellbook
- You can also visit websites, like this one, that claim to teach Voodoo:
Voodoo Lessons
<http://members.aol.com/racine125/index1.html#lessons>
(3) Some Good Voodoo Sites
==========================
Barbara-Simone Brandstötter, "Voodoo in New Orleans", University of
Vienna - Universität Wien,
<http://angam.ang.univie.ac.at/LiveMiss/Voodoo/index.htm>
Bob Corbett, Webster University, HAITI: VOODOO,
<http://www.webster.edu/~corbetre/haiti/voodoo/voodoo.htm>
Origins of Voodoo <http://www.swagga.com/voodoo.htm>
New Orleans Voodoo <http://www.neworleansvoodoo.com/>
New Orleans Voodoo Crossroads
<http://www.neworleansvoodoocrossroads.com/index.html>
Religious Tolerance, Vodun and Related Religions
<http://www.religioustolerance.org/voodoo.htm>
Venice Voodooo <http://www.venicevoodoo.com/> - California based voodoo business.
Vodoun Culture
<http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Delphi/5319/ayibobo.htm>
VuDuTuu
<http://www.vudutuu.com/> - a commercial voodoo dolls shop, with
sections on history.
Wikipedia, Voodoo, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voodoo>
NPR, "Voodoo and West Africa's Spiritual Life",
<http://www.npr.org/programs/re/archivesdate/2004/feb/voodoo/>
Brian Handwerk, "Voodoo a Legitimate Religion, Anthropologist Says" ,
National Geographic, October 21, 2002,
<http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/10/1021_021021_taboovoodoo.html>
JOSEPH J. WILLIAMS, S.J. (1932) VOODOOS AND OBEAHS Phases of West
India Witchcraft, Sacred Texts, <http://www.sacred-texts.com/afr/vao/>
Eimer Page "Voodoo", <http://www.qub.ac.uk/en/imperial/carib/voodoo.htm>
New Orleans Historical Voodoo Museum
<http://www.artcom.com/Museums/vs/mr/70116-31.htm> - the site is not
so spectacular, but it should make an interesting visit.
Baton Rouge Net - Voodoo
<http://www.brnet.com/vopage.html>
John Cussans, "Voodoo Terror: (mis)representations of voodoo and
western cultural anxieties",
<http://haitisupport.gn.apc.org/Cussans.html>
More sites on the Open Directory:
Religion and Spirituality: African: Diasporic: Vodou, Vodun, Voodoo
<http://www.dmoz.org/Society/Religion_and_Spirituality/African/Diasporic/Vodou,_Vodun,_Voodoo/>
And on Yahoo! Directory
<http://dir.yahoo.com/Society_and_Culture/Religion_and_Spirituality/Faiths_and_Practices/Voodoo/>
But the best links collection belongs to Hartford Seminary:
The traditional religion of Vodun (Voodoo) in Haiti
<http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/43a/index-faa.html>
(4) Affiliate Programs
======================
Amazon Associates - is the effiliate program ran by Amazon, and you
can put a unique link on every voodoo-related book: if someone buys
it, you receive part of the profit:
<http://www.amazon.com/gp/browse.html/ref=gw_bt_as/103-6332110-3545413?node=3435371>
Calastrology
<http://calastrology.directtrack.com/> (click on "Affiliate Programs")
on the left hand bar) - the site sells voodoo dolls, which are, as
already stated here in my Research, not "really" part of voodoo.
Fishpond also have their affiliate programe for Voodoo books
<http://www.fishpond.co.nz/affiliate_info.php>
Voodoo dept.:
<http://www.fishpond.co.nz/index.php?cPath=241_2236_5433>
Pagan Shopping
<http://www.paganshopping.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=PSO&Category_Code=AP>
Ritual Blades
<http://www.ritualblades.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=RB&Category_Code=AP>
Real Magick
<http://realmagick.com/perl/affiliates/new.pl>
StormSong
<http://store.stormsong.org/cart/affiliates.php?xCmd=register>
(See Voodoo related items here:
<http://store.stormsong.org/cart/search.php?xSearch=voodoo&submit=Search>).
AdSense
<https://www.google.com/adsense/?sourceid=ASO&subid=US-HA-06Jan05> -
naturally, having Google ads on your website (that are related to the
content of the site) is a form of an affiliate program.
(5) Differences between Magic and Religion
==========================================
The differences between religion and magic clearly demonstrate that
voodoo is not "magic" but religion, based on a trasncendental
connection with spirits.
"Religious rituals usually involve spiritual beings, and some
beneficial result is desired. It is usually they, no the person
performing the ritual, who are thought of as able to bring about their
outcome. Magic, in contrast to religious ritual, is designed to bring
about some desired practical result without the intervention of
spirits. A magician attempts to take directs control over some part of
evision Notes, <http://www.revision-notes.co.uk/revision/609.html>).
Moreover, ""religion . . . is submission to an almighty Creator to
whom we raise our prayers, and magic consists of rites intended to
compel supernatural forces, whatever they may be, to do the sorcerer's
bidding." (SOURCE: Magic, Science Religion and Spirituality",
<http://www.hermes-press.com/magic.htm>). This means, that magic and
religion are not mutually exclusive: it is possible to have magic or
supernatural within religions.
Another useful article to read in the context is Wikipedia:
Magic and Religion, Wikipedia
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_and_religion>
However, as you ask yourself, there is also the image of voodoo in
popular culture, where it is associated with "quick results" achieved
through spells and voodoo dolls. As unconnected as it is to the form
of voodoo as a religion, this is certainly a case, where a believer
could claim that "magic" is involved.
Forms of Voodoo
===============
There are, as mentioned before, different forms of voodoo:
(1) Distinction between "real" voodoo (the religion) and the image of
voodoo in Western culture, from horror movies ("imaginary" voodoo);
(2) Distinction between voodoo from different geographic regions:
Benin (where Vodun is practiced), Haiti, New Orleans (which has an
impact on the "imaginary" voodoo), etc.
There is no relevancy in asking which forms are "more powerful", since
for the believer, their own form is the most powerful. However, read
these two interesting Q&As:
"10.) Q:HOW DO I KNOW WHAT FORM OF VOODOO IS BEST FOR ME?
R: Once you have a sense that Voodoo is a religious system in which
you would like to practice, look to yourself. If you are a magickian,
look for instruction from your Angel. Try out the different forms of
Voodoo and settle on one that most closely fits who you are and what
your Work consists of. If you can find no existent system that
satisfies your needs, it is perfectly acceptable to create your own
way of serving the loa. But, it is very important that you try out the
already existent systems. It makes no sense to expend the effort
necessary to reinvent the wheel. Once you begin practicing, the loa
themselves will quickly let you know if your actions are acceptable to
them. LM
11.) Q: CAN YOU PRACTICE COMBINING A NUMBER OF FORMS OF VOODOO?
R: Yes, but it entails a great expenditure of energy and can lead to a
type of dilettantism if that energy is not expended. As in most
things, it may be wise to let success be your proof. In this case, the
proof of a correct choice. LM"
(SOURCE: New Orleans Voodoo Spiritual Temple, FAQs,
<http://www.access.avernus.com/~rogue/temple/FAQ.html>).
And in another page, in an answer to the question "I know there is the
Voodoo as it is practiced in Wedo (West Africa), in Haiti, in New
Orleans in New York and Chicago. But there are some forms of Voodoo by
definition not very powerful. What voodoo do you practice and how can
it change my life?" , the priest answers "Your statement that "some
forms of Voodoo are by definition not very powerful," is not clear.
Proper initiaiton, training and experience is what will determine ones
mastery in most cases. I am a priest of the Yeveh Vodoun and Mami Wata
tradition. It is not a "practice" for me as it is not for most in West
Africa. It is who and what we *are* as well as who our ancestors
*are.* No one can "change your life" with any tradition. Only *you*
can do that." (SOURCE: Common Misconceptions about Vodoun,
<http://pub47.bravenet.com/faq/show.php?usernum=3951612168&catid=97#q9>).
(7) Effectiveness
=================
The question on effectiveness brings us back to part one:
effectiveness depends upon belief. If you don't believe in it, or not
even aware of it, a spell or a voodoo doll would do nothing to you.
Naturally, when herbal components are involved, it is possible that
one would be physically effected, as anyone who is consuming chemicals
or biological substances could be.
For the believer, though, it can be very effective. Several commercial
voodoo dolls sites add the following comments:
"Please be aware that a Revenge Doll is not a joke! The special ritual
included with this doll makes it a very serious matter. You choose
what kind of curse you put on the person...use wisely. In doing this
or any other kind of revenge spell, you should always be sure to ask
that the person only be hurt as much as you were, NOT MORE!" (SOURCE:
Spellmaker, <http://www.spellmaker.com/doll.htm>).
The same goes for love spells. The site has instructions on how to use
love spells, and claims them to be effective. However, this is left to
those who believe in their effectiveness on the first place.
I hope this answers your question. Please contact me if you need any
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