New Orleans Voodoo: A Cultural History
New Orleans Voodoo: A Cultural History

Author: Rory O'Neill Schmitt, PhD, and Rosary Hartel O'Neill, PhD

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2019

Total Pages: 176

ISBN-13: 1467137995

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There is no more compelling nor more spiritual city than New Orleans. The city's Roman Catholic roots and its blended French, Spanish, Creole and American Indian populations heavily influenced the rites and rituals that West Africans brought to Louisiana as enslaved laborers. The resulting unique Voodoo tradition is now deeply rooted in the area. Enslaved practitioners in the nineteenth century held Voodoo dances in designated public areas like Congo Square but conducted their secret rituals away from the prying eyes of the city. By 1874, some twelve thousand New Orleanians attended Voodoo queen Marie Laveau's St. John's Eve rites on the shores of Lake Pontchartrain. The Voodoo tradition continues in the Crescent City even today. Rory Schmitt and Rosary O'Neill study the altars, art, history and ceremonies that anchor Voodoo in New Orleans culture.

Voodoo and Power
Voodoo and Power

Author: Kodi A. Roberts

Publisher: LSU Press

Published: 2015-11-13

Total Pages: 294

ISBN-13: 0807160520

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The racialized and exoticized cult of Voodoo occupies a central place in the popular image of the Crescent City. But as Kodi A. Roberts argues in Voodoo and Power, the religion was not a monolithic tradition handed down from African ancestors to their American-born descendants. Instead, a much more complicated patchwork of influences created New Orleans Voodoo, allowing it to move across boundaries of race, class, and gender. By employing late nineteenth and early twentieth-century first-hand accounts of Voodoo practitioners and their rituals, Roberts provides a nuanced understanding of who practiced Voodoo and why. Voodoo in New Orleans, a melange of religion, entrepreneurship, and business networks, stretched across the color line in intriguing ways. Roberts's analysis demonstrates that what united professional practitioners, or "workers," with those who sought their services was not a racially uniform folk culture, but rather the power and influence that Voodoo promised. Recognizing that social immobility proved a common barrier for their patrons, workers claimed that their rituals could overcome racial and gendered disadvantages and create new opportunities for their clients. Voodoo rituals and institutions also drew inspiration from the surrounding milieu, including the privations of the Great Depression, the city's complex racial history, and the free-market economy. Money, employment, and business became central concerns for the religion's practitioners: to validate their work, some began operating from recently organized "Spiritual Churches," entities that were tax exempt and thus legitimate in the eyes of the state of Louisiana. Practitioners even leveraged local figures like the mythohistoric Marie Laveau for spiritual purposes and entrepreneurial gain. All the while, they contributed to the cultural legacy that fueled New Orleans's tourist industry and drew visitors and their money to the Crescent City.

The New Orleans Voodoo Handbook
The New Orleans Voodoo Handbook

Author: Kenaz Filan

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2011-08-16

Total Pages: 298

ISBN-13: 1594777985

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A guide to the practices, tools, and rituals of New Orleans Voodoo as well as the many cultural influences at its origins • Includes recipes for magical oils, instructions for candle workings, and directions to create gris-gris bags and Voodoo dolls to attract love, money, justice, and healing and for retribution • Explores the major figures of New Orleans Voodoo, including Marie Laveau and Dr. John • Exposes the diverse ethnic influences at the core of Voodoo, from the African Congo to Catholic immigrants from Italy, France, and Ireland One of America’s great native-born spiritual traditions, New Orleans Voodoo is a religion as complex, free-form, and beautiful as the jazz that permeates this steamy city of sin and salvation. From the French Quarter to the Algiers neighborhood, its famed vaulted cemeteries to its infamous Mardi Gras celebrations, New Orleans cannot escape its rich Voodoo tradition, which draws from a multitude of ethnic sources, including Africa, Latin America, Sicily, Ireland, France, and Native America. In The New Orleans Voodoo Handbook, initiated Vodou priest Kenaz Filan covers the practices, tools, and rituals of this system of worship as well as the many facets of its origins. Exploring the major figures of New Orleans Voodoo, such as Marie Laveau and Dr. John, as well as Creole cuisine and the wealth of musical inspiration surrounding the Mississippi Delta, Filan examines firsthand documents and historical records to uncover the truth behind many of the city’s legends and to explore the oft-discussed but little-understood practices of the root doctors, Voodoo queens, and spiritual figures of the Crescent City. Including recipes for magical oils, instructions for candle workings, methods of divination, and even directions to create gris-gris bags, mojo hands, and Voodoo dolls, Filan reveals how to call on the saints and spirits of Voodoo for love, money, retribution, justice, and healing.

Witch Queens, Voodoo Spirits, and Hoodoo Saints
Witch Queens, Voodoo Spirits, and Hoodoo Saints

Author: Denise Alvarado

Publisher: Weiser Books

Published: 2022-02-01

Total Pages: 242

ISBN-13: 1633411451

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A magical mystery tour of the extraordinary historical characters that have defined the unique spiritual landscape of New Orleans. New Orleans has long been America’s most magical city, inhabited by a fascinating visible and invisible world, full of mysteries, known for its decadence and haunted by its spirits. If Salem, Massachusetts, is famous for its persecution of witches, New Orleans is celebrated for its embrace of the magical, mystical, and paranormal. New Orleans is acclaimed for its witches, ghosts, and vampires. Because of its unique history, New Orleans is the historical stronghold of traditional African religions and spirituality in the US. No other city worldwide is as associated with Vodou as New Orleans. In her new book, author and scholar Denise Alvarado takes us on a magical tour of New Orleans. There is a mysterious spiritual underbelly hiding in plain sight in New Orleans, and in this book Alvarado shows us where it is and who the characters are. She tells where they come from and how they persist and manifest today. Witch Queens, Voodoo Spirits, and Hoodoo Saints shines a light on notable spirits and folk saints such as Papa Legba, Annie Christmas, Black Hawk, African-American culture hero Jean St. Malo, St. Expedite, plague saint Roch, and, of course, the mother and father of New Orleans Voudou, Marie Laveau and Doctor John Montenée. Witch Queens, Voodoo Spirits, and Hoodoo Saints serves as a secret history of New Orleans, revealing details even locals may not know.

The Magic of Marie Laveau
The Magic of Marie Laveau

Author: Denise Alvarado

Publisher: Weiser Books

Published: 2020-02-01

Total Pages: 226

ISBN-13: 1633411427

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The life and work of the legendary “Pope of Voodoo,” Marie Laveau—a free woman of color who practically ruled New Orleans in the mid-1800s Marie Laveau may be the most influential American practitioner of the magical arts; certainly, she is among the most famous. She is the subject of songs, films, and legends and the star of New Orleans ghost tours. Her grave in New Orleans ranks among the most popular spiritual pilgrimages in the US. Devotees venerate votive images of Laveau, who proclaimed herself the “Pope of Voodoo.” She is the subject of respected historical biographies and the inspiration for novels by Francine Prose and Jewell Parker Rhodes. She even appears in Marvel Comics and on the television show American Horror Story: Coven, where she was portrayed by Angela Bassett. Author Denise Alvarado explores Marie Laveau’s life and work—the fascinating history and mystery. This book gives an overview of New Orleans Voodoo, its origins, history, and practices. It contains spells, prayers, rituals, recipes, and instructions for constructing New Orleans voodoo-style altars and crafting a voodoo amulet known as a gris-gris.

Spirits of New Orleans
Spirits of New Orleans

Author: Kala Ambrose

Publisher: America's Haunted Road Trip

Published: 2018-07

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 9781578606238

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The city of New Orleans is formed into the shape of a crescent, which is believed by many people to form a sacred chalice which holds and stores energy making it one of the most unique areas in the world in which to perform magic and to see it magnify due to the energy in the land and from the flowing waters of the Mississippi and Gulf of Mexico. Since childhood, Kala Ambrose has seen and felt ghosts and restless spirits. During this journey as your travel guide, Kala explores the history of the city and those who decided to make it their eternal home. Explore New Orleans with Kala Ambrose and prepare to embark on a unique and enticing journey into the haunted history and magical ceremonies of New Orleans. Prepare to be introduced to supernatural rituals and practices in order to fully understand and embrace the cultural significance of the variety of beliefs, superstitions, legends and lore.

The Voodoo Queen
The Voodoo Queen

Author: Robert Tallant

Publisher: Pelican Publishing

Published: 1984-03

Total Pages: 322

ISBN-13: 9781455613700

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Witch? Sorceress? Daughter of Satan? Thief? Saint? Born in 1794, Marie Laveau reigned as the undisputed Queen of the Voodoos for nearly a century. Her beauty and powers were legendary, and caused her to be the subject of wild gossip throughout her life. She passed on her secrets to a favorite daughter, who helped her dominate the underworld of voodoo in New Orleans. "It is an absorbing tale, and the emotional undertones, the conflicts in her human relations, the overwhelming loneliness of her position, all come through the story of a strange life." Kirkus Reviews "The author creates a vivid, haunting atmosphere, which (like Marie's arts) holds the reader in spell. . . . an intriguing novel that is competently mounted and exceedingly well executed." New York Times

Bloody Mary's Guide to Hauntings, Horrors, and Dancing with the Dead
Bloody Mary's Guide to Hauntings, Horrors, and Dancing with the Dead

Author: Bloody Mary

Publisher: Red Wheel/Weiser

Published: 2016-01-01

Total Pages: 274

ISBN-13: 1578635667

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". . . known as 'The Poet Priestess of the Spirit of New Orleans' Bloody Mary is a true spokeswoman of her hometown . . ."--Southern Women Magazine In 15 compelling chapters, Bloody Mary shares with readers her experiences with the ghosts and haunted happenings of New Orleans. Among the tales of the supernatural are: A visit to a haunted sanitarium A meeting with Julie the Ghost of Forbidden Love The story of Madame La Laurie, La Vampyra Meetings with Jean Lafitte, the Gentleman Pirate Encounters with the ghosts in New Orleans graveyards Each chapters ends with "Afterlife Lessons and Warnings" that help readers navigate the seen and the unseen worlds. What makes these stories particularly engaging is the persona of Bloody Mary. She is not only a psychic investigator, she is also a psychic healer--she offers healing and kindness to spirits that walk the earth and also helps readers find spiritual lessons in encounters with the spirit world.

Fear Dat New Orleans: A Guide to the Voodoo, Vampires, Graveyards & Ghosts of the Crescent City
Fear Dat New Orleans: A Guide to the Voodoo, Vampires, Graveyards & Ghosts of the Crescent City

Author: Michael Murphy

Publisher: The Countryman Press

Published: 2015-10-01

Total Pages: 303

ISBN-13: 1581576269

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By the author of the acclaimed Eat Dat, a brand-new guide to New Orleans's scary side, from Voodoo rituals to historic cemeteries and haunted mansions Fear Dat New Orleans explores the eccentric and often macabre dark corners of America’s most unique city. In addition to detailed histories of bizarre burials, ghastly murders, and the greatest concentration of haunted places in America, Fear Dat features a “bone watcher’s guide” with useful directions of who’s buried where, from Marie Laveau to Ruthie the Duck Girl. You’ll also find where to buy the most authentic gris-gris or to get the best psychic reading. The Huffington Post tagged Michael Murphy’s first book Eat Dat, about the city’s food culture, the #1 “essential” book to read before coming to New Orleans. New Orleans Living called it “both reverent and irreverent, he manages to bring a sense of humor to serious eating—and that’s what New Orleans is all about.” In Fear Dat, Murphy brings similar insights and irreverence to New Orleans voodoo, vampires, graveyards, and ghosts.