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[Anubis]

I'm kind of interested in voodoo, but I'm not sure where I could find some legit information. Could some one direct me to some good information on the subject?

[Ba'aL]

Originally Posted by Anubis

I'm kind of interested in voodoo, but I'm not sure where I could find some legit information. Could some one direct me to some good information on the subject?

Hi, try checking out for The Spider and the Green Butterfly by E A Koetting. I have foound it to be very gud...

[myst moonlight]

the religion Voodoo came from africa with the slaves. it influenced the american folk magick system known as hoodoo.
If any site you find menchens voodoo dolls theres a chance its fake.

[Anubis]

Originally Posted by myst moonlight

the religion Voodoo came from africa with the slaves. it influenced the american folk magick system known as hoodoo.
If any site you find menchens voodoo dolls theres a chance its fake.

I don't buy things for magick, except for shit like candles, incense, and other consumables, so I won't be worrying about bogus stuff.

[wartyg96]

Plus..."Voodoo" dolls aren't exactly fake... they've been used since Kemetic Times at least... (Obviously not under the name voodoo dolls)

[myst moonlight]

I know I learned about them under the name poppets and was taught to use them for healing. I ment that they are not black magick torcher devices. althogh you can use them for that purpose. although they can be used for such a purpose

[nytek]

Originally Posted by Ba'aL

Hi, try checking out for The Spider and the Green Butterfly by E A Koetting. I have foound it to be very gud...

Take it from those who've taught me who are initiated houngans that this book is utter crap, is downright dangerous, and it is not Vodou. Though I am not initiated, I do practice the reglemen of Vodou. I can say Vodou is a tradition closely guarded like a secret and you won't find it written about publicly at all. At best you're going to need a Mambo or Houngan (a priest) to guide you, keep you safe, and help you out when you piss off the lwa. But hey, go ahead and die, er, I mean "try" at your own risk.

The religion around them is about community, dancing, singing, God, and fun, but the lwa themselves simply don't suffer fools lightly. And you don't even know which lwa are walking with you in your escort! Just picking any lwa that sounded cool or desirable and serving them (probably your own improvised eclectic way) is a recipe for disaster that is nearly guaranteed to ruin your life if you manage to contact anything. Hell - even if you know which lwa walk with you but only feed some of them, you can potentially make the rest jealous and wrathful. Watch. Too many "Western Eclectic Occultists" today think they can just get a name and summon a spirit. No. No. No. Trust me. Not with Haitian Vodou...

nytek

[nytek]

Originally Posted by Anubis

I'm kind of interested in voodoo, but I'm not sure where I could find some legit information. Could some one direct me to some good information on the subject?

I can help you out at least in getting started. I'm in the process of converting my being from that of a Western Occultist to a Practicing Vodouisant and have been for a good while now. For starters, you will need a Vodou priest or priestess to help you out. Find one you like. Make sure they have a connection to the spirits in your own way, perhaps by ordering a divination to test them.

I've already started you off by linking you to two such ones below that are widely respected; one of which I've worked with. The reason for this is that the lwa are (to me) like gods in terms of pure power, but to call them gods is a blasphemy against Vodou because to me they're closer to various types of angels or saints, both tranquil and aggressive, if anything, so I won't go that far in saying so here about them. However, they can burn your fingers, and some are less patient than others, so keep that in mind before embarking on a D.I.Y. project. I've also heard, if you're serious, that Vodou at higher levels necessitates animal sacrifice now and then to feed the lwa.

After you find said houngan or mambo you'll need to get a reading done to see which lwa escort you at this time (which changes as your life changes for the most part), first and foremost, so you can then be told how to serve them according to the reglemen; so you can get to know them better, and receive their guidance and support. This should be about $40(+/-). In the West we create spirits using candles, herbs, and oils. In Vodou we serve the spirits, and they help us just because we serve them. It's a totally different approach than what I've been used to. Again, you won't be able to rely on habits of being an eclectic here.

But ... before then you can always call on Papa Legba to get started. It's important you start with Legba anyway if you want to get into Vodou, or even just to see if you like it. Like Hekate, Papa Legba is a gatekeeper and as such anyone can communicate with him. He's also patient, and easy to please. However, to contact any of the other lwa for any reason, you must at least consecrate and burn Legba a yellow or white candle first and offer him a mug of water so he'll open the gates for you. That way your prayers will be heard. How I started was making a shoebox shrine for Legba and putting it in the east, nearest to my front door. I suggest with it you daily or at least once per week praying, burning candles and offering water and ask that the gates to Vodou itself be opened to you that you may learn and grow within.

Otherwise, here are some links you will find useful:
http://www.kiwimojo.com/ (see "Houngan Liam") + http://www.labelledeesse.com/
or
http://www.rootswithoutend.org/index.php

and

http://blog.vodouboston.com/category/foundations/
http://blog.vodouboston.com/category...vodou-lessons/
http://blog.vodouboston.com/category/vodou-homework/
http://blog.vodouboston.com/category...ended-reading/

[nytek]

It varies a bit here and there as I understand it so far, and I'm far from being a houngan in my saying so, but your basic service at home is very much going to look something like this:

Start by saying, "Power - Strength - Love - Respect - Determination"
1 "Sign of the Cross"
1 "Our Father"
3 "Hail Marys"
1 "Apostles Creed" recitation
1 "Glory Be"
Offer water and tealight candle to ancestors
Offer water and candle to legba to open gates
First I offer an oil lamp to all the lwa with me
Then I salute and serve offerings to the Rada lwa specifically
... with the Nago lwa too
... then the Petro lwa
...and the Gede lwa last of all.
End service by saying, "Power - Strength - Love - Respect - Determination"

On the aside, you need to learn the proper salutes, plus there are things like the use of Florida Water as an offering, etc... stuff to learn. You can't just take what I wrote above and use it. It's pretty much useless at best and dangerous at worst, actually, without additional instruction.

But otherwise you may start to watch as your life starts to get better and better only as fast as things start working out for you more and more. You won't even have to really practice magical self-defense quite so much at all. The lwa will defend you automatically and I am scared of that thought already for who is affected. Personally I don't think any system compares to Haitian Vodou in terms of power. Anyway there are also sorcery things like hoodoo which blend really well with Vodou and so you can do spells that way, or take Vodou baths for luck or banishing negativity or breaking hexes, or make spirit bottles and things... My mind swims in how much there is to be learned sometimes.

The deal breaker for most people today is that Vodou borrows heavily from Catholic symbolism due to French slavery times for sake of camouflage, but often it's not meant to be taken literally, so again, you'll want to talk with someone who can answer your questions; a priest or priestess. For example, Vodouisants believe in Jesus but see him as a spirit rather than God ... though there are a good number of the same who are Catholics as well as Vodouisants.

In practice there are also pictures of saints used to represent the lwa, but these are images of people possessed by the lwa they are associated with... St. Patrick represents a man possessed by Danballah Wedo for example, not St. Patrick. Get it? It's complex... anyway, good luck. If you are truly called now you probably won't be coming back to what path you came from. My advice is to not look back and to embrace the empowerment, the life changes, and the fun.

[nytek]

Skimmed over this ... looked good, too:
http://www.ezilikonnen.com/the_lwa/lwa.html

+ @ Amazon.com:

Mama Lola: A Vodou Priestess in Brooklyn, by Karen McCarthy Brown
The Voodoo Gods of Haiti, by Maya Deren (also available as a film I think, if it's the same thing).