How I do the Voodoo that I do

  Alright everyone, I get questions all the time about my religion and half the time, they're from people who've tried to do research on their own and been either totally confused by what they've found or stonewalled. I don't understand these "Voodoo Snobs" out there who refuse to share our religion. It's a religion! It's meant to be shared. Now I understand that there might be family traditions or spells that some might like to hold back from the general public and that's fine but I also believe that ignorance of a thing causes fear of it. There is nothing to be afraid of as long as you approach it with respect.
  Now, let me just say first off that I'm no expert. I wouldn't dare to call myself a Mambo and I've never gone through the intricate and lengthy....as well as costly, process of becoming an initiate in the traditional way. I've been taught the much more relaxed New Orleans style of the religion which I find to be a combination of ancestor acknowledgement, lwa serving, and spellwork. There's also a lot of Hoodoo involved. So that's what I practice and I've decided to share it with all of you... if you'd like to learn about it.
  I'd like to demystify the religion and it's connecting spell practices. So I'm happy to answer any questions any of you would like to pose to me and I'll be going over things I think people would like to hear about. First of all: what is Voodoo?
  Voodoo is mainly an ancestor based religion. We respect those who have gone before us and have a special altar on which we put things they might like...but I'll get more into that later. It's also a religion of serving the spirits. These spirits, referred to as lwas(pronounced low-wa) are people who have done such great deeds in life that upon death, they are raised to an almost guardian angel status. There are different groups of spirits depending on which Voodoo you practice and from where but they all have spirits who people have been working with so long that we are certain of their likes, dislikes, and personalities. This is all important because you need to be sure of who you're dealing with which can be difficult when working with spirits. Many people have gotten in big trouble by just whipping out the old Ouija board and trying to contact the beyond on their own. This is why you only work with the lwas who are established.
  Above all this is Bon Die, the good God, the one who is much too busy to deal with our crap but who nonetheless cares enough about us to send these lwas to look after us. The lwas, as a kind of intermediary, listen to our requests and if they find them acceptable... and if they like the offered payment, they will help us. This ends up being a sort of barter system and takes a bit of getting used to if you've been practicing western witchcraft.
  So there it is basically: respect your ancestors, the spirits, and god above all else. The stigma of Vodouisants being these evil, back alley kind of spiritualists is dead wrong, if you'll forgive the pun. Most Vodouisants are very respectable, normal people who won't mess with you unless you mess with them first. The ones who deal with darker magic, as in trapping souls to do their bidding and such, are called Bokors and are looked down upon by the Voodoo community as a whole. Yes, bad things can be done through Voodoo but this is simply the human factor coming into play. It's not Voodoo that kills people, it's people. The magic, as in all practices, is determined by the wielder.
  This is a dedicated religion and as a person who was raised Christian, I can tell you without a doubt that this religion consumes you much more thoroughly than the sect of Christ. I practice my religion daily, I feel the touch of my lwa in my life at every minute and although I'm sure there are Christians out there who would profess the same, I honestly never felt it and have seen much more "weekend Christians" who think that going to church once a week absolves all their sins. Won't they be surprised when they die? But I don't want you to think I'm anti-Christian. The truth is, after rebelling against my birth religion for many years, I seem to have come full circle and am closer to it than I've been ever. Voodoo was well hidden in Christianity(well technically Catholicism) because it is so like it. By this I mean there's one main god, and many Vodouisants believe it's the Christian version. I must admit that all my years as a witch have colored my views though and I can't give up my belief that although there is one god, there is a feminine aspect to him. But suffice it to say, I have nothing against the Christians... as long as they don't try to convert me.
  Okay, I think that's enough of a start. Please send me any questions so I'll know where to take this from here. Blessings on you all and praise be Erzulie-Freda!

Crafty Conversations are Back

Crafty Conversations with Amy

So it's been awhile. With the closing and subsequent re-opening of The Mystic Eye, I've ceased to handle the newsletters and therefore have stopped writing my column. But I've missed all of you and I've had a lot of requests to resume my writing. So here we are.
Now what are we going to talk about?
It's been a tough year for a lot of us. Death has come to call, everyone I know seems to have lost someone important. The economy still sucks and the world seems to have gone insane right before our very eyes. I myself have had a few moments of lying in bed and wondering if life ever stops hurting. It's hard to have faith in anything anymore, much less a caring divine presence.
Sentiments like, "You can only enjoy the good after going through the bad" and "He's in a better place now" just don't cut it for me. I've never like empty platitudes much. So what do we do? Do we rage at our versions of the divine? Do we turn our hearts to stone? Do we pour ourselves a tall drink? 
As magical people, you'd think it would be easier for us to sail these troubled waters but sometimes it's worse. When you know that god is not sitting up in his Heaven, laughing at you and messing with you on purpose, you have no one to blame. It makes being angry or sad or afraid, that much harder because you can't shake your fist at the sky and cry "Why? Oh why have you done this to me?" 
We witchy people, know better than that. On top of the lack of a scapegoat, it  seems like we fall prey to a disconnection scenario easier than non-magic folks. We get upset and our craft suffers for it. We can't focus, we can't quiet ourselves, we start losing the time or ability to work magic, which is such an integral part of most of us. Then the hardships seem all the harder.
I pulled the eight of swords the other day. No, that's not true exactly. You see, every morning I speak with my lwa, my guardian spirit in Voodoo, if you will. I let her know what I'll be doing that day and I ask for any advice she might like to give me. I speak to her using my tarot deck, just shuffling it while I speak and when she wants to say something, a card will fall out of the deck. Sometimes she doesn't say much, sometimes I practically get buried in cards, but it's always relevant and accurate.
So she actually threw the eight of swords at me. It was like a slap in the face. It made me realize that although there's nothing wrong with sorrow and lamenting your misfortunes, we are all responsible for our world and a big part of that world is perception.
The eight of swords is a woman blindfolded, gagged, and almost surrounded by swords. The lesson in this card is that the blindfold and gag represents fear and sorrow. The woman stands stock still, thinking that if she moves the slightest, she will be cut, when actually, all she has to do is let go of her fear and sorrow and she'd be able to see that she can walk right out of the danger.
I've been surrounded by swords and the pain of facing them has gotten so great that I've gagged myself with it. I've put on a blindfold of fear so that I wouldn't have to gaze at it anymore and then I just stood there, wishing I had someone to blame. Wondering if this was all my life was going to be.
So I guess what I'm trying to say is, don't seek to place blame, don't let your heart harden, and put down that drink. What we need to do when misfortune hits, is take responsibility for our part in it, accept the hurt but don't harbor it,  and remember who you are. Remember the feeling of happiness and know that you will have it again. Remember that although the world is full of hate and evil, it is also even more full of love and acceptance, it's just that hate tends to shout while love whispers. Listen to the whispers and meditate on drowning out the shouting. Re-focus, little witches, and cast a new circle for a new day. I'm back and I'd like to welcome all of you back to life with me.