Welcome back, Spring–happy, happy, joy, joy!
Recently my sister’s Sacred Way did a discussion on hoodoo. Hoodoo should not be confused with voodoo, since voodoo is actually a religion while hoodoo is a magical folk practice. Even though hoodoo has many elements borrowed from the Haitian faith, it also borrows from European magic, as well as Native American shamanism. Voodoo is a blend of African tribal beliefs and Catholicism. Hoodoo seems t be mixed with a form of Protestant folk magic similar to that practiced by the Pennsylvania Dutch.
Hoodoo is a noun likely derived from the Ewe word hudu. The word has come to mean a spell, potion, or conjurer (male or female). The practice incorporates the use of roots, candles, a variety of religious items, and many nature-based tools like feathers. New Orleans is the hoodoo center of the world. It should be noted that the traditional image of the voodoo doll has no real place in voodoo or hoodoo, but comes from Western European black magic.
Practitioners of the Caribbean faiths would sometimes drive nails into the image of a saint to help capture the magical energies inside, likely derived from the practice of making nail effigies in West Africa. Outsiders to the religion saw it as similar to the dolls with pins most often seen in horror films. In almost all of the Afro-Caribbean practices the crossroads were considered intersections of great magic. Because of their ambiguous nature of being four places at once, the crossroads are seen worldwide as foci of magic and supernatural activity.
In voodoo, hoodoo, and Santeria (among many other Afro-Caribbean faiths) they are ideal for the best conjuring and spell work. Dirt from a crossroads is often used in a variety of spells. And on Halloween the crossroads is considered a location of grate spirit activity in the African based faiths, as well as in many European countries. Obviously, this is another example of the cross-cultural mix between European folklore and African spiritualism.
November 2nd, All Souls’ Day, is also considered The Feast of the Ancestors, again borrowed from African beliefs, French Catholicism, and Native American festival of the dead. On this day New Orleans Catholics attend Mass and visit the cemeteries to pray for their dead.
Again, happy springtime Earthlings.