Modern Magic and Magical Thinking: for Sean the Sorcerer

Sith Lord Sean has many powerful enemies. 

In response to my earlier post about Paul Huson's Mastering Witchcraft,  Sean the Sorcerer offered his thoughts.  I wanted to give them due attention, since Sean is not only a Sorcerer but a Mystic and a Sith Lord who has received extensive martial arts training from Bruce Lee and David Carradine.

Says Sean:

I enjoy magic as a kind of psychological art form, but if one’s goal is power, it seems pretty clear that the sorcery of technology, high finance, propaganda, organized religion, advertising, smart bombs, etc. is far more powerful than folk magic, ceremonial magic or any other magical tradition I know 


That may well be - but very few of us have any kind of real access to those types of sorcery. If I had a few dozen smart bombs the world would be a significantly less stupid place:  alas, I don't.  As far as high finance goes, I'm guessing that more than 99% of my readers are members of the 99%. Very few if any wander in the corridors of power. (Those who do are presumably smart enough to use pseudonyms so they aren't connected to weirdo occultist corners of the blogosphere).  I have no access to an advertising agency or to a bully pulpit whereby I can rally my millions of listeners.  Hence I - and everyone else reading this - have to make do with what we have, and seek out whatever competitive edge we can gain through magical or other means.

The first thing any magician needs to do is make an honest assessment of hirself.  This is especially true of those who wish to wander down the Left-Hand Path.  I've seen many a diabolical superman set up a "Satanic Temple" which consisted of a website, a chatroom and a mailing list.  Few have done anything which would suggest they were members of the "Alien Elite:" if their spelling and grammar are any indication, most would have a hard time gaining admittance to the Alien Mediocre.

One of the things which make folk magic useful is how well-defined the magician's ends are.  It's hard to ascertain the success or failure of a ritual aimed at "enlightenment" or "inner peace." A love spell either works (your target reciprocates your feelings) or it doesn't: a job-hunting spell either leads to employment or it fails.  It helps keep a magician realistic and humble: it reminds us of what we can do and what we can't.  The Nietzschean chest-pounders may fancy themselves Übermenschen: the working magician knows hir weaknesses and through that knowledge understands hir strengths.

“Vodou Money Magic”? How’s that working out for the poor folks in Haiti? If the state of societies where this sort of thing is prevalent is any indication, power-seekers should avoid their magic like the plague. Thanks anyway, but I think I’ll stick to “Think and Grow Rich.”

As far as how things are working out for the poor folks in Haiti, perhaps Sean could take a look at the book's Introduction, wherein I note,

Cynics frequently ask "If Vodou is so powerful, why is Haiti the poorest country in the Western hemisphere?" We might turn the question around. Vodou has survived a century of slavery, three centuries of oppression, nineteen years of U.S. occupation of Haiti, and innumerable efforts by state and church (Catholic and Evangelical) to eradicate this "primitive superstition." Like the Haitian people, Vodou exists in the face of overwhelming odds; its continuing existence is testimony to its power and to the strength of its followers.

But while we are on the subject of books, let's consider Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich.  According to Wikipedia, by the time of Hill's death in 1970 this 1937 tome had sold over 20 million copies: since that time many more people have read Hill's work.  How many of them have grown rich? About the only thing we can say definitively is that it made Napoleon Hill rich - and so I must grudgingly admit that he is one up on yrs. truly in that regard.

I wonder here if Sean has not lost himself in the "American dream." Given the facts about American social mobility (or the lack thereof), I submit that Think and Grow Rich is no more likely to bring its readers wealth than Vodou Money Magic, The Key of Solomon,  or the Blu-Ray version of Star Wars Episodes I-VI.  As Kurt Vonnegut said in Slaughterhouse-Five

America is the wealthiest nation on Earth, but its people are mainly poor, and poor Americans are urged to hate themselves To quote the American humorist Kin Hubbard, "It ain't no disgrace to be poor, but might as well be." It is in fact a crime for an American to be poor, even though America is a nation of poor. Every other nation has folk traditions of men who were poor but extremely wise and virtuous, and therefore more estimable than anyone with power and gold. No such tales are told by the American poor. They mock themselves and glorify their betters. The meanest eating or drinking establishment, owned by a man who is himself poor, is very likely to have a sign on its wall asking this cruel question: "If you're so smart, why ain't you rich?"... 

*** 

Americans, like human beings everywhere, believe many things that are obviously untrue, the monograph went on. Their most destructive untruth is that it is very easy for any American to make money. They will not acknowledge how in fact hard money is to come by, and, therefore, those who have no money blame and blame and blame themselves. This inward blame has been a treasure for the rich and powerful, who have had to do less for their poor, publicly and privately, than any other ruling class since, say, Napoleonic times.

Mastering Witchcraft and Love Spells

As the controversy about the Lilith Rite at PCon 2011 dies down, yet another controversy arises in the blogosphere.  ("'Twas Ever Thus," says Mr. Natural... ).  This brouhaha has nothing to do with gender privilege, Bay Area entitlement or exclusionary rites at public conventions. Instead, it concerns a dusty and eldritch tome dating back to 1970 - Paul Huson's Mastering Witchcraft.

Those who are looking for a shiny, happy, tree-hugging, none-harming, law-threefolding guide to the Great Goddess will find themselves in for a surprise when they pick up Huson.   Remember how you've been told (and told, and told...) that Witchcraft has nothing to do with Satanism? Huson was absent when that memo was distributed.  He suggests a prospective Witch start their journey by saying the Paternoster ("Our Father") backwards - a traditional method of dedicating one's soul to Ol' Splitfoot.  And if that doesn't curl your toes right down to the tips of your 10,000 year pre-Christian European lineage, he also offers some spells which are of dubious morality. At Doing Magick, Robert takes exception to Huson's "love philtres."

Huson talks about targeting a sex partner. Most of what he says is simply the grand art of seduction. No harm no foul. He then moves on to putting "philters" in the "target's" drinks. This is nothing other than a magickal roofie. 

Apologists make three arguments that I can remember. Frankly, reading about this guy just irritates me. So, I haven't read much of the recent writings on the topic. The first apology is that he is merely showing us how the magick can work, not advocating it. The second is that this book is great because no one else would dare publish that stuff. The third is that he was trying to reclaim witchcraft from the fluffy types and therefore included harsher things. 

My counter argument is as follows: Bullshit 

Yup that is about it.

***

Referring to a potential sleeping partner as a target is dehumanizing and wrong. There should be no debate over that. I call potential sexual partners women. Which do you feel should be used? That isn't political correctness. That is having respect for all human beings. 

There may be some good stuff in that book but the outright evil of slipping things into people's drinks negates all of that.

Robert obviously has strong feelings on this issue, and not without reason.  There's something decidedly creepy about slipping someone a magical Mickey Finn in the hopes sie will acquiesce to your sexual desires.  But I think that one thing that is coming into play here is the division between Hermetic and Ceremonial Magic(k) (which appears to be Robert's primary field of study and interest) and Folk Magic.  According to Robert:

[M]y take on magick is that it is a spiritual exercise. It isn't about raw power or control of other humans. Though, it can be used for those things. In my opinion, dropping a "philter" into someone's drink is damaging spiritually to the operator as well as the 'target'. 

My definition of magick is a rip off of Crowley's "Magick is the art and science of causing change in conformity with the will." The definition I use for my personal magick is "Magick is the willed art and science of unfolding the soul." When we do things not in alignment with the nature of our souls, we close down, not open up. I call this stepping away from our virtue.

Compare this to the opening of one of my books on Haitian folk magic, Vodou Money Magic, wherein I said "Vodou is not about finding enlightenment or attaining inner peace. Vodou is about power." This appears to be why most poor people resort to folk magic: because they seek to gain some advantage in a world where the odds are stacked against them.  It is spiritual energy channeled toward some material end. Petitioners seek to avoid trouble from the police - or, should that fail, to sway a judge and jury in their favor. They seek to improve their luck in business or in gambling: they want protection from unruly johns or hostile competitors. And, often, they want assistance in love.

Few things are more powerful and more disempowering than love. Love isn't just blind, it's frequently deaf, drunk and dumber than a box of thumbtacks. Those suffering from obsessive love will do anything to win their object of desire. They will continue on despite humiliation, rejection, restraining orders and common sense: they will tolerate beatings, infidelity, and abuse; they will lie, cheat, steal and even kill to win their target's heart (or, failing that, to stop its beating: many a burning love has turned into an equally fiery hate).  The Greeks called this raw, predatory, savage force eros and frequently called on it not only to win a sex partner but to curse an enemy.

From the beginning Hermetic magic has been the provence of a literate, privileged few.  The first Hermetics were largely monks and priests from wealthy families; the Golden Dawn was largely comprised of slumming bourgeoisie; while Crowley claimed "the Law is for all," his books assumed readers had a public school-honed knowledge of classical Greek and Latin. These people (like just about everyone reading this blog) had the bottom rungs of Maslow's hierarchy of needs sorted.  They had the time to concern themselves with self-actualization and unfolding their souls.  And yet they, like the peasant seeking to bed a comely village maiden, could be brought down by eros. Francis Barrett's The Magus contained instructions on how to call on Venus "to obtain the love of women" and Cornelius Agrippa described how witches procured love and lust by "venereal collyries."

Huson's love philtres may be morally questionable (OK, morally reprehensible). But they are part of a long cross-cultural tradition which has been practiced by princes and paupers, by the devout and the diabolical, by starry-eyed romantics and cynical lechers.   We can reject Mastering Witchcraft because we find its ethical premises distasteful.  We will have a much harder time constructing a useful magical system without acknowledging and mastering the force which makes us desperate enough to resort to philtres and Rophynol. 

Spell Books and Spell Kits: for Matt Deos

For some time I've been promising Matt Deos a shout-out.  Matt, a Houngan Asogwe made by Boston/Jacmel Mambo Maude Evans, is not afraid to share his opinion on Vodou. We have butted heads on a number of occasions, but I've never questioned his devotion to the faith, his passion for the lwa or his knowledge.  (He has some great info on introductory ancestor work and sevis lwa here).  However, disagreement doth ever fuel the blogosphere. And so I thought I'd address one of his longstanding complaints here.  If I have misunderstood or misstated his position, I trust he will step in and correct me.

Matt dislikes Voodoo/Vodou/etc. "spell books" and "spell kits." He (and quite a few others in the various African Traditional Religious communities) think that spell books and kits are disrespectful.  They see them as attempts to profit from their religion by cheapening and commercializing the spirits and their sacred rites. Not only is it disrespectful, it's a waste of time and money, since these mass-produced products don't work. As Matt puts it:

A truth: information is useless unless it is given the proper way. That’s a core piece of Vodou… those pretty veve? UTTERLY USELESS unless they are handed to you by your teachers in your House. (seriously… veve differ, and each House/lineage has the veve that correspond to the spirits of the House. Veve are also useless unless made the proper way… so those sites and books that tell you to tape up a photocopy? TOTAL BULLSHIT. Its not real, its not a part of the tradition, and its not going to help you to use it… but of course, the book isnt gonna tell you that...

None of this ‘service kit for sale’ crap, none of this calling on random lwa who you dont even know if you have a relationship with… the buried rule here is that ANY lwa can do anything for you. Read that again. Get out of the mindset of each having ‘powers’ or ‘portfolios’ where only one spirit can perform a task for you, or the idea that each only has specific uses. Its not real. Any lwa can do anything for you… serve the ones you have. Get the reading, and skip out on the online or written accounts or kits (always for sale, funny that) that will teach you how to serve a specific spirit; you dont need it, and in essence its fraud.

I can't deny that many people come to these traditions with an attitude of entitlement. Neither can I deny that there are some atrocious Vodou books and websites out there, or that many of Vodou's most visible leaders serve primarily as public embarrassments.   But with all that being said, I still think there is something to be said for spell books and spell kits.

(Disclaimer: I have skin in this game, having penned Vodou Love Magic and Vodou Money Magic).

While spell books are less common in Haitian Vodou than in many other traditions, that may primarily be due to the country's low literacy rates.  It is not difficult to find spell books in English, Spanish and Portuguese which promise aid in love, money, gambling and various other earthly concerns. Spell kits are certainly found in another Kongo-influenced tradition, American Hoodoo.  In my forthcoming New Orleans Voodoo Handbook, I provide a recipe from the Cracker Jack Drugstore's 1930's era pamphlet Black and White Magic of Marie Laveau - a recipe which required ingredients sold by said drugstore.  So far as I can see, a "Peaceful Home spell kit" would differ from these instructions only by virtue of convenient packaging.

sprinkle every room of your house with “Peace Water” and burn the “John the Conqueror Incense” mixed with the “Helping Hand Incense.” Sprinkle some “Jinks Removing Salt” all around the outside of your house. Apply to your body daily the “Peace Powder” and anoint your head and clothes with “Bend Over Drops.” Burn for one hour each day or night the “Peace Candle” until you have burned three of them.

The person who purchases a spell kit is evidencing faith. They have put their money on the table and asked a lwa, orisha, saint, god, etc. to step into the picture. They have expressed a willingness to see magic in all its beauty and terror: they have dared to ask for the miraculous. That is an enormously courageous step in a society which denies the existence of magic and the miraculous and which mocks those who believe otherwise.

The spell kit (or the properly written spell) establishes commerce with the spirit.  An offering is made. This can be as simple as a candle and a prayer.  It can be an elaborate ritual involving expensive items offered at specific times at inaccessible places. Whatever it is, it establishes commerce between the supplicant and the spirit. It creates a sacred exchange: something is given in expectation something will be received.  It also establishes boundaries: you are giving the spirit a candle, a glass of wine and some flowers in lieu of offering an eternal pledge of fealty.

A spell book or kit may provide a good learning opportunity. If your petitions fall on deaf ears, you're out a comparatively small sum of money and time. If your spell works, on the other hand, you have established an important connection have seen real evidence of magic and the spirit world.  I have seen many people who became involved in Vodou after purchasing a spell kit.  Whether or not their lost love returned or their promotion came to pass, the candles and oils had a major positive effect on their lives.

I don't think that willy-nilly purchase of spell kits is the most effective way to approach the lwa. I would definitely recommend a reading from a competent practitioner and training with an actual functioning société.  Approaching random spirits with no guidance can be time-wasting at best and actively dangerous at worst.  But I have also found that the spirits will come where they will, and will use any available doorway.  If you seek the lwa, rest assured they will find you.

Response to a Response to a Review of Vodou Money Magic

In response to my August 31 blog entry, AdeLokun wrote to Tristatevodou:

I haven't posted on this forum in many years, but this thread hits on an issue that I have been struggling with these past few months. I find this thread very troubling. I am not a vodou practioner but an Santero, but as a sister tradition we also make ebo sacrifice in the hopes of having health, strength and stability in our lives. And I have seen Orisha, and vodu and nkisi, create miracles again and again. However, if we are honest with ourselves and others we know that prayers are not always answered. For some illnesses there is no remedy except death. People have different destinies and the spirits bring tremendous wealth to some, while I have known many great initiates who have lived simple lives within very simple means.  

It is definitely important to note that Vodou is not a cure-all and that, as AdeLokun wisely points out, prayers are not always answered. Any practitioner who claims a 100% success rate in money magic (or any other kind!) is lying to you. We also should remember that the spirits generally give a hand up rather than a handout. Any magical stuff we do or purchased should be accompanied by material efforts to resolve our situation.

AdeLokun's comment about great initiates leading simple lives points to yet another great truth:  success is about comfort, not about some arbitrary set of numbers.  You are not a success if you are making $1 million a year, but spending $1.5 million in a vain attempt to fill some void in your life.  You are not a failure if you are paying your bills and living comfortably on a modest income earned doing something you love.  The lwa will help you to meet your obligations and possibly even help you with a few luxuries. But sevis lwa does not guarantee one a McMansion and a Mercedes.

The first step in doing money magic is determining how much money one truly requires. Lwa like Ezili Danto and Ogou can help you in making a realistic assessment of what you need, and in prioritizing what you want. They can help you to overcome counterproductive behavior. In this process, you may well develop a sincere, rewarding relationship with that spirit. I've known many people who came to the lwa in search of love spells or money spells. Their work proved very rewarding and spiritually fruitful whether their desired outcome failed to materialize.

I have a godson now who is struggling financially and we have made numerous offerinsg baths etc to help but at some level this may just be a trial he has to go through at this time. And my own life as an initiate has not been a bed of roses. I am deeply grateful but I face an army of challenges of all kinds every day. I mean to say that if working the spirit--vodu, orisha or nkisi meant that you could magically get anything you want none of our anscestrors in these traditions would have been dragged to the Americas in the first place. So there must be something deeper to our faith and tradition than simly reciprical relationships where everyone gets what they want. I always thought that African traditions have a deep sense of life's inherent tragedy. Which I find missing from this account. I mean this as discussion and not as an admonishment.

There certainly can be something much deeper than a simple "you give me X and I give you Y in return." But I also think there is and has always been a place in the tradition for those who simply want to call on the spirits for magical aid. This may lead to a closer relationship with the lwa or the orishas, or it may not.  This is not a path for everyone: someone who receives aid from our spirits may well provide a thank-you offering and then go elsewhere to fulfill their deeper spiritual needs.

I should also add that there is a degree of risk with this approach. Raven uses the term "lawful prey" to describe those who, by birth or through their actions, can be claimed by a spirit.  If you keep going to the lwa or orishas with your problems, they may decide you need to become one of their clergy. And they are not likely to be too concerned with getting your consent to this expensive and arduous process! I've heard plenty of stories from African Diaspora traditions about people whose lives were turned upside down until they did what the spirits demanded of them.

New Review of Vodou Money Magic

Gesigewigu's, a regular contributor at Spiral Nature, recently posted a review of Vodou Money Magic. While the review was generally quite complimentary, G. had one criticism:

This book seemed like it was advocating a personal devotional religion for financial aid. It just seemed to be going the wrong direction, imagine “Join the Church, learn how Jesus can get you money” as a parallel, and that’s what felt off with the book. The religion is one of dedication and personal relationships, and I think undertaking such a relationship only for financial gain is the wrong path.

I think G. may be overemphasizing the dichotomy between a religion of dedication and one for financial gain. Many Vodouisants love their lwa: they praise them effusively, build enormous and elaborate shrines for them, hold ceremonies in their honor and show their respect in a number of direct and tangible ways. But as they provide for their lwa, so they expect that their lwa will provide for them.  Nor is this attitude unique to Vodou, as we can see in this excerpt from J.G. Frazer's classic The Golden Bough:

In April 1888 the mandarins of Canton prayed to the god Lung-wong to stop the incessant downpour of rain; and when he turned a deaf ear to their petitions they put him in a lock-up for five days. This had a salutary effect. The rain ceased and the god was restored to liberty. Some years before, in time of drought, the same deity had been chained and exposed to the sun for days in the courtyard of his temple in order that he might feel for himself the urgent need of rain. So when the Siamese need rain, they set out their idols in the blazing sun; but if they want dry weather, they unroof the temples and let the rain pour down on the idols. They think that the inconvenience to which the gods are thus subjected will induce them to grant the wishes of their worshippers.

The reader may smile at the meteorology of the Far East; but precisely similar modes of procuring rain have been resorted to in Christian Europe within our own lifetime. By the end of April 1893 there was great distress in Sicily for lack of water. The drought had lasted six months. Every day the sun rose and set in a sky of cloudless blue. The gardens of the Conca d’Oro, which surround Palermo with a magnificent belt of verdure, were withering. Food was becoming scarce. The people were in great alarm. All the most approved methods of procuring rain had been tried without effect. Processions had traversed the streets and the fields. Men, women, and children, telling their beads, had lain whole nights before the holy images. Consecrated candles had burned day and night in the churches. Palm branches, blessed on Palm Sunday, had been hung on the trees. At Solaparuta, in accordance with a very old custom, the dust swept from the churches on Palm Sunday had been spread on the fields. In ordinary years these holy sweepings preserve the crops; but that year, if you will believe me, they had no effect whatever. At Nicosia the inhabitants, bare-headed and bare-foot, carried the crucifixes through all the wards of the town and scourged each other with iron whips. It was all in vain. Even the great St. Francis of Paolo himself, who annually performs the miracle of rain and is carried every spring through the market-gardens, either could not or would not help. Masses, vespers, concerts, illuminations, fire-works—nothing could move him.

At last the peasants began to lose patience. Most of the saints were banished. At Palermo they dumped St. Joseph in a garden to see the state of things for himself, and they swore to leave him there in the sun till rain fell. Other saints were turned, like naughty children, with their faces to the wall. Others again, stripped of their beautiful robes, were exiled far from their parishes, threatened, grossly insulted, ducked in horse-ponds. At Caltanisetta the golden wings of St. Michael the Archangel were torn from his shoulders and replaced with wings of pasteboard; his purple mantle was taken away and a clout wrapt about him instead. At Licata the patron saint, St. Angelo, fared even worse, for he was left without any garments at all; he was reviled, he was put in irons, he was threatened with drowning or hanging. “Rain or the rope!” roared the angry people at him, as they shook their fists in his face.

There are many people for whom a love spell or a money spell serves as an introduction to the religion of Haitian Vodou. There are many others who keep a strictly business relationship with the lwa, making offerings in exchange for their assistance in material matters. Neither approach is wrong. What is wrong is treating the lwa (or other spirits) as what Raven Kaldera has called "the Big Barbie who gives you stuff." The relationship between serviteurs and their spirits is a reciprocal one. The lwa do not offer unconditional love and unlimited abundance. They bless those who bless them and expect payment for services rendered. If one is unwilling to pay for those services - and the tab can be steep! -  then it is best to avoid the lwa altogether.

Evangelical Christianity: the Blood of Jesus Washes Over Haiti

Continuing our discussion of the Evangelical movement in Haiti, this is an excerpt from my latest book, Vodou Money Magic, concerning the history of Haitian Protestantism and Evangelical Christianity.

*****

Poverty is not the reason for rapid church growth in Haiti. One of the more important factors is voodoo. This mixture of Christian and pagan beliefs produces a fear of the spirit world. Christ's message is one of freedom from the powers of darkness.

The Haitian church is also a very alive and aggressive church. There is a big emphasis on effective prayer. Lively congregational singing and special music are important parts of the services. A large percentage of church members are very active witnesses for the Lord. Local churches feel a heavy responsibility for planting sister churches in nearby villages

         – Howard Culbertson, missionary to Haiti, 1987

      In 1817 Alexander Petion asked the Methodists to establish a primary school in Port-au-Prince. By the mid-nineteenth century, there were a number of Protestant missions in Haiti.  Staffed largely by African-American missionaries, they could be found throughout the Haitian countryside. During the 1915-1934 occupation, Haiti came under the direct control of the United States.  America had long been a majority Protestant culture, with a long history of anti-Catholic sentiment.  It was also a country in the grip of the revival movement, with preachers like Billy Sunday and Aimee Semple McPherson pulling in bumper crowds throughout the nation.  Still, their efforts bore little fruit.  In 1930, during the occupation’s final years and after a decade of missionary efforts, only 1.5% of Haiti’s population identified as Protestant.

      1950 marked a turning point for the Haitian Evangelical movement.  That year Paul and Mary Orjala, young Nazarene missionaries, first arrived in Haiti.  The Orjalas would remain there until 1964, establishing and conducting a Bible Training School (Séminaire Theologique Nazaréen d' Haiti in Port-au-Prince) which would prepare a generation of native-born Haitian evangelists. Today 70% of the Nazarene church membership of the Caribbean Region is in the country of Haiti.  There are over 100,000 Nazarenes living in Haiti – more than that of any other country in the world with the exception of the United States.

      That same year Radio 4VEH, "La Voix Evangelique d' Haiti" (the Evangelistic Voice of Haiti), began broadcasting in Vaudreuil in northern Haiti. Under the Rev. G.T. Bustin, the East and West Indies Bible Mission (now the Evangelical Bible Ministries) offered broadcasts in French, Spanish and Kreyol. Where the Catholic clergy spoke French, these ministers offered messages in the language of the local population.  They began to attract a growing following among the poorest of Haiti’s poor.  Other radio ministries would follow: today Evangelical groups control 7 of Haiti’s radio stations.

      After he came to power in 1957 Papa Doc Duvalier sought a counterbalance against the power of the ever-troublesome Catholic Church.  Toward that end, he welcomed Protestant missionaries.  Because their visas could be revoked at a moment’s notice, foreign pastors generally sought to avoid political entanglements. Under the Duvalier regime, missionaries had a great deal of freedom to build schools and engage in aid projects: so numerous were these groups that by the 1970s any White man traveling in the countryside was likely to be called “pastor” by the local populace. Alarmed by the growth of Protestantism among the poor, many of Haiti’s Catholic leaders began distancing themselves from the ruling party while others became part of a growing Catholic populist movement.

      Unlike earlier crusades, this one appears to have taken root in country:  today we see an ever-increasing number of Evangelical Protestants within the Haitian and Haitian-American community.  Because the mythology of Evangelical Christianity is more dualistic than Haitian folk culture, they can only explain uncanny healings or possessions in terms of "devil worship" and "Satanism." As a result, they are often openly hostile to Vodou.  Many see it as bondage to the forces of darkness and a major cause of Haitian violence, injustice and poverty.  By bringing the Good News to their fellows, they hope not only to save souls but to save their country.

      There has been self-righteous clucking in the usual quarters about Evangelicals perpetuating acts of “cultural genocide” against Vodou and its practitioners. The relationship between Evangelicals and Vodouisants is certainly more tense than the relationship between Vodouisants and the Catholic Church.  A member of our société comes from an Evangelical family: were they to discover that she serves the lwa, she would be disowned.  But we should not neglect the benefits which missionary money has brought to Haiti.  Their aid organizations are often more well-funded, transparently managed and efficient than their secular counterparts – when there are any secular counterparts.

      A growing number of  Haitian Vodouisants have decided the protection of Jesus is less onerous and costly than the protection of the lwa and family spirits.  While houngan et mambo pas travay pou un granmesi (Houngans and Mambos don’t work for a big thank you i.e. they charge for their services), many missions offer free health care, education and other opportunities to those willing to profess the faith.  For those converts, Evangelical Christianity offers more powerful and effective magic than Vodou.  Vodou has survived many other challenges to its existence: it will be interesting to see how it responds to market pressure from a hostile competitor which seeks to convert, not just pacify, its target clientele.

First Review of Vodou Money Magic

The first review of Vodou Money Magic has appeared on Lisa McSherry's Facing North.  Diana Rachjel was favorably impressed by the book, and even had a few kind words for our house Ghede, Harvey. ("Well-meaning old lecher" is a kind word, isn't it?)  Thanks to Diana for a great review and thanks to Lisa for providing an invaluable collection of Pagan book reviews!

Looking for Digital Photos of Your Altars

We're making final preparations for the release of Vodou Money Magic, and need some color photos of shrines and altars which people have created for their lwa.  Inner Traditions is particularly interested in shrines or altars dedicated to Agwe, St. Philomena, and Zaka. But we'd be happy to see any shrines you may have to any of the lwa covered in the book, to wit:

• Legba
• Damballah
• Agwe
• St. Philomena
• Zaka
• Ogou
• Danto
• Ghede
• The Ancestors

We will give full credit (and a free copy of VoMoMa) to anyone whose contributions appear in the final book. 

Thanks for all your support! You can send any photos to kenazfilan -at- gmail.com.  

From "Vodou Money Magic:" Ogou Wanga for the Ladies

I recently received a request for an Ogou wanga that could help the querent's friend find work. This comes from my forthcoming book, Vodou Money Magic - it's a ritual designed for female Vodouisants who want to catch Ogou's attention.

Ogou Wanga for the Ladies

The Ogous are known for their passion – and for the passion they inspire in their female followers. Fr. Kwellikant, a Breton priest, explained to Donald Cosentino why he locked the Church of St. Jacques on his feast day instead of allowing the pilgrims inside.

There were constant incidents, perpetual sacrifices. I saw a woman lift up her skirt in front of the saint on his white horse and say "Here I am, St. Jacques! It's all for you!" Another woman offered St. Jacques a piece of soap to wash her crotch (forgive me!) I heard a woman in the dark part of the church say "St. Jacques, you are a big powerful man. The man I live with is too old. His zozo (penis) doesn't work. Help me to find another one." I heard these sorts of things and decided to shut the church during pilgrimage.[i]

Many female Vodouisants marry Ogou in a costly ceremony which requires the services of several initiated clergymembers, a team of drummers, and numerous assistants. Expensive jewelry is required, as are elaborate tables and decorations befitting a wedding. A maryaj involves lifelong chastity on particular days (typically the first Wednesday of the month but possibly more) and may require other commitments. Like any other marriage, it is not something which should be undertaken lightly.

While you may not be ready for wedding bells, a woman who wants to gain Ogou’s special favor can definitely use her feminine wiles to gain his attention. “Sex magic” in the classical Western or neo-Tantric sex of the word – rituals involving masturbation or intercourse with another partner or partners – are not part of any African or African Diaspora tradition. However, it is not uncommon for devotees of both sexes to have erotic dreams involving lwa; neither is it uncommon for devotees to seek guidance from the lwa in their dreams.

For this ritual you will need two red cloths, an enamelware or ceramic basin or other fireproof dish which can hold water, the Ogou image of your choosing and a red candle. (If your Ogou favors a different color for your candle, use that instead). You will also need a sexy negligee, preferably a bright red one. Get a lttle bit of rum and, if you can find it, some Florida Water. Finally, you will need some clean sheets and a chance to spend Wednesday night sleeping alone and undisturbed.

Take a shower or bath; when you are finished, make yourself presentable using your favorite makeup and perfume and put on your nightie. Don’t feel self-conscious if you don’t measure up to some arbitrary standard of acceptable body types: Ogou sees beauty in all women and is sure to find you attractive if you expend a little effort for him. Prepare your sleeping space beforehand by cleaning it and making it presentable. Imagine that you’re getting ready for an overnight date with a charming, handsome and thoroughly desirable fellow – because that’s exactly what you are doing! Feel free to make your place sexy according to your feminine wiles.

Place the first red cloth in the center of the room. Place your Ogou image or vévé and the fireproof dish. Place the candle in the dish, then fill it approximately ¾ full of water to which you have added a bit of rum (no more than a teaspoon or so) and one or two drops of Florida water. As you do, smell Ogou’s rough, masculine cologne as he comes closer to you. Sprinkle the water on the ground, asking Legba to open the way so that your suitor can come and visit you.

Now light the candle: as you do see the light of the flame reflected in Ogou’s polished and razor-sharp machete. You can see his silhouette as he enters: he is tall and sturdy, with thick muscles and broad shoulders. He walks toward you with the tense flowing grace of a caged tiger: you can hear his desire in his quick breaths and feel it in his burning stare. Wrap the red cloth around your head and tie it. As you do, feel Ogou’s strong and sinewy arms pulling you close to him.

Now turn in for the night and go to sleep. Let yourself be lulled into slumber by the candle’s flickering flame. Do not masturbate or otherwise touch yourself, no matter how much you may want to. (When Ogou is present, you may find yourself incredibly aroused!) You may have erotic dreams involving Ogou; you may also find that he only wishes to talk, or even that you have no dreams at all which you can remember. As you do this more often, you will find yourself developing a protective and romantic relationship with this powerful lwa. Be sure to record any dreams or waking visions you may have, and whatever else you do, take any messages you receive from Ogou very seriously.

You may be wondering why a gay man could not have a similar relationship with his Ogou. In my experience, every Ogou I have met has been loudly and definitively heterosexual. Other Houngans and Mambos concur: Houngan Aboudja, a gay man and longtime servant of the lwa, says that while he serves Ogou Feraille and has a deep, caring relationship with him, “he doesn’t want to know about or have to deal with my personal life in that area.”[ii] The Ogous of my acquaintance would not respond favorably to a man who approached them in this manner: they would be uninterested at best and offended at worst.

That being said, there are many Ogous and many sociétés: some houses believe Ogou Feraille and Ogou St.-Jacques are not brothers but lovers.[iii] Vodou is not a monolithic faith: no one can speak ex cathedra of what the spirits do or do not believe. You may do with this spell what you will: your lwa will respond as they will.

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[i] Donald J. Cosentino. “Repossession: Ogun in Folklore and Literature” (1997) in Africa’s Ogun: Old World and New. (Sandra T. Barnes, Editor). Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1997. 299-300..

[ii] Quoted in Randy P. Conner, David Sparks, David Hatfield Sparks. Queering Creole Social Traditions: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender. Participation in African-inspired Traditions in the Americas. Philadelphia: Haworth Press, 2004. 61.

[iii] Ibid, 62.