Does voodoo have real power?
February 5th, 2010
Archive
Archive for the ‘Voodoo’ Category
The Birth of Voodoo
December 28th, 2009
Voodoo in New Orleans
December 19th, 2009
Here is a very interesting video about Voodoo in New Orleans for you to watch:
Mindfreak: Shadow of Illusion
September 12th, 2009
Here is an interesting video from Criss Angel’s Mindfreak. Check it out:
Ghost of the Voodoo Priestess – Marie Laveau
May 17th, 2009
Marie Laveau is the infamous Voodoo queen of New Orleans, and her ghost may be the most elusive in all of the Crescent City. Her legacy in life can be found virtually in every shop, souvenir stand, bar, and of course the House of Voodoo in New Orleans. Her ghost is sometimes seen in St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, outside her old cottage on St. Ann street, and walking along the levee overlooking the Mississippi River. It is also believed that the ghost of Marie walks among those who attend church on St. John’s Eve, the most important day on the Voodoo calendar. Many people believe to this day that the power of Marie Laveau is still as strong as it ever was.
Marie was born in Santo Domingo sometime between 1783 and 1794. Her date of death is amazingly June 16th, 1881, being seemingly impossible for someone to live until almost 100 years old in that day and age. She was married to a man named Santiago Paris in August of 1819. Shortly after, Paris died before they could even have any children together. Within a year of his death, Marie married Captain Christophe Duminy Glapion. They had 15 children together, and in order to support such a large family she began to work as a hair stylist, working in the homes of the French Quarter’s wealthiest.
In addition to making money, this job also provided an opportunity to hear all of the gossip in the town. This included rivals, grievances, jealousies, and affairs. She would then use this information to her advantage, in today’s world a practice known as blackmail. Her skills for obtaining private information added to her illusion of magic in the practice of Voodoo. Besides offering private meetings, she also staged large public ceremonies on the shore of Lake Pontchartrain. These ceremonies included animal sacrifices, strange exhibitions, and creole dances.
Marie Laveau also earned money by selling charms and gris-gris. Gris-gris were magical substances that were tied together. She was able to bridge the gap between Voodoo practitioners and the religious values of the people of the French Quarter by including Catholic symbols in her ceremonies. Her ghost has also been seen along stores on Rampart Street. There was one time when she allegedly slapped a man in the face for taking too long to pay for his items in one of the shops. The Laveau cottage on St. Ann street is also believed to be haunted by the Voodoo priestess.
(Source: Dwyer, Jeff. Ghost Hunter’s Guide to New Orleans. 2007.)
