fandomhigh | The Occult | Period 1

"Welcome back to class and back from your vacations," Paige greeted with a smile and nod. "I hope you all got a lot of relaxing in and that you're back and rested. If not, well, the weekend will be here before you know it."

Such optimism.

"Today, we're going to talk about voodoo and we're going to specifically focus on Louisiana Voodoo since that's the form of voodoo that's probably the most common and the most well known. Louisiana Voodoo describes a set of spiritual folkways which originated from the traditions of the African diaspora. It is a cultural form of the Afro-American religions which developed within the French, Spanish, and Creole speaking African American population of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Voodoo is one of many incarnations of African-based spiritual folkways rooted in West African Dahomeyan Vodun."

She paused for a minute. "Louisiana Voodoo is often confused with—but is not completely separable from—Haitian Vodou and southern Hoodoo. It differs from Vodou in its emphasis upon Gris-gris, voodoo queens, use of Hoodoo occult paraphernalia, and Li Grand Zombi, who is the snake deity. It was through Louisiana Voodoo that such terms as gris-gris and voodoo dolls were introduced into the American lexicon."

Ah, the voodoo doll. So commercialized these days. "There were a few things that set voodoo apart from many other religions and occult practices. The practice of making and wearing charms and amulets for protection, healing, or the harm of others was a key aspect to early Louisiana Voodoo. The ouanga, a charm used to poison an enemy, contained the poisonous roots of the figure maudit tree, brought from Africa and preserved in the West Indies. The ground up root was combined with other elements such as bones, nails, roots, holy water, holy candles, holy incense, holy bread, or crucifixes. Another component of Louisiana Voodoo brought from Africa was the worship of ancestors and the subsequent emphasis on respect for elders. For this reason, the rate of survival among elderly slaves was high."

Paige continued. "The last thing we're going to touch on are Voodoo queens. "During the 19th century, Voodoo queens became central figures to Voodoo in the United States. Voodoo queens presided over ceremonial meetings and ritual dances. They also earned an income by administrating charms, amulets, and magical powders guaranteed to cure ailments, grant desires, and confound or destroy one’s enemies. Most noted for her achievements as voodoo Queen of New Orleans in the 1830s was Marie Laveau. Once the news of her powers spread, she overthrew the other voodoo queens of New Orleans. She acted as an oracle, conducted private rituals behind her cottage on St. Ann Street of the New Orleans French Quarter, performed exorcisms, and offered sacrifices to spirits. Also a Catholic, Marie encouraged her followers to attend Catholic Mass. The influence of her Catholic beliefs further facilitated the adoption of Catholic practices into the Voodoo belief system Today, she is remembered for her skill and compassion for the less fortunate, and her spirit is considered one of the central figures of Louisiana Voodoo."

With the lecture over, Paige crossed her arms and leaned back against her desk. "For today's activity, I'm going to pass out a list of Voodoo superstitions. This isn't a comprehensive list at all but it's enough for the people in this class. All I want you to do is pick one of the superstitions and see if you can incorporate it into everyday life. It's optional, not something you have to do, but with this island being as strange as it is, some of these might work. After that, you're free to go."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Like a queen (or a king)

Celia Bowen

Isabelle Lightwood

It's there so use it as you see fit!

Here's the list! Choose one and see if you can use it once throughout the week.

A lock of a girl's hair brings good luck.
If you lay a broom across the doorway at night, a witch can't come in and hurt you.
Having a woman visit you the first thing on Monday mornings is bad luck for the rest of the week.
Don't borrow or lend salt because that is bad luck.
If you sweep trash out of the house after dark you will sweep away your luck.
Don't shake a tablecloth outside after dark or someone in your family will die.
To stop a Voodoo spell being placed upon you, acquire some bristles from a pig cooked at a Voodoo ritual, tie the bristles into a bundle and carry them on you at all times.
If a woman sprinkles some salt from her house to yours, it will give you bad luck until you clean the salt away and put pepper over your door sill.
If a woman wants her husband to stay away from other women, she can do so by putting a little of her blood in his coffee, and he will never quit her.
If a woman's husband dies and you don't want her to marry again, cut all of her husband's shoes all in little pieces, just as soon as he is dead, and she will never marry again.
You can give someone a headache by taking and turning their picture upside down.
You can harm a person in whatever way you want to by getting a lock of his hair and burning some and throwing the rest away.
You can make a farmer's well go dry by putting some soda in the well for one week, each day; then drawing a bucket of water out and throwing it in the river to make the well go dry.
A person can make you get very thirsty by putting a whiskey bottle under your porch for three weeks, and then throwing the bottle into a fire which will make you very thirsty for whiskey.
If you take a strand of hair out of a person's head and wear it in your pocket for two days, it will give that person a headache.
It is a known act for a woman to put her menstrual blood in the food of a man to make him fall in love with her.
If a woman kisses you twice on one cheek and once on the other cheek, she is trying to hoodoo you.

She's there, if needed!

Not picture: any discussion of American Horror Story: Coven despite the amazing presence of Angela Bassett and her arms.

The Occult | Period 1 | Tuesday

Sign In [03/04]

Re: Sign In [03/04]

Re: Sign In [03/04]

Lecture [03/04]

Class Activity: Voodoo Superstitions [03/04]

Paige [03/04]

OOC [03/04]