Oral tradition is the cornerstone of indigenous knowledge. It is how our ancestors pass on their wisdom and ways of life so that we may benefit and carry them to generations to come. Today, much oral tradition is finding its way to print and paper. This work represents one effort to preserve the wisdom of our ancestors by writing it down so that it can be enjoyed by all who care to read about it.

While I have written down much of what has been taught to me, I have not written down those teachings that were asked to be held in confidence out of respect for tradition. Some things are meant only to be committed to memory, and so in the heart and mind, they will stay.

Voodoo is a highly complex religion, and hoodoo is a highly complex spiritual practice. I have written this website according to my personal experience and understanding, and may or may not reflect the opinions of other practitioners of New Orleans Voodoo. The knowledge that I have acquired over the years is the culmination of growing up in New Orleans absorbing the culture, lifelong learning from family, teachers, and other practitioners, consulting sacred texts, folklore literature, and what speaks to me through Divine channels.

This was written for the individual Voodoo practitioner and is not consistent with the rites of initiation into Haitian Vodou or any other formal religion. It is meant to provide a basic understanding of the nature and properties of the ingredients and practices of New Orleans Voodoo as I understand and interpret them.

Sometimes people seek to “become” priestesses and priests, mambos, houngans, etc.; other times the loadseeksk us out. I was given “the gift” as a small child; the spirits sought me out. I was introduced to the mysteries at the age of 5 or 6 by my auntie on the Mississippi Bayou. As a young boy, I went to Catholic Church, and catechism, and was confirmed.

At 16, I was initiated at the Hare Krishna temple in New Orleans. I am an ordained Reverend from the Universal Life Church Monastery and have had the privilege of going through several rites of passage in the Native American tradition that qualifies me to perform various ceremonial activities. I am also a formally trained psychologist who has worked in the helping profession for 15 years.

I have a broad and deep understanding of many spiritual paths and consider myself a lifelong student of the Universe, with much yet to learn. The many paths I have traveled reflect my journey to connect with the ancestors of my Creole ethnicity. I want to make clear, however, that I am not an initiated Mambo in the Haitian Vodou tradition, nor am I a Madre in the Santeria tradition.

You will find after following this website that such titles are not necessary to practice the brand of Creole Voodoo that is unique to New Orleans.

I hope that you find this website informational, educational, and most of all, inspirational. It is dedicated to all of those who suffered to keep the traditions alive, to those who carry on the traditions so that they may continue to live, and to those who have yet to come who will find their lives enriched by them.