“New Orleans is now and has ever been the hoodoo capital of America. Great names in rites that vie with those of Hayti in deeds that, keep alive the powers of Africa Hoodoo, or Voodoo, as pronounced by the whites, is burning with flame in America with all the intensity of a suppressed religion… The way we tell it, hoodoo started way back there before everything. Six days of magic spells and mighty words and the world with its elements above and below was made. And now God is leaning back taking a seventh day she. When the eighth day comes around. He’ll start to make new again.” (From Mules and Men, by Zora Neale-Hurston)

New Orleans Voodoo, also known as Creole Voodoo, originated from the ancestral religions of the African Diaspora and is one of many incarnations of African-based religions rooted in the West African Dahomean Vodou tradition and the Central African traditions found in Haitian Vodou. It became syncretized with the Catholic religion as a result of the massive forced migrations and displacements of the slave trade. Slave owners forbade the Africans from practicing Vodou under penalty of death and, in areas controlled by Catholics, forced many of them to convert to Catholicism. The result was a creolization of the names and aspects of the Voodoo spirits to those of the Christian saints who most closely resembled their particular areas of expertise or power. Under the guise of Catholicism, Voodoo as a religion survived.

New Orleans Voodoo is known for several unique characteristics, such as Voodoo dolls, gris-gris, and zombies. The use of Voodoo dolls in New Orleans reportedly peaked during the reign of the infamous Marie Laveau, the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans. Voodoo dolls are created as gris-gris (pronounced gree), a form of talismanic magick. The word gris means grey, denoting that which lies between black and white. Gris Gris is both a noun and a verb, referring to a ritually prepared object such as a doll or a small cloth bag filled with magickal ingredients, as well as the act of working the gris-gris (i.e. spell or charm). Traditionally, Voodoo dolls are created to represent a deity or to house a spirit. Although they are most commonly depicted as objects of revenge, most practitioners of Voodoo make a concerted effort to disassociate from the malevolent use of Voodoo dolls. Approximately 90% of the use of Voodoo dolls in New Orleans is centered on healing, finding true love, and spiritual guidance. In New Orleans, Voodoo dolls are largely sold as souvenirs, curios, and novelty items.

The belief in zombies is an exceptional aspect of New Orleans Voodoo. A zombie is a dead person that has been revived after having been buried. After the resurrection, the zombie remains in the control of others, having no will of their own. In truth, a zombie is a living person who has never died; rather, it is a person who is under the influence of powerful drugs administered by an evil sorcerer. Although many people believe in zombies, few have ever seen one, although there are a few recorded instances of persons who have claimed to be zombies.

The term voodoo hoodoo is commonly used by Louisiana locals to describe the unique brand of New Orleans Creole Voodoo. Practitioners are not confused by the term voodoo hoodoo and I rather suspect that the two terms melded together over time as a result of the colloquial use of the word hoodoo by Southern African Americans and the word voodoo by white people to describe the same thing. Some hoodoo practitioners integrate elements of Voodoo, and some do not. Hoodoo is not Voodoo, and Voodoo is not hoodoo. They are different; yet, complementary. When I was a young child in New Orleans, I remember the distinction being made between Voodoo and hoodoo with hoodoo being the one that incorporates both right and left-handed works. A person who was a hoodoo was more feared in terms of what they could “do to you” than was a voodooist. Voodoo was the religion; hoodoo was the magick. Yet, there is an overlap of the two much of the time. Throughout this website, I use the terms interchangeably, about the blend of the two in New Orleans Voodoo.

New Orleans Voodoo hoodoo is distinguishable from other forms of Voodoo due to several other unique characteristics. For example, New Orleans Voodoo evolved to embrace aspects of Spiritualism in the nineteenth century. The New Orleans “Spiritual” religion is a blend of Spiritualism, Voodoo, Catholicism, and Pentecostalism. It is unique among African- American “Spiritual” religions in its use of “Spirit Guides” in worship services and in the forms of ritual possession that its adherents practice. The voodoo-influenced “Spiritual Churches” that survive in New Orleans are the result of a mingling of these and other spiritual practices.

Voodoo is a religion, while hoodoo is a magickal system. The word voodoo means “spirit of God.” Voodoo believers accept the existence of one god, below which are the powerful spirits often referred to as Loa. These powerful spirits are responsible for the daily matters in life in the areas of family, love, money, happiness, wealth, and revenge. Contrary to popular belief, however, Voodoo is first and foremost about healing. The loa are petitioned in rituals and spellwork frequently, but not always.

Hoodoo, on the other hand, is southern African American folk magic. The goal of the hoodoo is to tap into supernatural forces to improve daily life by gaining power in areas such as luck, money, love, divination, revenge, health, employment, and necromancy. As in many other folk religious, magical, and medical practices, extensive use is made of herbs, minerals, parts of animals’ bodies, an individual’s possessions, and bodily fluids, especially menstrual blood, urine, and semen. Contact with ancestors or other spirits of the dead is an important practice within the conjure tradition, and the recitation of Psalms from the Bible is also considered magically effective in hoodoo.

The word hoodoo is used in a multitude of ways. For example, it is used as a noun to refer to the system of magic (“hoodoo”), as well as the practitioner (“he’s a hoodoo man”). It is also used as a verb (“he done hoodooed her”), and an adjective (“that’s a hoodoo trick”). Popular names for hoodoo in the black community include “conjuration,” “conjure,” “witchcraft,” “rootwork,” and “tricking” (which has nothing to do with prostitution!). Many blues musicians have referred to hoodoo in their songs.

Popular examples include “Louisiana Hoodoo Blues” by Ma Rainey, “Hoodoo Lady Blues” by Arthur Crudup, and “Hoodoo Man Blues” by Junior Wells. In addition to the expected terms hoodoo and mojo, other conjure words in blues songs include jinx, goofer dust, nation sack, black cat bone, and graveyard dirt.

A hallmark of New Orleans Voodoo hoodoo is the borrowing of material from European and African folklore, Kabalistic influences, ancestor worship, Native American herbalism, Catholicism, and strong elements of Christian and Jewish mysticism, such as the use of various seals and sigils. The Bible is considered a talisman in and of itself, as well as a primary source of magical lore. The Psalms and the saints are key aspects of hoodoo practice.

At the core of hoodoo are African folkloric practices such as crossing and uncrossing, using spiritual baths and washes, laying tricks, creating gris- gris bags, crossroads magic, and foot track magic. Knowledge of these terms is essential in the practice of New Orleans Voodoo. I will briefly describe each of these terms in the following sections.