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best-voodoo-priest · 2 years ago

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Voodoo Practices and History

Voodoo is a popular cultural stereotype based on voudon, an Afro-Caribbean religion with its roots in Haiti but with adherents in neighboring countries and the Americas. Voudon is a term that encompasses a wide range of beliefs and practices, from those of the individual to those of the community at large, including a complex system of traditional medicine. Voudon is more than just a set of beliefs. It is a code of conduct passed down through generations through sayings, stories, songs, and folklore.

Voudonists share the Christian belief that the soul can leave the body during sleep or spirit possession. Christian theology views spiritual possession as an attempt by Satan or a demon to possess a human being against their consent. An invaluable first-hand spiritual experience and link to the spirit world, this possession is best used in a ceremony led by a voodoo priest or priestess.

History of Voodoo

Enslaved people created Voudon by fusing their West African religion with the Roman Catholicism they were forced to adopt by their owners, a process known as syncretism. Enslavers were mandated to convert their new African employees to Christianity within eight days of their arrival under a regulation passed in 1685 that also outlawed the practice of traditional African faiths. The Catholic Church approved of slavery because it helped convert Africans to Christianity. Enslaved people coerced into adopting Catholic practices gave them new significance, and many African Vodoo gods eventually came to be identified with Christian saints.

Voodoo Curses, Witchcraft, and its Evil effects

The evil effects of Voodoo encompass Witchcraft as well as Voodoo curse. Modern scientists and doctors are discussing the possibility of something called "Voodoo curse" in peer-reviewed medical journals, demonstrating the negative influence that belief in Voodoo can have on its adherents. The theology and philosophy of voodoo can be all-encompassing and dramatic. This culture has captivated and alarmed outsiders alike.

Witchcraft, an evil effect of Voodoo, involves getting haunted by spirits. Innocent and malicious spirits (kings, heroes, the reach, the righteous poor, obedient servants, etc.) roam freely after dark when the underground gates swing wide open, inspecting the souls of all citizens and keeping tabs on their actions, thoughts, and whether or not they are careful to instill cultural norms in their offspring. Spirits not only protect communities from harm but also oversee daily activities. It is in their hands to prevent droughts, floods, and the spread of deadly diseases.

Spirits would send wicked ones to torment a disobedient individual because while they can cause pain, they can only humiliate a person if he has disobeyed the wishes of his forefathers. As a form of punishment, they might make you sick to your mind, prevent you from taking a shower or medication, restrict you from sleeping in a bed or staying in your own house, and cause you to hear voices belonging to people he knows are dead. Some spirits have the power to direct their target to commit suicide.

Voodoo Priest and Priestess

A Voodoo Priest, or Houngan in the Vodou sect of the religion, is a respected religious and spiritual leader, educator, and role model for other Voodooists. The role of the Voodoo Priest is multifaceted, requiring him to uphold social order, treat the sick, and instruct his disciples in the ways of the religion. In addition, voodoo Priests perform numerous elaborate rituals essential to the faith. Similarly to how a Voodoo Priest is a male healer and leader in Voodoo, a Voodoo Priestess is the term used to describe a female healer and leader in Voodoo.

Voodoo Healing and about our services

It is essential to look for a good voodoo curse removal service. As well-respected voodoo specialists, we would use various methods to restore your health and happiness, including meditation, hypnosis, and rituals, so that you may lead a fulfilled and joyful life. In addition, we have access to some of the most skilled Voodoo practitioners and witch doctors, who will make quick work of any Voodoo spells performed upon you. The best part is that we have been doing Voodoo healing for years.

Voodoo is a significant part of the lives of millions of Haitians, and many people benefit from it. However, the practice also has far-reaching and effective negative consequences for the Haitian people. Most voodoo rituals are theatrical, epic events that fascinate and sometimes terrify onlookers.

#voodoo spell caster voodoo healing voodoo removal

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brilliantfantasticgeronimo · 6 months ago

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the giggle - thoughts and reactions (part 2/2)

obsessed with how much attention donna pays to the recap... ("is all of this true?" well there's some nuances donna but yeah pretty much lol)

"by a bird(????????)" favorite delivery of all time

yoo i saw gifsets of this scene and was sad they skipped 13 era but they DONT skip 13's era dfsklj (And listen im thasmin-truther thru and thru but flux IS more of a proper, affecting trauma than like, the doctor being a fuckboi for the 60th time skdlfjkdl) once again fandom was making a fuss about nothing ugh

the doctor's subtle shift+close-up when it comes to bill's bit in ze recap........... too soon

they contractually needed an scene where nph could show his card-playing magician chops hehe

"i made every opinion supreme. they shout and they type and they cancel. that's the game of the 21st century" ur brain on liberalism/idealist philosophy

"and u know full well we're both elderitch horrors" was such a sexy comeback lol

("doctor, the doctor, fun")

"we can be celestial" ok we didnt need to remember *that* about the toymaker, rtd :/

handmeidens .… interesting insult choice....

"every single one of you is fantastic" iidk mel i have my reservations about twin dilemma!six...

bi-generation is supposed to be a myth ... myht myth myth... EYES EMOJI. BLURRED EYES EMOJI.,!!!!! SALT. THIS ONLY HAPPENED BECAUSE OF THE SALT. (screams into the night)

"i think you're beautiful" "*still* beautiful" obsessed w/ it. yes 14 you’re still a beautiful woman probably.

"i’ll have medows of doctors dying over and over again" he’s just a whump fic writer. Let him be. Toymaker just #tag your shit and everything is OK.

HE SHRANK THE GUARDIANS INTO VODOO DOLLS sdlkfjd rip the funky birds!!!!

you loved rose and river AND YAZ!!!!. damn they SHOULD have put yaz there. it would have Worked so damn well with the themes of this special ghgh and would have actually delivered the point that 14 “says things like that now”. And would have connected all the arcs so well aghghghg.

Lol 15 trying bludgeon 14…. me when [the self-hate] (also // to donna’s "this is so therapeutic!")

but this is what i get... my reward... and is not fair

mmm… dr who is a tv show fuel → the toymaker gets “banished” from this reality… and he gets flattened .... like it is rn if u watch the episode. u are looking at a flat image of NPH...

“you do it day by day”... i cry (“that would drive me mad” let's hope fourteen's life doesn't go the way of The Hours (2002) directed by Stephen Daldry lol)

“my reward.... to come home” t.t aaaaaa mi fine IM FINE

a tardis that regenerates in the second act WILL bi-regenerate in third act

people were so mad that they didnt make it about change.... well yeah it wasnt about change. it was about rehab

if we see a tardis w/o the jukebox, that's not me (we don't see it...)

"you werent gonna leave without saying goodbye, were you?" "as if i would ever do that" (translation: damn, u saw what i was gonna do)

"good luck" (translation: bitch go collect NEW TRAUMA away from me)

the evil step mother dslkfjk

ching out for fandom 2 mine all the Gen Fic possible out of this situation for years to come. Peace.

CONCLUSIONS!

oh boy. dskflj let's separate it by points, I'm Eager To Soapbox tonite...

ON DOCTORDONNA:

this was a success for me in ways the star beast wasn't. there’s so much Food in this one. "to come home" "maybe i will save you", etc etc etc etc. It feels like it draws a close to 10 and Donna’s story... but not really bc “the story never ends”....aka: Fandom the ball is now in ur court, the ground is Fertile for us to produce decades upon decades of Gen Fic (and they even get a TARDIS a la deleted tentoo scene! so we aren't even confined to domestic stuff only!!!) it is our time to Feast. Merry Christmas and God Bless Us All <3

ON MESSAGING: This episode is, at the very least, made up of 2 hats: the first hat is " toymaker outfoxing The Dr." (no complaints in this), and the hat inside that hat is: “humanity going mad and being The Problem” ... this was good enough to be its own hat. but it is kinda forgotten? If this were a normal season I feel that would have been a full episode where we would feel the implications of it . maybe then I would respect it more as a Political Message / Social Criticism bc rn it feels very eye roll lib core / basic af... to Elaborate:

this is what prejudice works like only if u have no understanding of material conditions. "why are people so prejudiced? BC they're afraid and mad! their fear of the new makes them lash out!!!!" sure. but the reason *that's* dangerous is not bc suddenly everyone will start rowing on the streets, is bc 1% of ppl get *benefits* from this line of thinking. prejudices are not actually "born" out of "fear" and "madness" but are *carefully, intentionally constructucted and/or encouraged* by the dominant class)

(Meiners wasn't an "irrational" person, he was being /quite/ rational in furthering scientific racism …… germany's wealth came from exploiting nigeria, togo, rwanda.… meiners own wealth came from that. Slavery *is* logical if you’re an slaverer. Pretending it isn’t leads u to pointless things like trying to “argue” against socdems in power to further refugee rights… they don’t care. They are doing it because it benefits them. It isn’t a “flaw” in the system, it’s the system working as intended).

(so like, yeah this is a ~validating and ~poignant commentary to watch if u are a ~liberal (tr: center-right person) who wants to believe they're superior to conservatives (extreme right person), but it's... not actually an astute or meaningful reading of the political zeitgeist)

so yeah. that plot fumbled imo and my hope now is with the upcoming Kate and PM story we can go harder on "Dealing With The Zeitgeist" and maybe redeem this in the process. we shall see...

On The Big Controversy:

Bigeneration rlly rlly works for me ... tbh On a couple levels… first, the mechanical: the doctor after TTC has been thoroughly portrayed as a Weird Thing more than any other time recently. Ppl used to joke about “elderitch horror” doctor before but now it feels like… way more real. The Doctor is really fucking weird !! so having them split like a cell? To survive? Yeah to me that feels like a very “yeah, this might as well happen”. After The Regeneration Limit has been throughout Debunked in-universe, it follows that we would question... just how much life is there in this fucking guy??? well, too much to be contained in one body, babes!

SO, that’s the mechanical level… but on the emotional level? I love it even more. The thing to understand is that... in this story, regeneration is *not* a device for telling a story about “accepting change” (that’s been done, lbr, more than enough times before). Here, it is actually doing a new thing for The Show: it is telling a story about “the journey of Healing” (hopefully, the first step in a very long Journey focused on that). 15 holding 14, embracing him… that’s just, well, it's moving man. 14 is a mess and 15 from what I’ve seen is Fucked Up In Brand New Ways… but here, in this moment, at least they’re starting to show a little bit of self-compassion. That’s one of the hardest things there is man, and for a character that has gone thru sm Grief and sm Trauma and shown so much downright self-destruction, self-sabotage, season after season after season… (literally saying ‘no’ to Yaz the day before for (reasons)!!!)…. And like, going against every other “the doctor can’t stand themeselves” character beat since The Power Of Tree (which I love don’t get me wrong but!! it's always had Implications!!)!!! ... well... It’s truly hopeful. It’s relatable. It’s beautiful. I'm sorry some dw fans are so tired of DT that they truly are missing out on something Monumental for the show / the character in general. That leads us to... ON THE TRANSITION FROM 13'S ERA

I also feel ngl fandom seriously worries about such… unimportant things all the time. “oh but having a DT with a tardis out there MIGHT make people think Ncuti isn’t legitimate!!!!” bro every other white doctor was already out there having adventures in the TARDIS every other week. Ppl who don't consider 13 or 14 as legitimate were already doing that by refusing to watch the show and sticking to the watching the 40+ seasons of white males as leads that are literally a click away. Like I’m sorry to bring up old fanwank but sdklfjsd god, honestly that was such a bizarre, intangible worry to have. When u actually watch the special w/o all these marketting worries... They very much …… don’t forget 13 in these specials . in fact it’s quite the opposite sdklf to get a true Understanding of all the layers going on in 14’s arc, 13’s story are p much requisite viewing. and I'm a flux Enjoyer thru and thru but c'mon, we all talked about how the resolution was fumbled sdlkfjsd it's Good that they are doing the fallout of 13 committing a triple genocide now!!! these specials actually elevated flux, not the opposite.

That said... god, they really should have mentioned Yaz there at the end in that "we loved her" bit re: Rose/River... I don’t know, it feels so glaring? if you didn't want to alienate the normies, why mention flux and (all the 32408 mentions of lore) in this? mentioning yaz seems so less dangerou in that case. idk. perhaps it was On Purpose and The Shoe Will Drop at some point with 15 (RTD is after all the man who gave us canon Nyssa/Tegan when he really didn’t Have To At All lol this guy would make all the companions gay if he could), but rn it’s like :/ thumbs down on that. CONCLUSIONS TO THE CONCLUSIONS

just great "big event" dr who tbh! flawed and with some things that annoyed me but also with enough stuff to send me out to do/read fanworks for the next 15 years lol . nph annoys me sometimes but toymaker was perfectly done. lots and lots of character and lore implications to make me break the tumblr post character limit. execution wise... the effects were great and the set pieces really worked. messaging as i said was weak, tho like with the lack of enough Shirley+Kate+Mel+Rose development, knowing what we know from BTS news ... this is gonna be re-treaded ground again in a few weeks, so.. we'll see if this improves (or gets worse lol). watch this space~

the giggle - thoughts and reactions (part 1/2)

fourteen breaking up from the dance- w/ the toymaker-> "do you see why i broke with him?"

kate going to hug fourteen feels very appropriate sdlkfj kate is like 14 aka barerly holding it together lol distincly not Having Had A Good time for a while. Esp avoiding any serpents...she’s just 1 scandal away from a malcolm tucker "this job has fucked me in every hole of my fucking body" meltdown")

"no change then, there" rtd making all his rtd1 era political subtext into text lol

oh…. so kate is just 1 mind-funker away from becoming an immigrant-hating, disabled-hater, bravermanish AnCapp ........................ interesting to know (put a pin on that tbh. I feel we may finally get the antagonist!kate of our dreams (my dreams) in this era)

shirley being so "is it offensive? Well, borderline..." and "absolutely no need" and "don't make me the problem" feels kinda like... "oh we can have a have a badass disabled character but she can't actually impose herself or be an inconvinience in any way" ://

like damn in that exchange with kate, just have a "we'll talk about it later" line. From a non-political / strictly narrative-pov, that would give us a bit of a flavor for their relationship as well.

"can't you give everyone a mask?" "imagine trying that" the thing is. russel.......... they did very much give everyone a mask, DSFKLJ like *some* made a big noise and sure it's alarming for "what that means" but like... most ppl did in fact mask up sldfkj that was a very significant thing that happened, in fact.........)

the old archengel network~~

CANON WEST END MELANIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

rtd taking "but no one watches television anymore!" people and giving them the middle finger <3 iconic

nah we were already mad dr. you're not that important

"that's righteusness! that's human!" but let us seeeee the effect. same problem as the first special. we're too much in the doctor's pov. let me see the *outside world* pov. rtd1 used to be so good with this :/

"you have my permission" autocracy? in MY dr. who? is more likely than u think

(what separates 14 from 10 is that like.... 11-12-13... they could all be quite ruthless, but those post-10 doctors didnt waste time with bs. they just Get On with the autocracy w/ no pretenses lol) (it's growth (tm) but at the same time........... oh, yeah, we're on a waters of marsy / ghost light-y path lol)

"hello" "hi" T.T so cute!!! i love them

"good old sabolom glitz" what an oxymoron lol

"I've got nothing. My family are all gone" oof. timeless child parallelsssss

also melanie if u want a family u just need to adopt a bunch of orphaned, supernaturally-enhanced teenagers. it worked for SJ!!!

kate WILL hire all your ex-girlfriends doctor and there's nothing u can do to stop her

"all this time and you didn't mentioned her" i mean tbf. i love melanie but .not mentioning sj *is* more alarming than not mentioning melanie sdlkfjsdklfjsd

"you're wearing yourself out" YEAH THAT’S WHAT I’VE BEEN SAYING

companions marathoning doctor who thru the doctor's head is always so clara coded

we can't have 10.000 …….. but we can have this “the first man picked up a rock” monologue.

(tbh actually......... i always thought it was very fitting for The Story of dr. who that the very first serial and is a historical about "the day friendship was invented" , so them invoking that rn feels very fitting. The toymaker, as a the Doctor’s Fun House Mirror Of The Day reframes that day (that story) as the day *murder* was invented. )

thie flashbacks make the toymaker serial look so much better than it is lol the land of stories serial >>> toymaker serial

"you never tell me to do that" he does actually jjkjkkklk all the time.......

"that's what unravels me, all the laws I cling to, gone" for The Theme…. → overcoming trauma is about accepting the irationality and injustice of it happening. It’s necessitates accepting that life can be fundamentally Unbalanced and not Karmic.

this ep is fun but is like.... idk some of 14's speeches here. Him being so clear-headed… it feels bit gratuitous? Unearned? this "im always so certain" as well... which *shouldnt feel like that* since we've had 13 seasons (40+ seasons*) of development before this. but idk it still feels like... too much too sudden?

"take away the toys... what am i? what am i now?" the kids aren't all right.mp3

maybe i'll save u!!! aaaaa TOT

(for all the talk about "i say things like that now" the doctor doesn't actually says she loves donna *to* her face here...)

“games don’t have a memory, every game starts from scratch” tbh that’s what watching the show is like sometimes lol even for us ~reconcile everything~folks… at some point u do gotta take each week as its own thing.

the giggle in my head………… // the drumming…?

lol the "i thought i was clever" puppetry imaginery and the twisting of the ten-era"help me" motif.. c'mon toymaker is just ur avarage fan fiction writer. u are valid my dude!! join AO3!!!

#dw meta #it's done (Faints)#if anyone asks 'what did u think of the specials'.............. ill just link the posts sdkflffdsj #60th specials

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darlingitsagathaharkness · 8 years ago

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YES YES YES PLEASE. BRING CLEA AND DOCTOR VODOO. I NEED THEM

#doctor strange #mcu #marvel #clea strange #doctor vodoo

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thelatveriandoctor · 3 years ago

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Doom and his Magic - The Thing #5 & Strange #1 Inspired Analysis [Part 2/2]

Continued from Part 1: https://thelatveriandoctor.tumblr.com/post/677673758479335424/doom-and-his-magic-the-thing-5-strange-1 In terms of spells, Victor demonstrated that he can use healing spells:

(Avengers: Children Crusader #4 (2011))

Teleportation spell:

(Invincible Iron Man Vol 3 #2 (2015))

Summon shielding ward from various elder god including Vishanti from any mental/psychic attacks:

During world war hate (Loki – Agent of Asgard #6 (2014))

Energy projection spell:

(Invincible Iron Man Vol 3 #5 (2015))

Also his specialty defence and shielding spell , demonstrated in his fight against Morgan Le Fay in Dark Avengers #2 (2009)

To the point where he can cast defensive spells without any chants at all: Invincible Iron Man Vol 3 #2 (2015)

Or his new and more experienced casting in the deity spells : Such as Crimson band of the Cyttorak aka Doctor Strange's favourite spell

Comparing Triumph and Torment (1989) to Savage Avenger #8 (2020) - Back when they first met, Victor cast the same spell on Strange and Stephen easily deflected the spell back to Victor. However, in the most recent encounter, Stephen was restrained. And the craziest thing? That is a doombot. Victor has perfected the art of technomagic and was able to make his robot to cast a spell like him. There is so so much more (I’d love to post more examples, but I am hitting the image limits again) Victor von Doom truly has grown a lot during the decades in terms of sorcery. He won the title of being the second last standing sorcerer in the Sorcerer Supreme tournament all these years ago without any proper sorcerer training. Now imagine, him with the newfound knowledge, artifacts that he has collected over the years, plus most importantly, the grief to the death of his only friend. He is a force of reckoning and he will be feeling even more entitled to take the mantle to protect and preserve Strange’s legacy since he last challenged Doctor Vodoo for the title of Sorcerer Supreme in Doctor Voodoo: Avenger of the Supernatural (2009)

I am going to say, no Wong, Doctor Doom is going to be a problem especially when he asked to speak to the manager – I meant Vishanti to host another tournament.

#doctor doom #dr doom #victor von doom #morgan le fay #doctor strange #stephen strange #tony stark #Doctor Voodoo #So many doctors smh why does all these sorcerers call themselves doctors #Marvel Magic #marvel comics #And not but not least:#Wong #clea strange #rip wiccan

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afrenchaugurey · 2 years ago

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Thank's for the tag !

Last song : "Rebellion (Lies)" Arcade Fire

Last movie : Fantastic Beasts : Crime of Grindelwald (if we count extracts it was FBAWTFT to check a French line as my screenplay are in English)

Last show : Doctor Who (why did they wait her last ep. to give 13th that ? It was brilliant and Jodie deserved more scripts like this one)

Currently watching : at this second nothing. These days, rewatching the X-Files with adult eye and it's fun

Currently reading : too much fanfiction, The White King of La Gonave - Faustin Wirkus, too many books and Google tabs about Haiti and Vodoo and Rays apparently now, the magic island -William Seabroock, Pride and Prejudice, Miklosi's ref book about dog ethology, every paper I can find about biomechanics, encyclopedia of magic plants - Scott Cunningham, spye x family manga, la joie et le reste - Baptiste Beaulieu every time I feel down, and everything that comes from the shelf when I need a quick ref

Currently working on : 3 Fantastic Beasts fanfiction (4? 5?), trying to focus on my canine osteopathy degree I took just for biomechanics, finish my book about canine fitness, writing some "vulgarization papers" about chronic pain and behavior in dogs / medical training / enrichment, comment a canine behavior course and trying to avoid panic for Christmas (I don't want to go)

Favorite color : Bordeaux Red (I have a thing for Mustard Yellow too)

Sweet/Savory/Spicy : savory

Coffee/Tea/Cocoa : all of the above but I can't fonction with coffee so... Coffee it is

Craving for : cheese. Rasberry

Tagging : I don't interact a lot here so no one. But if you want to do it, please do

tagged by the rad @achingly-shy ✨💜✨

last song: midnights megamix

last movie: don’t remember

last show: wednesday

currently watching: nothing atm

currently reading: the subterraneans by that french dude

currently working on: dumbass school assignment

favorite color: p u r p l e

sweet/savory/spicy: salty??

coffee/tea/cocoa: *vibrating* coffee

craving: water

tagging: @itsladyliv @killerqueenoftheclouds @acerobbiereyes @renee561 @moonlayl + anyone else ✨💜

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kemetic-dreams · 4 years ago

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Clarification on Marie Laveau

Was she a Vodoo or Vodun queen? No! Voodoo wasn't practiced in New Orleans when she was alive. Marie was never initiated and therefore was never a voodoo queen. It was a part of the culture, even today, where competing fortune tellers and rootworkers claimed to be voodoo queens, when they never actually practiced voodoo. Marie's mentor was a hoodoo rootworker that went by the title of Doctor. Real voodoo priests aren't called Doctors. Rootworkers call themselves doctors.

Marie did Root work or will even give her the title of a Caplata. People are confusing Root workers, Vodun or Vodoo, Ifa practitioner, and Hoodoo.

Bokors or Caplata are like in a sense independent contractors for prayers.

Hey, I need help getting a job could you pray(chore or work) for me.

Hey, 4 racist European men jumped me yesterday, told me next time they see me they will kill me. Could you pray for their downfall or death.

Africans never had a belief of Good or Evil like Abrahamic cultures. Right and Wrong depends on what place or situation your in. If someone is trying to harm you or kill you. If you fight back that is not violence.

#marie laveau #african #kemetic dreams #european #abrahamic mythology #rootwork #vodoo #vodun #caplata #borkor #hoodoo #new orleans #prayers #prayer #pray #ifa #ifa practitoner #african traditional religion

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artofqb · 7 years ago

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Witch Doctor! Pretty happy with this one :) Feelin’ good mon

#witch doctor #dota 2 #"defense of the ancients #esports #fanart #fan art #art #artist of tumblr #the dire #valve #moba #support #deffense of the ancients 2 #digital color #mixed media #vodoo #hex #bonkers the mad

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galemalio · 5 years ago

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Mindful Consumption of Hazbin Hotel’s vodoo Content

There is no such thing as Voodoo; it is a silly lie invented by you whites to injure us. —William Seabrook, The Magic Island

(Article and Study Link Sources will be in the reblogs because Tumblr doesn’t let linked posts appear)

First of all, I’m not writing this as a Vodou practitioner. Or as a Creole POC. I’m simply an outsider making an effort to educate herself for mindful consumption of Hazbin Hotel content and avoid perpetuating misrepresentation of a religion.

(Image: Alastor with Vodou symbols and Vodou-inspired symbols behind him)

The portrayed dark magic of Hazbin Hotel’s Alastor is heavily themed with Hollywood Voodoo or the misrepresentation of Vodou in film. This can also apply with Dr. Facilier in “The Princess and the Frog.” Both characters are from New Orleans [18], [19] where Louisiana Vodou Vaudou is practiced. Both are therefore assumed to practice an evil version of said religion.

During my consumption of Hazbin Hotel content, someone once pointed out the worrying factor of Alastor’s magic abilities identified as Hollywood Voodoo.

According to my research, Hollywood Voodoo is a film outlet of “Imagined Voodoo” or the age-old White anxieties on Black people.

What Is Vodou?

(Photo taken from Huffpost)

Haitian Vodou is a religion of African descendants brought as slaves to the French colony of Haiti. It combines west and west central African religions with Native American and European cultural and religious elements.[1]

It is also known as Vodoo, Vodoun, Vudu and Vudun. But to avoid confusion, the term “Vodou” will be used consistently throughout this post when referring to the religion.

Slaves from Haiti are brought to New Orleans where it infused with its dominant religion, Catholicism. The Vodou-Catholicism hybrid religion is sometimes referred to as New Orleans Vodou.[2]

(Photo provided by Cheryl Gerber)

All Vodou rituals are healing rituals. It's focused on the celebration of ancestral spirits (Lwa or Loa) through feasting, singing and ecstatic dance rituals to heal ailments and restore social bonds.[1]

Vodou practitioners believe of the visible world connected to the invisible world that can be transitioned to through Death. In the invisible world, the Lwa watch over and inspire us. The Lwa can be archetypes of human personalities such as Ogun the Warrior or predecessors. There is also the Bondye or their version of the supreme God who is loving but distant from individual human concerns. [3]

But despite this, a majority of foreigners synonimize “voodoo” with Haitian “black magic” or “sorcery.”[4]

What is Imagined Voodoo?

A Harvard study termed "Imagined Voodoo" to refer to the imagined religion and magical system of the American brain linked by the following White anxieties:

Black uprising

Black fetishization

Intermarriages that could lead to the dissolution of the White race

All under the guise of history or harmless entertainment, it negatively affects Black religiosity and in general, Black subjects. Unless we arm ourselves with information to prevent its perpetuation through us.

Alastor’s Themes and Voodoo Stereotypes

Stereotypes are often used in stories to save time on informing the audience through widely held and fixed oversimplified assumptions. The following Voodoo stereotypes are present in Alastor’s character traits and themes.

His Roots

According to Alastor’s Wikia page, he is part Creole.[20] In New Orleans, the term can refer to many kinds of people. In early history, "Creole" is a term for:

A slave born in the New World[5]

A free Person of Color[5]

People of Mixed Heritage[5]

Later on, White French and Spanish people residing in New Orleans adopted the term to differentiate themselves from Americans whom they found greedy and ambitious.[5]

A Creole person can be White, a POC or of mixed race from different places such as Haiti and Louisiana.

The team behind Hazbin Hotel may have made Alastor part Creole in order to avoid religion appropriation. However, Vodou is not an exclusive religion. [6] (EDIT: Vodou is an exclusive religion.) And even if they want to represent mixed Creole people, pairing Alastor with Hollywood Voodoo may not be a good way to do it.

Vodou practitioners today are targets of hate crime, especially in Haiti (sacred mapou trees are regular targets of vandalism and arson, worshippers risk harassment and violence, with lynchings not unheard of).[7] If the media continues to portray Vodou as evil, it may have a role in perpetuating the hate.

(Image of a Vodou ceremony from a video of The Guardian)

Depicted As Evil Magic

In America and Caribbean, Vodou was first practiced by slaves of African descent. Their religion was dismissed as superstition, their priests as witch doctors and their God and Lwa were denounced as evil. [3]

“They were treated as cattle. As animals to be bought and sold; worth nothing more than a cow. Often less,” anthropologist Ira Lowenthal stated.[7]

“Vodou is the response to that. Vodou says ‘no, I’m not a cow. Cows cannot dance, cows do not sing. Cows cannot become God. Not only am I a human being – I’m considerably more human than you. Watch me create divinity in this world you have given me that is so ugly and so hard. Watch me become God in front of your eyes.’”[7]

During the Haitian Revolution, many of the slaves were Voodooists and some of their military leaders were priests who inspired and organized them to fight for freedom. The imagery and vocabulary of Vodou became threatening to European and American colonies and was then brutally repressed. [3]

(Image from Lisapo Ya Kama)

Years later, Hollywood Voodoo is rooted in racism and acts as an outlet for White anxiety of Black vengeance. One example is the movie, “The Skeleton Key” where Black hoodoo practitioners (who had been lynched) stole the bodies and identities of White people for years.

For Alastor to continue using Hollywood Voodoo themed magic may continue the misinformation of Vodou by inspiring baseless fear and horror.

Voodoo Dolls and Pins

Voodoo dolls are universally associated with Hollywood voodoo and therefore, Vodou. But voodoo dolls are unheard of in the original Haitian Vodou.

In reality, they were inspired from the "poppet" of European witchcraft after an American writer heard Vodou is a witchcraft [8]. This American writer is most likely Victor Hugo Halperin where voodoo dolls first appeared in White Zombie (1932) [9].

Dolls are used in Vodou but only to represent Lwa and Bondye, sometimes the dolls are nailed on graves and altars, in order for the practitioners to communicate with them. The dolls also act as lucky charms and are not used to curse or cause harm with pins. [10], [21]

Cannibalism

(Screenshot of Alastor the Deer Demon eating a deer)

On February 13, 1864, 4 men and 4 women were executed for abducting, murdering and cannibalizing a 12-year-old girl by Fabre Geffrad, Haiti's reformist president, who wished to make an example out of the 8 killers labelled as vodouists and leave the backwardness of its African past and its folk religion. With Haiti claiming their independence, the Westerns' view on Vodou was proof that the "black republic '' cannot claim to be civilized.[11]

No transcripts of the trial survive. The most detailed account of the crime was written by Sir Spenser St John, the British charge d'affaires in Port-au-Prince -the place nearby the village where the murder happened. It was his account that defined Haiti as a place where ritual murder and cannibalism were common and often goes unpunished.[11]

(An artist’s engraving of the 8 “voodoo” practitioners found guilty of the murder and cannibalism of the 12-year-old Claircine from the Smithsonian Magazine.)

However, there was no other information supporting St. John's claim that cannibalism is a norm for 19th century Haiti. The only two reports of cannibalism provided was from a French priest in 1870s and a white Dominican ten years later. Both have no evidence and both are suspected from their claim that they have penetrated secret ceremonies wearing blackface -if they have been undetected. However, they have influenced Victorian writers who have never visited Haiti.[11]

In the 19th century, American Jesuit missionary, Joseph W. Williams claims that sexual arousal from voodoo "orgies" causes devolution to lower animal states that causes them to cannibalize in an act of sexualized violence.[1]

In Joseph Murphy's psychoanalysis, Imagined Voodoo allows White people to project their most disturbing desires onto a cultural Other.[13]

"The erotic and ecstatic elements in African-derived religions are selected and transformed into images of unrestraint and become vehicles for white sexual and aggressive fantasies... What is ‘dark’ and ‘black’ within the white psyche is projected onto what is ‘dark’ and ‘black’ in the social environment."[13]

Because of the accusations of cannibalism, Vodou is seen as savage. Alastor is hinted to be cannibalistic (as seen by a speed drawing of him, a deer demon, eating a deer).[12] To continue to associate cannibalism with voodoo practice may continue the harm of misinformation.

Vodou Symbols

When Alastor uses magic, Vodou symbols or veves would sometimes appear.

In Vodou, different veves are used depending on the lwa or spirits the practitioners desired to invoke.

(Veve image from Catherine Beyer)

Damballah-Wedo is believed by the Vodou practitioners as the Sky Father and primordial creator of all life. He is depicted as a snake or serpent and is seen as a loving father of the world whose presence brings peace and harmony. [23]

(Veve image from Catherine Beyer)

A part of a veve in the screenshot is from the veve for Papa Legba -the gatekeeper of the spirt world. He is associated with the sun and is seen as a life-giver that transfers the power of Bondye to the living world. Rituals are started by praying to Legba to open the gates so that they can connect to the other lwas. [23]

The veve above is the veve of Ayizan. Ayizan is the lwa of commerce and herbal healing. She is associated with love and Vodou rites of initiation. Ayizan is believed to be the first archetypal mambo (priestess) and the protector of religious ceremonies.[14]

(Veve Image from ErzulieRedEyesArtAndSpirit)

The veve above is taken from the veve of Papa Loko. He is believed to be the first Vodou priest. His name has nothing to do with the American (EDIT: Spanish) slang word "loco" meaning crazy. Papa Loko is a revered knowledgeable spirit who offers spiritual guidance to those seeking formal initiation into Vodou.[15]

Met Kalfou is the master of the Crossroads. He is the crossroads where magic manifests regardless of which lwa is using magic for. He allows it to travel without judgement.[16]

Met Kalfou is often mistaken as some kind of demon or evil. He is believed to be the force through which all magic flows, be it good or ill. Met Kalfou is also the spirit of luck. As a manifestation of crossroads, he can see multiple outcomes of a situation. [16]

Santa Muerte is believed to be the personification of death itself.[17]

Using veves to portray evil when it incorrectly relates to what they symbolize can result in misinformation. Even if only parts of the veve are taken to be used to portray malice, it doesn’t change the fact that they still came from sacred symbols.

Is Alastor a Hoodoo Practitioner?

(Photo: Image of Hoodoo Candles from Wikipedia)

Hoodoo is based heavily on folk magic. It is not a religion. Although their beliefs have elements of African and European religions. Its tradition emphasizes on personal magical power with the intention to improve daily lives. Its a combination of African practices and beliefs and American Indian botanical knowledge and European folklore. It’s heavily practiced in the Southern US.[22]

Unlike Vodou, they have no designated priests or priestesses and no difference between initiates and laity. Hoodoo spells are commonly accompanied with Biblical text but are not performed in Jesus’ name. It uses tools, spells, formulas, methods, techniques. Tools can be herbs, roots, minerals, animal parts and personal possessions.[22]

Alastor MAYBE a hodoo practitioner. But there are possible problems of associating an occult of a minority as a tool of evil. It might be best if Alastor is only depicted using deer-radio-themed dark magic instead.

In Short...

Misrepresentation of Vodou has its roots on White fear of Black retribution as well as White “othering” and projecting of taboo concepts such as fetishization and cannibalism. This results in stigmatization of Black topics and Vodou practitioners. The continuation of Hollywood Voodoo plays a role in perpetuating its misrepresentation. However, informing ourselves may stop the perpetuation in us.

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