|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
ENCYCLOPEDIA Glossary What's New Most Popular List of Articles |
 |
 |
|
New Worlds January / February / March 2012 Issue Issue
Download the PDF File version of the latest issue of Llewellyn's New Worlds Catalog |
 |
 |
Term: vodou
| DEFINITIONS |
Vodou: Vodou is an animistic Caribbean spiritual tradition, most usually associated with Haiti, which traces its lineage to the shamans of ancient Africa. It blends together (through a process known as "syncretisation") a number of traditional African beliefs with elements from other faiths, most notably Catholicism (the religion of the French slave traders who took the shamans of Africa to the Caribbean New World), but also those of the indigenous Haitian Taino and Arawak people and the European pre-Christian pagans who also came to settle there.
Vodou believes in one creator-God called Gran Met ("Great Master") and a pantheon of lesser deities known as the Lwa. These entities, as well as the spirits of the ancestors ('zanset yo') are directly available to man through the mechanism of possession, a trance-like state where a person is taken over by one of these spirits so it may dispense healing, advice, or wisdom to the community faithful, who are known as Vodouissants.
The shaman-priest of Vodou is known as the Houngan and the priestess as the Mambo. Often accomplished healers, magicians, and leaf doctors (herbalists), these spiritual leaders are also experts on the nature, desires, and ways of interacting with the spirits, as well as therapists, counselors, and doctors for their community.
source: Ross Heaven
| ARTICLES |
At first sight, shamanism and Vodou - what Hollywood has introduced into the popular imagination as "voodoo" - seem to have little in common. The former seems based on peaceful co-existence with nature and the elements, while the latter, in so far ...
Relevance: 
100%
100%Vodou is a religion born in slavery, which blends together a number of traditional African beliefs with elements from other faiths, notably Catholicism, the religion of the slave-owners, with which it has always been an uncomfortable bed-fellow.
It ...
Relevance: 97%
97%We carry the past around with us. It is in our memories, in the "ether" that surrounds us, in our family history - and, perhaps, in our cellular memory. Recent studies have shown that transplant patients inherit more than just organs when they take ...
Relevance: 77%
77%Loulou Prince is the medsen fey (leaf doctor/herbalist and shaman) for a Haitian community of around 1,500 people who live in the vicinity of Jacmel, a small town close to the border with the Dominican Republic. In his daily practice, he deals with ...
Relevance: 73%
73%Regardless of other specialities - which may include plant medicine, divination, or healing rituals - the key approach of all shamans both ancient and modern is the shamanic journey. This is a special state of trance consciousness that enables ...
Relevance: 17%
17%Shamanic healing often employs plants to good effect, though it is rarely about herbalism, per se. Indeed, most shamans are explicit that the pharmacological properties of the plants they employ are of far less importance than the spirit which is ...
Relevance: 17%
17%Soul retrieval – a contemporary therapeutic practice rooted in the ancient spiritual tradition of shamanism - is attracting significant attention in the modern world as the holistic healthcare movement continues to gather force.
Shamans believe ...
Relevance: 17%
17%The lessons of quantum physics and its new kid on the block, holographic theory, are that all things are connected through the energy that infuses the universe and all it contains. According to scientists, 90% of the universe is unknown - meaning ...
Relevance: 17%
17%Summary: Not a beginners deck, the energy and passion in the art, combined with a unique focus on the Enochian system that only loosely—very loosely—follows standard Tarot protocols, make this deck a powerful addition to any magickian’s toolkit, ...
Relevance: 8%
8%Candomblé, like Santeria, is a religion that has its origins in the Yoruba religion called Ifa. Similar to Vodou and Santeria, it developed when the slaves arrived in Brazil and where "converted" to the Catholic religion. They used the Catholic ...
Relevance: 3%
3%|
When I first came up with the idea of writing the book Spells for Tough Times, I did so because I knew people out there needed help. They may need help with their finances, they may need help with their families, they may need help with their health; whatever the topic, there are people in this world in need, and it seems we often tend to forget... read this article
|
 |
|
Most recent posts:
Facets of Love
Inspired by the fast-approaching holiday where we all celebrate love in our own way, let's explore another pair of love-related cards. Last week we... Getting Back on Track Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Kerri Connor, author of Spells for Tough Times. So it's February. Chances are some of you have... Stressed? Bubbles to the Rescue! While rushing through my morning routine I was surprised with a little tid bit on a morning radio show. First, they dangled the carrot: According to... |
 |
 |
|
Calling all gardeners!
Do you have gardening tips to share? Do you read Llewellyn's Moon Sign Book? Want to see your gardening tips in print?...
|
 |
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
 |
Home | About Us | Imprints | Contact Us | Careers | Author Submissions | Booksellers | Affiliate Program | Privacy Policy | Site Map | Copyright © 2010, Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd. |  |
|
|||