Practicing Vodou - Cleansing Baths, Candle Spells, and the Gris-gris

The essence of Voodoo magic and spell casting is to raise spiritual powers over time through offerings, rituals, and initiations.  This may be done individually or in a group setting, which is what happens in Vodou and Santeria.  But, because of the power and intensity of the work, it is not recommended for beginners.  And most magic is reserved for Vodou initiates.  There are only a few types of rituals and spells that will be suitable for the non-initiate, and most that practice Vodou would strongly urge anyone with a genuine interest to seek further instruction with a houngan (vodou priest) or mambo (vodou preistess).  However, you can begin an interest in Vodou by taking part in cleansing baths and utilizing candle spells.  You do not have to be an initiate to use these sacred Vodou practices.

Vodou has a strong emphasis on cleanliness and calm.  The religion takes the old saying, "cleanliness is next to godliness" to heart.  The loa Erzulie is especially concerned with these matters.  In the Afro-Caribbean religious traditions, the ritual of a cleansing bath is often used.  Magical baths are taken for many purposes.  

Often various herbs, salts, or oils will be added to cleansing baths to invoke specific states of mind or effect changes in life.  For instance, a bath to create opportunity will utilize coconut water, basil oil, and vanilla extract.  For physic power, combine parsley and sandalwood oil and sage.  This is best done at the new moon. If you would like a different way to evoke the calming effects of water, sit quietly for an hour with a glass of water and a lit white candle.

Many of the spells used in Vodou and Santeria utilize candles to boost their effectiveness.  An all-purpose candle is a white seven-day candle, which can be used for many different spells.  Usually oils or herbs or other things will be added to the candle in order to personalize the spell to a specific purpose.  The candles and other supplies are available at an online store or local botanica that sells Vodou supplies.

An example of a simple candle spell used for opening opportunities to success follows:  Add a pinch of pipe tobacco, coffee, and a drop of coconut oil to a red seven-day candle.  As you light the candle every morning, think about achieving your goals and walking along the road of opportunity.  When you extinguish the candle, do so with your fingers, in order to preserve the candle's power.  Continue this daily until you feel you have been successful.

You may also want to create a gris-gris.  Gris-gris bags are herbal bundles created for magic.  They are worn around the neck or some other part of the body, and are especially popular in New Orleans Voodoo.  It is said that at one time, every police officer in the city carried a gris-gris bag for protection.  Other popular uses of the bags in New Orleans include attracting money and love, protection, good health, or stopping gossip. 

The gris-gris bag is made of flannel or silk, and assembled before a Vodou altar which contains the four elements.  Ingredients are never an even number and never more than thirteen.  Vodou practitioners may also place stones that correspond with astrological signs into the gris-gris bag.  The bags are meant to be worn for as long as necessary to accomplish the desired result.  When this has happened, the bag is disposed of by burying it under a large tree. 

Some of the herbs that might be used for specific purposes in the gris-gris would be cinnamon, red rose petals, patchouli, rose quartz, and a seashell for love; basic black salt, sesame seed, sandalwood oil, and a cowrie shell for protection, and comfrey, thyme, and basil for traveling.

If you're excited to learn more about Vodou and it's practices, spells, and ceremonies - check out our complete Vodou Guide today.  It's the only in-depth guide to Vodou religion and it's practices available online.

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Making a Traditional Vodou Altar

Altars and shrines are an integral part of the Vodou tradition.  They can be private or public altars.  Public altars will be used in ceremony and ritual.  Private altars are sacred spaces through which an individual practicing Vodou can pray, or find a gateway to the invisible worlds that exist within. 

The difference between a Vodou altar and a Vodou shrine can be defined as this: a shrine is a permanent tribute to a Loa, while an altar is temporary and created for a specific spell or magical result. 

In Haiti, Vodou altars can take the form of the kay myste, which is from a French term meaning "house of mysteries."  The kay myste are separate buildings, like small, special houses, which are created as a place to house the spirits sacred to the altar's builder.  Like most typical Haitian art, the kay myste are created with an eye to aesthetics and are generally quite beautiful. 

Vodou altars, both public and private, are decorated with many kinds of objects.  Most often these are images of the loa and Orisha and offerings to them.  The overall effect of the various elements on the altars create what has been called "dense opulence."  Fabrics such as lace or velvet, flowers, food, bottles or pots decorated with sequins and paint, streamers, flags and ribbons are only some of the items which may be used to create an altar.  This rich mixture of objects and Vodou symbolism, so representative of the Vodou religion itself, becomes a place where the deities interact with Vodouisants, a point of contact between the spirit and human worlds.

Altars and shrines are incredibly important in the practice of Vodou religion, when you consider that a great deal of time is spent praying, doing rituals, and giving offerings.  There are usually daily prayers and offerings as well as weekly tributes, and also periodic obligations to the hounfour.  The shrines must be cleaned and maintained regularly, and altars must be created at any given time according to the needs of the individual Vodou believer.  The non-initiate may be interested to know that a Vodouisant can have a large number of shrines and altars in active use at any given time. 

If you would like to create your own Vodou altar, set aside a room in your home, if there is adequate space.  If not, then take part of a room and mark it off with a screen.  Create a raised platform out of wood or bricks, or natural materials such as driftwood.  Cover this with a white cloth, and sprinkle it with Florida water (which is widely available on the internet).  Next you will want to place objects symbolizing the four elements on your altar:  stones (perhaps from your garden or other meaningful location), fire in the form of a candle, water in a bowl or glass, and air, either as incense or as the space around the altar. 

A simple beginning Vodou altar to create is an ancestor altar.  You can place objects representing your ancestors on your altar, things such as photos, jewelry, special objects they owned, or items that represented their likes in life.  This will enable you to draw on their energies.

It is important to treat all shrines, altars, and every object on them with the utmost of respect.  Remember, the items on the altars belong to the loa and are never to be handled except for Vodou ceremonial purposes or cleaning.  Vodouisants never place their own food or drink nearby, and expect visitors to follow the same guidelines. 

Other sacred practices in the Vodou tradition include cleansing baths and candle spells.  We'll take a look at those next.

If you're excited and want to learn more about Voodoo - the practice of Vodou religion, its symbols, power, and spells - Check out the new complete guide to Vodou.

Article by Secrets2Voodoo.com

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Here's a wonderfully presented video snapshot of a Vodou ceremony that took place in Brooklyn, New York about a year ago.  Watch and learn about the practice of Vodou - And I think you'll enjoy the artful visual beauty of this short Vodou documentary by the photojournalist,  Stephanie Keith.

Note: The typical Vodou-practicing Haitian does not say, "I am a Vodouisant", but rather, "I serve the lwa" or "I serve Guinea".

Vodou Priest and Practicing Vodouisants in Ceremony

Stephanie Keith met a Vodou priest while attending an interfaith event in New York. He invited her to photograph and experience the religious world of his Haitian Vodou culture. Ten Vodou ceremonies later, she offers her images and reflections on these late-night rituals.

Can you almost feel the ancient Vodou spirits reaching out to touch you, invite you into their world?

Documentary of Vodou ceremony provided courtesy of Secrets2Voodoo.com

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