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Valuable Voodoo Books For Your Spiritual Library

Valuable Voodoo Books For Your Spiritual Library

Last updated on: July 2, 2023 at 9:38 am by Lilith Dorsey

Valuable Voodoo Books For Your Spiritual Library 2023-07-02T09:38:52-05:00 Lilith Dorsey

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Knowledge about sacred traditions like Voodoo can be hard to come by. For years the New Orleans Voodoo religion, and it’s sister tradition of Haitian Vodou were cloaked in secrecy because of oppression, prejudice, persecution. Lately there have been many Voodoo books published on the tradition, however there are some classics that are a must read for anyone who wants to learn more about the religion. Here are my picks for your Voodoo/Vodou library.

Zora Neale Hurston image courtesy of Wikimedia.

Tell My Horse: Voodoo and Life in Haiti and Jamaica – Zora Neale Hurston is one of the powerful foremothers of modern Voodoo. Known for her work as an anthropologist, author, filmmaker, and civil rights actress, what many don’t know is that she was an initiated Voodoo priestess. The book Tell My Horse documents her fieldwork in Haitian Voodoo. She speaks of spells and mysterious occurrences, but also tells the truth about the soul of a time-honored and powerful religion. Zora was a true visionary, and anyone looking to learn more about Black history and tradition should read her work.

Divine Horseman: The Living Gods of Haiti – Like Zora Neale Hurston, Maya Deren was one of the first scholars to approach, immerse, and distribute Voodoo to the wider world. Even though her groundbreaking masterpiece Divine Horseman was first published in 1953, it stands the test of time as a valuable resource about Voodoo. In my post about Maya Deren I wrote “Like myself she attended New York University, then used money from the Guggenheim to fund her trip to Haiti where she went on to become a fully initiated Voodoo Priestess. She was at one time even tour manager for dance legend Katherine Dunham.”

Island Possessed – “Here Dunham tells how the island came to be possessed by the demons of voodoo and other cults imported from various parts of Africa, as well as by the deep class divisions, particularly between blacks and mulattos, and the political hatred still very much in evidence today.” Katherine Dunham is a legend in Afro-Haitian Dance and choreography.

Jambalaya – This classic by priestess Luisah Teish has been an inspiration to practitioners for decades. Teish does the difficult job of making a complicated religion easily understandable. She presents her own experiences and the larger context of Voodoo and Afro-Diasporan traditions eloquently and respectfully. If you are considering getting any of these books please consider purchasing thru these links. Each purchase helps to support production of this blog.

New Orleans Voodoo Tarot – As many of my tarot clients know this is my absolutely favorite deck of cards. Created by my dear friend priest Louis Martine and Mambo Sallie Ann Glassman this was the first deck to feature an African-American

theme and images. In it “Ancient and earth-honoring, Voodoo’s practices take on different forms specific to time and place, but its essence remains focused on the loa–the potent spiritual forces of Voodoo that are manifested directly through human beings and their actions.” With it’s sage words and powerful pictures, this is a deck of serious importance.

Voodoo and African Traditional Religion – If you haven’t seen it yet please seek out my book Voodoo and African Traditional Religion. It provides an overview of New Orleans Voodoo, Haitian Vodou, Candomble, La Regla Lucumi (Santeria), and other religions for people seeking the truth about these ancient and often secretive religions. This is a great starting point for those interested in learning more about these ancient traditions.

This list is just a beginning, what Voodoo books are in your library, I’s love to hear in the comments below. As always if you have enjoyed what you read here please remember to share, share, share ! I’d also like to ask you to sign up for our brand new e-mail list to keep up to date with the latest news, offers, and magicks.

Voodoo and Afro-Caribbean Paganism

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About Lilith Dorsey

Lilith Dorsey M.A., hails from many magickal traditions, including Afro-Caribbean, Celtic, and Indigenous American spirituality. Their traditional education focused on Plant Science, Anthropology, and Film at the University of R.I, New York University, and the University of London, and their magickal training includes numerous initiations in Santeria also known as Lucumi, Haitian Vodoun, and New Orleans Voodoo. Lilith Dorsey is also a Voodoo Priestess and in that capacity has been doing successful magick since 1991 for patrons, is editor/publisher of Oshun-African Magickal Quarterly, filmmaker of the experimental documentary Bodies of Water :Voodoo Identity and Tranceformation,’ and choreographer/performer for jazz legend Dr. John’s “Night Tripper” Voodoo Show. They have long been committed to providing accurate and respectful information about the African Traditional Religions and are proud to be a published Black author of such titles as Voodoo and African Traditional Religion, 55 Ways to Connect to Goddess, The African-American Ritual Cookbook, Love Magic, the bestselling Orishas, Goddesses and Voodoo Queens and the award winning Water Magic. You can read more about the author here.

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