Yessy Blue's Blog - Posts Tagged "spell"
Black witches in power
Hello, this is Yessy Blue here, coming at you with another video that’s witchy and bitchy. So, like you, I am bored out of my mind. Not to mention, badly in need of some eye candy. So, I figured I’ll watch the Movie Spell, staring at Omar Hardwick and Loreta Divine. I figured that Hardwick would cure me of being bored. And give me the dopamine hit that I was so desperately craving. It didn’t happen. It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy seeing him shirtless, and sweaty, and oh so sexy. But him being bedridden and tortured by a little old lady was just a little too difficult to watch. Couple that with the fact the boogedy doll aka the voodoo was used all wrong. Well, let’s just say that I was beyond disappointed. Besides, I wanted to watch a great witchy movie with amazing black characters. Sorry to say, this didn’t happen. So where did this movie go wrong?
Hollywood ain’t got a clue about the voodoo doll
I really wished that the writer would have done much more research about hoodoo and the voodoo doll. But, then again, how could he? I know, the movie is supposed to be scary a movie, a thriller, that is supposed to keep you guessing. But it was difficult and a little uncomfortable to watch for someone like me. No, I didn’t grow up in the Hoodoo world, but I have enough good sense to understand that this type of magick was practiced in secret. Like other, alternative religions, you can’t learn about it from reading a book, or doing a quick Wikipedia search. In most cases, information is passed down from generation to generation, through ritual, spells, and folklore. There were a few scenes in the movie where Marquis’ father was teaching him hoodoo. The writer gets a few brownie points for that. But, here’s something else that he didn’t touch on. Hoodoo practitioners aren’t very friendly to outsiders. And anyone who comes to them, sniffing around, and asking questions, face serious repercussions. Just ask Zora Neale Hurston, who had to leave Haiti due to a serious medical condition. The information is sacred and nobody who isn’t initiated into the practice is going to understand it, much less be able to write about it.
The meaning of the black voodoo doll
Here’s another thing that people get wrong about Hoodoo and the voodoo doll. One, black is not considered an evil color. Yes, you read that right, the color black is not considered evil. In today’s western world, we believe that black is a symbolization of evil, darkness, and even sorcery and witchcraft. However, the concept of absolutes such as good and bad, didn’t exists when these religions were created. Many of the indigenous people believed in balance. They also believed that the color black was a direct representation of dark energy or dark matter, which inhabits around seventy percent of the universe. Now we know that energy can’t be destroyed or created. But, guess what, so did our ancestors. This is perhaps why they used vessels such as stones, jewels, and even dolls to transfer energy from one source to another.
How to make a voodoo doll?
Voodoo dolls were often used in healing rituals. Yes, it’s true, Hoodoo practitioners would take finger nail clippings, blood, and even a little bit of semen to create a replica of the person they were trying to heal. I know, it sounds crazy, but today, people can learn a lot about you from one droplet of blood. Besides, when you go and get your lab work done, it only takes one vile of blood for the doctor to determine what’s wrong with you. In less than a day, you’ll know if you have a problem with your kidney, or thyroid, or if you’re at risk of getting diabetes. Now, this whole process would be more intrusive, if you had to come in, do a body scan, and have the doctor examine each and every organ to determine what’s wrong with you. When, all they needed was one drop of blood. Now, you’re probably calling me bluff, associating quackery with real science. But, it’s important to know that once upon a time, science was outlawed and forbidden to be practiced too. Am I saying that many of these hoodoo practices are as sophisticated as modern medicine. No, of course not. However, many of the practices of Hoodoo, derive from the Yoruba pantheon, a culture that is centuries old, with knowledge and medicine that are beyond the scope of our understanding.
What’s the real meaning of Hoodoo?
Contrary to popular belief, Hoodoo wasn’t something that was used for evil. In fact, it was mostly used for healing. Slaves didn’t have access to doctors, and owners would rather work a slave to death, then call for one. So, the root-workers stepped in. They gathered herbs, created oils, and rituals that helped people heal. These types of stories never get told in Hollywood. Instead, there are stories of hoodoo workers and practitioners pricking needles through dolls. Or, stories of backwoods hoodoo witches using the boogedy doll to steal someone’s life force. Now, am not saying that they aren’t any bad people in these practices. There are just as many bad people in hoodoo as in any other religion. However, the concept of Hoodoo being a dark form of sorcery that is used to maim and hurt people, has really been told one too many times. This is why I tell a different story in my books. I write about powerful witches who heal, and save lives, and not destroy them. I do this by writing about a fictional cult, called the Mothers who used their magick to help people. And, I am offering my first book for free! Click on the link below to download your copy now.
The Movie Spell missed the mark by reinforcing stereotypes of Hoodoo and not mentioning any of the good.
http://yessyblue.com/how-the-movie-sp...
Why Spell gets Hoodoo wrong and Zora Neal Hurston gets it right
Hollywood ain’t got a clue about the voodoo doll
I really wished that the writer would have done much more research about hoodoo and the voodoo doll. But, then again, how could he? I know, the movie is supposed to be scary a movie, a thriller, that is supposed to keep you guessing. But it was difficult and a little uncomfortable to watch for someone like me. No, I didn’t grow up in the Hoodoo world, but I have enough good sense to understand that this type of magick was practiced in secret. Like other, alternative religions, you can’t learn about it from reading a book, or doing a quick Wikipedia search. In most cases, information is passed down from generation to generation, through ritual, spells, and folklore. There were a few scenes in the movie where Marquis’ father was teaching him hoodoo. The writer gets a few brownie points for that. But, here’s something else that he didn’t touch on. Hoodoo practitioners aren’t very friendly to outsiders. And anyone who comes to them, sniffing around, and asking questions, face serious repercussions. Just ask Zora Neale Hurston, who had to leave Haiti due to a serious medical condition. The information is sacred and nobody who isn’t initiated into the practice is going to understand it, much less be able to write about it.
The meaning of the black voodoo doll
Here’s another thing that people get wrong about Hoodoo and the voodoo doll. One, black is not considered an evil color. Yes, you read that right, the color black is not considered evil. In today’s western world, we believe that black is a symbolization of evil, darkness, and even sorcery and witchcraft. However, the concept of absolutes such as good and bad, didn’t exists when these religions were created. Many of the indigenous people believed in balance. They also believed that the color black was a direct representation of dark energy or dark matter, which inhabits around seventy percent of the universe. Now we know that energy can’t be destroyed or created. But, guess what, so did our ancestors. This is perhaps why they used vessels such as stones, jewels, and even dolls to transfer energy from one source to another.
How to make a voodoo doll?
Voodoo dolls were often used in healing rituals. Yes, it’s true, Hoodoo practitioners would take finger nail clippings, blood, and even a little bit of semen to create a replica of the person they were trying to heal. I know, it sounds crazy, but today, people can learn a lot about you from one droplet of blood. Besides, when you go and get your lab work done, it only takes one vile of blood for the doctor to determine what’s wrong with you. In less than a day, you’ll know if you have a problem with your kidney, or thyroid, or if you’re at risk of getting diabetes. Now, this whole process would be more intrusive, if you had to come in, do a body scan, and have the doctor examine each and every organ to determine what’s wrong with you. When, all they needed was one drop of blood. Now, you’re probably calling me bluff, associating quackery with real science. But, it’s important to know that once upon a time, science was outlawed and forbidden to be practiced too. Am I saying that many of these hoodoo practices are as sophisticated as modern medicine. No, of course not. However, many of the practices of Hoodoo, derive from the Yoruba pantheon, a culture that is centuries old, with knowledge and medicine that are beyond the scope of our understanding.
What’s the real meaning of Hoodoo?
Contrary to popular belief, Hoodoo wasn’t something that was used for evil. In fact, it was mostly used for healing. Slaves didn’t have access to doctors, and owners would rather work a slave to death, then call for one. So, the root-workers stepped in. They gathered herbs, created oils, and rituals that helped people heal. These types of stories never get told in Hollywood. Instead, there are stories of hoodoo workers and practitioners pricking needles through dolls. Or, stories of backwoods hoodoo witches using the boogedy doll to steal someone’s life force. Now, am not saying that they aren’t any bad people in these practices. There are just as many bad people in hoodoo as in any other religion. However, the concept of Hoodoo being a dark form of sorcery that is used to maim and hurt people, has really been told one too many times. This is why I tell a different story in my books. I write about powerful witches who heal, and save lives, and not destroy them. I do this by writing about a fictional cult, called the Mothers who used their magick to help people. And, I am offering my first book for free! Click on the link below to download your copy now.
The Movie Spell missed the mark by reinforcing stereotypes of Hoodoo and not mentioning any of the good.
http://yessyblue.com/how-the-movie-sp...
Why Spell gets Hoodoo wrong and Zora Neal Hurston gets it right
