Hoodoo Bibliography and Book Suggestions for African American Folk Magic

Unread post by **Barbara Griffith** » Wed May 18, 2005 10:09 pm

>
Not Cat here, but I have this, though I haven't read it for a few
years..
For those curious about it, this deals with Cherokee medicine. I
thought it
was interesting. BTW, "remaking" tobacco is done not only but
cultivation
and curing, but can be done on regular ol' cigarette, pipe or pouch
tobacco you
purchase at the store. Tobacco is regarded as the chief of the
conjuring
plants and is used extensively in magic and ceremony by the Cherokee
(and other NA
tribes). Nicotiana Rusticana packs a big wallop, though.
One of the things I found interesting in this book was the author's
disclaimer on many of the formulas he included (formulas meaning
whispered charms,
generally used along with hand gestures as the spirits are being
called). He
stated that the formulas have long been sort of de-commissioned so that
they
no longer will work. I'm not sure if that's so or if he just altered
them
sufficiently to ensure they won't pull what they need to.
Dara

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Thanks! And, for the curious, here is a picture of it:
http://www.mrcophth.com/plants/tobacco.html

I too wondered about the 'de-commissioning' of the spells. I had heard
of traditional practitioners in various traditions deliberately leaving
things out when giving out information. Lots of very poetic spells in
the Cherokee tradition though - seems like that very characteristic
would leave a lot of power in the words.

Yahoo! Groups Links

Unread post by **RedWill0w** » Sat May 21, 2005 1:54 am

In a message dated 5/19/2005 12:11:13 AM Central Standard Time,
Barbara.Griffith@Colorado.edu writes:

> > >Lots of very poetic spells in
> >the Cherokee tradition though - seems like that very characteristic
> >would leave a lot of power in the words.

One thing I was taught about Cherokee medicine is that the muttered
formulas must be memorized precisely. One slip will void their efficacy. However, I have to say that I am sure I at the least mispronounced some of the words in some of the songs I sang - but the spirits still came. So I'm not sure if this stress on complete verbal accuracy was true, or just another way of keeping others off of the track.

Dara

Unread post by **Rig Ahntona** » Sat May 21, 2005 1:55 am

Dear Barbara--

I read your hopes to find homes for books as you downsize. I downsized my collection 15 years ago and I am still regretting my decision to do that. If you don't change your mind about downsizing, I will happily give any book, in any condition a home that you want to part with. I will never get rid of books again, they'll be with me and moved to whereever I end up until I travel into the great beyond permanently...then my kids may get rid of them, but they'll have to find loving homes for them or I'll haunt them!

Blessings--Sharon

http://www.rosemerryandtime.com/theosa/Index1.html

Unread post by **Rebecca** » Sat May 21, 2005 1:58 am

(Barbara, i would be most grateful to receive this gift. From what others said, it is an interesting volume and i would enjoy reading it. --cat)

After reading about this book here I went and ordered it yesterday. I am looking forward to reading it. Thank you for telling us about it.

Rebecca

Unread post by **Zevenster** » Sun May 22, 2005 12:44 am

--- In hrcourse@yahoogroups.com, tara scon <tara_scon@y...> wrote:

> > Dear Barbara--
>
> I read your hopes to find homes for books as you downsize.
> I downsized my collection 15 years ago and I am still
> regretting my decision to do that. If you don't change
> your mind about downsizing, I will happily give any book,
> in any condition a home that you want to part with.

oh i so totally, deepheartedly agree.

there is no book disposing without years of regret. I bought back all
the books i disposed of or gave away, in the run of the years. I miss
them. The most i miss one of the favorites of my mom's that i lend to a
friend who lost it. AAAAAAAAARGGGGGG.

So! if you have a friend of relative with a lot of spare attic or so,
put them there and you'll find yourself a very happy camper once, when
you get them back in your house and they will be like long lost and
dearly loved friends.

7*

(I have never given away books, but i lost more than half of my lifetime collection of books and records in 1987 to a flood -- and 18 years later i am still re-collecting those books and records. --cat)

Unread post by **Barbara Griffith** » Sun May 22, 2005 1:45 pm

I'll let people know what I've got when I sort out more after next
week's yard sale. I also wound up re-buying a book I gave out once: Dale
Morgan's The Great Salt Lake. Him and Stegner are non-occult faves of
mine.

Unread post by **catherineyronwode** » Sun May 29, 2005 12:55 am

As part of a long-range plan to overhaul both Lucky Mojo and the Arcane
Archive, i have spend this evening grooming some of the files at the
latter site. The hoodoo pile is looking good enough to link to now,
although there is still work to do, so i uploaded a new link to it in
our group's links page.

The new link to "Hooodoo at the Arcane Archive" points here:
http://arcane-archive.org/occultism/magic/folk/hoodoo/

cat yronwode

Unread post by **AnkleBells** » Sun May 29, 2005 9:05 pm

Hi,
I knew there was someone in this class
who wrote a book I was very interested
in reading and I was just listening to
Dr. Kioni and Cat's CD on "The Crossroads"
and found out his name and the name of the
book and found it being sold at Amazon.
It is not about Hooodo but I am still glad I
found the book by Orione Foxwood. Carla

Lord Orion · Unread post by **Lord Orion** » Wed Jun 01, 2005 1:21 pm

Hi Carla:

I hope you enjoy the book.

Blessings,

Orion Foxwood

-----Original Message-----
From: hrcourse@yahoogroups.com [mailto:hrcourse@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf
Of anklebells800cows@juno.com
Sent: Sunday, May 29, 2005 4:52 AM
To: hrcourse@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [hrc] The Faery Teachings book...

Hi,
I knew there was someone in this class
who wrote a book I was very interested
in reading and I was just listening to
Dr. Kioni and Cat's CD on "The Crossroads"
and found out his name and the name of the
book and found it being sold at Amazon.
It is not about Hooodo but I am still glad I
found the book by Orione Foxwood. Carla

Yahoo! Groups Links

Unread post by **panmodal23** » Wed Jun 08, 2005 10:14 am

(Yes, this article is at the site owned by Phil Hine, a well-known Chaos magician. The essayist, Stephen Grasso, largely drew the first half of the piece from my web pages, as a paragraph-by-paragraph comparison will show, hence the citation to my site. --cat)

Stephen Grasso was the one who first introduced me to LuckyMojo.com, and hoodoo in general, a couple years ago. I am appropriately grateful.

=Ilya

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Unread post by **shyla_w1** » Sat Jun 25, 2005 2:49 am

I ordered this book, and to be honest am completely disappointed in
it. Has anyone else read it? What are your impressions?

(It has been rather extensively raked over the coals in this Yahoo group and you may search the archives for samples of negative reviews. I recall not a single positive review. I will not carry it in my shop. I think it sucks. --cat)

Other than the fact that Mr. Malbrough does credit Cat in this
particular book, and that his other books are extremely well written
and helpful, I found that this book was confusing/contradictory to
say the least!!!

Several issues I had:

Malbrough instructs readers to call to the North, South, East, and
West on one ritual. This is a far cry from the Hoodoo I have been
reading/learning about.

(That's because Malbrough is a Wicca practitioner of the lineage of Raymond Buckland, as well as being a member of Silver Ravenwolf's Wicca group. He is trying to corrupt or reqrite hoodoo to fit his particular religious practices. This is a technique virtually identical to what his associate Silver Ravenwolf did to Pennsylvania Dutch (German) Pow Wow folk magic in her abysmal recent book. She would have had readers believing that the Pennsylvania Germans invoke the Goddess Brigid (!!!). Ravenwolf's book was thoroughly raked over the coals here as well. --cat)

He also gives particular importance to
astrology in ritual, which I found unusual. I understand that
astrology can help a spell, but Malbrough puts a lot of influence on
this in his book...even suggesting that certain herbs that are
associated with an astrological sign shoudld only be used when a
spell is being performed in that sign.

(That is European occultism, straight up, no chaser. It is not hoodoo. --cat)

Malbrough insists that herbal baths, etc be made in ONLY a cast iron
pot....nothing else. Seems sort of restrictive for a hoodooist.

(It's worse that restrictive. It is insane, that's all. --cat)

It seems that while Malbrough keeps trying to make the point that
Hoodoo and Voodoo are not one and the same, he interchanges aspects
of both throughout the book. For instance, using the African Lwa in
work. Or spirit pots.

Overall, I think this book is nothing but contradictory to modern
knowledge about hoodoo, and I am disappointed and confused by his
work. Any other ideas?

(I have one other idea. He's a flaming asshole. --cat)

If you haven't read the book, I really think some if it is
interesting, but most of it is less than intellectual.

(Most of it is garbage and every copy should be flung against the nearest wall with a loud curse, then stamped upon three times, picked up with a pair of kitchen tongs, and flung into the nearest stream of running water with the petition, "As this water runs and runs, so will this abysmal book and its wretched author Ray Malbrough run and run until they run out of our lives completely and trouble us no more." --cat)

Unread post by **MissMichaele** » Sat Jun 25, 2005 3:38 am

Well, as I said in my last post, I'm nibbling on the _Element Encyclopedia
of 5000 Spells_ this week.

The author, Judika Illes, gives a formula for Crucible of Courage which
includes petitgrain oil. This is oil of orange leaves, which should smell something like orange peel, correct? Wouldn't it be more of a love herb? I can see including it as a "family, stand by me" element in a formula for courage, but I'd rather use basil.

Comments?

Michaele

.,-*'`'*-,.,-*'`'*-,.,-*'`'*-,.,-*'`'*-,.,-*'`'*-,.,-*'`'*-,.

Terror and utopia always appear together. -- Hakim Bey

(I have spent quite a nice time talking to Judika on the phone and she is actually enrolled in this course -- but although she does some good research, she is a tertiary source at best. Trying to dissect her multi-cultural compilation book for the sense behind her formulas is task that probably will not repay the time spent, especially if the study and practice of *hoodoo rootwork* is your goal. You'd be far better advised to study some old, authentic sources, namely African American practitioners. Delve into the Hyatt collection, into Newbell Niles Puckett's book, into the biography of Jim Jordan, and so forth. That's where hoodoo will come into focus for you. --cat)

Unread post by **Mike Rock** » Sat Jun 25, 2005 4:09 am

On 6/24/05, shyla_w1 <shyla_w@att.net> wrote:

> > Malbrough instructs readers to call to the North, South, East, and
> West on one ritual. This is a far cry from the Hoodoo I have been
> reading/learning about.

Im Haitian Vodou, you often "balanse" and item to be presented to the
spirits by lifting it up to salute the east, then the west, then the
north, then the south before doing a series of dance-like turns.
Haven't and won't read the book but that is prolly where that is
borrowed from.

> >
> It seems that while Malbrough keeps trying to make the point that
> Hoodoo and Voodoo are not one and the same, he interchanges aspects
> of both throughout the book. For instance, using the African Lwa in
> work. Or spirit pots.

I think you mean Haitian lwa.. the term "lwa" is not generally
associated with Africa as such but with Ayiti Tomey. Some Haitian lwa
have roots in Africa, but it is not strictly speaking correct to call
them "African" -they are Haitian.

In Africa, spirits are called vodun, orisha, etc.

Spirit pots are a part of some forms of spiritualism and Western
necromancy. See Mr. Coleman's book if you can find it.

mike

Unread post by **Umbandista** » Sun Jun 26, 2005 10:38 am

<Delve into the Hyatt collection, into Newbell Niles Puckett's book>

Hi Cat, What is the title of the Puckett book that you recommend? (there are
three books by Puckett currently listed on Amazon.com).

Thanks,
Kathy

It is "Folk Beliefs of the Southern Negro," Chapel Hill, 1926 (and a subsequent reprint). It's listed more fully in the HHRM bibliography. There are unfortunately racist aspects to this book (discussed in this list previously, i believe, or else in usenet) that are disturbing, and some of the botany is just wrong -- but it is the best pre-Hyatt compilation of hoodoo material. It contains some great photos that have proven useful to those seeking to "dramatize" or trick up what a conjure doctor looked like (i used them when consulting on the "Skeleton Key" movie). In short, the book is vital to students and authors looking for primary sources on hoodoo -- and anyone claiming to write a compilation book about conjure work (as distinct from primary interviews in the field) who does not reference Puckett is just prattling. But, thast being said, it does contain racist material that limits its reprintability and respectability in today's society. I have a copy in the shop, by the way, so you can check it out on Monday, Kathy. --cat)

Unread post by **Read_G** » Sun Jun 26, 2005 6:05 pm

There is a book available at bookstores (I got mine at Borders) on candle
magick. It is entitled "Candle Therapy" and the author is Catherine
Riggs-Bergesen, Psy.D. The book is published by Andrews McMeel Publishing. I see
that this book was published in 2003, but this is the first I have seen of this
book.

The author also owns a shop or two in New York City. Her website is
_www.candletherapy.com_ (http://www.candletherapy.com) . She seems to be very
sincere. She combines Hoodoo with Wiccan, so things are a bit...eclectic...I
guess is the word. She has a listing of oils and their uses. She also provides
cookbook spells for such things as "new opportunities and open doors" along
with a specialized symbol. She lists the suggest candle... and glitter colors
(this is new to me), oils and incenses, meditation, etc.

Has anyone seen or purchased this book.

Cat, do you know of this person?

Read

(The author and book are previously unknown to me. The use of glitter when dressing candles is decades old and is described in the lessons on setting lights (#16 and #17). --cat)

Unread post by **shyla_w1** » Mon Jun 27, 2005 10:37 pm

--- In hrcourse@yahoogroups.com, Mike Rock <mojomiguel@g...> wrote:
> > On 6/24/05, shyla_w1 <shyla_w@a...> wrote:
>
> > Malbrough instructs readers to call to the North, South, East, and
> > West on one ritual. This is a far cry from the Hoodoo I have been
> > reading/learning about.
>
> Im Haitian Vodou, you often "balanse" and item to be presented to
the
> > spirits by lifting it up to salute the east, then the west, then the
> north, then the south before doing a series of dance-like turns.
> Haven't and won't read the book but that is prolly where that is
> borrowed from.
>
> >
> > It seems that while Malbrough keeps trying to make the point that
> > Hoodoo and Voodoo are not one and the same, he interchanges
aspects
> > > of both throughout the book. For instance, using the African Lwa
in
> > > work. Or spirit pots.
>
> I think you mean Haitian lwa.. the term "lwa" is not generally
> associated with Africa as such but with Ayiti Tomey. Some Haitian
lwa
> > have roots in Africa, but it is not strictly speaking correct to
call
> > them "African" -they are Haitian.
>
> In Africa, spirits are called vodun, orisha, etc.
>
> Spirit pots are a part of some forms of spiritualism and Western
> necromancy. See Mr. Coleman's book if you can find it.
>
> mike

Thank you Mike! You are so knowledgable. I feel lucky to be a part
of a group as intellectual and educated as this one! You have some
great info to share and have enlightened me to some things. I
appreciate it.

Unread post by **shyla_w1** » Mon Jun 27, 2005 10:40 pm

cat wrote:

> > (Most of it is garbage and every copy should be flung against the
> nearest wall with a loud curse, then stamped upon three times, picked
> up with a pair of kitchen tongs, and flung into the nearest stream of
> running water with the petition, "As this water runs and runs, so
> will this abysmal book and its wretched author Ray Malbrough run and
> run until they run out of our lives completely and trouble us no
> more." --cat)

Cat.....I know that you feel strongly, but I can't help but laugh. I
am so glad to know that I am not the only one totally baffled by this
book. I was soooo disappointed that I ordered the darn thing.
Overall, you are right, it was horse puckey! Garbage. A collection
of hodge podge that just didn't seem educated to me at all. Thank
you for confirming my suspicions. After enrolling in your class,
some of the books out there just suck.

I am going to go home
tonite and fling it "against the nearest wall with a loud curse, then
stamped upon three times, picked up with a pair of kitchen tongs, and
flung into the nearest stream of running water with the petition, "As
this water runs and runs, so will this abysmal book and its wretched
author Ray Malbrough run and run until they run out of our lives
completely and trouble us no more." Thaks for this good advice, and
for continuing to share your genuine knowledge and wisdom on this
subject. Hoodoo is lucky to have someone like you to pass on the
education...and not the mixed up myths.

Unread post by **shyla_w1** » Mon Jun 27, 2005 10:41 pm

--- In hrcourse@yahoogroups.com, Areadg@a... wrote:
> > There is a book available at bookstores (I got mine at Borders) on
candle
> > magick. It is entitled "Candle Therapy" and the author is
Catherine
> > Riggs-Bergesen, Psy.D. The book is published by Andrews McMeel
Publishing. I see
> > that this book was published in 2003, but this is the first I have
seen of this
> > book.
>
>
> The author also owns a shop or two in New York City. Her website
is
> > _www.candletherapy.com_ (http://www.candletherapy.com) . She
seems to be very
> > sincere. She combines Hoodoo with Wiccan, so things are a
bit...eclectic...I
> > guess is the word. She has a listing of oils and their uses. She
also provides
> > cookbook spells for such things as "new opportunities and open
doors" along
> > with a specialized symbol. She lists the suggest candle... and
glitter colors
> > (this is new to me), oils and incenses, meditation, etc.
>
> Has anyone seen or purchased this book.
>
> Cat, do you know of this person?
>
> Read
>
> (The author and book are previously unknown to me. The use of
glitter when dressing candles is decades old and is described in the
lessons on setting lights (#16 and #17). --cat)

I did see this book in Barnes and Noble near my home. I am always on
the lookout for GOOD books on hoodoo, candle magick, the saints. I
only flipped through it for a couple of minutes, and I found that
overall I didn't find it compatible with "hoodoo", but more wicca. I
guess that given the few books on hoodoo out there, I guess we can't
be picky....but I have found some better books on candle magick than
this one.

Unread post by **Barbara Griffith** » Wed Jun 29, 2005 8:34 pm

Re Malbrough's insistnece on using an iron pot:

Using a cast iron pot - that reminds me of several decidedly non-hoodoo
concepts. The idea that a little bit of metal gets into fluids - might
he be trying to make a fluid condenser? But then, why iron? Gold would
be more like it. Or just the idea that iron would be more 'traditional'
than stainless steel or pyrex? I was also taught that a gas stove was
much better for working with herbs in water than electric or (shudder)
the microwave.

I knew a local witch who taught us about making an eyebright fluid and
applying it to the eyes and ears. Turns out her formula was truncated
from Franz Bardon, and uncredited to him.
http://www.mysteria.com/magick/bardon.html
Scroll down to 8. "Fluid Condensers" for a summary to see what I mean.

eljimenez · Unread post by **eljimenez** » Tue Jul 05, 2005 7:12 pm

Cat,

I am truly enjoying your course and the knowledge contained in those
lessons are jammed packed

No where have I found detailed,
original and thoroughly practical researched information.

In the last month I have purchased two books by Malbrough called
Charms Spells & Formula's and Magical Powers of Saints. But after
hearing what has been said about the lack of true rootwork in his
books I wonder just how compatible with Hoodoo the two books are.

I was trying to build a Hoodoo library to suppliment my knowledge of
Hoodoo and now it seems these books might just confuse matters.

What is your opinion of the two books I just mentioned and are they
reliable or compatible with what I am learning in the course?

(These two of his are okay -- but not great. Both are based on information he gathered from a shop owner in New Orleans, i have been told by folks who knew them both at the time. He doesn't credit the shop owner (since deceased), but the material is fairly free from Malbrough's later fabrications. --cat)

What books should I buy to expand my Hoodoo knowledge.

(Look in the back of HHRM for one book list (the bibliography) -- and check out the hrcourse "links" list for direct links to a few other books. You can access the hrcourse links by going to the hrcourse website and clicking on "links" at the upper left. All of the hoodoo-related books i have linked in are headed "Book List" for easy accessibility as a group.

Thanks

Emilio

Unread post by **Kathleen Tway** » Thu Jul 07, 2005 4:00 am

dear cat,
just wondering if youve ever read the barbara hambly books with the
character benjamin january. the first is 'a free man of color'.i dont
know how 'accurate' they are, but theyre wonderful fiction that has
the flavor of old new orleans at the time of madame marie.
kathleen marie

(I am not familar with those books, but i don't read much fiction. According to the official Barbara Hambly web site at
http://www.barbarahambly.com
there are 8 books in the Benjamin January mystery series, including one titled "Graveyard Dust." --cat)

Unread post by **Laura Gail** » Fri Jul 08, 2005 12:50 am

kat100154 --

wow--I've been meaning to ask the same thing!!!! I discovered these
books quite by accident, and from what I know of this period of time
they're pretty accurate. "Graveryard Dust" deals a lot with the
culture around vodou in New Orleans.

I've put aside all other summerreading right now to read this series.
laura gail

Unread post by **Keridwen Luis** » Fri Jul 08, 2005 12:51 am

Just wanted to note that I've read this series and thought that it was
pretty thoughtful-- Hambly is a historian, and did some really
extensive research not only on such things as race relations, land
ownership, etc., but also on things such as the "voodoo dances" down in
Congo Square and has produced a really well-researched and respectful
picture of what hoodoo might have looked like back then. Her portrait
of Mam'zelle is also very good, I thought-- it can be difficult to make
a book character out of someone that is also widely regarded as a
powerful spirit! She consulted with Priestess Miriam as well as doing
a lot of paper research on the history of voodoo and hoodoo in New
Orleans.

Her portrait owes a bit to Haitian-style voudoun, particularly in the
use of possession by lwas, but there is a strong movement towards
lwa-service in New Orleans (at least, I noticed it when I was there,
and in much of the older literature I've read). The books also have a
lot of good material on the use of conjure bags and roots and so on,
particularly the one titled _Graveyard Dust,_ which really deals with
those things.

Of course, her second book, _Fever Season,_ was not much of a mystery
to me, since I'd already heard all the stories about the LaLaurie
house!

I enjoyed the books since I quite like historical fiction. At least,
they didn't drive me away screaming, they way obviously
badly-researched stuff does!

--Kerey

Unread post by **shyla_w1** » Fri Jul 08, 2005 12:51 am

--- In hrcourse@yahoogroups.com, "kat100154" <kat100154@y...> wrote:
> > dear cat,
> just wondering if youve ever read the barbara hambly books with the
> character benjamin january. the first is 'a free man of color'.i
dont
> > know how 'accurate' they are, but theyre wonderful fiction that has
> the flavor of old new orleans at the time of madame marie.
> kathleen marie
>
> (I am not familar with those books, but i don't read much fiction.
According to the official Barbara Hambly web site at
> > http://www.barbarahambly.com
> there are 8 books in the Benjamin January mystery series, including
one titled "Graveyard Dust." --cat)

Thanks! I love reading about Madame Marie's period! I have to check
these out!!!

Unread post by **Mike Rock** » Sun Jul 10, 2005 1:24 am

On 7/7/05, Keridwen Luis <luis@brandeis.edu> wrote:
> > use of possession by lwas, but there is a strong movement towards
> lwa-service in New Orleans (at least, I noticed it when I was there,
> and in much of the older literature I've read).

However this is mostly in the form of a cultural appropriation rather
than authentic service. the exceptions notably being the proprietors
of the shops New Orleans Mistic [Houngan Tribble, there is a genuine
peristyle behind the shop], Erzulie's [Anna, with Houngan Shane
Norris], Vodou Authentica [Brandi, a child of Mama Lola]. At Isle of
Salvation Botanica they are doing their own thing and openly state
what they do is not traditional Vodou.

(Also, do not forget that the tourist trap called Reverend Zombie's House of Voodoo is run by a man whose wife is Brazilian and that shop carries a number of authetic imported Umbanda / Macumba artifacts from Brazil amidst the gross trash and garbage.

--cat)

Priestess Miriam is a special case and I don't think I have the
konesans to really pin down what to make of her practices, I havent
set foot in her temple yet.

(By all means, you should. It is a fabulous wonderland of beauty. --cat)

She certainly has a good reputation but is mainly a spiritualist / hoodoo in background, her husband learned Obeah and straight African stuff according to her site. What she does is a fusion, including Orishas, iirc.

(Priestess Miriam is an African American woman, a Bishop in the Spiritual Church Movement, and a spiritual worker in the hoodoo tradition. Her late husband was a black man from Belize who taught her African Diasporic customs including Obeah (very similar to hoohoo) and service to the Orishas. She is an excellent spiritual worker with full knowledge of the most authentic rootwork practices, and i choose to think that her use of the terms "Voodoo Temple" and "Orisha altars" are an added bonus that she gives to those who come to New Orleans in search of beauty and wonder. It is not only white middle class people who are capable of appropriation from African cultures in order to serve the tourist trade in New Orleans. If anyone has a right to borrow from African Traditional Religions to spice up her shop, it is Priestess Miriam. I like her a lot and i know for a fact that if you go to her after hours and talk hoodoo and Spiritual Church business rather than "Voodoo temple" and "Orisha Altar" business, she is quite comfortable shifting gears and letting her hair down. She is a great lady and wiser than a barn full of owls. --cat)

Since there is only one peristyle in the whole city [which is huge
considering the metro area] compared to NYC which has one every other
block in Brooklyn it seems like, or compared to Miami even for that
matter, I wouldn't call that a "strong movement" or any kind of
"movement". I call it a single blessed isle in a wasteland of tourist
traps and cultural theft.

After Santeria, Haitian Vodou is the Next Big Thing as far as "occult"
fads go. Heavy sigh.

mike

Unread post by **christina** » Sun Jul 10, 2005 1:57 am

While playing on the internet today, I came across this website, which
claims to be the complete book of Mules and Men by Zora Neale Hurston.
I have not read this book yet so I cannot confirm it is all there, but
I am sure some of you will be able to tell the rest of us. It also has
some of her life story on the website.

The link is large and may break in two requiring a cut and paste job.

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~MA01/Grand- ... index.html

Christina

(The site is a mixed bag. It does have the text, sort of -- BUT -- it is merely an upload of an uncorrected OCR scan, thus it is filled through and through with nonsense words or words that have come up wrong, For example, OCR scanners are notorious for reading rn for m and m for rn, so that omelet becomes ornelet and corner becomes comer. Often fi becomes fl, too so fire becomes flre -- and then if the person runs a spell checker bfore making a visual correction from the printed text, flre becomes flare and instead of "lighting a fire," you are "lighting a flare." I like this site okay, but have never recommended it to my students because it is so filled with problems when it comes to reading it. There may also be copyright issues, i believe. The site was a student project by someone taking a computer class; it is not professionally made and the designer does not know much, if anything, about the subject matter.--cat)

Lord Orion · Unread post by **Lord Orion** » Sun Jul 10, 2005 10:11 am

> (Priestess Miriam is an African American
> woman, a Bishop in the Spiritual Church
> Movement, and a spiritual worker in the
> hoodoo tradition. Her late husband was
> a black man from Belize who taught her
> African Diasporic customs including Obeah
< (very similar to hoohoo) and service to
> > the Orishas. She is an excellent spiritual
> worker with full knowledge of the most
> authentic rootwork practices, and i choose
> to think that her use of the terms "Voodoo
> Temple" and "Orisha altars" are an added
> bonus that she gives to those who come
> to New Orleans in search of beauty and
> wonder. It is not only white middle class
> people who are capable of appropriation
> from African cultures in order to serve
> the tourist trade in New Orleans. If
> anyone has a right to borrow from African
> Traditional Religions to spice up her shop,
> it is Priestess Miriam. I like her a lot
> and i know for a fact that if you go to her
> after hours and talk hoodoo and Spiritual
> Church business rather than "Voodoo temple"
> and "Orisha Altar" business, she is quite
> comfortable shifting gears and letting her
> hair down. She is a great lady and wiser
> than a barn full of owls. --cat)

Thank you Cat for your insightful and honoring statements about Priestess Miriam. I have been friends with her for over 12 years and found her spiritual work and wisdom to be impeccable. She has a lot to teach and I recommend anyone going to New Orleans in search of true spiritual magic to visit her as well as Sallie Ann Glassman and Bloody Mary. Bloody Mary (Mary Milan) is a wealth of knowledge on the historical and mythical Mamzelle Marie Laveaux as well as New Orleans Hoodoo and Voodoo practices. Priestess Miriam will put you in the right spiritual direction.

I have a few thoughts (or ramblings) I would like to share with the readers as responses to this post. When on a quest, I would advise folks to consider a few things:

1) If you want to be an amateur anthropologist and look for folks who practice African traditions as laid out in published books, you
may find them ... and unfortunately they may have no inner spiritual contact, wisdom or insight but only outer form and knowledge (which are not the same as power or wisdom).

2) In living folk and temple traditions, there are no absolute orthodoxies. In fact, practitioners tend to get there information
from their elders, families, cultures, peers and even books and this becomes their flavor or their brand of the work.

3) As folks outside the culture and the tradition looking in (which many of you likely are), please understand that you know only very little about the more subtle aspects of hoodoo and conjure. My advice is for you to just go into these places and see, taste and experience. Some of them will feel and seem right and others will not.

I mention these things because I am a traditional Witch and a Faery Seer, both of which are folk traditions. And yes, contrary to the dictates of the modern Wiccan and Pagan movement, we do exist, but not in the form you see in 99% of the witchy books. But, you have to know what you are looking for and detox yourself from what nearly all of the printed material says about what traditional witchcraft is and how it looks.

I see folks all the time that say they are witches from old lines and they spit out lot of impressive Celtic words and seem so historically on. But, upon closer inspection they lack all the subtle aspects of an authentic folk and family tradition (and that is what the old Craft is). They are simply reconstructing. Likewise, I grew up in Southern Conjure and Appalachian magical/spiritual practices. They never called it a tradition or even magic. It was just what you do and some of us have the gift for doing it. If you go in with all the published books looking for the practices to be just like what you read, you will miss so much.

I have heard many things on this list that sound like what I do and what my folks do. I have also heard many things contrary. That is because of the regional and local differences in culture and practices etc. You are all blessed to have this forum and I honor Cat for that and all the other incredible things she does.

But, dear readers, do not fool yourselves into arrogantly thinking that you now understand and are able to judge who has what and is doing what from a visit to their shops or backyards. Yes, you can get some insights, but not deeply informed understanding. The real folks' stuff has lots of levels to it ... often subtle and fogged. In the end, you would need to really spend time with these people to know what they do.

I'll tell you, I grew with old folks (most of whom are dead now) who never read books because they were pretty much illiterate and they carried powerful conjure that they learned from other family folks before them. If you just visit their homes, you would see nothing to indicate that they were conjurers (or what many of you call "Hoodoos") and they may never use any of the words you look for like magic, spells etc. They just do "work". They have no impressive temples, Orisha altars or certificated of authenticity in some Haitian tradition. They have no big Brooklyn or New Orleans temples. You could write them off so easily and make the greatest mistake of your spiritual quest because they are the real item and beyond a bunch of literary knowledge they have real spiritual power and wisdom and carry the living folk traditions of the slaves and European immigrants and more importantly ... their stuff works.

OK, enough of my rambling. Enjoy your quest. Receive the best in what you find. Be humble but not foolish no gullible. Look for practices that have power and actually work (produce tangible results). Have a tireless quest for spiritual understanding.

Blessings on your quest,

Orion Foxwood

(Thank you for that post, Orion. I have only one thing to add, and it is another form of cautionary advice: I have seen, to my sorrow, how alcoholism can a ruin once-great person. One of my regrets was being about ten years too late to learn from a Mississippi-born conjure doctor in Chicago who, by the mid 1960s was a mendacious, stumbling drunk. He knew so much, but by the time i met him, not only his home and his body, but even his reputation was in tatters. It took me -- a young, idealistic, hopeful seeker still in her teens -- a bit of time to figure this out. So my advice is, when seeking to study with elders, stay alert to all the normal social cues you would use in meeting any new friend. --cat)

Unread post by **Quimbisero** » Sun Jul 10, 2005 9:25 pm

--- In hrcourse@yahoogroups.com, "Lord Orion" <lorion@f...> wrote:
[lots cut]
> 1) If you want to be an amateur anthropologist and look for folks
> who practice African traditions as laid out in published books, you
> may find them ... and unfortunately they may have no inner spiritual
> contact, wisdom or insight but only outer form and knowledge (which
> are not the same as power or wisdom).
>
> 2) In living folk and temple traditions, there are no absolute
> orthodoxies. In fact, practitioners tend to get there information
> from their elders, families, cultures, peers and even books and this
> becomes their flavor or their brand of the work.
>
> I mention these things because I am a traditional Witch and a Faery
> Seer, both of which are folk traditions. And yes, contrary to the
> dictates of the modern Wiccan and Pagan movement, we do exist, but
> not in the form you see in 99% of the witchy books. But, you have to
> know what you are looking for and detox yourself from what nearly all
> of the printed material says about what traditional witchcraft is and
> how it looks.
>
> I see folks all the time that say they are witches from old lines
> and they spit out lot of impressive Celtic words and seem so
> historically on. But, upon closer inspection they lack all the subtle
> aspects of an authentic folk and family tradition...

Well put. Except in some Afro-diasporic traditions there absolutely
are orthodoxies. Very few knowledgable leaders exist in the US, but
that doesn't mean orthodoxies don't exist in Cuba or Brazil for example.

(Good point, Eoghan. The idea that there are no orthodoxies in ATRs and ADRs is similar to the idea that there are "no rules" in hoodoo -- the idea that anyone can come in and make up their own "version" of the material. --cat)

I agree on the Celtic example. Few of the traditional spiritual
doctors and faith healers I met in traditional work in Ireland in the
60's 70's or 80's could speak more than the equivalent of grade school
standard Irish, and their favorite spiritual entity was Padre Pio. For
really difficult cases they'd recommend a trip to Lourdes, but they
represent the real tradition as it survived in the late 20th century.
Fairies for them existed in children's story books or in Davy Burne's
Pub off Grafton Street. The rest awaited Neo-Pagan revivalism to
migrate from North American publishers and the Brit tradition known as the "McWannabey" clan.

Ádh mór ort a charaid,

Eoghan

Unread post by **Mike Rock** » Sun Jul 10, 2005 9:28 pm

On 7/10/05, Lord Orion <lorion@foxwood-temple.net> wrote:
> >. The real folks' stuff has lots of levels to it
> ... often subtle and fogged. In the end, you
> would need to really spend time with these
> people to know what they do.

I agree.

> > They have no impressive temples, Orisha altars
> or certificated of authenticity in
> some Haitian tradition. They have no big
> Brooklyn or New Orleans temples.

Orion, nobody offers certificates in Haitian Sevis Gineh, it's an oral
tradition, and the temples in the US are far from "big." What is
impressive is not so much the building but the power of spirit that
manifests there. Perhaps you did not intend this but it came across as
you saying that my people's stuff did not have power, or had less
power than your people, and I'm not sure I would agree with that. I'm
sure though that each person has to have their own experience and
decide for themselves.

I'm in a lot of pain right now but had to take a moment to speak to that.

blessings

mike

(Mike, i hope your pain is transitory. Anything we can help with? --cat)

Unread post by **RedWill0w** » Sun Jul 10, 2005 9:46 pm

Cat Yronwode writes:

> > So my advice is, when seeking to study
> with elders, stay alert to all the
> normal >social cues you would use
> in meeting any new friend. --cat)

Boy, ain't it the truth.

Dara

Unread post by **shyla_w1** » Sun Jul 10, 2005 9:49 pm

I have to second Cat's opinion of Preistess Mirian. I met her recently
while in NOLA for my wedding. She is truly a wise and colorful person,
with much knowledge to share. Her temple is definitely a must see for
anyone interested! I also found her incense to be fantastic to use. A
real gem!

Unread post by **Cyd** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 1:09 am

--- In hrcourse@yahoogroups.com, "shyla_w1" <shyla_w@a...> wrote:
> > I have to second Cat's opinion of Preistess Mirian. I met her
recently
> > while in NOLA for my wedding. She is truly a wise and colorful
person,
> > with much knowledge to share. Her temple is definitely a must see
for
> > anyone interested! I also found her incense to be fantastic to
use. A
> > real gem!

I second That Preistess Mirian is a Great person full
of great knowlege i had the pleasure to met her on
my trip To New Orleans in Febuary wow i still have
great memorys the people i meet the Question that
i had For years that where answerd well from those
questions i did have that where answerd is what
brought me to cats Course and to sign up and i most
say again meeting Priestess Mariam and Joining cats
course is the greatist thing i have done Besides
my Acomplishments in the Martial arts wich is a
whole defrent Subject and has nothing to do with
hoodoo.

i had so much fun in New Orleans new its like a every
march Vaction for me and my wife now

blessings
chris

Unread post by **Amalthea** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 10:13 am

Lord Orion Wrote:

> >I mention these things because I am a traditional Witch and
>a Faery Seer, both of which are folk traditions. And yes,
>contrary to the dictates of the modern Wiccan and Pagan
>movement, we do exist, but not in the form you see in 99% of
>the witchy books. But, you have to know what you are looking
>for and detox yourself from what nearly all of the printed
>material says about what traditional witchcraft is and how
>it looks.

One of the most powerful in-person teachings I've had the blessing to receive was Dolores Ashcroft Nowicki's weekend workshop on the Village craft. We didn't receive a bunch of correspondences or the usual tool instructions, it was just, "Here is the way you live, and you spell, and it is just the way it is". Her recounting of these old ways and spells took me to a different place and after a while I could just feel how it was in their blood.

Somehow being with her, it was in her blood, an inner-knowing is transmitted, and I can't claim a lineage to this old village, but I learned more inwardly than a thousand books could teach me.

Waxing poetic on the elders,

Amy

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Lord Orion · Unread post by **Lord Orion** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 10:33 am

Thanks for the responses, cat and Eoghan:

I stand corrected on the orthodoxy aspect (to a degree, which means I am not totally convinced and I am no expert in that area to debate anyway) knowing that there are many variants in traditions. But, I do understand that there is a lot of orthodoxy and for good reason.

I am totally with you, Cat on the "Hoodoo -- no rules" issue. The same problem occurs in the old Craft. There are rules ... they are sometimes subtle. This is why I mentioned that the student has to look at cultural subtleties as well as overt practices. I think that people often like to play these things off like there are no rules, which gives them wiggle room for self-design. Perhaps you might want to talk more about the rules in Hoodoo. This would give all of us a good BS detector when looking around.

Eoghan, I spilt my sides laughing at the "McWannaby Clan". Very true, except that the old hill folks take the Faery clans very seriously. The real orally transmitted Faery stories are no children's tale. The Faery Doctors and Hedgewitches are very much still alive throughout insular Europe especially Scotland, Ireland and the Isle of Man. A lot of these practices are alive here in America in Appalachia. I am one of those non-wannaby North American writers who knows his stuff when it comes to Faery lore and practices. The real stuff is no joke and anything but trite. And, there are definite rules in Faery practices as illustrated through the customs, lore and prohibitions transmitted from Seer to Seer.

Eoghan, Thanks for the Gaelic blessing

) To both of you, your information in these posts is an invaluable resource to us all. Thank you!

Blessings of the People of Peace,

Orion Foxwood

Unread post by **Quimbisero** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 10:34 am

--- In hrcourse@yahoogroups.com, Mike Rock <mojomiguel@g...> wrote:
> >
> I'm in a lot of pain right now but had to take a moment to speak to
that.
> >

I'm sorry to hear that. I can sympathize. I am recovering from an
attack of Kidney stones that had me out of the office for two weeks.
Hope you feel better real soon.

Eoghan

Lord Orion · Unread post by **Lord Orion** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 10:37 am

> > They have no impressive temples, Orisha altars
> > or certificated of authenticity in
> > some Haitian tradition. They have no big
> > Brooklyn or New Orleans temples.
>
> Orion, nobody offers certificates
> in Haitian Sevis Gineh, it's an oral
> tradition, and the temples in the
> US are far from "big." What is
> impressive is not so much the
> building but the power of spirit that
> manifests there. Perhaps you did
> not intend this but it came across as
> you saying that my people's stuff
> did not have power, or had less
> power than your people, and I'm not
> sure I would agree with that. I'm
> sure though that each person has
> to have their own experience and
> decide for themselves.
>
> I'm in a lot of pain right now but
> had to take a moment to speak to that.
>
> blessings
>
> mike

Hi Mike:

No, that is not what I meant at all. Just the opposite. I meant that
impressive material stuff does not equate to spiritual power. And,
impressive knowledge of academics does not mean that the practitioner really
has any spiritual power or wisdom. Often the practitioners with the real
juice are simple. The power of spirit is what we should seek regardless of
tradition.

Prayers of healing to you for your pain, dear man. I hope it passes soon and
you feel better quickly.

Orion

Unread post by **Quimbisero** » Tue Jul 12, 2005 12:21 am

--- In hrcourse@yahoogroups.com, RedWill0w@a... wrote:
> > Cat Yronwode writes:
>
> > So my advice is, when seeking to study
> > with elders, stay alert to all the
> > normal social cues you would use
> > in meeting any new friend. --cat)
>
> Boy, ain't it the truth.
>
> Dara

I deal every week with messages from people who have severed ties with
godparents or who feel that that may be necessary. I sympathize up to
a point with them. However, after seeing the same thing hundreds of
times, I am hard pressed not to ask "Why did you trust your soul and
head to a person you wouldn't count on to return a five dollar loan?"

Sometimes, in their eagerness to get into a tradition, people just
plain throw caution and common sense to the wind and suspend all
normal judgement. Afterwards, if they're honest with themselves,
they'll admit that the signs all but hit them on the head. Hmmmmm.

Eoghan

Unread post by **Holly Greenwood** » Fri Jul 15, 2005 1:43 am

dear cat,

just wondering if youve ever read the barbara hambly books with the
character benjamin january. the first is 'a free man of color'.i dont
know how 'accurate' they are, but theyre wonderful fiction that has
the flavor of old new orleans at the time of madame marie.
kathleen marie

(I am not familar with those books, but i don't read much fiction.--cat)

I've read them all and like them very much. Complex enough to bother
rereading after awhile.

cat's sister, Holly, who does read fiction (a novel a week, that's all i ask)

Lauren Jackson · Unread post by **Lauren Jackson** » Thu Aug 04, 2005 12:22 am

Conjure In African American Society by Jefferey E. Anderson? Anyone
know anything about this book? It's not due to be published til
December 1, 2005. I'm really curious about it. It can be found here:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de ... AQI2BGBNBA
(Copy and paste the url into a text document, then into your browser
address field, if the link doesn't work.)

(Jeff is a colleague, a student in this class, and he may even be reading this elist, although i am not sure of that, since only about half the students participate in the Yahoo group. If he's here, i hope he will speak up. In any case, i am sure his book will be a welcome addiion to our libraries, and i am sure, knowing him, that it will provide a great and much-needed counterpoint to the rash of phoney hoodoo books that have come out in the past few years (you know, the ones Eoghan told you to use for fire-starter!). --cat)

Unread post by **rootwork** » Fri Aug 05, 2005 1:43 am

"Lauren Jackson" <lucifera@l...> wrote:

> > Conjure In African American Society by Jefferey E. Anderson? Anyone
> know anything about this book? It's not due to be published til
> December 1, 2005. I'm really curious about it. It can be found
> here:
> http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de ... AQI2BGBNBA
> (Copy and paste the url into a text document, then into your
> browser address field, if the link doesn't work.)
>
> (Jeff is a colleague, a student in this class,
> and he may even be reading this elist, although
> i am not sure of that, since only about half the
> students participate in the Yahoo group. If he's
> here, i hope he will speak up. In any case, i am
> sure his book will be a welcome addiion to our
> libraries, and i am sure, knowing him, that it
> will provide a great and much-needed counterpoint
> to the rash of phoney hoodoo books that have come
> out in the past few years (you know, the ones
> Eoghan told you to use for fire-starter!). --cat)

Dear Lauren and cat,

I just finished the index for the book earlier today. I'm glad
somebody noticed it. Also, thanks for the kind words, cat. Your
talks with me really helped as I was researching and writing.

(Thanks, and hey, you helped me, too, especially with that newspaper material you gave me by Marie Cappick ("The Key West Story") -- which was a great boost to my researches. --cat)

Overall, I tried to write the book as a general history of conjure
or hoodoo. I begin with an introduction that traces how conjure has
been viewed by both whites and African Americans from the Civil War
to the present. I look at things like hoodoo's African origins,
which differed depending on what region of the U.S. you were to look
at; European and American contributions to hoodoo; the social role
of practitioners; how historical conjurers practiced; the
transformation of traditional hoodoo into the spiritual supplies
industry; and how conjure continues to respond to recent
developments, mainly the New Age and related movements, Latin
American immigration, and scientific studies of hoodoo's
effectiveness. The book concludes with a summary of conjure's
impact of American society and a brief note on the historical
sources addressing hoodoo.

When I was researching the book, the thing that struck me the most
was how little people (especially whites) know about it today as
compared to how much they knew in the 1880s and 1890s. So, I
included an introduction that traces how people managed to forget
about it. This introduction is mainly for those who might want to
research and write on the topic themselves, so it is not necessary
to read it. Still, I figured I might as well mention it.

(This is a very important point and i am so glad you researched and cover it in the book. --cat)

The folks at the press tell me that Dec. 1 is not really official
for the publication date, so I'll be pushing for earlier. Just to
let you know, I had nothing to do with the cover design. The people
at Louisiana State University Press assure me that it looks better
in person than on the computer screen.

By the way, cat, what ever happened with the traditional hoodoo
doctor near Tallahassee?

(I have been speaking with him on and off by telephone, and he continues to order supplies from me. I owe him a call now, as a matter of fact, and will ring him up tomorrow. --cat)

Sincerely,
Jeff Anderson

(Jeff, i have made a link to the Amazon listing for the book from the hrcourse links page, but can you tell the folks here how that can order a SIGNED copy of the book directly from you? I know that many -- myself included -- would like an inscribed copy. Also, can you put me in touch with someone at LSU press who can take my pre-orders via telephone? I'd like to carry the book in the Lucky Mojo shop. Finally, the only edition listed is a hardcover. Will it be released in paperback eventually? --cat)

Unread post by **rootwork** » Sat Aug 06, 2005 12:34 am

Dear cat and others who might be interested,

Cat, due to all of your help, I am planning to send you a copy as soon
as they book comes out. As for people who might want to order signed
copies, I think I'll be able to handle that. Also, I'll check into who
you need to speak to to pre-order the book. I'm not sure offhand who
that would be, but I'll ask in an e-mail.

Finally, whether a paperback will come out or not will depend on
sales. Since this is my first book, the press is only printing a
fairly small number to start with. If they sell well, then they'll do
another, bigger printing. If sales continue to go well, then a
paperback version would be the result. Of course, I would love it to
be in paperback. I am disappointed at the price now, but I don't have
much say so far as the press' price goes. I hope that I can get them
for low enough to offer a substantial discount to anybody who would
rather deal directly through me.

Sincerely,
Jeff Anderson

(Thank you very much for the complimentary copy. That is extremely kin of you. When i have had books published by someone else, i have usually bought a case or two to resell and hve made better money that way than through the royalty paid on the copies the press sells directly. --cat)

Kwame Ajamu · Unread post by **Kwame Ajamu** » Sat Aug 06, 2005 1:03 am

Anyone hear of or read any books by Brodsky especially the one on
protection rituals.

(If you mean Gary Brodsky, he is not actaully a practitioner and i doubt that he is a "Pofessor" except in his own mind. There are two other men more legitimately named Professor Gary Brodsky:

1) Gary Brodsky English Department CLS 2003,5811 e-mail g-brodsky@neiu.edu.Professor Brodsky became Chairman of the English Department in 2002. ...
www.neiu.edu/~edepartm/dep/profs/brodsky.htm

2) Gary Brodsky, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Institute Researcher. Gary Brodsky attended graduate school at St. Louis University, where he studied yeast genetics...
www.uchsc.edu/cvi/gary_brodsky.htm

3) But i thik you mean Gary Brodsky, the son of the comic book publisher Sol Brodsky (Marvel Comics, Skywald Comics), who, in the wake of his father's successes, tried hs hand at publishing comic books himself (Solson Comics). See
http://members.aol.com/doodlelyle/thundera.html

(I happen to know Gary Brodsky #3 fairly well, actually. I knew his dad, too. After Gary's comic book publishing ventures failed, he became a freelance writer and he has been in and out of the publishng field for years, writing stuff "to order" for any publisher on any subject they request and also running his own Garco Publishing Co.

(Garco is where Gary writes and publishes tacky books for gullible men on how to perform the "Fast Sdeduction" of women and "How to Be a Gigolo" and "How to Turn Any Woman Into a Slut" -- see
http://www.garybrodsky.com/index.html

(And there is something very weird about the ads at that site -- the women he shows you as potential seduction subjects are all soft-core porn models! And, brother, gals like that do not need to be seduced or "turned into" sluts -- they ARE sluts. So he is selling a slutty-women fantasy to lonely men, and, as he explains, his books and CDs are "as advertised on Howard Stern!" Whoopee.

(Along the way Gary has also penned some low-level occult pot-boilers, such as "How to Use the Powers of Darkness." I wouldn't take his occult or magical writings too seriously -- the content would all depend on how thorough his reasearch in the New York Public Library was on any given subject on any given day. None of it would come from his personal experiences, that's for sure. He's just an ink-stained wretch -- a writer of words by the yard. Poor bastard. His dad was a much cooler guy. --cat)

Unread post by **Auntie Sindy Todo** » Sat Aug 06, 2005 4:24 pm

From: "hoodoodoctor3" <jeffnlynn@earthlink.net>

> > Dear cat and others who might be interested,
>
> Cat, due to all of your help, I am planning to send you a copy as
> soon as they book comes out. As for people who might want to order
> signed copies, I think I'll be able to handle that. Also, I'll check
> into who you need to speak to to pre-order the book. I'm not sure
> offhand who that would be, but I'll ask in an e-mail.

---Thank you, and please let us know when you want our names for a signed copy.

I would be thrilled to be on the list for pre-sales as well.
I have heard pre-orders help zoom the book to the top, maybe through our combined efforts this will happen...after all we are pretty powerful in that regard!

-Sindy Todo

Unread post by **Laura Gail** » Mon Aug 08, 2005 8:12 pm

SINDY TODO wrote:

> > From: "hoodoodoctor3" <jeffnlynn@earthlink.net>
>
> > Dear cat and others who might be interested,
> >
> > Cat, due to all of your help, I am planning to send you a copy as
> > soon as they book comes out. As for people who might want to order
> > signed copies, I think I'll be able to handle that. Also, I'll
> > check into who you need to speak to to pre-order the book. I'm not
> > sure offhand who that would be, but I'll ask in an e-mail.
>
> ---Thank you, and please let us know when you want our names for a
> signed copy.
>
> I would be thrilled to be on the list for pre-sales as well.
> I have heard pre-orders help zoom the book to the top, maybe through
> our combined efforts this will happen...after all we are pretty
> powerful in that regard!
>
> -Sindy Todo

Another thing which can help is posting reviews on amazon, and saying if other reviews of the book were positive. My understanding is that some publishers pay attention to this stuff.

laura gail

(That's true. It is sometimes difficult for academic publishers such as LSU press to realize that a volume they have published may have mass-market appeal -- but positive Amazon reviews will wake them up to the fact and they may then release a mass market paperback edition. --cat)

Lauren Jackson · Unread post by **Lauren Jackson** » Mon Aug 08, 2005 8:14 pm

"hoodoodoctor3" <jeffnlynn@e...> wrote:

> > Dear cat and others who might be interested,

> Also, I'll check into who
> you need to speak to to pre-order the book. I'm not sure
> offhand who that would be, but I'll ask in an e-mail.

Jeff, I would definitely love to pre-order the book.
There's an option on amazon.com to pre-order it, but I'd rather get it
from you and get it autographed, if that's possible.

The price
doesn't bother me, I expect that with a hardback.

Between the writeup on amazon and your description, it sounds
fabulous.

I was so thrilled when I came across it on amazon, because it just had
the "feel" of being true to hoodoo, so I put it on my wishlist, and
even more thrilled when I found out it was written by one of our own!
I think an accurate book like yours is way overdue, considering the
plethora of books full of BS that are out there
(*coughraymalbroughcough*).

You mentioned something about the cover art not being chosen by you.
What *is* it?? I can't make out what it is a photo of.

Lauren

Unread post by **Barbara Griffith** » Mon Aug 08, 2005 9:13 pm

Kwame Ajamu wrote:

Anyone hear of or read any books by Brodsky especially the one on
protection rituals.

([...] i think you mean Gary Brodsky, the son of the comic book publisher Sol Brodsky (Marvel Comics, Skywald Comics), who, in the wake of his father's successes, tried hs hand at publishing comic books himself (Solson Comics). [...] After Gary's comic book publishing ventures failed, he became a freelance writer and he has been in and out of the publishng field for years, writing stuff "to order" for any publisher on any subject they request and also running his own Garco Publishing Co. [...] where [he] writes and publishes tacky books for gullible men on how to perform the "Fast Sdeduction" of women and "How to Be a Gigolo" and "How to Turn Any Woman Into a Slut" -- see
http://www.garybrodsky.com/index.html
--cat)

Is this the same Gary Brodsky?

http://www.alchemy-arts.com/newerarrivals.htm
"Powerful Protection Magic by Dr. Gary Brodsky- $6.95, softcover. Are
you worried? Frightened? In pain? Pursued by enemies of both light and
shadow? Are there lawyers clawing their way toward you? Do you have
financial crises, troubles with the law, health problems and romantic
frustrations... is your life cascading out of your control? [etc.]

According to Amazon, here is publication info: # Paperback: 118 pages
# Publisher: Original Publications (February, 2003)
# Language: English
# ISBN: 0942272773

(That is the book Kwame was alluding to, and i am pretty sure that is the same Gary Brodsky of whom i was speaking. It is a fairly common name, but i think that's him. --cat)

Unread post by **rootwork** » Thu Aug 11, 2005 2:44 am

--- In hrcourse@yahoogroups.com, Laura Gail <peacock.wear@v...> wrote:

> > Another thing which can help is posting reviews on amazon, and
saying if other reviews of the book were positive. My understanding
is that some publishers pay attention to this stuff.
> >
> laura gail
>
> (That's true. It is sometimes difficult for academic publishers such
as LSU press to realize that a volume they have published may have
mass-market appeal -- but positive Amazon reviews will wake them up to
the fact and they may then release a mass market paperback edition. --
cat)

Thanks for mentioning that. It had not thought of that.

Jeff

Unread post by **rootwork** » Thu Aug 11, 2005 2:46 am

--- In hrcourse@yahoogroups.com, "Lauren Jackson" <lucifera@l...>
wrote:
> > "hoodoodoctor3" <jeffnlynn@e...> wrote:
>
> > Dear cat and others who might be interested,
>
> > Also, I'll check into who
> > you need to speak to to pre-order the book. I'm not sure
> > offhand who that would be, but I'll ask in an e-mail.
>
> Jeff, I would definitely love to pre-order the book.
> There's an option on amazon.com to pre-order it, but I'd rather
get it
> > from you and get it autographed, if that's possible.

The price
> doesn't bother me, I expect that with a hardback.
>
> Between the writeup on amazon and your description, it sounds
> fabulous.

>
> I was so thrilled when I came across it on amazon, because it just
had
> > the "feel" of being true to hoodoo, so I put it on my wishlist, and
> even more thrilled when I found out it was written by one of our
own!
> > I think an accurate book like yours is way overdue, considering the
> plethora of books full of BS that are out there
> (*coughraymalbroughcough*).
>
> You mentioned something about the cover art not being chosen by
you.
> > What *is* it?? I can't make out what it is a photo of.
>
> Lauren

Dear Lauren,

Thanks. I wrote your name and e-mail address down. Once the books
get to me, I'll let you.

The picture on the cover is of one of Miriam Chamani's altars. A
little while back, there were a few posts about her, I believe. The
picture itself was a good one, I just hate that the press went and
put it in black and white. It lost something in the process.

Sincerely,
Jeff Anderson

Unread post by **James McClenon** » Thu Aug 11, 2005 11:31 pm

Jeff Anderson wrote:

> >Dear cat and others who might be interested,
>
>Cat, due to all of your help, I am planning to send you a copy as soon
>as they book comes out. As for people who might want to order signed
>copies, I think I'll be able to handle that. Also, I'll check into
>who you need to speak to to pre-order the book. I'm not sure
> offhand who that would be, but I'll ask in an e-mail.
>
>Finally, whether a paperback will come out or not will depend on
>sales. Since this is my first book, the press is only printing a
>fairly small number to start with. If they sell well, then they'll do
>another, bigger printing. If sales continue to go well, then a
>paperback version would be the result. Of course, I would love it to
>be in paperback. I am disappointed at the price now, but I don't have
>much say so far as the press' price goes. I hope that I can get them
>for low enough to offer a substantial discount to anybody who would
>rather deal directly through me.
>
>Sincerely,
>Jeff Anderson

With reference to Jeff Anderson's book which will be coming out eventually:

Jeff gave me the opportunity to read his dissertation - which I suspect is the foundation for this book -- so I though I should provide some reviewing comments.

This is a REAL contribution to the literature -- he has done some great
work, in my opinion, and I think that virtually anyone who is interested in this field on a scholarly level will want a copy of this book. I'm certainly planning on getting a copy.

I found his analysis of direct African contributions of specific areas on American rootlore to be particularly interesting -- but there are many other sound findings within this book. Jeff has a good grasp of the history and social elements associated with rootlore.

Jim McClenon, Ph. D.
Professor of Sociology
Elizabeth City State University
Elizabeth City, NC

(Thanks, Jim, for the endorsement. --cat)

Unread post by **an_on_amouse** » Sun Aug 14, 2005 6:06 pm

> Dear Lauren,
>
> Thanks. I wrote your name and e-mail address down. Once the books
> get to me, I'll let you.
>
> The picture on the cover is of one of Miriam Chamani's altars. A
> little while back, there were a few posts about her, I believe. The
> picture itself was a good one, I just hate that the press went and
> put it in black and white. It lost something in the process.
>
> Sincerely,
> Jeff Anderson

If you're taking down names, add mine to the list! It looks like it
will be a great contribution.
Thanks, Karen

Unread post by **rootwork** » Tue Aug 16, 2005 6:05 pm

> If you're taking down names, add mine to the list! It looks like it
> will be a great contribution.
> Thanks, Karen

Dear Karen,

I've got it down!

Sincerely,
Jeff Anderson

Unread post by **Inominandum** » Thu Aug 18, 2005 11:06 pm

Jeff Anderson Wrote:
> > > The picture on the cover is of one of Miriam Chamani's altars. A
> > little while back, there were a few posts about her, I believe.
The
> > > picture itself was a good one, I just hate that the press went and
> > put it in black and white. It lost something in the process.

Here are some good pictures of more Altars from Miriam Chamani's Temple:
http://www.pluralism.org/research/profi ... file=72592

Jason

Lord Orion · Unread post by **Lord Orion** » Fri Aug 19, 2005 9:49 pm

Jeff Anderson Wrote:
> > > The picture on the cover is of one of Miriam Chamani's altars. A
> > little while back, there were a few posts about her, I believe.
> > The picture itself was a good one, I just hate that the press went
> > and put it in black and white. It lost something in the process.
>
> Here are some good pictures of more Altars from
> Miriam Chamani's Temple:
> http://www.pluralism.org/research/profi ... file=72592
>
> Jason

How wonderful to see these pictures. Priestess Miriam is a long time dear friend of mine.

Blessings,

Orion Foxwood

Unread post by **rootwork** » Sat Aug 20, 2005 12:51 am

Dear all,

Anybody who might be interested in preordering a copy of Conjure in
African American Society from LSU can do so by calling 800-861-3477
to place an order using a VISA or MasterCard. You can also go to
the LSU press website at www.lsu.edu/lsupress and print out an order
form. The form can be faxed with credit card information, or it can
be mailed with a check, money order, or credit card information.

You can also preorder from Amazon.com, though I suspect they would
probably be a bit slower than getting the book directly from the
press.

If anybody thinks you might like to get a copy through me, just let
me know by e-mail, and I'll take your name. I'll e-mail you back
when the book is actually out.

By the way, the official date for publication is now October 19.
The date on Amazon.com and the LSU website is inaccurate.

Thanks for the interest!

Sincerely,
Jeff Anderson

Unread post by **Auntie Sindy Todo** » Sat Aug 20, 2005 5:48 pm

----- Original Message -----
From: "hoodoodoctor3" <jeffnlynn@earthlink.net>
To: <hrcourse@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, August 09, 2005 5:43 PM
Subject: [hrc] Conjure in African American Society Ordering Information

> Dear all,
>
> Anybody who might be interested in preordering a copy of Conjure in
> African American Society from LSU can do so by calling 800-861-3477
> to place an order using a VISA or MasterCard. You can also go to
> the LSU press website at www.lsu.edu/lsupress and print out an order
> form. The form can be faxed with credit card information, or it can
> be mailed with a check, money order, or credit card information.
>
> You can also preorder from Amazon.com, though I suspect they would
> probably be a bit slower than getting the book directly from the
> press.
>
> If anybody thinks you might like to get a copy through me, just let
> me know by e-mail, and I'll take your name. I'll e-mail you back
> when the book is actually out.

Hi Jeff, I would like to get my copy from you, please. Having a signed book
would
honor my collection. Please let me know how to pay for it.--Many thanks,
Sindy Todo
>
> By the way, the official date for publication is now October 19.
> The date on Amazon.com and the LSU website is inaccurate.
>
> Thanks for the interest!
>
> Sincerely,
> Jeff Anderson
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

Lisa Derrick · Unread post by **Lisa Derrick** » Sat Aug 20, 2005 5:49 pm

Dear Cat:

The Blue Book is actually (and ridiculously) spelled
Blu-Book, which I only discovered after poking around.
The new edition comes out in late 2005 for the year
2006 Heres the info:

The Ultimate Resource for Production Includes New
York Stages

For more than three decades The Hollywood Reporter has
published the Blu-Book Production Directory the
ultimate resource for production. Now the Hollywood
Creative Directory, the most reliable contact resource
for Hollywood insiders, has joined forces with The
Hollywood Reporter to make the Blu-Book even better.
For professionals and new filmmakers alike, the 2005
Blu-Book Production Directory has comprehensive
contact info on everything you need to produce a film,
TV show, commercial or music video.
- Over 250 product & service categories
- Over 6,000 listings
- Production Equipment & Services From Storyboards
to Screening Rooms
- Camera, Lighting & Sound Equipment & Services
- Sound Stage Specs Expanded to include New York
Stages
- Post Production Services Includes Animation, Title
Design & Film Scoring
- Special Effects Equipment & Services
- Location, Transportation & Travel Services
- Below-the-Line Talent Includes DPs, 1st ADs,
Film & Video Editors, and Production Designers
- New Executive Roster for major entertainment
companies

Customer Service: 323-525-2341 (M-F 9:00-5:30 PST)

The future of mankind lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted.
-- Martin Luther King, Jr. 1963

____________________________________________________
Start your day with Yahoo! - make it your home page
http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs

Unread post by **James McCormick** » Sat Aug 20, 2005 10:09 pm

> If anybody thinks you might like to get a copy through me, just let
> me know by e-mail, and I'll take your name. I'll e-mail you back
> when the book is actually out.
>
> By the way, the official date for publication is now October 19.
> The date on Amazon.com and the LSU website is inaccurate.
>
> Thanks for the interest!
>
> Sincerely,
> Jeff Anderson

Hi Jeff,

I too would like to get an autographed copy of your book. My e-mail address is as follows: [ jmccormi2005@earthlink.net]Please let me know the correct payment form to remit to you.

Thank you much.

James

Lord Orion · Unread post by **Lord Orion** » Sun Aug 21, 2005 1:49 am

Dear Jeff:

I would love to buy a book directly from you. Congratulations on your work.
I released a book nearly 2 years ago with traditional and folkloric Faery
practices called "The Faery Teachings". I am working on another one now.
Good luck to you.

Blessings,

Orion Foxwood

Unread post by **catherineyronwode** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 11:51 pm

Here is the latest in my ongoing series of "Hoodoo in Theory and
Practice" pages describing and illustrating the history and use of
lucky number interpretation dream books for playing policy, the
numbers, the lottery, and lotto games:

"Rajah's Lucky Number Dream Book: Pick-Em for Hits"
by Rajah Stanley (pseudonym)
http://www.luckymojo.com/rajahsluckynumberdream.html

Cordially,

cat yronwode

Hoodoo in Theory and Practice
http://www.luckymojo.com/hoodoo.html

Unread post by **catherineyronwode** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 4:51 am

This is the final entry in my recent series of "Hoodoo in Theory and
Practice" pages describing and illustrating the history and use of
lucky number interpretation dream books for playing policy, the
numbers, the lottery, and lotto games:

"Original Billy Bing's Dream Book"
by Billy Bing (pseudonym)
http://www.luckymojo.com/billybingsdreambook.html

As you will see when you read the web page, "Billy Bing's Dream Book"
is not only a key to divination by dreams, it also serves as an
introduction to a fairly recondite magical subject -- the popular
African American lottery betting systems called rundowns and work-outs
-- which will be the subject of the next series of web pages i will be
writing for HITAP.

Cordially,

cat yronwode

Hoodoo in Theory and Practice
http://www.luckymojo.com/hoodoo.html