Houngan Matt's Vodou Blog

A City Houngan's Life Among the Lwa

The Money Month of May

May6

When I say Money… what do you think? Do you want it? Do you need it?

We all do; Money is HUGE.

I gotta say that the second most popular form of work I do, or the second most popular work people ask for, is for money (the first, of course, being for Love in all of its majesty and splendor)… I LOVE to work for people, and I LOVE to hear back from those folks pleased with the work we’ve done, but I get a special thrill when money work lands on target and does its thing. ;) Its a thing of beauty.

May is the time for one of Vodou’s most beloved spirits, our agriculturist and worker, Kouzen Zaka. Zaka LOVES to work! (a funny thing is that frequently, because of the way I wear my hair and my beard, Im told all the time that I look like Zaka’s chromolithograph… seriously! if you run a google image search for Kouzen Zaka/Saint Isidore, the one that has him kneeling in his field looking up to God looks *just like me* ;) )

Zaka and I set up a KICK ASS prosperity and money altar for the month of May; a special place where we focus his work on making our clients happy/fulfilling their needs (which in this economy we’re all feeling more keenly than ever before), a spot where he and I can work together setting lights, candles, and lamps, to help our clients (YOU! ;) ) get ahead and get what you need!

Money work comes in many different forms; it could be getting you money that someone owes you, it could be working towards general prosperity and managing risks/seeking financial stability, or it could be money drawing for a quick fix (heck, even gambling spells fall under this kind of work… I dont do lottery number stuff, but who couldnt use a little extra luck?) All sorts of different works fall under the heading of Money Magic… but all of this is the kind of work that Kouzen Zaka does best; a hard working spirit who gets things done.

So lets GET ‘EM DONE!

If you want to hop in and have your work done on our prosperity/money altar, let me know! This is one area where simple candle work is fantastic (and the more people join in, the more the candle flames multiply and the hotter the work gets to be for everybody!) and above all, affordable (Im in this to get YOU the money you need, not take it outta your pocket. ;) )

Let me know what kind of money work you’re after; send me a small/short paragraph, just enough to write on a small index card, about what you need (which gets tucked under your dressed and prepared candle on the Money Altar) to Houngan @ Vodou Boston . com (take all those spaces out, of course)… dont trust the paypal message box; for some reason that’s never worked for me, please send me your petition through an email ;)

Lemme know what you need, and lets get working!

7day Money Magic Vigil Candle with Kouzen – $30.00/US currency

Still Alive

April23

Wow! I didnt realize its been as long as it really has been since Ive written in here…. I promise a LOT of good things to come, and they’ll be here soon. There’s been a flurry of activity in getting a whole bunch of special and fun plans going over the last couple of months, and they’re *almost* ready to reveal…. but not just yet. ;)

Your friendly neighbourhood Houngan is still alive and still kicking… and has some FUN plans in store. ;)

In the meantime, you can always feel free to find me on Facebook (I believe I am the *only* Bozanfe on the entire facebook network) and see what’s been happening that hasnt made it to the teaching blog! ;)

The Community Lamp Project

December13

So… its been a while since Ive published anything on here… I have a whole bunch of posts that are currently drafts, being worked on here and there as I have the time and inspiration, but this one I need to get out while it’s hot in my mind….. I promise the other ones will be finished up soon, but in the meantime, I hope you enjoy…..

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A Deeper Look: More on Vodou’s Cosmology and the public state of Vodou education

October30

Lies and the Lying Liars who tell them:
A fair and balanced look at Vodou education

So, at the moment, there’s a lady online who Ima not gonna name but we’ve publicaly locked heads on many an occasion who’s teaching a Legba service… She teaches that Legba’s colors are White in Rada and Red in Petro, so put both red and white on the table to serve him all at once…. wait, what?

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The Importance of Laughter

October30

So, this particular little postlette is about a lesson Ive had the hardest time with… usually, Im totally fine with it, but every once in a while something used to just get on my nerves to the point where I was letting it live in my head, rent free, dwelling on it instead of sending it the eviction notice it deserved.

What I had to learn is that sometimes, some things, you just gotta laugh off; allow them to sink in, not as something potentially angering, but as the funny ass things they really are when you look at them the right way.

Keep reading if you want to know what got my funny bone THIS time… ;) Its a doozy, but comes with some good lessons attached. ;)

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New to the Vodou Blog?

October30

Welcome! I hope you enjoy reading this blog as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it!

This has been a wonderful process, tinkering around with a WordPress blog site as well as figuring out just how much basic Vodou information Ive got rattling around in this noggin o’ mine that I can put out into simple lessons for you. (A really big motivator for me has always been to put actual, valuable information out in a free and easy to use way; information that wasnt anywhere to be seen when I was first starting out on this footpath.)

If you’re new here, or new to Vodou in general, one thing you’ll want to do is to scroll down the page to where it says “Categories”, and click on the tab “Basic Vodou Lessons”; there’s a GREAT DEAL of free and useful information there, all written for the non-initiate and written to help you get practicing at home serving Spirit in traditional ways that will either provide you with a wonderful at-home practice, or will prepare you for any of the Vodou houses that are out there should you be called to serve in a more social traditional setting. ;)

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Little Secrets, or a Little Window to Mystery

October27

Its not really a secret at all, actually, but one of those things that only happens when you open your eyes at the right angle… like those little mystery pictures that only show what they are when you’re not focused on them, every once in a while little pieces and little chunks of the Vodou cosmology fall into place and give you little revelations.

And sometimes, not so little revelations. Read the rest of this entry »

A Brief Word about VEVE

October22

So… by now, judging by the work I’ve been having you do in our basic Vodou lessons series (What? so… click on the tab that says ‘basic vodou lessons, and read from the oldest posts forward… there’s a LOT in there!) and the reading around the web you’ve probably been doing… you’re guaranteed by now to have come across Veve.

You might have seen them in books; you may even have seen them for sale online included in little ‘do-it-yourself’ kits available from different sosyete (societies), and you’re practically guaranteed to have seen a bunch decorating various Vodou sites, both traditional and radically fraudulent.  Veve are *everywhere* these days… heck, if you’ve friended me on Facebook (Bozanfe Bon Oungan over there, and I’d be glad to see ya!) you can find a whole bunch of veve I have traced for parties in my photo directories.

Here’s the thing though… well, actually a couple of things.

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Woohoo!

October20

So, I dont want to jinx anything just yet…. but, this evening I met a *lovely* shop keeper here in Baltimore (for those who didnt know, I moved down here in September… but the domain is still Vodou Boston, which is still ultimately home ;) ) and it looks like there’s gonna be an upcoming series of classes! ;) The store is an incredible location, lots of fun and lots of useful stuff packed in there…. but I’ll let on more as things get finalized ;)

So far it looks like an Ancestor class (setting up and working an ancestral table), one on the basic categories of Lwa (Rada, Petro, Ghede) and the salutes for each (very similar to the early early posts under ‘Basic Vodou Lessons’… go click that tab if you havent read those, and start with the oldest ones first) and maybe even some classes in Vodou Baths and Vodou Lamp Magic (for non-initiates).

Maybe even some readings. ;)

I dunno about you, but I think it’s about time Vodou hit the Charm City.

Got some specials running in honor of the move and firing up the new altars, and now’s the perfect time to mention ‘em. ;)
http://blog.vodouboston.com/charm-city-vodouspecial-for-october/

 

More updates to follow ;)

Vodou Bath Magic

October18

First things first…. yeah, Im gonna give you a couple recipes and an explanation of how some of these things function, but its grain-of-salt time; these things, made by you, will be good for their purpose but will NOT be as strong as those made by initiated hands… take these as basic and starter level, but DONT take them as a substitute for work from an initiated priest/ess when you need that work done. While these are GOOD BATHS, these are flyswatters in comparison to the tactical nuke an initiate has in their hands.

Also, dont make these for others; keep these for yourself, and if someone asks you about them please send them here, directly to me, or to another Vodou initiate… again, these work, and they do well, but this is all about explanation and NOT about power… the hands of an initiate will always make a stronger bath or work product than those of a non-initiate; we call it “heat” (other similar traditions use the word Ache/Ashe/Axe to mean a similar principle of power given/ramped up as a result of the initiations… keep that in mind.)

Read more about Vodou Bath Magic after the jump…  Read the rest of this entry »

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