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Go buy 6 mirrors that you can glue together STOP The two ends don't have to be exact just as long as they can be glued shut STOP Put the mirror part to the inside STOP Now on the inside of this box you are going to put an article of something you hate STOP Peferably something touched by said person place or thing but a picture will do STOP Go somewhere secret alone in the woods during a full moon and dig a hole STOP Beside the hole place the box STOP Draw a circle around the box and the hole STOP Outside of this think nothing but all the hatred you have in your being staring at the box and circle yourself around the box throwing your hatred at it STOP When you feel relieved toss the box in the hole and bury it STOP Tell no one where it is STOP DONE STOP
WARNING: Don't play with that stuff as I have seen what it can do STOP I won't even allow a Ouija board in the house STOP I once caught my kids with one and you should have been there STOP You would have loved the things falling and the spirit of the Mrs. that was murdered in that house, about 15 years prior to our living there STOP Exploring Voodoo 
Ed. note: The voodoo culture has been a big part of New Orleans for centuries. But, following Katrina,
thousands of the practitioners were scattered to the wind, and a notorious part of New Orleans history was
nearly washed away. CNN's
Sean Callebs asks, "Can voodoo make a comeback?"
PAULA ZAHN: In New Orleans tonight, they're getting ready for Mardi Gras, which gets underway next month. Even a Category 4 hurricane couldn't blow away that spirit of New Orleans.
But another tradition, one that goes back hundreds of years may have suffered the curse of Katrina. The storm drove away many of the people who not only practiced voodoo, but make their living from it. Wait until you see what Sean Callebs conjured up for us. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) SEAN CALLEBS (voice over): The storm didn't carry away the signs. The voodoo symbols are everywhere here. But many voodoo practitioners were uprooted by Hurricane Katrina. BRANDI KELLEY, OWNER, VOODOO AUTHENTICA: There's a lot that's heartbreaking about New Orleans losing the voodoo flavor. Our drummers, our dancers, our practitioners, shop owners. You name it. They are scattered to the winds right now. CALLEBS: This was voodoo in better times. An annual festival, a means to celebrate what its followers consider a religion. A belief based on a cult of ancestors and communication with spirits where mystical ceremonies beckon those spirits to clean people of evil or in which chants and potions are used today harm their enemies. In New Orleans the Voodoo spirits also attracted a lot of tourists. Now, the streets here are largely vacant. Tourism, an interest in voodoo is creeping back into the French Quarter only slowly. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to check out the voodoo culture, something new to me. So I am just going to check it out because I know New Orleans is very famous for that, extremely famous. CALLEBS: Voodoo came to New Orleans via the slave trade from west Africa through Haiti. It has thrived in this city since the 1700's and produced some powerful practitioners. 
 This plain white grave site marks the resting place of Marie Laveau (1794-1881) considered the queen of voodoo in this region. Ina Fandrich is a college professor, who studies history and the practice of voodoo. INA FANDRICH, VOODOO SCHOLAR: In new Orleans, the word voodoo and Marie Lavaeu has become synonymous. She was a very, very, very highly blessed spirit. CALLEBS: She says Laveau was believed to have especially strong communication with the spirit world. Today she is still revered by people like Dr. Elmer Glover, one of the few voodoo priests still in New Orleans. He says he is a sorcerer and magician trained in Africa and Haiti. This is a religious ceremony. At times, voodoo priests kill animals, like roosters or goats. But not here. The priest is performing a cleansing ritual to purge my soul of evil. Dr. Elmer Glover, Voodoo Priest: How do you feel? CALLEBS (on-camera): Relaxed. (voice over): Glover says he's just the portal for the spirits to infuse people like me. (on-camera): What does it mean? GLOVER: It means whatever negativity you had around your heaven is cleared away, has loosened itself up and is dissipated. CALLEBS: What is this going to mean for me? GLOVER: Oh, you're going to have super success, super prosperity, super happiness, super love. Whatever you want. You'll have it. CALLEBS: Why doesn't everybody come by and do this then? GLOVER: Well, they'll be coming by after they see you. CALLEBS (voice over): Another comment practitioners have heard again and again, if voodoo is so powerful, why didn't the priests stop Katrina? KELLEY: They say, why didn't you do some ritual to, you know, make this hurricane, you know, not hit? And we say the rituals were done. The hurricane didn't hit us. The levees did. CALLEBS: So the levee broke. The people, the practitioners may have left, but... KELLEY: The voodoo spirits are here. They've been here the whole time. They're not going anywhere. And they're strong. And they are going to see us through this. CALLEBS: If and when those people who left come back, the ancient spirits will be waiting. Sean Callebs, CNN, New Orleans. (END VIDEOTAPE) ZAHN: And there's one more thing to add. Some say voodoo may be one of the oldest religions with roots that go back 10,000 years. |
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