Voodoo and witchcraft: it’s that time of the month

by: Mark Arellano

As the Halloween season approaches, the preparations for the scariest time of year are underway and almost every house in town is getting decked out for the holiday. Amidst the ghosts, haunted houses, and jack-o-lanterns, a feeling of unfamiliarity and even fright sink in. A relatively untouched topic that fits nicely into this time of the year are the ancient practices of Voodoo and Wicca, with their various forms of sorcery. Related in terms of correlations with magic, Satan, and religion, these two practices are different branches of “magic” and independent in beliefs and characteristics.

Many misconceptions have been drawn from the practices of Voodoo and Witchcraft (Wicca). Though the visions of possession, dolls, and sacrificing altars are correct to some extent, they are not the only practices, but only small representations of both religions. “Voodoo” means both “mystery,” and “spirit.” Wicca is an old Anglo-Saxon word for Witchcraft, which means “crafty” or “spirited” in later usages. Both practice not only ill deeds, but good deeds as well.

Rituals are performed to contact a spirit, mostly for health and healing and financial prosperity. Contact is also established to make contracts of chaos, whether to possess a soul to do harm, or to do harm upon another with mischievous possession. The use of animals is popular in voodoo, mainly to offer to a spirit a gift in return for their services. This is where the shed of animal blood is used, but never human blood. That is a huge misconception of the ritual’s ingredients.

The most popular figure in voodoo are the dolls, which were meant to represent the established contact with a spirit. In recent times, thanks to movies and such, the sticking of pins in the dolls symbolized physical damage to an individual. Though this is true, pins and hexes are only used to do evil mishaps upon people when a spirit agrees to go through with the harassment. Not all voodoo is evil, in fact, some dolls and practices are used for curing the sick or help solving problems.

Witchcraft membership in a Convene signifies involvement in a Wicca clan, with various purposes such as religious worship, casting spells, or learning new trades. Spells are used for good or bad, depending on the individual themselves. Summoning of spirits has many reasons including generating energies for self-improvement and vehicles of destruction upon selected persons.

The association with the devil in both trades has been apparent since Christian awareness of these arts have been made. Deals with the devil seem to be rumored as highlights of voodoo and witchcraft, when in fact they may not believe this at all. Both are religions of groups of people native to certain regions of the world, where Christianity is non-existent to these people. Ouija boards and psychic circles are modern day toys of these historic practices, and offer a fun, interesting, and thoughtful insight into a realm familiar to these teachings. Many students on campus are familiar, but uneducated about the rudiments and fundamentals of both trades. Senior Jennifer Craig said, “I’ve heard many bad things of both voodoo and witchcraft, but to tell the truth, I really don’t know much about both practices. They are something I am not informed about, and something I’ve never really looked into.”

Senior Deborah Pickett said, “The arts of voodoo and witchcraft are something I’m not into, but have a very mysterious quality to them that are enticing, yet forbidden at the same time. They are very interesting topics to discuss, but an eager interest in them are something I’m not keen on anytime soon.”

Now that Halloween has arrived, what better time to intertwine the characteristics and skills of both crafts during the holiday. With a better insight and deeper understanding of possession, rituals, and beliefs, Voodoo and Wicca are not as obscure as one might think of them. Instead, rising interest and continual belief in the practices keep these old religions in existence, and with popular outlets of strong awareness such as New Orleans, these beliefs will never die. It’s that time of year again, so don’t forget to place that voodoo doll next to the candy dish, incorporating Halloween symbolisms other than the Jack-O-Lantern.