My Night of Hoodoo by Marilyn Barr

 All authors research for our novels, but sometimes our research takes us down mysterious paths… Or is it just me? Let me tell you about my night with a Hoodoo Priestess...

Tomorrow, I release the final installment of the Walk the Walk trilogy, Walk the Night: A Vampire, Pirate Romance. The book starts in 1719 Nassau where historically a wave of yellow fever killed many of the newly colonized Europeans. Those residents who were native to the islands had innate immunity and were spared. With my educational background in science, I couldn’t resist giving this disease to the pirates of the Walk the Walk series. Three-fourths of the crew would be immune—including our hero, Branko. However, the remaining twenty-five percent—including Magda the Vampiress—would be at death’s door…

With my passion for herbal, spiritual, and alternative medicine, I am excited to highlight natural remedies without the conflicts with western medicine. Pharmaceuticals weren’t invented yet. Could I insert a green witch like Alison in the Strawberry Shifters, a Shamanic Practitioner like Nartan in Dance to a Wylder Beat, an Eastern Medicine Practitioner like Makaha in Dreamcatcher, or a Reiki healer like Cassie in The Spy Who Loved My Russian Tea Cakes? While these characters use the same techniques as I use in my spiritual healing practice, they wouldn’t be in the Caribbean in the 1700s. This area of the world belonged to the Voodoo and Hoodoo priestesses. Which one should my healer, Chevelle, be and what would be her method of healing?

Don’t panic. I have a Hoodoo Practitioner on speed dial in my friend circle. Doesn’t everyone? Morgaan and I exchange tarot card readings on New Year’s Eve each year but don’t delve into each other’s craft beyond the cards. When called her up to ask about Voodoo, Hoodoo, and Caribbean folk medicine, I didn’t expect to be invited to perform a February New Moon Ritual with her. I must admit to being nervous. Okay, I was low-key terrified. I knew little outside of the black magic stereotypes of Voodoo from books and movies. However, I trusted my friend to keep her ceremony balanced and not perform any spells on me if I left a hair behind.

“A lot of people use Voodoo and Hoodoo interchangeably, thinking they mean the same thing, but you need to understand that while they have roots in Central African religions, they are very different practices. Think of them as distant cousins at best.” – Hoodoo for Beginners by Angelie Belard

We did our rituals side by side using our own materials. She explained Hoodoo is about the connection to your spiritual ancestors to augment the timeline you travel with them. Since my caldron, favorite herbs from my garden, and tarot cards were infused with my spirit, they would make a stronger spell than what she would provide. She also encouraged me to call in my spirit team and deities. My anxiety level dropped like a stone because this mirrors my training in Shamanism. I knew my team would have my back if things got weird…what am I saying—with me it always gets weird.

Isn't my mini-caldron adorable?

She explained Voodoo is a religion centered around a certain God (which I won’t name but you can Google them. This God is not one to invoke if you aren’t in their faith according to Morgaan.) Hoodoo, however, is a spiritual practice which acts as a complement to the religious beliefs of the practitioner. Imagine my surprise when Morgaan pulled out her Bible to copy a psalm onto her fire-offering. When Africans were forced into Christian baptism by their slave masters, they hid their traditional beliefs or integrated the two. Many Hoodoo Practitioners today use the Bible as a spell book and make altars to Christian Saints instead of pagan spirits.

Instead of making dolls and summoning demons like in the movies, our ritual was like many that I have shared on my Instagram and TikTok feed. (Check them out at https://www.instagram.com/marilyn_barr_author/ or https://www.tiktok.com/@marilyn_barr_author) We made a crystal grid with elements in nature like herbs, flowers, and branches with significance to our wishes. We made tea for ourselves, our invited spirits, our altar, and to read the leaves (which I had never done). The herbs within the tea were as significant as the incantation we said over the cups. We wrote wishes for the moon cycle (just like I do monthly from Keiko’s Power Wish guide). The burn itself was accompanied by silent prayer—not the naked dancing of possessed women. It was seven degrees Fahrenheit outside that February night—every witch has her limits. Mine is frostbite.

                                                   Our actual ceremony with offering of tea!

Overall, the spells we designed for Walk the Night were remarkably similar to the ones I would have designed on my own due to the personalized nature of Hoodoo. This is another fascinating example of parallel healing modalities created across the globe but rooted in the same spiritual principles. The connection from the Earth to our intended outcome using the spiritual energy within and around us is common to Shamanism, modern witchcraft, Reiki healing, alternative spiritual medicine, and Hoodoo. I love the common themes of stewardship to the environment, honoring our ancestors, healing ourselves first, and the responsibility behind our thoughts and intentions. Despite our differences in culture, we come together to make our world a better place through collective consciousness.

What are the specific spells we designed for Walk the Night? Find out when Chevelle heals a vampire from yellow fever and takes on the European invaders who threaten her island. Here’s the blurb of Walk the Walk Book 3: Walk the Night (available on Amazon, free with KU subscription):

Magda’s second chance at marriage promises to be a dream come true—if she survives her mysterious nightmare illness. She has been married for a week and is desperate for a much longer happily ever after.

Branko would trade places with Magda in a heartbeat, but the sickness plaguing Nassau prefers European hosts and spares the natives of the Caribbean. While he believes Mother Nature is punishing those who destroy her beautiful islands, he refuses to accept that Magda deserves to be on the list for retaliation.

The civilized world hasn’t a cure for Magda, but Branko will try anything to save her—including reuniting with a ghost from his past. He requests the help of a Hoodoo priestess, but magic always comes with a price… She’s asking for Leaf, the young wildcrafter and ship’s cook, in exchange. Will Captain Branko repeat the betrayal of Blackbeard and sell a deckhand for treatment, or say goodbye to the love of his life?

Today Book 1: Walk the Plank is on sale for $0.99 (or free with KU subscription) to celebrate the completion of the Walk the Walk Trilogy. Grab your copy before the sale ends on 5/15/2022 or continue the journey on Patricia’s Wish with Branko, Magda, and the rest of me hearty crew.

·         Book 1: Walk the Plank - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09TYHPKPC/

·         Book 2: Walk the Deck - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09TYM1MCW/

·         Book 3: Walk the Night - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09TYJ49Q9/