Review
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"Born and raised in New Orleans, Denise Alvarado
learned her craft at a very early age from members of her family,
and later from various teachers and mentors. Over the past
several decades she has not only made a scholarly study of
various forms of magick and healing, as an anthropologist and
psychologist, but she has also practiced these traditions at
length, becoming a respected spiritualworker, consultant, and
writer in her own right. Written in a simple, easytounderstand
style, The Voodoo Hoodoo Spellbook is overflowing with valuable
information pertaining to the theory and practice of authentic
Voodoo hoodoo. In addition to a brief historical overview of
these practices in New Orleans, here you will find spells,
rituals, formulas, and prayers for virtually any conceivable
purpose along with correspondence charts arranged by use or
purpose for easy reference that will assist you in crafting your
own spells and formulas. In short, this book contains everything
you need to know in order to practice successful magick in the
Voodoo Hoodoo tradition. This is a book that you will return to
again and again." -Carolina Dean, author, associate editor and
contributor to Hoodoo and Conjure Quarterly--Reviews
"Hoodoo and the conjure arts are at the center of a growing
spiritual movement, as Western seekers redefine their
relationship to religion and the occult. The self-help phase of
the occult revival--epitomized by the New Age and Neopaganism for
the last halfcentury--is quickly giving way to nutsandbolts,
handson practical magick that gets things done. You could not ask
for a better introduction to Voodoo, hoodoo, gris gris or conjure
than Denise Alvarado's The Voodoo Hoodoo Spellbook. The author
grew up in New Orleans and Mississippi, and learned the art
directly from the source. She is also an anthropologist with a
firm grasp on the African Diaspora and its relationship to her
home town. This book contains everything from history to
folklore, Loas to Orishas, saints and psalms, oils, powders,
inks, washes, gris gris, talismans, candles, and conjure spells
for every imaginable need. Whether your interest in Voodoo and
hoodoo are academic or you want to learn to lay a few tricks, The
Voodoo Hoodoo Spellbook is the best place to start." -Aaron
Leitch, author of Secrets of the Magickal Grimoire--Reviews
"Presented in a downtoearth, easy to understand style--and
jampacked with a wealth of practical information--The Voodoo
Hoodoo Spellbook is, without a doubt, a practitioner's fondest
dream come true. No magical workspace is complete without it!"
-Dorothy Morrison, author of Utterly Wicked and Everyday
Magic--Reviews
"Denise Alvarado's The Voodoo Hoodoo Spellbook is a work of
considerable value to anyone interested in the workings of magic
as performed in the New Orleans area of Louisiana. It is not a
tourist-tempting hodgepodge of phony recipes but a serious
compilation of authentic rituals, spells, and instructions
gathered by a 'root worker' who grew up in the area. As
background to the meat of this work, Ms. Alvarado includes a
history of this particular folk magic and of its practitioners.
Whatever the spell or charm you need, you are certain to find it
here...and it will be effective! Along with her words, enjoy
Denise's beautiful artwork." -Raymond Buckland, Buckland's Book
of Gypsy Magic--Reviews
"A triumph of painstaking and meticulous research. Esteemed
author Denise Alvarado, herself raised in New Orleans, has
studied mysticism and practiced Voodoo Hoodoo and indigenous
healing traditions for over three decades. She is an academic
anthropologist, cultural psychologist, writer, artist, spiritual
adviser, and consultant. The Voodoo Hoodoo Spellbook is the
culmination of the author's decades of practical experience in
authentic Voodoo rituals. Wonderfully readable, The Voodoo Hoodoo
Spellbook will prove a necessary companion to both beginner and
experienced practitioner alike. A brilliant and allencompassing
work and an invaluable source of recorded oral tradition." -Dr.
Ann Nyland, author/translator of Complete Books of Enoch--Reviews
"New Orleans Voodoo and Hoodoo have a uniquely sumptuous flavor
all their own. Denise Alvarado captures that flavor perfectly in
The Voodoo Hoodoo Spellbook because she has long been immersed in
its magic and culture. The spells she presents are steeped in the
wisdom of the river, the bayous, and the roots and s that
folk practitioners have used for centuries. As the famed New
Orleans Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau did before her, Denise creates
a path to these traditions for all who seek to discover them.
Explore everything from the pantheons of Voodoo to their
corresponding saints and the prayers to call them; learn about
the roots, s, oils, and other ingredients that practitioners
use; and employ voodoo dolls, gris gris, and other powerful
spirit tools that can help you work the magic!" --Christian Day,
author of The Witches' Book of the Dead--Reviews
About the Author
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Denise Alvarado is a native Creole raised in the
Voodoo and hoodoo rich culture of New Orleans. She is a
rootworker in the New Orleans Voodoo hoodoo tradition, a medicine
woman in the Native American tradition, a cultural psychologist,
ritual artist, spiritual adviser and seminar leader. Her
provocative artwork has been featured on National Geographic's
Taboo.