Josette

With its roots in various African peoples and regions, Vodun acts as the root to both Hoodoo and Voodoo magicks. Although it can be dependent on tribe and region, Vodun generally centers itself around the worship and invocation of ancestors and lesser deities in order to gain favor and well being. These Vodun spirits govern everything from hunting and housing to sex and booze, and a hierarchy of of other deities govern the forces of nature. The various spirits and deities may also represent the ethnic ancestors of certain clans, tribes, or villages. Followers of Vodun believe that the world of the spirits and souls of the deceased live alongside the world of the living, and attempted communion between the two worlds is often encouraged.

They believe that there is one divine Creator who birthed seven children, and each ruled over a realm of nature — earth, sea, and animals — and the twins Mawu and Lisa, the female and male representations of the Moon and Sun. Dan, considered to be Mawu's androgynous son, is represented as having the form of a rainbow serpent and communes between each realm of nature and Mawu's other creations. Dan represents the mediator between the spirit and living world and represents balance, order, communication, and peace. The use of fetishes and altars that represent certain spirits and deities is commonplace in this religion as they believe that it helps breach the barrier between the two worlds and reach the gods.

Information used with permission from Rootwork