Hmmm interesting!

[MistOfTheSea86]

Voodoo is recognized as a religion (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030410/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/haiti_voodoo_2)

[Amethyst Rose]

That's kinda neat. I'm interested in learning more about Voodoo as a religion (because I thought it was mostly superstition, honestly). At the moment I'm too sick to do my own research so if anyone has any info on it, please fill me in. ;)

[mol]

I probably need to study a bit more...from what I knew about voodoo/voudou I didnt think it would be a 'religion' but moe like a form of Magic.

[Rainx]

I understood voodoo was the magic and hoodoo the religion? But meh probably wrong. Maybe they mean voodoo as in voodoo magic + religion, like some people use the term witchcraft to mean magic but their religion tied deeply into it (what some might call green witchcraft).

[mol]

Probably so...you are probably right Rainx.

[WitchJezebel]

If I may... I studied Southern Voodoo for several years. It was brought from Africa by the slaves and settled into the U.S., Haiti and other Islands where the slaves were brought. The slaves were punished by the Catholic church for practicing their religion (cuz it was "evil") so to hide it from the slave owners they used Catholic icons to cover up who they originally were. This became a blend of Catholicism & Voodoo and was accepted as general Voodoo. Hoodoo, is the southern term for Voodoo and if I remember correctly, the 'bad' voodoo.

It's accepted both as a religion cuz of the Catholicism base and as a form of magic from the African traditions. Basically, the magic comes mostly from calling up ancestors and/or Loa (deities). For example, Papa Legba is the Loa of the crossroads; Baron Samedi is the Loa of Death (he's a real dangerous one to call on, he likes offerings of rum, cigars and he's real hard to get rid of once he shows).

Hope this answers any questions, if not feel free to ask, if I don't know it, I'm sure I've got the materials at home to find the answer.

[Happydog]

Hoodoo is completely different from Voodoo. Rather than go into a lot of detail, here's a link to Cat Yronwode's site. She is way cool and has been practicing hoodoo (and magick) for longer than most of us have been alive.

http://www.luckymojo.com/hoodoo.html

[WitchJezebel]

Interesting Happy; I was told otherwise, thanx for the clarification! I had no 'exposure' to hoodoo back then.

[WitchJezebel]

For comparison go to:

http://www.swagga.com/voodoo.htm