Voodoo
Overview
Pantheon
Petro LoaRada LoaPractitioners
Mambo and HunganLeft Hand PractitionersSecte RougePactedBokorWorshiping of the Loa
SacrificeCeremonyAltarsPactedPetitioning the LoaSome Major Loa and Their Powers
DamballahErzuliPapa LegbaBaron SamediOgounAgweMademoiselle CharlotteKalfuSome Basics
Making CursesBreaking CursesBlessingsPossessionProphecyQ&A
OVERVIEW
Voodoo is derived from a synthesis between the African Dahomey religion and Christianity. It was born from slave traffic into Haiti, where traditional religions were outright banned and Christianity enforced. The religion spread as slaves were sold off, taking a most notable foothold in New Orleans, but eventually reaching across the United States and branching into other countries. Voodoo is not to be confused with Santeria, which is an entirely separate religion with an entirely separate pantheon.
PANTHEON
Though there is only one pantheon in voodoo. Each Loa (deity) is represented by two aspects, the petro and the rada side of their personality. Like humans, no one side is purely good or evil, though it is often perceived that way because good practitioners (the mambo and the hungan) petition the rada loa and those who deal with the left hand petition the petro for favors.
There is also a lower class of loa who exist only in petro form. They are the newer loa forged of the pain and suffering that slaves endured during their initial years in Haiti. These loa are not nearly as powerful as the older gods imported from the original Dahomey religion (and imbued with Christian ideology as well) but came into existence during a time of hurt, so all they know are these dark and negative emotions.
Petro Loa
The petro side of the loa is agressive and violent. The petro are associated with jealousy, pettiness and hurt. This is the side to petition when one wishes to cause pain or lay curses. Though the mambo and the hungan, as well as parishioners of the humfo may be ridden by the petro loa, they do not directly worship the petro side of the loa, but the loa as a whole. To direct worship to the petro loa is the work of black magicians or bokors. The price of their favors are often painful to the petitioner, or bloody. They might ask for an object precious to the one seeking a favor, for flesh given in lust, for blood, tears or for some mundane sensual indulgence (liquor, exotic foods, cigarettes, perfume, etc).
Rada Loa
The rada loa are generous, kind and helpful. One seeks them for the relief of a curse, for cures or luck and charms to bring fortune and ward off evil. The rada loa are petitioned by the hungan and mambo, each of whom have a special relationship to the rada Damballah, but will petition the rada of other loa for certain favors for the betterment of the hunsi in general or for a specific member who is in need somehow. It is through the mambo or the hungan that the member will receive instructions on what it is the loa requires for their services. The rada loa often prefer garlands of flowers, special ceremonies in their name, food (African, Caribbean or the like), jewelry or liquor.
PRACTITIONERS
Mambo and Hungan
The mambo (priestess) and hungan (priest) are the female and male religious leaders of the voodoo hunsi (congregation) and the humfo (church) is often located in the basement of their house or in a building that one (or both) own. They do not have to be married, or related, they are simply two people who have been called to power and trained vigorously by the mambo and hungan before them.
Though much of the ceremony of initiation remains a secret, it is known that Damballah himself, as a whole loa, chooses the next hungan and mambo from the candidates. In the final ceremony, all of the candidates for priesthood, shod in white, will stand before the mambo and hungan. Damballah will possess the two he has chosen and they will take the rattles from the current mambo and hungan. The other candidates will return as normal hunsi and looked on as leaders (priests and priestesses, this will be addressed later), while the two chosen will follow the current mambo and hungan, learning from them until their deaths.
The mambo, hungan and all candidates for priesthood are magically inclined. They are able to communicate directly with the loa, remove curses, preform exorcisms and blessings, make charms and wards, lay to rest ghosts, spirits and zombies, as well as a variety of other things. Their particular style of magic involves heavy ritual and all imbued objects must have been premade in ritual space before they can be used. That being said, the mambo and hungan alone are powerful enough to invoke the loa outside of ritual space to turn aside a forced possession, counter act a curse or secure a perimeter from evil and drive it out. The toll for this to the loa is heavy, but oftentimes worth it.
The humfo itself is the home of the loa in a particular city. There is usually brick dust outside of the threshold of the doors (this is actually a hoodoo fix, which is quite different from voodoo) that will turn aside most who mean harm to the humfo or the hunsi. Inside, there is usually no alarm. Any who steal from the humfo steal from the loa themselves and that is a Very Bad Thing. Members of the Secte Rouge and left hand practitioners will find themselves unable to enter, bokor will have a difficult time entering.
Left Hand Practitioners
They started life training to be a hungan or mambo, though some are descended from lines of “dark” priests and priestesses. They hold no formal name or congregation and are usually solitary practitioners (exception noted below) who charge for curses, pain inflicted and futures read. The left hand are typically secretive about their practices and if they charge for their services, advertising tends to be on a word of mouth basis or done from a storefront that seemingly sells mundane objects. There are, however, always exceptions to the rule.
The left hand practitioners worship both aspects of the loa as well, but only ever petition the petro for favors of cursing, inflicting pain or fortune telling. The left hand, amusingly enough, is the side responsible for love spells considering it subverts the will of the afflicted.
It is uncommon for the mambo or hungan and the left hand to engage each other mortally. Only on very rare occasions will one go out of the way to harm the other, only if one upsets the balance of the other.
Secte Rouge
The most terrifying force in left hand voodoo, most will not even speak of the Secte aloud lest they bring down the attention of the Secte upon them. Their leader is a dark priest (always male) called the Zobop who took the mantle of leadership through the pain and blood of those closest to him (usually family or the hungan and mambo whom he studied under) and through profaning the rada loa so egregiously (under the guidance of the petro) that seeking absolution is impossible.
He gathers those disgruntled members of the hunsi who seek power and wealth, those of the community who do not practice, but are darker in nature are targets of him as well. The Zobop will bind the members of the Secte to him through a pact of pain that imprints violently on the soul and, while the Secte may be put down, the the mark will never go away. The column (congregation) dresses in red velvet robes with hoods that obscure the face.
Their rituals involve blood and pain. When the Secte meets, someone dies. The 'white goat' is a human sacrifice and slain twice a year to the petro loa in order to keep the Zopob and the column powerful. The blood of children is often sacrificed and drank on certain ritual occasions, in an effort to petition the loa for youth and wealth. The Zobop himself will slay black bulls and roosters throughout the year to the petro for the typical favors he asks in order to maintain control of the column.
When the Secte is at its strongest, their recruitment tactic is brutal and strikes fear into every believer. A knock at midnight on the door and if you answer, a man with a machete will as you “Come in or go out?” if you choose 'come in' you are taken and initiated. If you choose 'go out' then you are killed. Of course, this is something more common in Haiti and rumored to take place off and on in New Orleans.
The Secte is selfish, and if the mambo and hungan are more powerful, and closing in on them, they will attempt to reign down a natural disaster. This is, of course, to the detriment of the entire city and not only the voodoo community and the mambo and hungan might attempt to appeal to the other supernaturals in order to prevent it.
Pacted
Also called priests or priestesses. Candidates for the mambo and hungan who were not chosen, tend to be “picked up” by other loa to hold court over their special ceremonies and perform direct worship for direct favors. Early on, the loa might try to lay a mark on one of their future pacted, this is one reason why an individual might be turned down by Damballah. The pact involves a mark, usually a tattoo or a scarification, somewhere on the body. This creates a “door” that the loa can enter through any time the pacted calls upon them.
It is because of this that the pacted has a power no other practitioner possesses; half possessions. Typically, to cause a possession, one must be in ritual space, even if one is forcing that possession on another from a distance. For the pacted, they have only to call on the loa in whatever way has been agreed upon and the loa will enter. Depending on rada or petro, for the pacted can call on both, the left or right eye will change color and the practitioner will see the world through the vision of the loa in that eye. The loa see the truth, but their version if it. Meaning, they can distinguish between vampire, wizard, shifter and fairy, but cannot tell species of shifter or fairy court or what sort of powers a vampire or wizard has. They blemishes on a person's soul are visible, but unless otherwise agreed upon, only in specific in voodoo users.
They will have direct access to as much of the power of the loa as they can handle. This is a much more active and aggressive practice than either mambo and hungan, Zobop, bokor or left hand practitioner has outside of ritual space. But it does not come without a price.
The blot for calling on the loa is high and heavy and there is also a limit on what a practitioner can handle. The loa are demanding, and one must have the willpower to resist their wants while being ridden, as well as to resist the half possession from becoming a full possession. The pacted will also not be able to call on these half possessions as often as they like, it takes time and experience to build up the stamina to call on the loa once a week, let alone at will. For a newly pacted practitioner, once a month under the guidance of the mambo and hungan for the first year is usually all a person can manage.
If a pacted does not pay the blot of worship that the loa demands, the pact will remain, but the loa will not answer the call until their ego is assuaged and their demands (higher the longer one waits) are catered to.
Multiple pacts are possible. But they are difficult. One must have a good handle on their first pact before they strike a second. A third is nearly unheard of and a fourth generally thought of as impossible. A pact is a large investment of time in the worship of that particular loa (on top of all the other loa one must continue to worship), as well as emotions and energy. The longer and more intensely one is pacted, the more they can feel the loa. A mere man pitting their will against one god is difficult enough, imagine two or three and it's enough to drive one mad.
Bokor
They deal with the left and right hand, the petro and rada loa, but hold protection from neither. A bokor's power is on par with a mambo or hungan or left hand practitioner. They can curse and heal and call down the loa, but their toll is very high for they must appease both sides. Failure to do so results in the bokor being consumed from the inside by fire. Literally.
For that drawback, the bokor has the luxury of not worshipping the loa if they aren't calling upon them, or alternately, using the powers of left hand or right hand magic (mambo and hungan) at will. There are very few living bokors in the world, one would be hard pressed to find more than one in a city outside of New Orleans.
WORSHIPING OF THE LOA
If you practice voodoo and you have power, you will worship the loa.
Sacrifice
The historical component of sacrifice was that, not only did the life of the creature go to the loa for favors, but the meat of the creature went to feed the voodoo community (Which, historically, was very poor, but that changes with the times). The bigger the life given to the loa, the bigger the favor.
Typically, the sacrifice is a chicken or a goat. The rada prefer any color aside black, the petro will accept only black. For a bigger favor, a pig (any color but gray) is acceptable and for very large favors, or typical among the pacted, is a cow or bull. The meat of any sacrifice is butchered, barbequed and served to the hunsi. A right hand practitioner will never sacrifice a human. To do so stains the soul and will cast them forever from the grace of the rada loa (with exception).
The pacted, if they kill another person in sacrifice to their pacted loa are not affected by the backlash of the rada and can gain high favors from their pacted loa. However, if found out, they will be evicted from the voodoo community, a mock funeral held, and will never find solace with another hunsi again.
Left hand practitioners, bokors and the Secte are all capable of practicing human sacrifice. They slay the “goat without horns” or the “white goat” for the power it gives, but this human sacrifice leaves a blemish on the soul that can never be erased and will be visible to anyone from the third eye.
Sacrifice can also be an object. Many petro will ask for things that are special or irreplaceable to the petitioner if the favor is large. Otherwise, the typical material sacrifices are expensive cloth, jewelry, food, flowers, liquor, cigarettes, etc.
Ceremony
Whether official or not, the loa like being acknowledged. There are many and varied, official and solitary ceremonies, there are some that are not held in the humfo, but are performed at a favorite place of the particular loa being worshipped. Samedi, for example, is often worshipped in a small ceremony by leaving plantains, rum and cigarettes at a crossroads in a cemetery.
Each gathering of the hunsi is considered a ceremony as they do worship the entire pantheon of the loa and give time for each practitioner to make their own additional appeals to loa from which they might want or need favors from and have previously been instructed to give worship to.
The anatomy of a typical gathering of the hunsi- something that happens weekly or monthly depending on the community is as follows: parade of the flags of the loa to the altar, songs, candles and small sacrifices to each loa, possessions, petitioning of the loa from the mambo or hungan to the loa via the possessed person, then personal worship for favors and dinner.
Altars
Most practitioners have their own personal altars in their homes or in a private place. The act of small offerings, lighting a candle, pouring a shot glass of rum or lighting a cigarette on a daily basis, even when asking for nothing, can go a long way for the loa.
Pacted
Their body is a temple, literally. Through drinking, smoking, fucking and every indulgence that the loa enjoy, they are worshipping the pacted loa. It's a complicated thing that can blur the lines between a person's self and the loa. Yet another reason that these pacts are so precarious and not lightly made.
Petitioning the Loa
Loa can be pitted against one another. The rada and petro side of a particular loa can be pitted against each other as well. One should be wary of doing either because the consequences can be disastrous. The loa are vengeful in their own right, and they never forget. Minor, petro only loa can be petitioned through their own ceremonies, but they can never overcome the power of a full loa.
In order to initiate any sort of petition to the loa, one must first summon them. The specific ceremonies can be lengthy or quick and dirty, a veve, a few candles, a dead chicken and cigarettes at the crossraods in cemetary, for example. Just make sure you understand which loa demand the full ceremonies and which don't mind a shortcut. Piss a loa off and you might find the opposite of what you want happening.
And just because someone makes a demand, does not mean it will be granted. Worship is a two way street, if the loa ignores a petitioner enough times, eventually the loa will lose that worshipper. And if a petitioner does not worship the loa enough post fact, the loa will not be inclined to grant requests.
SOME MAJOR LOA AND THEIR POWERS
These are not all of the loa and not all of their various powers. However, each loa does act in only certain realms of influence. Baron Samedi, for instance, will never bestow a love potion with power whereas Damballah could act against all the other loa, but would not.
Damballah: Restoring balances. He is often depicted with snakes and does not usually act in the human world but is the main source of power for the hungan and mambo.
Possession: Damballah does not speak, but hisses like a snake or makes a staccato “tetetete” sound. The possessed person's eyes go milky white with a slitted pupil and no iris. It is rare that he will possess a member of the hunsi, and only the mambo and hungan can understand his hisses.
Representations: Serpents and rainbows.
Sacrifices: An egg sprinkled with flour.
Colors: White or a rainbow
Erzuli: Often depicted with iconography of the virgin Mary (rada) or black Mary (petro) holding a knife. Her rada side is associated with beauty, love and dancing, her petro side with sex, jealousy and violence.
Possession: Usually possessed by a woman, she will flirt with the men and ask for gifts of jewelry, perfume or cakes. The possessed person will speak in a high pitched voice and only in French, their eyes will go blue and their movements will be graceful and sensuous.
Representations: Petro- a heart, Rada- a heart with a knife through it.
Sacrifices: Jewelry, expensive cloth, expensive perfume, cakes, cherries, hand mirrors.
Colors: Blue
Papa Legba: He controls the gateway between the living and the dead. In order to speak to the dead, one must petition him. Papa Legba, not Damballah, is the first loa worshipped during rituals and ceremonies. His rada side is associated with exorcisms of people and places, and speaking with the dead. His petro side is associated with hauntings, possessions by dead spirits and ghosts. Legba speaks every language in the world and is considered a messenger of destiny and is often depicted with St. Peter iconography.
Possession: The possessed will walk with a crutch and smoke a crude pipe.
Representations: A crutch or a door.
Sacrifices: Tobacco for his pipe, feeding stray dogs.
Colors: None Specific
Baron Samedi: He is the Master of the Cemetery and associated with curses and healing. The Baron can literally kill a person, or give them a fate worse than death- living without the ability to die. His rada side is associated with healing, overturning curses, sex, resurrection and preventing zombies. His petro side associated with curses, controlling zombies, death, and living death. He is the head of the Guedo family of the loa (death loa) and presides over Baron Cimiterrie and Captain Zombie who share aspects of his power.
Possession: The possessed person's eyes will turn brown, will speak in a high, nasal voice, smoke cigarettes and drink rum. The face will be painted up as a skull, the possessed will wear a tophat and flirt with either gender.
Representations: Skulls, coffins and crosses
Sacrifices: Rum, cigarettes, plantains, blood, death and sex.
Colors: Red and Black
Ogoun: He is the warrior loa and loa of the forge. When a person seeks to make an imbued item such as a metal worked talisman or blade (ritual or otherwise) it is he that is petitioned. He is also sought when one goes into battle. His rada aspects are battle strategy, fighting (capoiera), strength, forging objects. His petro aspects are violence, rage and fire. In Christian iconography he is associated with Christ.
Possession: The possessed person's eyes will go silver, their voice will be low and they will flirt with women. During possession, one may forge an imbued piece of jewelry or an imbued weapon. When possessed by the petro, his possessions will often become violent, the only way to keep him from waving his machete (metal or otherwise) around is to give him rum.
Representations: Hammer and anvil, machete.
Sacrifices: Rum, small animals killed with a machete, the roots of large trees.
Colors: Silver and green.
Agwe: He is considered the loa of water and appears as a handsome gentleman with good manners and a soft voice. His rada nature is associated with water, rope, survival, and sea life. His petro nature is associated with water, rope and sea life.
Possession: The possessed person's eyes will go green and will speak with a crisp military tone. He will be gentlemanly to the ladies and carry an oar with him.
Representations: A boat with sails, an oar.
Sacrifices: Toy ships, fish or any kind of seafood dishes.
Colors: Blue and green.
Mademoiselle Charlotte: She is one of the few white loa, a former mambo who was so powerful and well respected that she was invited to become loa after her death. Her rada aspects include politics, social standing. Her petro include gossip and persecution. She does not manifest often and is difficult to woo. Only those she favors will have their petitions answered.
Possession: She speaks proper French (Ezili's French is broken) in a demure voice and is very proper. The possessed person's eyes will turn golden brown.
Representations: Roses.
Sacrifices: Roses, non alcoholic drinks and cherries in syrup.
Colors: Rose red.
Kalfu: He is also called carrefour, which literally means crossroads. He is the strongest of the petro only loa and often tells people that he's aligned with Papa Legba and knows all the important loa. But he is a trickster and patron of sorcerers because of his strong abilities in prophesy and black magic. His presence heralds the coming of the other petro only loa in a ceremony and thus the hunsi will cease to speak in his presence.
Possession: The eyes of the possessed will go red and the person will walk with a swagger, picking up the petro whip and cracking it. He will demand respect and brag about his association with the loa.
Representations: The black rooster.
Sacrifices: Black roosters, the blood of children.
Colors: Red and yellow.
Once more, these are not all of the loa, only a few of the most powerful and well known. The different aspects of the loa are meant as a guide for what each loa can or cannot do when called upon. The specifics of how they will act and what sorts of spells, charms, talisman or favors will be bestowed are up to the players themselves to work out, within reason. If it does not fall into the field of that particular loa, then they will not be able to grant that power. This is where some of the not listed loa will be able to be fleshed out more by game play.
SOME BASICS
Making Curses
Cursing by Affinity- needs the usual hair, blood, or fingernails for the strongest effect. Favorite garments or jewelry can be used to a lesser effect. One can only petition the petro for this. And the effect is only as strong as the emotion that the practitioner puts behind it. One time use.
Curse by Proxy- hair, blood or fingernails (or jewelry or garment) attached to a doll. Can only petition the petro for this and the effect is only as strong as the emotion behind the intent. Can be used more than once, but once the object is separated from the doll, the curse is broken.
Curse by Proximity- after the petro loa curses the representative items (items representing what the curse will do), the items are burned to ash and the ash scattered over the door frame of the house of the person one wants to be cursed. Only the petro can perform this curse and the curse affects the first person to step over the frame. Tricky to use.
Curse by Demand- while possessed by the spirit of a petro loa, a direct curse is placed from loa to victim. This curse is at the whim of the loa on effect and viciousness. This is the most potent and difficult type of curse.
All curses consume spiritual energy, a bite at the soul of the ones preforming the curse. The only way to soothe the soul, as it were, is to worship the loa after wards. Not only does this keep them contented to preform for you again (if they choose) but it renews the spiritual energy. If one does not preform the worship, the bites at the soul accumulate and one's power begins to wane.
Breaking Curses
Breaking by Affinity- using plantains or rum, one petitions the rada loa to bless them. If the blessing is successful, the petitioner gives the victim the food and the victim eats it, breaking the curse if effective. Rada only can perform this.
Breaking by Proxy- transferring the curse to a chicken or rabbit via the assistance of a loa. The animal can either be released and no harm will come to either party. The animal can be killed and the negative power of the curse will backlash to the one who set it. Rada or Petro.
Breaking by Demand- while posessed by the spirit of a rada loa, one can heal the curse outright.
Healing curses promotes spiritual renewal to the one performing it, helping replenish the soul and power of the practitioner. The loa still need to be appeased afterwards, but this can be foisted off on the one who was healed. Unsuccessful healings, when the loa petitioned is lesser than the rada who performed the curse, are a complete drain on the practitioner's power.
Reversal- while posessed by a petro loa, one can mirror the curse back at the one who set it. This is considered a negative and aggressive action, no negative or positive spiritual energy is gained, no power renewed. The one who has the curse set back on them experiences a drain by both the loa he or she petitioned and the one reversing the curse.
Blessings
Of a Person- more powerful with a possession, but can be done without. These are one time use things and either expire on a time limit or after they've done their duty. Raise resistance to curses, resistance to possession.
Of a Place- more powerful with a possession, but can be done without. Can dispel a haunting or be a preventative measure. One time use.
Of a Thing- more powerful with a possession, but can be done without. Can bring luck, repel curses. Long shelf life if the prescribed sacrifices to the issuing loa are made. Typically a gris-gris.
These all imbue the person, place or thing with a portion of the practitioner's power and of their spiritual energy. Thus, they have to make up for that loss in either service to the loa or service to fellow humans. If a more powerful practitioner overcomes the blessing, the original practitioner suffers the negative backlash.
Possession
Full Possession- the practitioner goes "to the milky ocean." The conscious mind checks out and the loa is in full control. It isn't often that, outside of the humfo and the religious ceremony, that the loa are able to gain full possession. Ceremonial drums are always needed for full possession, thus this can be used as a weapon against practitioners by other practitioners. Forced possessions damage the psyche and power of the practitioner in a very lasting way.
When fully possessed, the loa can be capricious or kind to those around them. They can give blessings, curse, imbue objects of power and so on. However, they will always ask for something in return, and if you do not give them what they ask for in a short amount of time, their gift will turn against you.
The loa possessing someone fully will protect they body they are riding. This does not mean they won't attempt to get that body drunk, eat vast amounts of food, or have sex with that body. What it means is that they will defend the body from physical or magical harm by another party.
In order to force a possession, the ceremony to "call" the loa must have already taken place and. If you have not previously summoned the loa, there is no way to force a possession.
The loa are able to differentiate between wizard, vampire, fairy and shifter, etc. Unless otherwise agreed upon in gameplay, they cannot differentiate between shifter species, see a wizard or vampire's power or tell which Court a fairy belongs to (unless it's kind of obvious). They can see blots on a person's soul, but only know the specifics of those on the soul of a voodoo practitioner (unless otherwise agreed upon in gameplay).
Prophecy
Poison Oracle- The practitioner is seeking an answer to a question. The answer will never be given in specific, but in vague symbols through a vision. This vision is granted when the practitioner allows themselves to be bitten by a venomous ritual snake. The practitioner is literally poisoned and has a vision, but will come out of it when the ritual is over.
Q&A
Q: Can't Only Animators and Necromancers Raise Zombies?
A: Yes and no. A voodoo zombie is not a dead person brought back to life. A voodoo zombie is someone hopped up on a drug cocktail that is more susceptible to influence and tends to walk in a staggering fashion. The effects do wear off, eventually. Practitioners can put a zombie down if the conditions are right.
Do keep in mind that many Animators and Necromancers do practice voodoo and those can raise the typical zombies.
Q: Are Voodoo Practitioners Wizards?
A: No. The voodoo practitioners have their power by the grace of the loa. There might be something special about a person that attracts the special attention of the loa and allows them to work voodoo as opposed to just worshipping in it, but without the loa, these people would simply be average folk.
This means that the White Council does not hold jurisdiction over the voodoo practitioners. The Mambo and the Hungan police their own community, as well as law enforcement when certain laws are broken or suspected of being broken.
Q: How Does Voodoo Affect My Character?
A: Obviously this all depends on the cooperation of players but let's be realistic, an average Joe won't much be able to turn aside a curse worked against him without some help. On the other hand, average Joe might not have brought down the wrath of that left hand practitioner if he hadn't pissed on his shoes at the bar the other night. In other words, if you don't want to get your character involved with voodoo, you don't have to. Just be realistic about consequences if you do.
Each species will probably react to voodoo differently. Mages would likely be more skilled at combating curses and talisman, but on the other hand the power backing those curses and talisman are foreign and from the direct source. Same with vampires, were creatures and the like. It's all a matter of how things are agreed upon between players.
Voodoo is also most powerful when worked against people who believe in it, which can be an interesting in-game double edged sword.
This is a very open system because the religion itself is open and fluid.
Pantheon
Petro LoaRada LoaPractitioners
Mambo and HunganLeft Hand PractitionersSecte RougePactedBokorWorshiping of the Loa
SacrificeCeremonyAltarsPactedPetitioning the LoaSome Major Loa and Their Powers
DamballahErzuliPapa LegbaBaron SamediOgounAgweMademoiselle CharlotteKalfuSome Basics
Making CursesBreaking CursesBlessingsPossessionProphecyQ&A
OVERVIEW
Voodoo is derived from a synthesis between the African Dahomey religion and Christianity. It was born from slave traffic into Haiti, where traditional religions were outright banned and Christianity enforced. The religion spread as slaves were sold off, taking a most notable foothold in New Orleans, but eventually reaching across the United States and branching into other countries. Voodoo is not to be confused with Santeria, which is an entirely separate religion with an entirely separate pantheon.
PANTHEON
Though there is only one pantheon in voodoo. Each Loa (deity) is represented by two aspects, the petro and the rada side of their personality. Like humans, no one side is purely good or evil, though it is often perceived that way because good practitioners (the mambo and the hungan) petition the rada loa and those who deal with the left hand petition the petro for favors.
There is also a lower class of loa who exist only in petro form. They are the newer loa forged of the pain and suffering that slaves endured during their initial years in Haiti. These loa are not nearly as powerful as the older gods imported from the original Dahomey religion (and imbued with Christian ideology as well) but came into existence during a time of hurt, so all they know are these dark and negative emotions.
Petro Loa
The petro side of the loa is agressive and violent. The petro are associated with jealousy, pettiness and hurt. This is the side to petition when one wishes to cause pain or lay curses. Though the mambo and the hungan, as well as parishioners of the humfo may be ridden by the petro loa, they do not directly worship the petro side of the loa, but the loa as a whole. To direct worship to the petro loa is the work of black magicians or bokors. The price of their favors are often painful to the petitioner, or bloody. They might ask for an object precious to the one seeking a favor, for flesh given in lust, for blood, tears or for some mundane sensual indulgence (liquor, exotic foods, cigarettes, perfume, etc).
Rada Loa
The rada loa are generous, kind and helpful. One seeks them for the relief of a curse, for cures or luck and charms to bring fortune and ward off evil. The rada loa are petitioned by the hungan and mambo, each of whom have a special relationship to the rada Damballah, but will petition the rada of other loa for certain favors for the betterment of the hunsi in general or for a specific member who is in need somehow. It is through the mambo or the hungan that the member will receive instructions on what it is the loa requires for their services. The rada loa often prefer garlands of flowers, special ceremonies in their name, food (African, Caribbean or the like), jewelry or liquor.
PRACTITIONERS
Mambo and Hungan
The mambo (priestess) and hungan (priest) are the female and male religious leaders of the voodoo hunsi (congregation) and the humfo (church) is often located in the basement of their house or in a building that one (or both) own. They do not have to be married, or related, they are simply two people who have been called to power and trained vigorously by the mambo and hungan before them.
Though much of the ceremony of initiation remains a secret, it is known that Damballah himself, as a whole loa, chooses the next hungan and mambo from the candidates. In the final ceremony, all of the candidates for priesthood, shod in white, will stand before the mambo and hungan. Damballah will possess the two he has chosen and they will take the rattles from the current mambo and hungan. The other candidates will return as normal hunsi and looked on as leaders (priests and priestesses, this will be addressed later), while the two chosen will follow the current mambo and hungan, learning from them until their deaths.
The mambo, hungan and all candidates for priesthood are magically inclined. They are able to communicate directly with the loa, remove curses, preform exorcisms and blessings, make charms and wards, lay to rest ghosts, spirits and zombies, as well as a variety of other things. Their particular style of magic involves heavy ritual and all imbued objects must have been premade in ritual space before they can be used. That being said, the mambo and hungan alone are powerful enough to invoke the loa outside of ritual space to turn aside a forced possession, counter act a curse or secure a perimeter from evil and drive it out. The toll for this to the loa is heavy, but oftentimes worth it.
The humfo itself is the home of the loa in a particular city. There is usually brick dust outside of the threshold of the doors (this is actually a hoodoo fix, which is quite different from voodoo) that will turn aside most who mean harm to the humfo or the hunsi. Inside, there is usually no alarm. Any who steal from the humfo steal from the loa themselves and that is a Very Bad Thing. Members of the Secte Rouge and left hand practitioners will find themselves unable to enter, bokor will have a difficult time entering.
Left Hand Practitioners
They started life training to be a hungan or mambo, though some are descended from lines of “dark” priests and priestesses. They hold no formal name or congregation and are usually solitary practitioners (exception noted below) who charge for curses, pain inflicted and futures read. The left hand are typically secretive about their practices and if they charge for their services, advertising tends to be on a word of mouth basis or done from a storefront that seemingly sells mundane objects. There are, however, always exceptions to the rule.
The left hand practitioners worship both aspects of the loa as well, but only ever petition the petro for favors of cursing, inflicting pain or fortune telling. The left hand, amusingly enough, is the side responsible for love spells considering it subverts the will of the afflicted.
It is uncommon for the mambo or hungan and the left hand to engage each other mortally. Only on very rare occasions will one go out of the way to harm the other, only if one upsets the balance of the other.
Secte Rouge
The most terrifying force in left hand voodoo, most will not even speak of the Secte aloud lest they bring down the attention of the Secte upon them. Their leader is a dark priest (always male) called the Zobop who took the mantle of leadership through the pain and blood of those closest to him (usually family or the hungan and mambo whom he studied under) and through profaning the rada loa so egregiously (under the guidance of the petro) that seeking absolution is impossible.
He gathers those disgruntled members of the hunsi who seek power and wealth, those of the community who do not practice, but are darker in nature are targets of him as well. The Zobop will bind the members of the Secte to him through a pact of pain that imprints violently on the soul and, while the Secte may be put down, the the mark will never go away. The column (congregation) dresses in red velvet robes with hoods that obscure the face.
Their rituals involve blood and pain. When the Secte meets, someone dies. The 'white goat' is a human sacrifice and slain twice a year to the petro loa in order to keep the Zopob and the column powerful. The blood of children is often sacrificed and drank on certain ritual occasions, in an effort to petition the loa for youth and wealth. The Zobop himself will slay black bulls and roosters throughout the year to the petro for the typical favors he asks in order to maintain control of the column.
When the Secte is at its strongest, their recruitment tactic is brutal and strikes fear into every believer. A knock at midnight on the door and if you answer, a man with a machete will as you “Come in or go out?” if you choose 'come in' you are taken and initiated. If you choose 'go out' then you are killed. Of course, this is something more common in Haiti and rumored to take place off and on in New Orleans.
The Secte is selfish, and if the mambo and hungan are more powerful, and closing in on them, they will attempt to reign down a natural disaster. This is, of course, to the detriment of the entire city and not only the voodoo community and the mambo and hungan might attempt to appeal to the other supernaturals in order to prevent it.
Pacted
Also called priests or priestesses. Candidates for the mambo and hungan who were not chosen, tend to be “picked up” by other loa to hold court over their special ceremonies and perform direct worship for direct favors. Early on, the loa might try to lay a mark on one of their future pacted, this is one reason why an individual might be turned down by Damballah. The pact involves a mark, usually a tattoo or a scarification, somewhere on the body. This creates a “door” that the loa can enter through any time the pacted calls upon them.
It is because of this that the pacted has a power no other practitioner possesses; half possessions. Typically, to cause a possession, one must be in ritual space, even if one is forcing that possession on another from a distance. For the pacted, they have only to call on the loa in whatever way has been agreed upon and the loa will enter. Depending on rada or petro, for the pacted can call on both, the left or right eye will change color and the practitioner will see the world through the vision of the loa in that eye. The loa see the truth, but their version if it. Meaning, they can distinguish between vampire, wizard, shifter and fairy, but cannot tell species of shifter or fairy court or what sort of powers a vampire or wizard has. They blemishes on a person's soul are visible, but unless otherwise agreed upon, only in specific in voodoo users.
They will have direct access to as much of the power of the loa as they can handle. This is a much more active and aggressive practice than either mambo and hungan, Zobop, bokor or left hand practitioner has outside of ritual space. But it does not come without a price.
The blot for calling on the loa is high and heavy and there is also a limit on what a practitioner can handle. The loa are demanding, and one must have the willpower to resist their wants while being ridden, as well as to resist the half possession from becoming a full possession. The pacted will also not be able to call on these half possessions as often as they like, it takes time and experience to build up the stamina to call on the loa once a week, let alone at will. For a newly pacted practitioner, once a month under the guidance of the mambo and hungan for the first year is usually all a person can manage.
If a pacted does not pay the blot of worship that the loa demands, the pact will remain, but the loa will not answer the call until their ego is assuaged and their demands (higher the longer one waits) are catered to.
Multiple pacts are possible. But they are difficult. One must have a good handle on their first pact before they strike a second. A third is nearly unheard of and a fourth generally thought of as impossible. A pact is a large investment of time in the worship of that particular loa (on top of all the other loa one must continue to worship), as well as emotions and energy. The longer and more intensely one is pacted, the more they can feel the loa. A mere man pitting their will against one god is difficult enough, imagine two or three and it's enough to drive one mad.
Bokor
They deal with the left and right hand, the petro and rada loa, but hold protection from neither. A bokor's power is on par with a mambo or hungan or left hand practitioner. They can curse and heal and call down the loa, but their toll is very high for they must appease both sides. Failure to do so results in the bokor being consumed from the inside by fire. Literally.
For that drawback, the bokor has the luxury of not worshipping the loa if they aren't calling upon them, or alternately, using the powers of left hand or right hand magic (mambo and hungan) at will. There are very few living bokors in the world, one would be hard pressed to find more than one in a city outside of New Orleans.
WORSHIPING OF THE LOA
If you practice voodoo and you have power, you will worship the loa.
Sacrifice
The historical component of sacrifice was that, not only did the life of the creature go to the loa for favors, but the meat of the creature went to feed the voodoo community (Which, historically, was very poor, but that changes with the times). The bigger the life given to the loa, the bigger the favor.
Typically, the sacrifice is a chicken or a goat. The rada prefer any color aside black, the petro will accept only black. For a bigger favor, a pig (any color but gray) is acceptable and for very large favors, or typical among the pacted, is a cow or bull. The meat of any sacrifice is butchered, barbequed and served to the hunsi. A right hand practitioner will never sacrifice a human. To do so stains the soul and will cast them forever from the grace of the rada loa (with exception).
The pacted, if they kill another person in sacrifice to their pacted loa are not affected by the backlash of the rada and can gain high favors from their pacted loa. However, if found out, they will be evicted from the voodoo community, a mock funeral held, and will never find solace with another hunsi again.
Left hand practitioners, bokors and the Secte are all capable of practicing human sacrifice. They slay the “goat without horns” or the “white goat” for the power it gives, but this human sacrifice leaves a blemish on the soul that can never be erased and will be visible to anyone from the third eye.
Sacrifice can also be an object. Many petro will ask for things that are special or irreplaceable to the petitioner if the favor is large. Otherwise, the typical material sacrifices are expensive cloth, jewelry, food, flowers, liquor, cigarettes, etc.
Ceremony
Whether official or not, the loa like being acknowledged. There are many and varied, official and solitary ceremonies, there are some that are not held in the humfo, but are performed at a favorite place of the particular loa being worshipped. Samedi, for example, is often worshipped in a small ceremony by leaving plantains, rum and cigarettes at a crossroads in a cemetery.
Each gathering of the hunsi is considered a ceremony as they do worship the entire pantheon of the loa and give time for each practitioner to make their own additional appeals to loa from which they might want or need favors from and have previously been instructed to give worship to.
The anatomy of a typical gathering of the hunsi- something that happens weekly or monthly depending on the community is as follows: parade of the flags of the loa to the altar, songs, candles and small sacrifices to each loa, possessions, petitioning of the loa from the mambo or hungan to the loa via the possessed person, then personal worship for favors and dinner.
Altars
Most practitioners have their own personal altars in their homes or in a private place. The act of small offerings, lighting a candle, pouring a shot glass of rum or lighting a cigarette on a daily basis, even when asking for nothing, can go a long way for the loa.
Pacted
Their body is a temple, literally. Through drinking, smoking, fucking and every indulgence that the loa enjoy, they are worshipping the pacted loa. It's a complicated thing that can blur the lines between a person's self and the loa. Yet another reason that these pacts are so precarious and not lightly made.
Petitioning the Loa
Loa can be pitted against one another. The rada and petro side of a particular loa can be pitted against each other as well. One should be wary of doing either because the consequences can be disastrous. The loa are vengeful in their own right, and they never forget. Minor, petro only loa can be petitioned through their own ceremonies, but they can never overcome the power of a full loa.
In order to initiate any sort of petition to the loa, one must first summon them. The specific ceremonies can be lengthy or quick and dirty, a veve, a few candles, a dead chicken and cigarettes at the crossraods in cemetary, for example. Just make sure you understand which loa demand the full ceremonies and which don't mind a shortcut. Piss a loa off and you might find the opposite of what you want happening.
And just because someone makes a demand, does not mean it will be granted. Worship is a two way street, if the loa ignores a petitioner enough times, eventually the loa will lose that worshipper. And if a petitioner does not worship the loa enough post fact, the loa will not be inclined to grant requests.
SOME MAJOR LOA AND THEIR POWERS
These are not all of the loa and not all of their various powers. However, each loa does act in only certain realms of influence. Baron Samedi, for instance, will never bestow a love potion with power whereas Damballah could act against all the other loa, but would not.
Damballah: Restoring balances. He is often depicted with snakes and does not usually act in the human world but is the main source of power for the hungan and mambo.
Possession: Damballah does not speak, but hisses like a snake or makes a staccato “tetetete” sound. The possessed person's eyes go milky white with a slitted pupil and no iris. It is rare that he will possess a member of the hunsi, and only the mambo and hungan can understand his hisses.
Representations: Serpents and rainbows.
Sacrifices: An egg sprinkled with flour.
Colors: White or a rainbow
Erzuli: Often depicted with iconography of the virgin Mary (rada) or black Mary (petro) holding a knife. Her rada side is associated with beauty, love and dancing, her petro side with sex, jealousy and violence.
Possession: Usually possessed by a woman, she will flirt with the men and ask for gifts of jewelry, perfume or cakes. The possessed person will speak in a high pitched voice and only in French, their eyes will go blue and their movements will be graceful and sensuous.
Representations: Petro- a heart, Rada- a heart with a knife through it.
Sacrifices: Jewelry, expensive cloth, expensive perfume, cakes, cherries, hand mirrors.
Colors: Blue
Papa Legba: He controls the gateway between the living and the dead. In order to speak to the dead, one must petition him. Papa Legba, not Damballah, is the first loa worshipped during rituals and ceremonies. His rada side is associated with exorcisms of people and places, and speaking with the dead. His petro side is associated with hauntings, possessions by dead spirits and ghosts. Legba speaks every language in the world and is considered a messenger of destiny and is often depicted with St. Peter iconography.
Possession: The possessed will walk with a crutch and smoke a crude pipe.
Representations: A crutch or a door.
Sacrifices: Tobacco for his pipe, feeding stray dogs.
Colors: None Specific
Baron Samedi: He is the Master of the Cemetery and associated with curses and healing. The Baron can literally kill a person, or give them a fate worse than death- living without the ability to die. His rada side is associated with healing, overturning curses, sex, resurrection and preventing zombies. His petro side associated with curses, controlling zombies, death, and living death. He is the head of the Guedo family of the loa (death loa) and presides over Baron Cimiterrie and Captain Zombie who share aspects of his power.
Possession: The possessed person's eyes will turn brown, will speak in a high, nasal voice, smoke cigarettes and drink rum. The face will be painted up as a skull, the possessed will wear a tophat and flirt with either gender.
Representations: Skulls, coffins and crosses
Sacrifices: Rum, cigarettes, plantains, blood, death and sex.
Colors: Red and Black
Ogoun: He is the warrior loa and loa of the forge. When a person seeks to make an imbued item such as a metal worked talisman or blade (ritual or otherwise) it is he that is petitioned. He is also sought when one goes into battle. His rada aspects are battle strategy, fighting (capoiera), strength, forging objects. His petro aspects are violence, rage and fire. In Christian iconography he is associated with Christ.
Possession: The possessed person's eyes will go silver, their voice will be low and they will flirt with women. During possession, one may forge an imbued piece of jewelry or an imbued weapon. When possessed by the petro, his possessions will often become violent, the only way to keep him from waving his machete (metal or otherwise) around is to give him rum.
Representations: Hammer and anvil, machete.
Sacrifices: Rum, small animals killed with a machete, the roots of large trees.
Colors: Silver and green.
Agwe: He is considered the loa of water and appears as a handsome gentleman with good manners and a soft voice. His rada nature is associated with water, rope, survival, and sea life. His petro nature is associated with water, rope and sea life.
Possession: The possessed person's eyes will go green and will speak with a crisp military tone. He will be gentlemanly to the ladies and carry an oar with him.
Representations: A boat with sails, an oar.
Sacrifices: Toy ships, fish or any kind of seafood dishes.
Colors: Blue and green.
Mademoiselle Charlotte: She is one of the few white loa, a former mambo who was so powerful and well respected that she was invited to become loa after her death. Her rada aspects include politics, social standing. Her petro include gossip and persecution. She does not manifest often and is difficult to woo. Only those she favors will have their petitions answered.
Possession: She speaks proper French (Ezili's French is broken) in a demure voice and is very proper. The possessed person's eyes will turn golden brown.
Representations: Roses.
Sacrifices: Roses, non alcoholic drinks and cherries in syrup.
Colors: Rose red.
Kalfu: He is also called carrefour, which literally means crossroads. He is the strongest of the petro only loa and often tells people that he's aligned with Papa Legba and knows all the important loa. But he is a trickster and patron of sorcerers because of his strong abilities in prophesy and black magic. His presence heralds the coming of the other petro only loa in a ceremony and thus the hunsi will cease to speak in his presence.
Possession: The eyes of the possessed will go red and the person will walk with a swagger, picking up the petro whip and cracking it. He will demand respect and brag about his association with the loa.
Representations: The black rooster.
Sacrifices: Black roosters, the blood of children.
Colors: Red and yellow.
Once more, these are not all of the loa, only a few of the most powerful and well known. The different aspects of the loa are meant as a guide for what each loa can or cannot do when called upon. The specifics of how they will act and what sorts of spells, charms, talisman or favors will be bestowed are up to the players themselves to work out, within reason. If it does not fall into the field of that particular loa, then they will not be able to grant that power. This is where some of the not listed loa will be able to be fleshed out more by game play.
SOME BASICS
Making Curses
Cursing by Affinity- needs the usual hair, blood, or fingernails for the strongest effect. Favorite garments or jewelry can be used to a lesser effect. One can only petition the petro for this. And the effect is only as strong as the emotion that the practitioner puts behind it. One time use.
Curse by Proxy- hair, blood or fingernails (or jewelry or garment) attached to a doll. Can only petition the petro for this and the effect is only as strong as the emotion behind the intent. Can be used more than once, but once the object is separated from the doll, the curse is broken.
Curse by Proximity- after the petro loa curses the representative items (items representing what the curse will do), the items are burned to ash and the ash scattered over the door frame of the house of the person one wants to be cursed. Only the petro can perform this curse and the curse affects the first person to step over the frame. Tricky to use.
Curse by Demand- while possessed by the spirit of a petro loa, a direct curse is placed from loa to victim. This curse is at the whim of the loa on effect and viciousness. This is the most potent and difficult type of curse.
All curses consume spiritual energy, a bite at the soul of the ones preforming the curse. The only way to soothe the soul, as it were, is to worship the loa after wards. Not only does this keep them contented to preform for you again (if they choose) but it renews the spiritual energy. If one does not preform the worship, the bites at the soul accumulate and one's power begins to wane.
Breaking Curses
Breaking by Affinity- using plantains or rum, one petitions the rada loa to bless them. If the blessing is successful, the petitioner gives the victim the food and the victim eats it, breaking the curse if effective. Rada only can perform this.
Breaking by Proxy- transferring the curse to a chicken or rabbit via the assistance of a loa. The animal can either be released and no harm will come to either party. The animal can be killed and the negative power of the curse will backlash to the one who set it. Rada or Petro.
Breaking by Demand- while posessed by the spirit of a rada loa, one can heal the curse outright.
Healing curses promotes spiritual renewal to the one performing it, helping replenish the soul and power of the practitioner. The loa still need to be appeased afterwards, but this can be foisted off on the one who was healed. Unsuccessful healings, when the loa petitioned is lesser than the rada who performed the curse, are a complete drain on the practitioner's power.
Reversal- while posessed by a petro loa, one can mirror the curse back at the one who set it. This is considered a negative and aggressive action, no negative or positive spiritual energy is gained, no power renewed. The one who has the curse set back on them experiences a drain by both the loa he or she petitioned and the one reversing the curse.
Blessings
Of a Person- more powerful with a possession, but can be done without. These are one time use things and either expire on a time limit or after they've done their duty. Raise resistance to curses, resistance to possession.
Of a Place- more powerful with a possession, but can be done without. Can dispel a haunting or be a preventative measure. One time use.
Of a Thing- more powerful with a possession, but can be done without. Can bring luck, repel curses. Long shelf life if the prescribed sacrifices to the issuing loa are made. Typically a gris-gris.
These all imbue the person, place or thing with a portion of the practitioner's power and of their spiritual energy. Thus, they have to make up for that loss in either service to the loa or service to fellow humans. If a more powerful practitioner overcomes the blessing, the original practitioner suffers the negative backlash.
Possession
Full Possession- the practitioner goes "to the milky ocean." The conscious mind checks out and the loa is in full control. It isn't often that, outside of the humfo and the religious ceremony, that the loa are able to gain full possession. Ceremonial drums are always needed for full possession, thus this can be used as a weapon against practitioners by other practitioners. Forced possessions damage the psyche and power of the practitioner in a very lasting way.
When fully possessed, the loa can be capricious or kind to those around them. They can give blessings, curse, imbue objects of power and so on. However, they will always ask for something in return, and if you do not give them what they ask for in a short amount of time, their gift will turn against you.
The loa possessing someone fully will protect they body they are riding. This does not mean they won't attempt to get that body drunk, eat vast amounts of food, or have sex with that body. What it means is that they will defend the body from physical or magical harm by another party.
In order to force a possession, the ceremony to "call" the loa must have already taken place and. If you have not previously summoned the loa, there is no way to force a possession.
The loa are able to differentiate between wizard, vampire, fairy and shifter, etc. Unless otherwise agreed upon in gameplay, they cannot differentiate between shifter species, see a wizard or vampire's power or tell which Court a fairy belongs to (unless it's kind of obvious). They can see blots on a person's soul, but only know the specifics of those on the soul of a voodoo practitioner (unless otherwise agreed upon in gameplay).
Prophecy
Poison Oracle- The practitioner is seeking an answer to a question. The answer will never be given in specific, but in vague symbols through a vision. This vision is granted when the practitioner allows themselves to be bitten by a venomous ritual snake. The practitioner is literally poisoned and has a vision, but will come out of it when the ritual is over.
Q&A
Q: Can't Only Animators and Necromancers Raise Zombies?
A: Yes and no. A voodoo zombie is not a dead person brought back to life. A voodoo zombie is someone hopped up on a drug cocktail that is more susceptible to influence and tends to walk in a staggering fashion. The effects do wear off, eventually. Practitioners can put a zombie down if the conditions are right.
Do keep in mind that many Animators and Necromancers do practice voodoo and those can raise the typical zombies.
Q: Are Voodoo Practitioners Wizards?
A: No. The voodoo practitioners have their power by the grace of the loa. There might be something special about a person that attracts the special attention of the loa and allows them to work voodoo as opposed to just worshipping in it, but without the loa, these people would simply be average folk.
This means that the White Council does not hold jurisdiction over the voodoo practitioners. The Mambo and the Hungan police their own community, as well as law enforcement when certain laws are broken or suspected of being broken.
Q: How Does Voodoo Affect My Character?
A: Obviously this all depends on the cooperation of players but let's be realistic, an average Joe won't much be able to turn aside a curse worked against him without some help. On the other hand, average Joe might not have brought down the wrath of that left hand practitioner if he hadn't pissed on his shoes at the bar the other night. In other words, if you don't want to get your character involved with voodoo, you don't have to. Just be realistic about consequences if you do.
Each species will probably react to voodoo differently. Mages would likely be more skilled at combating curses and talisman, but on the other hand the power backing those curses and talisman are foreign and from the direct source. Same with vampires, were creatures and the like. It's all a matter of how things are agreed upon between players.
Voodoo is also most powerful when worked against people who believe in it, which can be an interesting in-game double edged sword.
This is a very open system because the religion itself is open and fluid.