Review by Library Journal Review
A formally trained anthropologist and practicing clinical psychologist, Alvarado (Exu, Divine Trickster and Master Magician) shares her lifelong experience as a student and practitioner of New Orleans-style voodoo in this sweeping book as she seeks to provide a clearheaded look into one of America's most misunderstood magical traditions. The first few chapters describe how the historical intermingling of French culture with the cultures of African slaves and Native American tribes, plus a healthy dose of enforced Catholicism, created the cultural soup in New Orleans that culminated in what Alvarado calls "voodoo hoodoo." Further chapters illuminate the beliefs and practices surrounding the complex cosmology of gods, saints, and spirit forces; coherently outline the difference between the religion of voodoo and the magical practices of hoodoo; and explain the use of gris-gris, spells, charms, and totems. The remaining chapters are an extensive compilation of spells, workings, and rituals. VERDICT Occultists will delight in the extremely generous and thorough hoodoo grimoire, materia medica, correspondence charts, and gris-gris formulary. Students of African American history and culture, Southern history buffs, and cultural anthropologists will also find this a fascinating and well-documented read.-Janet Tapper, Univ. of Western States Lib., Portland, OR (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
