12. Likewise, drumming, changing and dancing are characteristic of voodoo practices in both Jamaica and Haiti (Cavendish, 1970).
13. The physical possession of the voodoo adherent is achieved by the supernatural spirit via the loa which tests the believer's faith (Cavendish, 1970).
14. The object of the voodoo ritual is to effect this physical possession and direct its power towards the intended goal, which may be for good or evil depending on the practitioner's intentions (Cavendish, 1970).
15. Voodoo adherents believe in "the invisibles" which are enemies that must be befriended and then used as a source of power (Cavendish, 1970).
16. Similarly, voodoo adherents consider the supernatural realm to be a resource that can be used to treat and cure diseases (Cavendish, 1970).
17. It is important to note, though, that voodoo also refers to a systematic religion in which supernatural beings actually descend from the afterworld and take physical possession of their worshipers; in addition, various ancestral spirits are invoked to provide predictions of the future and protect the household (Cavendish, 1970).
18. In reality, these...
Both these aspects of voodoo, the religious dogma and the religious practices, mutually support each other in the minds of voodoo adherents (Cavendish, 1970).
20. Finally, the practice of voodoo has entered the 21st century in a major way and there is a growing online presence of voodoo practitioners and stores that offer the specific types of plants, herbs, and potions that are used in and associated with voodoo rituals (Childs, 2011).
References
Cavendish, R. (1970). Voodoo in Man, myth & magic: An illustrated encyclopedia of the supernatural, vol. 23. New York: Marshall Cavendish Publishing Corp.
Childs, D. (2011). Voodoo, hoodoo, and conjure: A handbook. The Journal of African-American
History, 95(3-4), 457-458.
Fleurant, G. (1996). Dancing spirits: Rhythms and rituals of Haitian vodun, the rada rite.
Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
Frey, S.R. (2007). The mysterious voodoo queen, Marie Laveaux: A…
