The Magic of Marie Laveau: Embracing the Spiritual Legacy of the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans

I really appreciate not only the research & love that went into this book, but the true firsthand perspective of an academic of color who has been raised in the creole tradition and is a Ms. Marie devotee.Those who are complaining about the “leftist perspective” of the first paragraph are suffering from unconscious bias due to 400 years of anti black programming by the best marketers in the world.They missed the point of the author that Marie Laveau was a real person of color who used her spiritual power to gain agency in her life and city during a time when she would have been reduced to a nameless, faceless being if the prominent racist system of the time had its way.The author makes the beautiful point that those who may be interested in Ms. Marie’s magick cannot fully grasp it without acknowledging that Africa is the source that the magick came from. I love her for this truth behind the messaging.Africa is the birthplace of mysticism and all spiritual and magical arts have their roots in the magic of humanity’s African ancestors. Teachings on energy, vibration, & rituals all originate in Africa where these truths have been practiced for tens of thousands of years. Our Ancestors were taught intimately by the Spirits of Fire, Water, Earth, & Air.It is no coincidence that despite hundreds of years of anti black programming, oppression & enslavement - blackness continues to grow in prominence in popular culture & world influence. This is true for no other demographic that has suffered such atrocities for such a length of time. Example: when is the last time you danced to a popular Native American song???This expansion in agency by those who have been systematically dehumanized is a testament to the spiritual magic of our African Ancestors. One cannot tell the story (or access the full power) of spiritual magic without this acknowledgment. This is a point the author is making.Regardless of anyone’s opinion of Ms. Marie, we are still talking about her today - so cleary her spirit is powerful.The author gives a beautiful and clear path for harnessing the power of Ms. Marie’s spirit. I found this useful even if you do not plan to become a Ms. Marie devotee because you can use the general relationship building format on your own path with any goddess you’re interested in getting to know better.If you are interested in deepening your connection with divine feminine energy and understanding how to access the power of the celebrated African goddesses, Orishas, & loas this book is a must-add to your collection.Well done Ms. Alvarado.

Liked the easy read

The whole book is laughable. Marie was like Harriet Tubman and helped runaway slaves, she was like Clara Bartman by helping "cure hundreds of cholera," and basically Miss Cleo by pretending to be a voodoo queen. It's like a rushed homework assignment. Have you needed to write a research paper and then use wikipedia and random geocities websites to bend the truth and add volume? That's what this book is like.First of all, there's hardly any real information about the real Marie Laveau. Everything about her being a voodoo queen is hearsay and was printed after her death. Secondly, voodoo wasn't practiced in New Orleans when she was alive. Marie was never initiated and therefore was never a voodoo queen. It was a part of the culture, even today, where competing fortune tellers and rootworkers claimed to be voodoo queens, when they never actually practiced voodoo. Marie's mentor was a hoodoo rootworker that went by the title of Doctor. Real voodoo priests aren't called Doctors. Rootworkers call themselves doctors.The author kept adding quotes from random papers where people claimed to be taught by Marie when they most likely lied to give themselves clout. Look at how people still namedrop today. Hyatt never documented credible evidence of voodoo being practiced in New Orleans nor of Marie Laveau, yet the author included a quote saying that hoodoo and voodoo were called the same there.The author wrote about Marie like she was some action figure. She helped cure hundreds from cholera as a nurse, and helped house countless slaves during the underground railroad! Wow Marie was busy. Those claims are unsubstantiated and again, were written years after her death. Don't you know that even the salem witch trials weren't widely written about until over 100 years later? Same thing.The author also kept reaching by saying Marie prayed to St. Maroon who was black or mixed and represented runaway slaves. No record of that but there's a St. Maron from Syria who didn't have anything to do with slavery. She also claimed Marie petitioned Papa Legba and Barob Samedi, and even Mami Wata. The author really really tried it with that one. Some voodoo queen had a centaur looking statue that Marie stole. The fortune tellers were always competing and marie was known for sending her people to drive competitors out of town. Couldn't her magical ability do that instead? It wouldn't surprise me if she wrote that Marie petitioned Santisima Muerte.There's a couple of hoodoo rituals like a bath, altar set up, candle workings, but those can be found on the internet and shows that Marie wasn't a Mambo. She wasn't a voodoo queen, and she most likely just practiced hoodoo like the other so called voodoo queens of New Orleans.Dancing with a snake for spectators has nothing to do with voodoo. The author shied away from the very shady details of Marie's life which would make a lot of people uncomfortable. I had to check this book out and see if it was as bad as her first hoodoo voodoo book. Conflating the two spiritual systems have confused and frustrated a lot of people.

The beauty of this book is the author’s reverence for the practice, coupled with a reliance on primary sources and personal narratives to weave together the story of Marie Laveau. Both magical and practical, it was a fascinating read and an excellent tribute to Mama Marie, Voodoo Queen.

The constant biased opinions by the author made the book really hard to read. She kept assuming Marie Laveau’s position on controversial topics of today. I really struggled to stay interested in reading this book. It was disappointing, since I was super stoked about reading it

Alvorado unpacks the various myths surrounding Marie Laveau, painting a much richer and more compelling portrait of her subject in the process. This book does not read like a hagiography, and this is part of what makes it so good. If you are interested in learning more about Laveau and spiritual legacy, read this book!

I had recently been interested in learning more about Marie Laveau so when I saw this book was coming out I was very excited. I was a fan of Ms. Alvarado’s work. This book is excellent and filled with wonderful information for anyone wanting to learn about the Voodoo Queen. The authors writing style is easy to read and enjoyable. The book just feels good and the cover is beautiful. Well done Ms. Alvarado, thank you for a book worthy of Madame Marie!

This is a delicious book that is well researched and does not jump on beliefs about her history just because they make a good story. The author is respectful and does not hide parts of Marie’s story just because they might be inconvenient. This book is rich in history while still reverent to who she is and was. I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to get to know Marie Laveau and a bit of her magic too!

“Se Marie Laveau fosse viva oggi, credo davvero che sarebbe in prima linea nei movimenti #MeToo e #BlackLivesMatter. La immagino in piedi davanti alla Casa Bianca come una #SisterResister, che protesta contro le politiche razziste dell'attuale amministrazione e gli attacchi alla sanità e all'ambiente”. Sono bastate queste poche parole scritte nell’introduzione per catturarmi subito nella lettura e farmi capire che quello che avevo tra le mani non era un semplice libro di esoterismo, ma un atto politico quasi. E in parte lo è davvero!The Magic of Marie Laveau è un'opera monumentale e unica, come lo è l'autrice Denise Alvarado, che in quanto accademica e praticante, riesce a dar forma ad un libro che racchiude ricerca, eredità storica e magia pratica, facendo incontrare su carta passato, presente e futuro e scrivendo così un testo che è allo stesso tempo storico e devozionale, intriso di onore e rispetto per la grande Marie Laveau.Il libro è suddiviso in tre parti: la prima si concentra sulla figura storica di Marie Laveau, sul suo ruolo nella società di New Orleans; la seconda spiega come diventare suoi devoti; e la terza racchiude una serie di incantesimi e insegnamenti magici che affondano le loro radici nella tradizione vudù. Sono rimasto profondamente toccato e commosso dal ritratto che Alvarado fa di Marie Laveau e delle sue azioni verso i più vulnerabili della società. Alvarado non ritrae Laveau come l'incarnazione di un ideale irraggiungibile - perfetto in tutto e per tutto - ma come un modello che ogni suo devoto dovrebbe incarnare e seguire, manifestando una nobiltà d’animo, che rende oggi Laveau uno dei nostri Antenanti più Elevati.Voto 9/10, una lettura davvero meravigliosa.📸 e testo © L’Almanacco delle Streghe (Seguimi su Instagram e Facebook)

Just got this book this morning and I'm already a quarter of the way in. Very good so far. I really enjoy finding out truths about people and history, Denise is doing an excellent job so far. Shipping was very fast and came in excellent condition. Looking forward to finishing this book :)

Ottimo libro sia per quanto riguarda la ricostruzione della vita di Marie Laveau, sia per la descrizione di molti riti Voodoo.

This is the most informative and practical book I’ve ever read about Louisiana voodoo much less Marie Laveau. It debunks the fiction and provides facts of her life and death as well as provides detailed yet simple instructions on ritual and devotee how-to’s. I highly recommend this.

Impresecindible para saber más sobre la gran, Marie Laveau.