Celebrate St. John's Eve with vodou ceremony

Forget Hollywood. Vodou — or what most people call voodoo — is an authentic religion with origins in Haiti and it’s practiced in New Orleans by Vodou priestess Sallie Ann Glassman. Close to the Summer Solstice, St. John’s Eve on June 23 is celebrated in New Orleans as homage to Catholic St. John the Baptist mixed with Haitian Vodou and other traditions. In New Orleans, St. John’s Eve remains the highest holy day of the Vodou calendar.

In honor of this day, the International House will celebrate St. John’s Eve from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday, June 22 (one day early), at the boutique New Orleans hotel. The occult summer ritual will include a head-washing ceremony by Glassman along with drumming, dancing, chanting, Haitian rum and a bottled elixir.

Most people know that New Orleans has ties to Haitian Vodou. French colonists developed Haiti, once called Saint Domingue. Many French citizens, their slaves and free people of couple fled to New Orleans in the early 19th century when slaves revolted on the island. The faith came with them, and was made famous by a 19th century hairdresser named Marie Laveau, now known as the “Voodoo Queen.” She always honored the biblical St. John in her occult ceremonies, with thousands in attendance held on the banks of Bayou St. John, where she performed head-washings, a ritual akin to baptism that leaves the participant feeling refreshed.

A Maine native but current New Orleans resident, Glassman has been ordained in the Haitian Kreyol tradition and ministers to many from her Island of Salvation Botanica and Bywater temple on St. Claude, across from the St. Roch Market (both worth a visit!). Her altar in International House’s lobby is dedicated to Marie Laveau. The June 22 ceremony will also feature a 10-foot papier mache statue of Marie with billowing white sheers bearing her insignia that dance in the summer breeze. The sheers signify the porous veil between the spiritual and the physical worlds.

            To enhance the occasion, “spirit handler” and barkeep Alan Walter, local artist Britney Penouilh and Glassman have also co-created John’s Way, a limited-edition bottled elixir in a handmade wooden box with custom vodou accessories and charms.  

“I created it as a handmaiden to personal reinvigoration — the new ways and fresh starts in life that we all need,” Walter said in a hotel press release. The bottle contains purifying Florida water; genepi and Boomsma Clooster bitters, both rife with herbs; and liqueurs featuring thyme, honeysuckle, caraway and Spanish moss, among other ingredients.

            “It’s a composite creation,” Walter said. “It should be poured into tiny glasses in ritual fashion. A bottle ought to serve at least 12.”

Bottles of the elixirs will be sold at $100 each.

International House hosts seven local rituals throughout the year as a way of sharing with locals and visitors alike an authentic taste of New Orleans. Hotel officials encourage visitors to bring offerings for Marie of blue and white candles, flowers, hair ribbons, brushes, barrettes and Creole foods, and take a white scarf as a symbol of spiritual rejuvenation and a reminder that we are all spiritual beings on a human journey.

            The St. John’s Eve schedule is as follows:

            6 p.m.: Introduction by Priestess Sallie Ann Glassman

            6:30 p.m.: Toast to St. John by Alan Walter
            7–8 p.m.: Ceremony honoring Marie Laveau by Sallie Ann Glassman

John's Way elixir

Glassman's homage to Marie Laveau at her Island of Salvation Botanica 

Cheré Dastugue Coen is the author of several Louisiana romances under the pen name of Cherie Claire. She is also the co-author of “Magic’s in the Bag: Creating Spellbinding Gris Gris Bags and Sachets.” Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.

For Valentine's Day, try some love mojo

            Valentine’s Day is on the horizon, so why not do something unique for your loved one with a little mojo magic?

            Gris gris bags, mojo bags, root bags — whatever you name them, they offer conjuring magic in a small pouch. Using amulets and charms to attract love has actually been in practice for centuries and in many cultures. In the South, Africans and African-Americans collected a variety of ingredients — usually “sticks, stones, roots and bones” — and placed them inside a flannel cloth, preferably red, as a magical amulet. These “gris gris” or “mojo” bags were used for luck in gambling, attracting love, stopping gossip, warding off evil and many other charms and spells.             So being in the spirit of the Valentine season, we’re going to show you how to create a love gris gris or mojo bag, based on the popular book, “Magic’s in the Bag: Creating Spellbinding Gris Gris Bags and Sachets” by Jude Bradley and Cheré Coen, (yes, your Weird South blog author).

            The best day to create a love gris gris is a Friday on a waxing (growing) moon. A full moon works as well. When the moon is waxing, it is time to create intention for things or people that you wish to come into your life. When the moon is full, the pull of the moon’s energy is at its highest, but a waxing moon works nicely too.

            Start with a pink or red bag, the color of love and passion respectively. You can make your own bags but simply sewing together three sides and connecting the top with a string pull or purchase these bags at craft stores. The pink ones you see here were bought at Michael’s.

            Choose your ingredients. Some of the most popular ingredients for love include roses, rosemary, lavender, basil, cinnamon and rose quartz. You can also include a photo of the person you love or wish for you to love you, or write that person’s name on a piece of paper and either include in the bag or burn and place the ashes in the bag. (Burning the paper releases your intention into the universe.)

            Add the ingredients into the bag, but make sure there is an odd number. Any number of items can be included in a gris gris bag, as long as the combination of elements adds up to an odd number and there are at least three items in the bag and no more than thirteen.  

            Carry your love gris gris with you, smell its earthy scent and know that love is on the way.           

            Want to learn more? Our book contains information on the use of bags throughout the world, what natural elements such as herbs and stones mean and how to create a variety of gris gris bags.