Darlings, Let Me Be The First To Tell You...This Is NOT Voodoo!!!!!!!!!

Girls, guess the spell of New Orleans hasn't quite left me yet, as I am enthralled by Jewell Parker Rhodes' (not Jewel Mayhew, dears!) historical novel about Marie Laveau, "Voodoo Dreams." It seems to me, in my short and merry time on Earth, that many people have certain preconceptions about Voodoo, that, based on my generation, come from two films seen on television either intentionally or accidentally--"The Four Skulls Of Jonathan Drake," and "Voodoo Woman."

Neither of these films are artistic masterpieces I can assure you. The first reaffirms the idea of Voodoo being shrunken heads and sticking pins in dolls, while "Voodoo Woman" re imagines the Voodoo Queen as an ugly old hag with a bad hair job who lives eternally. Honey, she must have done something pretty bad in her Earthly life to have to go through Eternity looking like this. In its own quiet way, this piece of trash could serve as a moral lesson to all my girls!!!!!!!!!

It certainly works with me, for I do not plan to go through the Afterlife looking like that.

Another preconception is Voodoo is fun stuff. As Rhodes' novel shows, for those who take it seriously, it is rough business. And it seems, therein, that everyone doing it is also Catholic, so what does that tell you??? To me, it suggests that the Pope of these folk must have been Father Guido Sarducci. Maybe the Church would not be in the shape it is today if that fact had been true!!!!!!

So it is time to reexamine the preconceptions of Voodoo. Personally, I tend to see it more as an art form-whose colors, decor and symbols attract and draw one--rather than as a tool for casting out one"s demons!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Because, as we all know, girls, the best way to cast out demons is with garlicky or onion-y breath!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Stay fresh, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!