Hoodoo vs. Voodoo (Vodou) - Episode 2

In this episode, I’m clearing the air on something that has been misunderstood for generations. Hoodoo versus Voodoo.

I grew up hearing these words used interchangeably, often tied to fear, myths, or things that were never fully explained. But the truth is, while both have African roots and carry deep ancestral power, they are not the same. And understanding that difference matters.

I walk you through what Hoodoo really is. A spiritual practice rooted in African American history, developed in the South, and built on survival, prayer, scripture, and everyday spiritual work. Hoodoo is not a religion. It is personal. It is practical. It is about protection, healing, manifestation, and using spiritual tools like oils, herbs, candles, and prayer to navigate life.

I also break down what Voodoo is. A full spiritual system and religion with structure, initiation, priesthood, ceremony, and community. Voodoo is not something you casually step into. It is something you belong to. It requires guidance, discipline, and respect.

In this conversation, I also speak on responsibility. Spiritual work is not something to play with. Whether it is Hoodoo, Voodoo, tarot, or any form of spiritual practice, intention matters, protection matters, and alignment with God matters.

We talk about free will, why I do not believe in doing work on others without consent, and why spiritual practices should always start with prayer, discernment, and understanding. I also share how tools like the Seven African Powers oil, Psalms 91, and intentional prayer can be used for protection and grounding in your daily life.

This episode is for anyone who has been curious about Hoodoo, Voodoo, African spirituality, root work, or spiritual practices but wants clarity without fear or misinformation.

This is not about trends or aesthetics. This is about culture, history, faith, and spiritual responsibility.

Follow The Spiritual Realest on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and leave a review if this episode gave you clarity or shifted your perspective. That is how we grow and continue reaching people who need this information.

Make sure you are following and engaging with me on Instagram so we can continue the conversation and build a deeper understanding together.

I’m Scarlet Draught. Heavenly minded but earthly good.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:00

This is the Spiritual Realist, and I'm Scarlett Drown. This is a space for honest conversation about spirituality, individuality, and growth. Welcome to opening your mind without pressure, performance, or pretending. From views to heavenly minded, but earthly good.

SPEAKER_00 0:20

From church fans to creed. Grandma had a jar of root.

SPEAKER_02 0:36

Cross hanging over the doorway. But the church still knew the truth.

SPEAKER_03 0:48

Let's begin.

SPEAKER_02 0:52

Let the spirit speak.

SPEAKER_03 1:12

Now, have I got a treat for you? Today we're going to share Seven African Power Oil. It is good for spiritual crafting, candlework, prayer. It's good for an introduction to practices and intentions over your performances. And I have the oil right here. We're going to put it in our handy dandy diffuser. So we have it in insert form. And I bought two different kinds because you can get it in the brown or you can get it in the colorful. They're the same thing. And I have our handy dandy essential oil here. And we are going to put it in our great diffuser. So let's slow this down and really talk about something that gets misunderstood all the time. Hoodoo versus voodoo. Because a lot of people grew up hearing these words used interchangeably or hearing about them in movies, folklores, or fear-based storytellings. But the truth is, while they share African roots, they serve different spiritual purposes. Let's start with Hodo. Today I brought with me the Hoodoo Bible. Now, this is just something I personally collected when I started getting into spirituality and I wanted to know how to do certain spiritual things. I got this book. It was highly recommended by a friend of mine who practices hoodoo. But remember, if you don't know, hoodoo is an individual practice. It is not a religion. So I got this book and I just looked for a spell that I wanted to use, and it probably was doing money, that's the truth, at the time. But I used this to learn about hoodoo and what it is because I did not grow up learning about hoodoo. Now, just to let you know, yes, I grew up gulagy or halfway gulagy, but my family is Christian-based. And though my grandparents did things that I did because they did it, I didn't have the meaning on why they did it. So that is why I wanted to find something that I could use as a reference point to help me in learning and the knowledge of actual hoodoo. With that being said, hoodoo, also known as root work or conjure, is an African American spiritual practice that developed in the southern United States, especially in places like New Orleans and throughout the rural South. It was born during slavery, while enslaved Africans blended their ancestral knowledge with indigenous plants, wisdom, and Christianity, especially scriptures from the Bible. Yes, I said scriptures from the Bible. Hoodo is not a religion. It doesn't require conversion, initiation, or priesthood. Hoodoo is about spiritual work in everyday life. It's the grandmother praying psalms over her pot of herbs, or it's the oil rubbed at the doorway for protection. It's the candle lit for justice, the bath taken for cleaning, the roots carried for strength. Hoodoo is practical. It's about results, protection, healing, opening doors, breaking chains, clearing paths. It's what you do spiritually to navigate life. Because it's our birthright. I just wanted to know more about how I could learn how to use tools to navigate my own personal life. So this book has everything in it. It has herb and root work, conjure oil, mojo bags, easy and advanced spells. It has candle magic, it has divination tools. So for instance, I have the interpretation of tarot card section marked off. Now, this is something because I wanted to not just learn how to read tarot, but learn how to read it as it relates to me and my culture and my people. Because, I mean, let's face it, I wanted to be able to present it in a way that my people and my culture could understand. And this Bible, this the Hoodoo Bible, helped me navigate these things. Every herb and scent that I share with you, it's in this book. I got it in this book. I look it up, I study it, I go and find out how to use it. I go and find out what it's good for. I do my research to bring to you when it's time for you to use it. Because knowledge is power and hoodoo is power. Hoodoo is knowledge. It helps you navigate easier through life using tools that benefit you. I don't use this book for other people. So let's say someone comes to me and they want a love spell. Well, I would only give them advice on how to do the love spell if it was both parties sitting in front of me and wanting the love spell. Now that's different. I will do it for you guys. I will put it on my altar, I will conjure it up, and I will make sure that both parties were intimate in the process of doing it. But if it's just one party, because I believe that we all have free will. So we shouldn't use things like spell work to alter someone else's free will. So I don't believe in just doing one party spells when it comes to love. Now, if it's about your money, baby, bring it in. Let's do this. As long as the house is balanced and the both parties are on one mind. If the girl comes to me, if the boy comes to me, I don't mess with children. We don't do children's. And when I say children, I mean teens, adult teens, 18, 19, 20s, because their minds just aren't in a place to do magic at all. Hormones are all over the place. And that's something we could talk about later. But I do want to remind you guys that hoodoo is a self-care self-act. You should not be doing things in hoodoo for other people or around other people or to other people when they did not agree to do this on their behalf. If it's something you want to do, if you want to fall in love with someone, then do a love spell on yourself that you find the right person. If you want someone to come to you, you make sure that that person is willing to come to you and want to come to you. If you want to strengthen your marriage and both parties want to work on your marriage, by all means, book me. I got you. However, if you do not have another person's permission to do anything, then you should not be inclined to do a love spell on them. That's just not fair because it's working with powers and entities that's outside of that person's control, and it should not be because I believe in free will. Hoodoo does not care about your sexuality. Because let's face it, spirits are versatile. Spirits are male and female. So God operates in balance, femininity and masculinity. And I know we're not taught that. I know that that is a no-no in certain religions, but in hoodoo, it is about authenticity and trueness and being all of who you are as a person for growth, stability, and oneness with God. Just to be clear, Hoodoo does not need initiation. You can go to the store. If your spirit is guiding you to do so, pick up a book, learn, and read. Because the book just didn't jump into spells. It actually gives you background, an introduction on different plants, different regions, different ways, different spiritualities. It actually is a very transparent book on first what hoodoo is. It gives you an in-depth history about it. And my suggestion is to read through the book before you just jump in, turn to a spell and say, where's my money? Because again, this is not I love Jeannie. This is not rub the bottle. This is not instant gratification. This is not microwave magic, okay? This is for the betterment of your person. You do not need to be a priestess or a priest to actually practice. Remember, it is individualized. It is for you. However, if you practice, let's say you practice Ephar and they say your Odoo says, don't go to the graveyard, then don't pick up the book and go to the graveyard. Like, I mean, common sense is common sense. So if it is something that you know you should not do in your personal religion because you were already told by your spirit team, God, or elders in your religion that that is not a part of who you are and what you should do, then please use your brain, use your intuition, because this is very intuition-driven. You should not be practicing something that your spirit doesn't sit with or that you know you should not do. Now, with that being said, let's shift to voodoo. The difference between voodoo and voodoo is voodoo is the practice. But voodoo is a full religion, primarily rooted in Haiti, formed when enslaved Africans brought their spiritual systems from West Africa and preserved them through ceremony, song, community. Voodoo is about relationship. There are priests, priestesses, initiations, rituals, sacred songs, offerings, communal ceremonies. Voodoo isn't something you casually practice on the side. It's something you belong to. It shapes your worldview, your community, your spiritual responsibility. So if voodoo is a spiritual tool, voodoo is about spiritual family. Here's a simple way to picture it. Hodo is a toolbox you carry through life. And voodoo is the house you live in spiritually. One helps you handle situations, the other gives you a whole spiritual structure to stand in. Now, here's why they often get confused. Both traditions come from the survival of African spirituality in America. Both carry ancestral wisdom, both were shaped by oppression, resistance, and faith. And both were misrepresented by outsiders who don't understand them. But knowing the difference matters. Because when you lump everything together, it erases our history. It erases our culture, it erases our lived spiritual realities of people who have carried these traditions forward. And when we learn the difference, we move from curiosity to respect. We stop treating these traditions like spooky anesthetics of cultural trends. We start seeing them for what they really are: sacred inheritances. So whether someone feels called to learn about hoodoo or voodoo or neither, the first step is the same. Learn with humility. Listen and respect and honor the roots before reaching for the fruit. Because spiritual traditions aren't costumes, they're legacies. And let me set the record straight by giving you a fair warning. Voodoo and hoodoo are not the same. And to be clear, for everything that's light, there is dark. And there are people that have ill intentions and ill will, no matter how light you are, no matter how peaceful you come, that's just human nature. They have a right to choose their own path, whether dark or light. And you do too. I suggest that before you go out and pick up any book or learn anything about any spiritual entity, that you first pray and make sure that it is in alignment with your assignment on your time here on earth. Because if you don't think that people use voodoo for evil, they do. Because we are humans and we all get caught up in emotions sometimes. And please know that you can go pick up a book in hoodoo and start practicing hoodoo. But voodoo is not the same. Voodoo has a very specific order. And if you are not an initiate of voodoo, then I don't suggest you practice. If it is not in your bloodline and you have no idea on what it is you're reading or who it is you're introducing, or what spirit or chaotic energy that you're introducing to yourself, then please, by all means, stop in your tracks because you do not want to open up yourself to a spirit that you cannot get rid of. You don't want the chaos in your house. You don't want the chaos at your job. You don't want the chaos riding with you or on your back, because then you may have to do some things that you didn't even desire to do just to get those energies removed. I know it's redundant, but I need you to understand camaradic energy. The reason why they always say when you dig a hole, always dig to, is because the energy that you put out is also put on you. So that is why I don't do work on other people that's not in the room. That is why I don't do spells or give people spells for people that are unaware. I will block energy. I will protect my space. I will create hard boundaries, but I will do no harm. Because I personally don't want that in my life. Because remember when you point one finger, four fingers are pointing back at you that exist in this world as well. Again, spirituality has an ebb and flow, it has an order, it has structure, and you should respect that structure, whether you're involved or not. You should know that under no circumstances should you cause any other human any harm. I know you guys have heard my warnings 17 million quadrillion times. But one more time, remember that if you decide to practice, follow your own tuition. This is where my spirit team guided me. They guided me to the Hodo Bible. Your team may guide you to a different Hulu reference. If you decide that voodoo is the religion you want to practice, do your research. Find elders in that religion that will show you the right way to practice in that religion of voodoo. Remember that if you do pick up this book or any book that has to do with any casting of any spells, even if it's as simple as Reiki or Tarot or any divination tool, make sure that you are praying for an extra layer of protection so that your spirit team is guided and protected earnestly and fully and wholly. Now, remember that responsibility matters more than curiosity. Don't play with what you don't understand because I do not play with what I do not understand. Practice requires protection. Again, practice requires protection. Light requires discipline. Self-work is different than working on others. This week I'm going to tell you that Psalms 91 is one of the fiercest prayers of protection you could quote. Psalms 91 urges believers to dwell in the secret place of the Most High and to find refuge from fear, danger, and sickness. It promises that God will cover you with his wings and send his angels to guard your ways and deliver you from traps. If you pray that prayer with the oil of seven African powers on yourself or burn the incense and sit with that prayer and meditate, you will then understand that God is protecting you in all your ways. Ein Scarlet drought, earthly good and heavenly minded, protect your spirit. And as always, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight. O Lord, my strength and my redeemer, I say. From church fans to create. If something about this episode stayed with you, then you're exactly who this space is for. Share with a friend you think should be here too. You can watch on YouTube, listen on all the podcast platforms, and continue the conversation at The Spiritual Realist. I'm Scarlett Drow, heavenly minded but earthly good. Until next time. The Spiritual Realist is produced by Organized Movement.

SPEAKER_01 19:53

The hush, hush, the little bitchy ground, to dancing on the edge of my mind. I went from head to the river, from folded head, to touch a dirt. I let the spirit guide me to the hurts of the earth garlic road. I remember every story that they spoke in the words. I'm empowered by the spirit strength by these.