The Marie Laveau Voodoo Grimoire: Rituals, Recipes, and Spells for Healing, Protection, Beauty, Love, and More

By Denise Alvarado

The first guide and spell book for modern witches on how to bring the renowned Marie Laveau's spiritual heritage to life.

The Marie Laveau Voodoo Grimoire is a practical guide to New Orleans-style magic inspired by the life and traditions of Marie Laveau—the eternal and enduring Queen of New Orleans Voodoo. This is a working grimoire, or spell book, created for the modern witch and Conjure worker that provides formulas and recipes for solving the problems of daily living and enhancing quality of life using the Laveau Voodoo tradition.

More than just a collection of spells, The Marie Laveau Voodoo Grimoire contains tips and recommendations for improving one’s spell-crafting skills and living a magical, spiritual life. The author draws upon her own Creole heritage to bring this unique and regional style of magic to the greater public in a clear and accessible way. Formulas include:

• Controlling Powder: A simple recipe that can be made at a moment’s notice to influence someone to act in your favor. 
• Follow Me Boy Conjure Oil: According to oral tradition, this recipe was created by Marie Laveau. Originally designed for prostitutes, this recipe has money, love, and protection herbs incorporated in it. This blend is favored for its power to attract, seduce, and enthrall.

Alvarado teaches readers everything from stone, root, and bone magick to ritual oils and spells for healing, protection, love, beauty, banishing, and much more.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Red Wheel Weiser
• Release date: Feb 5, 2024
• ISBN: 9781633413153

Denise Alvarado

Denise Alvarado was born and raised in the rich Creole culture of New Orleans and has studied indigenous healing traditions from a personal and academic perspective for over four decades. She is the author of numerous books about Southern folk traditions and has had artwork featured on several television shows. A rootworker in the Louisiana folk magic tradition and a spiritual artist, she teaches southern conjure at Crossroads University. For more information, visit CreoleMoon.com.

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Praise for The Marie Laveau Voodoo Grimoire

"The Marie Laveau Voodoo Grimoire is a powerful addition to Denise Alvarado's previous works on New Orleans's history and Mam'zelle's legacy. The book is both practical and inspiring. It contains information and instructions that provide the reader with practical steps to incorporate the rituals, rites, and recipes of Laveau Voodoo into their daily life. Pay special attention to the herbal charts, the list of oils and perfumes, shells, stones, and other materials that can be used effectively by people at varying levels of experience. The Conjure in the Kitchen chapter provides recipes that are perfect for the Ancestral Feasts held by people of many traditions. This book is inspiring. Mam'zelle Marie and the legacy of Voodoo have often been maligned by mainstream media and treated with cockeyed reporting from well-meaning apologists. Denise has done the research needed to tell the whole story. She portrays the life and works of Mam'zelle with respect, understanding, and emotional sensitivity. It reads well as the history of a community of humans led by the influence of powerful and compassionate women.

Sit back, read, gather your altar items, and prepare to conjure your best life. Power forward."

—Yeye Luisah Teish, author of Jambalaya: The Natural Woman's

Book of Personal Charms and Practical Rituals

and A Calabash of Cowries: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Times

"The Marie Laveau Voodoo Grimoire is the stuff! Everything about this book feels just right. It's spare yet lush; vintage but with a fresh tone. Like Grandma's dresser, it's filled with sensual delights and well-kept secrets. I was hooked from page one. I want this book. I need this book in my magickal library, and you will too. Sister, you had me at Potlikker!"

—Priestess Stephanie Rose Bird, magick-maker, artist,

and author of Motherland Herbal and African American Magick

"The Marie Laveau Voodoo Grimoire is, without a doubt, the most delightful book I've read this year! Offering a glimpse into Marie Laveau's life via historical tidbits, newspaper clippings, and quotations from those who knew her, this book is anything but a typical grimoire. While you'll find the anticipated fare of charms, spells, formulas, and rituals, there's also the unexpected surprise of recipes for bath and beauty, laundry and cleaning products, cures and remedies for minor afflictions, and—my personal favorite—traditional Southern dishes to prepare for family and friends. What Denise Alvarado has given us with this book is much more than a simple grimoire. It's a rare gift—a quintessential guide to conjuring a magical life—and one that all practitioners will use and cherish."

—Dorothy Morrison, author of Utterly Wicked

"The Marie Laveau Voodoo Grimoire is a compelling exploration of Voodoo traditions, dispelling myths and offering deep insights into the spiritual practices of this ancient and misunderstood religion. Denise Alvarado's writing is both engaging and informative, making it accessible to both newcomers and seasoned practitioners alike. Whether you are a curious reader interested in the occult or a dedicated student of Voodoo, this book provides a rich and enlightening experience. Once again her impeccably researched material offers her readers much more than expected."

—Denise Augustine, owner of Our Sacred Stories Tour Company

"To quote Denise Alvarado, ‘a book has the power to bewitch and enchant,’ and The Marie Laveau Voodoo Grimoire certainly fulfills that potential. Denise evokes the atmosphere of Maire Laveau's New Orleans: its bayous, swamps, moods, and mysteries. The book's themes are carried from ancient sources through Marie Laveau's day into our times. Voodoo's long history snakes through the contributions of many root workers, including the mighty Marie Laveau. Voodoo morphs, adapts and transforms as it weaves through time, experience, and changing circumstances. Alvarado's work is thorough, respectful, and rooted in her own deep knowledge of traditional practices, coupled with an anthropologist's attention to meticulous research. At the same time, she is unafraid to interpret and expand to reflect contemporary needs as well as her own inspiration. The Marie Laveau Voodoo Grimoire is full of useful information. But this is not a simple recipe book. The author explores the why's and wherefores—why you might want to employ a certain ingredient, what the meaning and power is within the ingredient, as well as the metaphor of the particular spell that renders the work effective. The author pays respect to and acknowledges the many practitioners who contributed spells and recipes. She doesn't claim to have discovered Marie Laveau's secret grimoire. Rather, by building creatively upon tradition, Denise Alvarado embodies the spirit of Marie Laveau, which elevates the work and lends vibrancy to her great legacy."

—Sallie Ann Glassman, author of Vodou Visions,

artist and cocreator of The New Orleans Voodoo Tarot

"The Marie Laveau Voodoo Grimoire by Denise Alvarado is a book steeped in New Orleans mysticism. It is a foundational understanding of Voodoo rites and rituals that delve way beyond the lore and fascination with Laveau's enchanting hold on the city. This book is a must-have for folks researching the residual impact of spirituality on displaced Africans who call New Orleans family. Alvarado has written a prolific and redemptive tale, a delicious stew of just how revolution got its claim to fame."

—Mawiyah Kai El-Jamah Bomani, author of Conjuring the Calabash:

Empowering Women with Hoodoo Spells and Magick

"Denise Alvarado is the most impressive, dedicated author on all things New Orleans Voodoo I can name. Her research is always impeccable; her love of the practice apparent from the first page of any of her books. And perhaps no historical New Orleans Voodoo personality has captured the fascination of devotees of the spirituality and lovers of New Orleans history alike than Marie Laveau. When I learned Denise was researching and compiling a grimoire of Ms. Laveau's recipes, I was thrilled. This would prove to be a truly trustable text, as are all of Alvarado's books. Moreover, her writing style is so accessible and clear, it promises to be a collection we can all use and which will remain in use well into the future. I attempted to put together a valid collection of Marie Laveau's practical work in magick for years. I know the effort, patience, and passion required to put this book together. Including myself, I can think of no New Orleans Voodoo authority and author better equipped to bring this information to the public. I am beyond excited about The Marie Laveau Voodoo Grimoire (and maybe a little jealous). Congratulations, Denise!"

—Claudia Williams, author of Manifesting Magick with Vévés and Sigils

and other books, owner of Starling Magickal Occult Shop in New Orleans

ALSO BY DENISE ALVARADO

Witch Queens, Voodoo Spirits, and Hoodoo Saints: A Guide to Magical

New Orleans

The Magic of Marie Laveau: Embracing the Spiritual Legacy of the

Voodoo Queen of New Orleans

The Voodoo Doll Spellbook: A Compendium of Ancient and

Contemporary Spells and Rituals

Voodoo Hoodoo Spellbook

This edition first published in 2024 by Weiser Books, an imprint of

Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC

With offices at:

65 Parker Street, Suite 7

Newburyport, MA 01950

www.redwheelweiser.com

Copyright © 2024 by Denise Alvarado

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or

by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information

storage and retrieval system, nor used in any manner for purposes of training artificial intelligence (AI)

technologies to generate text or imagery, including technologies that are capable of generating works in

the same style or genre, without permission in writing from Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC.

Reviewers may quote brief passages.

ISBN: 978-1-57863-813-0

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available upon request.

Cover design by Sky Peck Design

Interior by Debby Dutton

Typeset in Adobe Garamond and Frutiger LT

Printed in the United States of America

IBI

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

NOTE: This book contains advice, information, spells, and other remedies relating to plants and herbs and is not meant to diagnose, treat, or prescribe. It should be used to supplement, not replace, the advice of your physician or other trained healthcare practitioner. If you know or suspect you have a medical condition, are experiencing physical symptoms, or if you feel unwell, seek your physician's advice before embarking on any medical program or treatment. The spells and rituals in this book are for information only and should not be practiced by anyone without proper training. The author and publisher are not responsible if the recipes and spells do not have the desired effect or if adverse effects are caused. Readers using the information in this book do so entirely at their own risk, and the author and publisher accept no liability if adverse effects are caused.

www.redwheelweiser.com/newsletter

To Brandon

The legacy is now yours

Silence, my soul, Goddess is here.

CONTENTS

Introduction

CHAPTER 1        Materia Magica

CHAPTER 2        Beauty Formulas

CHAPTER 3        The Best Times for Conjuring

CHAPTER 4        Caring for Your Ritual Items

CHAPTER 5        Conjure in the Kitchen

CHAPTER 6        Creole Cures and Remedies

CHAPTER 7        Incense

CHAPTER 8        Love Magick

CHAPTER 9        Magick Dusts and Sachet Powders

CHAPTER 10       The Magickal Household

CHAPTER 11       Conjure Oils and Spiritual Waters

CHAPTER 12       Uncrossing and Protection

CHAPTER 13       Voudou's Charms: Gris Gris, Mojo, and Ouanga

CHAPTER 14       Seven Folk Rites of Laveau Voodoo

CHAPTER 15       Sage Advice and Marvelous Secrets

Notes

Bibliography

Further Resources

Image Credits

Index

INTRODUCTION

Marie Laveau was one of the wisest women that ever lived. She was gifted with a power from on high that very few people are gifted with. She could look at you without ever having seen you before and tell you where you were born, what hour you were born and the time, and also the condition of the weather if you wanted to know that. She was, in a way, to me another Solomon, sent from the Almighty God above to come down here and help his people. I also picture her as a John De Baptist who comes to teach right and righteousness. This woman I am telling you about prayed not three times a day as Daniel did but prayed every hour in the day that our Heavenly Father sent. I picture her as one chosen by God's own hand. She was not selfish but waited on the black as well as the white and the rich as well as the poor. Doing all the good stuff she could. And never doing any harm to anybody.

—Old Man George Nelson, 1936

"S hut that goddamn door!" exclaimed the Voudou Queen when the police showed up to raid another of her ceremonies. Marie Laveau didn't have time for the nonsense that was ensuing. She was used to it, sure, and she was not incarcerated herself, but it cost her time and money, nonetheless. She advocated for women needing a voice in the courtrooms and saved the condemned from the gallows on more than one occasion. She bailed out folks who needed it and gris grised the judges, attorneys, and police chiefs to respond in her favor. And if they didn't, she had ways of reminding them it's not a good idea to cross the Voudou Queen. A particular segment, however, reveled in harassing the Voudous and enforcing the laws. Voudou was illegal, after all. And the people either loved, feared, or hated Marie Laveau. Even so, many joined her ritual activities on the downlow. They wanted to know her secrets, like how to dance publicly with wild abandon while simultaneously being a devout Catholic. Who was this boss woman of the 1800s? How did she garner so much power? Her influence over the people in the city was undeniable.

Marie Laveau was a free Creole woman of color living in nineteenth-century New Orleans who became famous as a Voudou Queen.¹ She is known for her entrepreneurial savvy and is credited for making a business out of Voudou² and Hoodoo.³ She was known in all sectors of the city, having significant connections in the legal system and the Catholic Church. But Voudou is not the only thing Marie Laveau is known for. She is most loved and remembered by New Orleanians for her charity work, prison ministry, and service to the community. Nonetheless, she was often targeted and harassed by the police. The press covered the raids on the Voudous and their subsequent court appearances with a salacious slant whenever possible. Despite having a target on her back, however, police officers, lawyers, and judges were regular attendees at her annual St. John's Eve dances. And one of her boyfriends, after the death of her partner, Christophe Glapion, was rumored to have been an influential white lawyer.

Marie had nine children—two with her first husband, Jacques Paris, and seven with her common-law husband, Christophe Glapion. It is unknown what became of her children with Paris, as he apparently disappeared without a trace, possibly with them. New evidence suggests that Jacques Paris did not die until 1823 and that he lived in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for some time, possibly for work. He was buried in an unmarked grave in St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery in Baton Rouge. Only two of Marie's children with Christophe Glapion survived until adulthood: Marie Eucharist Eloise Laveau, and Marie Philomène Glapion. According to legend, Marie Philomene became her mother's successor in the world of New Orleans Voudou and is known as Marie Laveau II.⁴

At any given time, Marie Laveau could be found in dark, steam-filled rooms around the city, where she tended to those afflicted with deadly diseases such as cholera and yellow fever. Yet she did not contract the diseases herself. Whereas the average life expectancy at that time was just over thirty years, Marie Laveau lived to the ripe old age of nearly eighty! It says a lot about her lifestyle and resiliency to live that long. Her uncharacteristic longevity also explains the rumors that she was immortal and that her daughter took on her identity after her death, giving the appearance of a supernaturally long life. In fact, there is no substantial evidence that either of her daughters carried on her Voudou activities upon her retirement or death. It appears she was simply blessed with a long and fruitful life.

In my book The Magic of Marie Laveau, I documented a specific tradition that emerged from Louisiana Voodoo that I call Laveau Voudou. A variation of New Orleans Voudou, Laveau Voudou is the style of Louisiana Voudou practiced by Marie Laveau. It looks a lot like what folks nowadays call Hoodoo, but it has a distinctly Catholic flavor with a touch of performance art for good measure. Candles, incense, baptisms, holy water, crucifixes, altars, flowers, and petitioning the saints are found in both Catholic rites and Marie Laveau's Voudou rituals. But to understand Laveau Voudou and, therefore, the contents of this grimoire, we must first cover some basic concepts about Louisiana Voudoo.

LOUISIANA VOODOO

Louisiana Voodoo is the umbrella term for several forms of Voudou in Louisiana. It refers to a folk religion more likely to be practiced by individuals or families than by communities. The most well-known form of Voudou in Louisiana is New Orleans Voudou. The communal aspect of Voudou is observed in New Orleans, where public ceremonies, dances, drum circles, baptisms, and other events occur. New Orleans is where a concentration of practitioners reside, and where a thriving tourist trade exists, so there are publicly known Voudou houses and temples. I suspect just as many or even more practitioners remain underground. They prefer to stay out of the public eye due to the stigma attached to Voudou and the safety issues that can arise when a person is known to be a Voudouist.

A young religion that emerged from the transatlantic slave trade, New Orleans Voudou developed throughout the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries in Louisiana. Its foundational structure is identical to West African Vodun in important ways. It is a matriarchal tradition whereby women dominate the clergy. And though it may be the wild child of the African Vodun, it is no less legitimate or complex.

West African Vodun cosmology centers around spirits and divine energies that govern the earth. These energies and spirits are called vodun, meaning spirit. They govern nature and humanity and consist of major deities, from a sky pantheon of thunder, lightning, and rain; to the water spirits who dwell in lakes, rivers, and the sea; to nature spirits associated with rocks, hills, wind, animals, and trees. In New Orleans Voudou, the vodun are referred to as spirits. These spirits exist on a hierarchy of three levels: At the top is Bon Dieu (Good God). Below are powerful intermediary spirits known as loas, orishas, and the ancestors. Third, saints, angels, spirit guides, regional and familial spirits, and revered cultural heroes are acknowledged. Ancestor reverence is the most important aspect of all forms of Voudou. The loas, orishas, and ancestors are not worshipped; rather, they are served and revered, respectively.⁵

New Orleans Voudou is a religious system that acknowledges the existence of one ultimate God while not denying the existence of other deities.⁶ Bon Dieu exists in theory, but in practical terms he is distant from humans and does not interact with us:

God is too busy to listen to the pleas of men, so the loas and the Saints meet at the halfway point on the road between Heaven and earth, and the loas tell their brothers what their human followers want. The Saints then return to God and report on the appeals which men have made to the loas, and God grants or refuses the various requests.⁷

This hierarchical structure demonstrates the importance of the spirits of Voudou. They function in a similar fashion to the Catholic saints as messengers to God, each holding an area of expertise, as it were, and can be petitioned for special favors.

New Orleans Voudou and Hoodoo are closely related. In Marie Laveau's day, the two traditions were essentially one and the same. Today, many practitioners of one also practice the other. Hoodoo, Conjure, and Rootwork—all terms used in this grimoire—are folk magick traditions that grew from the same conditions as Voudou. The terms Hoodoo and Conjure are often used interchangeably. On the other hand, Rootwork is a type of Conjure that uses plants for magickal work and healing cures. Each tradition is a resistance response to the harsh realities of slavery and the oppression experienced following emancipation.

There are many different expressions of New Orleans Voudou, depending on the personal experience of the individual practicing it. Voudou is fluid, flexible, and adaptable. While most folks cannot fathom New Orleans Voudou without Marie Laveau and elements of Catholicism, it is not a given that all practitioners subscribe to these inclusions. Some practitioners of New Orleans Voudou do not include Marie Laveau in their pantheon of spirits. Some do not like that she made Hoodoo a business commodity and tourist attraction and oppose the inclusion of Catholic elements in the rituals. Perhaps they also practice another religion, such as Protestantism, Paganism, or Wicca. Many New Orleans Voudouists are initiated into a closely related African-derived sister religion such as Ifá or Santeria. Most are raised Catholic.

Voudouists who are Catholic and serve Marie Laveau practice what I call Laveau Voudou. Sometimes they are referred to as Catholic Voudous. They accept that Marie Laveau made a business out of Voudou and Hoodoo and are grateful that she did. Other than that, the fundamental beliefs, philosophies, and practices are identical among those who practice Voudou in New Orleans. In this book, when I refer to New Orleans Voudou, I am referring to the form that contains Catholic elements and views Marie Laveau as the Mother of New Orleans Voudou. Sometimes, I use the terms New Orleans Voudou and Laveau Voudou synonymously.

It may seem weird to publish The Marie Laveau Voodoo Grimoire when Marie Laveau was reportedly illiterate. She did not write things down herself because she couldn't. So this grimoire becomes an imagining of what she would have written down had she been able to. I link her practices to documented sources throughout the book to show we are not too many degrees of separation away from her in terms of her magick and remedies. I introduce authentic Creole formulas, herbal remedies, and recipes commonly used during her lifetime. Through oral tradition, the Hoodoo, food, and domestic activities come directly from her point in history. And the conjures contained herein cover the issues for which people were known to have sought her advice—issues that remain relevant even