Voudon Gnosticism

Book excerpt: • Analyzes the syncretic magical system of Voudon Gnosticism and the traditions from which it is sourced • Explains the practices of Voudon Gnosticism in detail, including how to speak with the Lwas (spirits) and establish relationships with them • Explores the history of Voudon Gnosticism and significant teachers like Martinez de Pasqually, Lucien François Jean-Maine, and Michael Bertiaux The Voudon Gnostic system—a unique melding of Haitian Vodou with Gnosticism, Martinism, and other traditions—is one of the most creative and rich ways to explore magic. Providing a comprehensive introduction to this complex magical tradition, Frater Vameri explores its history and practices, initiating novices and more advanced readers into his own Voudonist world and the tradition’s conceptions of life and death. Vameri begins by exploring the founding and evolution of the system from its origins in Haiti to its séances in Chicago, including significant teachers such as Martinez de Pasqually, Lucien François Jean-Maine, Papus, and Michael Bertiaux. He looks at Voudon Gnosticism’s early connections with Caribbean Martinist colonies, the Black Templars, Paschal Beverly Randolph, the Ordo Templi Orientis Antiqua, and the Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor. The author explains how the lwas of Voudon Gnosticism are the same spirits found in traditional Haitian Vodou, yet approached differently. He explores how to learn to speak with the lwas, establish relationships with them, and profit from their revelations. He examines the Hoodoo system of the Voudon Gnosticism tradition and details how to build a Hoodoo altar as well as an atua, or spirit house, for adepts who have decided to establish enduring relationships with the spirits. Presenting a practical guide to this unique system, Vameri not only enables you to understand the history and intricate mechanisms of Voudon Gnosticism, but also reveals how to build your own magical universe with the help of Les Vudu.