Showing results by author "Philip Ryan Deal" in All Categories

Ryan is a clinically certified aromatherapist, spiritual herbalist, and Orisha priest living in Western Massachusetts. He has written books on Puerto Rican Vodou, Herbal Astrology, Palo Religion, and The Holy Odu IFA. He was fully initiated into IFA and crowned an Oshun priest in Osogbo, Nigeria by the Iyadudu Temple. He is the founder of the Aje Funfun Temple and offers spiritual consultations and birth chart interpretation. If you need his help schedule a spiritual consultation!

Vodou, Vodoun, Vudu, and Voodoo has captivated the imaginations of Americans for centuries. Everyone is familiar with New Orleans Voodoo and its images of black candles, chicken’s feet, and skulls meant to invoke fear and awe in outsiders. Voodoo as practiced in the United States has become an amalgam of witchcraft, necromancy, rootwork, conjure, and a catch-all word for any type of magic that seems dark and ominous. In the Caribbean, however, Voodoo is spelled Vodou and is practiced as an African Traditional Religion (ATR).