The Magic of Marie Laveau: Embracing the Spiritual Legacy of the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans

The whole book is laughable. Marie was like Harriet Tubman and helped runaway slaves, she was like Clara Bartman by helping "cure hundreds of cholera," and basically Miss Cleo by pretending to be a voodoo queen. It's like a rushed homework assignment. Have you needed to write a research paper and then use wikipedia and random geocities websites to bend the truth and add volume? That's what this book is like.First of all, there's hardly any real information about the real Marie Laveau. Everything about her being a voodoo queen is hearsay and was printed after her death. Secondly, voodoo wasn't practiced in New Orleans when she was alive. Marie was never initiated and therefore was never a voodoo queen. It was a part of the culture, even today, where competing fortune tellers and rootworkers claimed to be voodoo queens, when they never actually practiced voodoo. Marie's mentor was a hoodoo rootworker that went by the title of Doctor. Real voodoo priests aren't called Doctors. Rootworkers call themselves doctors.The author kept adding quotes from random papers where people claimed to be taught by Marie when they most likely lied to give themselves clout. Look at how people still namedrop today. Hyatt never documented credible evidence of voodoo being practiced in New Orleans nor of Marie Laveau, yet the author included a quote saying that hoodoo and voodoo were called the same there.The author wrote about Marie like she was some action figure. She helped cure hundreds from cholera as a nurse, and helped house countless slaves during the underground railroad! Wow Marie was busy. Those claims are unsubstantiated and again, were written years after her death. Don't you know that even the salem witch trials weren't widely written about until over 100 years later? Same thing.The author also kept reaching by saying Marie prayed to St. Maroon who was black or mixed and represented runaway slaves. No record of that but there's a St. Maron from Syria who didn't have anything to do with slavery. She also claimed Marie petitioned Papa Legba and Barob Samedi, and even Mami Wata. The author really really tried it with that one. Some voodoo queen had a centaur looking statue that Marie stole. The fortune tellers were always competing and marie was known for sending her people to drive competitors out of town. Couldn't her magical ability do that instead? It wouldn't surprise me if she wrote that Marie petitioned Santisima Muerte.There's a couple of hoodoo rituals like a bath, altar set up, candle workings, but those can be found on the internet and shows that Marie wasn't a Mambo. She wasn't a voodoo queen, and she most likely just practiced hoodoo like the other so called voodoo queens of New Orleans.Dancing with a snake for spectators has nothing to do with voodoo. The author shied away from the very shady details of Marie's life which would make a lot of people uncomfortable. I had to check this book out and see if it was as bad as her first hoodoo voodoo book. Conflating the two spiritual systems have confused and frustrated a lot of people.

This is a delicious book that is well researched and does not jump on beliefs about her history just because they make a good story. The author is respectful and does not hide parts of Marie’s story just because they might be inconvenient. This book is rich in history while still reverent to who she is and was. I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to get to know Marie Laveau and a bit of her magic too!

Just started reading and almost gave up after the first paragraph of the intro. Forced past it and giving the book a fair read but so far, 1 star for a saturation of the authors political position right out the gate!! Absolutely has nothing to do with the subject matter and has no place in the book!

Lots of hard work, research and love by the author went into the creation of this book and it shines through as you read through it. There is a lot of good history, spells, rituals and more to be had in these pages. I really enjoyed reading this and I very much recommend it.

It is no doubt a very good read for someone who is after Marie Laveau's history and works especially those who want to build their devotion to her. The spells, however, in this book are consisted of perhaps everyday hoodoo practices based on superstition or beliefs, practical spells, and extreme ones like "Coffin spell to cause the death of an enemy". Personally, I wouldn't want to do that. This may have cover a few things about hoodoo but if you are looking to learn more about Voodoo or just the spellwork, you can find other titles for that.

I had recently been interested in learning more about Marie Laveau so when I saw this book was coming out I was very excited. I was a fan of Ms. Alvarado’s work. This book is excellent and filled with wonderful information for anyone wanting to learn about the Voodoo Queen. The authors writing style is easy to read and enjoyable. The book just feels good and the cover is beautiful. Well done Ms. Alvarado, thank you for a book worthy of Madame Marie!

I'm so sorry I had to return this book. I really, really wanted to like it, especially because I suspect I might have a shared lineage with Marie Laveau. But from the start it was obvious that this book is all about racism. I'm sure it must have had good historical content *somewhere* in it but, unfortunately, I just couldn't get past the rhetoric. I love the history of Marie Laveau and I am very, very disappointed. I had hoped to find out more about this amazing woman. This book is all hate and politics and has no substance.

I have had this book on preorder since May, 2019, excitedly waiting to receive it. I just received it this week an am not disappointed. This author has done an excellent job on the research and helping the reader fully understand Ms. Laveau and how to form a relationship with her. Highly recommend this book along with her her other books. A+++++++++

“Se Marie Laveau fosse viva oggi, credo davvero che sarebbe in prima linea nei movimenti #MeToo e #BlackLivesMatter. La immagino in piedi davanti alla Casa Bianca come una #SisterResister, che protesta contro le politiche razziste dell'attuale amministrazione e gli attacchi alla sanità e all'ambiente”. Sono bastate queste poche parole scritte nell’introduzione per catturarmi subito nella lettura e farmi capire che quello che avevo tra le mani non era un semplice libro di esoterismo, ma un atto politico quasi. E in parte lo è davvero!The Magic of Marie Laveau è un'opera monumentale e unica, come lo è l'autrice Denise Alvarado, che in quanto accademica e praticante, riesce a dar forma ad un libro che racchiude ricerca, eredità storica e magia pratica, facendo incontrare su carta passato, presente e futuro e scrivendo così un testo che è allo stesso tempo storico e devozionale, intriso di onore e rispetto per la grande Marie Laveau.Il libro è suddiviso in tre parti: la prima si concentra sulla figura storica di Marie Laveau, sul suo ruolo nella società di New Orleans; la seconda spiega come diventare suoi devoti; e la terza racchiude una serie di incantesimi e insegnamenti magici che affondano le loro radici nella tradizione vudù. Sono rimasto profondamente toccato e commosso dal ritratto che Alvarado fa di Marie Laveau e delle sue azioni verso i più vulnerabili della società. Alvarado non ritrae Laveau come l'incarnazione di un ideale irraggiungibile - perfetto in tutto e per tutto - ma come un modello che ogni suo devoto dovrebbe incarnare e seguire, manifestando una nobiltà d’animo, che rende oggi Laveau uno dei nostri Antenanti più Elevati.Voto 9/10, una lettura davvero meravigliosa.📸 e testo © L’Almanacco delle Streghe (Seguimi su Instagram e Facebook)

Just got this book this morning and I'm already a quarter of the way in. Very good so far. I really enjoy finding out truths about people and history, Denise is doing an excellent job so far. Shipping was very fast and came in excellent condition. Looking forward to finishing this book :)

Ottimo libro sia per quanto riguarda la ricostruzione della vita di Marie Laveau, sia per la descrizione di molti riti Voodoo.

This is the most informative and practical book I’ve ever read about Louisiana voodoo much less Marie Laveau. It debunks the fiction and provides facts of her life and death as well as provides detailed yet simple instructions on ritual and devotee how-to’s. I highly recommend this.

Impresecindible para saber más sobre la gran, Marie Laveau.