It was in Africa, the cradle of civilization that Voodoo was born. Voodoo or Vodun means Great Spirit. The practitioners of Voodoo believe that one deity rules over the entire Universe but there are multiple smaller deities called Loas who are in charge of various aspects of our life. Magick is performed to appease the Loas and gain their blessings.

Magickal ways of life probably originated from Voodoo. As Africans moved away from their land, Voodoo incorporated other practices into it and became Santeria, Hoodoo, etc.

Dance, Music and chanting are part of the ceremonial rituals of Voodoo. One of the main rituals of Voodoo is performing magick over dolls. These dolls are created ceremoniously by the Voodoo priestesses and priest. They are usually made of natural substances from the earth such as twigs, leaves, nuts and vines. While creating these poppets, the practitioner chants and meditates while giving the poppet its identity. The spirit of the ill person was invited to inhabit the poppet by anointing it with oil.

This type of magick where poppets are created to represent humans or animals was believed to have originated from necessity. Africa is a vast land where the different tribes lived as isolated nomads. When anyone got sick, they couldn't get the sick person to a healer because of the harsh and dangerous terrain. So the message would be sent to the healer and s/he would create the poppet to perform the healing magick on. Neat, huh?

Of course there were people who misused this practice to perform black magic and other psychic spells on innocent people. When missionaries returned from these pristine lands, they were only too happy to criticize the practice of Voodoo and call it savage and barbaric. For this reason, most Voodoo practitioners prefer to call their religion Vodun.

However Voodoo survived the colonial invasions and is still practiced in many countries. Candles, Anointing oils, Mojo bags, Poppets, etc are used in Voodoo spells. This religion places a lot of importance on ancestors, making a special altar for all ancestors in their homes, consecrating this area daily and sometimes also ceremoniously offering food to the ancestors.

Also, Voodoo and its variations place a lot of emphasis on the importance of the physical human body. In most spells, items from the body such as nails, hair, spit, secretions, blood, etc are used. To make some spells more potent, graveyard dirt is used. The idea behind it is that the place where a loved one is buried also contains the essence of that person's spirit who will help carry out the spell.