Marie LaVeau was the famous voodoo priestess from New Orleans. She lived near what is now called the French quarters.

One of her biggest mojos was the fact that she had so many kids, fertility was important as that made for more kids to share the work.

She had 2 sets of 4 girls, 2 sets of 3 girls, 3 sets of twin girls for a total of 22 daughters.

Marie LaVeau was by profession a hairdresser. In those days hair dressers did much more than just cut hair, they also stitched wounds, lanced boils, delivered babies, pulled teeth and most anything thing that a doctor would do today. One big thing was preparing potions

To cure or aid certain body functions such as willow bark for headaches.

Voodoo had its origins from the slaves captured in Africa and Haiti. It was not allowed to be practiced and was punishable by death

in the cruelest of fashions. A big social event of the times was to go to Jackson Square which was the site of many executions during

this time. The hanging tree still stands today. It’s the big oak tree in the rear left side just in front of the cathedral. The weekly executions

were held each saturday and were a family event including a picnic lunch. Bets would be placed on which quarter of the body would have

The majority of the entrails trailing from it as the most exciting method of execution was quartering by tieing each arm and leg to one of 4

horses which were made to stampede in 4 directions. Drunkenness and fornication in public was common here.

So the mojo beliefs were merged with the catholic religion as a disguise.

Marie LeVeau tended to all peoples and she had an intelligence network of other hairdressers who tended to other people. Then as now

Much gossip was the norm to the hairdressers and they entered all homes at on time or another doing their duty. So Marie knew much

about all the people. She was a free person of colour as they were called, meaning she was not a slave owned by anyone. She was a

Maroon which meant she was 3/4 black and 1/4 European. She was the most powerful person in the city and was sought out by everyone

including the politians, judges, priests, rich and poor alike. It was claimed that she could be in two places at once, but her oldest

daughter looked exactly like her.

She lived during the time of the yellow fever epidemic. Life was cheap as anyone could die anyday. Everyday was lived as though

it was the last. Noone knew it was caused by mosquito bites. They just know that they could drop dead anytime.

As New Orleans was the richest city in the Americas because of the shipping from Europe and from down the Mississippi

Life was hedonistic to say the least. Boats would be floated down the river and disassembled and the lumber was used to

build more houses as there was no way that the boats could return up against the current. These people called Kentucks were a crude and

unrefined bunch much to the distaste of the French. Some of them became rich and stayed and they built the Garden District

homes and there was much competition to built the finest showcase of homes. Canal Street then and now is the dividing line between

the 2 groups.

Mardi Gras was the custom even back then. It occurs 45 days before Easter Sunday. Fat Tuesday was the biggest day of all.

For Ash Wednesday was the beginning of Lent. A time of self sacrifice. A cross was drawn on everyone’s forehead with ashe

as a sign of the beginning of Lent. Fat Tuesday then had another tradition rather than just being an excuse for feasting and

partying. It was the day of retribution. It was the day that wrongs were righted. It was the day that one killed ones enemy.

Usually with a knive between the ribs into the heart. This is where the tradition of wearing costumes came from. Trying to

hide in plain sight. Trying to survive the day and enjoy the festivities.

As New Orleans is below sea level, burial was impossible. The bodies tended to wash up out of the ground. So the Cities of the

Dead were created. Even today they are still used. a body is placed there for 2 years and then the bones are shoved together

with the bones of others and the crypt is reused again.

So when Marie LaVeau died she was encrypted in the St Louis #5 cemetery. It is believed by many that she can still mojo from

the grave if asked properly.

So I did.

It was a dark and stormy night November 11, 2000. There was horrible storm with lightning and the rain was falling sideways

as the winds were howling. I called for a cab at 3:30 am. I had a sack of offerings. It included rum, a new hairbrush, scissors, toenail

clippers, a half pack of cigarettes and 2 lefties, and a lighter. I also had a gun as it was very dangerous to go there alone anytime

much less at night. The first cab driver refused to take me there, so I called for anther cab. He was terrified at what I was doing

but I ripped a fifty dollar bill in half and gave him the small part and told him he could have the rest on the return trip. As this was

a $5 fare he did it.

I was soaked instantly when I got out of the cab to enter St Louis #5 the City of the Dead at about 4 am. I entered and turned to

my left and walked the 10 feet to the tomb of Marie LeVeau. by the flash of the constant lightning I found a small piece of brick,

then knocked 3 times on the tomb, turned around 3 times, made 3 XXX, drank from the rum, made my offering, and then made

my request. It was an earnest request made in the white spirit of love. I then hauled ass back to the taxi and he burnt rubber

leaving the place. I gave him the rest of that $50. He was doing the sign of the cross where you touch your chest and head

repeatedly and did not speak to me again.

I made it back to the hotel at 5am. At 5:10 am the fire alarms went off as I was changing into dry clothes and the firemen made

me evacuate to the street in my underwear and my biker coat. So I got soaked again. At 5:30 it was oked to go back in.

So me and my friend who had no idea what I had done nor where I had been rushed to the train station for the 7am train back

home.

In May of 2001 and I returned and went to the St Louis #5 cemetery again. This time I went with a tourist group in the daytime.

I found another piece of red brick and circled my XXX that I had made that night. This signified that my request had been

granted for all to see.

Do I believe? Yes

Can I reveal what my request was? No never. Not to anyone.