Voodoo For Dummies Cheat Sheet

New Orleans Voudou is a living spiritual tradition shaped by African, Caribbean, Catholic, and local Indigenous influences. At its center is a working relationship between human beings, the ancestors, and the divine forces that move through everyday life. Instead of approaching a distant creator directly, practitioners traditionally engage spiritual intermediaries, who govern specific aspects of nature, fate, justice, healing, love, and survival.

The quick reference table on this cheat sheet gathers those divine forces in one place. It offers a practical way to see who is who, what domain of life each spirit governs, and the kinds of petitions traditionally brought before them.

Meeting the spirits of New Orleans Voudou

In New Orleans, the word spirits functions as an umbrella term that includes lwa (the divine spirits of New Orleans Voudou and Haitian Vodou), orishas (the sacred powers or deities of the Yoruba tradition), ancestors, saints, angels, spirit guides, and local folk figures. This broad usage is regional and distinctive. Other African diasporic traditions tend to name their spiritual pantheons more narrowly, but New Orleans Voudou blends influences in a way that reflects the city’s layered history.

Each spirit carries a defined role, personality, and area of authority. Many are linked to Catholic saints, while others stand on their own without syncretized counterparts. People approach spirits for specific reasons, based on long-standing traditions rather than personal preference alone.

The following table is designed as a practical reference, not a list of spirits a person is expected to serve. It identifies major figures recognized within New Orleans Voudou and summarizes how they’re traditionally understood, approached, and identified. The columns work together to provide a clear snapshot of each spirit without requiring background knowledge or initiation.

The Spirit column lists the name most commonly found in New Orleans Voudou. The Domain column describes the specific realms, forces, places, or areas of authority traditionally governed by that spirit; these domains are intentional and precise, reflecting established attributions. The Catholic Saint column reflects Catholic syncretism (the blending of African-derived spiritual traditions with Catholic imagery and saints) where it exists; when no saint is traditionally associated with the spirit, this is noted as not applicable. The Symbols column highlights objects and visual markers commonly linked to the spirit and often seen in devotional or ritual settings. The Petitions column summarizes the types of concerns people customarily bring to that spirit.

Orishas appear alongside lwa in this table because New Orleans Voudou developed at a crossroads of African, Caribbean, and Catholic traditions, with strong Yoruba influences. Their inclusion reflects historical and regional practice rather than a universal requirement. It’s also important to understand that practitioners don’t serve every spirit listed. Most work with a primary spirit and a spiritual court, meaning the cluster of spirits closely connected to them through calling, lineage, initiation, and practice.

This table doesn’t imply universal service or obligation. Its purpose is to clarify who these spirits are, what they govern, and how they’re traditionally approached, offering a quick and reliable point of reference.

Major spirits of New Orleans Voudou

Understanding key Voodoo terms

Here are some of the most commonly used Voodoo terms:

• ‍crossroads: Represents choice, fate, opportunity, and spiritual access. It marks the place where paths meet and decisions are made, both spiritually and in everyday life.
• ‍the Dead: Those who have crossed over and now exist in a changed spiritual state. They retain awareness, influence, and authority and may be approached with respect and care.
• ‍gris-gris (noun): A spiritually empowered charm, such as a bag or object, used for protection, luck, defense, or influence.
• ‍gris-gris (verb): To affect someone through spiritual work, as in protecting, influencing, or crossing them.
• ‍Guede: A family of spirits associated with death, cemeteries, transition, and the protection of the Dead. They’re known for blunt truth telling, humor, and fierce guardianship.
• ‍lwa: A spiritual intermediary who serves as a point of contact between human beings and the divine. Each lwa governs specific forces, places, or aspects of life and is approached for particular kinds of help.
• ‍orisha: A divine force originating in Yoruba religious traditions. Their presence in New Orleans Voudou reflects historical contact and cultural blending rather than a separate or competing system.
• ‍regleman: Proper ritual order, protocol, and spiritual law. It governs how Haitian Vodou ceremonies are conducted and how priestly authority is maintained.
• ‍spiritual court: The group of spirits closely connected to a practitioner through calling, lineage, initiation, or long-term devotion. Voodooists work with their spiritual court instead of attempting to serve every spirit they know about.
• ‍syncretism: The blending of spiritual traditions that occurred under historical pressure, especially evident in the pairing of Voodoo spirits with Catholic saints. Saints function as symbolic counterparts, not replacements.
• ‍vévé: A sacred symbol drawn to represent a specific spirit and invite their presence. Vévés are points of concentrated power.