In this episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) chats with Voodoo practitioner, author and business owner Sallie Ann Glassman all about the realm of spirits, otherwise known in Voodoo as "loa".

Sallie has been practicing Vodoo in New Orleans since 1976 and is the owner of the Island of Salvation Botanica, a store and gallery specializing in Vodoun religious supplies, medicinal and magical herbs, and Haitian and local artworks. She received her spiritual training in Haiti in November, and is ordained as a Manbo Asogwe, or Priestess of Vodou-- and is one of the few white Americans to have been ordained via a traditional Haitian initiation.  

Sallie is also the creator of one of Rachel's favorite all-time tarot decks: The Voodoo Tarot of New Orleans, which features the various Voodoo loa, their invocations, and their special gifts and blessings for human practitioners. 

In this episode, Sallie and Rachel discuss just how powerful working with the world of spirit can be-- including Sallie's experience using ceremonial magic to quite literally stop crime in her New Orleans neighborhood! In fact, the crime-busting ceremony was so effective (resulting in arrests, etc.) that the New York Times and Smithsonian Magazine (among others) featured the story in their publications!

Sallie and Rachel also address the ontological fallacy of "toxic positivity" within the World of Woo, urging the spiritually homeless to keep an open mind and abandon their limiting, Puritanical beliefs to receive profound-- and tangible-- insights. Voodoo and the city of New Orleans serve as powerful reminders of the need to be rooted in the material world, integrating our spiritual gifts into the here and now for the benefit of all!

Links:

• The TOTEM Tarot Deck: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0578980126?ref=myi_title_dp
• TOTEM Flower Essence Deck: https://a.co/d/dikcLji
• TOTEM Flower Essences on Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TotemReadingsATX
• TOTEM Readings Website: https://www.totemreadings.com
• TOTEM Readings Substack: https://totemrach.substack.com
• Rachel's Other Links: https://linktr.ee/totemrach
• Sallie's Website: https://www.islandofsalvationbotanica.com
• Sallie's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sallieann61/?hl=en

Please note: The views and opinions expressed on The Skeptical Shaman do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, protected class, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. And remember: sticks and stones may break our bones, but words—or discussions of religious or spiritual topics-- will never hurt us.