Before the Blues, there was Legba. Before Legba, there was the slave trade. And before the slave trade scattered the Yoruba and the Fon across the Atlantic, there were shrines at every threshold and a god who controlled every crossroads. In this episode of Pagan America, we follow that god from West Africa to Haiti, from Haiti to New Orleans, from New Orleans to the Mississippi Delta — and ask why his sacred numbers went viral in 2025. This is not a metaphor. This is theology.

Sword & Staff:

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Robert Johnson & The Crossroads

• Wikipedia – "Robert Johnson" (crossroads legend, Harry Hyatt reference, Legba connection): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Johnson

• Wikipedia – "Doot Doot (6 7)" (song history, Dictionary.com Word of the Year, Skrilla background): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doot_Doot_(6_7)

• Wikipedia – "Skrilla" (biography, Santeria references, Orisha connections in music): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skrilla

• Passion of the Weiss – "At the Mall With Skrilla" (profile confirming Santeria practice and Orisha references): https://www.passionweiss.com/2025/07/10/skrilla-interview-philly-doot-doot-6-7/

• AllHipHop – "Rapper Behind '67' Craze Sacrifices Animals To Ring In New Year" (Skrilla New Year ritual, Santeria animal sacrifice documentation): https://allhiphop.com/news/rapper-behind-67-craze-sacrifices-animals-to-ring-in-new-year/

• Charisma Magazine – "The Demonic Secret Behind the Viral '6-7' Trend" (Skrilla podcast interview quotes on Palo and Yoruba): https://mycharisma.com/culture/the-demonic-secret-behind-the-viral-6-7-trend/

• WHYY – "For those still out of the loop, here is what '6-7' means" (Philadelphia local reporting on Skrilla and Santeria background): https://whyy.org/articles/meaning-6-7-skrilla-philadelphia/

Papa Legba / Vodun / Crossroads Theology

• Wikipedia – "Papa Legba" (Legba's role as crossroads deity, Blues connection, Palmer and Bruno Blum references): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papa_Legba

• Wikipedia – "Haitian Vodou" (Legba invoked first in all ceremonies, crossroads as ritual locations, Catholic syncretism): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haitian_Vodou

• New Orleans Historical – "Congo Square: Mythology and Music" (primary academic overview, Latrobe 1819 account, Haitian refugee influx): https://neworleanshistorical.org/items/show/745

• Wikipedia – "Congo Square" (drumming traditions, West African spiritual practice, Code Noir context): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congo_Square

• Smarthistory – "Congo Square, New Orleans" (Latrobe and Cable accounts, suppression of drumming, cultural continuity): https://smarthistory.org/congo-square-new-orleans/

• BlackPast.org – "Congo Square, New Orleans, Louisiana": https://blackpast.org/african-american-history/congo-square-new-orleans-louisiana/

Books for Show Notes (Amazon Affiliate Links — swap in your affiliate tag):

• The World That Made New Orleans: From Spanish Silver to Congo Square – Ned Sublette (2009): https://www.amazon.com/World-That-Made-New-Orleans/dp/1569763119

• Haitian Vodou: An Introduction to Haiti's Indigenous Spiritual Tradition – Mambo Chita Tann (2012): https://amzn.to/4rbWNx4 

• A Transatlantic History of Haitian Vodou – Benjamin Hebblethwaite (2022) — strongest academic source on Vodou's African origins and transmission: https://amzn.to/4snqs7k

• Creole Religions of the Caribbean – Fernández Olmos & Paravisini-Gebert (2nd ed., 2011) — covers Vodou, Santeria, Obeah together, very useful for this episode: https://amzn.to/47plUFl

• Santería: The Religion – Migene González-Wippler (1994) — standard reference on Orisha numbers and sacred correspondences: https://amzn.to/4cpy7xl

  Walking with the Night: The Afro-Cuban World of Santería – Raul Canizares (1993)
  

Part 3 concludes our series on Jewish obsession in American cults by exposing the origins and theology of the Black Hebrew Israelites, showing how two ex-slaves in the 1890s independently claimed African Americans are the true Lost Ten Tribes of Israel.  From Philadelphia—the historic hub of Rosicrucian mystics, Prince Hall Freemasonry, and religious tolerance—emerged William Saunders Crowdy (Church of God and Saints of Christ, 1896) and Frank Cherry (Church of the Living God, 1886). Fueled by visions, Masonic ritual influences, and Deuteronomy 28 “curse” interpretations of the slave trade, they taught that blacks alone are God’s chosen, salvation is ethnic rather than by faith, and (in extreme One West camps) whites and modern Jews are Edomites destined for destruction. We trace the Kabbalistic roots of their “Shekinah/Black Woman” doctrine and warn against reactionary racial myths on all sides. True Israel is defined by faith in Christ alone. Subscribe for more Sword & Staff: Revenant!

BHI:

• “Black Hebrew Israelites in Kansas” – Jerry Singer (extended Crowdy vision quote source): https://www.amazon.com/African-American-Religious-Cultures-2/dp/157607727

• “Chased Out of Palestine: Prophet Cherry’s Church and Early Black Judaisms in the United States” – Nora L. Rubel (2009 chapter): https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1t89c1j.12

• Church of God and Saints of Christ official history (primary source for Crowdy’s visions & Seven Keys): https://cogasoc.net/church-history 

• Southern Poverty Law Center – “Hebrew Israelism” profile: https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/ideology/hebrew-israelism

Philadelphia & Freemasonry

• Penn’s Charter of Privileges (1701): https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/pa07.asp

• Sachse – The German Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania (1895): https://archive.org/details/germanpietistsof00sach

• “Cave of Kelpius” historical marker: https://explorepahistory.com/hmarker.php%3FmarkerId=1-A-3E5.html 

• St. John’s Lodge history: https://www.freemason.com/st-johns-the-oldest-lodge-in-the-united-states/

• “George Washington Lays the Cornerstone of the Capitol”: https://www.senate.gov/about/historic-buildings-spaces/capitol/washington-lays-capitol-cornerstone.htm

Mentioned in the show and other readings (Amazon Affiliate Links):

• Chosen People: The Rise of American Black Israelite Religions – Jacob S. Dorman (2013): https://amzn.to/3KaUPNM

• The New Black Gods (contains Nora Rubel’s chapter on Frank Cherry) – ed. Curtis & Sigler (2009): https://amzn.to/43YH5g3

• Religion and the Racist Right: The Origins of the Christian Identity Movement – Michael Barkun (rev. ed. 1997): https://amzn.to/4o69dVD

• Black Judaism: Story of an American Movement – James E. Landing (2002): https://amzn.to/49spSz8

• New World A-Coming: Black Religion and Racial Identity during the Great Migration – Judith Weisenfeld (2017): https://amzn.to/49spSz8

• Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry – Albert Pike: https://amzn.to/4o1qTBC

• Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism – Gershom Scholem (1995): https://amzn.to/3JWvlDW

• Black Zion: African American Religious Encounters with Judaism – Yvonne Chireau & Nathaniel Deutsch (2000): https://amzn.to/4plR3Aj

• The Lost Tribes of Israel: The History of a Myth – Tudor Parfitt (2002): https://amzn.to/49sq41k 

• Bullock – Revolutionary Brotherhood (1996): https://amzn.to/47NK8K7 

• Tolles – Meeting House and Counting House (1948): https://amzn.to/4i6NECR 

Sword & Staff:

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Part 2 of Jewish obsession in American cults examines Mormonism’s occult origins and its fixation on Israelite lineage, contrasting it with dispensationalist errors about God’s people.  This episode of Sword and Staff: Revenant dives into Joseph Smith’s mystical practices, including seer stones, magic circles, and alleged necromancy tied to the golden plates’ discovery. We explore how Smith’s treasure-seeking, rooted in folk magic common to grimoires like the Key of Solomon, shaped Mormonism’s claim of divine revelation through supposed Israelite descendants in the Americas. The Book of Mormon’s narrative of the Nephites and Lamanites ties into this obsession, falsely legitimizing Mormon doctrine via blood lineage to Israel. We contrast this with biblical truth, emphasizing that God’s people are defined by faith, not ethnicity, and warn against heresies exploiting Jewish identity. 

Tune in for part 3 where we look at the Black Hebrew Israelites.

Links:

“Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith the Prophet and His Progenitors for Many Generations” by Lucy Mack Smith (1853): https://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/digital/collection/NCMP1820-1846/id/17401/

“Seer Stones”: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/history/topics/seer-stones?lang=eng

“Joseph the Seer”: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2015/10/joseph-the-seer?lang=eng#lds

“Treasure Seeking”: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/history/topics/treasure-seeking?lang=eng

“Joseph Smith - Necromancer”: https://youtu.be/05-xQ9B7Ubk

“Mars Dagger” - Lost Mormonism: https://www.lostmormonism.com/mars-dagger/

“Faculty of Abrac” - Universal Co-Masonry - Encyclopedia Masonica: https://www.universalfreemasonry.org/en/encyclopedia/faculty-of-abrac

“Magic Circles” - Lost Mormonism: https://www.lostmormonism.com/magic-circles/

“Josphe Smith & Money Digging”: https://rsc.byu.edu/sites/default/files/pub_content/pdf/Joseph_Smith_and_Money_Digging.pdf

“The Locations of Joseph Smith’s Early Treasure Quests”: https://www.dialoguejournal.com/articles/the-locations-of-joseph-smiths-early-treasure-quests/

“Scrying for the Lord: Magic, Mysticism, and the Origins of the Book of Mormon”: https://www.dialoguejournal.com/articles/the-locations-of-joseph-smiths-early-treasure-quests/

Mentioned in the show and other readings (Amazon Affiliate Links):

“Truths We Confess" by R.C. Sproul: https://amzn.to/3JWMP2G

“The Coming of Messiah in Glory and Majesty” by Manuel Lacunza: https://amzn.to/4nuTDmi

Sword & Staff:

Discord: https://www.discord.gg/6hJeVrbfu4

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This episode explores the origins of Israeli obsession in evangelical culture and begins to uncover the occult origins of Mormonism. Be sure to join in for our next episode as we move deeper into Mormonism, outlining its own reliance on Hebrew identity, and look at another distinctly American cult, the black Hebrew Israelites. How are they all related? And what was the cultural context of the time? Discover the magical practices of Joseph Smith and his family and the mysterious visions of Margaret McDonald and the Irvingite movement, and why Darby and Scofield shaped so much of your life.

Links:

“Joseph Smith - Necromancer”: https://youtu.be/05-xQ9B7Ubk

“Mars Dagger” - Lost Mormonism: https://www.lostmormonism.com/mars-dagger/

“Faculty of Abrac” - Universal Co-Masonry - Encyclopedia Masonica: https://www.universalfreemasonry.org/en/encyclopedia/faculty-of-abrac

“Magic Circles” - Lost Mormonism: https://www.lostmormonism.com/magic-circles/

“Josphe Smith & Money Digging”: https://rsc.byu.edu/sites/default/files/pub_content/pdf/Joseph_Smith_and_Money_Digging.pdf

“The Locations of Joseph Smith’s Early Treasure Quests”: https://www.dialoguejournal.com/articles/the-locations-of-joseph-smiths-early-treasure-quests/

“Scrying for the Lord: Magic, Mysticism, and the Origins of the Book of Mormon”: https://www.dialoguejournal.com/articles/the-locations-of-joseph-smiths-early-treasure-quests/

Mentioned in the show and other readings (Amazon Affiliate Links):

“Truths We Confess" by R.C. Sproul: https://amzn.to/3JWMP2G

“The Coming of Messiah in Glory and Majesty” by Manuel Lacunza: https://amzn.to/4nuTDmi

Sword & Staff:

Discord: https://www.discord.gg/6hJeVrbfu4

X: https://www.x.com/Sword_Staff

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/swordandstafforder

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/swordandstafforder

Merch: https://www.swordandstaff.creator-spring.com

Buy Me A Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/swordandstaff

An unplanned episode reflecting on the sobering realities surrounding the killing of Charlie Kirk and the distinctly occult nature of the ideology that led to it. Note: This episode is heavy. Those grieving or having difficulty with the death of Charlie may want to listen cautiously. 

Links:

“We Paid Some Etsy Witches to Curse Charlie Kirk”: https://web.archive.org/web/20250911002605/https://www.jezebel.com/we-paid-some-etsy-witches-to-curse-charlie-kirk

“The End of Neutrality” by Josh Robinson: ​​https://joshrobinson.substack.com/p/the-end-of-neutrality

Explore a different take as Coleman interviews Calmversations host, Benjamin Boyce. While he is used to doing the interviewing with folks like Jonathan Pageau, Andrew Isker, Joe Rigney, and hundreds of others of a more eclectic strip, the interviewer turns interviewee as Coleman asks the questions and Benjamin gets the mic.

Benjamin’s Links:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BenjaminABoyce

X: https://x.com/BenjaminABoyce

NOTE: Two passages were conflated in my remembering. One from Exodus 17 where water is given from the rock and fills the valley. The other from Exodus 15 where bitter waters are made sweet. They come together to say essentially what I presented, but corrections where corrections are due. Links to both sermons below.

Sermons:

Bitter Water Made Sweet & the 12 Trees: https://www.proclaimkc.org/sermons/sermon/2025-02-23/lifes-bitter-water

Water from the Rock: https://www.proclaimkc.org/sermons/sermon/2025-03-09/the-rock-struck-for-gods-people

Mentioned in the show and other readings (Amazon Affiliate Links):

“Planet Narnia” by Michael Ward: https://amzn.to/3J5OhPC

“Project Hail Mary” by Andy Weir: https://amzn.to/4ncmdK7

“Return of The Strong Gods: Nationalism, Populism, and the Future of the West”: https://amzn.to/4nhqFY8

“The Book of The Hopi” by Frank Waters: https://amzn.to/43xg0Rc

“On Secular Education” by R.L. Dabney: https://amzn.to/4oy8k9R

Sword & Staff:

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Buy Me A Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/swordandstaff

Delve into the spiritual crossroads of "Pagan America" in this personal podcast episode, exploring Coleman’s mixed Choctaw and European heritage. Uncover the rich tapestry of Choctaw mythology, from the sacred Nanih Waiya mound to animistic beliefs in Hashtali and Nalusa Chito, rooted in Mississippian mound-building cultures. Contrast this with the Christian gospel’s impact on Native American lands, examining covenantal blessings, curses, and redemption. As a ¼ Choctaw Christian, Coleman reflects on spiritual warfare, sleep paralysis encounters, and the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex’s “Southern Death Cult.” Discover how Native traditions clash with European Christian heritage, offering insights into faith, culture, and personal identity. Perfect for listeners interested in Native American history, biblical perspectives, and spiritual journeys.

Mentioned in the show and other readings (Amazon Affiliate Links):

“Project Hail Mary” by Andy Weir: https://amzn.to/4ncmdK7

“The Sin of Empathy” by Joe Rigney: https://amzn.to/40f2JdP

“Return of The Strong Gods: Nationalism, Populism, and the Future of the West”: https://amzn.to/4nhqFY8

“The Book of The Hopi” by Frank Waters: https://amzn.to/43xg0Rc 

“Principles of War: A Handbook on Strategic Evangelism” by Jim Wilson: https://amzn.to/3HyJSUH

“That Hideous Strength” by C.S. Lewis: https://amzn.to/4mZXKrp

Sword & Staff:

Discord: https://www.discord.gg/6hJeVrbfu4

X: https://www.x.com/Sword_Staff

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/swordandstafforder

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Merch: https://www.swordandstaff.creator-spring.com
Buy Me A Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/swordandstaff

Venture into the wild world of demons, parasites, and conspiracy theories with Jim Parkin and Coleman Barrbour as they discuss the Demons Are Parasites series of presentations from Understanding Conspiracy. Enjoy the return of the chinwag edition of Sword & Staff and as they discuss the connection between physical malady and spiritual oppression. We talk mental health, physical health, spiritual health, fasting, prayer, and even…homosexuality? Just in time to wrap up Pride Month.

Understanding Conspiracy Parasite Videos:

“The Demonic Parasite Presentation”: https://youtu.be/1iQF5xv7PXE

“Parasites Are Demons Round 2”: https://youtu.be/NVrgAdMQVwg

Mentioned in the show and other readings (Amazon Affiliate Links):

“Project Hail Mary” by Andy Weir: https://amzn.to/4ncmdK7

“The Sin of Empathy” by Joe Rigney: https://amzn.to/40f2JdP

“Return of The Strong Gods: Nationalism, Populism, and the Future of the West”: https://amzn.to/4nhqFY8

“The Book of The Hopi” by Frank Waters: https://amzn.to/43xg0Rc 

“Principles of War: A Handbook on Strategic Evangelism” by Jim Wilson: https://amzn.to/3HyJSUH

“That Hideous Strength” by C.S. Lewis: https://amzn.to/4mZXKrp

Sword & Staff:

Discord: https://www.discord.gg/6hJeVrbfu4

X: https://www.x.com/Sword_Staff

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/swordandstafforder

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/swordandstafforder

Merch: https://www.swordandstaff.creator-spring.com

Buy Me A Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/swordandstaff

Join Coleman and Jim for the next installment of Sword & Staff: Revenant, where we ask if parasites are demonic and if worms can make someone gay. I know this sounds like a joke, but it’s really not. Listen in on June 23rd.

Delve into the profound connections between Carl Jung’s collective unconscious and Native American spiritual beliefs, exploring archetypes, dreams, and ancestral wisdom. From Jordan Peterson’s Jungian insights to Native myths, we question whether these symbolic patterns reflect divine truth or occultic deception. Guided by Scripture, this 40-minute journey unpacks psychology, spirituality, and the unseen, offering a Christian perspective on hidden truths. Perfect for fans of Jung, Native mythology, and conspiracy theories. Listen to the full episode for a thoughtful exploration!

Mentioned in the show and other readings (Amazon Affiliate Links):

“Mitakuye Oyasin: We Are All Related" by A.C. Ross: https://amzn.to/3Q5zLrw

“American Indian Myths & Legends” by Richard Erdoes & Alfonso Ortiz: https://amzn.to/3QEOgmk

“The Book of The Hopi” by Frank Waters: https://amzn.to/43xg0Rc 

“Principles of War: A Handbook on Strategic Evangelism” by Jim Wilson: https://amzn.to/3HyJSUH

“That Hideous Strength” by C.S. Lewis: https://amzn.to/4mZXKrp

Sword & Staff:

Discord: https://www.discord.gg/6hJeVrbfu4

X: https://www.x.com/Sword_Staff

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Buy Me A Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/swordandstaff