TheVoodooBox

Laveaus Box

PaulPrater.com 4700 Edgemere

North Little Rock, AR

Copyright © 2019, PaulPrater.com

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in or introduced in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means

(electronic, manual, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior express written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any

unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable for criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

Design, layout and photography by Paul A. Prater.

Special thanks go to Michael Blain and Joe Diamond for their careful review, editing and suggestions. Thanks so much guys!

I want to tell you a true story about a man and desperation. When men are desperate they will do things they normally wouldn’t do. Paul Mathews had to save his wife. She was dying. Paul had tried going to all of the local doctors. They said she would only make it a few months. Their time was running out.

Paul asked everyone he knew what to do and where to go. He finally took the advice of a mechanic that worked in his gas station. The mechanic was raised in Louisiana and had made the short trip north to Arkansas, where he tried his hand at harvesting rice but quickly realized it was an easier job working at a gas station. Paul hired him more than ten years earlier and he had stayed ever since. Joe was his name. Paul trusted him completely. In that time in the South, a white man probably would not admit a black man was his best friend. However, Joe and Paul were best friends, though that sentiment remained

unspoken. Joe told Paul of a man he knew, a man who wasn’t a doctor but could cure the sick. He could communicate with the spirit world. One who could intercede on behalf of the desperate. He could make the offerings to the Baron and stop death. So, Paul took the trip to Louisiana. It was hot and

dry when he left in August in an old pickup truck. The trip was only a few hours, one he made in one day,

but he felt as if the heat had beat him down. His lungs were filled with the dust that hadn’t caked to the sweat rolling down his

head. However, he had no time to waste and no money to stay the night. He would meet with the man and then drive back home.

Luckily Paul didn’t have to go into New Orleans to find the man. He found

who he needed in Lafayette. Well, close enough to Lafayette anyway. When Paul reached town, he drove to the home where Joe had grown up, being assured he would be pointed in the right direction.

The only one left there was Joe’s grandmother. The rest had moved on, but Joe knew she would be there. She was kind enough to provide Paul with a meal of cornbread and greens with ham. Joe’s grandmother offered him a place to stay for the night.

“Any man that gave Joe a job and treats him like a friend is welcome here,” she told him.

“I appreciate it, but I cannot stay. You can help me by pointing me to Papa Babalou.” The woman crossed herself. “I hope you ain’t meaning no evil?” “No ma’am. My wife is dying of the cancer. I want to help her. I am desperate,” the man responded. “Oh, well then Papa Babalou can help you.”

She told Paul where to find the healer. Papa Babalou wasn’t so much in the town as he was in the country. He lived in nothing more than a shack.

Paul was welcomed in by the healer. Papa Babalou had a face worn and

cracked like an old book. Paul guessed that the healer probably contained as much knowledge as one as well. He still was uneasy about this Hoodoo healer though. He wasn’t raised up to believe in this. “I knew you were coming, sir. I have everything ready.” “What, you have everything ready? How did you…?”

“Sir, just have a seat. Let me show you.”

The healer put a box on the table. It had strange markings on the top.

The healer opened the box and removed several items. “Do you believe in the power of the loa?” the healer

asked .

“Well, I don’t know what that is,” Paul answered.

“Hoodoo. Do you believe in it?”

Paul looked uncomfortable. He squirmed in his seat.

“Well, I don’t really…um… I don’t know.”

The healer pushed forward three face down cards. “I want you to take these, keeping them face down, and mix them, so their

order is completely rearranged. Then I want you to place them in a row. Once you have done that, I want you to place this little black skull on one of them.”

Paul did as the old man requested. “Good. We are going to see if the loa are guiding you.”

Papa Babalou placed three items on the table.

“Please pick up one of the items,” he directed.

Paul picked up the brick piece.

“Now did you feel the direction of the loa? Good, now put it into the box,” the healer directed. After Paul did so, the healer closed the lid of the box.

“Now, I want you to concentrate on another item. Really look and choose wisely. Let the loa direct you. When you have made your choice pick it up.” The man picked up the cross.

“Are you sure this is what you want? Did you feel the loa direct you?”

“Yes,” Paul answered, going along with the old man. He felt relief to see a cross and it comforted him hold it.

“The cross, it is a sign of Baron Samedi, and not just your religion. It is made from wire that once was part of a fence around Marie Laveau’s house. You know of her?”

“No, the man answered.”

“Go to N’awlins and see her house. It still stands on St. Ann. The fence does not.”

“What about the nail?” the man asked. “Oh, the nail, it is from a coffin. No need to worry. No one was in the

coffin…or so I was told. The coffin maker let me pull out the nails,” the healer answered.

“Well, I suppose I should ask about the brick, as well,” the man said.

“The brick? That came off the tomb of Marie Laveau. All of these things are a tribute to Baron Samedi, the loa of the dead. He guards the crossroads and can turn those away who are on the path to the cemetery.”

“You see the Baron and I knew you would come. We knew what you would do.”

The healer opened the box and pulled out a letter.

“This note is like a holy scripture. It tells of the loa and the future and what

would happen.” The man opened the note and read aloud what it said, and it correctly

predicted what had just transpired. “Now take a look at these two cards you didn’t pick. You see these cards

here. These card look like the saints. The saints that the white folks pray to. We pray to them too, but they have different names. I would like you to look at these saints carefully and pick the one that appeals to you,” Papa Babalou said.

“Now turn over the one you selected. You see it is Baron Samedi; the one

who you have come to for help. He led you here. You asked how I knew you were coming today. I didn’t know, but the loa knew. The loa knew you were coming. You see, they guide your path; they lead you where you need to go.”

The man sat looking at the box in confusion and disbelief. Papa Bablou again removed the items from the box.

“Now, sir, I see you feel the power of the loa. I now need you to concentrate

on why you came here. Think of just one word that would say why you are here. Then write it on this here piece of paper,” the healer instructed.

The man took a small slip of paper and wrote “cancer” on the paper.

“Now sir, if you will just take it and fold it in half. Very good, now fold in

half again. Now, put it in the box.” Papa Babalou shut the lid on the box. “Now, we have the coffin, which is kind of like putting a letter in the

mailbox to the Baron. We have the darkness, but we need to present our gifts. Put the cross and the nail inside. The brick is in there and Marie will be our mailman…or mailwoman I suppose.

“We will shut the lid again after making the offerings and send your

concerns to the loa. Baron Samedi can use his vessel to hear your concerns. We have given him our gifts.”

Papa Babalou shook the box as he chanted. He stopped and then opened the box again. Please take your paper and

hold it.

He then moved the coffin off of the table and reached into a box on the floor. He came back up with four strange looking shells.

Papa Babalou then said what sounded like a prayer. Paul didn’t

understand a lot of the words. It made him uncomfortable again, but one thought of his ailing wife wiped the worry from his mind.

Papa Babalou then threw down the shells. He

looked at them intently and then made a pronouncement.

“Your wife, she may be all right. We need to appease the

Baron. Here hold him.”

Paul was stunned. He had not mentioned his wife or even why he was there. The healer put the small doll in the man’s hand.

“There is great power in this doll. Can you feel it?” he asked the man. Paul merely looked back at him.

The healer uncorked the little jar and poured a small amount of dirt on the

doll. He then took it back.

“This dirt, this is graveyard dirt and it is very powerful,” Bablou said. Papa Babalou carefully placed the doll back in his palm and started another chant.

Slowly the doll started to rise. It continued its slow ascent until it stood upright in the healer’s palm.

“This is very good. I believe this is a sign from Baron Samedi. I believe he is

telling us he will help you and your wife.” “Thank you for your blessings, Baron.” As the old man said this, the doll slowly settled back

onto his hand.

“I don’t want to guess. We need to consult the loa again.”

At this point, the man pulled out an oddly shaped piece of metal attached to an old piece of twine. He spread out an old piece of cloth on the table. He held the contraption over the piece of cloth.

“Baron Samedi, will you stand at the crossroads and protect this woman?”

The thing started moving back and forth.

“Do you see how this moves over the “yes” answer?” Babalou asked.

Paul nodded his head.

“This is saying he will protect her.” Again the healer threw the shells. He studied the pattern closely.

“Oh yes, this is very good. Baron Samedi knows your wife is sick. He says that the cancer will not kill her and that he will keep her safe. He says it is gone.” “What did you write on the paper?” “Cancer,” the man said. “Show me,” said Papa Babalou. Paul unfolded the paper and he was flabbergasted. There was nothing on it. “You see, Baron Samedi has already helped you my friend. Now, you believe.”

So what about Paul’s wife? The doctors had no explanation, but her cancer disappeared. Well, she succumbed to cancer, but it was thirty-five years later. I suppose I should thank the loa. That man in the story was my grandfather. My mother was not yet born when my grandfather visited Papa Babalou. If not for him, my mother would never have been born and I wouldn’t be here. Personally, I believe in the loa.

The Cellar

I will detail the working of the routine, but first I want to give a bit of background. I was born and raised in the South. I live only a few short hours from New Orleans and from the time of my first trip there, I have had a keen interest in voodoo, or as the Southern version is often called, hoodoo.

You don’t have to go to New Orleans to find voodoo in the South. If you know what you are looking for, you will find evidence in drugstores and five and dime stores, particularly those that look like they were built in the 1920’s and 1930’s and haven’t been updated. I have found voodoo supplies in Arkansas and Tennessee in these types of stores. The items aren’t advertised as goods for the voodoo practitioner, but it takes little to figure it out.

I have also had some fun times in voodoo shops and Santeria shops in Washington D.C. and Dallas, among other places. I also attended an entertaining voodoo tour that ended in a visit to a voodoo temple in New Orleans. It was interesting, but the priestess was old and either she had dementia or she acted as if she did. Nonetheless, it was memorable and fascinating.

With that being said, voodoo is more than just an interesting concept on which to hang a routine.

So, what do you do with the story at the beginning? Must you follow this in your presentation? Of course not. If you want to follow the story, then you can have your audience participate as the story is being told. However, maybe you don’t want to use all of the parts. This is fine too. The props are modular and you can use only part, or the entire routine. You can choose how you wish to perform the routine.

I structured this instruction booklet by covering all of the possibilities that could be done using Laveau’s Box in the story. Below I will explain each of them. I will finish by providing other ideas that can be used with the set.

The basic set comes with the box, the doll, four cowrie shells, a cross, a

nail, a piece of brick (actually from Marie Laveau’s tomb), a small jar, a black skull, a pinkie finger bone, a devil head seed pod, a painted pecan, the three saint cards, a handmade pendulum and pendulum chart, . The jar is intentionally empty and has a blank label. Mine has actual cemetery dirt in it and is labeled as such. You can put whatever you choose in yours and label it appropriately.

You may have noticed that there are things that weren’t mentioned in the

above story. I will provide further suggestions for the use of these items.

Let’s get on with the explanations.

The Baron’s Card

This part of the routine is simple enough. Each of the card have different staining on the back and all you need to be able to do is to recognize the stain pattern on the Baron’s card. If you want to make the marking more obvious, feel free to do so, but this is what has always worked for me.

Now it is nothing more than Equivoque to make it happen. I think that

adding the face down method makes it a little less obvious, as you can’t know which card is which.

I always have the person touch one of the cards first, because with just a

one in three chance, they may touch the right one, and no Equivoque is needed. You can save it for later.

That is it for the Baron’s card.

The Foresight of the Loa

The next part covered in the story is Freewill, a routine created by Deddy

Corbuzier, who was gracious enough to grant permission to use his working. Freewill is an advancement of equivoque, the good old standby of the mentalist. The advancement is a strong one, however, and worth your time to study. Pick up the original version from Deddy Corbuzier if you are interested in seeing his handling.

In this version, begin by removing the doll from the coffin and put it aside, out of reach. Then line the three items up in front of your spectator. Put the brick in the middle, as there is a strong chance the middle item will be selected first. We will handle each of the different options for how the spectator can do this.

First, obviously, if the spectator picks up the brick, your job is done. Have

them place the brick in the box and proceed forward. At this point, they can choose either item. Give the spectator the option to either hand the item to you or keep it for him or herself. They can change their mind all they want. At this point, it doesn’t matter.

If you are holding the nail, you will open the letter and read read it aloud.

If they are holding the nail, you hand them the letter and have them read it aloud. It should be obvious, but they shouldn’t see the prediction before the culmination of the routine.

But what if they choose something else first? This is where you have to be

a little more flexible with your approach.

Let’s assume they choose the nail. Ask them if they are sure that is what they want. If they say no, then let them make another choice. If they say yes, then ask if they want to keep it or give it to you.

Then, they get to make their next choice. If they then choose the cross,

then you still have the brick left on the table, so it can go into the box. You are still where you need to be and you can do the prediction as outlined above.

Now, what if they choose either the nail or the cross first and then the

brick is chosen second? You ask again if they are sure of their choice. If they confirm they are, then open the lid of the box slightly and have them place it inside. Then proceed on with the routine, again offering them the option to change their mind regarding the other two items.

With the brick placed in the middle, this is rarely the way it works. It is

chosen first, or left for last.

Perceiving the Word

The story mentions the spectator writing down a word and then you can divine the word. This is something you can do or not do, as you so choose, based on how comfortable you are with peeks. There are several different methods for peeks, but for me, Acidus by Millard Longman is the best method. Since it is for sale currently, I am not free to disclose the method, but surely you know a variety of peeks.

If you want the words to disappear from the card, there are two easy

methods. The first involves using a Frixion pen. You can get these at office supply stores and when the ink gets warm, it disappears. Waving the paper through a candle flame a time or two will make this happen.

The other option is a tried and true billet switch.

Rise of the Baron

The next phase is the Okito doll. As the name implies, this routine is a

deviation of Okito’s rising pencil in which a pencil could stand in the hand. Prior to doing the routine put the doll onto your spectator’s outstretched hand. This subtly implies there is nothing “sneaky” about the doll. Don’t worry, because the cloth covers the needle.

If you do bizarre, you are probably familiar with how the thing works. You put a needle under the top layer or two of skin while the hand is relaxed a slightly cupped. Then, you straighten and flex the hand, allowing the doll to rise.

You may have to experiment to find the perfect location for the needle. For me it is right above my head line, the second line down from my fingers. This works well for me. Personally, I like to let the doll slowly return to rest before removing it from my hand. Now, you can return the doll to its box and continue on.

Other Routines

I am sure that I don’t need to mention it, but the pendulum and pendulum chart are part of the set and can be used as any other pendulum. The pendulum you received is a one of kind art piece, uniquely created for your set. No two are the same. I think that pendulum work can be particularly strong when combined with a peek as suggested in this routine. If you need further inspiration there are a multitude of books out there and I am particularly fond of those by David Thiel. I must disclose that I contributed pieces to each of his books.

What about all of those other pieces in the box? You can just use them for set dressing, or you can decide to use them for an Equivoque routine if the Baron card is chose immediately. That is what I do personally.

Obi Shell Readings “He who gives a person Obi gives a person life.”

– Yoruba prayer

The final routine involves the Obi shell readings. I would invite you to consider whether you want to combine this with magic “tricks” or not. Readings can be intimate and powerful. Consider whether you are cheapening the experience by combining the two or making the entire routine stronger. You know your abilities and approach.

Obi readings are readings using cowrie shells which have been modified for

the readings. Various groups of the African diaspora use cowrie shell readings for divination. The cowrie shells are cut open on one side for divination. The side with the small slit and “teeth” is the “mouth” side from which the loa give their answers. The cut side is the closed side.

Obi readings are used by believers of the diaspora. This is a real religious practice and a real divination method, so please respect it as such. Remember this if you use this to do readings.

To do the reading is simple. The reader would pray to the loa and then

throw the four shells. Practitioners believe that the loa can influence how the shells fall.

The shells can only answer “yes” or “no” questions, so make them yes or no

when asking. The results are : Alafia: 4 mouth-up cowries Blessings! A “Yes” to whatever you asked about — and you may get even more than you requested or it will come sooner than you hoped. Alafia means "peace.” It is "Yes" with a blessing of peace and in abundance. Etawa: 3 mouth-up and 1 mouth-down cowries. A "Maybe" answer. Etawa is an unstable response, and requires a second throwing of the Obi to ascertain whether the answer is yes or no. If the second toss is Alafia, Etawa or Ejife, the answer is yes. If the second toss is Okanran or Oyekun then the answer is no. Ejife: 2 mouth-up and 2 mouth-down. This is an absolute “Yes” -- but you are cautioned not to ask any further questions on the subject. or the Orisha Spirit of Divination may get mad. Ejife is positive because it represents perfect balance. It indicates blessings of knowledge with experience, and it may require more effort than Alafia.

Okana Sode or Okanran: 1 mouth-up and 3 mouth-down “No.” What you asked won’t happen. Okanran is a firm no. The level of contraction or opposition indicates much work needed before that blessings could come to fruition. Oyekun: 4 mouth-down cowries. This is a very strong “No,” and it furthermore indicates that you may need serious spiritual cleansing in order to clear away the negative conditions that surround this issue in your life. Oyekun represents total darkness and the spirits of the dead can speak through this answer. There is an elusive element to the situation, or the spirits may be asking for something. Obi readers will proceed with questions to ascertain the nature of the darkness, or if the spirits desire something. Once the obstacle is determined, the remedy is applied and the reading addressing the original issue can resume.

Wrap Up

I hope that you will get great enjoyment and use out of your set. I have used this for man, many a year and it has always served me well. What you have is unique, and extremely limited.

If you ever need any help, feel free to email me at paul@paulprater.com.