XXX Marks the Spot
Many refer to her as the as the Queen of Voodoo, or simply the Queen. Marie Laveau may have died in 1881, but one thing is for sure, Marie's legacy lives on strong throughout New Orleans.
During my recent (and 6th) trip down to New Orleans this past January, this New York vamp always finds new places to go while visiting. I decided this time that since it was close to Mardi Gras, it would be nice to go to Blaine Kern's Mardi Gras World tour. I was delightfully surprised because as a part of the trip, the tour guide drops you off at the Seven Sisters of Algiers Voodoo shop, named after the descendants of Marie Laveau. On one of my trips before hand I went on a St. Louis Cemetery #1 tour in which I got a chance to stand right next to her grave sight while my sister took a picture. So when I found out that we would be going to the shop after the Mardi Gras tour I was excited.
Just the energy alone when I walked into this beautifully adorned shop was amazing. I was greeted very warmly by the woman behind the counter as she gave me the okay to look around. The shop had all sorts of gems and stones, jewelry, perfumes, candles, incense, and of course Gris-Gris. A Gris-Gris is a charm used to invoke the favor of the Voodoo spirits to help its practitioner find love, gain money, obtain power or protection for themselves, from the workings of someone else's Gris-Gris. After browsing around the shop for a while, the woman who worked there invited me to go to the back room where the Alter was. I thanked her because I was extremely curious when I walked into the shop to see what was back there. As I slowly walked into the room, I felt this wave of purifying strong energy just sweep over me. It was such a treat to experience something so clean like that. I took a few minutes to look at everything in the room but was sure not to touch anything and left it feeling balanced and very confident. I continued to shop around the store and purchased a few items, some in which included different colored candles that came with a small sheet of paper explaining what each candle is used for.
After I was done shopping, I talked to the woman who worked there about my experiences while visiting and how it has become almost addictive for me to fly down to New Orleans whenever I can. Once I was done saying my good byes, the driver took me back to the ferry that takes you back over the Mississippi River to the French Quarter where he played "I Know What it Means to Miss New Orleans" over the stereo. I couldn't help but smile to myself as I felt that truer words have never been spoken when it comes to the entrancing city.
Anyone who is interested in going, Seven Sisters of Algiers is open daily from 10:00 am to 6:00pm. It is located across the River in Hoodoo Town at 800 Brooklyn Ave. in Algiers, LA.
Always learning,
Chrystal Vitale
VC Associate
VC Offline Rep of NY
VC New York Office E-list Co-owner
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