Voodoo and Necromancy

Folks shall we now coast thru the dark tunnels of life for a change ! Like Arun's FF button !

Necromancy is a special mode of divination by the evocation of the dead. Understood as nigromancy (niger, black), which is the Italian, Spanish and old French form, the term suggests "black" magic or "black" art, in which marvellous results are due to the agency of evil spirits, while in "white" magic they are due to human dexterity and trickery. The practice of necromancy supposes belief in the survival of the soul after death, the possession of a superior knowledge by the disembodied spirit, and the possibility of communication between the living and the dead. The circumstances and conditions of this communication — such as time, place, and rites to be followed — depend on the various conceptions which were entertained concerning the nature of the departed soul, its abode, its relations with the earth and with the body in which it previously resided. As divinities frequently were but human heroes raised to the rank of gods, necromancy, mythology, and demonology are in close relation, and the oracles of the dead are not always easily distinguished from the oracles of the gods.
The blackest of all the black arts is undoubtedly necromancy, the ancient method of communication with the dead. The art of raising the dead and controlling their spirits takes its name from Greek words meaning "dead" and "divination".
Necromancy can be divided into two main branches:
Divination by means of ghosts, and divination from corpses. The second method leads to the disinterment of corpses and rifling of graves for grisly charms which magicians and witches consider necessary for the effective performance of the magical arts.
Necromancy is a universal practice of great antiquity, only the profoundly initiated, brave and single-minded magician has any chance of success in such a venture, always considered to be extremely dangerous, for not only is a pact with the Devil necessary, but it is thought that the "astral corpse" has an intense desire to live again and could, by absorbing life-energy from living creatures, prolong its life idenfinitely, thus, unless he has taken adequate precautions, the magician might be in great danger.
To evoke the dead the magician needs to obtain the help of powerful spirits, both for his own protection and to compel the corpse or ghost to submit to his will. A spell from ancient Greece calls upon the powers of the mighty Kore, Persephone, Ereshkigal, Adonis, Hermes and Thoth, to bind the dead. According to a ritual described by Seneca, the Roman dramatist, the summoning of the dead involves not only a burnt sacrifice but a blood-drenched aItar.Scent and odours must be carefully produced from burning substances for their powerful influences. Elaborate preparations include careful study of the positions of the planets, and especially of the moon a and the influence of Saturn.
The site for the operation has to be chosen with care, the most favourable is some lonely crossroads, a vault, a ruin, an unfrequented forest, or a blasted heath.

VOODOO

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The Vodou religion was brought to Southeastern America via the many ethnic African groups during the slave trade. Slave owners forbade the Africans from practicing Vodou under penalty of death and, in areas controlled by Catholics, forced many of them to convert to Catholicism. There was syncretization or creolization of the names and aspects of the Voodoo lwa to those of the Christian saints who most closely resembled their particular areas of expertise or power. In the USA, the Vodou is a syncretic religion combining traditional African religions (especially from the Ewe, Fon, Mahi, Nago, Yoruba, Kongo peoples) with Roman Catholicism. Article text.[1][citation needed]. After the Haitian revolution in 1804, many French colonists and free people of color immigrated to Louisiana, some bringing slaves who kept their traditions alive in American soil. Some free people of color also practiced Vodou.

Seen Ram Gopal Varma's ' Phoonk' . The Producer assures 5 lacs , if seen alone in a theatre. Any takers ???