What is de Witchdokta?

The witch doctor is an occult jack-of-all-trades skilled at not only simply brewing potions, creating talismans and crafting spiritual goods, but at enlisting the help of spirits from nature(shamanic), demonic spirits(occult), and the dead(necromancy). A witch doctor at work can be unsettling, for he is voice matches the mood of his rituals, and can mystify and hypnotize. The witch doctor's system is formed from the ability to conduct nature and beings from other realms through a crude yet effective art called Juju.

Juju follows a shamanic perspective, with the inclusion of spirits born from the minds of men and those who have never walked this world. Juju used for positive means or enlisting the help of positive beings is called Mojo. Juju used for negative means or enlisting the help of negative entities is called Jomo. Juju as expressed as an omen from the spirit world can be either "Good Juju" or "Bad Juju," depending on the omen. The witchdoctor knows all things are made of energy, and all can range from positive and negative. The witchdoctor can make his Juju even more powerful by shifting Juju around him, using good to fuel good and bad to fuel bad through mask, costume, voice, atmosphere, visualization, and ritual.

Witch doctors are a mixture between the Hoodoo's jinx's, curses and healing abilities; shamanism's power totems and ability to commune with spirits; and any other traditions or symbols the individual witchdoctor might see fit to use. They work not only for themselves but for their community or tribe, for the spirits of the dead and never dead, along with anything else in all of creation that need their skills. Creating curses and jinx's is a specialty of the witch doctor. The witch doctor can make a deadly doll of wax or tallow containing a specific person's hair, skin or blood and is knowledgeable in The Doctrine of Signatures. The Witch Doctor is open to spells, talismans, and spirits from other traditions, times, and paradigms, knowing everything exists and that truth is based on results.

Machine Spirits And Techno-Shamanism

We are energy ordered into a physical form, the material world nothing more then the vibrations and frequencies put off by the movement of this energy. We can share this energy by touch, by emotion, and by conscious thought.

So, we can give this energy to machines. Does this mean they have life? I would say yes. Guitarists can tell you each guitar feels different, almost as if it had a soul. They can even feel the age of one, just by picking it up. Hasn't your computer ever seemed to have a mind of it's own, or actually responded to your pleas for it's cooperation? I have a friend whose CD player in his car refuses to play angry music. It will play all manner of CD's, but if an angry band is put it, it won't even play.

How can this be so?

We all feel like certain clothing gives us luck, that aged books seem like wizened old men, and that our special chair just feels different. I believe that through emotion we have given these automatons the spark of life, and that they can be addressed like any spirit. Go on a spirit journey and ask your car to keep you safe on the road. Perhaps you might ask the spirit of the washing machine to help cleanse your spirit body?

After all, all machines are made out of what once were natural materials. Might not the spirit stay with them then?

Thank You Brothers! Thank You Mother!

It had been a long time since I had gone on a Spirit Journey, and I had feared I had lost contact with the Spirit World. Earlier in the week, Brother Bat had made it clear I had drifted away, and that I would have to win my trust back. So, I lit my candles and asked my Spirit Warrior, Xeizer, if he might help me reach the entrance to my Spirit Cave. He agreed, and picked me up in his gigantic hand, carrying me as he strided through the jungle. Finally we reached the cave, and I felt Brother Bat, my power animal, flying around my head.

I greeted him, and he returned the greeting, glad to see me back. I told him I was sorry for my absence, and that I wished to re-learn what had been lost. He agreed, taking my through the cave and down into the lower tunnels. There greeted the other Spirit Animals. Bear was not to happy to see me, and Lizard was his usual dreamy self. I sat upon a rock, in front of a creek, and focused on my spirit body.

I noticed a strange blockage in my fourth tunnel of power, the one located in the middle of my chest. It was hard to breathe, and I asked Brother Bat for help in figuring out the problem. I peered inside, and saw a large elephant leaning against the tunnel walls, acting as if it was drunk. Almost immediately I seemed to sense just what it was: there had been an emotional "elephant in the room" I had been avoiding for a long time, and now it seemed it had come back to haunt me.

I explained to the elephant that the problem was being addressed, and that I accepted whatever outcome I was given. It seemed happy about this and promptly left, allowing the tunnel to shrink back to size. I asked Brother Bat to create stalagmites and stalactites within the tunnel to defend against intruders, and he agreed.

I had been sick for quite awhile, and since I already had had success, I decided to cure it through Shamanism. I asked Brother Bat to sweep through my body, snatching the flu virus like insects and devouring them. He agreed, and I instantly felt as if my inside had more space. I decided to continue and sought the Sun's help with my stuffy nose. Again, he was all to happy to comply, and I felt heat and light radiate from my spirit body, giving me a huge boost of energy, making me smile, and causing the snot in my stuffy nose to simply disappear. Finally I extended my spirit body into a long tail and traveled downward, towards the core of Mother Earth. I was in a hurry to draw power from here, and I accidentally began drawing power from the rocks just above the core. I felt my body become slower, and my insides felt as if there were becoming stronger, but slower.

I excused myself, thanking Rock for its help, but continuing to the core. mother Earth was happy to see me, and when I drew her power into me, it was as if my insides were somehow being repaired. I felt as if my skin was becoming stronger, my mind lighter, and my inner peace restored.

I returned to this world, offering thanks to all the spirits who had helped me feel whole again.

(About the picture, from National Geographic: A painting in Gua Tewet records a shaman's trek into the spirit world, Chazine says. The lizard in the center represents the shaman. The jagged line under the lizard-a sort of stairway-stands for the shaman's difficult path. The smooth lines on the right symbolize the successful completion of the journey, when the shaman attains an altered state of consciousness that affects all parts of his body and allows him to communicate with spirits. The hand stencils themselves evoke traditional healing rituals in which a shaman lays his hands on a sick person, then sprays medicine from his mouth onto the patient to cure him.)