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Has anybody here read this book: ?
__Mark of Voodoo: Awakening to My African Spiritual Heritage__ by Sharon Caulder
Here is a review:
Synopsis
The True Account of One Woman's Odyssey into Voodoo
In midlife, native New Yorker Sharon Caulder left her successful physical therapy practice to find her soul among the Voodoo people in Benin Republic, West Africa. Mark of Voodoo is the story of her amazing experiences with sub-Saharan African Voodoo-the root of all Voodoo-including her initiation into the spiritual hierarchy as a full-fledged chief, and her romance with the Supreme Chief.
Dr. Caulder speaks candidly about karma, evolution, tantric sexual systems, sacrifice, and spirit possessions. Hers is the first book to explain what happens during Voodoo rituals from both the visible and invisible perspectives.
This revealing account contains graphic anthropological details of rituals and sacrifices, and includes 16 pages of color photos of the people in the book, their rituals, and practices. Filled with adventure and romance, this is a story that will speak to your psyche and your heart.
Publishers Weekly
This book documents Caulder's pilgrimage to uncover Vodou's roots in the West African coastal areas of the Republic of Benin, and there to clarify her role as a Vodou (which she calls "Voodoo") leader. Raised in Brooklyn, until the age of 13 Caulder was a participant in Voodoo rituals conducted by her great-aunt. The book opens with an explicit, vivid and, for some, horrifying scene of Caulder as a five-year-old subjected to ritual abuse, climaxing with the torture and sacrifice of a cat. Until her early 40s, Caulder was repulsed by such powerful experiences, but when her memories returned as flashbacks, she left her family and her physical therapy practice, abruptly setting off for Benin. Within one day of her arrival, Caulder's "inner guide" provided her with the location, the identity and an introduction to the Benin "pope" of Voodoo, Supreme Chief Daagbo Hounon Houna. Over time, Caulder was initiated into Voodoo's spiritual hierarchy and came to appreciate that the "basic structure of Voodoo is a fine one," although she became increasingly troubled by animal sacrifice and spirit possession, illustrated in some of the 16 pages of color photos. To the extent that objectivity can be applied to spiritual pursuits, Caulder's seems strained by the fact that she fell in love with Daagbo, and by such offhand revelations as "I most often used my clairvoyant abilities" for translation during conversations and rituals. For those who can discern legitimacy and have a strong stomach for animal slaughter, Caulder's account is not without merit. (Jan.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
More Reviews and Recommendations
Biography
Born and raised in the United States, Sharon Caulder is an African Voodoo chief and holds a Ph.D. in Mythology and Depth Psychology. She has also earned professional credentials in physical therapy, psychology, and neuroscience. Currently she maintains a spiritual healing practice in Oakland, California, where she receives clients from throughout the U.S. and the world. She works with people with conditions that range from the physical (such as cancer) to the psychological (such as schizophrenia), including eating disorders, addictions, and spiritual crises.
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Maggie's note: I read this book a few years ago and it was eye opening for me. Hearing Wedosi speak a little about the Vodou practices and people of Western Africa has sent me back to the book with a "new eye." I am understanding a bit more of what I read before! There is still much that puzzles me...........but I guess that is natural! Anyway, for anyone interested in Vodou in Africa, this is a very interesting read.
It is interesting that Sharon Caulder is now the Director and Curator of Chez Vodun African Voodoo Museum and Temple where she maintains a spiritual healing practice conducting weekly Voodoo rituals and continuing her work in teaching people “to be at one with their own spirits and to work to enhance and to increase their own potential so that they may continue to grow.”
www.hauntedamericatours.com/haun...lder/
www.hauntedamericatours.com/vood...odun/
From the book:
“Voodoo offers a religious doctrine for people to live by. The doctrine helps people to live honorably. Voodoo is particularly instrumental in helping people cope with the difficulties and sorrows of daily living by providing a pantheon of deities – spirits who move freely between the realms – to assist them when they are in need.”
Attempting to come to terms with a childhood permeated by voodoo rituals, and prompted by intuition, Sharon Caulder, a practicing physical therapist with a doctorate in mythology, undertakes a life-changing journey to Benin, formerly Dahomey, West Africa, in search of her spiritual roots. In this fascinating book, Caulder recounts her immersion in the heritage of her African Motherland and her initiation into traditional Voodoo, culminating in her creation as an African Voodoo Chief. Caulder describes her challenges as she adjusts to the culture and pace of a small Benin village and relates with unabashed honesty details of her growing romance with the man known as the Supreme Chief of All Voodoos, the imposing Daagbo Hounon Houna. Caulder describes in vivid detail the rites and rituals associated with this ancient faith, a tradition that has been maligned and misunderstood wherever it has appeared in the world.
Caulder’s factual and colorful account of true-life experiences among present day practitioners of Voodoo is a valuable anthropological tool for those interested in understanding the role of Voodoo in the development of the African peoples; it is also a rare, detailed account of one woman’s discovery of her vast spiritual potential and worth.
-- J. Wichers
__Mark of Voodoo: Awakening to My African Spiritual Heritage__ by Sharon Caulder
Here is a review:
Synopsis
The True Account of One Woman's Odyssey into Voodoo
In midlife, native New Yorker Sharon Caulder left her successful physical therapy practice to find her soul among the Voodoo people in Benin Republic, West Africa. Mark of Voodoo is the story of her amazing experiences with sub-Saharan African Voodoo-the root of all Voodoo-including her initiation into the spiritual hierarchy as a full-fledged chief, and her romance with the Supreme Chief.
Dr. Caulder speaks candidly about karma, evolution, tantric sexual systems, sacrifice, and spirit possessions. Hers is the first book to explain what happens during Voodoo rituals from both the visible and invisible perspectives.
This revealing account contains graphic anthropological details of rituals and sacrifices, and includes 16 pages of color photos of the people in the book, their rituals, and practices. Filled with adventure and romance, this is a story that will speak to your psyche and your heart.
Publishers Weekly
This book documents Caulder's pilgrimage to uncover Vodou's roots in the West African coastal areas of the Republic of Benin, and there to clarify her role as a Vodou (which she calls "Voodoo") leader. Raised in Brooklyn, until the age of 13 Caulder was a participant in Voodoo rituals conducted by her great-aunt. The book opens with an explicit, vivid and, for some, horrifying scene of Caulder as a five-year-old subjected to ritual abuse, climaxing with the torture and sacrifice of a cat. Until her early 40s, Caulder was repulsed by such powerful experiences, but when her memories returned as flashbacks, she left her family and her physical therapy practice, abruptly setting off for Benin. Within one day of her arrival, Caulder's "inner guide" provided her with the location, the identity and an introduction to the Benin "pope" of Voodoo, Supreme Chief Daagbo Hounon Houna. Over time, Caulder was initiated into Voodoo's spiritual hierarchy and came to appreciate that the "basic structure of Voodoo is a fine one," although she became increasingly troubled by animal sacrifice and spirit possession, illustrated in some of the 16 pages of color photos. To the extent that objectivity can be applied to spiritual pursuits, Caulder's seems strained by the fact that she fell in love with Daagbo, and by such offhand revelations as "I most often used my clairvoyant abilities" for translation during conversations and rituals. For those who can discern legitimacy and have a strong stomach for animal slaughter, Caulder's account is not without merit. (Jan.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
More Reviews and Recommendations
Biography
Born and raised in the United States, Sharon Caulder is an African Voodoo chief and holds a Ph.D. in Mythology and Depth Psychology. She has also earned professional credentials in physical therapy, psychology, and neuroscience. Currently she maintains a spiritual healing practice in Oakland, California, where she receives clients from throughout the U.S. and the world. She works with people with conditions that range from the physical (such as cancer) to the psychological (such as schizophrenia), including eating disorders, addictions, and spiritual crises.
-------------------------------------------------------
Maggie's note: I read this book a few years ago and it was eye opening for me. Hearing Wedosi speak a little about the Vodou practices and people of Western Africa has sent me back to the book with a "new eye." I am understanding a bit more of what I read before! There is still much that puzzles me...........but I guess that is natural! Anyway, for anyone interested in Vodou in Africa, this is a very interesting read.
It is interesting that Sharon Caulder is now the Director and Curator of Chez Vodun African Voodoo Museum and Temple where she maintains a spiritual healing practice conducting weekly Voodoo rituals and continuing her work in teaching people “to be at one with their own spirits and to work to enhance and to increase their own potential so that they may continue to grow.”
www.hauntedamericatours.com/haun...lder/
www.hauntedamericatours.com/vood...odun/
From the book:
“Voodoo offers a religious doctrine for people to live by. The doctrine helps people to live honorably. Voodoo is particularly instrumental in helping people cope with the difficulties and sorrows of daily living by providing a pantheon of deities – spirits who move freely between the realms – to assist them when they are in need.”
Attempting to come to terms with a childhood permeated by voodoo rituals, and prompted by intuition, Sharon Caulder, a practicing physical therapist with a doctorate in mythology, undertakes a life-changing journey to Benin, formerly Dahomey, West Africa, in search of her spiritual roots. In this fascinating book, Caulder recounts her immersion in the heritage of her African Motherland and her initiation into traditional Voodoo, culminating in her creation as an African Voodoo Chief. Caulder describes her challenges as she adjusts to the culture and pace of a small Benin village and relates with unabashed honesty details of her growing romance with the man known as the Supreme Chief of All Voodoos, the imposing Daagbo Hounon Houna. Caulder describes in vivid detail the rites and rituals associated with this ancient faith, a tradition that has been maligned and misunderstood wherever it has appeared in the world.
Caulder’s factual and colorful account of true-life experiences among present day practitioners of Voodoo is a valuable anthropological tool for those interested in understanding the role of Voodoo in the development of the African peoples; it is also a rare, detailed account of one woman’s discovery of her vast spiritual potential and worth.
-- J. Wichers
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Re: Book: Mark of Voodoo
Fri, September 18, 2009 - 11:57 AMHere's a cool article/interview with Sharon Caulder from 2003....she must have lived in California at the time:
www.eastbayexpress.com/news/v...Content
And something 2004 where she was taken to court:
www.eastbayexpress.com/news/t...Content
Here she is, in a list of the top 10 "most powerful" Priestesses of New Orleans:
www.hauntedneworleanstours.com/to...ss/
Here's a little more about her book (with excerpt):
www.ahpweb.org/pub/perspe...voodoo.html
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Re: Book: Mark of Voodoo/Dagbo Hounon Houna
Sat, September 26, 2009 - 9:47 AMI have been trying to post on this topic but have had trouble with the site. I will say this... Dagbo Hounon Houna had a habit of having affairs with initiates coming from abroad. Caulder was not his first. The man was a bit unethical. I arrived in 1998 and was married to him until 2001...when I left his compound. There was someone also before me. However, I was determined to learn about vodun and the ancestors led me AWAY from him. I stayed and learned vodun. She showed up had an affair and left. If she would have stayed she would have found out many things. That he could not initiate her into Mami Wata and that he was using her as others before her. The things I know and could say are of an intimate nature to the topic. However, while she was there, she did not really learn vodun. Just because you sleep with a Priest doesn't mean you understand vodun.
Wedosi -
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Re: Book: Mark of Voodoo/Dagbo Hounon Houna
Sat, September 26, 2009 - 1:00 PMI thank you for your truly unique point of view, Wedosi! I had a feeling you might know of her. I would like to hear of your own code of ethics.
I remember when I read this book, I was fascinated with her interaction with the Mami Wata priestesses.....
One thing that struck me about her experience in Africa was that often, when she thought she was helping, she was only making things worse. That was something she admitted....and she did seem to do the best that she could under the circumstances. If she had a past history of abuse while she was a child, it might have been easier for someone to take advantage of her. Perhaps this happens more than once with people who go there, to Africa, seeking to learn more about their own spiritual roots. I wish there was a way people could do this without the danger of being sucked into something dysfunctional.
The problem of extreme poverty in Western Africa, as well as in Haiti, is very sad, indeed. I would like to help alleviate it, but I am at a loss where to begin. I must say that when my book is published (hopefully!), I want to donate much of the profits to this cause. It would be good to have a network already in place whereby the resources would go to those who need them the most....and be used for the good of all.
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Re: Book: Mark of Voodoo/Dagbo Hounon Houna
Sun, September 27, 2009 - 1:14 PMI must admit, I have not read her book because it was so openly advertised that she had an affair with the man I was actually married to. However, I will try to see some of the reviews, at some point, and give you my thoughts. I know Dagbo's family intimately in that I was a part of it. My adopted daughter was his granddaughter. She died of sickle cell at the age of 3 and a half. I have a history with this family that was both political (in reference to vodun) and personal. It ended very badly. We will talk more later.
Wedosi
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