Sacred Societies: The Reality Behind the "Secret Societies" in Haitian Vodou

Within indigenous African communities, the concept of the "secret society" has often been a misrepresentation shaped by colonial perspectives. In reality, these are better described as sacred societies—deeply integrated, highly specialized community structures where roles and memberships are openly understood among all members. The function of these societies ranged widely: from the transmission of hunting and fishing knowledge, to the preservation of medicinal practices, to the mastery of music and drumming, and crucially, the maintenance of social order. Their hierarchies were not strictly vertical but both lateral and interdependent, supporting the community in diverse, interconnected ways.

This traditional landscape was fundamentally misunderstood by Western missionaries and colonial authorities. When Europeans began to encounter African communities in the 15th century, they observed the complex social landscapes and, through their own cultural lens, projected the idea of “secret societies” onto what were openly recognized communal institutions. What outsiders often failed to grasp was that membership in these societies was not concealed from local people; rather, the so-called secrecy lay in the specialized knowledge each group curated, not in their existence or their members' identities.

Among the Kongo peoples, these societies played pivotal roles in daily and spiritual life. The Leopard Society—often sensationalized in colonial literature—served as a custodian of justice, enforcing community norms and sometimes acting as a bulwark of resistance when traditional authority was threatened or undermined by external powers. Colonial accounts, frequently lurid and exaggerated, described ritual violence, but closer scholarship now situates their actions within the broader struggle to sustain indigenous governance in the face of destabilizing outside interference. The Lemba society was another vital group among the Kongo. Lemba was oriented toward trade regulation, conflict mediation, and the spiritual and economic wellbeing of its members. It functioned as a unifying force among elites and played a significant role in fostering collective identity, ritual, and cross-community alliances, especially during periods when external pressures strained social cohesion.

As the Atlantic slave trade scattered African peoples across the Caribbean and Americas, their sacred societies did not disappear, but rather transformed in response to new forms of oppression. In the Caribbean and Haiti in particular, secrecy around rites and practices became ever more crucial—not necessarily to conceal membership from fellow Africans, but as a shield against enslavers and colonial authorities. Even as secrecy enveloped their most vital traditions, membership and social roles were often well known within their immediate communities, especially in rural areas where local authority remained robust.

Haitian Vodou, influenced by strong Kongo and Fon roots among others, presents some of the clearest examples of these societies’ enduring presence. Here, sacred societies evolved into highly organized and sometimes clandestine networks, such as the Bizango and Sanpwel. The Bizango society gained renown for its role as a kind of spiritual militia and judiciary, maintaining order where the state's reach was limited or actively hostile. It dealt with issues of justice and protection, becoming central to community resilience and, in some periods, to organized resistance against both colonial rule and autocratic governments. Legends often spoke of Bizango members wielding extraordinary powers and enforcing justice both in physical and supernatural forms—rumors that underscored their authority and kept social codes intact. The Sanpwel, similarly shrouded in folklore, was known for operating at the margins of mainstream Vodou. Its rites and reputation gravitate toward the mysterious, with tales of secret gatherings and transformative powers further amplifying the aura of mystery around its members.

Throughout the African diaspora, the social and spiritual functions of sacred societies fused with the necessity of secrecy under colonial and postcolonial repression. The result was a system in which the maintenance of specialized, often ritual knowledge became both an act of cultural survival and a way to protect collective agency.

In recent decades, the roles of many sacred societies—both in Africa and the diaspora—have adapted significantly. Some groups, once highly exclusive, now cautiously open their doors to outsiders in efforts to ensure the survival of important rites and cultural memory. The enduring hope is that, even as these societies evolve in response to modern stresses, their foundational purposes remain: to sustain social order, support community, and safeguard specialized knowledge for future generations.

The long arc of these sacred societies reveals a story not of hidden cabals, but of communal resilience, adaptation, and continuity in the face of immense historical pressure. Their misunderstood “secrecy” was never so much about keeping people out, but always about keeping a community’s spirit and knowledge alive under threat.

Finding Good Spiritual Help!

Big goals or anything that has a great deal of entropy surrounding it, may require the heavy lifting of multiple spirits to get you there. For instance: you want to buy a house but are not currently qualified in various ways, you may wish to employ several spirits to the task to get you to your goal.

The problem is, nowhere in any grimoire are any spirits described as being helpful with getting approved for finance or a mortgage. In fact, most of their powers don’t seem very relevant to modern needs, that is unless your willing to do mental gymnastics to make square pegs fit round holes. So what to do? Where to start?

You can easily probe different spirits willingness to help by simply divining if they would be a good fit for your needs. Let’s say you’ve managed to identify several spirits that will prove to be helpful. How many would be too many?

The answer is not a cut and dry answer, but some general guidelines can help in making decisions. First, make sure that whatever spirit you call upon is willing to work with others. That may seem simple but many forget that spirits have personalities, territories, pride etc..

The next guideline would be the number you choose to employ: odd numbers are always the best option. Two spirits can get deadlocked on how they want to accomplish a task. A third spirit acts as a tiebreaker and can shorten time spans of disputes among spirits.

Finally, it’s all about the promises you can keep track of. Remember your promises and agreements, making sure that you have clear goals that the spirit must meet to be rewarded. Being too general in a promise can cause spirits to do nothing or become demanding before the goal is reached.

Influencing Others… Is It As Difficult As It Seems?

Influencing others is not as complicated as you may be lead to believe. You are being influenced every time you open this app. When you have someone trying to sell you something you are being put under their influence. When someone puts on nice clothing, an easy smile, and speaks with silky words you are being influenced.

If you think you need to project complex sigils and visualizations into someone’s mind you are bad at influence and coercion. It’s all about figuring out what someone desires and play on that. As you see, the majority of people including yourself are simply reacting to inputs. The next time you think you are above that go scroll through some advertisements and see how long it takes for you to click a link, or watch a video of food and see how long until you start to feel hungry, etc..

The first step to gaining control over who and what is influencing you is to understand your desires and to trace them to their root causes. Then start working to slow down how quickly you react to others. If you want to be better at influencing others stop worrying about yourself and how you are perceived and instead consider how other people want to be perceived and treated. You can easily test this with a Facebook post and see how people react to your posts and adjust and refine until you start getting the reactions you want. Abandon all fear of failure and rejection and you will unlock a powerhouse of influence over others that you never knew you had within you.

Once you can influence people with just simple words, then try projecting thoughts. But IMO it’s completely unnecessary given that most people are simply reacting to their environment… but the idea of projecting thoughts into others makes for a good pdf file you can sell for a few hundred bucks.

Is Memory Physical or Metaphysical?

Bear with me as I have become convinced that memory is a strictly material phenomenon. Metaphysically speaking, a human is comprised of both a spirit and a soul, neither of which belongs to the individual. The soul upon death speaks to return to its place of origin (God) while the spirit should reintegrate back into the “waters” from whence it came. We witness the spirit as breath and action within the body while the soul is more subtle. The self is the interplay between spirit and soul, a compilation of experience and reactions stored in the material as memories.

Memories do not simply exist in the brain/body itself, they are also contained within every aspect of the material and can be deeply imprinted into objects. This is why we utilize photographs and objects that have sentimental attachments so that not only we can ressentir (feel again), but also our ancestors spirits can enjoy identity and autonomy through memory. Conversely, dead that have been long neglected and forgotten will oftentimes lack identity and personality. These are the typical wandering dead that are encountered, their identity is without purpose and have little agency.

When I work with the latter, I will often name and give form to such spirits so that they can enjoy agency and autonomy. The memory to continue in tasks that are given is provided by the material conditions I create for the spirit. As they progress they develop greater personality and autonomy, a sort of Will of their own. Eventually they will evolve beyond the material conditions provided to them and reintegrate with the metaphysical waters once again.

Further evidence of the material nature of memory is found in the so-called astral and its plastci nature. Form is given to it through regular interaction with it, but when there is a lack of interaction it will once again become “formless”. This is why results from doing strictly astral magic can sometimes stick less than magic performed in the material. A memory is created out of the material and that creates waves through the metaphysical (the size of the waves is dependent on the skill and juju of the worker).

Keep It Private!

 Wisdom dictates that you keep your practice private. There are foul losers that work on random people in Occulture groups. When people find me on social media and seek a consultation because of their suffering, 7 times out of 10 it’s due to someone from Facebook taking swings or experimenting. 

We all look to connect with others, especially over our interests, but many people in Occulture are perpetual losers with more lack than you can imagine. They never got picked for dodgeball and never will. 

Feel free to talk shop in groups, but keep your altars and spirits private! Definitely be careful what you share and who you put your trust in. Some of the worst I’ve encountered have sweet exteriors and will smile as they stab you in the back.

Creating a Powerful Love Spell

First and foremost, an effective love spell requires some form of connection. Just because someone has an infatuation with someone that they encountered one time in a passing moment, does not mean that work is possible or even feasible. Now, building on an existing relationship like a friendship, work relationship, sexual relationship or recent breakup is far more reasonable. Physical distance can hamper or prevent results if there is no regular contact. I’ve had clients attempt to mislead me into doing a work when they didn’t even know the last name of their infatuation!

A person’s own anxieties and fears can and will “contaminate” the work. If the magcian is afraid of losing someone and attempt to do that work they will only serve to amplify their fears because of the power of that emotion will overwhelm the magnetic energies needed to attract. If there is any lack in the conjurer the magic will amplify the lack. Incel vibes will increase and the person that is meant to be sweetened will only sense the worry and anxiety.

Applying too much force is another all too common problem. Too much heat will seem like an attack to the ancestors of the enchanted and they will oftentimes become extremely hostile. They will sense that something is off and go on high alert and start avoiding the conjurer if not outright attacking! Now, force can be gradually increased over a period of time, but this must be done with great care. Conversely not having enough force will cause nothing to happen at all.

Too many cooks in the kitchen is another common occurrence. Someone hires a worker and doesn’t get immediate results, so they hire another worker, then another etc.. On the assumption that each worker is legitimate, all of the different spirits can begin competing with each other. This only serves to create confusion for everyone involved and can cause unexpected consequences. This is why a good worker will tell a client that they will stop working if other workers are brought into the picture.

Finally, work can be spoiled by acting inappropriately with the person of desire. This work is as sensitive as it is volatile. Both people in the work no matter the role they are playing will feel the energies of the magnetism. It can be very challenging and sometimes overwhelming. It requires a bit of stoicism and self-control. Becoming volatile with the person you are attracted to can make a once possible attempt impossible. 

Everybody wants to be loved, but this work is recommended to be utilized as a medicine to mend relationships not initiate them. It’s a lot of energy to put into someone that you don’t really know, it’s better to simply work on yourself and your social skills. A little magic charm doesn’t hurt to boost your own attractiveness and self confidence.