Marie Laveau: The Voodoo Queen of New Orleans

They say if you visit St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 in New Orleans, draw three X's on Marie Laveau's tomb, turn around three times, knock three times, and make a wish, the Voodoo Queen herself will grant it. Even in death, her power endures. But who was Marie Laveau? History remembers her in fragments—a free woman of color in a city built on slavery, a hairdresser who moved through the finest homes of white New Orleans, a spiritual leader who commanded respect from all social classes, a businesswoman who understood that power lies not just in magic, but in information. Born in 1794 to a white planter and a free woman of color, Marie Catherine Laveau occupied a liminal space in New Orleans society. Neither fully marginalized nor fully accepted, she learned to navigate the treacherous waters of racial hierarchy with supernatural skill. Her magic was syncretic—a masterful blend of West African Vodou, Catholicism, and Native American herbalism. She honored the loa (spirits) with the same devotion she showed to the Catholic saints. To Marie, there was no contradiction. The Divine flows through all traditions, and true power comes from honoring all paths. As a hairdresser, she entered the intimate spaces of wealthy white women, learning their secrets, their fears, their desires. She heard whispers of affairs, of money troubles, of family scandals. This knowledge became her currency. When someone came to Marie seeking help with a 'delicate matter,' she often knew the answer before they finished asking the question. Her home on St. Ann Street became a pilgrimage site. The desperate, the curious, the powerful—all came seeking her counsel. She conducted public Voodoo ceremonies on the banks of Bayou St. John, drawing crowds of hundreds. Politicians sought her favor before elections. The enslaved came to her for healing and hope. But Marie Laveau's greatest magic was her compassion. She visited prisoners on death row, offering spiritual comfort in their final hours. She nursed the sick during yellow fever epidemics when others fled the city. She used her influence to free enslaved people and helped those on the margins of society. When she died in 1881, thousands attended her funeral. But her legend only grew. Some say Marie never truly died, that she simply shed her mortal form and continues to work her magic from the other side of the veil. Study Marie's life, young witch, and learn her lessons: Magic is power, but knowledge is power squared. Compassion and cunning are not opposites—they're two sides of the same coin. Build bridges between worlds, between traditions, between people. And never underestimate the magic of simply listening to someone's truth.