This is an informal record of the events at the New Orleans Voodoo Spiritual Temple ranging from April to December of 1996. Most people have very little idea of what it means to be a Priestess at a major Temple in New Orleans. To be a Priestess of such a Temple means that one's private life is almost always sacrificed to the Work of the loa and other Great Spirits. The Work comes before all else and in a situation like the Temple, the Work just keeps coming. In greatest part, a record of events at the Voodoo Spiritua l Temple is a record of Priestess Miriam Williams life during this period.
Many years ago I had the honor to be part of a series of Workings performed by the British O.A.I. Ms. Jerry Aherns, the O.H.O. (Priestess) of the Order was staying at our Temple. I quickly realized that when any request was made of the Order that that re quest was actually made of Jerry Aherns. If a series of rituals was planned....Jerry had to be there. If interviews were planned...Jerry had to be there. If initiations were planned...then, once again, Jerry had to be there.
It is the same with Priestess Miriam. Any event at the New Orleans Voodoo Spiritual Temple is actually an event from her life. Time that she has given to the spiritual community. Nema (MAAT MAGICK) has defined a characteristic of the Priesthood as having "a heart on fire with love." It is only a person with a BIG heart on fire with love that would be capable of providing the time a energy necessary to the maintenance of a full time Temple.
April of 1996 saw the filming of portions of the film "Dark Angel" at the Voodoo Spiritual Temple. It is important that Voodoo be factually represented in movies made in the Americas. Artistic control is almost never complete but in having the actual sett ings where Voodoo rituals are performed used in the filming of moving pictures there is a guarantee of a good amount of authentic representation. The filming took place on ground sacred to the loa. This one fact is of utmost importance in allowing the lo a to influence the filming itself and to contact those who later view the footage.
May is the time of our cities Jazz and Heritage Festival. This years event was significant in terms of contact between the cities Spiritual Houses. Anna Marie, the daughter of Chicken Man, invited Priestess Miriam to attend and provided tickets, transport ation, and splendid hospitality. If Spiritual Houses are to be truly "spiritual" they must cooperate rather than compete. This is a simple fact...spirituality has never been associated with putting one's own welfare over the welfare of others. This is eit her a benign or a malignant selfishness. Either way it is selfishness. The honor Anna Marie paid to Priestess Miriam is also an honoring of the root meaning of spirituality. Anna Marie is to be both thanked and commended for her actions. One receives hon or by giving honor.
June saw the celebration of St. John's Eve in the New Orleans Spiritual Voodoo Temple's courtyard. The Spirits were served well.
Also in June Priestess Miriam and I were invited to Wic-Can Fest in Ontario, Canada. The rituals and workshops presented by the Temple at the festival took on particularly strong meaning in that Canadian soil meant freedom to many Africans enslaved in the USA.
In July Priestess Miriam was invited to attend ceremonies at a Hounfor in Haiti as an honored guest. Her participation in these ceremonies marked a joining of Haiti and New Orleans; two great centers of the Voodoo. During this month I was invited to perfo rm a Blessing of the Drums ceremony and workshops at Starwood Festival. Links between members of the Spiritual Voodoo go deep. It is interesting to note that when Priestess Miriam arrived in Haiti a Mombo named Mishlen was assigned by the Hounfor care for her needs....Mishlen is also my wife's name.
The Big Easy tele-vision dramatic series did filming in August at the New Orleans Voodoo Spiritual Temple. May the loa and other Great Spirits use the images presented to the viewers to gather their chosen onto Themselves.
During a good part of September Priestess Miriam was in California to oversee preparations being made for a filming of her life story. The tale of how an individual came to the Voodoo and then came to serve as a Priestess of the Spirits will be an inspira tion and instruction to all of us.
All Hollows, All Souls, and All Saints were honored in rites at the New Orleans Voodoo Spiritual Temple. Ceremonies for the Deads alternated with wedding ceremonies for the living in October this year. The wedding ceremonies mixed well with the respect given to the ancestors.
During November a group of 50 theologians teaching in USA universities came to the Spiritual Voodoo Temple for a ritual. This meeting of spiritual traditions was a festive occasion. A number of the theologians stayed for the dancing that followed the rite . They, in particular the women, removed their shoes and joined in the celebration.
In December the Temple was invited to Bogalousa to participate in the opening festivities of the Carnival Season. After the ceremony/performance Priestess Miriam was asked to give words of spiritual benediction to the crowd. She responded by saying that the joy of Carnival comes from inside not from outside events. The Joy lives in and arises from our Hearts.
Good words to close with.
Priest Louis Martinie'
Secretary; New Orleans Voodoo Spiritual Temple