Voodoo Hoodoo
By Professor Spellbinder

The Shaman (that’s you!) gives a demonstration of Voodoo to the assembled guests. A black candle is lit, incense wafts through the air, and straw is gathered up to make a voodoo doll. You explain that the voodoo doll is given its identity by having a lock of hair from the victim placed on its head with a drop of wax from the black candle to hold it in place. The voodoo doll is then named ritually and it is ready to be used for either blessing or cursing the victim.

Since you will play the role of the victim in this demonstration, you present one of the spectators with the hatpin and ask her to play the role of the high priestess and to choose a body part on the doll to demonstrate the power of voodoo to curse.

Let us imagine she chooses the right shoulder of the doll. She pierces the shoulder of the doll with the pin and you shout out with pain, clutching your shoulder. You peel back your shirt to show a fresh wound on your shoulder with blood flowing from it. You wrap a piece of bandage on the wound, but still the blood seeps through.

Ask the priestess to grant you a blessing by removing the pin slowly while chanting words from a scroll.

As she removes the pin, the blood vanishes from the bandage. You remove the bandage to show that there is no sign of the wound left on your shoulder.

It should be noted that the “priestess” has her free choice of any body part you wish to allow her to choose to wound, within limits of decency, of course.

Also included in the article is an excerpt from Okito on Magic which shows the construction and operation of Okito's rising and falling doll that may also be incorporated into the above routine.

Bonus Effect: Hatpin Prediction
By Professor Spellbinder

A series of hatpins with distinctive looking beaded ends are pinned to a piece of Kente cloth fabric.

Before the choosing, a small slip of parchment paper is inscribed by the Shaman and placed under a glass on the table for safe keeping. The pins are displayed and it is pointed out that each has a different appearance. One might have a skull head, as shown to the left, while another is a plain black bead, or a dark blood-red bead. Another might have a wrinkled seed look, or a cube shape. The heads of the beads are presented to a spectator who freely chooses a pin and removes it from the cloth. The Shaman lifts the glass and flicks the paper to the spectator to pick up and read. It says (for example): “You will choose the skull pin.” Please note that the spectator has a completely free choice of hatpins- no force. This chosen hatpin can then be used in the original effect.

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