Vodou Brooklyn: Five Ceremonies with Mambo Marie Carmel, by Stephanie Keith
The first Vodou party I ever attended was a Gede party for a new Priestess, in the Canarsie section of Brooklyn. I didn’t know who or what Gede was. I […]
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Bob Doto
Observer with comments.
(New) Nolita Psychic Looks All Sorts o’ Snazzy
Haven’t been able to to get much info on this new-looking purveyor of the psychic arts located at 280 Mulberry St., but from what I can tell it’s taking the high road as far as decor is concerned. This new establishment, let’s call it “Psychic Visions” from the sign on […]
You Think You Like Moons? What About a SUPER MOON???
Right now you’re sitting around thinking, Yeah. I’m into moons. I’ve seen moons in every state. No moon’s gonna scare me. Oh, you silly silly sucker. You think you’ve seen it all. But, have you ever seen a frickin’ super moon?! You think you can handle that?!?! Turns out, tomorrow […]
3/20 Vernal Equinox Egg Balance // Grand Army Plaza
This year, NYC’s very own self-described “Urban Shaman,” Mama Donna Henes, will be holding her yearly vernal equinox egg balance celebration/ritual/happening at Brooklyn’s Grand Army Plaza. For thousands of years, households have been divided over the veritability of standing an egg on end, which is (wrongly as I understand it) […]
Just Enough Kirtan to Cure What Ails Ya // Saturday March 26
This Saturday the Broome Street Temple will host a six-hour kirtan from 4–10pm. Featured kirtan walas include (but I’m guessing not limited to) such chantanistas as Gaura Vani, Acyuta Gopi, and Ananta Govinda. Check out this Third Wave of Krishna Consciousness and find yrself lifted (or grounded depending on how […]
DUMBO’s (or is it Vinegar Hill’s) Tantric Buddhist Center
It’s like, when you tune your antennae in on something specific you start to see things you might have previously missed. Not that it’s really possible to miss the bright yellow Dorje Ling Buddhist Temple in DUMBO/Vinegar Hill, but you’d be surprised at what slips by unseen. Occupying what used […]
Life of a Vodou Drummer in Brooklyn
Can’t stop. Won’t stop. Above is a short clip from the documentary “The Other Side of the Water: the Journey of a Haitian Rara Band in Brooklyn.” The official synop goes as follows: The Other Side of the Water follows a group of young immigrants who take an ancient music […]
Soho Has a Hindu Temple. Did You Know That?
We’re going to be sharing a great deal more on this gem of a temple, but wanted to first share this gem of a video. Gems for everyone!
NYC Yoga Peeps Get Post-Apocalyptic
Ben Dickinson’s film “First Winter” is currently being shot on location at Heartland, a blooming yoga community in upstate NY. The official synop: In December 2012, a massive collapse of infrastructure leaves a group of Brooklyn yogis snowed-in at a country farmhouse without electricity, cell phone reception, or running water. […]
“The Spirits Don’t Want Old People” // A Vodou Priestess in Brooklyn, by Liza Buzytsky
Vodou at the Crossroads: Conversation with a Mambo & book signing Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute March 2nd, 2011 Some people felt Mambo Marie Carmel was too young when she became a priestess. But, her frankness easily skirts the skeptics aside: “The spirits don’t want old people,” Mambo Marie […]
Sadhus at the Rubin Museum
This exhibition is going to be up for a while (January 28, 2011–July 4, 2011), and worth checking out. For youngsters into the yoga, into the spiritual stuffs, into the video games, looking at pictures of sadhus is like crack to a baby (AKA goji berries to a Lululemon model): […]
“La Santa Muerte” // The Skinny Girl Awaits Your Prayers
Eva Aridjis‘s “La Santa Muerte” takes in an observing eyeful of the growing cult surrounding Lady Death and how the lives and devotions of people loyal to Her play out […]
So-called “Voodoo Sex Ceremony” “Caused” Insane Brooklyn Fire
Here we go again. “A voodoo priest allegedly placed the candles on the floor around the bed on Saturday after a woman paid him $300 to perform a ceremony with a sexual component, that was meant to bring her good luck, fire department officials said.” For those who don’t know, […]
Death as Life in Gowanus: Proteus Gowanus
Finally got a chance to check out the Proteus space in the Gowanus geometrics of Brooklyn last night, which managed, with the lure of screening Eva S. Aridjis‘ “La Santa Muerte,” a documentary on the cult of Santa Muerte in Mexico, to draw me out of a threatening cabin fever […]
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