Blog Author: Regina LaRue, 3rd generation Jewish Hoodoo Practitioner
When we talk about working with Spirits or Ancestors in Hoodoo, it’s not a theory or philosophy. Spirits are not “energies”, or fragments of our “higher self”. They are conscious sentient beings and their presence is real and experienced by tangible, observable phenomena.
Setting out glasses of clean cool water on a ancestral altar is a age old tradition in Hoodoo and other Afro Diaspora spiritualities. The water serves as a conduit for spirit communication. The clear water ensures our communication is not muffled with them so we can be confident the connection with them is authentic.
One display of their activity is water that is set out and will display bubbles. Remember the water used is not to be hot or even warm it’s cool/ cold. Many times the water will not appear to have any bubbles when it’s first filled, but then the next day or a few hours later it looks like Sprite soda!I set this glass out last night for one of my Spirits on their altar. It had some small bubbles but this morning I was happy to see it looked like carbonated water! This may not happen all the time that you set out water for your ancestors, but you should see bubbles fairly often as a sign your spirits are there.