SOLD!

~ Voodoo Priestess Estate ~ ©

This is another of our very long listings with an abundant text and 6 photographs.  So please sit back and read the write-up through.  If you have come this far, we feel you will find it was worth the wait.

Twenty-three and a half years have now passed since we were called to do an estate that had been closed up for seventeen years!

 

The Voodoo Estate

 

This type of call usually gets us excited as they are a treasure trove.  Located here in Florida, there was no electricity or running water so we rigged our own lighting and in we went.  If you have ever seen the Adams Family you will have some idea as to what we were greeted with!  Then the attorney handling the liquidation gave us some background.  The estate had belonged to an alleged powerful Voodoo Priestess/JooJoo Exorcist, grand daughter of a Marie Laveau, and favored daughter of a Marie Glapion.

 

These names meant nothing to us, but the late night talk of Voodoo and exorcism in the old mansion was enough for us to spend the night in a hotel and return in the morning to assess the estate.  The rest is history.

 

Our research has shown that this woman was what she claimed and was indeed descended from a long line of well known Vodoun family originating in New Orleans in the early 1800's.

 

We were somewhat unnerved by this until we discovered they were also devout Catholics!  Although I have to admit this was unlike any Catholic home we had ever been in and some of the items found inside were a little more than disturbing.  There was no feeling of dread or unwelcome in the mansion, however there was quite a bit of contraband and other items we can or will not sell here.

 

This is one of a few pieces from this estate we will be posting this week, so check our other listings!

 

We will, upon the new guardian's request, issue a named Letter of Authenticity with each lot from this estate, complying with the terms set forth to us by the estate's attorney.

 

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Some Back Story

 

Found and recovered from what was named, "The Black Pyramid Vèvé Room."  This room was an interesting work of architecture.  Windowless and located just above the Main Ballroom in the center of the mansion, it was only accessible through the trapdoor and cast iron spiral staircase from the storage room above it.  The floor was four feet below the Main Ballroom ceiling, well concealed by the baroque architecture.  The architect had concealed the room in the floor above by surrounding it with four guest suites, it was dead center in the mansion.

Painted black, with ebony flooring and paneling, the contents of the room consisted of seven, LiDiex Black Glass and Silver, charging pyramid boxes and their contents.

 

Measuring exactly twelve feet x twelve feet with a twelve foot ceiling, the room was well concealed by the architecture of the mansion, but was stifling as there was no ventilation, the only air coming from the trap door above and that was not much.  Only a few of us went into this room to recover and inventory the contents and none of us could stay in there for more than a few minutes, it was, well, disorientating.

 

This was another room with no wiring for electrical power and on the floor were the remnants of previously used vèvé's that we assume were drawn with the chalky powder found in one of the pyramids.

 

The remaining six pyramids contained an interesting assortment of jewelry, gemstones, mineral specimen and a host of eclectic items, such as this bell, that she kept inventoried in a separate journal concerning the ceremonies conducted in this room.

 

The pyramids varied in size from 9" x 9" x 7" to 3' x 3' x 2.2', so this was a massive undertaking as most of these were too big, heavy and/or fragile to get out of there safely, full as they were.  In these journals she makes some fantastic claims concerning these items and real or imagined, we understand why she was as feared and respected as she was.

 

We can attest that pieces from this room have shown to possess some remarkable attributes or association with what might be called paranormal activity.

 

Some of those who have had access to these items or their photographs have said they have perceived, felt, saw, sensed, etc., at the very least movement in the stones, many times directly related to them, but you be the judge.

 

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GiJong Monk's 2 1/16" Thai Brass Temple Ayami Spirit Wife Bell

 

Found and recovered from the top shelf of the fifth pyramid, her journals and inventory tell us it was gifted to her by the GiJong Monk during his 1951 visit.

Her journals note of many meetings over a six decade period with a man she names as, "The GiJong Monk,"  "A master mesmerist" according to many of these entries.

 

A number of hypnosis and illusion devices were found in this estate that were attributed to him, at least in design.  From their journals it is apparent this was a tall, handsome, well dressed, versed and spoken Chinaman that was a welcome guest and known to be well liked entertainment to his hostess and her guests.  Although she claims, "it is not an illusion" it is alleged he amazed many with his ability to transform into a phoenix, a tiger, a peacock, and back to a man again in the blink of an eye.  She writes, "Feng is Loa to his ancient line, owing his blood an eternal debt."

 

He was also associated with many of the Asian artifacts recovered from this estate and known to participate in the rituals that took place there and to have accompanied her, and/or others associated with her in their travels.

 

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The Bell

Her journals go on to tell us this bell was used during her, "meditative sessions of spirit invocation conducted in this room."

 

And, "it is Spirit Invocation Bells that draw them near and are known to alert of their presence."

Ayami She makes numerous entries referring to the use of this bell with; "my Ayami" a term we were not familiar with.  In other journal entries she refers to Ayami as a "spirit spouse, an able assistant of the spirit world." One entry reads, "It is of both sexes and willing to lend itself for sexual pleasure along with ritual magic in the dream realms." Our own research revealed; 

Spirit Spouse

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, for the most part...

 

The spirit spouse is one of the most widespread elements of shamanism.  It is found distributed through all continents and at all cultural levels.  Often, these spirit husbands and/or wives are seen as the primary helping spirits of the shaman, who assist them in their work, and help them gain power in the world of spirits.  The relationships a shaman has with their spirit spouse may be expressed in romantic, sexual, or purely symbolic ways, and may include gender transformation as part of correctly pairing with their "spouse".  One engages with their spirit spouse through dreams, trance, and other ritual elements.  In some cultures, gaining a spirit spouse is a necessary and expected part of initiation into becoming a shaman.  Evidence of spirit spouses may be seen in non-shamanic cultures as well, including dreams about Christ by nuns, who are considered to be "brides of Christ".

 

Andrei A. Znamenski (compiler): Shamanism. London, 2004. vol. 1, p. 128 states; “Goldi of Siberia, along Sea of Japan: A male shaman may have in dreams a divine wife as ayami ("spirit-helper").”

 

Back to the Bell

 

The bell, her journals tell us, is used by the worshipper and the Spirit Spouse to summon one another.  She also tells us she used the bell with the express purpose; "of spell rendering it for spirit sensitivity."  She makes numerous journal entries that make claim to the bell ringing in the presence of spirits while she was holding it by the bale and squeezing the wire that secures the clapper and of, "ringing the bell to bind the spell" when she would "spell cast to determine the truth."  This "ringing" she clarifies as "the noticeable movement of the clapper without provocation."

 

Some of these entries read, "an answer given to a question asked, the bell's ringing will determine the truth.”

"this is a secret spell rendering of metal that is an ancient truth, bells will ring on the passing into the spirit world, in the presence of spirits, and their peal is a protective ward that will seal a spell cast or break a spell cast upon you."

"The Church bells are blessed as a sacramental which endows their pealing with the power to perform minor exorcism in that it repels demonic presence.  You will note that many church bells are rung three times a day to accompany the recitation of the Angelus prayer."

"Do not let the diminutive size of this charm cause you to treat it as a novelty.  It contains a powerful enchantment that is invoked in the presence of the dead, spirits, demons, and the energy of what some deem to be magic."

She also describes its use with yes/no boards.

The GiJong Monk is said to have found the bell in an unnamed "War Cemetery" (believed to be the Chong Kai base camp).   Examination reveals an apparent antique hand cast brass bell that measures approximately 2 1/16" in height x 1 1/2" in diameter and weighing 71.4 grams.

This is certainly an unusual antique SE Asian Temple Bell with an extraordinary provenance that is much nicer than the photographs are able to depict.

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 Concerning the photographs, here are excerpts from the written statement of one of our principals; "When we first entered this room we used pocket led flashlights, commonly known as tactical lights, this room lit up like a light show as we directed the beams, the three of us said "did you see that?"  Among other things."  "When we ran 2000 watts of light down there, the lights shut down, period.  They just would not work in the room.  Regular, battery operated flashlights went dead in there too, fresh batteries went dead in a second."   To date, Energizer has not responded. Little more thought was given this until one of us more or less became the caretaker of this lot, more because he was the only one able to get to the warehouse alcove where the balance of this estate was kept. Although the photographers are no longer commenting on the use of directed types of lighting in taking some of the photographs, the staff member who retrieved many of these items from "the hole," the warehouse alcove where the balance of the items from this estate were being stored, offers some insight as to what has transpired.  "It was typical to be back there and have the power go out, but this can easily be attributed to our weather conditions and sorry excuse for a power company, but I had taken one of my pocket tac-lights with me and  the first time I used it back there was, well, nothing short of phenomenal and  overwhelming.  This is not a joke, they like the light!"  ~!~  We have been contacted and  visited by a number of people who were interested in the items from this estate since our first batch was listed.  Among the buyers have been known psychics and practitioners.  More than one, after adorning themselves or handling their purchase, stated "this is a woman of power!"  Many of our customers, after receiving items from this estate have reported dream contacts and  other unexplained phenomenon.  Unusual, authentic Voodoo Priestess Estate piece and  at a bargain price!  This is truly a rare opportunity to own anything with attributes to this estate.  The majority of this estate is now gone.  Most of what we had left, and it was considerable, has been split up and sold to a couple of private, foreign collector practitioners and will never be available to the public again.  We made the decision to do this as we have had some pretty strange visits from even stranger individuals and there have been enough unexplained phenomenon going on in the warehouse where her things were kept that many of our employees refused to go in there.  The pieces offered and sold here are some of the few remaining pieces that will ever be offered to the public.  Nice addition to any collection, altar, wardrobe or decor, displays really well.  Really doesn't get any better than this.  There are 6 photographs below to tell the rest of this tale. Buyer to pay $0.00 for Insured Ground Shipping with Tracking, handling and lagniappe.

Rest assured your order will be carefully packed to withstand the onslaught of the most deranged of parcel carriers. 

International Buyer's, Please email for a Shipping Quote.
 Payment is due at listing end.
Check our other listings, and sign up for our newsletter as new items are usually posted daily. ©Text and Photos Copyright 2001-2025 bushidobuce, all rights reserved.

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Props are not part of the deal, but you knew that already.

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