Approved Practitioners
Crossroads University's certification credential requires 120 face to face hours with an approved practitioner. These hours can be achieved through apprenticeship, attending workshops and events, participating in ceremonies and celebrations that are focused on a Southern Conjure tradition with African and Native American roots. If students are unable to find someone on their own for an apprenticeship, they may choose from our network of providers' workshops and activities.
Each of the practitioners in our network are individuals we know to be reputable and stable and each has something unique to offer. Each shares our value of preserving the cultural traditions of the South and we speak to each person at length prior to listing them here so they are aware of our students' requirements and can assist them in getting their hours and experiences.
Our list of approved practitioners is growing. Here, we introduce you to them, their contact information and their activities. Students are responsible for contacting the practitioner themselves and making arrangements for their experiences and informing Crossroads University of their plans and activities.
When students attend a workshop, event, or an apprenticeship, they are required to have their time documented by their teacher/mentor. We have a special form for this so please contact us to obtain the form before heading out to your face to face experience. The form can be found in the Shared Docs section to the left of the page.
Contact information
Location: New Orleans, Louisiana
Email: thedivineprince@gmail.com
Phone: (504) 210-7075
Website: www.HouseoftheDivinePrince.com
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TheDivinePrince
A Hoodoo Obeah Man and Bokor, the Divine Prince Ty Emmecca is a prominent local fixture in New Orleans, active in the community with the goal "to rebirth and re-legitimize the paths and lineages of birth right here in the Deep South." Of Seminole and Gullah Geechee bloodlines, the Divine Prince began his spiritual journey at the age of 15 in the Evangelical Spiritualist Church in Washington DC. He grew up in the shadow of Anacostia, the Mason Dixson and the underground railroad. Though he was born in Chicago and raised in Maryland/Washington D.C., he has family with roots in Louise, Mississippi and Bogalousa, Louisiana, where he traveled every year until he moved to New Orleans permanently in 1996. Since he has been in New Orleans, he has had a temple, "House of the Divine Prince" and has promoted grassroots and social organizations in New Orleans.
Currently, the Divine Prince is on the Advisory Committee of Congo Square as their Social Media Person. He received a certificate of recognition last year from the Mayor, City Council and Senator Landreau for Cultural Preservation, and was subsequently entered into the Mardi Gras Indian Hall of Fame. In addition, he has a prison ministry based on New Orleans Voodoo and Indian culture and can be heard on his daily talk radio show called "The POWER Lunch: Hoodoo New Orleans Voodoo Secrets and Recipes"
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Location: Oak Harbor, WA
Email: info@carolinaconjure.com
Website: www.carolinaconjure.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/carolinadean
Born and raised in South Carolina, Rev. Carolina Dean is a modern Two-Headed Doctor in the Southern Folk Magic Tradition. As a teenager, he was drawn to the tarot and taught himself to read the cards after his favorite Aunt purchased him his first deck. It was through the tarot that he discovered Wicca and began his spiritual journey of self-empowerment and self-discovery.
After many years studying and living as a practicing Wiccan, his attention and interest circled back round to the folk-magic practices, known as Hoodoo, prevalent in the South. In 2003, he undertook a year-long study on the theory and practice of Hoodoo in order to expand and refine his knowledge of rootwork and conjure and has become a respected member of the spiritual community.
He is the Pastor of the Our Lady of Conjure Spiritual Temple, an online church dedicated to elevating the awareness of Tituba, Black Witch of Salem, as an enduring spirit of conjure. Its aim is to improve the condition of all seekers, to educate and empower followers, to celebrate our mutual faith and spread the hope and attainment of a better life through the power of cunning and conjure.
Though he considers himself a proud son of the Palmetto State, Carolina Dean currently resides on a small island in the Pacific Northwest where he continues his rootwork practice as well as writes a popular blog in which he shares his adventures and experiences as a modern Two-Headed Doctor.
Witchdoctor Utu and the Niagra Voodo Shrine is our Canadian conjure connection. Witchdoctor Utu serves the New Orleans Vooodoo Spiritual Temple and Priestess Miriam and drums for ceremonies and rituals.
More information is forthcoming.
Contact information
Location: Springfield, Louisiana
Email: papaeli05@gmail.com
Phone: 225-395-9803
Facebook page: http://facebook.com/
Baba Eli Norris (Papa Eli) was born in Northwest Pennsylvania and began his journey towards the realm of spirit when he noticed that as a teenager, deceased loved ones would come to him in dreams. These visits from the spirits lead to an obsession with all things mystical and esoteric.
Baba Eli first discovered Celtic Shamanism which he obtained training under the tutelage of Tira Brandon-Evans, which lead him to the Wicca where he became an ordained High Priest. He co-founded Wisteria Temple with his Mentor and High Priestess. As a Wiccan, Baba Eli felt a calling to another connection with the Divine. With the adage "Blood calls to Blood" in mind, he began to search out African concepts of the Divine which lead him to discovering the Orisha.
The connection with the Orisha was immediate and intense. In 2004, Baba Eli began his journey with Orisha and Ifa and on December 7, 2012, he was initiated as a Babalawo. Today, Orisha and Ancestor veneration are at the core of his practice. He walks the worlds of man and spirit as a Witch, Babalawo, Root Worker, Shaman and Priest of Oshun.
Contact information
Location: Seattle, Washington
Email: todomojo@gmail.com
Phone: (206)898-7820
Website: www.todomojo.com
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/sindytodo
Born and raised on the Texas-Louisiana gulf coast and a true Southern Rootworker, Sindy's Cajun/Louisiana ancestral gumbo is fully reflected in her conjure and is representative of the blend of cultures found there. She is a conjurer, spiritual coach, energy worker, healer, intuitive, and card & bone reader. She also serves as a Spiritual Bridge between realms. She considers her gifts to be ancestral and passed down from her Cajun and Lebanese Grandmothers. An art major in college, and then a motivated manager, She has always been in service to people in every career she has ever had - from food and beverage to antiques and chocolate. She moved to Seattle, Washington in 1986 to reunite with her beloved and was tapped by Spirit to hone her professional Rootwork shortly thereafter.
Through her business, Todomojo, Sindy says she is honored to work with individuals from around the world. Blessed with a knack for creativity, her specialties include petition and altar work, as well as fashioning a beautiful line of conjure art pieces that she custom designs for various types of spell work. She engages daily with her ancestors and frequently receives guidance in dreams and meditation when working and praying for her clients. In addition to her magical business affiliations, for 14 years in the mundane world she has owned a unique management coaching and accounting business that specializes in working with creative entrepreneurs. Her diverse clients include a film editor, documentary director and producer, natural pet food manufacturing, vacation rental property management, user experience web designer, graphic design firm, and a fabulously successful retail sex shop. Sindy is a partner-member in Conjure Crossroads LLC, which is a collaboration of skilled conjure workers that annually sponsors two workshop-filled events: Conjure Con in Santa Cruz, CA and The Folk Magic Festival in New Orleans.
Contact information
Location: Asheville, North Carolina
Email: byron.ballard.37@fac
Website: www.myvillagewitch.com
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/byron.ballard.37
H. Byron Ballard is a native of western North Carolina and lives with her husband and two cats in Asheville, in the same neighborhood her ancestors moved into in the 1890s. She has a MFA from Trinity University and a BA from UNC-Asheville. She is a ritualist, teacher, speaker and writer. Byron has been a practicing Witch since the early 1970s and a Wiccan priestess since 1975. She led a large mixed-gender coven for twelve years and is currently working solitary, though she serves as priestess for Mother Grove Temple.
Byron was asked by the local Gannett-owned daily to do a regular blog about traditional Appalachian healing and witchery, as well as modern Earth religions events in the area. She blogs as “the Village Witch” (www.citizen-times.com/villagewitch ) and her blog has consistently been one of the most visited in the area. Due to demand from local groups and individuals, she produced a pamphlet for Pagan converts called “Back to the Garden: a Handbook for New Pagans“ that has been widely distributed.
In 2007, Byron was invited to present a paper at Harvard University for a colloquium called “Forging Folklore“. The paper “Hillfolk Hoodoo & the Question of Cultural Strip-mining in southern Appalachia" was also presented at UNC-Asheville. In April of this year, she presented a paper at the Association for the Study of Women and Mythology conference in the Poconos on the rise of Brigid worship in the southern highlands.
