I had a patient last week with a gun shot wound to the head. As I'm having a conversation with them with they're eye dislocated... hanging on their cheek, I was reminded of a grim reality: until it's your time for you to die, you're not going anywhere. Over the years I've spoken to many on their death beds and I've NEVER heard anyone regret buying a bigger house, more expensive car or anything material. The conversations were always about things that were absolutely free such as spending time…

"Rootwork, Hoodoo, Conjure, Juju" … these terms are often followed with horror stories that exemplify their negative connotations. The question is "Why?" Why are these terms describe an ancestral form of alchemy as "evil". These rituals of resistance were brought to America by enslaved Africans. Before we get to our original question, let's explore what "Rootwork" is. Rootwork is an ancestral form of alchemy which includes herbalism, mediumship, and divination. Herbalism (herbal medicine) is t…

My walk, my accent when I talk, my cooking, my mannerisms all are a result of my gumbo of Southern roots....Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Louisiana. My ancestors survived on this continent through a period of time that included one of the worst crimes against humanity... one that many bloodlines did not survive. Yet, I am here. "The blood has already been shed," they tell me. "You are to step into this power UNAPOLOGETICALLY!!! "We had to hide who we were so t…