The Mirror at the Shrine: Laurita Marie on the Cost of Initiation

For Laurita Marie, the journey from a strict Catholic upbringing to becoming a high priestess in both the Ifa tradition—as Iyanifa Ifashade—and Haitian Vodou—as Mambo Aqua Wiwa—represents a profound reclamation of self. A New Orleans native and granddaughter of a Baptist minister, Marie turned to the Orishas at age 19 after navigating personal trauma and experiencing deep hurt within her church community. While she currently holds multiple crowns, including those of Oshun and Louisiana Plantation Vodou, she emphasizes that initiation is not a cure for personal suffering, but rather a mirror that forces practitioners to confront their own toxicity.

“If you’re not ready to do that shadow work and that self-work, do not get initiated,” Marie said.

Reflecting on her own path, Marie noted that her first initiation brought her victim mentality and toxic traits to the surface, demanding a period of intense self-reckoning. She argues that practitioners must eventually stop blaming their history for their present behavior and take responsibility for ending cycles of trauma.

“You realize, ‘I need to go sit on somebody’s couch.’ You can’t just keep blaming your stuff on your trauma all the time. At some point, when are you going to decide to be the one that makes the trauma stop?”

Central to Marie’s philosophy is the concept of “killing the chicken within.” She posits that physical sacrifices are meaningless without internal sacrifice, viewing the offerings as symbols of the old self that must be discarded to achieve elevation. For Marie, true spiritual practice demands absolute accountability for one’s triggers and an active commitment to breaking generational curses.

Marie also views her role as a culture bearer as inextricably linked to the physical landscape of New Orleans. She describes the city as sitting on a “spiritual fault line” fueled by prehistoric energy trapped beneath the swamps, connecting the Mississippi River and local indigenous mounds to the ancient pyramids of Kemet. She views New Orleans as a vital ancestral port where the energy of the transatlantic slave trade persists, and she integrates this historical and spiritual depth into her work as an artist and healer.

Through her production Cardiac Rouge Noir, which examines the life of Black Storyville madam Lulu White, Marie explores the intersection of sensuality and sexual trauma through the lens of Oshun. By linking her spiritual practice with theater and spoken word, she seeks to give a voice to those currently struggling in their own shadows. Ultimately, she maintains that a spiritual journey is an interconnected process that requires practitioners to stop making excuses and commit to the rigorous labor of transformation.

“We say you have to decide what type of priest you want to be,” Marie said. “I connect my art with my spirituality because I’m going to be helping heal people through my art. But you have to make sure you’re killing the chicken within yourself, too.”

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This story is part of a semester-long investigative reporting project into African spirituality, history, and culture. It was created by an immersion journalism class in the Journalism, Advertising, and Media Studies program at UW-Milwaukee. Other stories from the project are available on The Power of the Tongue: From Walker’s Point to Congo Square.

This work was made possible through the support of MPC Endowment Ltd., the philanthropic affiliate of the Milwaukee Press Club, and a private donor.