When the religion arrived in New Orleans, practitioners incorporated some Catholic rituals into the African religion. Soon statues of the Virgin Mary and pictures of saints adorned many a voodoo altar, but the voodoo religion bore no resemblance to Christianity. Laveau, the voodoo queen, had a daughter of the same name. It was said that the two of them had all the police and politicians in their power while they lived in a little cottage on St. Ann Street. Tales were told of 20-foot pythons, mummified babies, skeletons and good and bad luck altars all being in Laveau's home on St. Ann.
Today there is still evidence of how deeply rooted the voodoo tradition is in New Orleans.
Take, for instance, the Voodoo Museum located at 724 Dumaine. For a small fee you can tour the museum and in the back room there are two large pythons that are used in modern day voodoo ceremonies. On the tour you will learn voodoo recipes, curses and spells. And more importantly, you learn a little history of this ancient and secret religion. I even learned a spell myself, how to make a wish.