My Trip Into Voudou In Benin

Hello,

I just came back from one of the most intense journeys I have ever taken.

A few years ago, I became deeply curious about Voudou. It began in Brazil, continued in France, and eventually led me much further. What always struck me was the attitude of Voudou practitioners. There is an ease to them, a grounded calm, as if they carry a quiet understanding of life that does not need to be explained. At the same time, there is something intimidating, something that commands respect.

During slavery, Voudou became associated with witchcraft. It was often deliberately presented as something frightening, a form of symbolic resistance used by enslaved people to unsettle their oppressors. That history still echoes today.

What I came to feel more clearly is how misunderstood Voudou is. Yes, it can feel dark, intense, even unsettling. That does not make it evil. This feels like an important lesson about life itself. Darkness is not the same as harm, just as light is not automatically pure.

In Benin, I noticed how different social dynamics felt compared to Europe. People speak to each other easily. Community life is natural, sharing is normal. Within two days, I had met many people who could guide me closer to what I was looking for. This is how I move in unfamiliar places. I meet people, speak openly about my intention, and then I listen to my intuition. When it feels right, I continue. When it does not, I step away.

Through Alberto and Gérard, I found myself far from tourist paths. I attended ceremonies in villages and met respected Voudou practitioners. The culture is astonishing. It gives you exactly what you might imagine, while remaining impossible to fully grasp. It is not a religion you analyze. It is something you feel. It is trance, very close to hypnosis.

The dances, the chants, the drums, the paintings, the markings on bodies, the sheer intensity of celebration are beyond anything I had experienced. Energy seems to erupt in every direction, chaotic and overwhelming, yet somehow unified. Everything emerges from the collective. Everyone participates, including the outsider.

Rituals and consultations were equally striking. I sat with elderly sorcerers who read destinies using seashells, objects that might look insignificant to an untrained eye, yet held deep meaning for them. I watched priests create fetishes and talismans from wood, fabric, bones, and animal skulls. The boundary between the visible and invisible felt very thin.

At times, when I shared my own work, hypnosis seemed as foreign to them as Voudou initially felt to me. Their surprise and curiosity mirrored my own.

There are parts of this journey I will keep private. What I can say is that this experience deepened my excitement to continue traveling and learning how different cultures use trance, ritual, and altered states to heal, to orient themselves, and to relate to the unseen.

That is all for now.

Sending you love and light,

David

UPDATES ON OFFERINGS:

- The AUSTIN Erotic Hypnosis workshop (28 Feb - 1 March) is almost sold out and you can now stay with us at the Balinese-Inspired Villa from Friday night to Monday morning. It's the perfect opportunity to connect more deeply and co-create outside the training container. Interested? You can sign up both for the workshop here and the Villa stay here.

- We are launching our first HYPNOTIC BDSM retreat in Ibiza in April!!!! You can find all the info here and join this unforgettable journey already before we start promoting it everywhere.

- The ORGASMIC HYPNOSIS CERTIFICATION COURSE will soon be closing its doors to enrollement. If you still feel called to join this program, this may be your last chance before it transforms into something much bigger (and more costly).