Bent Birch Retreat Center

Coming soon.

Coming soon.

Coming soon.

The Candy-Onesimus New England Hoodoo Society's (The New England Hoodoo Society) mission is to create space for Black Hoodoo practitioners throughout New England. Hoodoo is a community based practice and while we know New England practitioners may be spread out, the goal is to create spaces both offline and online to gather, pray, teach, learn and practice together. 

We are Hoodoos with a common ancestry in the Great Waters (Kalunga) among the first African folk to touch the land of the Great Turtle. We are conjurors, herbalists, seers, collectors, mediums, guides, and helpers. 

We are children of Mary, Tituba, Candy, Onesimus, Acton, Jack, and others known and unknown. 

Our ancestors shaped this landscape: built its cobblestones, constructed the shipyards that fed the maritime industry of this nation, and brought with them here their spirits and traditions. 

During the Salem Witch Trials, our ancestors Mary, Candy, and Tituba danced to spirits in the forest celebrating the mother spirit from which they came.

Over the next two years, we will hold several community gatherings, host some online classes and meeting spaces as well as do a few cemetery cleanups throughout New England. 

We aim to connect with those who practice Hoodoo and want to build community around our religion. This will include writing and educating on Hoodoo legacies and histories in the area, cleaning up historically Black cemeteries that have been neglected and may have housed enslaved ancestors who've been forgotten, hold events to celebrate special religious days in the tradition such as All Saints Day as well as increase our knowledge and use of environmentally sound methods of utilizing local and indigenous plants and wildlife as part of our traditions. Our tradition is alive and by connecting with others in the community, we hope to continue to honor the legacy of our ancestors as well as create our own.