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There are many words and phrases peculiar to the belief in Voodoo. Here are but a few of the more significant ones.  Gran Met, Olorun, or Grand Master. These are terms for the highest god in the religion of the West African tribe Yoruba. This belief in Gran Met continued in Saint Domingue (Haiti), where Voodoo was transformed and spread to New Orleans. There are lesser spirit gods in Haitian Voodoo as well, called Obatala and Oduduwa. Obatala formed the earth and created humans, and fought with Oduduwa, who also sought to create worlds. Obatala lost the struggle, but was eventually asked to rule over the earth with his former adversary. The Yoruba celebrated the peaceful settlement between the two gods. Additionally, there are lesser spirits called "orisa" who were once human but became holy and immortal spirits upon death; they are the counterpart to saints in Christianity. Ogun is the most powerful of the orisas; he is the spirit of iron and war. He is also invoked to aid in hunting. A "loa" is also a spirit in Voodoo; loas can carry messages from humans to the gods, it is said. Bokor, Houngan and Mambo. In Haitian Voodoo, the bokor is a Voodoo priest who performs magic for pay. The houngan (a male priest) and the mambo (a female priest) are skilled in Voodoo magic as well, but accept no pay. In New Orleans Voodoo, the female Voodoo queen accepted pay and was more powerful than her male counterpart, the Voodoo doctor, who was also paid. Mojo and Juju. In New Orleans Voodoo, mojo was a negative and juju was a positive form of spell or hex. This was similar to the difference between Black and White Magic. Gris-Gris, meaning "grey" in French, could be either mojo or juju. Zombie or Zombi. These were the living dead, soulless beings brought back to life by the Voodoo priest in Haitian Voodoo. Or perhaps they were persons under the influence of a natural herb narcotic who were subjected first to a simulated death, then to more natural drugs which turned them into semi-conscious beings, hence zombies. Primarily the zombie was known in Haitian Voodoo. Li Grand Zombi, Maison Blanche, Bayou St. John, St. John's Eve. Li Grand Zombi was the name of Marie Laveau's snake who was worshipped at Voodoo rituals. Maison Blanche was the name of Laveau's cottage near Lake Pontchartrain. Bayou St. John was the site of the natural waterway in New Orleans where Marie held her spectacular Voodoo rituals. St. John's Eve, June 23, was the day the biggest Voodoo gatherings were held where even members of "polite society" were invited including reporters, prominent citizens, and the police. It is also the day that some believers claim the ghost of Marie Laveau rises from the dead. Dambala. This was the loa or spirit god of the snake, popular in New Orleans Voodoo. Voudou, Vodu, Vodun. The magic that Marie Laveau performed was based on an ancient religion from a distant land. What we today call Voodoo and think of as mere superstition was actually an animist religion called Vodu or Voudou, originating in West Africa with the Yoruba tribe and on the Caribbean island Saint Domingue. It had arrived in New Orleans during the French colonial period with the slave trade. In 1718, Nouvelle Orleans was founded by the Quebecois explorer Bienville, and from those early days this belief in spirits and the power of nature had been the strength of the enslaved. Eventually, even the Europeans and the Creoles in New Orleans (natives of European origin, French and Spanish) came to fear Voodoo. The leaders in Voodoo were the male doctors (like Dr. John) and the female queens who eventually reigned supreme in New Orleans. All Voodoo is said to have roots in the West African spirit-based, snake-worshiping, animist faith called "Vodu" (possibly from the Dahomey tribe); Vodu was a term which meant "the gods." Animism was a belief in spirits who lived in nature and resided in natural objects, such as in trees. Santeria. This is a form of Voodoo which incorporates elements of Catholicism and comes from Cuba. Other Caribbean islands have developed their own form of beliefs. Obeah is Voodoo from Jamaica, while Shango is Voodoo from Trinidad. Charm, chicken bones, coffin. A Voodoo charm is possessed by a spirit and has special powers; such a charm can be positive or negative. Chicken bones were used in Black Magic to summon forth evil spirits. A small replica of a coffin or casket could also be used to summon evil spirits. Souls. In Voodoo a person has two souls, the gros bon ange and the ti bon ange. The first soul, gros, is the energy or force which gives life to a person, implanted at birth, withdrawing at death; it is universal in all humans. It seems to function as in reincarnation for it returns to the Gran Met at death to a soul reservoir from which newly born humans obtain fresh souls. The latter soul, ti, operates during a person's life, sometimes leaving the body during sleep. The ti bon ange relates to the concept of personality and is specific to that individual. It seems to have the ability to perform "out-of-body experiences" (OBE). Such OBE's can supposedly occur during Voodoo rituals. Perhaps a belief in these souls relates to the concept of the subconscious and the collective subconscious -- this is, however, merely speculation.
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