Different facets of Vodou

Vodou has been given a bad reputation, so I want to begin by clearing up some misconceptions.

First of all, Vodou developed amongst the African slaves who were taken to Haiti. The church funded the slave trade, and they excused their crimes by claiming that Vodou was evil. It was a practical Earth-based religion that dealt effectively with day-to-day needs. Of course, when they were being oppressed, they had the ability to fight back with magick. This was a need at the time, not the most central theme of Vodou. It was more often used to bring peace and prosperity to the people, to heal, to bring love and fulfil other basic needs. A simple example; I often use Vodou to open doors to new opportunities when things are stuck.

The spirits of Vodou, called Lwa, can be divided into two main groups; Rada and Petro. Rada are the more spiritual forces; Petro are more Earthly and aggressive. That is not to say evil; it is just a more aggressive way to get results. For example, Erzulie Dantor, the protector of women and children, is a Petro Lwa. Although she is often called to curse the abusers and bring them to justice, her primary objective is to protect. In the face of abuse, protection isn’t always gentle. It can take force to stop the abuse quickly. It can be seen as tough love, like the love of a tigress protecting her cubs.

Working with your Vodou Lwa

One practice in Vodou I found to make a big difference is that one has a reading to find which Lwa will work with you. This is something that’s missing from some other traditions, but it makes sense to know which deities will work with you; otherwise, you could be appealing to one who isn’t with you, and the magick doesn’t work. I find that when I invoke the Lwa who showed up in my reading, it works every time. If I try to work with other Lwa, it isn’t so successful. This is because everyone has to play to their strengths, and often they don’t know where their real strength lies.

The Lwa that are with us are attuned to our deepest nature. They may work differently to your conditioning. For instance, some people are quite fluent in creating things through resonance, without force, as I often teach, while others find that nothing changes until they get a bit more aggressive. These people will have the more aggressive Lwa. It may be quite different to the way you expect things to work.

There are some people who have aggressive Lwa in their readings, and because of their soft New Age conditioning, don’t want to work with them, but when they are finally forced to try them because nothing else is working, they find they get results very quickly. It can also work the other way around; an aggressive person may find the more peaceful spells getting the best results. As an example, in my early days of learning Vodou I had a situation where I was getting pretty angry with neighbours who were partying loudly so I couldn’t sleep. I got up and fed the spirits, feeling rather aggressive, but everything suddenly calmed down. The neighbours suddenly decided to all go out, and everything was quiet within a minute, without any kind of aggressive action.

What can be achieved through Vodou?

Practically anything can be achieved with Vodou. It’s important to work with the Lwa that have come to you, rather than limit each Lwa to one area of expertise. Actually, many Lwa can bring you the same goal, but in a different way. For example, Ghede is the Lwa of death. This doesn’t mean he is just called for death spells; he also governs ancestors. The cause of many problems can lie in your ancestry. If your ancestors were all stuck in poverty, for instance, this can make it hard for you to create wealth, as the poverty consciousness is well built into you. Ghede would solve that problem by healing your ancestry. If you have Ghede as your main Lwa, it’s likely that you need to solve all your problems through your ancestry. If you work with Ogoun, the warrior, you would make money by having a clear head for business and a strong drive. La Siren would bring money in a more magickal way.

Likewise, for love, each Lwa will bring you love in a different way. Erzulie Freda is seen as the Lwa of love, but this is romantic and flirtatious. La Siren would bring deeper emotion and harmony. Ogoun would bring passion. Ghede is sexual, but being death, which is final, he deals with permanent things, so is good for marriage. Work with the Lwa that come to you; they work in the way that is most right for you.

What actually are these Lwa?

They are basically filtered energies from Source, that have become focused in a particular way. They can be compared to the magnetic lens in a particle accelerator. It’s just energy, but will focus the particle beam in a precise way. So, the raw energy of creation, that can do anything, is now focused on one particular goal. So, one lens focuses energy to create wealth, another to heal, another to destroy your enemy etc.

Some of the Lwa were once people who achieved something great while on Earth. We are not really calling in the person, but rather replicating their lens, so we can achieve the same results.

Working with energy to bypass the rational mind and create magick

Magick is all about energy. You hear talk about changing resonance. In Vodou the energy is shaped through rhythm, dance, songs, colours and patterns. There are the vevers drawn on the ground in cornmeal. These are doorways for the Lwa to enter. In other words, they bring in a certain pattern of energy. There are different drum rhythms for Rada and Petro. Dancing is a way of moving energy. Then there are the songs, with very cryptic words that speak to deep and ancient parts of the mind. All this together calls up a lot of energy and makes things happen. This all bypasses the rational mind, which doesn’t have a clue how to work magick. Through drumming and dancing you can get into a possessed state where the magick works without inhibitions or mental blocks. This is a positive thing. It’s not like being possessed by demons, rather you are calling in the change you want and you are expanded.

Too much of modern metaphysics is limited by the rational mind, but as I said, this is not where the magick occurs. The unbalanced intellect thinks the Universe has to be rational. The results one expects tend to be limited by the rational assessment of what’s possible. Simple, primitive ways often produce much greater results.

Learning Vodou

Until now, it has been difficult to learn Vodou. You had to go to Haiti and wait to be invited in. You needed to get to know people, earn their trust, and wait for the next Kanzo, as several people are initiated together. This could take a few months, and end up costing thousands of dollars. I have now put together a home study Vodou Course, guiding you step-by-step, to open sacred space, serve your lwa and work various kinds of spells, with videos of the ritual steps, and recordings of the songs. It includes giving you a reading of which Lwa will work with you.

 Mastering Vodou makes you fearless, and gives you confidence to handle all life’s problems. You will gain protection from danger, and learn to open doors to opportunity and close doors on problems and unwanted situations; draw wealth and love, heal yourself and others, break curses, gain strength and courage, and develop physically and spiritually. This course suits anyone who is looking for a path that actually works, who wishes to be more powerful, or who needs better results with their magick.

Vodou Ceremonies

I can also do Vodou ceremonies for you, at a standard fee of £55 for each ceremony. This basically means doing spells to achieve your desires, whatever they may be. Vodou can be very versatile in helping with many problems. Some of the most common areas I have helped with are selling property, obtaining visas and permits to allow work, success in court and interviews, and bringing in love. You can email me at houganpeter@gmail.com with your needs, and I will do a reading to find the best way of achieving it.

Check out my home-study Vodou Course.

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