Voodoo and Initiation

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LegbasCrossroads
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Voodoo and Initiation

Post#1 » Sun Jun 01, 2014 3:09 pm

I'm back after a long hiatus from these boards. It was necessary to focus on my true path of Voodoo and service to the Lwa.

After spending some time reading posts on this forum I decided to discuss many misconceptions about Voodoo and initiation.

First: You don't need to become a houngan or mambo to practice voodoo or become efficient with the spirits. What you do need to have is some form of guidance. The Lwa can be very difficult to handle without an experienced houngan or mambo to assist you. Even with assistance it must be understood that these spirits are not wish granting machines. Nor are these spirits out to spiritually elevate you and give you immense power. They are mysterious and willful beings who have their own agendas.

Second: beware of houngans or mambos that tell you they will make you asogwe before they even give you a reading. This is not tradition! Generally speaking, a good houngan or mambo will take the time to get to know before discussing initiation. There will always be exceptions to the rule, especially if the spirits of the house are insistent about initiating client. Also, if you are dealing with a houngan or mambo and they badmouth other societies or workers, they are more than likely frauds. When you become a houngan you take oaths not to slander other houngans.

Third: no one knows everything there is to know about voodoo. If someone is convincing you they know all there is to know about voodoo they are lying.

Fourth: you do not need to go to Haiti to be initiated. The spirits are carried in the head of the initiates. If the priest lives in America and it is convenient to initiate you in America (meaning that they have the proper herbs and such to perform initiation) as long as the ceremony is properly performed you will now be an initiate. Many Haitians may disagree with that fact, however, their bias comes from a cultural bias against foreigners. I have heard more stories of people spending thousands to go and be initiated in Haiti and they end up wuth a djab in their heads or they are not allowed to keep their head pot. This is more common than most will admit! People fly to Haiti go through a sham ceremony and get handed an asson and are told they are asogwe. The asson is earned, it is not just a rattle that you by in the store it's constructed by thw initiate under the supervision of the houngan.

There are many more points to touch on, but this is just some fat to chew on.

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