A new year - seems we did not succumb to the Mayan Apocalypse (nor the dire predictions of one either). So now we are off to a new start and new beginnings. We serve Legba this month, and I thought I should write a little about Him -- He is an important part of my life and we give honor where we can.
Legba is the first lwa called in the
Vodou ceremonial order. Some houses do their Reglemen differently - I have a dear friend who hails from the Artibonite Valley and in his reglemen, they call the Marasa first. But by and large, you will find Legba called first in most houses. Legba is the lwa
who opens the doorway between the spiritual and material worlds, and permits
communication between human beings and the lwa. He is like Mercury and Janus
all rolled into one. Legba is usually
envisioned as an old, old man, so old that he is bent over. Sometimes he is
said to have a broken leg. He is also
called "Legba Do Miwa", Legba on the Back of the Mirror, and mirror
symbology is important with Legba, so we will be talking about this more as we
go along. Legba carries a stick, and a
straw bag called a djakout. Sometimes
people say he is accompanied by a dog.
For this reason he is identified with Key 0, The Fool, in the
Tarot. Legba is a tricky lwa, he will
make things happen in unexpected ways.
When he appears through possession, other lwa usually follow in short
order.
Legba's number is three. Anything we do for Legba, we do
three times, anything we give him, we give him in threes. Here is an invocation for Legba a lot of
people already know:
Atibon Legba ouvri baye pou mwen.
Ouvri baye pou mwen, Papa, pou m pase,
Le m retounen, map remesi lwa yo.
English:
Papa Legba open the gate for me, open!
Atibon Legba open the gate for me.
Open the gate for me, Papa, for me to pass,
When I return, I will thank the lwa.
Notice that Legba is asked three times to open the
gate? There are echoes of the power of
three in other traditions too - the Holy Trinity composed of the Father, Son
and Holy Ghost, for example. In European
neo-pagan traditions, there is an invocation:
By the power of three times three, As I will, so mote it be. I am sure that other people can come up with
more examples. To represent "three"
in our service for Legba we will do a variety of things. We sing all his songs in multiples of threes -- nine songs three, six or nine times. We pour water three times at all the important places in the temple. And we always make all his offerings in triplicate. (Think three huge cakes, triples of cookies, rum, coffee, everything!)
Legba in our house also loves coins. I keep a huge jar full of them, so when He comes in service, we can offer them to Him. He divines with them, gives them out as blessings and creates amazing pwen with them. I 'd like to offer you this short pwen, by teaching you how to charge three coins with power.
Our Legba loves pennies, so find or obtain three pennies with odd dates of minting. Leap year pennies are perfect. Cleanse them however you see fit (wash them, scrub with salt, clean with perfume...) Once a day, take them in your hand, blow on them, and then present them to the
four cardinal directions -- East, West, North and South. Speak the invocation above daily. Keep them in a container of some kind, where they won't get lost. Do this for three days, ending on Monday. At the end of the day on Monday, instead of putting the coins in the container, place them with your money -- in your wallet, in your bank or in your pocket where you carry your money.
Money in the Bible was called "mammon" and Jason Miller has written some excellent articles on money magic. I suggest carrying "Mammon" on you. Mammon likes to move around, go in and out. It's a well know fact that money spent always returns in triple (Legba again). Ask any Wall Street trader and he will tell you that its magic, the way money going out always comes back over and over again. So don't let these little Mammons sit in your house. Cart them around on your person, allowing the moving energy of Legba to fly forth. Remember legba is the wandering Lwa moving about in the world. YOu have ensouled these coins with a little bit of Legba's magic. Allow them to roam and soon they will return to you ten fold.
Honor Legba this month with a triple candle, some black coffee and a handful of popped corn. He is humble and will thank you for the offer by bringing something to you. It is the Feast of the Epiphany, the gifts of the Magi being gold, frankincense and myrrh. Three kings, three gifts. Legba again. Ayibobo.
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