Simbi is the most magical of all the Lwa. Mercurial, fast, transformative, Simbi carries all the same ideas and concepts of serpents in the occult. He is knowledge: the deep, ancestral kind. He can make change happen very quickly. And he has a particular fondness for the houngan. Recently I wrote about Simbi Makaya on my blog here. Makaya is showing a lot of energy for some members of the house. It's always interesting to me to see just how unique the Lwa are, and how specific they work. But back to Simbi Dlo here.
When I receive a request, I do a reading, to see how the Lwa themselves want to interact with me. Creation is not a solitary pursuit. I've been reading Austin Kleon's Steal Like an Artist and Show Your Work. Both are very satisfying to me as an artist. I live a rather solitary life, so having someone tell me I am not crazy (besides the houngan) is very comforting, but more importantly gives me a reason to make more art. So I like to engage the very characters I create -- their added ashe gives my work a particular zing that isn't present for others. I can't claim to be the biggest or best mambo, but I can claim that the Lwa like me and put their energy into what I do.
So I sat with my divination tools -- in this case, my own Tarot deck that I've been working on -- and asked which Simbi this was for. Simbi Dlo stepped right up and claimed my head immediately. I sat for a moment, said my prayer, gave thanks, offered some water and tipsily made my way to the table of arte -- or art, whatever -- and began to tie, wrap and sew his paket. I added his herbs, some perfume he likes, a couple bits of snake skin and some mapou leaves from Haiti. Wrapped it tight, prayed over it and then dressed up proper.
Then, I actually read the order note -- which said my client had ordered a boutey (bottle), not a paket.
Well, **le sigh**, okay. Boutey it is.
So I wrapped up a boutey I had made earlier (also for Simbi - told ya he's been big on my head these days.) Thought about it for moment, and also packed the boutey. What the heck, I don't need another paket kicking around the houmfort and Simbi was obviously WANTING this to go to the client, so I sent it along.
About an hour later (after said package was out in the mail already,) the client wrote to me and said Oh by the way, I'd like it to be for Simbi Dlo. Well of course you do darling! Mama knows and Simbi got his Boutey AND paket.
And in the way that the Lwa work, the client was very grateful and paid for both. I am very blessed to have the Lwa be so involved and to have a very forthright client. But I would also venture a guess that Simbi had a hand in all this as well.
Mesi Papa Simbi - pou tout rèv nou devni reyalite! (May all our dreams come true!)
3 comments:
Thank you so much! I had no idea you had written a blog post about my Boutey & Paket until today while I was doing some research today on the various Simbis. If you recall, I had mentioned a chronic pain condition & was told my another Manbo to work with Simbi. Recently, I have started learning about tension mitosis syndrome & how that is causing my pain. I am now learning mind-body techniques to overcome it. It's not a quick process, but I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'd like to thank both Simbi & yourself. Also, I gotta keep a closer eye on your blog & check out a Fete down there in Philly one of these days!
Ayibobo!
A couple typos, my apologies. I can't fix them on here.
I would like to know How much do you charge for that bottle and the packet kongo and how can i contact you personally? Thankyou!
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