Is it okay to use VeVes for Orishas?
For example Papa Legba’s Veve for Ellegua?
1 Like
It’s not a common concept. They really don’t have. Not it the voudon sense.
2 Likes
I’m kinda late to the conversation here, but the Orisha do have veves. Some of them exist in the Brazilian Orisha practices and others in New Orleans vodou. Check out Louis Martinie’s New Orleans Vodou Tarot Book for a list of sigils for the Orisha.
1 Like
Well some of the orisha’s are loa’s so veve’s are a yeah
2 Likes
I was taught that you can’t mix Voudon with Orisha because the energies are different and it’s two separate traditions. You can practice both traditions but keep boundaries between the two. That’s what every elder I was ever around taught.
4 Likes
I would say no. Two separate traditions. Not everything corresponds. Just because an Orisha has power over the sea, doesn’t mean you can use Agwe or La Siren’s veve to contact it. You wouldn’t use the sigil of Lucifer to contact the Elemental King of Air, would you? Furthermore, Voudon and Santeria/Orisha worship come from two separate parts of Africa. The systems have some similarities but they aren’t the same.
5 Likes
If you look at the Brazilian spiritual practices (not all but some) who work with or worship Orishas, you’ll find that there are veves (I think they’re called something like firmas) for them there. Also in Haitian and New Orleans vodun there are some Orishas that are a part of the lwa. One such example is Shango (also known as Heviosso).
Keep in mind that there was some mixture of vodun and Ifa religions in West Africa before the Atlantic Slave Trade. A great example of this is the Orisha called Oshumare, who’s like half man half snake. If you look at Ifa (Orisha worship) closely, there really isn’t much snake symbology in it. This is my personal research and observation. But there’s a lot of snake symbology in vodun. What I found out was that there were some vodun people who migrated to a geographic area in West Africa where there were Ifa worshippers. They brought Oshumare with them. And over time Oshumare became an Orisha in the Ifa system there.
If you’re talking about using a vodun veve to call on an Orisha then the answer would be no… UNLESS you’re referring to an Orisha from Brazil that has a veve associated with them. Just my opinion.
2 Likes
No, you cannot use the veves of Lwa with Orisha. Would you call someone’s phone number and expect someone in another country to pick up?
6 Likes
Why would you want to use vever for Orisha? That doesn’t make sense. The Orisha have their own ajitenas (signatures) in Ocha.
2 Likes
Orisha do not have Veves. If you see a Vodoun veve for Ogun or Shango, you cannot use them to call the Orisha. The Lwa and Orisha are similar in many cases, but they are two different entities. Fimas are sigils used in Palo. You would also not use a Fima for Zarabanda to call the Orisha Ogun, even though they are similar spirits. It can be confusing because it’s easy to think that the spirit Oya from Haiti is the same Oya that you find in Cuba, but this is not the case. They are two different beings. One is a Lwa and one is an Orisha. Don’t mix the ATR spirits or traditions up with each other.
1 Like
One thing I forgot to add…be careful with veves if you are working with Vodoun spirits too. There are many different paths a Lwa can have and each one will have a different veve. There are different Oguns, different Barons, different Simbi. You must know not only what spirit you want to call, but which veve goes with that spirit. Internet material is not always correct so be careful.
2 Likes
yep, what they said!
What is a veve I’m a newbie in voodoo
A veve (also spelled vèvè or vevè) is a religious symbol commonly used in different branches of Vodun throughout the African diaspora such as Haitian Vodou. Veves should not be confused with the patipembas used in Palo, nor the pontos riscados used in Umbanda and Quimbanda since these are separate African religions.
1 Like
Is it similar to a sigil in anyway
Yes
1 Like
Ok thank you do you open them like you do a sigil