How does someone first become a Houngan? What are the initiations like? Haitian Vodoun seems like a very interesting path to me.
I came from a Haitian family. I can tell you straight up many, many, Haitian Vodoun priests are charlatans… Some have knowledge but will just use it against the clients. Most of them will just rob clients of everything they can… No joke!
My parents & I have personally consulted numerous hougans & mambos over several years and most of them just wasted our time and money…
According to EA Koetting, you just can’t buy initiation like that or you’d be harmed or robbed, especially in Haiti. If you are ready to be initiated the Houngan will find you…
They say Vodou finds you, you don’t find it, so what exactly do you do when it decides to really find you?
I came on here tonight to ask exactly what is being discussed above so I will just continue the conversation here, rather than start a whole new thread.
I recently had a reading done by a very reputable and well-known Houngan. I have checked out him completely and he is who he says he is.
The reading was not quite what I was expecting to hear.
He basically told me to buckle up and get ready, that the ride had started and there was no getting off. That I could fight it, or sit back and enjoy it but either way - I am on it. 
I have known since I was a little girl that I had a special spirit companion and that she looked after me. As I got older, the connection got stronger and I have done the things that she asked of me. It has been all good. I have been blessed for this. This spirit is one of the cooler ones and she has been happy with me and I have loved her and honored her. Recently due to things that have happened in my life, I have drawn very close and she has grown very strong, and at times, and this has been a bit overwhelming for me. The reading reflected that, and basically told me that I can trust her and she will continue be with me as she has always been. So that’s all good, no big shocks there.
Then I was told something made perfect sense but was still a bit unexpected. As well as my known Entity, I have 2 Petro Lwa who walk with me, one is particularly fiery and the other one is quiet but very powerful. They have been in the background working with my spirit companion for a long time and I am about to form a close relationship with them and they will not be “in the background” anymore. The reading also instructed me on ways I can begin that now. Hmm, right you are then. Will do. Asap.
It was the next part came as a real suprise. The reading showed clearly that I need to have a lav tet done - a number of reasons were given - and also I could expect to Kenzo soon.
Ummmm gulp.
I have to draw very close to my Ancestors because things will get very intense after the Lav Tet and they will help be able me with it.
The Houngan told me to give certain offerings to Papa Legba and ask him to help make the pathway clear and sweet for this to happen because there are a couple of obstacles (which he thinks are actually tests) which will require me to make sacrifices - not monitary - which I am going to have to make.
The Houngan also is going to send the reading and a note of introduction to a particular House. He vouched for them, said that they are great - he knows them well and they are rock solid.
Of course I immediately researched the House, it seems to be legit, and my Lwa is telling me its right and to trust the reading …(I am answering my own questions here, aren’t I) so do I go with that? Obviously I am going to follow all the instructions I have been given, but then what?
Is there anything in particular that I should be looking out for? How do I know this is the right House for me? How do you know the ones that are not on the up and up?
The entire reading was very specific about the fact that I can go no further on my own. That the 2 that walk with me that I did not know about previously - I need spiritual community and guidance in order to build my relationship with them. Point taken, I definitely would never want to offend them and if they need me to do something, you bet I will be doing it.
So from here, what do I do? Take a leap of faith and hope for the best? I do trust my that my Ancestors would protect me, and that my special spirit will guide me (and Papa Legba of course) but is there anything else I should be doing?
Any guidance and opinions would be most welcome. Thanks in advance.
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I don’t know what I expected you to tell me, but exactly what you did say was the right thing. 
I guess I feel a bit conflicted because I agree with everything EA has to say about “Guru’s”, and I am not really someone who wants to spend years sweeping someones yard and kissing arse to get info. The Lwa know this about me though and they seem not to care. I suppose I want to know what you guys would do if you were in this sitch?
Anyway, I went back and looked again at the house with fresh eyes. It is not a big house, and it is not trolling for initiates. The credentials of the Houngans and Mambo’s are solid, they go way back 4 and 5 generations, and they have a lot of information about them, the who, what, where, why’s - right down to addresses of all the Houses they have been associated with (this is going waaaay back too.)
It’s just unexpected. I have been going along, doing my own thing for a long time. I knew that something was coming, as the reading said, my special spirit has become very strong, and at times I have been swamped by her. A million small coincidences led me to EA and his teachings, and I have learned so much from him and the forum here - I was feeling good about continuing to go it on my own and then this potentially life-changing reading was handed to me. I suppose I have to just keep going forward because as the Houngan said - there is no going back.
Thanks for taking the time to respond to me. I appreciate it.
No, far from it. There was a lot more in the reading, that I didnt go into here (didnt want to bore you to much lol) that talked about how I have to let go of my own systems and start over, re-learning things and accepting the loss of my autonomy. All the Houngan is doing is sending my reading and an introduction to the Houngans of this particular House. The House is in a different country to me but is still the closest to where I am.
And before any of that, the reading talked about the need to have a lav tet. Then it states there will be a period of time when things will get quite intense for me and I am going to have to do lots of Ancestor work.
So, I have no bloody clue how any of it will come about because I am thousands of miles away from the House, so there is no way it will be right away - that’s for sure.
And from the information about the House, they take the Kenzo very seriously. It’s done in Haiti (of course) and you cant just book yourself in and pay for it to happen. (as I have seen on other websites) In fact, it looks so complicated and involved I have no idea how the hell its possibly going to come about at all. I suppose if the Lwa have decided its going to, it will. One way or another. It will be interesting to see how though.
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Well, without going into all the detail, the first card (not the significator though) of the 13 card draw was the Hermit card. The reading said that while working on my own had been very fruitful (it has) it was time to become part of a greater whole. All the cards around it pointed to that too. Plus I have no one to question me and no one to answer to and that is not always such a great thing.
The long-time spirit companion that has been with me since I was little has become more powerful, and while that is exhilerating, (it is) it has been a bit overwhelming and difficult to control. (this is SO true) The reading actually said “a lav tet, or more likely an inititation, will help to safely ground and work with the forces you’re dealing with every day.” Then The Aeon was in the eight house. This is where the reading really talked about my growth, rebirth (initiation) etc. Of course there is a lot more in it than what I have mentioned here but that is the gist of it. There wasn’t anywhere that the reading said I had to get anything done straight away, it does talk about the intensity of what was going to happen and ways I could deal with that. So it didnt say that I needed to do anything before going to my ancestors. The reading said I should continue to draw close to my ancestors. That I have already established a very close relationship with them and I have to always remember to do that. I have done a lot of work with them (and the reading also reflected that) and I am going great guns in that regard. 
But relying on them and working even more closely is going to be a good idea during the very intense time that is coming.
No, he wont be my Papa. I am in Australia and he is in New York I think. This is why he is sending an introduction to the guys that he knows who are much closer to where I am.
Yes, being in Haiti is no great indicator, that is for bloody sure. But if their website had said they would Kenzo in downtown Sydney, I would have questions about what kind of mickeymouse outfit they might be running down there.
Thanks again for your input. Making me apply critical thinking to all this has been exactly what I needed. (Which is why I bought it to you learned people. )
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Why would you want to become a member of the priesthood of a religion you haven’t even practised? Is there a specific reason you want to become a priest and endure the subjection tat this entails? Or is it just Vodou that interests you?
Because, contrary to a prevailing misunderstanding about these parts, it is absolutely not necessary to be initiated to practise Vodou and serve the Loa. You do understand this, right? You do understand that most Haitians Vodouisants are not initiates, right?
Agreed with Poete. If you are called you will be initiated regardless whether you pursue this path or not. Your main focus should be on developing your relationship with the spirits who walk with you. They are your personal emissaries of ascent. Right now you should feel out different houses to ascertain the identity of your Met Tet, Exu, Pomba Gira, what have you.