Ververs
Ververs are sacred symbols drawn during
ceremonies, and act in the same way as sigils, or Goetic “Seals”. They are
highly stylised images developed over- most likely- Millennia of use in the
masses of Tribes which now form the (albeit extremely loosely) unified Voodoo
religion.
What separates these symbols from the other
sigils and seals, is the fact that there is some semblance of the ritual act
and the religion’s premises mixed in with the symbology of the actual Loa. With
most sigils, they act as signatures, or probably more accurately- resonances
for the Deity called, just as we take notice whenever our given names are
called. Sigils act as given names, but work symbolically, rather than verbally.
Because of this, they often show in symbol the many characteristics of the
Deity that is being called.** In this instance however,
we see a second layer of symbology that shows part of the actual theory behind the
magick. This appears in the many uses of the crossroads and stylised trees (a
symbolic representation of the crossroads, with the branches and roots of trees
being the vertical line/plane and the Earth being the horizontal line/plane).
The crossroads represent the two planes- metaphysical vertical, which the Loa
move upon, and the horizontal “real world” of the Earth as we as humans
experience it. At the crossroads junction, the two planes intersect, and
passage between the two is possible- i.e. communication or interaction with the
Loa.
During ritual, these ververs are often drawn in
flour on flat ground or traced in the air.
Below are included some examples of Ververs and
ritual symbols for Loa described on the Loa Page.
Symbols:
the Cardinal Points and Points Between Them
Loa:
The union of the Male and female principles seen in many major religions,
simply depicted by two intersecting chevrons. Each equal and whole unto their
own, and also making a singular symbol in its own right when joined together.
This shows a union of the two principles, where each is shared equally, rather
than only some new form created by the union, or the dominance of one over the
other.
The Cardinal Points and the Points Between Them
Simply put, this is a depiction of what we now call a compass, the
cardinal points being North, South, East and West.
This is the basic symbol behind the idea of the Voudoun religion.
The cross represents the cross roads, the point at which the vertically
depicted metaphysic realm and the horizontally depicted physical ream meet. The
“Centre Post” refers to the post at the centre of the Voudoun ritual place
(Called a Hounfor), and is also sometimes a tree in a Hounfor. It is the
real-life manifestation of the vertical, metaphysical axis. The circle
(probably) depicts the boundaries of the ritual space; just a “The Circle” that
is cast in Wiccan rites bounds the ritual area. In terms of the Voudoun
religion, this symbol explains much about the metaphysical attitudes of the
Serviteurs.
(Nothing of this pentacle is said in the book from which this was
taken, so I am making most of this up without help. If anyone knows of its
uses, please contact me!) In this we can
see the symbol of the crossroads and centre post symbol shown above, as well as
the Cardinal points, and more of their interstitial points. These are then
laced with two interlinking flower-petal-like rings, and a further flower-petal
ring of arcs beyond. What we can gather from this is that it has place in the
ritual space, and more likely than not has protection of the horizontal,
physical space- because of its use of the cardinal points- rather than both
physical and meta-physical spaces.
Noted in my reference as “Verver for Petro”, again little is said
about it. Petro, is actually noted as being, “A nanchon [tribe] of Loa; also
the word designating the drum beat, dance, etc. of American origin. It is not a
Loa in particular, but a version of the Loa that came from the Petro cult, to
serve their purposes. Petro was born out of the rage against the injustices
brought upon the slaves by their new dominators.
Here again, we see the Crossroads and Centre Post depicted as the
basis of the symbol, as well as the flower-petal ring of the Magic Pentacle.
Much more could be said, but I would be unsure of the accuracy of my guesses,
so I will leave the reader to see more in it from here, and possibly even
research further if they choose to do so.
Ververs for
Individual Loa
A Loa associated with water, and a simply read verver of a boat.
It is interesting to read an account of the ritual sacrifice to Agwe, which
includes the making of a boat for the sacrifices. One can then thoroughly see
the connection between the Loa and the above symbol.
Brother of Ghede- “the eternal figure in black, posted at the
timeless crossroads”, Azacca is the peasant version of the distinguished Ghede.
Where Ghede is stylish and sophisticated, Azacca is tactless and clumsy; whose
voice resembles more of the sounds of a Goat than that of a corpse.
As stated before, Ghede is the man in black, at the crossroads.
The symbol is of a cross on a tomb- crossroads, and the dead… Coffins are
placed on either side of the central figure, as would be expected in a
cemetery/ tomb situation. At the top on each side of the cross one can see
again the symbol of the androgynous totality. This is more likely in reference
to those who meet him- man and woman- rather than any reference to him in
particular, since he is a phallic Deity, as represented by the markings below
the horizontal arm of the cross. We also see to the right of the cross and tomb
the inverted canes which are part of Ghede’s formal attire- probably a phallic
reference, along with the other elongated strokes, but of particular note
seeing they are part of his attire.
Legba is “the Fire of Life in which divine creative power was first
manifest”. As the sun, he is “the cord that connects the universe eternally
with its divine origin.” It is then easy to see that the cruciform symbol-
symbolic of the crossroads between the divine world, and the human is used here
in this symbol. The symbol is basically one embellished cross. More to the
point, it is only the portion of the cross where it meets, rather than the
extension of the arms that continues ad infinitum i.e. the actual cord
linking the two, rather than the two as they stand.
Nigerian in origin, Ogoun was in the same classical tradition as
the Greek God Zeus, or the Scandinavian deity Thor. The Ogoun worshipped today
however is representative of the new world’s power- the Political Power. The
symbol could possibly be seen as a shield? Yeah, you guessed it, I am just
guessing.
** If
we accept the theory of evolution stating that we began human evolution from
somewhere in Africa, this makes sense, since the religious, magickal and
symbolic evolutions would loosely mirror the path of humans out of Africa,
these Ververs would carry traces of the original symbology. Being only one step
removed, they would be the nearest things we have to the symbols of any single
“initial” religion, and all other symbols would have grown out of them. Hence,
the “more evolved” symbols of other religions would have originally been these
symbols, and the connection between them does not seem so tenuous.