So you want to learn about voodoo.

In this article, I’m going to skip over the basics you’ve probably heard of from popular culture. Stuff like voodoo dolls, zombies, and juju.

Instead, I’m going to focus more on the spirits of voodoo magic called loa (also spelled lwa.)

You’ll learn some of the major loa and the families they belong to. As well as the different parts of the soul that voodoo practitioners recognize. And what separates voodoo from Western magic.

What Are The Voodoo Loa?

Loa are the main spirits of voodoo. They act as an intermediary between the Supreme Creator (called Bondye – from the French words Bon Dieu, meaning Good God.) In Voodoo, the Supreme Creator is distant from our world and humanity, and doesn’t interfere with it directly.

Some people would go as far as to call the Loa gods themselves. I wouldn’t go this far. Instead I’d say they are more like angels or saints.

Except voodoo practitioners don’t just pray to them, they serve them. Each loa has its own personality including specific songs, dances, symbols, and their personal likes and dislikes.

The word loa comes from the French words “le lois”, which means “the laws.”

Each loa has its own symbol called a veve. These elaborate symbols are normally drawn on the floor using a powder like ash or wheat flour. Sacrifices and offerings of food, rum, and cigars are often placed on them as well. The veve acts like a beacon that calls its specific loa into the room.

Other African religions such as Palo mayombe, Santeria, Umbanda, and Quimbanda often use similar but distinct symbols.

Loa Families

The pantheon of voodoo is one of the most elaborate and confusing of any religion. It includes gods, demigods, intermediaries (loa), random wandering spirits, ancestors, and spirits of the dead.

There are three main families that Loa are categorized under. Loa from these three families must be kept separate at all times.

In voodoo temples, there is often a separate room devoted to each family and spiritually sealed off from the others.

Mixing loa from different families is no joke. They’re quick to fight with each other, and the subsequent spiritual battle that unfolds can cause war, famine, disease, and natural disaster.

Rada loa

Rada loa are usually considered the oldest of all the loa. They come directly from West Africa, specifically the former Kingdom of Dahomey which was located in modern-day Benin.

Rada loa are mostly water spirits. Their water nature is reflected in a less aggressive and “cooler” nature than the other two families of loa.

Some people mistakenly think that Rada loa are benevolent because of their cooler nature. And while it’s true that Petro and Ghede loa have more of a tendency toward violence and destruction, the Rada aren’t exactly angels either.

The most well-known Rada loa is Papa Legba, who is known for his trickery, deceit, and harm. He uses these tools to teach humans a lesson, or simply for his own amusement.

Other well-known Rada loa include Loko and Agwe.

Most Rada loa are served with white garments and candles.

Petro loa

If the Rada are the calm and level-headed loa, then Petro loa are the unhinged and crazy ones.

Petro loa are more aggressive and warlike and are often represented with blood and fire. Most Petro loa are depicted with red eyes.

Every loa is believed to have a violent side for their benevolent side. The violent sides usually reside in the Petro family. For example, Kalfu is considered to be the opposite of Legba. Although he isn’t really an opposite, but an entirely different entity that also traces his roots back to Africa.

Petro loa are associated with Haiti and the New World. These loa were discovered or created when slaves were forced from Africa to Haiti. They are the ascended souls of warriors, slaves, and houngans (voodoo priests.) Or in some cases, just violent spirits.

Petro loa demand difficult and dangerous blood sacrifices above all else.

The name Petro is believed to come from a powerful voodoo priest and former slave named Don Juan Felipe Pedro.

Some famous Petro loa include Met Kalfu (also called Maitre Carrefour, French for “Master Crossroads”), and Marinette.

Ghede loa

The Ghede aren’t actually loa, but mostly just spirits of the dead.

They are led by Baron Samedi, Baron La Croix, Baron Cimitere, and Baron Kriminel, which are real loa.

Ghede spirits are rude, loud, and extremely sexual. When they possess people during a service, they have no fear and will do things like eat raw chillis or glass or anointing their genitals with chili rum.

The Ghede are traditionally represented with the colors black and purple.

Baron Samedi is sometimes represented as a white man with a beard wearing a top hat, sunglasses, and a black suit. If you’ve ever seen one of the loa, Baron Samedi is most likely the one you’ve seen. He was a character in the James Bond film and novel Live and Let Die, and there’s even a Baron Samedi brand of spiced rum.

Other Loa Families

There are a few other loa families such as the kongo loa or nago loa, but the majority of loa you’ll hear about belong to one of the three families above.

Major Loa

Papa Legba

Legba is arguably the most important loa in all of Haitian voodoo. In order to communicate with any other loa, you must first hold a service to call Legba so that he can open the gates to the world of the spirits.

For this reason Legba is often compared to the Christian figure of St. Peter.

Other loa need Legba’s permission in order to show themselves, and he controls their ability to cross over between worlds.

Papa Legba is represented as a small lovable old man who walks with a cane and wears a wide-brimmed straw hat. He smokes a tobacco pipe and is usually accompanied by dogs.

Khalfu (Carrefour)

Met Kalfu is seen as the opposite aspect of Papa Legba. He’s often represented as a young man or a demon. If Legba is comparable to St. Peter in Christianity, Kalfu is more like Satan.

He likes to drink rum infused with gunpowder. He’s associated with crossroads, misfortune, and destruction. Basically all the evil forces of the world.

Ghede

Not to be confused with the Ghede family of loa, Ghede is an individual loa from that same family. He’s a large black figure that controls the crossroads between life and death. He’s similar to the grim reaper or Charon in Greek mythology.

Ghede is a loa of sexuality, but also a protector of children. He doesn’t like to see children die, and when praying for sick children he’s the obvious choice to go for.

He’s considered the good counterpart to Baron Samedi.

Anyone who wants to contact the dead must first go through Ghede or Baron Samedi, in the same way that Legba must be contacted to open communication with the spirit world.

Loko

From his name, Loko sounds like he should be the craziest of all the loa. But he’s actually pretty chill. He’s the loa of healers and plants, especially trees. He has a wide knowledge of the medicinal properties of plants.

Offerings to Loko are put in straw bags and hung from tree branches.

I like to picture him as the comic character Groot.

Agwe

Agwe is the ruler of the sea, sort of like Poseidon in Greek Mythology. He’s in charge of all plants and animals in the sea, as well as every ship that sails on it.

Naturally, he’s the patron loa of fishermen and sailors.

Agwe likes painted shells and oars, sealife like starfish and seahorses, as well as gunfire and military uniforms. He’s also partial to champagne.

He’s sometimes represented as the archangel Raphael, who is also depicted holding fish.

Offerings to Agwe take place at sea. Smaller offerings are dropped overboard in the ocean. Larger offerings are placed on rafts and floated out to sea. If the raft sinks then the offering has been accepted, but if it returns to shore then it’s been rejected.

Parts of the Soul in Voodoo

Voodoo practitioners believe that a person’s soul can be broken down into five parts:

Gros bon ange

 French for “great guardian angel.” It stays in the body at all times until death. By Western standards, it’s what we would call the soul. It’s immortal, invincible, and leads you toward power, ability, and godhood.

Ti bon ange

 French for “little guardian angel.” This part of the spiritual self isn’t attached to the eternal being. It leaves the body during sleep or when a person gets possessed by a loa during a ritual. The ti bon ange is permanently linked with the gros bon ange even though it can leave the body sometimes. It’s similar to what we would call the astral body, but not quite. The idea of the Samsaric self in Hinduism and Buddhism is closer. The ti bon ange can be used for remote viewing and astral projection.

Z’etoile

  French for “star” and also called the star of destiny. It’s the part of the human being that guides you. It’s not located in or immediately around your body. Think of it more like the concept of karma. It’s not part of you, but it’s inseparably linked.

N’ame 

The energy body, also called the spirit of the flesh. It’s a semi-visible aura that can be seen around living people. It causes your blood to pump, your lungs to breathe, the electrical currents of your nervous system, healing, and the other actions you’d associate with a living being.

Corpse cadaver 

The physical body. Basically a big sack of meat.

Rituals

I won’t go too in-depth into specific voodoo rituals involving the loa in this article. That’s at least partially because I think voodoo may be one of the more dangerous types of magic out there.

The voodoo loa are different from spirits in Western systems of magic, which usually have specific purposes and powers. While voodoo spirits and loa have specific preferences and interests, they’re basically unlimited in their power and ability to enact change on the world.

Standard magic triangles and circles can’t protect from them or contain them.

Once you do your initial ritual with Papa Legba to open the gates, they can’t be closed. You’re basically stuck with the voodoo loa and spirits for the rest of your life.

It’s a big commitment. For that reason, while I find voodoo fascinating, I won’t directly deal with it.

A typical voodoo ritual

A ritual usually involves one or multiple loa being called down by a houngan (priest) or mambo (priestess.) A lower bokor (sorcerer) or caplata (witch) may also take on this role.

The service involves drawing a veve, and usually a lot of drinking and smoking depending on the loas involved. Those leading the ritual receive offerings and grant requests.

Loa arrive in the room by possessing a member of the crowd. This is also referred to as mounting a horse, and the possessed person is said to be ridden.

Possession can be violent and cause participants to convulse and flail around.

Experienced voodoo practitioners can determine which loas are present by their distinctive phrases, actions, and behavior.

The loa leave once they have been served and fed. Some loa are less willing to leave than others, especially the loa who always want another drink or smoke. The houngan or mambo has the task of keeping the spirits in line.

Conclusion

Voodoo has a very elaborate pantheon of spirits and intermediaries. Particularly when it comes to the loa.

There are potentially hundreds of different loa which each have their own distinct personalities, likes and dislikes, and interests. They fall under three main families: Rada, Petro, and Ghede.

Some aspects of voodoo and the loa are ancient, potentially thousands of years old and tracing back to Africa.

Voodoo beliefs also have a rather elaborate conceptualization of the human soul. It’s broken down into five main parts: the gros bon ange, the ti bon ange, z’etoile, n’ame, and the corpse cadaver.

While voodoo is a very powerful type of magic, I would recommend against using it unless you’re prepared to devote your entire life to it. Once that gate has been opened, it’s nearly impossible to close again.

If you still want to learn more about voodoo, I recommend checking out this book (Amazon link) for a more in-depth understanding.