White Magic and Voodoo

Candomble (Voodoo)

and the unity of religions

Today thousands of places worship African religions and the communities now dominate religious life in Brazil, especially in big coastal areas such as Recife, Salvador and Rio de Janeiro, also in Sao Paulo. Salvador da Bahia is the 'cradle' of Afro-Brazilian religions, commonly referred to as Bahia. For three centuries, from the beginning of the slave trade in the first half of the 16th Century until its gradual abolition in the 19th century, the city was the most important South American port of entry for the displaced African slaves. The first slave convoy was in 1538 in Brazil, 38 years after Pedro Alvares Cabral landed and took possession of the land in Portugal on the north-eastern Brazilian coast.

The Cradle of Candomble (Voodoo)

Supported by the slave and sugar trade, the capital city, Bahia experienced rapid growth in the 17th century. The Northeast, thus became the economic center of the colony. At the turn of the 18th century their was a crisis in the sugar industry. Nevertheless, the discovery of gold in the Minas Gerais and Goias prompted a gold rush and led to the misalignment of the economic center, in favor of the South. The political administration also took these developments into account and in 1773 moved the capital of Salvador da Bahia to Rio de Janeiro. The implantation of African religions in Brazil might have begun with the start of the slave trade. However, the establishment of Voodoo, in Brazil, is not documented until the early part of the 19th century, as practicing Voodoo was prohibited. At that time three freed slaves from the nation of Nago-Ketu began worshiping at Casa Branca do Engenho Velho (White House's old mill) in Bahia, which is still there today, it is the oldest Candomble temple(Voodoo) in Brazil due to its long prestigious history.

The Pantheon of Candomble (Voodoo)

Oxala

In this world Oxala was also born as Krishna, Buddha, Rama, Zeus, Confucius, Jesus, Guru Nanak, Sai Baba of Shirdi and many other religious figure. All of these names can deify him and at every ritual he should be welcomed and deified, because he is the gate keeper to every other dimension.

Iemanja

Iemanja symbolizes a motherly love - which explains the analogy to Mary, the mother of Jesus, but at the same time she is coquettish and vain. As the goddess of  the sea she is, very often, represented as a mermaid. She is one of the most popular Orixas at festivals that are celebrated by thousands of people. This is why the annual festival in Bahia is held at the beach. Numerous boats with presents (flowers, cosmetics, jewelry, sweets, petitions) are launched into the sea as sacrifices for her. Ienmanja is not only offered sacrifices on this specific day, but the whole year you can see people bringing gifts to the beach for her. In Brazil there are sacrificial offerings everywhere: on waysides, road junctions, under trees, at the sea and on the riverbank.

Loco

Representing crops and trees, Loco is the mediator between the worlds. For every single healing ceremony he has to be invoked, especially for botanical strength and healing. Loco was the first voodoo-priest who was ennobled by a Loa (Orixa). You can see him in the shape of a man with a long gnarled stave, standing next to his servant, smoking a pipe. His student, in the later part of his life his servant, was Xango who accompanies him in different incarnations. Loco was born as Saint Paulus (Xango was Petrus), Raja Janaka, Parabrahm Bhagwhan Sri Deep Narayan Mahaprabhuji, as Brahma in India, as Prometheus and many more well known religious figures.

Erzulie

Erzulie is compared to Aphrodite and like Loa (Orixa) stands for love and the power of creation. She is represented as a tempting young lady who rules the arts and thus symbolizes the strength of Venus. When called on she can cure ailments and bring wealth. Adequate sacrificial offerings are red roses. She was born as Shiva in India (there she was adored as the goddess of love) and mostly as the wife of Oxala. Thus this great goddess was born as the wife of Buddha, of Krishna, of Rama and as Mary Magdalena. She was also very often born as a man to assist with Xango as Hephaestion when Xango was incarnated as Alexander the Great, or even as Patroclus when he was Achilles.

Merlin

Merlin was born as Bodhidharma (When the first Zen patriarch, Bodhidharma, who came from India to China to spread Buddhism there.), as John the Baptist, Merlin, Upasni Maharaj, Mahavatar Babaji and many other well known religious figures.

Xango

Xango is full of spirit, justice-loving, his-own-power-waring with a double axe. In this world, our world, he was born as Hercules, Lakshmana (the brother of Rama), Arjuna (the student of Krishna), Achilles, Petrus (the student of Jesus) and as Alexander the Great.

Ache/Axe

Ache/Axe- is the name of the spiritual energy which dwells in the different areas of nature, gods, apparitions and can be transferred to human beings. Axe is the mystic power of existence. Axe is found in material substances and symbolical deeds, in animals and the plants, also in inorganic material. In some rituals you can boost the Axe and the Orixa so that it can be transferred to human beings. In a particularly concentrated form, axe, is contained in the intestines of animals, especially in their blood. That explains the importance of animal sacrifices and points out why animal blood is used to dampen ritual objects and specific body parts of believers during the festivity in Candomble. (Voodoo) At the end of the festival everyone gets a meal which is also made with the meat of the sacrificed animals. This meal is as important as the drums, the dances, the songs and the Orixa, because all of these things are full of Axe, full of vitality.

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