Working The Spirit, Tuesday 400 PM

An Open Letter to Students
Wednesday, December 28, 2016 3:43 PM
12:29 PM
Dear Students:
First, thank you for taking this course. OneNote will be your official, online class notebook.
Please note that access to this notebook during the course AND after the course depends on your
attendance. If you are removed from class due to attendance issues, your access to this online notebook
is permanently revoked. So do not think you can use this space instead of coming to class. If you have
any questions, please see the attendance policy.
Please note: you may not invite anyone from outside our classroom to view these pages. You paid a
derecho to learn this material. You sat in class for hours and hours to learn this material. You spent
money and time, which equals a vast amount of your personal ashe. Why would you then GIVE THAT
ASHE AWAY and receive nothing in return? Those of you who do things of this nature, I don't really think
you understand what ashe is, how it works, or how valuable it is. Speak to me in private if you need a
lesson on that.
Thank you so much, and I hope this group effort helps.
Stuart Acevedo/Ochani Lele
Class Policies Page 1

Attendance Policy
Tuesday, December 27, 2016 12:35 PM
Keep your eyes on this page for official updates!
Adherence to the attendance policy ensures access to this notebook during and after class. If you are
removed from class due to attendance issues, you are removed from this notebook as well. Official
policy regarding attendance follows.
CLASS ATTENDANCE
Definition of attendance: You must be present in the room and visible to me no later than 10 minutes
after the hour. You must remain seated in class for the duration of class; you cannot leave early and
have that count as attendance for that day; you cannot mute yourself and walk away from your
computer. There have been many students over the past few months who have done just that – signed
in, claimed noisy background, put themselves on mute, and left class altogether with the computer
remaining signed in. That does not count as attendance. If you are unable to hold an open microphone
in a calm room, you may go on mute; however, your webcam must be visible so I can verify attendance
throughout the class. There are no exceptions to this. If you are on mute with no webcam, and cannot
respond when called upon within a reasonable time, that counts as an absence. If you have tech issues,
that is your issue and not mine or ours. Inability to attend class due to tech issues counts as an absence.
If you cannot use a computer, you should not take an online, computer-based course.
Once again, attendance is defined as being in class on time and prepared to study and participate from
the beginning of the class period until the end. Anything else will not be counted as attendance, so do
not ask about “what if’s?” The answer will always be no, and the policy will be appended to cover it
retroactive to the Sentinel event. Be there; be present; be ready to study and work.
Know this: To take a class, one must show up for class. If you miss 25% of a class, you have effectively
removed yourself without refund. In the future, if the same class is offered again, you may take that
class for a 50% discount at my sole discretion. As an example: if the class is scheduled to run for 12
weeks, you are allowed 3 absences without penalty. If you are absent a fourth session in that class, you
will be removed from the roster. Rooms open on the hour; and class begins 10 minutes after the hour.
At 11 minutes after the hour, you are late, and please note that being late equals one absence, no
exceptions. If you have any questions about your attendance, please see me. Because attendance is

exceptions. If you have any questions about your attendance, please see me. Because attendance is
visible to all students in a class, I cannot give exceptions to this rule. Do not ask.
Number of students: If, by 10 after the hour, three or fewer students show up, I reserve the right to
cancel class that day and close the room. Everyone who was not IN the room at 10 after will be marked
absent. Everyone who was there at 10 after will receive attendance credit.
Please note: the time stamp used will be that on my computer, not yours. It really is in your best
interests to get to class on the hour and wait patiently for your teacher to show up. If you leave before I
arrive and are NOT visibly present in the room to ME at 10 after, you’re absent.
If there are any questions regarding these policies, please approach me by email
first: bstuartacevedo@gmail.com.

Honor, Ethics, and Morals Code
1. Lucumí olorishas are crowned; we receive our ashé and our orisha in the manner and style of
the kings and queens o ancient Oyó. We do not adosu; we do not receive our ashé or our orishas
in the manner of commoners. We should, and we must, hold ourselves to a higher standard when
it comes to our religious and spiritual lives.
In recent years, Lucumi has come under attack by outsiders to our branch of the religion. This is
understandable. The average olorisha prays in Spanish, even in igbodu. The average olorisha
does not know the songs of Osanyin, lavatorio, or even the basic nine songs of egun. Probably
4/5 of olorishas do not know their lineage. "Maybe" 1/10 of our olorishas know our history.
This is shameful. It's no wonder other ATR and YTR branches ridicule us.
And it's time for that to change. The first step? Acting like the kings and queens you are. Your
kingdoms might be small, but each of you is royalty. Start acting like it. That requires a concept
of morals and ethics.
2. While it is true that these are online classes, they are religious classes; hopefully, participating
in these deepens your awareness, understanding, and spirituality.
3. Still, we are all human and apt to fail. It is the reason for the human experience. The world is a
marketplace; Orún is home; and we are here buying experience. Each human experience is and
should be different.
Olofin knows there are times I can be the biggest piece of . . . well . . . you know . . . out there. I
make mistakes. I stumble. I fall. But you'd better know that when I fall, I do it big and I do it
with style and I do it with an audience. I'm not the wizard hiding behind a curtain. I'm a human
trying to make my way in this world like everyone else, and I'll tell you now – there will come a
day that I will disappoint you. You will get over it because I'm a teacher-priest, not an orisha. I
don't ask for faith. I ask for honesty and discretion. Faith belongs to Olodumare; however, your
discretion in the use of my materials belongs to me. Remember that. Honor that. It will take you
far with me and with every other olorisha with whom you study.
4. That means that there are some here who are meant to study the deeper mysteries of odu and
this religion; there are some here who are meant to study divination and learn how to help others
on their journeys; and there are some here for whom this course of study is meant to be a
learning experience in itself. Quite simply, some are here to learn that financing your initiation
gets you just that – your initiation, and learning itself is a privilege that not many will have. They
are here to learn that money buys you nothing except the means and the tools of change, and no
amount of money can replace commitment to building iwa pele, a strong orí [Yoruba] or erí
[Lucumí], and a connection with orisha and Olódumare.
You can walk into a hardware store and buy $1,000 in power tools. All that money got you were
tools. If you expect the salesman to show you how to use those tools, you'll be lucky if you're
shown the on-button. You have ocha. You bought tools. Now, it's time to learn how to use them.
5. From this moment on, participation in these classes is guided by an honors, ethics, and morals
clause. To cover such a concept fully, I would have to write an entire book; however, understand
this. Each of you is an adult with an adult mind, a mind capable of making choices. Some of
those choices are wise, and some of you will make poor choices. Since 1989 I have devoted

those choices are wise, and some of you will make poor choices. Since 1989 I have devoted
myself to the pursuit of knowledge, specifically the knowledge of orisha, odu, and divination,
and I have made more personal sacrifices in my life than those of my entire student roster
combined. I have given up family, friends, lovers, homes, cars, jobs, financial stability, college
education, marriage, children, and other personal sacrifices too numerous to learn what I have
learned and to be able to do what I do. You might feel entitled because you pay a derecho and
spend 1 ½ hours in a class each week, but your sacrifice of time and money in no way matches or
compensates me for what I have given up. Trust me: your sacrifices do not match mine, and the
sacrifices I have made benefit each of you. If you sit in my classes, you will acknowledge that,
and conduct yourselves in a manner that shows you are thankful for that.
6. This means that anyone found to be distributing any materials that I provide for your
education, whether they be recorded or printed, will be found in violation of this honors, ethics,
and morals clause by which these classes run. If you are doing something relating to classes or
class work that you would not readily inform me about, chances are you are violating this clause.
Don’t do it. If you are unsure if your actions violate your honor, are unethical, or immoral, ask
me. If you are not capable of rationale thought and do not know how to conduct yourselves
regarding the class materials I provide, consult a lawyer. Distributing student materials to those
who are not students violates copyright laws, and I will never give anyone permission to
distribute recordings or other items that I create. Please note that the law is on my side. If any of
you are in doubt, please consult a lawyer.
7. What may you do as a student in my classes? You can learn. And as this knowledge seeps into
your head, hopefully one day you can divine or enter into thoughtful philosophical exchanges
with other olorishas and your own godchildren. And one day when you can hold conversations or
divine without falling back on my own recorded and printed work; one day when you have given
original thought to each of the 256 odu themselves; one day when you have learned how to
share, in writing, your own thoughts on odu with proper documentation IF you need to fall back
on mine or others’ original work, that is when you will know that you OWN your knowledge,
and you, too, will be ready to teach.
Until that day comes, do not distribute class materials of any kind into the general public. They
are not yours; you do not own them; and there will be consequences as each situation arises.

Electronic Recording Agreement
If you want to receive a recording for each class you are in, copy and paste the following into
your email. The header must read as follows:
Electronic Recording Agreement for Working the Spirit.
Copy and paste the following into your email. Please read carefully, and replace the asked for
information into the brackets.
I, [type your full, legal name], am in the following class: Working the Spirit. As a participant in
this class, I understand recordings are a privilege, not a right, that may be pulled at any time and
for any reason by our instructor, B. Stuart Acevedo, known as the “teacher” throughout this
document. I understand that when a class ends and a new one begins, I must send in a new
electronic agreement regarding recorded materials for that class.
I understand the class policies regarding recorded material. On my honor as an olorisha with
[titular orisha] crowned, I will not store, reproduce, upload, email, or do anything that will
compromise the security of our recordings. I will ensure that no one but I, [type your name], has
access to recorded lecture material. If, through willfulness or negligence, I compromise the
security of our class and our recorded materials, I understand that for ethical, moral, and legal
reasons I will be removed from all classes without hope of refund, and if legal recourse is
available to our teacher, B. Stuart Acevedo, or the other students in the compromised class, they
will take the legal means available to them to recompense for damages and loss. Damages and
loss include mental, psychological, emotional, physical, and financial damages that could occur
if recordings find their way into the hands of those not part of our class.
I understand that this agreement entered is not retroactive; it covers only the recordings made on
or after this date, until the end of these classes that I am in. I will not try to obtain earlier
recordings to which I am not entitled form other students, and I understand that such unethical
actions will result in removal from all classes without hope of refund. Nor will I attempt to
obtain future recordings to which I am entitled, and I understand that such an attempt will result
in removal from classes I am currently in without hope of refund.
Electronically signed:
[Type your full government name and your name as an olorisha]
Instructions: Read carefully.
1. In a fresh email (do not reply to any email from me), cut and paste the header. Replace the
brackets with the appropriate class.
2. Cut and copy the body of the email; paste it into your email to me. Replace the highlights with
the requested material. Make sure there is NO highlighting in the body of the text sent to me at
bstuartacevedo@gmail.com.
3. Wait for my response. If I write to you, “Acceptance,” then your electronic recording agreement
is in place. If I write to you, “Not accepted,” then you have not followed directions.
4. One student has already tried my patience by sending in 15 improperly completed agreements. I
feel this was done to aggravate me. That student will never get another recording from me as

feel this was done to aggravate me. That student will never get another recording from me as
long as he or she lives. If YOU CANNOT FOLLOW DIRECTIONS AND COMPLETE THIS
AGREEMENT IN THREE ATTEMPTS, YOU WILL NEVER, EVER GET ANOTHER
RECORDING FROM ME AS LONG AS I LIVE. Think I’m kidding? Try me.
5. When in doubt, just read. And if you think you’re trying my patience, you probably are. You’re
an adult – and you know how to read.
Thank you
Stuart Acevedo.

One more time . . .
Wednesday, December 28, 2016 3:48 PM
This is just a final reminder that I own all of the teaching materials that I produce. I retain all copyright
on my electronic materials. I retain all copyright on my digital media. I retain all copyright on my written
media. Using these to instruct students does not equal giving students rights to use them as they see fit.
If any student is caught sharing this OneNote textbook with anyone not in this class, or if any student is
caught sharing recordings with anyone not in this class, there will be immediate dismissal from all
classes of current enrollment without refund.
If you have any questions regarding your use of my teaching materials, please email me at
bstuartacevedo@gmail.com. Thank you.

Basic Notes: Elegguá
Tuesday, January 10, 2017 6:44 PM
Catholic Syncretism: Holy Child of Atocha
Celebration: June 3
Garments: Red, black, and white
Beads: Red & black; white & black; Red, white, & black
Ritual implement: A garabato—a type of hook, usually made with the wood of the guava tree
Sacrifices: He-goats, agouties, turtles, chickens or young hens, and roosters
Taboos: Palm kernel oil, it is forbidden to whistle in the home where Elegbá lives
Ritual Numbers: 3, 7, 11, or 21
Elégbá opens and closes every religious act. He is found at crossroads and corners, in the mountain, the seashore,
the river, the curb of the sidewalk, or at the door or our homes. Elégbá is everywhere. He is present wherever there
exists a human manifestation, observing everything that occurs, both good and evil, in order to report to Olorún.
One can say that Elégbá serves as Olorún’s eyes on earth.
Elégbá lives centered between the forces of good and the forces of evil. When one behaves according to Divine law,
he manipulates the forces of good, ire, and grants blessings. If, on the contrary, one behaves unduly, he opens the
path for the evil forces such as ofo, ikú, arún, eyó (loss, death, disease, tragedy) amongst others and due punishment
is rendered.
At any point in the universe in, which energy, matter or spirit must move or communicate, we find Elégbá. To put it
in plain terms, Elégbá is the distance between point A and point B, as well as any and all options in between. He is
called the Orisha who lives at the crossroads because he is the force that rules over the choices that are encountered
on any journey between two or more points.
He is the embodiment of choice, chance, fate and trickery. He is the “universal policeman” charged by Olorún to
test the faith of man. In his favor, we will make all the right decisions. We will take the proper route, make all the
right turns, never miss a freeway exit and arrive safely at our destination. We will pursue the proper career, become
romantically involved with the ideal mate and live a long, happy, prosperous life.
If we ignore his advice or test his limits, we will forever take the wrong path. We will turn right when we should
have gone left, we will refuse to stop for directions and we will miscalculate the amount of fuel left in our tank. We
will study for years to achieve a degree in a field that not only does not hold our interest, but also will fail to support
us financially. We will toil away at a job we hate, marry a philandering lout and plod through our lives in misery.
When a worshipper of Orisha sees a priest for divination, it is Elégbá who speaks through the oracle. Other Orishas
may speak, but it is always through the mouth of Eshu. This is because, besides Orúnmila Elégbá is the only Orisha
who is totally unbiased. He is beholden only to God, and therefore speaks objectively to both humans and orishas.
Along with the task of being the mouthpiece of the divine, Olorún gave Elégbá the gift of omnipresence. Other than
Orúnmila and Olorún, only Elégbá exists at all points in the universe. He has witnessed all events past, present and,
future, and can therefore advise the best possible course of action to achieve any given outcome.
Elégbá is the first Orisha one must receive in the Lucumí religion. This is because Elégbá, as master of all options,
Working the Warriors Page 9

Elégbá is the first Orisha one must receive in the Lucumí religion. This is because Elégbá, as master of all options,
is the opener of paths. Without him, one cannot begin any sort of relationship with any other Orishas. He is
propitiated at crossroads, in the bush or woods and in refuse piles or trash cans.

Notes about Eshu
Wednesday, January 11, 2017 6:53 AM
 Eshu (Echu, Exu, Esu)—When one refers to Elegba simply as “Eshu”, one is referring to the most
primordial force of Elegba, the Untamed. Eshu is the fundamental essence of Elegba, unfathomable
and uncontrollable. He is sometimes as perceived as evil, but to dismiss him as such is to fail to
understand his nature. Eshu has no loyalties and is simply the chaos inherent in nature. Eshu is the
force that causes bad things to happen to good people and good things to happen to bad, and vice
versa and everywhere in between. When you hear, phrases like “God works in mysterious ways”,
think of Eshu.
 Eshu Ayanki Olokun (Eshu Ayanki, Eshu Anaki, Eshu Anaqui)—This Elegba is a hermaphrodite,
both male and female at the same time. Ritually, however, he is always seen as male, even though
he is called both the father and mother of all Elegbas. He is a very important Elegba as he is the
messenger of Olokun, who is the source of life on this planet.
 Eshu Obalufe—A very old Elegba who lives in the yard and guards the home.
 Eshu Laroye—The mischievous child. The most troublesome of all Elegbas. He is referred to as
“the talkative one”. Inseparable friend of Ogun and Oshun.
 Eshu Bi—The “boss” of the Elegbas. He mandates and distributes jobs to all the other Elegbas.
 Eshu Alagbana—He lives in lonely places. Alagbana is a solitary Eshu who is neither childlike nor
playful. He is very serious and works with the dead.
 Eshu Ile Loya—The Eshu of the marketplace. The vendor. Closely related with Oya, who is the
queen of the market.
 Eshu Aguanilebe—The companion of Ogun, who causes blood to spill in the street so that Ogun
may eat.
 Eshu Ode Mata (Eshu Ode)—The hunter. Lives and walks with Oshosi.
 Eshu Aye—The ruler of the 101 roads. He is the inseparable friend of Oshun, who he rescued from
poverty and is the first one who fed her castrated goat.
 Eshu Aye Belebure—The Elegba who brings money and financial evolution. He dresses in 100
cowrie shells, which were used as money by the Yoruba.
 Griyelu or Kielu—This is the Elegba of two faces. He watches the devotees back and knows the
comings and goings of all people.
 Eshu Baralainya—The messenger of Shango. A fiery road of Elegba that wears more red than
black. Brings Shango’s fire to the world.
Eshu Afrá: This Eshu is a companion of the babalawo. Afrá is the Elegguá that walks with

Eshu Afrá: This Eshu is a companion of the babalawo. Afrá is the Elegguá that walks with
Babaluaiye. He takes a necklace of black and white beads. This Elegguá does not drink alcohol and
is usually found whistling on the street corners and in solitary places. He is the companion of Eshu
Mákénu. An older Elégbá who walks with Babaluaiye, he is more serious and does not play tricks.
His colors are black and white only and he is prepared as a large brain coral. He is a sorcerer
 Elégbá Abánùké: This name means, “Elégbá, the helper who outdoes one and is condoned.” His
name can also be spelled Eshu Agbànùké, which means, “Eshu, the rescuer who outdoes one is
condoned.” This Elegguá is the confidante of Orúnmila, and is originally from the Arará. He gives
protection and makes secure the babalawo by repeating all tha the sees and hears from the past,
present, and future. This helped Orúnmila to prove his powers at divination to Olófin.
Eshu Afrodi: This Eshu is Arará, from Dahomey, and has 24 roads and 24 cowries is associated with
Orúnmila. Pyramidal in form, with a pointed top. The pyramids are divided into 3 sections by three
lines of eight cowries. This Eshu is a companion of the babalawo.
Eshu Agànìkà: This name means, “Eshu, spring releaser who is cruel.” This Eshu likes to confuse
everything and has a dangerous, malevolent, and vengeful nature. When angry, he will call the police to
the house where he lives or send them to the houses of his enemies. He rides a horse and carries a
machete. This is a road of Elegguá strongly associated with Ósun and Ochosi. This Eshu works with the
law and police. He can help one avoid trouble with the law, or punish one through legal battles and
prison.

Notes about Eshu
 Eshu (Echu, Exu, Esu)—When one refers to Elegba simply

as “Eshu”, one is referring to the most primordial force of
Elegba, the Untamed. Eshu is the fundamental essence of
Elegba, unfathomable and uncontrollable. He is sometimes
as perceived as evil, but to dismiss him as such is to fail to
understand his nature. Eshu has no loyalties and is simply
the chaos inherent in nature. Eshu is the force that causes
bad things to happen to good people and good things to
happen to bad, and vice versa and everywhere in between.
When you hear, phrases like “God works in mysterious
ways”, think of Eshu.
 Eshu Ayanki Olokun (Eshu Ayanki, Eshu Anaki, Eshu

Anaqui)—This Elegba is a hermaphrodite, both male and
female at the same time. Ritually, however, he is always
seen as male, even though he is called both the father and
mother of all Elegbas. He is a very important Elegba as he is
the messenger of Olokun, who is the source of life on this
planet.
 Eshu Obalufe—A very old Elegba who lives in the yard and
guards the home.
 Eshu Laroye—The mischievous child. The most
troublesome of all Elegbas. He is referred to as “the talkative
one”. Inseparable friend of Ogun and Oshun.
 Eshu Bi—The “boss” of the Elegbas. He mandates and

distributes jobs to all the other Elegbas.
 Eshu Alagbana—He lives in lonely places. Alagbana is a

solitary Eshu who is neither childlike nor playful. He is very
serious and works with the dead.
serious and works with the dead.
 Eshu Ile Loya—The Eshu of the marketplace. The vendor.

Closely related with Oya, who is the queen of the market.
 Eshu Aguanilebe—The companion of Ogun, who causes

blood to spill in the street so that Ogun may eat.
 Eshu Ode Mata (Eshu Ode)—The hunter. Lives and walks

with Oshosi.
 Eshu Aye—The ruler of the 101 roads. He is the inseparable

friend of Oshun, who he rescued from poverty and is the first
one who fed her castrated goat.
 Eshu Aye Belebure—The Elegba who brings money and

financial evolution. He dresses in 100 cowrie shells, which
were used as money by the Yoruba.
 Griyelu or Kielu—This is the Elegba of two faces. He

watches the devotees back and knows the comings and
goings of all people.
 Eshu Baralainya—The messenger of Shango. A fiery road of

Elegba that wears more red than black. Brings Shango’s fire
to the world.
 Eshu Afra—The road of Elegba who walks with Asojano.

He is a sorcerer.

The Warriors
Elégbá, Ogun and Ochosi make up the divine triumvirate known as the “Warriors
(Sp. Guerreros).” Together with Osun, the staff of Òsányìn, they are received by
aleyos to start out on the path of Orisha worship in the Lucumí tradition.
Elégbá is the first Orisha that must be propitiated. He opens or closes the doors of
opportunity as he sees fit. The recipient of the Warriors receives Elégbá in order to
open the door to a new spiritual life, one in which the twists of fate come in one’s
favor, rather than to one’s detriment. Keeping Elégbá happy also ensures that
offerings to other Orishas go neither undelivered nor unnoticed.
Depending on the custom of one’s religious family, the godparent may or may not
determine which road of Elégbá is to be received. It is not uncommon to simply
ask the oracle how the Elégbá is to fashioned and leave divining the road until after
the recipient is initiated to the priesthood. In any event, the Elégbá is made for each
individual in a unique, personalized way.
A male priest must create Elegguá's image, as Elégbá is a phallic deity and
represents active force in the universe. He appears most often as a cement head
with cowrie eyes and mouth, packed with secret ingredients and crowned with
needles, a hook, and a red parrot feather. Roads of Elégbá who are related to or
“walk with” water Orishas are fashioned from chunks of coral reef or are created
inside conch shells. Sometimes Elégbá is a simple, unadorned stone.
Whatever form Elégbá takes, the image or stone is born in Òsányìn from the
Elégbá of the godparent and is fed with the blood of a young chicken. Elégbá is
then presented to the initiate who is taught how to take care of him.
He is given offerings of palm oil, white wine or rum, cigars, toasted feed corn, fruit
and sweets. These offerings are traditionally presented to Elégbá early. Monday
morning, at which time a candle is lit, libation poured, and food offerings are
made. The custom of propitiating Elégbá on Monday probably arose due to the fact
that most people begin their workweek on that day. It is my personal opinion that
one should propitiate Elégbá on whatever day they feel is the start of their week. In
that way, Elégbá can be petitioned to open the doors of opportunity and clear the
path for a safe and prosperous week. For an individual who works nights from
Tuesday through Saturday to ask Elégbá to start a smooth week at sunrise on
Monday, only to then crawl into bed, would make no sense. The habits one
develops in maintaining an Orisha’s shrine depend more on one’s own personal
relationship with the Orisha than on any tradition or dogma. What is important is
that one sticks to one’s customs in their spiritual life.
The second Orisha received in the initiation of the Warriors is Ogun. Ogun is the
trailblazer and defender. He must be worshipped and propitiated by all members of

trailblazer and defender. He must be worshipped and propitiated by all members of
the Lucumí tradition not only because he clears the way for civilization, he is
responsible for its maintenance and development. We pass through the doors that
are opened by Elégbá, and make our way toward prosperity and evolution along
the paths that Ogun clears for us. He protects us with his strength and inspires us
with his fortitude.
Ogun lives in an iron cauldron that represents his sister Onilé, the earth. She is the
source of the iron and metal with which Ogun forges the tools and weapons
necessary for his work. His seven tools, the anvil, rake, hoe, machete, pike, shovel,
and hammer, accompany him in the cauldron. Many Olorishas include in the
cauldron railroad spikes, which symbolize the railroads that were among the
earliest routes used to spread industrial development, and horseshoes, which
symbolize Ogun’s role as blacksmith.
It is customary to offer palm oil, cane alcohol, and cigar smoke to Ogun at the
same time one propitiates Elégbá.
In the cauldron with Ogun lives the Orisha of the hunt, Ochosi. He is the tracker
and guide who gives us direction. Ochosi is closely related to Obatalá and, as such,
he is the epitome of honesty and justice. He leads us carefully along the paths that
Ogun has cleared with his machete, bringing us safely to peace and plenty.
Ochosi is also the wizard. He is able to perform miracles in our lives, casting a
glamour to disguise our movements when we need to get out of a tight spot, or,
lifting veils of deception so we and those around us can see the truth.
Ochosi is related to justice in that he hunts down the guilty party when someone
has been falsely accused. Many have mistakenly appealed to Ochosi to cover their
misdeeds, only to find at the last minute that he has turned the trick and trapped
them in their crimes. Ochosi's justice is blind, and the guilty are always the ones
who suffer.
He is represented by an iron crossbow among the implements in Ogun’s cauldron.

This is only a symbol of Ochosi's ashe through which he can be appeased and
petitioned. There is another level at which Ochosi is fully received as a separate
Orisha. This initiation is separate from that of the Warriors and is usually received
by those who have already been initiated as olorishas.
Last received in the initiation of the Warriors is Osun, the staff of Òsányìn. The
staff is a short (approximately 8 inches), white metal pole surmounted by a cup
ringed with jingle bells. Atop this cup rests a metal chicken or dove. The base of
the staff is cast from lead, giving Osun the ability to stand tall and strong.
Packed in the cup are herbs and other ingredients that manifest the ashe of Òsányìn
to represent the head, life, and stability of the recipient. Osun is placed high, in the
home to ward off malevolent forces. The bird mounted at the top of the staff

home to ward off malevolent forces. The bird mounted at the top of the staff
represents Korikoto, the scarecrow. His presence announces the presence of
Òsányìn's protective force, frightening away the witch-birds that attempt to bring
the malevolent wishes of one’s enemies. Should Osun become overwhelmed by
negative forces, he will topple over, alerting those in the house that measures need
to be taken to prevent the coming osogbo, or to cleanse away that which has
already arrived.
Together the Warriors bring to the aleyo who receives them both active and
protective ashes Thus armed, the individual embarks on a new life, both guided
and shielded by Orisha.

Recipes for Elegguá
Wednesday, October 12, 2016 2:41 AM
I thought it would be nice to give you all a head-start on your class notebook. What follows are my
favorite recipes for Eleggua. Olorishas: those of you who divine with obi and diloggun might like these
because they can serve as ebos in response to divination. Aleyos/aborishas: your Eleggua will love any of
these made for any time or any reason. Enjoy.
Eko for Elegguá
Eko can take the form of a cornmeal tamale or hominy tamale (hominy not traditional but often used).
You need one pound of hominy, 6 cups of water, and 1/4 cup of lard. Soak the hominy overnight and
cook early in the morning until soft. Grind it up in a mixer until it's a paste. Roast banana leaves on stove
top and cut into rectangles 6X6 or smaller. Lightly grease the leaf with oil (you can use lard or epó) and in
the center add two spoonfuls of the mixture. Fold the leaf like a pillow and tie. Slip into boiling water for
30 minutes. Please note: for the corn meal tamale, you cook the corn meal without soaking, just as you
would for amala.
Should you like to turn this into a hominy fritter for Elegguá (which would be a suitable ebó for Elegguá
as well), use the following recipe. It is delicious and can be shared with him.
1 cup whole-wheat flour, 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1/4
teaspoon salt, 2 eggs, well-beaten, 2/3 cup milk, 1 cup rinsed and drained hominy vegetable oil for
frying, and Honey for serving.
Combine the flours, baking powder, sugar and salt in a medium bowl. Stir in the eggs and milk just until
ingredients are mixed. Stir in the hominy to blend evenly. Batter will be lumpy. Take care not to over stir,
or the fritters will be tough. Heat about 2 inches of oil to 365 degrees in a large, heavy saucepan. Spoon a
scant 2 tablespoons of fritter batter into the hot oil, cooking no more than 3 fritters at a time. Fry about 2
minutes on each side. Skim and remove any crumbs after each batch. Serve hot with honey or syrup.
Ekrú for Elegguá
I'm not sure where I got this recipe, but this is what I use when I make ekrú for Elegguá. You need 8
ounces of dried black-eyed peas and 8 large plantain leaves. Wash and rinse the peas so all agricultural
waste is removed (dirt and small stones). Put these in a large pot filled with water and let them soak
overnight. Drain and mash the peas, leaving skins on. You will be left with a thick paste. If draining the
peas takes away too much moisture to create a paste, add water while mashing but only a few drops at a
time. You want a thick paste, not a watery paste.
Wash the plantain leaves and spread them flat. Put equal amounts of the paste on the center of each leaf
and fold into a packet. Tie it with twine. Bring a pan of water to a boil, and slip the leaves into the boiling
water. Boil for half an hour. Drain; untie; serve. Please note that this makes 8 servings. 8 is not Elegguá's
number. Sometimes I keep three of these for Elegguá, and share the other five among those who might be
in the house with me. We ask Elegguá to bless them all, however, so we can share in his ashé. A lot of
people forget that when we cook for the orishas, we are cooking a meal. We are allowed to eat our meal
with them!

Isu (Ichu) for Elegguá
This is a delicious variation of Isu that consists of fried balls, not raw. Again, we can share this meal with
Elegguá if desired. You need 2 medium sized white yams (and if you live in a place where they are not
available year-round, it is acceptable to use white potatoes when yams are out of season), 2 egg whites, 4
teaspoons black pepper, 2 teaspoons poultry seasoning (I love adobo), and one cup lard.
Peel, boil, and mash the yam (potato). Mix the ingredients into it and whip. Heat up the lard and drop the
mixture in the hot oil one spoonful at a time. Brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels and serve.
Isoguí (fruits) for Elegguá
Raspberry, common banana [ogedé (Musa paradisiaca, var. normalis, L.)], coconut (obi agbon), chili
pepper [atá (Capsicum fructescens, L.)], sugar cane [ireké], dwarf bananas [ogedé keké (Musa acuminate,
L.)], Spanish plum [Okiká (Spondias purpurea, L.)], Spanish lime [Omoilá (Melicocca bijuga, L.)],
Surinam cherry [pitangá (Eugenia uniflora, L.)].
Bioñi (sweets) for Elegguá
Cuban Capuchinos (conical egg cakes soaked in syrup), Cuban Brazo Gitano (Spanish log cake), Guava
filled cake, Guava marmalade, Adún Guafá (guava shells in syrup), Adún Ireké (raspadura/sugar cone),
Adún Okiká (hog plums in syrup), Igbekurú (corn bread).
Ado for Elegguá balls made with roasted wheat flour or corn flour; made for Elegguá, it is mixed with
honey. The proper name when made for Elegguá is ado ‘tí oyín.
Akará for Elegguá
You need one pound of dried black-eyed peas, 3/4 cup chopped onions, 2 teaspoons of chopped garlic,
3/4 cup roughly chopped onion
• 2 teaspoons roughly chopped garlic and lard. Wash and rinse the peas so all agricultural waste is
removed (dirt and small stones). Put these in a large pot filled with water and let them soak overnight.
Drain and mash the peas, leaving skins on. You will be left with a thick paste. If draining the peas takes
away too much moisture to create a paste, add water while mashing but only a few drops at a time. You
want a thick paste, not a watery paste. Mix in the onions and garlic. You may add salt and pepper to taste.
Heat the oil in a deep pan to about 365 degrees. Form the black-eyed pea paste into small balls, and slide
into the oil. Let it brown and fry; flip the balls so they are evenly fried on both sides. Drain in paper
towels and serve to Elegguá.
Ø Saraeko: In a jícara mix wáter, cornmeal, honey, a leaf of prodigiosa, efun, and cocoa butter. This you
can give to all the orishas.
Ø Bolas de ñame, frijol de carita, o Auyama : boíl until it is soft. Season with honey, smoked fish, jutia,
and palm oil. Make three balls. Serve on a bed of toasted corn.

Ø Dulce de auyama: cut one pumpkin into médium pieces. In a pot pour two cups of Brown sugar per
one cup of wáter. Add some cinnamon. When it begins to boíl add the pumpkin and cook over a low fire
so that the fruit is cooked in the syrup. Simmer and stir occasionally so it doesn’t stick to the pan. It is
ready when all is a syrup consistency.
Ø Dulce de platanos verdes: a banana cut in médium sized pieces, two cups of brown sugar per one cup
of wáter, and cinnamon. Bring to a boíl and add the banana. Lower the heat so that the fruit is cooked in
the syrup. Simmer and stir occasionall so they don’t stick. It is ready when the fruit is cooked and it is a
syrup consistency.
Obi Omi tuto: for this you open a coconut. Add a jícara of wáter, or put wáter in one half of the coconut.
Add toasted corn, jutia, and smoked fish. This can go to any orisha. Only the inner seasonings change.

Obras to work Elegguá
1. To convince someone to give you what you want
Take the fruit known as caimito and rub it abundantly with red palm oil
and honey. Attach nine pins and needles to a small lodestone, and wrap
around this brown paper with the person's name and personal things
wrapped in it. For nine days light a candle to Elegguá and call the
person to you; as each candle burns out the wax left over goes to the
crossroad. On the morning of the ninth day, you tell the person what
you want (at the caimito) and then take everything to the crossroad.
Then, you tell the actual person what it is you want. They cannot refuse
you. Please note: this work is done with Elegguá but has elements of
egun (9). Make sure during this time to petition egun as well, although
the actual work is done with Elegguá. You are working with Elegguá and
the elelegba, lagba lagba imbelese Olodumare.
2. For Good Luck and Abundance

To enlist Elegguá’s aid in obtaining money, gather the following items: a
red and black plate, one large yellow squash (use pumpkin/calabaza if
in season), three grains of toasted corn, three guinea peppers, three
teaspoons of red palm oil, three teaspoons of honey, three pennies,
three teaspoons of white rum, three eggs, smoked fish, jutía, and olive
oil.
Cut the top off the squash lengthwise, scraping out its contents so only
the rind remains. Put the gutted squash on the plate. Inside the rind put
the toasted corn, guinea peppers, red palm oil, honey, pennies, white
rum, eggs (just the yolk), a pinch of the smoked fish, and a pinch of the
jutía. If pumpkin is in season, clean the seeds from the pulp and return
the seeds to the pumpkin (they represent coins and money). Carefully,
pour the olive oil within a half inch to an inch of the top. Set a wick in
this, praying for abundance while lighting the lamp.
This remains lit for three days. Discard of the lamp at a crossroads.

3. Another to attract using Elegguá's ashé.
The materials you will need are: an egg, five candles, black fabric, a
calabaza, machine oil (axle or engine grease -- although wagon axle
grease is best if you can get it), five needles, five honey combs, five
dashes of castor oil, five dashes of olive oil, five cotton balls (bollitos),
and guinea pepper.
On a piece of brown paper write the full name of the person you want
to attract; and cross this name with the five needles. While writing the
name and crossing it with the needles, call out to the person,
requesting and demanding that he come to you immediately. Put this
inside the calabaza and inside put the rest of the ingredients, still calling
out for the person to come to you. Put the lid back on the calabaza and
wrap it with the black cloth. This stays with Elegguá for three days, each
day burning one candle that has been cut into three parts (a total of
three long tapers will be used, but each has been turned into three
smaller candles). These three candles surround the calabaza in a
triangle (which is, for all intents and purposes, a triangle of
manifestation. At the end of three days take the calabaza, still wrapped
in black, to the riverbank and bury the pumpkin there, in the riverbank.
Light five small candles around the place that you bury the calabaza,
and call to the person three times while you do all this. This you do at
the fastest moving river you can find, at its most rapid point.
4. To clean a house
Pray to Elegguá with two coconuts. Paint one with efun and one with
añil. Roll them throughout the house with the left foot only. Kick them
outside the front door, and keep kicking them until they are in the
street.
5. To gain and maintain control of your home or property
Dirt from the four corners of your property, the seasonings for

Elegguá’s palangana, herbs of lavatorio for Elegguá, red and black cloth,
red and black cord or ribbon. Rooster. Feed. Feed ingredients beside
Elegguá. Let dry and cure in the sun. Tie up in the packet. This stays
with Elegguá forever.
6. For infidelity
Carefully split a coconut into two halves. On a brown piece of paper

write the name of the person who is not loyal to you and add whatever
personal effects you have. Add inside three guinea peppers, red palm
oil, honey, toasted corn, jutía, rum, dry white wine, and smoked fish.
Reunite the two pieces of coconut with thread in the colors of Elegguá
and continue until the entire coconut is covered. Put the well-bound
coconut to Elegguá, and for 21 days in a row ask him to bind that
person to you and your home so he cannot cheat on you anymore.
7. For sickness
Rub a dried coconut with cocoa butter and paint it white with efun. Put
it on a white plate in front of Elegguá. Every day for seven days present
a lit white candle to Elegguá and set it on top of the coconut so it burns
down on the fruit. Do this at the same time every day. After the last
candle is burnt down (and the last petition for the person's health is
made), take the plate and the coconut to the cemetery gates.
8. Against envy
Put a dried coconut on a white plate to Elegguá, and have a white

candle burning beside it for three days. Every day ask Elegguá to clean
the envy that is being directed at you and your house. After three days
take this to a crossroads.
9. For economic growth
Put four large circles of coconut on a white plate with the whites facing
upwards. Put red palm oil, honey, and one guinea pepper on each

piece. Keep this beside Elegguá with the biggest red or white candle
you can find. At the end of seven days, take everything including the
white plate to the woods.
10. For problems with justice
You need to write the names of prosecuting lawyer, and the judge and
the names of those who are implicating the client. Include the names of
all the witnesses against the client. All this is written on brown paper.
Split a coconut in two and add the paper into this. If you can get any
pictures or personal concerns, even better. Fill with toasted corn,
smoked fish, jutía, 21 guinea peppers, honey, red palm oil, and rum. Put
the coconut back together and wrap it in thread in your Elegguá’s
colors until you cannot see the coconut and it is well-locked. Wrap it
again with just white and black thread until those are the only colors
you can see. Present this to Elegguá for 21 days with a large white
candle and a black candle, and shake it every day asking Elegguá to
confuse the prosecution, judge, and jury and witnesses. This goes to the
woods at the feet of a dead tree, in a hollow if the tree has one. When
the client is found not guilty or the charges are dropped, Elegguá gets 3
roosters.
11. Elegguá, another to attract a person.
To do this work you need one, seven leaves of "siempre viva," Elegguá’s
herbs from lavatorio, a rooster, toasted corn, red palm oil, a palangana,
añil, and a bottle.
On the egg make a cross of epó, and then two crosses of añil while
calling out to the person you are trying to attract and speaking to
Elegguá; put these next to Elegguá in his dish. Then take the 7 leaves of
siempre viva and crush them while calling to the person. Take the
palangana, and all this you do at the feet of Elegguá, you pour a bit of
water, adding the three eggs, adding the crushed up leaves along with
smoked fish, jutía, honey, rum, cocoa butter, and red palm oil. Pray to
Elegguá while doing this, and perhaps sing for a bit. Everything is then

Elegguá while doing this, and perhaps sing for a bit. Everything is then
left in the palangana at Elegguá's feet for awhile. Later you give a
rooster to Elegguá and you take it to the woods with: toasted corn,
smoked fish, jutía, rum, cocoa butter, and red palm oil. The herbal
liquid is put in the bottle and the person for whom this work was done
sprinkles a bit of it at the front door of his house calling to the person
he wants every night before bed and every morning after waking up.
The egg goes in a white bowl under your bed and you speak to it every
night before sleeping as if it were the person. When the person comes,
put the egg to Elegguá and keep it. Don’t let it break.
12. A work for marriage
Please note: be sensible with this ebó. You cannot make two total
strangers get married (not unless you are really good at using your
ashé). This is to speed things up a bit when one of the partners is
dragging his or her feet. It works best on those who have been in a
committed relationship for quite some time but for whatever reason
cannot seem to bring themselves to marry.
Materials: two dolls to represent the two individuals to be wed, a box, a

lodestone, Elegguá's omiero, a piece of vine (like that of the calabaza
works best), ribbon that is black and white, water from Oshún, water
infused with orange blossoms, myrrh, cinnamon, and Vaseline.
The work: Do this obra while sitting at the feet of Elegguá. Baptize the
dolls using water from Oshún's sopera, calling and naming each doll
three times while sprinkling them with her water. If you have personal
effects from each person to put inside the dolls or attach to the dolls,
this makes the work stronger. Write the name of the woman on a
length of the ribbon. Wrap this around the male doll while praying to
Elegguá that he make the man think of no one but her passionately, day
and night; and pray to Elegguá that the man have a slight fear of losing
his woman if he doesn't do something to bind her to him. Do this for
the female doll as well. Once you have done this, tie the two dolls
together with more ribbon at the waist with them facing each other.

Now you again sprinkle the dolls, tied as they are, with more of Oshún's
water praying to Elegguá that they get married and be forever bound to
each other; and then sprinkle them with the orange blossom water as
well. Now wrap the two dolls entirely with the calabaza vine until it is
just one mass of vine. The lodestone, which should have been soaking
all this time in Elegguá's omiero, is inserted and secured between the
dolls' feet. Show Elegguá the completed work and ask him again for his
blessing; put the two dolls in the box and wrap the box itself well with
both ribbon and vine. Feed Elegguá a rooster. The work is complete.
13. A binding at the feet of Elegguá
Materials: a petition paper, seven pins, a piece of a t-shirt, corn silk, the
person's hair, and thread in the color of the orisha that represents the
type of love you want.
The work: Write the name of the one you want seven times; turn the
paper 90 degrees and write your name over that person's seven times.
In a circle around that, write a short phrase continually that describes
the type of love you want. Put the paper on the t-shirt and pin the
paper to the shirt with the seven safety pins. Put the person's hair on
this. Roll the paper towards you. Wrap the packet with the red and
yellow threads until that is all you can see, reciting what you wrote in
the circle around your two names continually. This goes to Elegguá for
three days. After that, put it to the orisha that represents the type of
love you want. It stays there as long as you want that love. To break this
spell, discard the paper in the orisha's place in nature.
14. To remove a person from the home
Materials: A terra cotta lamp, tobacco ashes, carbon ashes, all types of
ashes, leaves of hierba mora, three precipitates yellow, red and white,
deep horn powder, sulphur, epó, Scorpion oil [you can make this by
soaking a scorpion in olive oil for 21 days in a dark place -- used for evil
works].

The work: The name and surname of the person, is placed inside the
lamp with ashes, three crushed leaves of hierba mora, precipitates
three, yellow, red and white, powdered deer horn, sulphur, epó and
Scorpion oil, all this is cast within the lamp and the lamp turns on three
days, one speaks with Elegua each day telling him what you want; and
then give three dashes of water to the street naming the person who
you want to leave saying, "so and so, go home, for in three days
Elegguá will you to the street and you will live like Eshu, homeless and
wandering." This is great for getting one lover to move out of
someone's house. It is a sneaky way to break up a happy home without
actually attacking the relationship.
15. A work to separate two people
Materials: a coconut, three black candles, otí, human ashes, coffee

grounds, mercury, precipitado
rojo, three sticks of rompe saraguey, three grains of rock salt,
powdered deer horn, epó, and scorpion oil.
The work: Cut the top off the coconut and write the names of the ones
you want to part on two separate pieces of paper, and put these in the
coconut with the other ingredients. Add the oil. Put the three candles
around the coconut and put to Elegguá, letting them remain lit for
three days. After the third day, the oil gets poured at the front door of
the ones you want to affect, and the coconut itself you leave on the
street corner.
16. Another to destroy a happy house (and the marriage in it)
Take seven well dried pumpkin leaves, with twenty-one grains of guinea
pepper. That dust is thrown in the House that you want to break up.
Pronounce your curse on the marriage when you spread the powder.
17. To break up a marraige
Materials: two eggs, añil, cinnamon, pica-pica, regular chinese pepper,

guinea pepper, pepper from the grocery store.
Work: Paint one egg with añil and the other with cinnamon and put
these at Elegguá's feet. Make a powder with the other ingredients. Put
this to Elegguá for three days. One night after that break one egg at
each entrance to the home with the powder in the center.
18. A lamp to leave your man impotent
Enseres. Una cazuelita, your man's semen, cotton, juice and jest from a
lemon, olive oil, palo amansaguapo in powder, bálsamo tranquilo,
dormidera tierna.
Trabajo: In the pan the name and surname of the person written three
times, nature in cotton, and above the aforementioned ingredients. It
burns three days at the foot of Elegguá, and is then taken to a mass
grave that is open.
1. Ebó for Cleansing:
Three fresh eggs should be purchased, and each of these eggs are
smeared with epó; once done, they are each sprayed individually with
rum and cigar smoke, and put into brown paper bags. Standing before
Elegguá’s shrine, the supplicant rubs his entire body from head to toe
with each bag several times, praying as the does that all the negative
energies he harbors are taken out of him and into these. Finally, they
are put to Elegguá, spraying the Orisha himself with rum and cigar
smoke while again praying for a release from negativity. The bags with
the eggs should be left with him overnight. The next morning, before
any prayers or rituals or done, the supplicant should take the bags with
him on a morning walk. When coming to a crossroads, the bag should
be dropped and crushed underfoot. Once all three eggs have been
destroyed in this manner, the person should walk home by a different
route so the negativity does not return with him. He should then
refresh his home and begin his daily worship. If you want to use other

refresh his home and begin his daily worship. If you want to use other
ingredients in the cleansing, you can add a handful of toasted corn to
each bag, smoked fish, jutía, three guinea peppers, three pennies, red
palm oil, honey, cornmeal, efun – whatever your ashé tells you to add.
It is the egg, however, doing most of the work.
Please note that you can adapt this ebó; use one egg a day for three
days. You can also use more eggs to make it a longer cleansing. Use
seven eggs and discard of them in places with water (pond, lake, mud
puddle, river, ocean, etc.) Use nine eggs and take them to graveyards
and open air markets. Use 21 eggs and take them anywhere over 21
days.
2. Ebó for Money:
Six elements are needed for this ebó: jutía, smoked fish, four pennies,
honey, epó, and uncooked corn meal. Mix generous amounts of the
corn meal, smoked fish, and jutía together; into this smear some epó,
and bind the entire ebó with liberal amounts of honey. Four balls are
formed from this mixture, and into each ball one penny should be
inserted. Put the ebó on a white plate. Standing in front of Elegguá,
invoke him and pray for the abundance needed, telling him why you are
making the request (the reason extra prosperity is needed). Once
done, salute the Orisha and then go outside, placing one ball at each
corner of the house or apartment in which you live. Return to Elegguá
and explain that his adimú has been placed all around your house so
that all within can enjoy his blessings of prosperity.
3. Ebó for Love:
With a pencil, and using brown paper, write the full name of the one
desired, crossed with the name of the one who desires that person.
Fold this tightly and put it inside three palos: llamao, parami, and
vencedor. Using black and red cotton threads (or the colors of your
Elegguá, such as red, black, and white or black and white), wrap all
these things tightly until not even the palos can be seen through the
wrapping. Having prepared this before Elegguá's shrine, put the tightly

wrapping. Having prepared this before Elegguá's shrine, put the tightly
wound package into a glass of rum, honey, and cinnamon, and put that
beside the orisha. Pray to Elegguá, telling him the reason the trabajo
has been done. Ask him to intercede and unite the lovers named inside
the palos.
4. For domination in love:
Materials: Brown paper and pencil, hair and nails from the person you
want (hair from the head, body, pubes, and underarms if you can get
them all), seven colored ribbons, seven different alcoholic drinks (each
in its own shot glass), a lodestone, iron fillings, 7 raw peanuts (still in
shell), a rooster's foot,
Work: Write the name of the person you desire on the brown paper;
put a bit of the personal items inside the paper; fold it and wrap it with
the seven ribbons. Spray the lodestone with the seven different drinks
and let it dry (to feed it); put the paper in a bowl with the lodestone
and cover it all with iron fillings (to feed it). Put the rooster's claw in the
bowl with the lodestone and name paper. Put this at Elegguá's feet
with a red candle and ask him to bring that person to you, drunk in
love. Every day write his or her name on one of the seven peanuts; and
once written, swallow each peanut whole. Swallow one shot glass after
eating the peanut. After seven days, this work gets buried outside your
door (the bowl that you used gets buried as well). Every Friday, pour a
shot glass of liquor over the burial place and pray, "Lodestone, with
your power make it that FULANO DE TAL cannot separate from me, he
must live drunk by my love."
Please note that with a little ingenuity, you can use this to bind two
people together. It can also be adapted for apartment use.
5. To break a House:
Materials: salt, earth from seven ruined houses (burnt, abandoned,

rotted, etc), pica-pica, earth from seven cemeteries, and seven herbs of
Elegguá. Name ashes.

Elegguá. Name ashes.
Work: Create a powder from all these things and leave it wrapped in a
black cloth with Elegguá for seven days. Tell Elegguá what you are doing
and why you are doing it. Every day for seven days, blow a bit of this
powder at the front door of that house. On the seventh day, leave the
remaining powder at the front door.
6. To keep someone out of jail
Materials: a rooster for Elegguá, three pigeons for Ochosi, smoked fish,
jutía, toasted corn, red palm oil, honey, and some leaves of prodigiosa.
Prepare a basic saraeko for Elegguá and put the jícara at Elegguá's feet.
Pray to Elegguá when you offer the saraeko, telling him the reason you
are making this ebó. If the client is there, have him mojuba Elegguá;
and have him plead his innocence or, if he is guilty, plead for help,
leniency, and forgiveness. Give the orishas the animals and rip out the
tongue. The animlas are taken to the forest in a large brown bag with
the mentioned ingredients. The heads of the pigeons remain on
Ochosi’s trident.
On a piece of brown paper write the name of everyone who is against

the client, including the witnesses, judge, and lawyers. On that paper
write the following: Elegguá and Ochosi I ask that you untangle this
mess so Fulano de Tal is acquitted.
Put three sticks inside this paper: amansa guapo, cambia voz, and baya.
Cover the sticks with a few leaves of prodigiosa. Wrap it up and tie it
with black and white threads (do not use any other colors no matter
the road of your Eshu; they need to be black and white). This goes for 3
days at Elegguá's feet. It then goes to the court house. When this
person is acquitted, he owes another rooster to Elegguá and two
pigeons to Ochosi.
7. An all-purpose lamp to make Elegguá work:

a small terra-cotta container; red palm oil; three little drops of axle
grease; the three precipitados (red, yellow, and blue); three guinea
peppers; honey, smoked fish and jutia; three grains of toasted corn,
and fill with cooking oil (olive oil). Every day for three days tell Elegguá
what it is you need him to do while maintaining the lamp. The secret of
this lamp is the axle grease; do not abuse this. It forces him into action.
Please note that in VERY dire situations in which you need fast work
done, you can put just a smudge of axle grease on Elegguá, especially if
he is stubborn and doesn’t seem to want to help. Axle grease puts him
in motion quickly. You can use this in slightly greater amounts on Ogún,
just so you know! Axle grease is the secret ingredient in holocaust
situations in which nothing seems to move or budge Ogún and Elegguá.
No other orisha can take this beyond those two.
8. A prayer to make Elegguá work:
Materials: Corn meal, smoked fish, jutía, red palm oil, 3 guinea peppers,
honey, and herbs, 3 pennies.
The Work: Make three balls with all the ingredients and put them in a
triangle around Elegguá or his stone. The first day pray in earnest for
what it is you want or need; pray like your life depends on it, pray so
hard that you move heaven and earth. We do not count this as the first
day. The first day begins the next day. During those three days, pray for
what you want and immediately remove one ball at a time, putting it in
a bag with three pennies and taking it to a different crossroads each
time. Clean yourself with the bag in front of Elegguá and again at the
crossroads to remove whatever might be blocking you from getting
what you want. By the end of the petition you will be well on your way
to what you want.
9. To scare the enemy:
Materials: powdered red ochre, red precipitado, efun, ashes, powdered

deer horn, dried rooster shit, three guinea peppers, smoked fish, jutia,
powdered human bone, and three grains of toasted corn.

powdered human bone, and three grains of toasted corn.
The Work: Powder everything and blow all around your enemy's home.
10. a simple one to get rid of someone
You need 21 guinea peppers, 21 grains of black pepper, Elegguá’s herbs

from the plate of lavatorio, and salt. Powder the peppers and herbs;
add plenty of salt. Leave at the foot of Elegguá for three days. Pray your
intention to Elegguá and into the powder – to make a specific person
leave your life, your home, your job, your brother, your sister, or
whatever it is you want them to leave. After three days the powder is
ready; blow at your enemy's back until he leaves.
11. To take control of your finances
Go to three different branches of your financial institution and take dirt

from the four corners of the foundation. Leave three pennies at each
corner as a derecho. At each branch, ask for change for a dollar. All of
this goes in a small jícara in front of Elegguá with the following: ashé de
ocha, smoked fish, jutía, efun, honey, rum, dry white wine, red palm oil,
toasted corn, and three guinea peppers. Feed Elegguá a rooster, letting
some of the blood drip in this. Before discarding the animal, take the
prettiest, longest feathers from the rooster. Let what is in the jícara dry
in the sun.
The contents go in the center of a red and black cloth along with some
herbs of lavatorio to flesh it out. Twist the cloth together so there is a
ball with a long tail; tie the tail up with red and black cord, leaving the
pretty feathers standing up in the center. This rests with Elegguá. You
can dominate your financial life with this, and make the bank work in
your favor and not against you. Keep them in the jícara inside the cloth
to give it structure.
Please note that this obra can be adjusted so that you have control and
domination at your job or any other place in which you do business or
have a vested interest. The packages always remain with Elegguá.

have a vested interest. The packages always remain with Elegguá.
12. To dominate and hold someone down so he cannot rise against you.
This is a simple work done with the orisha Elegguá. You need a picture
of the person if you can get it. If not, his name written on brown paper
should suffice. Rub both the picture and Elegguá lightly with red palm
oil. Put this picture beneath Elegguá but inside his tray; put three
guinea peppers in your mouth and chew a bit. Without swallowing,
speak to Elegguá about why he needs to sit on top of this person Finish
by spraying Elegguá with three mouthfuls of rum, making sure the ashé
of the guinea peppers goes from your mouth to him. The name paper
or picture of this person stays with Elegguá as long as you want the
obra to work. This is how you set Elegguá on top of someone.
13. To convince someone to give you what you want
Take the fruit known as caimito and rub it abundantly with red palm oil
and honey. Attach nine pins and needles to a small lodestone, and wrap
around this brown paper with the person's name and personal things
wrapped in it. For nine days light a candle to Elegguá and call the
person to you; as each candle burns out the wax left over goes to the
crossroad. On the morning of the ninth day, you tell the person what
you want (at the caimito) and then take everything to the crossroad.
Then, you tell the actual person what it is you want. They cannot refuse
you. Please note: this work is done with Elegguá but has elements of
egun (9). Make sure during this time to petition egun as well, although
the actual work is done with Elegguá.
14. For Good Luck and Abundance

To enlist Elegguá’s aid in obtaining money, gather the following items: a
red and black plate, one large yellow squash (use pumpkin/calabaza if
in season), three grains of toasted corn, three guinea peppers, three
teaspoons of red palm oil, three teaspoons of honey, three pennies,
three teaspoons of white rum, three eggs, smoked fish, jutía, and olive
oil.
Cut the top off the squash lengthwise, scraping out its contents so

Cut the top off the squash lengthwise, scraping out its contents so
only the rind remains. Put the gutted squash on the plate. Inside
the rind put the toasted corn, guinea peppers, red palm oil, honey,
pennies, white rum, eggs (just the yolk), a pinch of the smoked fish,
and a pinch of the jutía. If pumpkin is in season, clean the seeds
from the pulp and return the seeds to the pumpkin (they represent
coins and money). Carefully, pour the olive oil within a half inch to
an inch of the top. Set a wick in this, praying for abundance while
lighting the lamp.
This remains lit for three days. Discard of the lamp at a crossroads.
15. Another to attract using Elegguá's ashé.
The materials you will need are: an egg, five candles, black fabric, a
calabaza, machine oil (axle or engine grease -- although wagon axle
grease is best if you can get it), five needles, five honey combs, five
dashes of castor oil, five dashes of olive oil, five cotton balls (bollitos),
and guinea pepper.
On a piece of brown paper write the full name of the person you
want to attract; and cross this name with the five needles. While
writing the name and crossing it with the needles, call out to the
person, requesting and demanding that he come to you
immediately. Put this inside the calabaza and inside put the rest of
the ingredients, still calling out for the person to come to you. Put
the lid back on the calabaza and wrap it with the black cloth. This
stays with Elegguá for three days, each day burning one candle that
has been cut into three parts (a total of three long tapers will be
used, but each has been turned into three smaller candles). These
three candles surround the calabaza in a triangle (which is, for all
intents and purposes, a triangle of manifestation. At the end of
three days take the calabaza, still wrapped in black, to the
riverbank and bury the pumpkin there, in the riverbank. Light five
small candles around the place that you bury the calabaza, and call
to the person three times while you do all this. This you do at the
fastest moving river you can find, at its most rapid point.
Working with coconut and Elegguá [done]

Working with coconut and Elegguá [done]
16. To clean a house
Pray to Elegguá with two coconuts. Paint one with efun and one with
añil. Roll them throughout the house with the left foot only. Kick them
outside the front door, and keep kicking them until they are in the
street.
To gain and maintain control of your home or property
Elegguá’s palangana, herbs of lavatorio for Elegguá, red and black cloth,
red and black cord or ribbon. Rooster. Feed. Feed ingredients beside
Elegguá. Let dry and cure in the sun. Tie up in the packet. This stays
with Elegguá forever.
18. For infidelity
Carefully split a coconut into two halves. On a brown piece of paper

write the name of the person who is not loyal to you and add whatever
personal effects you have. Add inside three guinea peppers, red palm
oil, honey, toasted corn, jutía, rum, dry white wine, and smoked fish.
Reunite the two pieces of coconut with thread in the colors of Elegguá
and continue until the entire coconut is covered. Put the well-bound
coconut to Elegguá, and for 21 days in a row ask him to bind that
person to you and your home so he cannot cheat on you anymore.
19. For sickness
Rub a dried coconut with cocoa butter and paint it white with efun. Put
it on a white plate in front of Elegguá. Every day for seven days present
a lit white candle to Elegguá and set it on top of the coconut so it burns
down on the fruit. Do this at the same time every day. After the last
candle is burnt down (and the last petition for the person's health is
made), take the plate and the coconut to the cemetery gates.

20. Against envy
Put a dried coconut on a white plate to Elegguá, and have a white

candle burning beside it for three days. Every day ask Elegguá to clean
the envy that is being directed at you and your house. After three days
take this to a crossroads.
21. For economic growth
Put four large circles of coconut on a white plate with the whites facing
piece. Keep this beside Elegguá with the biggest red or white candle
you can find. At the end of seven days, take everything including the
white plate to the woods.
22. For problems with justice
You need to write the names of prosecuting lawyer, and the judge and
the names of those who are implicating the client. Include the names of
all the witnesses against the client. All this is written on brown paper.
Split a coconut in two and add the paper into this. If you can get any
pictures or personal concerns, even better. Fill with toasted corn,
smoked fish, jutía, 21 guinea peppers, honey, red palm oil, and rum. Put
the coconut back together and wrap it in thread in your Elegguá’s
colors until you cannot see the coconut and it is well-locked. Wrap it
again with just white and black thread until those are the only colors
you can see. Present this to Elegguá for 21 days with a large white
candle and a black candle, and shake it every day asking Elegguá to
confuse the prosecution, judge, and jury and witnesses. This goes to the
woods at the feet of a dead tree, in a hollow if the tree has one. When
the client is found not guilty or the charges are dropped, Elegguá gets 3
roosters.
Elegguá, to attract a person.

To work this obra, you need four eggs.
Leave the four eggs overnight with Elegguá, speaking to him about

Leave the four eggs overnight with Elegguá, speaking to him about
the work for which you are using them. The next evening (before
midnight), take three of the eggs to the street where this person
lives. Break two on each street corner where the client lives, and
break one at the front door where the person lives. If for any
reason you cannot break an egg at the person's front door, break it
at the end of the driveway where he must pass every day. The
fourth egg (after all those things are done) is lifted from Elegguá
and put in a white cup. You put this under your bed. Every night
before bed, pull the egg out and talk to it as if it were that person.
When that person comes back, put the egg to Elegguá. Please note:
there is no safe way to dispose of this last egg. If the egg breaks the
spell is broken. Protect the egg.
Elegguá, another to attract a person.
To do this work you need one, seven leaves of "siempre viva," Elegguá’s
herbs from lavatorio, a rooster, toasted corn, red palm oil, a palangana,
añil, and a bottle.
On the egg make a cross of epó, and then two crosses of añil while
calling out to the person you are trying to attract and speaking to
Elegguá; put these next to Elegguá in his dish. Then take the 7
leaves of siempre viva and crush them while calling to the person.
Take the palangana, and all this you do at the feet of Elegguá, you
pour a bit of water, adding the three eggs, adding the crushed up
leaves along with smoked fish, jutía, honey, rum, cocoa butter, and
red palm oil. Pray to Elegguá while doing this, and perhaps sing for
a bit. Everything is then left in the palangana at Elegguá's feet for
awhile. Later you give a rooster to Elegguá and you take it to the
woods with: toasted corn, smoked fish, jutía, rum, cocoa butter,
and red palm oil. The herbal liquid is put in the bottle and the
person for whom this work was done sprinkles a bit of it at the
front door of his house calling to the person he wants every night
before bed and every morning after waking up. The egg goes in a
white bowl under your bed and you speak to it every night before
sleeping as if it were the person. When the person comes, put the
egg to Elegguá and keep it. Don’t let it break.

egg to Elegguá and keep it. Don’t let it break.
25. A work for marriage
Please note: be sensible with this ebó. You cannot make two total
strangers get married (not unless you are really good at using your
ashé). This is to speed things up a bit when one of the partners is
dragging his or her feet. It works best on those who have been in a
committed relationship for quite some time but for whatever reason
cannot seem to bring themselves to marry.
Materials: two dolls to represent the two individuals to be wed, a box, a

lodestone, Elegguá's omiero, a piece of vine (like that of the calabaza
works best), ribbon that is black and white, water from Oshún, water
infused with orange blossoms, myrrh, cinnamon, and Vaseline.
The work: Do this obra while sitting at the feet of Elegguá. Baptize the
dolls using water from Oshún's sopera, calling and naming each doll
three times while sprinkling them with her water. If you have personal
effects from each person to put inside the dolls or attach to the dolls,
this makes the work stronger. Write the name of the woman on a
length of the ribbon. Wrap this around the male doll while praying to
Elegguá that he make the man think of no one but her passionately, day
and night; and pray to Elegguá that the man have a slight fear of losing
his woman if he doesn't do something to bind her to him. Do this for
the female doll as well. Once you have done this, tie the two dolls
Now you again sprinkle the dolls, tied as they are, with more of Oshún's
water praying to Elegguá that they get married and be forever bound to
each other; and then sprinkle them with the orange blossom water as
well. Now wrap the two dolls entirely with the calabaza vine until it is
just one mass of vine. The lodestone, which should have been soaking
all this time in Elegguá's omiero, is inserted and secured between the
dolls' feet. Show Elegguá the completed work and ask him again for his
blessing; put the two dolls in the box and wrap the box itself well with

26. A binding at the feet of Elegguá
Materials: a petition paper, seven pins, a piece of a t-shirt, corn silk, the
person's hair, and thread in the color of the orisha that represents the
type of love you want.
The work: Write the name of the one you want seven times; turn the
paper 90 degrees and write your name over that person's seven times.
In a circle around that, write a short phrase continually that describes
the type of love you want. Put the paper on the t-shirt and pin the
paper to the shirt with the seven safety pins. Put the person's hair on
this. Roll the paper towards you. Wrap the packet with the red and
yellow threads until that is all you can see, reciting what you wrote in
the circle around your two names continually. This goes to Elegguá for
three days. After that, put it to the orisha that represents the type of
love you want. It stays there as long as you want that love. To break this
spell, discard the paper in the orisha's place in nature.
27. To remove a person from the home
Materials: A terra cotta lamp, tobacco ashes, carbon ashes, all types of
ashes, leaves of hierba mora, three precipitates yellow, red and white,
deep horn powder, sulphur, epó, Scorpion oil [you can make this by
soaking a scorpion in olive oil for 21 days in a dark place -- used for evil
works].
The work: The name and surname of the person, is placed inside the
lamp with ashes, three crushed leaves of hierba mora, precipitates
three, yellow, red and white, powdered deer horn, sulphur, epó and
Scorpion oil, all this is cast within the lamp and the lamp turns on three
days, one speaks with Elegua each day telling him what you want; and
then give three dashes of water to the street naming the person who
you want to leave saying, "so and so, go home, for in three days

wandering." This is great for getting one lover to move out of
someone's house. It is a sneaky way to break up a happy home without
actually attacking the relationship.
Materials: a coconut, three black candles, otí, human ashes, coffee

grounds, mercury, precipitado
rojo, three sticks of rompe saraguey, three grains of rock salt,
powdered deer horn, epó, and scorpion oil.
The work: Cut the top off the coconut and write the names of the ones
you want to part on two separate pieces of paper, and put these in the
coconut with the other ingredients. Add the oil. Put the three candles
around the coconut and put to Elegguá, letting them remain lit for
three days. After the third day, the oil gets poured at the front door of
the ones you want to affect, and the coconut itself you leave on the
street corner.
29. Another to destroy a happy house (and the marriage in it)
Take seven well dried pumpkin leaves, with twenty-one grains of guinea
pepper. That dust is thrown in the House that you want to break up.
Pronounce your curse on the marriage when you spread the powder.
30. To break up a marraige

guinea pepper, pepper from the grocery store.
Work: Paint one egg with añil and the other with cinnamon and put
these at Elegguá's feet. Make a powder with the other ingredients. Put
this to Elegguá for three days. One night after that break one egg at
each entrance to the home with the powder in the center.

Enseres. Una cazuelita, your man's semen, cotton, juice and jest from a
lemon, olive oil, palo amansaguapo in powder, bálsamo tranquilo,
dormidera tierna.
Trabajo: In the pan the name and surname of the person written three
times, nature in cotton, and above the aforementioned ingredients. It
burns three days at the foot of Elegguá, and is then taken to a mass
grave that is open.
32. To destroy a union at Elegguá’s feet
Enseres: Tres huevos de guinea, tres rajitas de jagüey, precipitado,

azogue, aceite de
alacrán, almagre, polvo de caña brava, polvo de pimienta, vasija de
porcelana y una
cazuelita honda.
Trabajo: Se pone el nombre de cada uno en cruz, en cada huevo se

rocía con aguardiente
y humo de tabaco, se pone tres días arriba de Eleguá o al pie. A los tres
días se hace una
pasta con el almagre y todos los ingredientes hasta hacer una pasta
consistente,
entonces se echan los tres huevos dentro de la cazuela y se ponen otros
tres días al pie
de Eleguá, se le enciende tres cabitos de vela. A los tres días se cogen
estos tres huevos
y se rompen uno en cada esquina y el otro en la puerta del individuo, y
pidiendo permiso
se dice que según se rompan esos huevos que así se rompa la unión de
ellos, la pasta se
deja caer en la puerta debajo del conten. Entre por una calle y salga por
la otra.
33.- PARA DESBARATAR UNA CASA

33.- PARA DESBARATAR UNA CASA
Enseres: Sal de siete bodegas distintas, comino de siete bodegas

distintas, carquesa,
Obras y trabajos de santería
palos de coco, picapica, tierra del cementerio, mala cara.
Trabajo: Se liga lo antes mencionado, se hace un polvo y se pone al pie
de Eleguá con el
nombre de la persona, se quema y se une todo, después se reza, A los
tres días se sopla.
To clean your home and get Elegguá's blessings
Put Eleggua in a palangana or terra cotta dish with the trash that has
accumulated in your house for that day (sweep the floors), and then
sacrifice to him three baby chicks (jio-jio). Prepare three packets and in
each put one baby chick, smoked fish, jutía, red palm oil, toasted corn,
rum, honey, and tobacco smoke. Leave this at Elegguá's feet for a few
hours with two white candles lit, and then give obi to Elegguá to
determine three different locations to which the packages must go. This
removes witchcraft and osogbo from your home and leaves behind only
Elegguá's blessings on your house
35. To keep good luck flowing from Elegguá to you
Take the head of a jutía and the head of a red snapper; smoke them
and dry them out well until they are crisp and crumbly. Put these to
Elegguá for three days; and then grind them both into a very fine
powder. Sprinkle a small handful of this powder on Elegguá every
Monday until it is gone; it will keep good luck flowing from Elegguá to
you.
40. Ebó for Luck:
Go directly to the supermarket just before this ebó is done; take

Elegguá with you and in his name, buy four coconuts (while you are
picking them out, pray to him that those chosen are fresh and pleasing.

picking them out, pray to him that those chosen are fresh and pleasing.
For added luck, take him to the market with you). On this shopping
trip, you should buy nothing but those items being used for this ebó.
Go back home with the purchases, and before Elegguá's shrine use
each coconut to cross and bless yourself. Pray to the Orisha for luck
while this is being done. Leave the coconuts with him overnight, and
the next day, take them to either the park or the woods, putting them
around yourself in the form of a cross. With a hammer, break them
clockwise beginning with the coconut in the East. Once all four are
broken, jump over them and go home without looking back. Your luck
will begin to improve.
41. To attract a person:
Go before Elegguá with four eggs, the fresher the better, and speak to
him about the person you wish to bring to you. Leave the eggs with him
overnight. The next morning (or evening if you prefer to work in the
dark) take these four eggs with you to the street where this person
lives. Break one egg at each street corner in front of his house, and
break one egg at the front door of that person. The fourth egg you take
home with you and put under your bed in a white/clear glass. Every
night before going to bed speak to Elegguá about bringing this person
to you. And when the person comes, this egg remains with Elegguá (but
take it out of the glass). Take care that the egg does not break; this
breaks the spell.
Materials: a coconut, two wicks, rum, ashes from the names, a little
coffee grounds, mercury, precipitado rojo, six needles, three sticks of
rompe saraguey, three bits of salt, and some olive oil. 21 guinea pepper
in each half, smoked fish and jutia, slivers of broken glass or pottery in
each half. Smear of red palm oil. A dab of wagon grease.
Work: split the coconut into two rounded halves, write the name of the
two on brown paper and burn; write the name of the two on brown
paper and cover with ashes and burn; write the name of the two on

paper and cover with ashes and burn; write the name of the two on
brown paper and cover with all the ashes and burn, mix the ingredients
and divide between the two coconuts halves and add the oil. Set a
floating wick. The lamp burns for three days at the foot of Elegguá. Ask
Elegguá to assist in their separation. After three days, take the two
coconut lamps to two separate crossroads that are far, far apart.
43. For judgment
Materials: You will need a black chicken or rooster (for Elegguá), a pair
of pigeons (for Ochosi), red palm oil, rum, smoked fish and jutía,
toasted corn, iron fillings, cotton, white and black thread, three white
candles, and a coconut.
Work: First animals is passed to the person concerned, then is given to

orishas, Elegguá chicken and pigeons to Ochosi, puts the chicken
tongue to Elegguá and the rest is sent to the jungle with other
ingredients. Burn one candle a day for three days to the two orishas.
The tongue is allowed to cure into Elegguá; do not clean it off.
44. Lamp at the foot of Elegguá to leave a man impotent
Materials: a small terra cotta pot, the semen (or blood) of the man in
cotton, three drops of lemon oil and some lemon zest, Palo Amansa
guapo, Balsamo Tranquilo, Adormidera Tierna, oil. If you can't get
semen or blood from the man, use any personal effects you can get.
Work: In the small pot put the name of the man written three times on
brown paper. Put his semen or blood (in the cotton) on top of this. Add
the rest of the ingredients and cover with the oil. Burn to Elegguá with
a wick for three days, and later pour the contents at the roots of a dead
tree.
45. SO THAT A PERSON WILL GO HOME

Enseres: Maravilla, clover, sucu sucu, salt, carbon, powdered deer horn,

Enseres: Maravilla, clover, sucu sucu, salt, carbon, powdered deer horn,
picapica, lizard or frog skin.
Trabajo: Takes everything to dust, one prays and has three days to the
foot of Elegua and blown to the person.
46.- To derail your enemy
Enseres: Hojas de hierba mora, rompesaraguey, una cazuela, azogue,

tres
precipitaciones, tres clases de pimientas molidas, azufre en polvo,
aguardiente, polvo de
caña brava, sal en grano molida, amoniaco, tres limones, balsamo de
guatemala, aceite
de alacrán y algodón.
Trabajo: Se coge la hierba las hojas, el rompesaraguey y se hierven, ya

tibio se vierte en
una cazuela. Se escribe el nombre de persona v se quema, se echa en la
cazuela y se le
agrega azogue, los tres precipitados, tres clases de pimientas molidas,
azufre en polvo,
aguardiente, polvo de caña brava, sal en grano molida, tres cucharadas
de amoníaco, el
jugo de tres limones, bálsamo de guatemala, aceite de alacrán y
algodón. Se enciende
tres días al pie de Elegua v después se riega el contenido en la puerta
del enemigo.
47. LAMP TO ATTRACT AT THE FOOT OF ELEGUA.
Materials: a terra cotta bowl or pot, three types of sweet wine, rum,
alamo, and llamao,
Amansaguapo, three precipitado, epó, and three types of oil -- whale
(subsitute fish oil), almond, and cooking.

Work: Write the person's name three times; turn 90 degrees and cross
it with yours. This goes inside the lamp. Ingredients go inside the lamp.
Petition as you light a wick, and while you petition turn the lamp three
times clockwise. Do this every day for three days. When done, this lamp
gets buried at the crossroads nearest your house.
48. To remove a person from your home.
Materials: I don't know what these are but botanicas can provide them:
leaves of maravilla, trebol, and powdered deer horn.
Work: You toast the leaves of marailla and trevol, and you add the
powdered deer horn. Mix this well and make three packets with brown
paper. Pray to Elegguá that he remove this person from your home and
leave the packets with him. Later, give a jio-jio to Elegguá, and remove
the packets. You blow one packet a day for three days at his back, and if
he refuses to leave when you ask him nicely, a tragedy will eventually
take him out of your home. Regardless, when he leaves he will leave
you in peace.
49. A work to marry two people whose marriage is delayed
Material: Two dolls dressed to resemble a marriage with personal

concerns in each, a box, a lodestone, black and red cord, holy water,
orange blossom water, myrhh, cinnamon, benzoin,
Work: The two dolls are dressed with personal concerns and baptized
with a bit of the holy water. "Fulano says come marry me" three times,
knotting the cords each time. "Fulana says come marry me" doing the
same. Then, the two dolls are tied together face to face. Put in box.
Sprinkle with holy water, orange blossom water; fill with myrhh,
cinnaom, and benzoin. Add the lodestone between the two dolls. This
box stays with Elegguá permanently.

Patakis about Elegguá
Thursday, January 12, 2017 9:42 PM

Oché Molúo
In this region was a man named Oché Molúo who presumed his
powers to be greater than any others. “I have nothing to learn from
anyone,” he always said, “for I am the most powerful man in the
world.”
Elegguá heard of this, and decided to trick the man with his own
wiles.
The orisha, in a frazzled appearance, went to the man’s house and

knocked on his door, pretending to be a beggar dying of thirst. A
conversation began, and Elegguá, bothered by the man’s pride, told
him,
“Look, if you take the gourd that is in that palm tree and you say this
that I am going to tell you to say, you will hear the name repeated of
the most powerful man in the world.”
“I already know the answer to this,” the man said, “and I have already
heard of this gourd. I have the medicine prepared already to go and
test it out. If you wait for just a moment, I will get the medicine and
climb the tree to get the gourd.”
The man climbed the tree with Elegguá watching; he grasped the
gourd, cut it open, and put the medicine inside. Then, he asked it,
“who is the most powerful man in the world?”
He was surprised when Elegguá’s voice came from it, “I am the most
powerful in the world.”
How can this be? He asked himself, looking over his shoulder to see
Elegguá still on the ground. Just then, he lost his balance and fell
from the tree; and when he hit the ground, he lost his own life.

The Disobedient Daughter
Once Elegguá wanted to test the fidelity of a daughter towards her

father, a man of good reputation, and she had reservations about her
engagement with a son her father’s friend.
Elegguá, disguised as an elegant man, began to court the girl, and she
was in love from the first visit, and she received him in her apartment.
When the elegant man left her, the young girl promised her fidelity to
him.
This caused her to resist the desires of her father, and she told him that
she was in love with the elegant stranger who had visited her. The father,
because he had no other solution, agreed to the desires of his daughter.
Elegguá returned, but this time, unlike before, he was lame, one-handed,
and stooped. The young girl had no remedy to this, for she had begged
to marry the man, and she did as she had promised to her father. She
married the crippled man.

Orúnmila wants a son
Orúnla and his wife wanted to have a son very badly, so they went to
Obatalá to ask him to help them with their concerns. Obatalá had been
sworn to mold the first human from clay, explained to Orúnla and his
wife that they had to have patience. But the married couple insisted.
Orúnla asked Obatalá to make their child from the figure he was already
sculpting. Obatalá explained to them that they had to put their hands
over the figure for twelve months. The couple thus did as they were told,
and the child came to life. They named his Eshu, and he was born
talking and with a voracious appetite and hunger and he began eating
everything that came into his path.
One morning as was Orúnla’s custom he was consulting his oracle, and
this told him that he had to spend the day with a machete in his hands.
Eshu had already eaten all the animals, plants, and even the stones, and
he penetrated the house of his parents with the intention of eating them
as well. He saw his father with the machete and knew that he meant to
kill him; but Orúnla, no matter how many times he chopped at Eshu,
could not kill him. Each new piece became a new Eshu.
\Finally there were 256 Eshus running crazy though the house, and the
hunger of each was diminished. Realizing that he could not overcome
Orúnla, and no longer wanting to eat him, Eshu said, “All of my parts
are sons for you, and you can consult with me when you desire.” The
wise Orúnla agreed to this, and said, “but you must vomit forth all that
you have eaten in the world.”
Eshu vomited everything that he had eaten in the world, and the things
that he had eaten went back to take their place in the world.

The Birth of Elegguá
There was a king named Okuboro who had a wife named Añakí, and the
king and queen had one son, a prince named Elegguá. One day, while he
was a young teen, Elegguá went to play in the woods. Many times his
parents had warned him against this, but the call of the unknown was too
powerful, and he went to explore. In the woods, he found a coconut that
was glowing with a preternatural light. It had two holes for eyes, and a
hole for a mouth, and Elegguá took this coconut home to show his
parents. His parents showed the glowing coconut to the palace priests,
who agreed that it was a good omen. They set it behind the front door
for luck. Every week, people in the palace attended to the coconut to
make sure it was fresh, clean, and beautiful. The light glowed every day.
Elegguá soon became ill, and he languished in bed for many weeks. No
one could cure him. While he was sick, everyone attended to him, and
no one attended to the coconut. One day, the light in the coconut failed,
and the light in Elegguá’s eyes was lost as well. He died. They buried
him and mourned him. No one again thought of the marvelous coconut.
After Elegguá’s death, the town was besieged by war, poverty, and
sickness. Things became so bad that the king and queen consulted the
town’s diviners. They remembered the coconut. It had been a gift from
Olófin, and the gift was unappreciated. The diviners told the king and
queen that to restore wealth, health, and happiness to their kingdom they
had to attend to the spirit of their dead son, Elegguá. They had to find a
stone in the woods, baptize it in his name, and set it behind the front
door where they would leave offerings for their son every week. They
did as they were told.
The stone glowed with the same brilliance held by the mysterious
coconut, and prosperity soon returned to the kingdom. In time, everyone
came to honor the fallen son, Elegguá, in this way, and all who did so
were blessed.

Olófin's Illness
Olófin fell gravely ill and his son did not know how to cure him; he
was desperate to help his father. He encountered Elegguá, who asked
him the source of his despair. When he told Elegguá about Olófin’s
illness, Elegguá told him that he knew how to cure him, but he would
have to grant him a favor. The son agreed, and took Elegguá to his
father. Elegguá used his secrets to cure Olófin. Olófin and his son
granted Elegguá what he wanted, which was to sit inside the front
door so that everyone would have to salute him before any other.

The Liberation of Elegguá
Elegguá was a big partier, but today he was sad because in Shangó’s
house there was going to be a tambour on Sunday and he was not able to
help with anything because he did not have money. While he was sitting
thinking about his plight, lost in misery, Obatalá passed by and saw his
sadness. He could not help but get involved.
“What is wrong, Elegguá?”
Elegguá told him about Shangó’s party, and how he did not have any
money.
“That’s not important,” said Obatalá. “What is important is that you go

help Shangó, and that you have a good time. Here, let me give you the
money you want. And Monday, you can come pay me back by working
for me.”
As promised, Elegguá went to Obatalá’s house to work on Monday. And

he did so the next week, and the next week. The weeks turned to months,
and the months turned to years, and Obatalá always told Elegguá, “I will
see you next Monday; you need to continue working for me until you
pay off your debt.”
This continued until the day that Obatalá fell ill, and he called on Orúnla
to find out what he had to do to cure his illness.
“The cause of your sickness,” said Orúnla, “is that you have someone
imprisoned in your house.”
“Me?” thought Obatalá for quite some time.
Finally he told Orúnla what happened with Elegguá, and Orúnla

answered that it was Elegguá who was imprisoned in his own house.
Obatalá went to see Elegguá, and gave him the same amount of money
again.
“I want you to go to Shangó’s house,” he told Elegguá, “I think that

“I want you to go to Shangó’s house,” he told Elegguá, “I think that
there is going to be another tambour. You have already paid me back
what you owed me, plus much more with your work. But I am a lonely
man, Elegguá, and all I ask is that you come to see me from time-to-
time.”
That was the real reason Obatalá kept Elegguá coming back to his house
as if he were in debt: Obatalá was lonely. And Elegguá understood, and
he agreed.

General Notes about Ogun
Tuesday, October 11, 2016 2:43 PM
Fa’lokun Fatunmbi gives an interesting story about the orisha Ogun in

his book “Ori.” He says that in the olden days, Ogun served as the
village executioner. One day a messenger of the oba brought Ogun a
man who was accused of stealing the Oba’s dog. Ogun told the
messenger he would only execute someone for telling a lie. The
messenger said the accused denied committing the crime and he saw
him do it. Ogun cut off the head of the messenger, freed the prisoner,
and said, “I was the one who stole the dog.(12)”
Ogún (also spelled Oggun, Ogou or Ogum) is a powerful, fierce warrior

who defends his people and fights against injustice. Ogun has the
intelligence and creativity to invent tools, weapons, and technology. He
is the father of civilization in many ways, for it is by his strength that the
path from orun (heaven) to ayé (earth) was cleared so that humanity
and the orishas could come to earth. It was his tools and labor that
cleared away the wilderness to build cities, homes, and roads. He is the
cutting edge of the knife and as such is often misunderstood. The knife
can be used to kill someone, or to save someone in surgery – such is
Ogun’s nature.
Ogun lives in the wilderness and forested areas of the world. He is

often found hunting with his best friends Eleggua and Ochosi. Ogun can
be a loyal and loving father who works tirelessly at his forge making
new inventions, or he can be a blood thirsty warrior that swings
machetes and decapitates his enemies. He can also be a skilled surgeon
that removes cancer from the body and saves lives. At our church we
honor Ogun for his protective nature, and his ability to spark ingenuity
in our minds.
It is interesting to note that Ogun is such a prominent orisha that the

various levels of his reception mark our initiatory stages in Santeria.
When you receive Ogun with the reception of the Warriors, this marks
you as an aborisha – worshipper of the orishas. He begins to clear your
spiritual path and helps your progress. When you undergo the
ceremony of Kariocha, he goes to the person’s head and marks your
elevation into priesthood. When Ogun’s diloggun are consecrated
(receiving “Caracol de Ogun”) but not fed four legs, this makes Ogun
complete and gives that priest the ability to sacrifice animals with his
hands. This is a major step toward that olorisha being able to complete
ebó on his own. Finally, when an olorisha receives Pinaldo, Ogun is
given a four-legged sacrifice and his diloggun are empowered to speak
fully. Ogun speaks to the initiate in itá (life reading), and the olorisha is
given the authority to use the knife to sacrifice animals. This marks the
olorisha’s elevation into full self-reliance. He is now an autonomous
individual in Santeria and can sacrifice any animal. His orishas have
been reinforced in the ceremony of Pinaldo. Just as Ogun clears the
way, he marks the major milestones in our religious evolution in
Santeria.
Ogun, along with Eleggua, Ochosi and Osun is one of

the orishas received during the reception of The Warriors (Guerreros)
initiation. Every person will receive Ogun if they are to be a priest in
Santeria. Ogun’s shrine is an iron cauldron filled with iron implements,
tools, his otá and diloggún (Diloggun are received at a later time – it is
not typical for any of the orishas received in the Warriors “Guerreros”
to have diloggun at first).
While Ogun did invent the knife, he does not own it. Obatala is the
owner of the knife, but Ogun is the one that made the knife for him.
Ogun’s piercing energy is vital to animal sacrifice and it is he who takes
the life of the animal, not the olorisha. This is reflected in a phrase we
state when performing animal sacrifice, “Ogún shoro shoro, eyebale
kawo”. Translated from Lucumí, this phrase reads “Ogun speaks loudly,
blood sacrifice – observe what the gods have decreed”. Ogun speaking
loudly is the act of violence when anything is killed. It is Ogun that takes
the life of the sacrifice.
Symbols, Numbers, Colors and Attributes of Ogun
A typical eleke for Ogun is made of green and black beads. Lately crystal

A typical eleke for Ogun is made of green and black beads. Lately crystal
green beads have found their way into all elekes for Ogún. This is a
mistake. The use of crystal green beads for Ogún’s eleke is reserved for
those who have pinaldo. It is no more appropriate for olorishas without
that initiation than it is aborishas or aleyos. But current opinion is
against mine, so I leave you with that.
Number: 3 and 7
Sacred Place in Nature: In the wilderness, forests, the train tracks
Colors: Green and black
Tools: Hammer, anvil, machete, hoe, shovel, pick, pike, rake, all tools
Temperament: Hard-working, inventive, brooding, prone to anger
Syncretized Catholic Saint: Saint Peter
Ogun’s Caminos (Avatars or “Roads”)
Ogun was one of the most widely worshipped orishas amongst the
Yoruba people and neighboring tribes. Consequently, he has many
caminos or “roads”. Each road has a slightly different temperament and
is found in a different place in nature. Here is but a sampling of his
caminos.
Ogún Onilé – This path of Ogun establishes himself as the king of new
lands and is a benevolent chief
Ogún Shibirikí (Chibiriquí) – The assassin who creates his own weapons
and is driven by blood lust
Ogún Meji – A dual-natured path of Ogun that is both benevolent and

loving to his children but then violent and merciless against his enemies
Ogún Kobu Kobu – The foreman who drives his workers with a whip

Ogún Kobu Kobu – The foreman who drives his workers with a whip
Ogún Alagbede – The blacksmith who crafts tools and weapons

tirelessly at his forge
Offerings for Ogún
Ogun has a big appetite and will eat almost anything. He enjoys
plantains, smoked fish, jutía, pomegranates, grapes, watermelons,
cigars, rum, gin, bananas, he-goat, rooster, and pigeons. Below are
some recipes for adimús you can prepare for Ogún.
Fried Plantains for Ogún (Tostones)

Ogún loves green plantains and there is no tastier way to prepare them
than to fry them up as tostones. Get yourself three green plantains. Cut
them into 1.5 inch tall cylinders. Pour about half an inch of corn oil into
a skillet and bring it up to medium heat. Once the oil is hot, gently place
the plantains into the corn oil and allow them to fry until they are
lightly brown on all side. Remove the plantains from the oil with a
slotted metal spatula and place them on a piece of brown paper bag.
Fold the brown paper bag over the plantain and squash the plantain
down into the shape of a coin or disk about half an inch in thickness.
Turn up the heat on the oil to high and once the oil has reach the right
temperature return the squashed plantains to the oil. This time fry
them up until they are golden brown. Once they are done remove them
from the oil and allow them to drain on paper towels to remove any
excess oil. Salt the tostones to taste. Place the tostones on a plate and
put a dab of palm oil on the top of each of the tostones. Place a woven
mat (estera) on the ground, place Ogún’s cauldron on the mat, and
place the plate of tostones next to him as an offering. Leave the
offering in place as determined by divination. When the right time to
remove the offering has come, dispose of the offering either in the
wilderness or near a train track as determined through divination.
Rum-Soaked Watermelon for Ogún

Here is a great adimú for Ogún and it’s easy for those of you that have
trouble cooking. Get a large watermelon with seeds. Cut it open and

shop the red flesh into 1.5 inch cubes. Place these in a large bowl.
Drizzle a generous amount of rum over the watermelon and give them
a good toss so that all of the pieces are covered with rum. Allow the
watermelon to sit for about 15 minutes then add a bit more rum and
give it another good toss. Pick up the pieces of watermelon with a
slotted spoon and place them in a serving dish. To present this to Ogun,
place him on a woven grass mat (estera) on the ground and place the
bowl of drunk watermelon next to him. It’s a great way to cool and
placate Ogún and gain his favor. Remove the adimú when divination
indicated to remove it and dispose of the watermelon either in the
wilderness or near a train track as dictated through divination
Ògún is considered as the artist that gives the final touch to Obàtálá’s
creations. His the one that oversees all the circumcisions, tribal marks,
tattoos and any surgery that is necessary to maintain health. His also
the protects orphans presides over oaths, alliances and pacts. He
demands justice, fairness and honesty in the things of everyday life.
Ògún is one of the oldest deities, since he was the oldest and the head
chief among the gods in heaven. He did not have the ability to
disappear.
Ògún uses red rooster feathers as part of his royal insignia, he is

traditionally greeted as Ògún Yee. According to the Yoruba beliefs, he is
the deity of iron, wars and the pre-eminently the head of the hunters,
warriors, goldsmiths, barbers, butchers and (in modern times)
mechanics, truck drivers, rental car and indeed all the ones that work
with iron and steel.
No Yoruba hunter undertakes a hunting expedition without paying due

consideration to Ògún, no soldier goes to war without offering the
proper sacrifice to the deity, no truck driver is considered safe until he
has made the offer to Ògún and no smith or forger feels comfortable
without paying homage to Ògún. All these iron and steel workers
expect Ògún‘s protection against accidents and to help them in their
work. Ògún is believed to have a machete to clear the way and open

work. Ògún is believed to have a machete to clear the way and open
the door to wealth, health and prosperity.
If he is abandoned he can cause horrible accidents and bloody battles.

To avoid such disasters, the Yoruba make offerings to appease Ògún,
thus, Ògún is seen as a symbol of superior conqueror Ògún is also
believed to represent the absolute justice as he is called to witness a
pact or agreement between two people or groups of people. Currently,
when a Yoruba practice the traditional religion and is moved to the
Justice Court he is asked to swear on Ògún (represented by a piece of
iron). This is done by kissing a piece of iron while he declares that he
will "tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth."
The Yoruba believe very strongly that anyone who swears falsely or
violates a treaty to which Ògún is witness to, cannot escape the severe
trial which usually results in horrible accidents.
Ògún sanctuaries are usually found outside, at the foot of one of this
sacred trees such as Kperegún, Akoko, Atori and Iyeye or next to a wall
in a smithy. They also say that the image of him is represented by a
partially planted cotton tree, which a stone is placed under, where
poured palm oil and animal blood as a sacrifice.
Because Ògún is associated with cleaning the road or removing

barriers, the Yoruba have the belief that when a path is not clear or
where there are difficulties, it must appeal to Ògún to help smooth the
way just as he did for the gods in the beginning.
The odù Òyèkú Òwónrín did divination to Ògún when he wanted his
seven children to come to earth, he was told to offer seven cocks,
seven kola nuts and a goat to Èsú. He made this sacrifice and that is
why he never got sick. In different stories of the Ifá literary Ògún and
Death (Iku) are strongly associated.
The palm leaves are used to highlight and enshrine the entrances to the
sanctuary and it is said that these are the clothes of Ògún. It is possible
to note that in the absence of Obàtálá he is named as president of the

to note that in the absence of Obàtálá he is named as president of the
Divine by Olódùmarè. Ògún is the one who assumes the presidency of
this assembly for being the oldest and greatest deity.
Ògún helps human beings through the difficulties of life. In our tradition
Ògún is represented by iron pot with seven iron tools and an anvil. In
the same pot with Ògún lives another Òrisà called Òsóòsì, which is
represented by an arrow.
The Pot: Contains all the equipment that we need to develop our
character in this world, Ògún gives us the tools to survive under any
circumstances, no matter how difficult it is.
The Anvil: Represents the formation of our character and our human
and personal qualities that comes from the act of living and surviving,
life forms us to achieve a higher level of consciousness. Ògún does not
let us fail, he strengthens us to reach the maximum.
The Hammer: Represents the formation of the spirit over the

challenges of life, whether they are strong or soft, we carry traces of
our experience and we built our character.
The spade: Represents to find what is hidden from you. The treasures
of the world or gifts that are deep down in us. With the spade we
search and find success in life. We use the spade to mixture things and
create new qualities in us that gives a new force in our lives.
The Pickaxe: Represents the addiction break, break barriers, break all
the chains of mind and real life. You are born to be free and a free mind
can live in freedom. Ògún is not afraid and can provide value for you,
for you to find a better life.
The machete: Represents the opening. To open roads in the forest and
help to bring the civilization. The machete also opens the mind and
gives freedom when one is tied up in trouble and sees no solution, the
machete speaks of victory.

The hoe: Represents the ability to be productive even start with an
idea, planted as a seed to enjoy work and after harvest, the land yields
after much effort.
The rake: Represents the order among the disorder, with the lines
drawn in the earth, we direct the water, energy and strength so that we
can move forward. Also removes the stones of the road to successfully
achieving our destiny.
The Spear: Helps us to lift things that are heavier and bigger than us.
Ògún defending victims of injustice, Ògún gives us a fast justice and
help us when there are many enemies against one, he also teaches us
to be brave and not give up.
Òsóòsì: The arrow Òsóòsì is always ready to shoot. Represents the

hunter that can fire at any time on your hunt. Òsóòsì and Ògún always
work together, they say that even thought Ògún had his machete and
was very strong, he always failed to reach his prey and on the other
hand Òsóòsì was not able to shoot his pray because of such forest but
when they joined an indomitable force was formed.
_____________________________
Eddy Gutierrez, Ikú Dayo, ibae, was one of my best students and
probably one of the best diviners I've trained to date. For his website,
Santeria Church of the Orishas, he wrote the following essay. It contains
live links back to his website for information on related topics. This is an
excellent essay. Ócháni Lele. January 12, 2017.
Ogún (also spelled Oggun, Ogou or Ogum) is a powerful, fierce warrior

who defends his people and fights against injustice. Ogun has the
intelligence and creativity to invent tools, weapons, and technology. He
is the father of civilization in many ways, for it is by his strength that the
path from orun (heaven) to ayé (earth) was cleared so that humanity
and the orishas could come to earth. It was his tools and labor that
cleared away the wilderness to build cities, homes, and roads. He is the

can be used to kill someone, or to save someone in surgery – such is
Ogun’s nature.
Ogun lives in the wilderness and forested areas of the world. He is

often found hunting with his best friends Eleggua and Ochosi. Ogun can
be a loyal and loving father who works tirelessly at his forge making
new inventions, or he can be a blood thirsty warrior that swings
machetes and decapitates his enemies. He can also be a skilled surgeon
that removes cancer from the body and saves lives. At our church we
honor Ogun for his protective nature, and his ability to spark ingenuity
in our minds.
It is interesting to note that Ogun is such a prominent orisha that the

various levels of his reception mark our initiatory stages in Santeria.
When you receive Ogun with the reception of the Warriors, this marks
you as an aborisha – worshipper of the orishas. He begins to clear your
ceremony of Kariocha, he goes to the person’s head and marks your
elevation into priesthood. When Ogun’s diloggun are consecrated
(receiving “Caracol de Ogun”) but not fed four legs, this makes Ogun
complete and gives that priest the ability to sacrifice animals with his
hands. This is a major step toward that olorisha being able to complete
ebó on his own. Finally, when an olorisha receives Pinaldo, Ogun is
given a four-legged sacrifice and his diloggun are empowered to speak
fully. Ogun speaks to the initiate in itá (life reading), and the olorisha is
given the authority to use the knife to sacrifice animals. This marks the
olorisha’s elevation into full self-reliance. He is now an autonomous
individual in Santeria and can sacrifice any animal. His orishas have
been reinforced in the ceremony of Pinaldo. Just as Ogun clears the
way, he marks the major milestones in our religious evolution in
Santeria.
Ogun, along with Eleggua, Ochosi and Osun is one of

the orishas received during the reception of The Warriors (Guerreros)
ininitiation. Every person will receive Ogun if they are to be a priest in

tools, his otá and diloggún (Diloggun are received at a later time – it is
not typical for any of the orishas received in the Warriors “Guerreros”
to have diloggun at first).
While Ogun did invent the knife, he does not own it. Obatala is the
owner of the knife, but Ogun is the one that made the knife for him.
Ogun’s piercing energy is vital to animal sacrifice and it is he who takes
the life of the animal, not the olorisha. This is reflected in a phrase we
state when performing animal sacrifice, “Ogún shoro shoro, eyebale
kawo”. Translated from Lucumí, this phrase reads “Ogun speaks loudly,
blood sacrifice – observe what the gods have decreed”. Ogun speaking
loudly is the act of violence when anything is killed. It is Ogun that takes
the life of the sacrifice.
Symbols, Numbers, Colors and Attributes of Ogun
A typical eleke for Ogun is made of green and black beads
Number: 3 and 7
Sacred Place in Nature: In the wilderness, forests, the train tracks
Colors: Green and black

Temperament: Hard-working, inventive, brooding, prone to anger
Syncretized Catholic Saint: Saint Peter

Offerings for Ogún
Ogun has a big appetite and will eat almost anything. He enjoys
plantains, smoked fish, jutía, pomegranates, grapes, watermelons,
cigars, rum, gin, bananas, he-goat, rooster, and pigeons. Below are
some recipes for addimús you can prepare for Ogún.
Fried Plantains for Ogún (Tostones)
Ogún loves green plantains and there is no tastier way to prepare them
than to fry them up as tostones. Get yourself three green plantains. Cut
them into 1.5 inch tall cylinders. Pour about half an inch of corn oil into
a skillet and bring it up to medium heat. Once the oil is hot, gently place
the plantains into the corn oil and allow them to fry until they are
lightly brown on all side. Remove the plantains from the oil with a
slotted metal spatula and place them on a piece of brown paper bag.
Fold the brown paper bag over the plantain and squash the plantain
down into the shape of a coin or disk about half an inch in thickness.
Turn up the heat on the oil to high and once the oil has reach the right
temperature return the squashed plantains to the oil. This time fry
them up until they are golden brown. Once they are done remove them
from the oil and allow them to drain on paper towels to remove any
excess oil. Salt the tostones to taste. Place the tostones on a plate and
put a dab of palm oil on the top of each of the tostones. Place a woven
mat (estera) on the ground, place Ogún’s cauldron on the mat, and
place the plate of tostones next to him as an offering. Leave the
offering in place as determined by divination. When the right time to
remove the offering has come, dispose of the offering either in the
wilderness or near a train track as determined through divination.

Here is a great addimú for Ogún and it’s easy for those of you that have
shop the red flesh into 1.5 inch cubes. Place these in a large bowl.
Drizzle a generous amount of rum over the watermelon and give them
a good toss so that all of the pieces are covered with rum. Allow the
watermelon to sit for about 15 minutes then add a bit more rum and
give it another good toss. Pick up the pieces of watermelon with a
slotted spoon and place them in a serving dish. To present this to Ogun,
place him on a woven grass mat (estera) on the ground and place the
bowl of drunk watermelon next to him. It’s a great way to cool and
placate Ogún and gain his favor. Remove the addimu when divination
indicated to remove it and dispose of the watermelon either in the
wilderness or near a train track as dictated through divination

Recipes for Ogun
The best way to Ogun's heart is through his stomach. Here are a few
recipes for Ogun, and a short list of fruits that he likes. A few obras will
follow. -----> Stuart
Eko for Ogún
Eko can take the form of a cornmeal tamale or hominy tamale (hominy
not traditional but often used). You need one pound of hominy, 6 cups of
water, and 1/4 cup of lard. Soak the hominy overnight and cook early in
the morning until soft. Grind it up in a mixer until it's a paste. Roast
banana leaves on stove top and cut into rectangles 6X6 or smaller.
Lightly grease the leaf with oil (you can use lard or epó) and in the
center add two spoonfuls of the mixture. Fold the leaf like a pillow and
tie. Slip into boiling water for 30 minutes. Please note: for the corn meal
tamale, you cook the corn meal without soaking, just as you would for
amalá.
Should you like to turn this into a hominy fritter for Ogun (which would
be a suitable ebó for Ogun as well), use the following recipe. It is
delicious and can be shared with him.
1 cup whole-wheat flour, 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon baking

powder, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 2 eggs, well-beaten, 2/3
cup milk, 1 cup rinsed and drained hominy vegetable oil for frying, and
Honey for serving.
Combine the flours, baking powder, sugar and salt in a medium bowl.
Stir in the eggs and milk just until ingredients are mixed. Stir in the
hominy to blend evenly. Batter will be lumpy. Take care not to over stir,
or the fritters will be tough. Heat about 2 inches of oil to 365 degrees in
a large, heavy saucepan. Spoon a scant 2 tablespoons of fritter batter into
the hot oil, cooking no more than 3 fritters at a time. Fry about 2 minutes
on each side. Skim and remove any crumbs after each batch. Serve hot
on each side. Skim and remove any crumbs after each batch. Serve hot
with honey or syrup.
Ekrú for Ogun
Use 8 ounces of dried black-eyed peas and 8 large plantain leaves. Wash
and rinse the peas so all agricultural waste is removed (dirt and small
stones). Put these in a large pot filled with water and let them soak
overnight. Drain and mash the peas, leaving skins on. You will be left
with a thick paste. If draining the peas takes away too much moisture to
create a paste, add water while mashing but only a few drops at a time.
You want a thick paste, not a watery paste.
Wash the plantain leaves and spread them flat. Put equal amounts of the
paste on the center of each leaf and fold into a packet. Tie it with twine.
Bring a pan of water to a boil, and slip the leaves into the boiling water.
Boil for half an hour. Drain; untie; serve. Please note that this makes 8
servings.
Ìsu (Ichu) for Ogun
This is a delicious variation of Isu that consists of fried balls, not raw.
You need 2 medium sized white yams (and if you live in a place where
they are not available year-round, it is acceptable to use white potatoes
when yams are out of season), 2 egg whites, 4 teaspoons black pepper, 2
teaspoons poultry seasoning (I love adobo), and one cup lard.
Peel, boil, and mash the yam (potato). Mix the ingredients into it and
whip. Heat up the lard and drop the mixture in the hot oil one spoonful
at a time. Brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels and serve.
Fried Boiled Yam for Ogun
1 large white yam

1 large white yam
2 tablespoons of red palm oil or lard
1/2 cup molasses
peel yam
boil for 20 minutes(should be firm not mushy)
Pour off water and allow yam to drain and cool
slice yam
in a skillet melt the palm oil or the lard which ever you have available
fry yam slices until brown on both sides.
top with molasses salt and pepper serve hot.
Akará:
Shelled black eye peas* should be left sitting in water overnight for
shelling. Mix shelled peas in blender with garlic, onion, bell pepper,
baking powder, flour, salt and pepper. The consistency should be the
same as pancake flour. Scoop a tablespoon of your mix in hot oil, the
fritter will expand and cook quickly, cook until golden brown. Some
people like to serve these to Oshun topped with honey.
Ekó
1 # yellow hominy
6 c water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Banana leaves toasted
soak hominy overnight cook on low heat till hominy is soft grind in food
processor till it is a paste

cut toasted banana leaves in pieces 8" long by 6" wide add 3 spoonfuls
of mixture into leaf . wrap leaving a small opening at top so the meal
cools they should now look like a pillow
Brown Coconut Sweets

Brown coconut sweets are an adimú used for Elegguá, Ogún, Ochosi,
Érínlè, Orishaokó, Babaluaiye, Oyá, Oshún, Oba, Yewá, Nana Burukú,
Yemayá, and Shangó. To make them, one needs the following
ingredients: 3 cups of light brown or brown sugar, ¼ teaspoon of salt, 1
cup of evaporated milk, 1 cinnamon stick, 2 tablespoons of butter, two
teaspoons of vanilla, ½ teaspoon cream of tartar, and 2/3 cup of freshly
shredded coconut.
In a mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar, salt, and evaporated
milk. Add the cinnamon stick. Heat over low heat until the sugar and
cinnamon dissolve. Increase heat slightly and stir until the mixture is
smooth. Remove the mixture from the heat, adding the butter, vanilla,
and cream of tartar. Let the mixture cool.
When the mixture is cool and thick, beat it until it is smooth and
creamy. Mix in the coconut. There are two ways to finish the coconut
sweets. Either drop, like cookies, onto wax paper and chill; or spread the
mixture in a buttered pan, and chill. If the coconut sweets are chilled in a
pan, cut into even squares and serve.
Isoguí for Ogún
Ogún: coconut, common banana [ogedé (Musa paradisiaca, var.

normalis, L.)], green coconut, chili pepper [atá (Capsicum fructescens,
L.)], watermelon, pineapple [egboibo], sugar cane [ireké], “burro”
plantain [ogedé], pomegranate.
If you ever need to heat Ogun up and make him act . . . like REALLY
act . . . off him three chili peppers. He loves them, and the spiritual heat
of the pepper makes him more active than a six year old on sugar and
Red Bull.
Not that we should give children Red Bull . . . I'm just making an
Not that we should give children Red Bull . . . I'm just making an
analogy . . .

Obras for the Orisha, Ogún
For a cleansing so no harm comes to the client
Use a piece of meat that has been rubbed with red palm oil. Have a piece of brown paper with a knife
sitting in front of Ogún, and on the paper should be 7 pennies. Clean the person at the entrance to your
home, over Ogún's cauldron; after cleaning the person drop the meat on the brown paper and stab the
meat seven times. Wrap it in the brown paper, and have the client leave with it. He takes it to the
railroad line.
Lamp to Ogún for Luck
In an iron container put: iron fillings, powdered bull horn, honey, rum, red palm oil, three small pieces of
alum, smoked fish and jutía, and cooking oil. Set a wick, burning this for seven days to Ogún.
Quick ebó to draw good things.
Wash a lodestone in Ogún's omiero and spray it with rum and cigar smoke. Put it in a small iron pot.
Pray to Ogún for the good things you need in life while sprinkling this with iron fillings.
To destroy an enemy
After midnight, write the enemy's name on brown paper three times. Smear with epo and add 3 guinea
peppers. Add personal concerns on top of paper, and spray with rum. Wind this around a spike, and
again wind this with green and black thread until the entire spike is cocooned. Put this to Ogun. Chew
three guinea pepper while telling him why this person needs to be destroyed, and then spray him with
rum 3 times (the guinea pepper will wash out of your mouth with the spray).
Before Surgery:
Before going to surgery, purchase a new, unused knife. This should be wrapped in goat skin and put
before Ogún on a green cloth. The following herbs should be sprinkled over the knife: adormidera,
salvadera, and abre camino. Purchase three small bottles of rum, and put this around the offering in the
shape of a triangle. Light two white, seven day candles to Ogún, and every day until they burn out, pray
for the one about to have surgery. Once the candles are consumed, wrap the ebó in the cloth and take
it to the woods. Under a bush, leave this package, and spray it with the three bottles of rum.
When someone has threatened your life
Draw Ogún’s òsùn on the floor and cover this with his herbs. Put Ogún on top of this. [aborishas may do
this without the osun and without the sacrifice that follows]
Feed Elegguá his chicken.
Take a piece of beef that is raw and bloody and put this on top of Ogún. Pray to Ogún, and sing at least
three songs to him to get him fired up. While the bloody piece of beef is on top of him, spray him with

rum and tell him about the person who has threatened your life, with either words or sorcery. It does
not matter. Push the bloody beef deep down inside his cauldron.
Feed Ogún a black rooster. When all is done, do not clean him, not until the next morning. You should
clean Elegguá. The next morning, the feathers and the meat all go into a brown paper bag, and you take
this somewhere that many, many cars will run over it in the course of a day. The only life that will be in
danger is the person who threatened yours.
To Destroy:
This obra can be done with any orisha who takes red palm oil, but it works really well with Ogún. Take a
boniato and cut a slit in it. On bodega paper, write the full name of the person you want to destroy. Rub
the paper with red palm oil and put a number of guinea peppers equal to the orisha’s number on the
name. Fold it in half and push it inside the boniato. Oil the root and wrap it in black cloth. Light a black
candle to the orisha and ask him or her to drain the life force (the ashé) out of the person whose name
is inside the boniato. Leave the root with the orisha the number of days equal to the orisha’s number,
and then bury the boniato in the earth. It will try to grow; it will suck strength from the person whose
name is inside. But it will not be able to grow because it is wrapped tightly in black cloth, and it will
begin to rot instead. As it tries to grow and rots, the victim will be met with all types of maladies. Please
note: there is no true reversal for this work. Make sure you really want to hurt the person before you do
this.
So that a godchild can never rise above you and hurt you
Whenever we give godchildren orishas, we are giving them a vast sea of ashé; and there are times that a
godchild, especially if they are opportunistic or unbalanced, might use what we give them against us.
There are many checks and balances in the religion to help us stay safe against a godchild that might
want to hurt us, and this work begins with the reception of their Ogún. It is customary to put in Ogún’s
cauldron, along with the ota and tools of Ogún, four railroad spikes and four horseshoes; however,
when the godchild receives his Ogún he has only three of each. Why? Because even though there is only
one ota there for Ogún, Ogún is still Ogún. The godparent removes one railroad spike and one
horseshoe from his godchild’s Ogún, and he puts these in his own orisha. It removes just a bit of ashé
from his or her Ogún and puts it into the godparent’s Ogún, and this ensures that the godparent’s Ogún
will always remain one step above the godchild.
Other orishas, such as Olokun and water orishas: after Olokun is washed and fed; and after the awan is
done, before rogating the godchild’s head and giving him or her that orisha, remove several of the
orisha’s shells, the carga. Distribute these shells among your own water orishas. At least one or two
should go in your Olokun; and the others can go into orishas such as Abata, or any water orisha who
uses shells in its carga. We do this because Olokun is the source of all water on the planet, and Olokun
has vast amounts of ashé at his disposal. We take away, symbolically, just a little bit of that ashé so the
godchild’s ashé always remains just a little bit less than ours, and we redistribute it among our own
orishas. This is an old custom that is being lost, but we need to do it, especially since people are basically
ungrateful and opportunistic. By doing this, their ocean can never rise against ours; they can never raise
their hands against us and hope to win.
When someone has threatened your life
Draw Ogún’s òsùn on the floor and cover this with his herbs. Put Ogún on top of this.
Feed Elegguá his chicken.

rum and tell him about the person who has threatened your life, with either words or sorcery. It does
not matter. Push the bloody beef deep down inside his cauldron.
Feed Ogún a black rooster. When all is done, do not clean him, not until the next morning. You should
clean Elegguá. The next morning, the feathers and the meat all go into a brown paper bag, and you take
this somewhere that many, many cars will run over it in the course of a day. The only life that will be in
danger is the person who threatened yours
Lamp to Ogún for Luck
In an iron container put: iron fillings, powdered bull horn, honey, rum, red palm oil, three small pieces of
alum, smoked fish and jutía, and cooking oil. Set a wick, burning this for seven days to Ogún.
To avoid tragedy in the world

A piece of meat, seven eggs, all this is put on a white platter and add palm oil, honey, molasses, smoked
fish and jutía, toasted corn and a splash of run put it on top of Ogun with a green and black candle lit, for
a few hours. Cleaned with all this to the foot of Ogun naked and when the afore-mentioned in the
clothes that are removed wrap and carry to the forest.
To Prevent Car Accidents:

A pound of ground beef is mixed with epó and rum; it is then sprayed liberally with cigar smoke. The
mixture is divided into six equal parts and put into six separate brown paper bags. The ebó should then
be taken to the railroad tracks, and there, one bag is used each to rub the following parts of the car:
each tire, the front fender, and the back fender. As a bag is used, it is thrown to Ogún at the railroad
tracks. The client should pray the entire time that the Orisha saves him and his riders from accidents.
To destroy/maim/kill and enemy.

You take Ogún to the cemetery after midnight, and there you empty out his cauldron. With a knife you
carve the name of your enemy in the bottom of Ogún's pot, and on top of this a paper with the name as
well. If there is more than one enemy, you put all of them on the brown paper. You put cemetery dirt on
top of this. Then with charcoal you light it in the pot. Then you refill the pot with everything. Telling
Ogún, "Papa, you have that there as long as you want it, because [Fulano de Tal] says you cannot come
around him because you are not powerful at all." This will make Ogún destroy your enemy. If you ever
clean your pot, save the dirt and ashes from the bottom because you can do works of destruction. The
paper should burn from the heat; but the main enemy will always be under Ogún.
A work with Ogun and a nail to defeat an enemy
Take a used horseshoe nail and spread epó, run, and tobacco smoke on it. Go to Ogún with it and
mojuba. Say, "Ogún Here I give you my enemy that wants to destroy me, and I ask you, invincible
warrior, that you defend me.” Blow smoke and rum over both; light a candle. Every day for 7 days light a
new candle and speak with Ogún; blow rum and cigar. Take the nail to the woods and find a thicket. Call
the enemy's name seven times. Say, "I bury this nail in the earth, and as I do your own funeral will still
follow." Hammer the nail deep in the earth. If in the roots of a hollow tree, even better. You are done.
Adimú for Ogún
Use three or seven coconuts painted with red camwood. Put coconuts in front of Ogun or behind the
door of the home on a white plate, and set it on two green and black candles. Clean yourselfd with a
coconut daily until you get to the last. Take the coconuts at the foot of a Ceiba or in the forest
To Find a New Job:

To Find a New Job:
The following items are needed for this ebó: a small clay dish, a key, rum, epó, honey, iron fillings,
seven magnets, a green seven day candle, and a small green bag. The key (which symbolizes
doors opening; Ogún owns the key) is smeared liberally with epó, and then is put into the clay dish
and covered with honey and rum. Around this is put a circle of iron fillings, surrounded by the
seven magnets (lodestones are best for this). The green candle is lit to Ogún, and the Orisha is
petitioned to help the client find a new, better place of employment. Once the candle has burned
out, the key is rinsed liberally with rum and anointed with epó once more; the seven magnets are
put with the key into the green cloth bag. This is carried with the client when he goes looking for
work.
To Protect a Person from Enemies:

This ebó is done to Ogún to render enemies harmless, but unharmed. For the trabajo, the
following items are needed: small calabaza, a piece of brown paper, a lead pencil, honey, rum,
epó, seven guinea peppers, seven sticks of the palo known as amanza guapo, a thin chain, seven
pennies, green and black thread, and a green seven day candle. A hole is cut in the top of the
calabaza, and the fruit is hollowed out. Inside this one puts the brown piece of paper with the
enemy’s name written on it. Into the calabaza, and on top of this paper, goes the honey, the rum,
the epó, and the guinea peppers. The 7 sticks of amanza guapo are then sharpened, and are used
to spike the calabaza shut. The entire thing is then wrapped tightly with the green and black
threads while praying to Ogun that he subdues the person=s enemies. The thin chain is wrapped
around this, and the ebó is put under a bush in the woods with the seven pennies as Ogún’s
derecho. Once done, the client returns home and lights the green candle to Ogún, asking him
again to subdue the enemy.
This one is done for Ogun when one is having problems with people talking causing bad vibes or envy.
People that are jealous. You need a nail from a railroad track. Black thread green thread palm oil and
firewater. You write the names of all involved with the problem. Place the palm oil on the nail. Place
the names on the tip of nail with epó. Blow rum over the nail. Tie the nail with the threads, and then
bury at the railroad tracks. Leave 7 cents as a derecho for the ebó, and blow firewater over the tracks.

General Notes about Ochosi
Ochosi is the son of Yemayá, and Érínlè is his brother. He is the patron of those who have problems with
justice; he is magician, warrior, archer, and fisherman (until Olófin separated he hunting grounds
between he and his brother, Érínlè), and he is the best of the archers. Always, he walks with Ogún. His
ritual number is three, and he speaks in the diloggún in the odu Ejioko. His days are Monday,
Wednesday, and the fourth of each month.
Symbols, Numbers, Colors and Attributes of Ochosi
Ritual Numbers: 3 and 7
Sacred Place in Nature: In the wilderness, forests, jails, courthouses
Colors: Blue and gold (given by Yemayá and Oshún) amber
Tools: Crossbow, arrows, shields, spears, hunting tools
Temperament: Focused, diligent, stealthy, just
Syncretized Catholic Saint: Saint Norbert
Offerings for Ochosi: Ochosi has a huge appetite for all kinds of hunted game animals or fowl. He enjoys
pears, grapes, plantains, smoked fish, jutía, pomegranates, anisette and bananas. His animal sacrifices
include he-goat, rooster, pheasant, quails, deer and pigeons.
Animals that he eats: Goat, deer, rooster, chicke, pigeon, quail, all game birds, guinea hen.
These are some of his main herbs: Helecho hembra, embeleso, guama, caña santa, pata de gallina,
hierba de sangre mora, pegojo, huevo de gallo, adormidera, siempre viva, anamú, albahaca morada,
palo manajú, ébano, apasote, peonía, peregun, atiponlá, hierba fina, verdolaga, muralla, guayaba,
aguacate, almendra, ceiba, álamo, piñón de botija, frescura, mastruezo, algarrobo, almácigo, granada,
galán de noche, higuereta, ciruela, pendejera y maravilla
Syncretization: Se sincretiza con San Norberto y San Alberto y en Santiago de cuba con Santiago
Arcángel y San Humberto.
Offerings: tropical fruits [white grapes, coconuts, and green pears], ñame, toasted corn, smoked fish,
jutía, bean fritters, boiled ears of corn, honey, and molasses.
His attributes: Everything related to, hunting and fishing, tools used to hunt deer and trophy hunting,
two or three dogs, a mirror, hooves from deer, hooks, bow and arrows, three Spears, a Trident, wives, a
lock with its key, two or three twisted bracelets, an iruke with cowries, deer antler, and his metals are
iron, nickel, lead and bronze steel.
Roasted Sweet Potato Fries for Ochosi [From Eddy Gutierrez, Ikú Dayo, Ibae]
Sweet potatoes are a great adimú for Ochosi. For this recipe buy three medium sizes sweet potatoes.
Preheat the oven to 450°F. Peel the potatoes, cut the ends off, then cut them into wedge shapes (the
size of dinner fries). Place these in a large bowl and season them with salt, a pinch of sugar, palm oil and

size of dinner fries). Place these in a large bowl and season them with salt, a pinch of sugar, palm oil and
paprika. Toss them with your hands to make sure they are lightly coated with the oil and seasonings.
Spread the sweet potato wedges out on a cookie sheet in a single layer. Bake them in the oven for 25 to
30 minutes, turning them over half way through the cooking time. Remove them from the oven and
allow them to cook. Place them in a large bowl and present them to Ochosi as an addimú offering.
Remove them after the appropriate amount of time and dispose of them in nature as determined
through divination.
Anisette and Cigar for Ochosi [From Eddy Gutierrez, Ikú Dayo, ibae]
This is a very simple adimú that you can give Ochosi on a regular basis. Select a dry anisette (not the
sweet kind) and a nice cigar. Start by taking a small mouthful of the anisette and spraying it from your
lips all over his shrine. Light the cigar and make sure it has a good burning ember on the end. Turn the
cigar around and carefully place it inside your mouth taking care to keep your tongue away from it so
you don’t burn yourself. Exhale through your mouth and out the cigar to blow smoke all over and inside
Ochosi’s vessel. Place the cigar on a fire-proof dish beside his shrine. This is a nice offering for Ochosi
that can be done weekly to keep him happy in your home
There are so many simple things you can do with Ochosi:
To him you can put popcorn or a sliced avocado with white sugar sprinkled liberally over it. The popcorn
you can put in a brown bag, and after it has sat with him for 24 hours (or overnight) you can clean
yourself with it and spread it in the woods. You can give him eggs from hens, ducks, or guinea hens; and
these, too, can be used for cleansings before or after giving them to him. You coat each egg with efun,
rum, red palm oil, and honey, and you pass them all over your body. Afterwards, put them to Ochosi.

Ebos to Work Ochosi
1. For legal issues
A dark chicken, a pair of pigeons for Ochosi, red palm oil, rum, anisette, smoked fish, jutía, toasted corn.
The animals are passed over the client and are then given to the orishas Elegguá and Ochosi. The tongue
of the chicken gets ripped out and put to Elegguá and the animals are then sent to the woods with the
other ingredients. Everything goes into a brown bag.
2. To take someone out of jail

The person doing this ebó must take 14 baths using Ochosi's herbs and omiero. After the 14th night, put
Ochosi on a white plate and give him a pigeon. The name of the prisoner should be on paper beneath
Ochosi. Remember to give Elegguá his chicken first.
3. To win a war with Ochosi
Take 7 sticks of guava, red palm oil, and black and red thread. In front of Ochosi, tell him what you want.
Smear red palm oil on the sticks, and then bind each stick in the center with red and black thread. Leave
the sticks in front of Ochosi. That night, you go to the four corners with the seven sticks saying, "Ochosi,
you are a warrior and an archer; you have the ashe to overcome the war my son must fight. If my son
must go to war, I ask that you see he wins it." Throw two of the sticks in front of you, one to each side,
and three behind you as you walk home. When you get home speak to Ochosi again after giving him a
libation of water.
4. A work with Ochosi against the police
If the client is going to court and the witness against him is a police officer, feed Elegguá a chicken and
Ochosi a guinea hen. Have a white dove in a cage. Pull out the heart and three feathers. These go at the
bedside so the client sleeps next to them. The day BEFORE the trail make a bath with equal parts of milk
and water, and then take a white dove. The client cleans himself with this dove in front of Ochosi and
then throws it out the front door to fly. He says as he does, "As I have set this dove free, Ochosi, I ask
you to favor me and set me free from the police and the enemies at my trial. Let me fly free."
5. Ochosi bath for the courts
Ingredientes: Albahaca Morada, Romero, Espanta Policía, Salvadera, Florida water, cascarilla, Polvo de
Venado, and a yellow candle and a blue candle. Used when one or more witnesses are the police.
Preparation: Boil the albahaca morada, romero, salvadera, and the espanta policia in a huge pot of
water. Allow the mixture to cool. Strain into another large pan. Add Florida Water to the mix. Crush up
and add the efun. Add the powder of Venado. Light the candles in honor of Ochosi. Divide the mixture in
three parts, and bathe for at least 30 minutes three days before the court proceedings.
6. Ochosi bath for jail
This bath will prevent a person from going to jail. You need Romero, Albahaca Morada, Cascarilla, Quita
Maldición, Anisette, and a white candle. Boil the Hierva el Romero, la Albahaca Morada y la Quinta
Maldición in a huge pot of water. Let the mixture cool. Add anisette. Burn the candle in honor of Ochosi.
Take this bath for seven days before going to court.

7. Ochosi bath to escape the law
This bath is used by those who are running from the law. Some olorishas say that this bath makes the
person virtually invisible to police. The ingredients are Yerba de Sangre, Pata de Gallina, milk, coconut
water, Espanta Policía, Colonia 1800, efun, and a yellow candle. Boil Hierva la Yerba de Sangre, la Pata
de Gallina y la Espanta Policía in a large pan of water. Allow this to cool. Mix the milk, coconut milk,
colonia 1800, and efun in the mixture. Light the candle in honor of Ochosi. Do this three days in a row.
After this bath, put a cross of efun on the bottom of your feet.
8. To take someone out of jail

The person doing this ebó must take 14 baths using Ochosi's herbs and omiero. After the 14th night, put
Ochosi on a white plate and give him a pigeon. The name of the prisoner should be on paper beneath
Ochosi. Remember to give Elegguá his chicken first.
9. To win a war with Ochosi
Take 7 sticks of guava, red palm oil, and black and red thread. In front of Ochosi, tell him what you want.
Smear red palm oil on the sticks, and then bind each stick in the center with red and black thread. Leave
the sticks in front of Ochosi. That night, you go to the four corners with the seven sticks saying, "Ochosi,
you are a warrior and an archer; you have the ashe to overcome the war my son must fight. If my son
must go to war, I ask that you see he wins it." Throw two of the sticks in front of you, one to each side,
and three behind you as you walk home. When you get home speak to Ochosi again after giving him a
libation of water.
10. To get rid of an enemy
Put the first and last name on a piece of paper, and put inside a jar of water with vinegar (half and half).
To this add precipitado rojo (blue and yellow and white), red earth (like red brick dust or dust from the
red roof tiles), guinea pepper (7), drop of quicksilver, burn blue or yellow candle and pray to Ochosi that
the enemy stay away. Bury the bottle after 7 days.
11. A work with Ochosi against the police
If the client is going to court and the witness against him is a police officer, feed Elegguá a chicken and
Ochosi a guinea hen. Have a white dove in a cage. Pull out the heart and three feathers. These go at the
bedside so the client sleeps next to them. The day BEFORE the trail make a bath with equal parts of milk
and water, and then take a white dove. The client cleans himself with this dove in front of Ochosi and
then throws it out the front door to fly. He says as he does, "As I have set this dove free, Ochosi, I ask
you to favor me and set me free from the police and the enemies at my trial. Let me fly free."
12. Ochosi bath for jail
This bath will prevent a person from going to jail. You need Romero, Albahaca Morada, Cascarilla, Quita
Maldición, Anisette, and a white candle. Boil the Hierva el Romero, la Albahaca Morada y la Quinta
Maldición in a huge pot of water. Let the mixture cool. Add anisette. Burn the candle in honor of Ochosi.
13. Ochosi bath to escape the law

This bath is used by those who are running from the law. Some olorishas say that this bath makes the
person virtually invisible to police. The ingredients are Yerba de Sangre, Pata de Gallina, milk, coconut
water, Espanta Policía, Colonia 1800, efun, and a yellow candle. Boil Hierva la Yerba de Sangre, la Pata

colonia 1800, and efun in the mixture. Light the candle in honor of Ochosi. Do this three days in a row.
After this bath, put a cross of efun on the bottom of your feet.
14. Cleansing to Ochosi

A snapper, like 2 or 3 pounds, brush with Palm oil, honey, fish and smoked jutia. Put it in a white dish
and then placed them on the Ochosi Casserole with two candles lit for two hours. When the two hours
have elapsed naked in front of Ochosi, clean the body with the fish, once it is cleaned wrap fish in the
clothes I had start and this is left to the trunk of a Palm. Bathe with cool water and is dressed in white.
This offering should be on day seven of the month.
15. An offering to get something from Ochosi
Clean a large calabaza, and take out the insides. Write a letter to Ochosi on brown paper detailing what
it is you need from him. Put inside the calabaza seven balls of ñame, seven balls of birdseed, seven balls
of cornmeal, smoked fish, jutia, plenty of honey, red palm oil, a splash of anisette and 7 guinea peppers.
Put this in front of Ochosi for 7 days with two white candles. At the end of 7 days take it to an almond
tree, a hill, or a ceiba. If none of these are available, ask Ochosi where to take it.
16. Adimu to get what you want from Ochosi
During 7 consecutive days put to Ochosi a bit of everything that you eat on a white plate and in the
evening (at night) before going to bed lift this and put it in front of your house and put it in the ground
so Eshu can eat it. This obra is very simple but brings great results.
17. Adimu for Ochosi
Yam
Corojo
Honey
Anisette
Star anisette
Peel the entire yam and cut it into pieces. Put a pot of water to boil. Once the water is boiling, place the
yam inside and boil until it is tender. Once it is, take off stove and drain. Start to mash the yam as if it
was mashed potatoes. Add the corojo, honey and some anisette liquor to it. Mix all together and make 7
balls of it. Grab Ochosi or if you don’t have a bow and arrow and place the balls on top of the arrow of
Ochosi. Throw additional honey on top of the balls and the arrow and place 7 star anisette on top of it.
Light a blue candle and speak to Ochosi.
18. Cleansing to Ochosi

A snapper, like 2 or 3 pounds, brush with Palm oil, honey, fish and smoked jutia. Put it in a white dish
and then placed them on the Ochosi Casserole with two candles lit for two hours. When the two hours
have elapsed naked in front of Ochosi, clean the body with the fish, once it is cleaned wrap fish in the
clothes I had start and this is left to the trunk of a Palm. Bathe with cool water and is dressed in white.
This offering should be on day seven of the month.
19. An offering to get something from Ochosi

Clean a large calabaza, and take out the insides. Write a letter to Ochosi on brown paper detailing what
it is you need from him. Put inside the calabaza seven balls of ñame, seven balls of birdseed, seven balls
of cornmeal, smoked fish, jutia, plenty of honey, red palm oil, a splash of anisette and 7 guinea peppers.
Put this in front of Ochosi for 7 days with two white candles. At the end of 7 days take it to an almond
tree, a hill, or a ceiba. If none of these are available, ask Ochosi where to take it. (done)

20. To get someone released from legal system from Ochosi
Clean a large pumpkin. Inside put 7 balls of ñame, 7 balls of corn meal, and 7 sweets. Add smoked fish
and jutia, and plenty of honey, red palm oil, anisette, and 7 guinea peppers. Put this in front of Ochosi
for 7 days petitioning him to free this person from the legal system. Take it to the monte, an almond
tree, or a ceiba.
21. A bath for good luck
In a bucket of river water add the juice of calabaza leaves and the juice of perejil. Add 7 tablespoons of
honey, some perfume. Mix well. Put this to Ochosi for 7 hours with two white candles lit. Bathe with the
contents of the bucket and ress in white. You can do this all at once or divide it up into 7 consecutive
baths. This is also god for cleaning the floors of the house and the door going out into the street, and it
is very effective.
22. To free a man from the hands of justice
Coat the bodies of two white pigeons with red palm oil. Around the legs tie threads in the four colors of
ocha. Clean the one at a time, singing to Ochosi. Feed these to him. (done)
23. To free a man from jail
You need two birds caught in a trap, and with these you clean well the person that has the problem.
Then you sacrifice these to Ochosi. Save the two legs, the head, and all the internal organs. Dry them in
the oven. Put in a mortar and grind with 7 guinea peppers, ashe de santo, termite powder, and put the
person in front of Ochosi. Every day for 7 days this person prays to Ochosi. This powder is spread near
the courthouse where he will be tried. (done)
24 To Remove Justice/To get someone out of jail
Open a coconut in half. Inside put the names of all involved in the justice system against the client.
Include the name of the person with the problem. Use brown paper for these names. You need 7 seeds
from a calabaza. The four ashe de santo. 7 guinea peppers, red precipitate, 7 grains of toasted corn,
smoked fish and jutia, 7 peony seeds, a small ochosi, a piece of palo de yaya, almendra, and ceiba, and 7
needles. Recombine these with yellow and blue thread. Put on a plate in front of Ochosi for 7 days.
Every day the person who has the problem must come to Ochosi and give him a candle with a prayer for
his freedom. The coconut gets buried in the woods. This is very effective. (done)
25 Powders to ward off an enemy

In brown paper, write the name of the enemy seven times in a cross. This paper you burn. You put the
ashes in a mortar and mix with: 7 leaves of dried siempre viva, seven guinea peppers, seven grains of
toasted corn, precipitado rojo, precipitado yellow. Reduce this to a powder and leave it to Ochosi for 7
days with a white candle burning. At the end of 7 days, use it against your enemy. (done)
26 A powder for Ochosi for something honest that you want.
2 pigeons
Vencedor stick
Anisette
Cornmeal

Cornmeal
Roasted corn
Purple grapes
Make a sacrifice to Ochosi with the 2 pigeons. Spray him with the anisette and cigar. After he has
consumed the pigeons, you take the heads, the heart and the feathers from the wings and you toasted
them either in an oven or a grill. After those items are well toasted, place them in a mortar and add the
cornmeal, 7 grains of roasted corn, smoked fish and possum and the seeds of 7 purple grapes. Grater
some of the vencedor stick and with the shavings add that as well to the mortar. Proceed to smash and
blend all of these ingredients together. Once they are well blended together, place the powder in a
brown paper bag and place it to Ochosi. Speak to him and tell him that this powder is for a specific
desire, whether to ward off your dwelling of evil, bring justice to you from a wrong doer or to help you
hunt for something. With that powder you take a pinch of it and blow it outside of your house for what
you petitioned for.
27 Adimu for Ochosi to petition him to set someone free
Yam
Corojo
Honey
Anisette
Star anisette
Peel the entire yam and cut it into pieces. Put a pot of water to boil. Once the water is boiling, place the
yam inside and boil until it is tender. Once it is, take off stove and drain. Start to mash the yam as if it
was mashed potatoes. Add the corojo, honey and some anisette liquor to it. Mix all together and make 7
balls of it. Grab Ochosi or if you don’t have a bow and arrow and place the balls on top of the arrow of
Ochosi. Throw additional honey on top of the balls and the arrow and place 7 star anisette on top of it.
Light a blue candle and speak to Ochosi.

General Notes about Osun

Working The Spirit, Tuesday 400 PM

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Working The Spirit, Tuesday 400 PM

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

An Open Letter to Students

Wednesday, December 28, 2016 3:43 PM

Thank you so much, and I hope this group effort helps.

Stuart Acevedo/Ochani Lele

Class Policies Page 1

Keep your eyes on this page for official updates!

Class Policies Page 2

Class Policies Page 3

Class Policies Page 4

Class Policies Page 5

Electronic Recording Agreement for Working the Spirit.

[Type your full government name and your name as an olorisha]

Instructions: Read carefully.

Class Policies Page 6

Class Policies Page 7

Class Policies Page 8

Catholic Syncretism: Holy Child of Atocha

Garments: Red, black, and white

Sacrifices: He-goats, agouties, turtles, chickens or young hens, and roosters

Ritual Numbers: 3, 7, 11, or 21

Working the Warriors Page 9

Working the Warriors Page 10

Working the Warriors Page 11

Working the Warriors Page 12

 Eshu (Echu, Exu, Esu)—When one refers to Elegba simply

 Eshu Ayanki Olokun (Eshu Ayanki, Eshu Anaki, Eshu

 Eshu Bi—The “boss” of the Elegbas. He mandates and

 Eshu Alagbana—He lives in lonely places. Alagbana is a

 Eshu Ile Loya—The Eshu of the marketplace. The vendor.

 Eshu Aguanilebe—The companion of Ogun, who causes

 Eshu Ode Mata (Eshu Ode)—The hunter. Lives and walks

 Eshu Aye—The ruler of the 101 roads. He is the inseparable

 Eshu Aye Belebure—The Elegba who brings money and

 Griyelu or Kielu—This is the Elegba of two faces. He

 Eshu Baralainya—The messenger of Shango. A fiery road of

 Eshu Afra—The road of Elegba who walks with Asojano.

Working the Warriors Page 14

Working the Warriors Page 15

He is represented by an iron crossbow among the implements in Ogun’s cauldron.

Working the Warriors Page 16

Working the Warriors Page 17

Eko for Elegguá

Ekrú for Elegguá

Working the Warriors Page 18

Isoguí (fruits) for Elegguá

Bioñi (sweets) for Elegguá

Akará for Elegguá

Working the Warriors Page 19

Working the Warriors Page 20

1. To convince someone to give you what you want

2. For Good Luck and Abundance

Working the Warriors Page 21

5. To gain and maintain control of your home or property

Working the Warriors Page 22

Carefully split a coconut into two halves. On a brown piece of paper

Put a dried coconut on a white plate to Elegguá, and have a white

9. For economic growth

Working the Warriors Page 23

10. For problems with justice

11. Elegguá, another to attract a person.

Working the Warriors Page 24

12. A work for marriage

Materials: two dolls to represent the two individuals to be wed, a box, a