E. A. Koetting and Baron DePrince - The Spider and The Green Butterfly

E.A. Koetting/Baron DePrince
The Spider and the Green Butterfly
:ross, and the altar. The drops of alcohol seem to waken
he objects, bringing parched spirits into full vigilance,
Irawing the spirit of the altar to the surface.
The black cloth and elemental colored candles can
•emain on the altar when working with the Rada Loa and
spirits. It is best, however, when calling down the Petro
Loa, to replace the black cloth with one that is red and
Mack, and to replace the colored candles with black and red
as well. When switching between families of spirits, it is
also advised to sprinkle the altar with Florida Water to
cleanse the previous energy, and once the new cloth and
candles are in place, to sprinkle the whole arrangement
with the feeding rum.
This has largely become western Vodoun practice,
as in Haiti, deep in Haiti, the only candles used are white,
and they are made by hand. The struggle of the spirits, as it
ensues and sends its Magickal Shockwave throughout the
island, appears to gradually become more dance than war;
indeed, as the Houngan moves deeper into the Current, it
becomes obvious that all things, when observed for a long
enough time, as the witness rather than a participant, are
merely dances, and the dancers are largely unaware of both
their dance and of the spirits and forces that move them to
dance.
Lave Tet -
The ceremony of "Lave Tet," translated as
"washing of the head," is one of the most well-known and
sought after ceremonies by nearly all United States Vodoun
adherents, and even many Voodoo practitioners.
Lave Tet is often compared to the Catholic baptism:
the head is washed with water, the spirit is cleansed, and
the Holy Spirit is then able to reside within. The Washing
of the Head brings clarity to the mind, removes negative
and self-destructive mental programming, and brings the
individual to the state of a clean and ready vessel. The
spirit that will reside, however, is often far from holy.
Once the head has been washed, the Houngan or
Mambo performing the ceremony may receive the name of
the individual's Met Tet, or Master of the Head. Again
deferring to the vocabulary of Catholicism, Met Tet is
commonly likened unto a Holy Guardian Angel, being the
Loa that has watched over and dwelled within the
individual since birth. If the name of the Initiate's Met Tet
is given by the anointer, it should never again be spoken
aloud in the company of others and should never be
revealed to another person.
Each and every person alive has a "Met Tet," a
"Master of the Head," which corresponds to one of the
"Christian" Patron Saints, which are merely names and
masks for the Vodoun Loa. Although it is said that the Met
Tet is within the blood and the being since birth, as far as
the conscious awareness of the individual, it exists
externally until the time of the full initiation of the
Houngan, at which point the Master or Loa is, through
various rituals, placed into his head. It is at this time that
the name and the nature of the Met Tet is revealed to the
individual, allowing them to begin to forge the necessary
union between themselves and their "god."
The greatest union between a human being and the
Loa is to unite the consciousness of the lesser with the
Greater. Returning again to Catholic ideas, western
occultists strive for the Knowledge and Conversation of the
Holy Guardian Angel, which is a euphemism for the union
of the mind of the microcosm with the macrocosm,
although many who have attained such knowledge and
conversation have reported meeting with an actual entity
who has guided them towards their eventual destiny.