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

E.A. Koetting/Baron DePrince
The Spider and the Green Butterfly
their brother, even though I carry no membership card,
have received no tattoo proclaiming such, nor have been
taught any secret handshakes. The Vodoun cults run much
deeper than these things, and the Current of power
strengthens tenfold in those who are thus initiated.
Receiving Asson -
Perhaps the highest Initiation in Vodoun is in
receiving Asson. This is both a physical and a^piritual act.
It is often referred to as "Receiving Asson," rather than
"Receiving an Asson," as although the Asson is a powerful
tool given to the Houngan at the time of his initiation into
the Vodoun priesthood, Asson is also a state of spiritual
achievement.
Although the Asson belongs to Damballah, it is
taken possession of by all of the Loa, containing not just
beads to rattle in the empty gourd, but also filled with items
sacred to and imbued with the most powerful of spirits. In
the same manner, the Houngan is also taken possession of
by the Loa, taken into their fold, given their power and
their wisdom. It is not the Asson alone that can command
the spirits and can rouse even the most secret gods, but it is
a combination of the depth of the individual's immersion in
the Vodoun Current, through the spiritual initiations he
receives, along with the physical tool of the Asson that
creates a power far greater than any other in this realm.
The Asson is passed from Master to student in an
, unbroken line. This is the only way that Asson can be
received. It is tempting as you gain power in the Current
and as you begin to learn the ways of the spirits to make
your own Asson, to find a gourd and a stick, some snake
bones and beads, and to paint it in a manner that may seem
fitting. What you will have created is not an Asson, but is
simply a painted rattle made of a gourd, a stick, snake
bones, and beads.
The Asson must be received as a student from the
Master that has trained you, and must be transferred
directly from his hand to yours. It cannot be mailed,
bought online, stolen, or made new. As the Asson is
passed, so are the powers that it holds, and the powers that
the Master holds, with which he is able to wield such an
unearthly weapon.
Because of this chain of passing, the physical Asson
vibrates with more and more power with each Master that
holds it, collecting within itself their power and the power
of all of the spirits that are called down or commanded with
it. Asson is not merely representative of the powers of the
Vodoun priesthood, but is an actual incarnation of those
powers in their greatest collective form.
There are many times when the student is told,
either by the spirits or by his Master, to take Asson when
he feels he is not ready. Many people will try to refuse the
Asson, not wanting the responsibility that comes with it,
fearing to hold such power in their hands, feeling as if they
have not come far enough to possess it and do not feel
prepared to give back to others that which they have
received from their own Masters. The greatest of these
responsibilities, once you have taken Asson, is to pass it to
another before you leave this life, continuing the chain of
power for another generation. This means that you must
train them, teach them, give them the secrets that you
yourself have gathered, both from your Master and from
your experience, and prepare them for the moment that they
are ready to receive Asson and to descend into the depths
of the Vodoun Current.
It is without any doubt that if a person who has not
been initiated into the depths of the Current takes the Asson
and shakes it and tries to use it as a Master would, the
spirits, the Loa, and the power of the Asson itself would