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

E.A. Koetting/Baron DePrince
The Spider and the Green Butterfly
in flour or cornmeal. This simultaneous spiritual
inscription is the first stage of Drawing with Three Hands.
The validation of the effect of this initial step is mild in
comparison with the manifestations that the full opening of
the Veve will produce, and in the first few attempts might
be easily relegated to the realm of imagination.
Imagination, however, is the master matrix of
manifestation. What is important here is that you focus,
spiritually, on what you are drawing and why you are
drawing it; focus on the real essence behind the lines that
are drawn.
Before departing the physical construction of the
Veve, which is usually simply drawing the Veve on a piece
of parchment, an admonition must be set forth here to avoid
the practice that is common with practitioners of Hoodoo,
using various bright and colorful inks or paints to create the
image of the Veve. There is both potency and fallacy in
this practice: Vodoun Hermeticism, a discipline in which
the Hermetic practices, particularly the knowledge of the
Tree of Life as well as the Adverse Tree, teach that each
sphere on these trees possesses a corresponding color, and
that if a specific Loa can be associated with a particular
sphere, it is the color of that sphere in which the Veve is to
be drawn. For the basic purpose of the Veve, which is to
connect with the Loa and to bring it into manifestation in
this world, all that is needed is to draw the Veve in black
marker or stylus, making a permanent and very visible
symbol on the paper, unless otherwise instructed in this text
to use specific colors.
The assumption by many Petite Houngans, or "little
sorcerers," is that the Veve is a form of spiritual art, and
that the more intricate and beautiful the art piece is, the
more powerful of a gateway it will become. This is not
only far from true, but can even become a bane to the
Operation and the Operator if incorrect colors are used, or
if the actual Veve itself is overshadowed by the brilliant
paints or other designs added to the Veve.
In Haiti, little Houngans can be found who can
create the most beautiful and elaborate Veves by cupping
cornmeal in their hands and trickling it on the ground in
perfect patterns. These same "Houngans," however, cannot
seem to conjure the most surface changes in their lives or
the lives of their unwitting customers.
Again, simply drawing the Veve on white
parchment with black ink is most often the most effective
method of physically constructing the Veve.
Once the Veve is drawn in full on the paper, or on
whatever other surface is required, physically move
yourself far enough away from it to intellectually remove
yourself from it. If you remain as close to the Veve as you
were when you drew it, your rational mind will continue to
scrutinize and to question this line or that swoop. You will
continue analyzing the physical rather than activating the
spiritual. You need to give your brain permission to stop
working on this particular project, as if it is completed and
its assistance is no longer required. Sometimes, standing
up, walking around your home or Temple for a few
moments to clear your analytical brain of its connection to
the Veve is helpful. Otherwise, simply place the Veve on
the altar, unless it is drawn on a wall, door, or other nonmoveable
surface, and sit upright. Gaze down at the
symbol. If you find that your eyes immediately begin to
scan the lines of the Veve, move your chair away from it
slightly, until you can behold at the whole image at once.
It is also a good idea at this point, if you have
indeed placed the Veve on your altar, to sprinkle a few
drops of rum onto the altar. You will likely sense a
renewed energy and life coming into your altar as it ingests
and assimilates the spiritual essence of the rum.