ABSTRACT
While voodoo encompasses many diverse practices, the owchart in Figure 6.1 illustrates a template of common steps. Before any other steps of the ritual can be completed, Papa Legba (a loa, or spirit, sometimes equated with the Catholic Saint Peter) must be called upon to open the gate to the spirit world. is step is a preliminary invocation that makes the other steps possible, so it is the rst node in the chart. e remaining steps, which involve the preparation of the temple space in order to invite a loa to appear and temporarily possess one of the congregants, are at the same level of priority and can be performed in the order that best suits a particular invocation. e priest must draw a vevé, or sacred symbol, representative of a particular loa on the ground using chalk or our. e priest must also light a candle, arrange oerings on an altar, and hang sequined banners on the room’s walls in order to balance the spiritual
forces designated hot and cold. If all these preconditions are met correctly, a loa might manifest by riding its horse, i.e. temporarily controlling the body of one of the congregants.
