Most Important Loa of the Voodoo Religion

In voodoo practice, the loa are the spirits that reside throughout the world and that those who follow voodoo honor and celebrate. It is often the loa that will mount someone during a ceremony to use their body to convey a message from the spiritual world. Although there are hundreds of loa, there are some key loa that are particularly honored and celebrated and that followers and teachers of voodoo pay special attention to.

Legba is portrayed as an old man and he sits at the entrance to the earthly world and the spiritual world. He is the starter of all life and is also involved with rebirth. The sign that he is most commonly associated with is the sun but he’s also been seen with the sign of the phallus. Kalfu is the loa that plays the role opposite of Legba. He is involved with Petro and represents the spirit of the night and the source of all darkness. Voodoo practitioners that are most interested in the practice of Petro will often call on him. His sign is the moon and although he can be satisfied, he is one of the more dangerous loa to try and communicate with.

Papa Ghede is the loa of death and being risen from death. He is very funny and is known to also be quite erotic. He is known as the lord of eroticism. The loa have a father figure among them, who is looked to as a fatherly figure both by the other loa and by those that worshipped him. This loa is called Dumballah. He is represented as a good snake and he represents peace and serenity. For him to mount someone, he first must be offered an egg. He is worshipped often as people love him and want to communicate with him. He is often accompanied by his wife, Aida-wedo.

The loa Agw is mostly loved by those who live near water as he is the spirit of the water. Ogoun is the warrior loa. He is very dangerous and should be feared. He is also behind much of what happens in the political world. Erzulie is the name of the mother who oversees earth and she is also known as the goddess of love. Erzulie is dearly loved by those in the voodoo religion and when she mounts someone it is in the form of cleanliness. She also tells the future through people’s dreams.