Healing with the Lwa

This veve is from a work I just concluded on a client, a work to heal him from some of his problems with anxiety. There will be more work over the next year or so, but we will be curing him of it entirely. He will be free to have a more fulfilled life, a life where his fears do not rule him.

He says, of how he feels, that it is as if there is more to him than he ever thought there was—of course there is! And you must see it for yourself so that you know, down to your soul, that you are not hopeless, and begin to understand that you are a part of the divine.

One of my favorite things about the lwa is their willingness to be a part of a healing work. Ti Jean is an unusual choice for what I was working on, but he volunteered to help. They volunteer to help priests with healing, volunteer to help us change the lives of those who contact us. Part of the divine mission is healing, and it’s not a small part. The divine sends us out to transform people. I am never happier than when, at the conclusion of such a work, I can see the person standing straighter, looking around in wonder at a world they did not know existed.

The work of healing is grueling. It is exhausting. It is ugly and filled with sweat, blood, tears, and sometimes vomit. Priests labor every day for months on these works, as the person we are working on doubts. That person fears. They obsess. They love us. They hate us. They lie to us about doing their homework—and all healing processes involve homework. They avoid us.

We shepherd them through their nightmares, a guide through those terrible places. We help them fight their demons. Understand, the offer of healing is not the offer to sit and talk and hope things get resolved. It is not wishful thinking and well wishes and a generic positive intention.

A vodou priest is a warrior. Vicious, cunning, and merciless to your demons, your fears, your pain. If you do your part, we will see you win.