A Working Relationship
I tell people often that the lwa are distinct intelligences—you can’t say they are ‘living’ intelligences, but you can certainly say that they’re active. They’re really active.
To be a magical worker or a priest is to be in a working relationship with the spirits, whether that’s the more intimate relationships you may have with the spirits with you (your court), or the spirits which work with you, which may be spirits with which you have more temporary relationships.
They talk. You talk. You both work on stuff together. They have opinions. You have opinions. You both make decisions.
I was reminded, answering a question on reddit a few days ago, that people often simply cannot fathom that it is a relationship. Even people who are initiated have problems with that, conceptually. It makes me grateful that I had several dumpster fire marriages, to teach me the importance of building a relationship instead of making a commitment and assuming that the commitment was all I needed to do.
Plenty of marriages are like a zombie: it was once alive and now it’s shambling around, undead, stinking, and clearly rotten, but no one has mercy killed it. To put it another way, just because you went through the ritual of marriage, it doesn’t mean the relationship won’t decay if it isn’t actively tended.
The lwa might not be able to be called ‘living,’ exactly, but the relationship certainly can be, and no amount of showy gestures, rituals, and offerings are going to stop it from getting killed by neglect. I often remind people the lwa can see your heart, can see your intention. You cannot lie to them, not truly. Your energy, your soul tells on you because whether your consciousness knows it or not, your soul (truest self, let’s say) wants to have a clean relationship with the lwa.
This emphatically does not mean only doing what the Abrahamic religions might call “good.” It has more to do with a clear understanding between your soul and the lwa.
It’s also not enough to simply feel love for them. Feelings ebb and flow, and they don’t have to result in action. They merely represent your current understanding, and your consciousness is not always the best guide for action. It’s not enough to be “loyal,” nor is it enough to say nice things about the lwa.
The lwa could not give less of a shit what (most) people think of them.
You will earn your relationship with the lwa, with the spirits. You will earn it via the willing commitment to elevation. The spirits will see you rise, if you let them.
