Magic 401: Eyes
I’ve been asked if magic in vodou is visualization based—that is the current fad in discussions of magic online. I cannot, of course, speak for other traditions, but I can definitively answer that vodou is not visualization based. What we’re doing does not reside in the imagination.
The concept of having ‘eyes’ or spiritual sight is a perennial topic in vodou. Unfortunately, when it is discussed in media it often ends up falling into the various media tropes associated with the idea of magic: that is, it is physical sight (a hallucination, if we’re being medical) or imagination, albeit something that turns out to be true and relevant to the current situation. The person with the sight is alternately cursed and/or blessed, but otherwise specially ‘picked out’ for the sight. In some tropes, this runs in families, and it usually makes the life of the person miserable as a part of ‘paying’ for a special capacity.
Speaking only for vodou as I have learned it because other traditions have other ideas about this, none of these descriptions are spiritual eyes or sight.
Having eyes is a combination of innate capacity, a trained or otherwise improvable quality, and a spiritual gift. The person must have the potential to have that capacity, must train that capacity, and must be granted passage or permission to exercise that capacity. The sight itself can best be understood as a kind of knowing which may manifest itself as something physical, but is composed of more than the physical phenomena. One ‘sees’ not by hallucinating nor by an image that pops into the mind, but by an insight that is supernatural in origin and accuracy. That insight is accompanied by a conviction that enlists the rest of the capacities of the person. It is recognized instantly for what it is, and while doubt may creep in later, the moment of knowing is completely persuasive.
You know it, whatever it is, is true.
In terms of the various ways to interact with the spiritual world, eyes are the most accurate. Mental images can be altered or suggested by various spiritual entities, but the kind of conviction that comes with spiritual eyes is not able to be interfered with. Visualization relies on mental images, and as such is generally inaccurate, nor is it considered effective for magical purposes. You can, after all, imagine whatever you wish without it doing a damn thing in the world around you.
To have spiritual eyes is not a quality that many people seek sincerely. Learning to distinguish between fantasy or ego’s illusions and reality is a part of the process of training the capacity, and that particular training is incredibly painful. Having spiritual eyes also demands the willingness to spiritually elevate, which increases the frequency of the tests and trials in the life of the vodouizan. Finally (as with all things in vodou), a capacity is not a privilege, it is a responsibility. To have spiritual sight is to be bound to the necessity of listening to it, and of exercising it in service of the community.
The permission and the training require a teacher. It is not undergone lightly.
