Vodou Culture 101: Frequency
My godfather likes to use ‘frequency’ as an analogy in his discussions of character. It’s a remarkably apt one for a variety of reasons, including that vodou is deeply concerned with the energy of the soul and of the spirits, and the word frequency describes the specific vibration and movement of an energy.
To extend the metaphor to people: the way they move and the things they can connect to/understand well enough to work with. Those things are expressions of the soul or the part of them which persists, and where that soul is in its development, in the current life. Low vibration refers to someone who is early enough in their development to be expressing mostly negative traits, or at least negative traits in the situation which they are being observed. High vibration refers to someone who is later in their development and is expressing mostly positive traits, or at least positive traits in the situation in which they are being observed.
Frequency determines connection—that is, we can only connect to something we can recognize enough of to connect. This determines how we understand ourselves, the spirits, and the world around us. If, for instance, we have come to expect or understand the world is a violent, predatory place, that understanding will mean that we only recognize things which fit that expectation or understanding. When the spirits speak to us, they will speak to us through that understanding, mirroring back to us enough of that expectation or understanding that we can connect.
This does not mean that you determine the course of your whole life by having negative thoughts (because it must be said, thanks to some new age-y bullshit that makes the rounds in these communities often). What it means is that when positive things happen to you, you don’t recognize, understand, or connect with them. After all, they seem alien, weird, or like isolated incidents, compared to the stream of negativity that you expect. They’re easy to ignore or dismiss.
The lwa or spirits are hugely complex, and span every frequency from the most negative to the most positive in their aspects, which allows them to ‘meet’ people wherever they are. An expression of Ogou Feray/Feraille can span everything from the most bloodthirsty, battle field crazed killer to a deeply honorable military man, and will depending on circumstance. An expression of Ezili Freda can span everything from the most conniving, backstabbing perpetual victim to a mother who weeps for mankind because she knows the mind of the divine and how we should be but are not. And she will vary in presentation, depending on circumstance.
The personal development of the horse (person who can be possessed), the situation around the horse, the behavior of people in the house: all these things are the sorts of circumstances I mean. The spirits come in however they need to.
We are also complex, over the course of lives running from the lowest possible frequency to the highest, and varying in situations depending on our personal development. A skilled priest can begin to see what the spirits or lwa find obvious—what frequency at which the person is operating—and will meet the person there, with the spirits.
It’s one of the markers of the skill of the priest. They can see and meet you where you are.
