So here's a question for you all: how do I approach the crossroads spirits and get to know them? What kind of offering do you think crossroads spirits would appreciate? Note that I don't work with any particular pantheon at this point in time.
A good start is to find a crossroads which you feel a spiritual affinity with, and is close to your home, so that you may visit it regularly and communicate with the spirits who reside there. Repetition is the key, as is proximity; if your place of working is on the other side of town, it may be difficult to get there on a regular basis. Ideally, it should be a crossroads through which you pass each day as you go about your business. I’m fortunate enough to have such a crossroads on my doorstep; though there are several in both the neighbourhood and the city at large which I feel an affinity with, and visit for different purposes, or on various occasions.
Difficult for me to speculate how you’d go about this sort of thing without a relationship with one of the many well known guardians of the crossroads, which can be found in a variety of pantheons and spiritual histories. Papa Legba, Elegua, Exu, Hermes, Mercury, Pomba Gira, Hekate, Odin, Papa LaBas, St. Peter, St. Antony, St. Lazarus, The Man (or sometimes Lady…) in Black, and The Devil are just a handful of them; I’m sure their numbers are unfathomable. Besides, most crossroads spirits are tricksters, and can appear in a variety of guises as suits their purpose. It can all be a bit baffling…
I come from a rather unorthodox Voodoo tradition myself. New Orleans was my childhood home, and influenced my beliefs powerfully. I cut my teeth on the crossroads of Harmony and Annunciation Streets, which can be found in a rough neighbourhood of uptown New Orleans known as the Irish Channel. That is where I first encountered Legba, who has been my guide and guardian since, although sometimes a tough teacher, and always the consummate trickster.
I moved abroad in 2000, and now live in London, which has been a good home to me these past few years. Practicing Voodoo on English soil definitely lends a different flavour to my work, and to the encounters I have with spirits of the city. Yet Legba is still present with me…my travelling companion. It would not be the first time that he’s crossed the Atlantic, and I am certain that I wasn’t the first to pour rum for him in my quiet, South East London neighbourhood.
Thus when I approach the crossroads, that liminal space where matter and spirit intersect, I tend to have a good idea of who I’m going to talk to, and what I’m going to ask from him. Favourite offerings include rum, whiskey, black coffee, tobacco and cigars, silver coins, dark chocolate, coconut, red and black sweets, dark beer, ginger soda, coca cola, yams, candy canes, roasted corn or popcorn, bananas, gumbo, cornbread, jambalaya, roast chicken or bones from the local butchers.
I generally make offerings along with a sort of opening liturgy, both spoken and sung, partially in English and partially in Creole. A request for the gates of spirit to be opened, for the barriers to be removed. After I’ve shown my respect, I’ll often have a conversation with Legba, tell him my heart…the reasons for which I’ve approached him. It’s good to speak clearly and with confidence in the presence of the spirits; I wouldn’t recommend being at a loss for words as it’s liable to attract the wrong kind of attention.
My business for the evening might just be a simple gesture of love for Legba, and gratitude for his blessing and protection. Or I might have a specific favour to request, or a message to be conveyed, or a mojo to be empowered. Different every time…
Once the gates of spirit are open, it can be interesting to simply stick around and remain attentive to what’s happening around you. I often take note of songs overheard on car stereos as they pass, or messages written on commercial vehicles. It’s not often I’ll be interrupted by humans, but when I am it’s always fairly interesting. Once, after falling out a bit with Legba, I went to the crossroads to make the necessary apologies and renew my faith. Interestingly enough, a middle aged African man with a walking stick came up to me and propositioned me for sex, his exact words were “So are you back in business tonight love?”. As I’d been magically dormant for some months, I took this as good nod from Legba, and told the man that indeed I was back in business, but unfortunately not the kind he was after. He took a long look at my little pile of offerings on the ground, and the votive candle and bottle of rum, and seemed to get it. He then smiled politely and tipped his hat and walked away.
So as you can see, it’s a bit difficult to imagine how I would relate to the crossroads outside of this framework, though I think it could be adapted for relating to spirits from other traditions than Voodoo. For instance, Hekate has a strong presence in London, and I spoke recently with a witch who had been contacting her at his local 3 way crossroads, speaking out loud, leaving offerings, working magic under her presence. It was the first time that he had taken his magic out into the city, and he commented on the many ways in which the new practice had deepened his relationship with its history and character.
Take a bit of time perhaps, and have a think about what you want to achieve magically by working with the power of the crossroads. Whose door are you going to knock on? Who are you going to introduce yourself to? And what do you plan to say when they answer? |
