Veve, Veve I love you

By Rebecca

I have thumbed through my share of books on religions and occult practices. I have
seen easily hundreds, if not thousands, of different symbols. Some are simple in design,
but profound in meaning and depth, like the swastika that we discussed last month.
Others are ornate and filled with detail helping mortal man comprehend larger ideas, like
the Wheel of Life. Nothing prepared me for the first time I saw a veve. My husband was
helping me do an Internet search one day, and peering over his shoulder I stopped in
my tracks, “What is that?” I asked him. He scrolled down the page and said, “A veve.”

I was and still am amazed at the powerful image of the various veves. A veve is a symbol
that represents a specific Loa (deity or highly evolved spirit) in Voodoo. They are
ornate, and the more detail put into them, the more power it provides. You can find them
on flags and other objects, but veves are meant not to last. These ornate designs are
traditionally drawn on the ground in chalk, eggshell, corn meal, gunpowder, and other
such mediums depending on the Loa that is being called upon. The various powders are
sprinkled onto the ground into the appropriate designs by hand. Once on the ground, it
serves as an altar for offerings and a focal point for invocation. There is a hidden
language locked in the design of a veve that can only be read by those educated in the
ways of Voodoo, so um, not me.

I do not have to be wise in the ways of Voodoo to know that these are powerful symbols.
As images, they are beautiful art. By prescribed medium, they are unique and fleeting.
With my very basic knowledge of Loas in Voodoo, beautiful, unique, and fleeting all
seem appropriate adjectives for the symbols that represent them.

Generally, I try to offer some insight or personal philosophy with my columns about
symbols. When discussing veves, I find my words and even thoughts fail to do justice to
these noble symbols. Therefore, I’m going to let them speak for themselves.