Eshu Ushers in CHOICE.

The language of our hearts can betray our souls. We are wounded when we loose what we think is love, only to discover, it was not where we thought.

Wake up and rejoice in the possibilities! There are no accidents. It is not as random as we think. Even what we feel is catastrophe has gifts hidden.

Do we know how to look at Eshu?

In transporting the image of the trickster and mediator from West Africa through the white Catholic cultures of Europe via the slave trade and to the Americas, Eshu/Ellegua came up against prejudice, both cultural and religious. The christian repression of sexuality and the fear of the shamanic trance state so integral to dance worship in African culture precluded a deeper understanding of the deep faith evidenced by the belifs of the Ifa and Yoruba. The Christians separated the elements of good and evil: the temptation is not something incorporated into the angel archetype but is relegated to the fallen angel. Among the West African and by extension the beliefs of the diaspora which sprang out of them, good and evil are two sides of the same coin, and it is what one does with the face that shows up that matters. Interpretation of the gifts and lessons is thebridge between the sacred and the profane.


for a fascinating read...go to http://www.carnival.com/sf00/trickster.htm read about Trickster at the Crossroad: West Africa's God of Messages, Sex and Deceit by Erik Davis.

The hand of God

The hand of God is in all things. Eshu is his messenger. Sometimes his messages are harsh, but they are always loving in the end. You will grow if you listen to his wisdom and learn to laugh at yourself. He brings the realm of the cosmic right to your doorstep, but you have to pay attention. He never speaks straighforwardly because he likes to make people think. Do you see him playing with you?

Historical and cultural notes: Ase O!

The trickster Eshu comes out of the African psyche, generated from the environment surrounding the Western part of the continent among the Benin and Yoruba people. He is a passionate embodiment of the forces of nature, the shifting fates of life. He is likened to Hermes, the messenger god of ancient Greece, and his message is to reveal our interconnectedness not only one with the other, but with the forces of the natural world. He is the keeper of keys, the guardian of the crossroads and doorways, of new beginnings, and as such I muse on how important he must have been to the people of West Africa who became the African diaspora, moving from their homeland as slaves under horrendous circumstances. He must have given them strength to endure as he lives and thrives among their ancestors in Haiti, Cuba, in the islands of the Caribbean, and among the countries of South America. He has stayed constant and yet transformed as he moved into new circumstances, changing and yet remaining the same. It is consciousness that Eshu, Papa Legba, wishes to bring forth, because it is through consciousness that we find our proper place in life, and it is only through consciousness that we will survive. Eshu embodies the sacred bringing together of opposites, sacred and profane, earthly and divine. In that we find Ase: the generative power of the cosmos. It is this force that is brought to bear in the often feared rites of Voodoo, an offshoot of the traditions that evolved out of the diaspora of the African slaves. In my hope for the future, Eshu will continue to assist mankind in showing up for life, for bringing together at the crossroads unlikely partnerships, for smacking us up side the head so that we can grow and tap the power that is all around us. Ase O.

I can see what they feel

Ellegua knows what is afoot. He sees what is and what needs to come about. Trust Ellegua, even when he makes you fall, trust Ellegua and laugh. He is playing with you to show you your soul. Follow with a light heart and give thanks for his attention. He writes straight lines with a crooked hand.

Come celebrate the Divine messenger!

The Issue is Eshu and his message.

As owner of all doors and crossroads, Eshu offers us opposing paths: in and out, this way and that way. And what are his messages? Well, he doesn't speak in absolutes. All is a choice, and we pay for every choice we make. He is a force of the earth and pierces the veil of the beyond to communicate with humans. He translates the language of nature into that of humans, but only if we are astute enough to see his messages. We have the choice to turn a blind eye. Eshu is sometimes characterized as a force of random harrassment. But this is misleading. He does trip one up, but only as instruction. It is pride that keeps one from seeing the message in the catastrophe or mishap. Look at the omens, they are from the beyond! Eshu is good when he plays with you. You want your ultimate unfolding. Celebrate and laugh with him! Eshu is the highest and the lowest of energies, and he uses this contradiction to bring balance and restore our connection with the beyond. ASE O.

The joke is on me

Eshu or Eleggua is a trickster of Yoruba mythology, and he sits by my front door overseeing the comings and goings of all. He likes to trip me. I have posted an image from the Yoruba as the fertility god. He is also the guardian of crossroads, where paths converge and separate. He is most appropriate a figure for me at this time in life, a time of enormous change and upheaval. I look forward to getting to know him better. His desire is to assist one in spiritual growth by showing one's foolishness, exposing lopsided thinking and limited vision. His humor can be fiendish but is meant to bring about rebirth to a higher level. If you have any insights about tricksters from other mythological realms, please share them with me.

Eshu at the Crossroad

Getting to know Eshu is no easy feat. He is after a a jolly trickster. He loves bold expression: black and red are his colors. He is not shy in the least. Let me relate a little story to help you get to know him too. Eshu will crush us if we are haughty, and lift us when we are humble to a fault. He will never leave you without a lesson. He is the mirror of our soul. In one tale, he is walking between two friends on the road. He is wearing a tall hat, red on one side and white on the other. The two friends take to arguing about what color his hat is, both only seeing the hat from their own side of the street. They come to blows. Their long standing friendship was in tatters. He chuckled to think how they would ruin a friendship over something so trivial, the color of a man's hat. He sees things from all directions and helps us to see our strengths and our weaknesses. When asked kindly, Eshu will help guide our paths, because Eshu is the owner of all paths.