Libations and Liquid Offerings.
Spiced rum, absinthe, Ouzo, Sambuca Noir, and Red Chile Vodka, and coffee liquor are good for libations to Elegua. Most of us medicine folk make our own. Each usually has their own recipe.
You can find a good recipe for Eshu coffee here. He is also said in some places, to enjoy “Ataya” or gunpowder tea. The tea ritual for Eshu in this case is like someone is serving tea to an honored guest. It is for those occasions when you would like to talk with him and not just to him.
So you would boil 3 cups of water, then add 1 cup of gunpowder tea. Bring it to a boil again, and then pour some tea into 2 glasses, filling each of them a little less than halfway.
Then add a cup and a half of sugar, and bring it back to a boil. Do not stir it at any time. Some also like to add spices and herbs at this point too.
While you wait for it to return to a boil, pour the left glass into the right, and then the contents of the right glass into the left. Do this as many times as it takes to form a thick froth, but make sure to end it at a multiple of 3 or 4 pours, ending with the left cup. Take the pot off the heat, and then pour this froth back into the tea pot. Then it is done. Let the tea settle so the solid bits sink to the bottom.
Clean the glasses you used with clear water. Sweep the area where Eshu is to sit. Pour his tea first, and then yours.
You don’t need to be super fancy for Eshu, but you should use glasses or cups that are a bit special, as you would for an honored but familiar guest. I like to use Japanese tea cups such as one would use for matcha, a big man sized one for him, and a smaller woman sized one for me.
You can also do this tea ritual with a child of Eshu, or someone who he is riding. Definitely serve sweets or compatible snacks with this.
Dark Business
If you are petitioning the Reaper or Baron Samedi face of Elegua in order to honor your ancestors or fallen comrades, or someone has done something to you that made you want to kill them, you need special offerings.
Spicy fruitcakes in the shape of skulls, candy frosting skulls, black mice, a syrup made with absinthe with extra artemisia steeped in it, lots of candies, tobacco, and strong coffee are good offerings. Burn some incense with funeral type flowers and myrrh.
Remember that many if not most of these warrior Esus and Esu-like spirits were shaped in their relation to humanity through war, particularly against colonialism. Please consult a serious adherent before attempting contact with them.
Things Elegua Doesn’t Like
If you are working with Elegua, you must be very careful to be a fair and just person. He appreciates cunning and craftiness, but draws the line at malicious fraud. For instance, it would be okay for you to pose as a beggar to make some extra cash to support your family, or dress as a flamboyant fortune teller in order to make more money or open the way to teach people positive things or make them feel magnanimous.
It is not okay to cheat in gambling or to defraud people out of their money for totally selfish reasons. Elegua loves children and old people. If you harm them, you will pay. You will pay especially hard if you attempt to use Elegua to do your dirty deeds. As much as he gives you to trick you into thinking your evil plans are working, he will take away three times.
So if you want to get on Elegua’s good side, you will be generous to children, the elderly, and the poor. You should defend them and help them at every opportunity that is presented to you.
Another thing Elegua hates is cheapness. If you are bargaining or bidding, your first offer should be a fair one. If they try to con you, that is on their karma. You can feel free to refuse a bad deal. However, do not cheap out and take advantage of someone else’s desperation.
For this reason, you should also be fair and just in matters of the heart. This does not mean you have to tell people what they want to hear. This means that you should be honest and up front about your intentions. You should also use Elegua’s guidance to determine whether the person is even capable of dealing with you and your desires.
For instance, for a child of Elegua or someone who wants to stay on his good side, it is as bad to guilt someone into a romantic relationship if they don’t really want one as it is to trick someone into sex by pretending you want a romantic relationship. If you stay aware, then it shouldn’t be a problem to sort people.
Basically, don’t be a con artist, don’t steal from the poor, kids, or the elderly, and don’t be a sick manipulator, and you’re cool.
Again, the reason for this is not morality but the the sustaining of life. Eshu stands with one foot in the Orun and one in the Aye, and spans all in between. So if you are a crappy person and approach Eshu with your over entitled to harm people mentality, he will not save you from this unless you want to be, and as soon as you do, one of your first steps to recovery will be accountability and making amends. You can’t undo the past, but you will have to make amends for it to become a life sustaining person. Once you are on that path because it was your destiny in the first place to care about these things, he will punish you for deviating from that. This is one reason why to approach him with total honesty. Don’t listen to anyone who recommends you approach any Eshu with any kind of deception. The moment you do, you open yourself to all sorts of harsh lessons.
Eshu is not “Jesus”. Forgiveness is not in his nature. Only balance.
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I was given an Elegua candle to help my business. I burned it I gave Elegua candy and money. I put the candy and the money on the crossroad. Now I have mice running all over my place. I caught 2 of them. A friend told me Elegua wants 3 mice then he’ll stop. So can I get a dead one at the petstore and call it a day?
Many mice running around after an offering to Elegua definitely means he wants sacrifices. Whether or not it will stop after you give only three is a big question. You may want to seek divination about that. I don’t think it wise to buy one from a pet store. You may have to borrow a friend’s cat (an inside *and* outside cat) or dog of a breed who are instinctive mousers like Pekingese or Terriers. If you’re not sure if the ones you’ve caught so far will spoil or not, gut them and put them in a bucket of salt or natron until you’ve caught the third.
alifia, i am late it seems, but as an initiate to ifa, and as an ancestral priest i would like to point out that in the many offerings i have witnessed by my first hand the animal offerings were alive prior to the sacrifice.
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I always put three candles one for el nino de atocha(elegua) the seven african powers and santa barbara (chango) and only chango is the one that burns completely, the others dont even last a hour.
is there a reason? have i done something bad?
?àngó is viewed as the most powerful and feared of the orisha pantheon. He casts a “thunderstone” to earth, which creates thunder and lightning, to anyone who offends him
my understanding is that any alter or sacrifice be separate and kept apart from one another , place candles for each orisha in a separate place dedicated for them.
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I would like to consecrate my own elegua. I have had his head for over a year now. What ingredients would I need?
Thank you so much.
@Moor-ena, it depends where you got it from. Different groups have different ways of consecrating Elegguas. In fact, in some groups, they are more specific about which Eleggua or Eshu it is, and what it is for. Follow the prescribed way of the group you got it from. If you find this impossible or impractical for you (as some groups require certain initiations that you may or may not like to be a part of) then gift the item to a member of that group. They would be happy to receive it.
If you are not affiliated or initiated, it may be better for you to make your own fetish for Eleggua, or to house him in a found Eshu stone. You can find instructions here: Zindoki.com – Found Eshu Stones
Blessings and Ase!
Eye love PAPA LEGBA!!! I’ve known Him all my life, and I’m so thankful that He chose me to be one of His children. He loves and protects me like no other!!! Although His tests may be tumultuous at times, when it’s all said and done, He has the last word, because He knows what’s best for me. ALWAYS REMEMBER TO HONOR AND RESPECT HIM!!!
ASE! ASHE!
I’ve had my warriors for years now . I was very close to them . When I spoke to them I felt their presence and knew what to do next . Life was great . But For quite some time now I’ve been in a fog so to speak and I feel like they need to tell me something but for some reason I’m blocked . And since then life has not been so great . I won’t go back to my padrino because honestly the last time I went I had this overwhelming feeling of fear and distrust . Any thoughts on this?
Though I believe that it is good for people to be a part of a community, it’s not a good idea to rely too much on the community or one’s parents for one’s spiritual path. It is likely that your warriors are trying to get you to do some things for yourself.
ASE I love your website that is elleguas web site and enjoy the recipes.Please keep doing what you are doing?
Once a vodoo priest asked me to bring a Coconut to her, so I did.
What does it mean?
A friend told me my eshu needs to be outside the door and I read this also . So I put him outside . And my eleggua are inside the front door . She said eshu loves to be outside the door to protect me that he likes to roam and
I have bought a coconut and I have been listening to the music to elegua I just put some candy ? and some toys in front of the coconut but I want and need more information and steps to make an altar for him and his offerings .
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