Erzulie Freda is part of the Erzulie family of loa in Haitian Vodou. These are a group of spirits associated with femininity. Sometimes referred to as Erzulie Freda Dahomey, this beloved and well-known spirit is the loa of love and luxury in Haitian Vodou. Her qualities include romantic love, health, passion, beauty, vanity, elegance, opulence, and prosperity. Thus, the traditional veve of Ezili Freda is characteristic of these traits as prominently dons heart symbiology.
In the Dahomey tradition, this energy is known as Azili. This loa also sometimes synces with Oshun or Mami Water, depending on the spiritual system. She is also compared to Venus in western astrology. While Erzulie and her archetypal counterparts connect with the aspects of love and wealth, this deity offers her devotees much more.
As the matron of purity and marital union, she is said to be married to 3 male loa in some Vodou houses and 4 in others. She is commonly to be the mistress of Agwe, Ougou Badgri, and Damballah. Also, she is sometimes connected to the loa Loko. Ceremonies to this loa tend to be quite lavish and very organized as she demands much attention to detail.
Ezili Freda’s Attributes
She gives out wealth and abundance to those who are worthy of properly caring for such gifts. This loa can remedy a broken or diseased body. She can also repair broken family relationships and connections. Through the energy of water, she cleanses, purifies, and gives life to all of humanity. Ultimately, her waters are likewise sweet and ever-enduring.
Erzulie’s feast days are Tuesday and Thursday. She links to certain aspects of snakes, flamingos, and the metal gold. Basils, figs, and bay laurel are often given in her ritual ceremonies. She is also fond of sweets and champagne. Her devotees typically present her with precious, generous gifts of gold, jewelry, and other delicacies. She most often presents as a fair-skinned woman dressed in pink paired with white on occasion in folklore. However, this imagery is changing as more people seek to connect with Vodou from a traditionalist perspective.
Ezili Freda Veve Symbolism
Erzulie Freda’s veve contains a heart shape, which is perfect for attracting love and life’s most extravagant pleasures. Embedded within the heart are two regular crosses and two stars. The regular cross symbolizes the energy of philosophic gold, an alchemy substance capable of turning base metals into gold. Also, this state coincides with Erzulie’s character as she has the ability to bring pleasure to the heart through an abundance of riches. In all, there are four crosses representing perfect balance. Therefore, this indicates that Erzulie’s gifts of wealth are in perfect harmony with all elemental forces.
Star Power
The stars represent spiritual protection from all directions and through the elements of water, fire, earth, and air. The stars located in the heart are indicative of emotional protection and well-being. As Erzulie Freda has the power to endow one with the power to love and be loved in a state of perfect harmony. In totality, eight stars strategically adorn her veve. The number 8 corresponds to the energy of abundance and karma.
Divine Feminine
Three stars adorn the bottom of her veve at the tips of two diagonal lines forming an inverted triangle. This shape is symbolic of the female womb, with the two stars at the top representing the ovaries and the bottom star corresponding to the vaginal opening. This shape is characteristic of Erzulie Freda’s nature as she embodies the principle of the Divine feminine. This portion of her veve invites the energy of copulation and conception through the marital bond.
Learn more about this beloved loa in this episode of the African Spirit Reintegrated + Reimaged podcast: