SphynX_PHC
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OgunThe Warrior Orisha
Ogun is a warrior orisha associated with blacksmithing and the creation of iron tools and weapons. Called Ogou in Haiti, he is in charge of guarding sacred temples and political power, and is known for his protection of Vodou followers.
Like many of the orisha and loa, Ogun has his origins in Africa. In the Yoruba belief system, he was the first orisha to come to earth, in the form of a hunter named Tobe Ode, who led the other orishas to the world of mortals. Armed with an axe and sword, he was known as the god of warriors, blacksmiths, and hunters. Thanks to his role as a patron of the hunt, he is associated with dogs—the traditional hunting companion in many parts of the world.
According to Yoruba creation myth, Ogun led the orishas to Earth and helped them survive and adjust. He cuts paths through all thickets and obstacles with his machete. Ogun is a culture hero: he taught people ironworking as well as magical and spiritual rituals, hunting and warfare. Although not a spirit of agriculture, Ogun is the one who first crafted the tools that make agriculture possible.
In Nigeria, he cleared paths through the forests with his machete and axe, and thus became known as the orisha who opens the way when it is blocked.
As the patron of metalworkers, who are often healers and spiritual leaders, Ogun watches over those who work with metal in any capacity. He shared the gift of ironworking with man, and taught humans how to perform magic, as well as the arts of hunting and warfare. Although he isn't an agricultural orisha, Ogun does have a connection to planting and the harvest, because he's the one who made the first tools of agriculture, such as the hoe and sickle.
In Candomblé, a syncretic Afro-Brazilian religion, Ogun is associated with Saint George. It's not uncommon for beings of these traditions to become connected with Catholic saints, due to the overlap of African religion with Christianity that occurred when enslaved people were brought to North America. In some forms of Candomblé, Ogun takes on aspects of Saint Anthony or Saint Sebastian.
For followers of Haitian Vodou, Ogun is known as Ogou and has a number of different forms, all of which protect the community. He is known for his dislike of liars and thieves, and can often be called upon to enact justice towards those who commit fraud, theft, or the breaking of oaths, particularly if those oaths were sworn on a piece of iron in his name.
Ogun is typically portrayed as a big, virile, handsome man—the epitome of the strong blacksmith and warrior. He often is depicted with a machete or sword and a three-legged iron cauldron. The cauldron is usually wrapped in heavy iron chains and filled with tools, nails, and knives. His colors are red, black, and green, and he is symbolized by a sword driven into the warm soil of the fertile earth.
Worship and Offerings
Thanks to his work with iron in its many forms, Ogun has become the patron of truck and taxi drivers, as well as surgeons and mechanics. His altars often include a three-legged iron cauldron to help enforce his power.
According to author and priestess Lilith Dorsey,
Shrines to Ogun are often located outdoors, at the base of trees or near a forge. A sacred shrine may also be located on the floor behind the front door. It all depends on which tradition one is honoring. The forced migration of the middle passage is perhaps the most important explanation for the multiple incarnations of the Ogun spirit.
In his aspect as Ogou Feray, he is sometimes portrayed as riding into battle on a magnificent white horse, and is associated with the magical healing power of magnets. The Ogou la Flambo variant of Ogun is highly martial and revels in bloodshed and battle. In a berserker-like rage, he slaughters his enemies and destroys those who would perpetuate injustice and tyranny.
During Voodoo ceremonies, Ogun often appears as a soldier from the time of the Haitian Civil War, wearing a French cap and a red jacket or scarf. He has a penchant for cigars and beautiful women, particularly for Erzulie, the goddess of love and beauty.
His followers wear red shirts, pants, and scarves in ritual, and make offerings of white rum and spicy food in hopes that he will honor them with possession; those who are blessed with this gift enter into a frenzied trancelike state. Ogun is a warrior who likes meat—the traditional meat sacrificed to him is that of the dog, but he will gladly accept rat, rooster, or black snake.
Ogun is an artist, a master craftsman, a healer, and a workaholic. He epitomizes creativity and terrible destruction. He causes disasters and protects against them. Ogun is the spirit of birth and death. He radiates fertility and creative energy. The knife that kills also cuts the umbilical cord. He is the hoe that opens Earth to bury a body.
• Place two pieces of metal together and anoint with red palm oil to summon Ogun.
• Offerings are traditionally left for him by railroad tracks.
• Tie a red ribbon around the base of a vehicle’s rearview mirror to invoke his aid.
Favoured people:
Ogun is patron of all those who work with metal, including miners, tattoo artists, *********ers, construction workers, jewelers, smiths, steelworkers, butchers, surgeons, drivers, pilots, and railroad workers.
Manifestations:
A big, virile, powerful, handsome, charismatic man with fiery radiant eyes. Ogun is also present in metal. When you touch metal, you touch him. He may wear green or palm fronds or be accompanied by dogs.
Attributes:
A machete, a three-legged iron cauldron, traditionally wrapped in chains and filled with iron implements, including tools, spikes, nails, and knives
Emblem:
A sword driven into Earth
Spirit allies:
Eshu Elegbara, Ochossi, Erinle, Osain. Ogun adores Oshun. Relationships with Yemaya, Oya, and Ezili Dantor can be positive or tense. Some, although not all, traditions consider Ogun and Shango to be bitter rivals who should be kept far from each other.
COLOURS:
Red, black, sometimes green, sometimes red and white (the colors of heated iron), or blue and red (the colors of the Haitian flag)
Numbers:
3, 7
DAY:
Wednesday (sometimes Tuesday)
Planets:
Mars, Earth (because iron is mined from Earth)
CREATURES:
Dogs, snakes especially black mambas and black-necked cobras, snails (snails’ liquid is traditionally used to heal *********ion wounds), crocodiles, and red roosters
Mount:
He rides a spotted hyena (symbolically indicating his power over witchcraft, with which hyenas are closely associated in Africa) or a beautiful white stallion.
Trees:
Akoko (Newboldia laevis), palm, calabash, camwood, eucalyptus
Plant:
Cyperus esculentus called Espada de Ogum in Brazil and yellow nutsedge in English, among the earliest cultivated edible plants. Also garlic, roseMary, black pepper, chilé peppers, and many medicinal herbs.
Spice:
Grains of Paradise (Afromomum melegueta) which has culinary and magical uses
Festival:
25 July in Plaine du Nord, near Cap Haitien, Haiti
Altars:
Ogun’s altars are usually maintained with discretion in a cabinet or closet. An anvil or cauldron can serve as his altar or a repository for offerings. Make sure it’s a three-legged cauldron, not two. Think about it and you’ll know why.
OFFERINGS:
Red candles, cigars, rum, palm wine, whisky, aguardiente, or other *******ic beverage—especially overproof rum—salt, dragon’s blood incense, metal, chains, metal tools, railroad spikes. Fill a cauldron with found pieces of metal, miniature ritual tools, full-size tools, toy cars, planes or other vehicles (make sure they’re metal, not plastic). If you cook for him, he likes his food spicy: add lots of hot peppers or hot sauce. Dress offerings with red palm oil. Offer roasted yams, red beans, red rice, mangos, and/or meat.
The various paths of Ogun may be understood as different aspects of one Ogun or as several closely related spirits. In Haitian Vodou, the Ogou family of spirits is known as the Nago nation and mediates between Rada and Petro.