Ritual Offering To Orisha Eleggua

Dear participants,

here are the pictures and report for the offering to our beloved father, Orisha Eleggua.

The center of the altar is, of course, the beaded doll + pot I made last year. The outfit took over a hundred hours of beading over felt with the finest Preciosa beads, and the doll holds a set of antique keys (one of his symbols) and a gorgeous reproduction of Tizona, the sword of El Cid Campeador, a medieval hero from mainland Spain (because he is one of the four warriors of Santeria). The clay pot was beaded with electroplated cowrie shells, and vintage repurposed beads from Santeria ritual attire.

Around the edge of the table, we placed four coconut halves, anointed with a mixture of honey, Dende Oil, powdered spices, and other secret ingredients, which was directly requested by the Orisha during one of the meditation sessions previous to the ritual.

In between the coconut halves, we placed five pillar candles, to bring in all the good things Eleggua brings: two large honey candles (to bring in opportunity, sweetness, road opening, synchronicity), two golden candles (to bring in good finances, cleansing, blessing, and success), and a red candle (for protection and removal of obstacles).All of them have been previously anointed with a mixture of my handmade oils.

Both inside and outside this circle, we created a wreath of fresh herbs from the farmers' market, using Rosemary, Lavender, Rue, Purple Basil, Sage, Dill, and Tarragon, which are all as fresh as can be, just bought yesterday at the farmers’ market! We also added some fresh Chrysanthemums as an extra decoration, also from the market.

On the center of the table, we placed one of the Orisha's favourite treats: popcorn with Dende Oil and lots and lots of sugar and spices. We just want to make him happy, so all of you get the best of his blessings – and I wish I could send you how delicious they smell! On top of it, the censer holds the final offering, Golden Copal from Mexico, one of my favourite resins, and just perfect for our Golden Child Orisha :).

After the setting the altar, a set of traditional prayers in honour of the Orisha was recited, plus a separate set of road opening + uncrossing + abundance + protection prayers for each participant, exactly in the order the participations were purchased.

May the owner of all the paths, the watcher at the crossroads, bless you and protect you always – and thanks once again for a complete sold out ritual!

Many Blessings

Carolina