Egun

 

 

 

 

                        Ancestor Staff

              

                           Ancestor Staff

I had started gathering materials to dress my ancestor staff. It is currently unadorned and was made by my own hands six months ago.

Inspiration has now spurred me to finish the staff by dressing it.
I recalled that I needed nine coloured ribbons, bells, beads and such, and as I described to my friend how I intended to use ribbons of about 12” in length, she looked shocked.
“No,” she replied. “That would look like a hula skirt!” She then proceeded to explain to me that traditionally dressed staffs have long ribbons completely covering the length, resulting in a look similar to Cousin It from the Addams family.
The Egun Staff (Opá Egun) is traditionally received from godparents and prepared with various ceremonies. However, until I get to that stage, mine is a representation, thus I call it Ancestor Staff.
After a search on Google for images of Egun staffs returned nothing like she had described, Omimelli went on to explain where the ‘dressing’ for the Egun staff seemed to have derived from.
The ‘dressing’ of the Egun Staff mimics the costumes worn by the Egugun during the Egungun masquerade in Nigeria, and more recently, in Trinidad. The Egungun represent the spirits of the dead, and as such, are clothed completely from head to toe in multicoloured cloth, disguising the fact that a living person is underneath the costume.
My ancestor staff is meant to call on my own lineage of ancestors and now that I have more of a logical explanation as to why use more length on the ribbons, I am quite set to start my handy work.
Janus

Illumination to Egun (Part 1)

Egun Devotion a Cornerstone of many ATRs

This is the first of a multi part series on dealing with Egun or reverence to ancestors. I decided to name this article illumination to Egun, because what I would like to discuss how to activate your spiritual quadrants with prayers.
In the Catholic Church there is a group of people known as charismatic. According to Wikkipedia Charismatic catholic is define as this: The Catholic Charismatic Renewal is a movement within the church characterized by vibrant masses, it features ‘speaking in tongues,’ as well prophesy and healing. This movement is based on the belief that certain charismata (a Greek word for gifts), bestowed by the Holy Spirit such as other language communication and healing.

In this first part of the series, I will post the list of articles you need to do the ritual and in the other parts we will go through the steps of it. I hope you find it as useful as I have for my own practice with the Egun.
Materials:
a) Frankincense
b) White plate
c) Olive Oil
d) Cotton
e) Holy Water – From the church not botanica brought.
f) White Cloth
g) Two Bouquet of mix color flowers **the reason for two one to represent the eggun from your mother side, the other to represent egguns from your father side.
h) Four Quartz crystal
i) Cascarilla also known as efun.
j) Rum
k) Cigar
l) Florida Water
m) If you can get a bottle of river water.
n) Basil Leaves also known as Albahaca (Ocimum basilicum)
o) Prodigiosa also known as Siempre Viva (Bryophyllum pinnatum)
p) Mint Leaves or Spearmint (Menta spicata)
Eggún communication and reverence is cornerstone to my spiritual practices. Peace.

Illumination to Egun (Part 2)

Lamp for the egun

Ritual execution of Illumination to Egun.
To execute this ritual properly, it would be good to be as familiar as possible with the prayers, this way they will flow naturally and you will have the force of your emotions behind it.
Direction to orchestrate the illumination:
1) Cover the altar with a white cloth; make sure your seven or nine glasses contain fresh water. Pour some holy water, Florida water, and sprinkle some cascarilla in the nine glasses.
2) In a white bowl pour some river water, holy water, Florida water, cascarilla, some basil leaves, mint leaves, Prodigiosa, and some rum. Crush everything together, you can add anything in here as you see fit. Such as other herbs and/or fragrances to your liking.

3) Take this white bowl with the concoction and sprinkle it around the altar room, and sprinkle it around the house, especially at the entrance of your place. Thank light the incense and fumigate the house at the same place. It is important I might add when incensing your place, to especially let the incense fumigate the four corners of the room, in the closet and in the bathroom. Because negative energy love to hibernate in corners and in dark places. The bathroom is the most negative place in the house because this is where we remove all negative energy.
4) You take a white plate and pour olive oil on it, and make nine wicks from the cotton. Take nine pieces of basil leaves and place on the plate. You will put the nine cotton wicks on top of the nine basil leaves.
5) Then put the crystals outside of the plate one on the east side of the plate, another one at the west side of the plate, another one at the north side of the plate, and another one at the south side of the plate.
6) You will light each cotton wick after reciting three prayers to Saint Michael.
Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel
St. Michael the Archangel, illustrious leader of the heavenly army, defend us in the battle against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of darkness and the spirit of wickedness in high places. Come to the rescue of mankind, whom God has made in His own image and likeness, and purchased from Satan’s tyranny at so great a price. Holy Church venerates you as her patron and guardian. The Lord has entrusted to you the task of leading the souls of the redeemed to heavenly blessedness. Entreat the Lord of peace to cast Satan down under our feet, so as to keep him from further holding man captive and doing harm to the Church. Carry our prayers up to God’s throne, that the mercy of the Lord may quickly come and lay hold of the beast, the serpent of old, Satan and his demons, casting him in chains into the abyss, so that he can no longer seduce the nations.
Amen.
The Prayers
Begin the prayer with a Litany to Saints:
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, hear us.
God, the Father in heaven.
Have mercy on us.
The Son of God, Redeemer of the world.
Have mercy on us.
God, the Holy Ghost.
Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God.
Have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, pray for us,*
* After each invocation say “Pray for us.”
Holy Mother of Jesus,
Holy Virgin of virgins,
St. Michael,
St. Gabriel,
St. Raphael,
All holy angels and archangels,
All holy orders of blessed spirits,
St. John the Baptist,
St. Joseph,
All holy patriarchs and prophets,
St. Peter,
St. Paul,
St. Andrew,
St. James,
St. John,
St. Thomas,
St. James,
St. Philip,
St. Bartholomew,
St. Matthew,
St. Simon,
St. Thaddeus,
St. Matthias,
St. Barnabas,
St. Luke,
St. Mark,
All holy apostles and evangelists,
All holy disciples of the Lord,
All holy Innocents,
St. Stephen,
St. Lawrence,
St. Vincent,
SS. Fabian and Sebastian,
SS. John and Paul,
SS. Cosmas and Damian,
SS. Gervase and Protase,
All holy martyrs,
St. Sylvester,
St. Gregory,
St. Ambrose,
St. Augustine,
St. Jerome,
St. Martin,
St. Nicholas,
All holy bishops and confessors,
All holy doctors,
St. Anthony,
St. Benedict,
St. Bernard,
St. Dominic,
St. Francis,
All holy priests and Levites,
All holy monks and hermits,
St. Mary Magdalene,
St. Agatha,
St. Lucy,
St. Agnes,
St. Cecilia,
St. Catherine,
St. Anastasia,
All holy virgins and widows,
All holy saints of God,
Intercede for us.
Be merciful,
Spare us, 0h Lord.
Be merciful,
Graciously hear us, 0h Lord.
From all evil, deliver us, 0h Lord.*
* After each invocation: “Deliver us, 0h Lord.”
From all sin,
From your wrath,
From sudden and unprovided death,
From the snares of the devil,
From anger, hatred, and all ill will,
From all lewdness,
From lightning and tempest,
From the scourge of earthquakes,
From plague, famine, and war,
From everlasting death,
By the mystery of your holy incarnation,
By your coming,
By your birth,
By your baptism and holy fasting,
By your cross and passion,
By your death and burial,
By your holy resurrection,
By your wondrous ascension,
By the coming of the Holy Ghost, the Advocate,
On the day of judgment,
We sinners, We beg you to hear us.*
* After each invocation: “We beg you to hear us.”
That you spare us,
That you pardon us,
That you bring us to true penance,
That you govern and preserve your holy Church,
That you preserve our Holy Father and all ranks in the Church in holy religion,
That you humble the enemies of holy Church,
That you give peace and true concord to all Christian rulers.
That you give peace and unity to the whole Christian world,
That you restore to the unity of the Church all who have strayed from the truth, and lead all unbelievers to the light of the Gospel,
That you confirm and preserve us in your holy service,
That you lift up our minds to heavenly desires,
That you grant everlasting blessings to all our benefactors,
That you deliver our souls and the souls of our brethren, relatives, and benefactors from everlasting damnation,
That you give and preserve the fruits of the earth,
That you grant eternal rest to all the faithful departed,
That you graciously hear us,
Son of God.
At the end of the litany he (the priest) adds the following:
Do not keep in mind, 0h Lord, our offenses or those of our parents, nor take vengeance on our sins.
Our Father…
And lead us not into temptation.
But deliver us from evil.
*****Sprinkle holy water around the room reciting Our Father and fumigate the room with incense again.****
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen
In the third part I will continue with the Ritual of Excorcism, untill then, Peace.
Ginea Jacmel

St. Michael, Glastonbury Abbey

This is the third part of a series of steps meant to illuminate and energize the egun. It has been of benefit on my spiritual practices and I hope it also benefits yours.
Exorcism
In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and God, by the intercession of Mary, spotless Virgin and Mother of Jesus, of St. Michael the Archangel, of the blessed apostles Peter and Paul, and of all the saints, and by the authority residing in our holy ministry, we steadfastly proceed to combat the onslaught of the wily enemy.
Psalm 67(8)
God arises; His enemies are scattered, * and those who hate Him flee before Him.
As smoke is driven away, so are they driven; * as wax melts before the fire, so the wicked perish before God.
See the cross of the Lord; begone, you hostile powers!
The stem of David, the lion of Juda’s tribe has conquered.
May your mercy, Lord, remain with us always.
For we put our whole trust in you.
We cast you out, every unclean spirit, every satanic power, every onslaught of the infernal adversary, every legion, every diabolical group and sect, in the name and by the power of our Lord Jesus Christ. We command you, begone and fly far from the Church of God, from the souls made by God in His image and redeemed by the precious blood of the divine Lamb. No longer dare, cunning serpent, to deceive the human race, to persecute God’s Church, to strike God’s elect and to sift them as wheat. For the Most High God commands you, He to whom you once proudly presumed yourself equal; He who wills all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of truth. God the Father commands you. The Son of God commands you. God the Holy Ghost commands you. Christ, the eternal Word of God made flesh, commands you, who humbled Himself, becoming obedient even unto death, to save our race from the perdition wrought by your envy; who founded His Church upon a firm rock, declaring that the gates of hell should never prevail against her, and that He would remain with her all days, even to the end of the world. The sacred mystery of the cross commands you, along with the power of all mysteries of Christian faith. The exalted Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus, commands you, who in her lowliness crushed your proud head from the first moment of her Immaculate Conception. The faith of the holy apostles Peter and Paul and the other apostles commands you. The blood of martyrs and the devout prayers of all holy men and women command you.
Therefore, accursed dragon and every diabolical legion, we adjure you by the living God, by the true God, by the holy God, by God, who so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him might not perish but have everlasting life; to cease deluding human creatures and filling them with the poison of everlasting damnation; to desist from harming the Church and hampering her freedom. Begone, Satan, father and master of lies, enemy of man’s welfare. Give place to Christ, in whom you found none of your works. Give way to the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church, which Christ Himself purchased with His blood. Bow down before God’s mighty hand, tremble and flee as we call on the holy and awesome name of Jesus, before whom the denizens of hell cower, to whom the heavenly Virtues and Powers and Dominations are subject, whom the Cherubim and Seraphim praise with unending cries as they sing: Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth.
Lord, heed my prayer.
And let my cry be heard by you.
The Lord be with you.
May He also be with you.
Let us pray.
God of heaven and earth, God of the angels and archangels, God of the patriarchs and prophets, God of the apostles and martyrs, God of the confessors and virgins, God who have power to bestow life after death and rest after toil; for there is no other God than you, nor can there be another true God beside you, the Creator of all things visible and invisible, whose kingdom is without end; we humbly entreat your glorious majesty to deliver us by your might from every influence of the accursed spirits, from their every evil snare and deception, and to keep us from all harm; through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
From the snares of the devil.
Lord, deliver us.
That you help your Church to serve you in security and freedom.
We beg you to hear us.
That you humble the enemies of holy Church.
We beg you to hear us.
The surroundings are sprinkled with holy water.
Chaplet of St. Michael
****This is were you will light the cotton wicks one after another, after reciting the prayer to St. Michael.***
O God, come to my assistance. O Lord, make haste to help me. Glory be to the Father, etc.
(Say one Our Father and three Hail Marys after each of the following nine salutations in honor of the nine Choirs of Angels)
1. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Seraphim may the Lord make us worthy to burn with the fire of perfect charity. Amen.
2. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Cherubim may the Lord grant us the grace to leave the ways of sin and run in the paths of Christian perfection. Amen.
3.By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Thrones may the Lord infuse into our hearts a true and sincere spirit of humility. Amen.
4. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Dominions may the Lord give us grace to govern our senses and overcome any unruly passions. Amen.
5. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Powers may the Lord protect our souls against the snares and temptations of the devil. Amen.
6. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Virtues may the Lord preserve us from evil and falling into temptation. Amen.
7. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Principalities may God fill our souls with a true spirit of obedience. Amen.
8. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Archangels may the Lord give us perseverance in faith and in all good works in order that we may attain the glory of Heaven. Amen.
9. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Angels may the Lord grant us to be protected by them in this mortal life and conducted in the life to come to Heaven. Amen.
Say one Our Father in honor of each of the following leading Angels: St. Michael, St. Gabriel, St. Raphael and our Guardian Angel.
Concluding prayers
O glorious prince St. Michael, chief and commander of the heavenly hosts, guardian of souls, vanquisher of rebel spirits, servant in the house of the Divine King and our admirable conductor, you who shine with excellence and superhuman virtue deliver us from all evil, who turn to you with confidence and enable us by your gracious protection to serve God more and more faithfully every day.
Pray for us, O glorious St. Michael, Prince of the Church of Jesus Christ, that we may be made worthy of His promises.
Almighty and Everlasting God, Who, by a prodigy of goodness and a merciful desire for the salvation of all men, has appointed the most glorious Archangel St. Michael Prince of Your Church, make us worthy, we ask You, to be delivered from all our enemies, that none of them may harass us at the hour of death, but that we may be conducted by him into Your Presence. This we ask through the merits of Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.
After lighting all nine wick’s you can recite Psalms 3, 10, 12, 23, 27, 30,53, 67,69, 91, 117.
Ginea Jacmel

Prayer for Seekers of Spiritual Illumination

St. Michael Protect Spiritual Seekers!

Finding a spiritual path is not an easy task. If you have found yours, then give thanks to your Spirit Guides by helping others who at this moment may be going through the motions and conmotions of a spiritual search.
Divine Spirit listen to the needs in the heart of those seekers who at this hour thirst for spiritual knowledge and hunger to break bread with kindred beings. Extend your protection to those who are confused, lonely, for those who thirst for the word that stirs their soul and gives them hope to keep on searching. Bless their efforts, give strength to their prayers. Merciful Creator, send guardian angels to protect their steps in lands of thieves, cheats and merchants of religions. Extend the Sword of St. Michael against those who try to steal their purity of purpose. Shield their minds from those who will want to plant seeds of doubt and distrust as they finally find a teacher to aid them in the quest for spiritual illumination. I ask you Divine Spirit, Fountain of Peace and Rock of Salvation to strengthen the resolve of the weak, to tear fear from the hearts of those who have been let down in this quest and to bless their search with the knowledge of Spirit, the joy of fraternity and the light of love. Amen.
Hope, Faith and Charity for all,
Omimelli
Oní Yemayá Achagbá