The most common depiction of the loa Erzulie Dantor
is derived from this variant of the sacred icon of
Our Lady of Czestochowa.
Vodou and spiritualism
Vodou is a religion/practice that is greatly concerned with spirits. Practitioners that participate may be exposed
to the spirits carried by their ancestors that they once served. Those who don’t practice may be involved with great exposure to spiritual experiences.
One way that those who participate or practice can have the spiritual experience is when one is possessed by
the lwa. When the lwa comes on the practitioner, their body is being used by the spirit. At this point the spirit
will perform acts that it desires to do.
Some spirits can give prophecies of upcoming events or situation around the possessed one, also called "Chwal"
or the "Horse of the Spirit." When one is possessed, the possessed one has no conscious memory of what has occurred. There is no such thing as a partial possession but only full. Practitioners experience this as being a beautiful but very tiring experience.
Most people who are possessed by the spirit get a feeling of blackness or energy flowing through their body as
if they were being electrocuted. When this occurs, it is a sign that a possession is in the works. The practitioner has absolutely no recollection and in fact when the possessing spirit leaves the body, the possessed one is tired and wonders what has happened during the possession.
Practitioners with this gift do not like being overexposed because it drains immense energy from them. Not many can have or do have this gift. This gift cannot be purchased but only the spirit/lwa can choose who it wants to possess, for the spirit may have a mission that it can carry out spiritually. Also, those possessed by the lwa may be at a very high spiritual level that their soul is at a mature advanced status.