Please Note: What follows is a very cursory look at a vast and complicated subject! For more information, Hounsi Sophia has compiled a number of pages about the Spirits here, alternatively see the wonderful website of Houngan Gate Sa Daginen (www.ezilikonnen.com).
What is a Lwa (loa)?
In Vodou, a Lwa is a spirit (esprit): also known as angels (zange), mysteries (mystere), the invisibles (les invisibles). They are seen as essentially good, although they can be angered or prone to other human frailties at times. They are understood to gain their power from God (Bondye) and are not seen as deities in their own right; they are more like the Catholic idea of saints, intermediaries or intercessors between mankind and the Almighty.
In Vodou, the Lwa are 'fed', 'served' or 'worked with' in order to achieve a result: the serviteur may ask for protection, love, help finding a job or he may serve them simply in order to strengthen his connections with them. The Lwa are not worshipped because they are not God, but they are treated with great respect, and many serviteurs we know have a wonderful relationship with them, treating them much as they might treat a well-beloved family elder. Indeed, the Lwa are understood to have originated with our ancestors: some Lwa and spirits (e.g. Marie Laveau) can still be traced back to an actual historical person who was born, lived, and died.
Who are the Lwa?
There are many, many Lwa: some are secret, served only by one family or Sosyete; others are well known and may be regularly mentioned in books and publications. Some Lwa are only taught to initiates. The Lwa are usually sorted into different Rites, nations (nachons) or families (familles), e.g. the Gede family. Knowing where a particular Lwa can be found will give you some basic understandings about that Lwa: a spirit from the Nago nation with the prefix Ogou will be a warrior, for example.
We have provided a short list of some of the major Lwa and spirits here.
How do I begin working with the Lwa?
If we were given $5 every time someone asked us how to serve or work with the Lwa, we'd be a whole lot richer than we are now! The truth is, there is no right or wrong way and every person's needs are different. This does not mean you should go about working with them any way you feel like it, however. What it does mean is that while some information can be obtained in a book or online, that information may not be good for you (it may also just be bad information - there's plenty out there).
In addition, while you may feel very attracted to a certain Lwa, that does not mean they necessarily 'walk with you' (we say a Lwa 'walks with' a person when they are spiritually connected in some way, perhaps through the person's familial heritage).
We have seen this question time and again: "Why won't Erzulie Freda / Gran Bwa / Papa Damballah (insert name here) give me what I ask for?" First of all, the Lwa are not genies, put on earth solely to attend to our whim and wish; secondly, they may very well have no connections with you. So how do you expect them to hear you? Working with a Lwa that does not walk with you, or about whom you know very little, can be dangerous: there are some spirits even initiates leave well enough alone, yet without the benefit of guidance or training, prospective serviteurs won't know this. Fools rush in where angels fear to tread!
For all the above reasons, there are many people (ourselves included) who do not think it is a good idea to work with the lwa without personal guidance. Books and other publications can only get you so far. We recommend that you find a personal mentor, such as a well-respected Houngan or Mambo, before you do anything else; and ideally you would have a Reading done to ascertain which Lwa actually walk with you (as these are the Lwa you should be working with, if you want to achieve better results).
