Erzulie Freda

[LithiumViolets]

Hello and Blessings to all...

I have been very interested in, and reading about, Erzulie Freda recently...I was wondering who on this forum serves Her and what She does for you. What are some of the real-life experiences you've had with Her and how do you serve Her? Does She often manifest in dreams? What IS she like and what DOES She like?


just general questions....

thank you.

[aranarose]

I do! I do! She bugs the hell out of me..... dreams, signs, symbols, seeing her EVERYWHERE....

What does she do for me? Everything. She came to me after my husband moved out, and promised me signs and things and has delivered every time, but only when I honor and keep the promises I've made to her.

However, she's very... picky. Fancy altar, lots of stuff, perfectly clean house (something I struggle with).

[LithiumViolets]

I do! I do! She bugs the hell out of me..... dreams, signs, symbols, seeing her EVERYWHERE....

What does she do for me? Everything. She came to me after my husband moved out, and promised me signs and things and has delivered every time, but only when I honor and keep the promises I've made to her.

However, she's very... picky. Fancy altar, lots of stuff, perfectly clean house (something I struggle with).

Perfectly clean is a problem. and I've heard she's hard to please...It's not that I'm dirty or even too messy but i feel under pressure to please her because I don't know her standard of clean, let alone perfectly clean and, although I'm sincere, I don't want her to be offended or dissatisfied. But then I heard that's a major part of her attributes-- always striving for more, wanting more and better and lovelier *sigh* What kind of symbols represent her? What does she usually ask of you?

[aranarose]

Perfectly clean is a problem. and I've heard she's hard to please...It's not that I'm dirty or even too messy but i feel under pressure to please her because I don't know her standard of clean, let alone perfectly clean and, although I'm sincere, I don't want her to be offended or dissatisfied. But then I heard that's a major part of her attributes-- always striving for more, wanting more and better and lovelier *sigh* What kind of symbols represent her? What does she usually ask of you?

Pink. Lots and lots and lots of pink. Sweets, like cookies and cakes. Fancy stuff, lace, jewelry. Pretty stuff. She's a lady, and yes, she is hard to please. Always better and better, more and more. But as I work with her, she repays in abundance.

[LithiumViolets]

Is there no one else here who serves this Lwa? or is at least drawn to her as I have been? It's really kind of "bugging" me lately, not in a necessarily bad way but...I've been thinking of Her all the time, always looking to know more, read more, serve her, etc. But I'm in a strange, insecure place because I don't want to approach her improperly, especially if she doesn't want me to serve her and I've had no previous experience with Vodou or the Lwa, only Orisha/Santeria and my own work with other pantheons in an eclectic manner...

[Teresa]

I serve her but do not have time to comment on her right now. She likes things clean, neat, organized and beautiful! Nice perfumes and candies and laces , beautiful combs and mirrors, nice jewelry. :thumbsup:

[Ruben]

Hello,

Erzulie Freda is a very delicate and elevated Lwa - her counterpart in dominican vodou is known as Metrecili Freda and this is the spiritual point that I serve Erzulie on....

She likes Roses, Perfumes, Extreme Cleanliness, and Sweet services....Rice Pudding etc. She is a spirit of love and does not appreciate aggresive nature...she will turn heaven and earth for her children as long as you have a good heart and you service her well.

Any particular questions about her - let me know.

Gracia Misericordia!

[Cobalt]

I recommend reading Mama Lola by Karen Brown. It's technically an ethnography/biography of a Vodoun priestess living in Brooklyn, but it does an excellent job of showing what these lwa are like and what part they play in the culture they came from (particularly to women).

To give a quick blurb about Freda, she represents the promise of beauty. A beautiful woman has always had a lot of chances in Haiti that a less-attractive woman did not, most notably an opportunity to gain a position as a mistress to a wealthy white man who would take care of her. Through love, women can gain in station and security. By attaining the affection of a man, a woman can take control of her own fate.

However, Freda's search for love is seldom satisfied. She obsessively makes herself attractive (which is why she likes fancy things and often shows up as a light-skinned woman in rich clothing), but because she is always searching outside herself for her chances at power and fulfillment, Freda is also a warning.

I'm just rattling things off the top of my head, but hopefully this is helpful. To me Freda embodies the power (and the prison) of being able to succeed by one's beauty. It gives a woman power, but it is a power defined and granted by men. It leaves men in a position to fulfill Freda, and leaves her unable to do it herself because she has internalized other people's expectations of her.

[LithiumViolets]

I actually have <i>Mama Lola</i> and it was an awesome read...

I love your summary of her too, though, especially


Through love, women can gain in station and security. By attaining the affection of a man, a woman can take control of her own fate.

However, Freda's search for love is seldom satisfied. She obsessively makes herself attractive (which is why she likes fancy things and often shows up as a light-skinned woman in rich clothing), but because she is always searching outside herself for her chances at power and fulfillment, Freda is also a warning.

I'm just rattling things off the top of my head, but hopefully this is helpful. To me Freda embodies the power (and the prison) of being able to succeed by one's beauty. It gives a woman power, but it is a power defined and granted by men. It leaves men in a position to fulfill Freda, and leaves her unable to do it herself because she has internalized other people's expectations of her.

...it really puts it into another perspective, considering power and the acquisition of it from within (Erzulie Dantor, perhaps, or Oya) versus validation from an outside source (i.e. a man) like Erzulie Freda...

[Cobalt]

Mama Lola totally rocked my world. I read it for an anthropology class, and I didn't have the heart to sell it back once the course was done.

I'm glad that--despite us having read the same book--I was able to be of help!