Frater Vameri
Photo by foto-rabe.
If Ogou is iron and fire, then Ogou is the forge. It is at the Ogou forge that the Lwas' servant is shaped and tempered. There is no way to do this except through sweat and effort. The song says that Ogou works to eat. There are two meanings here - Ogou is people like us and Ogou, if fed, will carry out his duties. This lesson includes important notions.
It is always important to remember that Ogou played a prominent role in the Haitian revolution and, in these terms, Ogou's approach to the figure of the people is fundamental, as this is the source of an important identification process. It is through this identification that one of the multivariate and complex processes of the Ogou forge acts. It is a metaphysical alchemy, which places Ogou not only as a blacksmith, but as a true alchemist who, in addition to molding, transmutes metals. I am walking in esoteric ways and I know that some may criticize me for this, but the resources are there to be used and we are fighting with the weapons we have.
Thus - Bwa Kayiman - the inaugural ceremony of the Haitian revolution also emerges as the perennial flame that warms the crucible and makes the flames of the oven and the forge grow. Like the initial stage of an alchemical revolution - spirits explode and their action of revolt and agitation must make the person leave his place and try to understand his new trials.
Lead leads to gold - which is not the hardest of metals, but it is the most noble. The warrior's weapon is nothing if he is not skillful and in the hands of the most experienced fighter even the tiniest of blades will be deadly. Furthermore, the experienced warrior knows when and for what reason to fight. And that makes all the difference.
The problem with forge and alchemical transformation is that they depend on a dual game. On the one hand there is the craftsman (and the more skilled he is, the better), but on the other there is the material with which he works. This is the part that depends on us. You have to give a lot of yourself, you have to feed Ogou, otherwise he won't work.
If the metal is too hard, it will break with the hammering. If it's too soft, too. Fire can be the key to finding that balance - we need to understand what kind of fire burns within us. Knowing yourself is the primary weapon of the alchemist and the blacksmith. We can never forget that.
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