In Praise of Legba

The word is the domain of Legba. The word is the ship on which Legba crosses the space between the visible and invisible worlds.

Naming is an act of purpose and beauty. In the beginning, Legba danced and the stars fell from the heavens. They fell only a little way, for the heavensand the earth were not far apart. Legba walked among the stars, naming them.

The hot stars he called Virtue. He gathered them together ad placed them in a large pot. There they sang their song and danced their frantic dance, giving freely of their heat to the airs that blow and encircle the Earth. This pot is the Cup of the Saints, and those who choose to drik gain a vitality of the soul.

The cold stars he called Righteousness and strung them upona necklace. This necklace he offered to Shi-Li-Bo Nouvoavou to wear. The cold stars shook and glimmered upon her breasts, calling to all who would taste their pale fires. These fires confer a straightness and evenness of a body and temperament.

In the beginning was the Word. Legba embraced the Word and Lay in its soft fullness to ride as a Chariot, as a beeetle, as a barque between the lands of the spirits and the lands of those who walk upon this Earth.

Sweet Legba, Son of Brightness, the sound of your cane echoes in the emptiness between the Worlds. Your feet, fast flying, part the ether and open the road. Walker on the Crossroad, Caller of the Quarters, Giver of Names, Patron of Beginings, Bringer and Begetter of the Word.