I have just finished the article on Papa Legba. Please feel free to check it out if you would like to learn more about this Lwa. I wanted to give a quick graphical explanation of Papa Legba’s veve here and what it means:

Legba is the keeper of the crossroads. 

Legba is the Lwa who holds the keys to the spiritual world. For this reason, he is said to be the Lwa of the keys, or the gateway, or the crossroads. The crossroads are both literal and metaphorical. This refers to the barrier or boundary between the material and the spiritual world. This is why Legba must be called upon to work with any of the other Lwa, with a few exceptions. Here we see that reflected in Legba’s veve: the base is a cross and the center is a crossroads.

Legba guards the four corners of the earth.

Because Papa Legba is the Lwa of the crossroads, he is also the Lwa of the four corners around those. This is symbolic of the four corners of the Earth and it is why Legba is said to be everywhere. Here we see the four points in Legba’s veve symbolizing the four corners of the world. This is also symbolic of the four elements of fire, air, wind and water.

Legba as above, so below.

The major symmetry in Legba’s veve is vertical, but not horizontal. This reflects the dual nature of reality or the world, essentially the spirit and the material. In spell work, by altering something in the spiritual world we also change it in the material world. This principle, phrased “As Above, So Below” is seen in the veve of Papa Legba.

The arrow is the spiritual journey.

From left to right, we see Legba’s veve form an arrow. This is because it is Legba who walks a journey, from one point to the next. In the orations of Legba we hear Legba often described as coming and going. This is what the arrow symbolizes: Legba coming from one point and going to the next. This is also  reflective of your own walk, pathway or spiritual journey with Legba.

Yours,

Emmanuel