Eleguá and its 3 Religious Syncretisms: The Orisha who opens the roads

Eleggua also known as Eshú-Elegguá, he is the owner of the roads and destiny and his name means "The messenger prince".

Who is Eleguá in Santeria?

It is the Orisha who represents the first protection, since it is he who opens the ways to continue in the Yoruba religion.

He is a warrior Osha who cares for destiny. This Orisha protects the Ilé (house) of whoever owns it and helps his children, giving the key of fortune to those he considers ready to obtain it. In nature, it is symbolized by rocks.

To Elegguá, the uninitiated or aleyos must receive or consecrate him as first. He is also one of the fearsome and ferocious warriors of the Orisha Oddé group together with Osún, Oggún and Oshosi, who are called The Warriors. He is, in fact, the first of the warriors and the gatekeeper of the savannah and the mountain.

He is considered the fundamental messenger of the creator Olofin, the main interpreter of the letters of the diloggún oracle system and protagonist of the oracle of Biangue or Aditoto.

The Patakíes Yorubas say that Elegguá has been the only one who has come and gone from the world of Ará Onú, or the land of the dead, and that he gained sufficient privileges from Constitution, the wise obbatala and the fortune teller orunmila to be the first to be served.

This is also why it is said that he is the spoiled Orisha of the Rule of the Ocha (Santeria) and in appearance he is compared to a mischievous child.

The 3 Syncretisms of the orisha Eleguá in the Rule of Osha

And as part of the process of transculturation awarded to the colonialist stage, Elegguá had to be syncretized with various figures of the Catholic cult also associated with protection and grantors of fortune.

So that African slaves could continue to show their devotion to him, Elegguá syncretized with:

San Antonio de Padua
Encourage alone
Holy Child of Atocha

1. Saint Anthony of Padua, Patron of Miracles: June 13

San Antonio de Padua, also known as the Patron of Miracles, is especially invoked by Catholics on various occasions, especially for questions related to health and luck.

His story tells that he was born in Lisbon in 1195, and very young, contrary to the wishes of his family, he entered the Augustinian Abbey of San Vicente on the outskirts of Lisbon, a famous institution that promulgated the study of the dogmas of the Catholic Church.

He studied the Sacred Scriptures and the theology of some doctors of the Catholic Church such as Jerónimo de Estridón, Agustín de Hipona, Gregorio I and Bernardo de Claraval, in addition to the Latin classics.

Saint Anthony of Padua lived as a preacher, traveling throughout northern Italy and southern France and fighting heresies.

It is said that when he fell ill with dropsy, he lived in a cell built by himself under the branches of a walnut tree and died on June 13, 1231 in the convent of the Poor Poor Clares in Arcella at the age of 36.

Saint Anthony of Padua is fundamentally recognized for being the most rapidly canonized person by the Catholic Church, just 352 days after his death. Numerous supernatural episodes are attributed to him, which is why he is known as the patron of Miracles.

They say that he knew the language of the fish and that he carried the baby Jesus in his arms during one night. The Church also points out that 30 years after his death, the sarcophagus where his body was found was opened and they discovered that, although his entire body was already corrupted, his tongue was still intact, which gave him a legendary fame.

The monarch Leo He is also often invoked to find lost objects and young women beg him for a good partner.

Prayer to Saint Anthony of Padua

Next, we offer a Prayer to pray to the saint, who is usually prayed to in difficult and urgent cases, for love, falling in love, getting married and getting a boyfriend, to tie, dominate and conquer, and in general, if you are looking for miracles and help .

Oh blessed Saint Anthony, the gentlest of all saints
Your love for God and your charity for his creatures made you worthy,
When you were here on Earth, of possessing miraculous powers.
Miracles awaited your word,
That you were always willing to speak up for those with problems or anxieties.
Encouraged by this thought, I implore you to obtain for me
(The request is made)
The answer to my prayer may require a miracle
But still, you are the saint of miracles.

2. Anima Sola, spirit of purgatory

There is much controversy in the Catholic religion generated by the story of Ánima Sola, also called Alma Desamparada, and seen as an image that represents a soul in Purgatory, very popular in Latin America and also in Spain and Italy.

It represents a woman who is standing in the flames, but who is never consumed and grabs with one hand with a broken chain while the other hand cries out to heaven.

The image is said to embody the young Jewish woman named Celestina Abdégano, who belonged to the pious women who assisted the damned. On the day that Jesus Christ died, he came with a pitcher of water to give drink to those who were dying on the crosses.

She gave water to Dimas and Gestas, the two thieves who were on either side of Christ, but it is said that, out of fear of the guards, she did not give Jesus a drink. For this reason she was condemned to suffer the thirst and constant heat of the flames of Purgatory until the end of the world.

Despite not being a saint consecrated by the church, some devotees pray to her and light lamps in her honor to lessen their sorrows. But other people invoke it for negative purposes, such as tying up a person or harming them.

The image of Ánima Sola is also venerated in spiritualism as the 'lonely soul' or 'abandoned spirit' and is very popular in Latin American magical traditions. It is invoked above all by those who want to find love or have been cheated on by their partner.

Prayer to the Anima Sola to tame men

The prayers dedicated to this entity are usually related to feelings of a couple, among them; to force you to return to your love, to separate, despair a man, destroy and alienate a person, dominate, ward off enemies and in the face of a difficult and impossible request.

My heart; I have it in my hand; I do not give it, nor take it away, I place it in the Mantle of Mary Most Holy,
and may he walk behind me as dead behind the Light and he alive on the Cross,
Anima of the Sea and the Earth, mortify and disturb him;
Anima Sola I wanted with peace; get into the heart of______, make him impatient and mortify him;
and may he not have tranquility or peace next to any woman until he reaches my feet surrendered,
how Our Lord Jesus Christ arrived at the feet of Pontius Pilate.
With Two I measure them and with Three I tie them; the blood of his heart I drink and his heart I snatch ...

Note: pray 9 Hail Marys to Souls and 5 Salves to Santa María. This will be said every Friday, Monday and Wednesday at 12 noon.

3. Holy Child of Atocha, the child Jesus: January 6

The Holy Child of AtochaLegend indicates is a small Spanish pilgrim, who is said to be the baby Jesus. He is called "the little one who never is" and is generally shown in various paintings as an Older Child, sitting in a chair.

The history and devotion to the Holy Child of Atocha originated in Spain, as he is prayed to as the son of Mary, Our Lady of Atocha.

They say that, in the territory of Atocha, the caliph issued an order to indicate that only children twelve years of age or younger could feed the prisoners. Thus, a little boy began to take food to the prisoners who did not have young people in their family.

No one knew who he was, but those who had asked the Virgin of Atocha for a miracle visited the local monument in her honor, and discovered that the shoes of the statue of the child Jesus that the Virgin held were worn.

From this legend, devotion to the Santo Niño de Atocha has grown throughout the world, as many miracles linked to protection and charity are awarded to him.

They say that the child in the statue present in many shrines sometimes moves, in what is known as a “miraculous apparition”.

The Santo Niño de Atocha is prayed fundamentally in difficult and urgent situations, so that he hears our prayers and helps us.

Prayer to the Holy Child of Atocha:

We propose a prayer to invoke your help.

The prayers to this saint usually ask for his protection, to open roads, difficult and urgent cases, requests for pregnancies, for love, health, money, work.

As he is a highly revered deity, he is also begged for prosperity and abundance.

Clemente and kind infant of Atocha, I come to you to tell you how much I love and need you,
I want you to turn your merciful eyes towards me and see the despair and affliction that overwhelms me
I have done everything in my power, but my problems are serious and I have not found a solution
You who are so miraculous, do not turn away from me:
I ardently ask you to send me your assistance, I urgently ask for your comfort and help
Most wise and Holy Child of Atocha, protector of all men, shelter of the helpless,
Divine healer of any disease
Most Powerful Holy Child: I greet you, I praise you on this day and I offer you three prayers: (three Our Fathers, three Hail Marys and three Glories)
In memory of the day you spent incarnated in the pure and immaculate womb of your sweet and most loving Mother
From the holy city of Jerusalem to Bethlehem
For the faith that I have in You, listen to my prayers, for the trust that I place in You, grant me what I humbly request
(Make the request)
I, who love you above all things, want to praise you without ceasing, together with the choirs of Cherubim and Seraphim, adorned with the most perfect wisdom.
I hope, most precious Holy Child of Atocha, a happy answer to my plea
I know that I will not leave you disconsolate and that you will also grant me a good death,
To accompany you to the Nativity of Glory.
Amen