Quest to Kanzo
Donation protected
*Kanzo is Initiation into the
Mysteries of Haitian Vodou*
As long as I can remember I have been driven by spirituality. Some of my first memories were seeing auras and detecting ley lines. All I have ever wanted was to dedicate myself to spirituality, yet my idea is harder in this world where my dream is anything but normal. It is a long, hard road to get to my dream, but it is better that then the easy road to misery – a life where I have a 9-5 job, house, kids etc-. One day I hope to have a spiritual community, for teaching and healing, but that is not what this page is about, this page is about a step to get there. I have called myself an “Eclectic Neo-Pagan” to keep my beliefs in a broad category. My first thought was to go to a Pagan Seminary school to which I was told “you need to go to regular college first”. So I complied as my 17 year-old self didn’t know any better. Got a two degrees in non-spiritual things and went out into the world thinking at the very least I will make enough money to save to go to Pagan Seminary (sure….no). Once I finished my degree I looked for a job and apartment to support myself, biding my time to figure out how to get to Pagan Seminary, or initiated into some tradition, as I feel some sort of formal schooling is necessary before I start my community. 13 years with a lot of exploration and jumping into the spiritual unknowns I finally found the tradition I want to be initiated in Haitian Vodou.
Like most people I started out hearing the stories about “possession” and “zombies”, all that horror story stuff, thinking naively like most people that Vodou maybe trouble and finding no people knowledgeable about it in the area, I let it peculate in my consciousness, not actively reasearching it, but not forgetting it either. In my art history class “Spirituality in Non-Western Art” I decided to do a final project about Veves (basically symbols for the lwa used to invoke them, drawn in cornmeal, etc). I also took an anthropology class about Haiti. The spirit kept bringing me in that direction. Fast forward a few years later after I got my degrees and was in the “real world” looking for a better job than fast food, which was the only thing I could find at the time. I found that better job, better apartment, a boyfriend, friends, etc., but then I knew something was missing, the goal I had originally set out for. I felt my next step was initiation, but I still didn’t feel the strong calling to a particular tradition, nothing just seemed right, like the direction I had to go. Then I picked up a book on Haitian Vodou and I read, and read, and read. I read 5 books right off the bat, devoured blog posts, google searched all I could find. I got in contact with a Mambo (Vodou Priestess) in Boston to go to my first Fete (party for the spirits). The Fete was the best day of my life. I had found home with both the tradition and the people in the Sosyete. I have found my calling, to be initiated into Haitian Vodou. Initiation (called Kanzo) is costly but for good reason, it is; airfare to Haiti, food, lodging, tools to become initiated, compensation for the people helping in the initiation, etc. This is my dream and if I have to save every last penny I make and take on another job to do it, I will but helping me get to that goal faster would be a blessing from the spirits.
Mysteries of Haitian Vodou*
As long as I can remember I have been driven by spirituality. Some of my first memories were seeing auras and detecting ley lines. All I have ever wanted was to dedicate myself to spirituality, yet my idea is harder in this world where my dream is anything but normal. It is a long, hard road to get to my dream, but it is better that then the easy road to misery – a life where I have a 9-5 job, house, kids etc-. One day I hope to have a spiritual community, for teaching and healing, but that is not what this page is about, this page is about a step to get there. I have called myself an “Eclectic Neo-Pagan” to keep my beliefs in a broad category. My first thought was to go to a Pagan Seminary school to which I was told “you need to go to regular college first”. So I complied as my 17 year-old self didn’t know any better. Got a two degrees in non-spiritual things and went out into the world thinking at the very least I will make enough money to save to go to Pagan Seminary (sure….no). Once I finished my degree I looked for a job and apartment to support myself, biding my time to figure out how to get to Pagan Seminary, or initiated into some tradition, as I feel some sort of formal schooling is necessary before I start my community. 13 years with a lot of exploration and jumping into the spiritual unknowns I finally found the tradition I want to be initiated in Haitian Vodou.
Like most people I started out hearing the stories about “possession” and “zombies”, all that horror story stuff, thinking naively like most people that Vodou maybe trouble and finding no people knowledgeable about it in the area, I let it peculate in my consciousness, not actively reasearching it, but not forgetting it either. In my art history class “Spirituality in Non-Western Art” I decided to do a final project about Veves (basically symbols for the lwa used to invoke them, drawn in cornmeal, etc). I also took an anthropology class about Haiti. The spirit kept bringing me in that direction. Fast forward a few years later after I got my degrees and was in the “real world” looking for a better job than fast food, which was the only thing I could find at the time. I found that better job, better apartment, a boyfriend, friends, etc., but then I knew something was missing, the goal I had originally set out for. I felt my next step was initiation, but I still didn’t feel the strong calling to a particular tradition, nothing just seemed right, like the direction I had to go. Then I picked up a book on Haitian Vodou and I read, and read, and read. I read 5 books right off the bat, devoured blog posts, google searched all I could find. I got in contact with a Mambo (Vodou Priestess) in Boston to go to my first Fete (party for the spirits). The Fete was the best day of my life. I had found home with both the tradition and the people in the Sosyete. I have found my calling, to be initiated into Haitian Vodou. Initiation (called Kanzo) is costly but for good reason, it is; airfare to Haiti, food, lodging, tools to become initiated, compensation for the people helping in the initiation, etc. This is my dream and if I have to save every last penny I make and take on another job to do it, I will but helping me get to that goal faster would be a blessing from the spirits.
Organizer
Holly Thompson
Organizer
Winooski, VT
