La Sirene: Vodou Goddess of the Deep

“La Sirene, La Baleine,
Chapo'm tonbe nan la me.
Map fe kares pou La Sirene,
Chapo'm tonbe nan la me.
Map fe kares pou La Balen,
Chapo'm tonbe nan la me.”

Before I begin… I am not an initiated Vodou practitioner. The following article is based on the knowledge I have gained through reading books and serving La Sirene without the initiations given in and New Orleans. However, I hope that my experiences will help other non-initiates of Vodou understand this beautiful and mystical Lwa (Vodou term for spirit, or God and Goddess for the neo-Pagans out there) of the sea.

We’ve all seen the image, in media, literature, fine art, Disney movies, Greek mythology, and cheesy 80’s movies with names like “Splash”. The beautiful, curvy, long-haired woman with the tail of a fish, sunning herself on a rock in the ocean, singing, combing her hair, or admiring herself in a mirror. Probably the most famous (and one of the most beautiful) versions of this is by John William Waterhouse entitled The Mermaid.

However, this image has also found its way into the religion of Vodou, in the representation of the female Lwa, La Sirene. Her name, from the French, means literally “the siren” or “the mermaid”, since the two terms are often used interchangeably in modern languages. In the above image, in fact, we see quite a few of the objects usually associated with La Sirene in the traditional imagery: the comb with which she brushes her long and straight hair; the pearls that are the beautiful treasures of the deep; the coloured shells and pebbles that will often find their way onto altars dedicated to her; and of course the waves of the ocean that represent the ebb and flow of the tides.

La Sirene is usually pictured with green-blue eyes and mulatto (almost coffee-cream) skin, with long and straight dark hair. Modern imagery of her sometimes displays her with a single fish tail, whilst others show her with a split tail – much like Coventina the British well Goddess whose main shrine was discovered in Carrawburgh near Hadrian’s Wall. This split-tail mermaid figure appears throughout the British Isles and in alchemy, as well as (oddly enough!) on the logo for Starbucks! (Look closely, or research it’s earlier versions, and you’ll see what I mean.)

I am as yet unable to find a veve (sacred symbol) for La Sirene, but I believe she shares her husband’s veve:

For those unfamiliar with Vodou, the veve is a symbol intimately linked with a Lwa, and which is drawn upon the temple floor in flour or cornmeal during a Vodou service. During the ritual dancing, this symbol will become destroyed, releasing its power into the universe. Another common practice is for each ritual participant to spit rum over the veve, since the Lwa come to the material plane through liquid.

Wife of Agwe, Lwa of the Sea

Agwe is a very popular Rada (white, cool) spirit in Vodou, who rules over the sea and all who sail upon it. He is depicted as an Admiral, regal, calm, and poised. He sails the otherworldly boat called Imamou (which his veve is a stylized image of) which carries the souls of the dead to their afterlife – which in Vodou is believed to be beneath the ancestral waters.

 La Sirene is one of Agwe’s beloved wives (alongside Erzulie Freda, who shares many associations with La Sirene), and thus they share rulership of the sea and all that exists beneath it.

Mother Ocean, Mami Wata

La Sirene is often seen as a mother figure, since it was from the oceans that all life originally came, and it is the ocean to this day that gives life to so many cultures that depend on fishing. It is also viewed as the uterine waters of the sea Goddess, and can be linked to the uterine waters found within women as well. Water gives life, for without it we thirst and die. As such, La Sirene is often worshipped as “Mami Wata” or Mother Water – a nurturing, caring, mothering Lwa whose children are many.

La Sirene in Santeria: Yemaya

Santeria, the Yoruban religion originally from Africa and now practised in many of the same areas of the world as Vodou, shares a similar if not identical figure in its mythology: that of Yemaya. Also depicted as a beautiful mermaid bearing mirror and comb, Yemaya is the mother of the sea and everything it represents. She is said to be the “Mother Whose Children Are Fishes”, which refers to the fact that her creations (all life) are as numerous as the fishes in the vast ocean. It is Yemaya who is said to have given birth to the other Orishas (spirits, Gods, Goddesses) of Santeria with Obatala the great Father God and the seed of life. It is said that when Yemaya gave birth to the Orishas, her uterine waters broke forth and flooded the earth, creating the oceans and all other bodies of water on our planet.

Lwa of imagination, creativity, song and poetry

One of the traditional ideas about mermaids or sirens is that their beautiful, haunting songs lured sailors into the deep sea, where they were drowned (though it was said they died a blissful death at the sirens’ hands!) Indeed, they are often depicted in classical imagery with lyres and harps, and are often given the attributes of the Muses, able to inspire song and poetry in others.

As such, La Sirene has taken on these attributes as well, and anybody who serves her is granted a heightened creativity. Often, the ocean that La Sirene and her husband rule over and in is seen as symbolic of the creative subconscious, or the emotional side of ourselves that gives rise to our most creative of energies. Indeed, the image of the mermaid itself is one born from pure imagination and which has given rise to an immense amount of literature over the centuries.

Sensuality, beauty, and temptation

The mythical mermaids and sirens are renowned for their beauty, tempting men to them and enticing people. Often, when men see their beauty they cannot take their eyes off them, and go crazy if they cannot have them. They will go to any lengths to secure the beautiful mermaid as a bride: many folkloric tales from around the world tell of men catching mermaids they have fallen in love with, stealing their tails and hiding them away, banning them from seeing the ocean, making them forget about their mermaid life, keeping them prisoner and more.

La Sirene, in just the same way, entices people with her beauty, and after spending time serving La Sirene it is often seen that her devotees look a bit more attractive, or learn to emphasize their best bits… When working with La Sirene, many people report having an extremely sensual feeling about the ritual: luxurious and lazy, revelling in every sensation and enjoying every experience. This seems apt, since the nature of water is tactile and sensuous, moving and flowing around every object it touches and completely embracing it. As such, La Sirene is often called upon by those who feel their sensuality is blocked, or by those who need help seeing their true beauty.

However, the beauty of La Sirene can sometimes be used destructively – people can be tempted and enticed by her beauty or the beauty of one who has worked magic with her, and do things at their bidding.

Mambo La Sirene

La Sirene is often given the title of “Mambo”, which refers to a priestess in the Vodou tradition. The mambo is a keeper of the mysteries, a conveyor of the secrets of the tradition to initiates, and one of the people responsible for the “congregation” of initiates. She provides the food for the services that will be eaten by the congregation, she provides teaching, healing, divination, and magical services, and she counsels and advises her initiates. It is also necessary that the mambo be of an extremely high magical awareness and learning. As a mambo, La Sirene holds the mysteries of the deep within her, and teaches them to those who wish to learn. She is also a Lwa of magic and spellcraft, and can often be called upon to aid in the practice of magic. She is also popular among witches in neo-Paganism for this reason, and is sometimes called “Queen of the Witches” in the .

Just like Yemaya, La Sirene has a side to her that represents the dreaming world and everything found within it. When we dream, that is La Sirene. Our nightmares also come from her as well however, since both the good and bad sides of our subconscious appear in our dreaming mind. Those who work with La Sirene often find that she contacts them through their dreams or through visions, inspiring them creatively or magically and feeding their imagination. As such, when working with her it is advisable to keep a dream diary to record one’s dreams.

X Marks the Spot: a Lwa of treasure and gold

All the treasures of the ocean are La Sirene’s to look after, and the underwater palace she shares with Agwe is filled with gold and precious items that have come from sunken ships. Due to this, La Sirene adores objects of beauty, jewellery, gold, and money as offerings to her upon her altars, and will often gift her devotees with small windfalls or surprise treasures. The concept of treasure can also be seen as symbolic of the pearls of wisdom we often find within ourselves, and which we go hunting for on our spiritual and magical journeys. La Sirene can be called upon to ask for her guidance and protection on these journeys, just as her husband is called upon to guide people on mundane journeys across the sea.

The Dark Side of La Sirene

From the Paul Hogan film version of Peter Pan:

Wendy: [on seeing the approaching mermaids] Oh how sweet! [on seeing Peter’s raised eyebrow] Are mermaids not sweet?

Peter: They’ll… sweetly drown you if you get too close.

Amongst all this beauty and song, however, lies a dark side. There are some parts of the ocean that we do not go: parts that are too deep and too dark for us to even approach, and it is these parts that La Sirene also rules over. It is this aspect of her that is called La Baleine, or “the whale” – a hulking monster of the deep that can dive under the ocean’s surface and remain there for hours. As La Sirene she is the sunlight that dances upon water, but as La Baleine she is the shadows beneath the water – the things in our subconscious that are dark, mysterious, and not necessarily approachable.

Indeed, mermaids and sirens throughout folklore, history, and mythology are renowned for being dangerous: their beauty and song entices unwary sailors into the ocean to be drowned, and in some cultures the mermaids are said to drown handsome sailors out of spite. In other versions of this same idea, mermaids drown men not through spite but through ignorance: they forget that the beautiful male playthings they have found cannot breathe underwater!

In Vodou it is believed that La Sirene will often attempt to drag people into the ocean, where they will remain with her for seven years. Whilst this will teach them all of La Sirene’s mysteries, there is a chance they may never come back. For this reason houngans (priests) and mambos after attaining those ranks will never again fully submerge their heads under water: by doing so it is believed that La Sirene has a greater chance of taking them and drowning them.

As with many muse-like figures throughout mythology, the inspiration and beauty granted by La Sirene can come at a price. Her inspiration can lead people into the darkness of their own psyches and into madness and delirium. Frequent devotees of her may also find it difficult distinguishing fantasy from reality, and often find themselves daydreaming more than living. If you want to get something practical done, don’t call upon La Sirene beforehand!

Marie de la Mer

Every Vodou Lwa is associated with a Catholic saint, mostly through imagery. This allowed the original Vodou practitioners (who were slaves at the time and were forced to become Catholic upon entering slavery) to worship their native African Gods whilst not getting “caught” by their slave masters.

La Sirene is most often associated with Marie de la Mer – Mary of the Sea, the version of the Virgin Mary most often prayed to in seafaring towns and by sailors. She is also seen as Stella Maris, or the Star of the Sea, another aspect of the Virgin Mary, of which it is said:

“Mary Star of the Sea must be followed in faith and morals lest we capsize amidst the storm-tossed waves of the sea. She will illumine us to believe in Christ born of her for the salvation of the world.” ~ Paschasius Radbertus

Stella Maris is depicted in white and blue clothing, standing upon a rock in the midst of the ocean.

As Yemaya, La Sirene is often seen as the Virgin of Regla (also known as the Black Virgin due to her skin colour), resplendent in blue clothing and stars. She is depicted holding a child in her arms, with a crown of stars adorning her head. All of these saint figures are called upon for guidance and aid by believers, much as La Sirene is:

“If the winds of temptation arise;
If you are driven upon the rocks of tribulation look to the star,
call on Mary;
If you are tossed upon the waves of pride, of ambition, of envy, of rivalry, look to the star, call on Mary.” ~ St. Bernard of Clairvaux

La Sirene in Possession

Possession is an important part of any Vodou ceremony, and isn’t as scary as it sounds! It is simply the Lwa entering the body of an initiate, and acting and speaking through them (in a similar way to neo-Pagans channelling their Gods.) Each Lwa has a personality and mannerisms that are exhibited during possession. La Sirene, when in possession, often finds it difficult to walk because she does not have the legs and feet of a human! To make it easier for her in ceremony, she will often be lifted by two strong men either side of her and carried around the temple.

La Sirene, along with her husband Agwe, will often try to submerge herself in water whilst in possession, running towards any body of water that may be present. She is kept wet by other celebrants who douse her continually with buckets of water, and if she runs towards a large body of water the celebrants will hold her back: although La Sirene can breathe underwater, the person whose body she is possessing cannot! If she does somehow make it into the water she will be enticed to come out as much as possible.

Songs for La Sirene

A very popular Creole song for La Sirene is the one found at the top of this article. Translated it says:

“The Mermaid, The Whale,
My hat fell into the sea.
I caress the Mermaid,
My hat fell into the sea.
I caress the Whale,
My hat fell into the sea.”

This song refers to La Sirene in both her light and dark aspects, embracing them both, and the imagery of the hat falling into the water appears to be symbolic of the initiate being possessed by La Sirene.

Another song, also in Creole, is:

“La Sirene, O se mwen k Baleine O!
Sirene O, se mwen k Baleine O.
Pa gen anyen pase Bondye nan peyi a.
Sirene O, se mwen Baleine kap komande.”

“La Sirene, O, it is I who am the Whale,
Sirene O, it is I who am the Whale,
There is nothing greater than God in the country
Sirene O, it is I the Whale who commands.”

In this song, the singer identifies themselves with La Sirene herself in her darker aspect, and I often interpret it as saying that it is this mysterious, hidden power of the self that performs the magical work in many cases.

These songs will usually be sung during a service for La Sirene, since they are sacred to her and she recognizes the tunes and words.

Serving La Sirene

Anybody who feels called by La Sirene’s voice can serve/worship her, whether they are initiated into Vodou or not. Most simply, this involves setting up either a temporary or permanent altar (depending on the nature and urgency of the need), placing objects and imagery sacred to La Sirene upon it, and making offerings to her at this altar. If you wish to set up such an altar, here are some ideas:

Items for the altar: comb, mirror, shells, pebbles from beaches, small water fountains, seaweed, statues of mermaids, statues of any saints she is associated with, pearls, crystal jewellery, gold jewellery, money, trumpet, conch shell.

Colours sacred to her: blues, white, gold, greens, any colours of the sea

Food offerings she likes: champagne, white or light blue coloured foods, white meat, seafood, deserts, sweet foods, gin, melon.

You can also place images of her upon this altar, perhaps some items sacred to her husband Agwe, along with his veve, and anything else that says “La Sirene” to you. At this altar you can leave regular food offerings for her, pray, do magic with her, and ask for inspiration. An altar to La Sirene is particularly suited to a bathroom setting!

Magic with La Sirene

There is a lot of magic that can be performed under the guidance and protection of Mambo La Sirene, and since the sea is tireless so is she, so she is very easy to work with. Some suggestions for La Sirene magic include:

• Engraving or marking a coin with a wish or need, and throwing it into a well, the ocean, or another body of water.
• Using sea water to anoint your third eye to enhance psychic awareness or inspiration and creativity.
• Keep a dream diary.
• Float candles on small rafts in the sea, empowered with your offerings of energy to La Sirene.
• Mirror magic.
• Any magic to enhance/appreciate beauty.
• Magical baths: using essential oils in a bath to achieve results or a state of mind.
• Sand magic: draw your intention in the sand when the tide is out. When the tide comes back in it will take the drawing with it, delivering it to La Sirene.
• Magic to aid the healing of women’s medical problems, or to aid a safe and speedy delivery of a child.
• Love magic.
• Magic for luck in material matters.
• Magic to enhance ones creativity and inspiration.

Magic with La Sirene is most powerful when performed near a large body of water – the ocean in particular – and you can often use the natural water there as part of your magical working. Since La Sirene is found in all bodies of water though, the water in question is up to you and may also depend on the kind of magic you wish to perform. Even doing magic in the bath can be powerful, especially so when the magic is aimed at enhancing one’s beauty and charm!

Conclusion

It is difficult to sum up a Lwa in a single article, but I hope that this has given you some ideas and inspiration about La Sirene. If she appears to you in your dreams, daydreams, songs, poetry, or in a vision, perhaps you should see what happens when you follow her siren call…?

You can explore La Sirene further with the La Sirene Tarot spread by the same author.

Links

In the Photo Gallery at practicallymagick.com there are some stunning photos of this houngan’s La Sirene altar.

ezilikonnen.com's “Lwa” section has an excellent article on La Sirene, as well as a report of a seaside service for La Sirene and Agwe.

Information on Yemaya

Wikipedia article on Yemaya

Article about the history and literature of mermaids from endicott-studio.com

www.isidore-of-seville.com/mermaids/11.html is a wonderful gallery of mermaid and siren imagery. Great resource for altar pictures for La Sirene!

lyricsmania.com has lyrics for the medieval song “Mary of the Sea”, sung by The Mediaeval Baebes in their album “Mirabilis.” Also has a modern English translation!

Kim Huggens is a 22 year old Master of Arts student in the Religious and Theological Studies department of Cardiff University. If she wasn’t such an eclectic Pagan she’s be a Vodou practitioner, but she can’t help worshipping Odin and a bunch of other Gods as well! Lately she’s been enticed and tempted by the lovely La Sirene, and is surprised she managed to keep her head out of daydreams long enough to write a vaguely cohesive article on the subject! She’s also the co-creator of the forthcoming “Sol Invictus: The God Tarot” (www.godtarot.com) and co-creator of a deck-in-progress, “The Goddess Tarot” (still looking for a better name!)