METRES EZILI FREDA or Erzulie Freda

Welcome to the sweet scented house of Mambo Ezili Freda, an extremely magickal and beautiful lwa, whose full name is actually Metres Mambo Ezili Freda Daome. All these words make references to different aspects of this beautiful lwa.

She rules over love (romantic), luxury, gambling luck, abundance, refinement, and much more. She is associated with coolness and freshness and cleanliness. She demands cleanliness in her services.

Ezili Freda is known as Metres, or mistress, because she acts more like a mistress than a wife, although she is known to have three husbands. Her three husbands are the lwa: Ogoun Feray, Danbala, and Met Agwe Tawoyo. Due to this, Metres Ezili wears three gold rings, one for each of her husbands.

Mambo Ezili Freda rules over the heart, and because of this her veve (ritual drawing) is that of a heart with beautiful detailing. She can bring romantic love to a sevite and bless him or her with the riches of love. Therefore, of course, Ezili is visualized as a most beautiful woman, a white woman with long, flowing blond hair.

Freda’s Catholic counterpart is Mater Dolorosa. She is indeed a powerful lwa. She is a master magician and a great Mambo. Ezili can bring great success to her sevites, and wanga on her pwen (point) often have quick and effective successes. She rules over material success and abundance, and she often rewards her sevites with these gifts.

She dislikes women, and doesn’t touch them very often when in possession. She only salutes them, giving them her pinkie fingers and crossing them in a way that is very delicate and refined. She is said to cause problems between men and women in relationships. She is jealous of women in general, and many times women may find that their problems are being caused by Metwes Ezili. But, she still has many female children and sevites (of course!) and treats them, as well as serves them, extremely well. She loves men, and hugs and kisses them. She also marries them quite often, conferring upon them gifts and blessings that she is well known for.

Don’t fall into any illusions though, because as sweet and sparkly as she is, she is also a very powerful Mambo. She spoils negative wanga with her mere presence. She spoils poison too. That is why one of her nicknames is Gate Sa. She ties very powerful wanga and conducts very powerful magick. In fact, most of the magick that I conduct on Freda’s point bears results in three days! When Freda wants to work, she does so and she does so extremely well.

She is very complex! She must be dealt with delicately and her services done to the T, otherwise she will refuse to help. Her service is very elegant and refined.

Her colors are white and pink. Gay men are said to be under her patronage. She loves all the good things in life. Freda is the need for perfection, the want, the desire. She always wants more, and when her needs cannot be met she falls into tears.

Mambo Ezili Freda is best served on Thursday, which is her sacred day.

Service to Mambo Ezili Freda

First things first: when you set up a space for Freda, you must remember that it must be extremely clean. Free of dust, clutter, and dirt. Vacuum the carpet, or sweep the floor, wash the walls, and dust the ceiling.

Then take a sprig of basil, a glass of water, and a white candle. Pray the Our Father and the Hail Mary, and start to sprinkle the area to be used for the altar with the water using the sprig of basil. Speak. Tell Ezili that you are cleansing this space for her service, that you want to serve her, and that you wish her presence at your service. When you are finished, throw the rest of the water out your front door, and let the candle burn out at the space you are going to be using.

The next day, remove the candle and set a low table there to use as your altar. Cover this table with a pink satin cloth and a white satin cloth. On this table place a large goblet of water. At the back of the table, or tacked to the wall, place a photo of Mater Dolorosa. Sprinkle your table with Florida water to make it fresh. Then place on the table all or some of the things that Freda loves. Things that you will offer Ezili.

Some of these things are:

•perfume
•basil
•Florida water
•gold jewelry
•soap
•white towels
•cakes
•puddings
•rich luxurious foods
•make-up
•lots of pink champagne
•pink and white cakes
•rice cooked in cinnamon and milk
•pink flowers
On this altar you will place three gold rings (though you do not have to) and a gold necklace. Give her a ring in exchange for a particular request.

Then go and take a bath with cool water. If you can, take a spiritual bath for Ezili Freda (find one HERE – it’s at the top of the list ) This will help you invoke Ezili Freda and start you going on her same vibe. Then dress in all white, and tie your head with a white or pink kerchief.

Then go to your altar, and light your white candle. Pray the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the Apostle’s Creed. Then, if you know the songs for Ezili Freda, sing them. Here are some to show you the richness of this lwa:

“Ezili O Kay la mande oze (x3)
Si nen pwen dlo, oze lavek loksyon.”

“Ezili O, the house needs sprinkling
If there is no water, sprinkle lotion (perfume)”

Another:

“Ezili fre, li fre, li Freda (x2)
Ezili O! Li pa manje moun anko
Inosan Bondye va gade ou
Ezili Fre, li fre, li yon bel fanm
Ezili Fre, li fre, li yon fanm blanch”

“Ezili she is fresh, she is cool, she is Freda (x2)
Ezili O, she doesn’t eat people anymore
God beholds her as innocent
Ezili she is fresh, she is cool, she is a beautiful woman
She is fresh, she is cool, she is a white woman”

Sprinkle the area with cool water, Florida water, and Pompeii lotion. Place a white candle in the center of all the food offerings for Ezili and orient them to the four directions. Then orient all the drinks and other gifts for Ezili to the four directions. Tell Ezili they are gifts for her. Dance for Ezili.

Now is your chance to ask Ezili Freda for what you want. Explain to Ezili Freda that you have served her and given her all these beautiful gifts, and that now it is time for her to serve you. Ask for what you want, and trust that Ezili will deliver it to you.

Good luck!

Is Ezili Freda a lazy Lwa?

I often hear complaints that Ezili Freda is lazy. That someone will serve her and see no results. They will give her gifts, beautiful jewelry, makeup, expensive champagne, luxurious foods, and other things. All this for nothing, because Ezili then never goes to work for the person. I even know Houngans and Mambos, initiated Vodouisants, that say the same exact thing. Let me relate to you a personal example:

I once had a client who was seeking the attentions of a certain man. At that time, I had begun to try to develop a relationship with Mambo Ezili Freda. The client, who we will call Mary, did not want a consultation, rather she wanted to skip straight to the work. I told Mary that we would serve Ezili Freda so that she could attract the man, as she is the Lwa associated with romantic love.

A couple days later, Mary returned to my house. She brought all the things I told her I needed to serve Ezili and tie a wanga on her point. She also decided to bring some extra gifts for her, as she knew that Ezili is a lwa of Luxury. She bought Ezili a foot tall statue of Mater Dolorosa, some extra bottles of perfume, and some other beautiful objects including a ring. So I served the Lwa, and tied Mary’s wanga.

Several weeks later, Mary returned to my house saying that nothing happened. She was mad at Ezili because she had brought her a lot of stuff and nothing had happened at all. I was already mad at her because I too had noticed that she was lazy. I gave Ezili a week to do what was requested of her, or else. I told her that if it wasn’t done, I would throw away all her things. Well, guess what? She did nothing, and I threw everything away.

It wasn’t until several years later, when it came to me, that I learned how to correctly serve and work with Freda. She came to me in a dream. She instructed me to serve her. I was very reluctant in doing so due to the past experience. I served her anyway. To my surprise, what I asked for came three days later! This is when I started working with Freda much more.

After that, Ezili Freda has become a very important Lwa here. I never have any problems with her. I told her though, from the beginning, that everyone works in this house. I work, Danbala works, Ogou works, Danto works, and every other lwa that is served here works. That if she was to stay here she needed to earn her keep as everyone else does.

I’ve never had problems with her again. I will have you know that Ezili Freda is an extremely powerful Mambo. When she is served correctly, in the correct manner, she works and she works fast! Her service is delicate though, just like she is.

Ezili Freda is a Lwa that would much rather paint her fingernails than work! This is why it is so hard to get her to work. She needs to be coerced into doing something. Unlike other Lwa, it is hard for many to serve her and expect to get results. She is also a Lwa that can be easily prone to jealousy over her servitors and men.

She is picky too! If one thing goes wrong, or is not done to her tastes, she may decide not to answer the request. She observes every last little detail when someone is serving her. She is a hard Lwa to approach if you are new to Vodou. In fact, if you don’t take a bath before calling her she will not come!

She is strict. Some people think that Ezili Freda is all peace, love, fluffiness, and sweetness. Do not be deceived! Freda is a powerful Mambo who punishes severely if she feels as though she has been jilted. For men who serve her, she may keep women away from them. She can make it hard for someone to have love in their life.

Many think of Freda like this, and fear Danto. One thing about Danto is that she will give you a warning before she punishes you. She will let you know that you have done her wrong and that she will punish you. Danto often will give you a chance to make amends. But not Freda! Freda will not tell you that something is coming, in fact, she will smile at you and tell you everything is fine too! Then when you least expect it, she will take action.

Freda can bestow great riches and gifts to a servant, but she can also take them just as quickly away should she be offended. In fact, the person being punished is often left in a worse state than when he first served her! So when you serve Freda, be careful.

It should not come as too much of a surprise that this Lwa is hard to get to work on your side. All those things that she represents are hard to achieve in life too. Riches, wealth, abundance, romantic love, and luxury items. One really has to work hard in getting these things in life (unless you are born into wealth) so naturally, trying to serve a spirit that represents all those good things is going to be hard work.

One thing to do if you are having a hard time is to make sure everything is clean. Spotlessness is something to remember when dealing with Metres. Make sure that the altar is clean, your home is clean, and that you yourself are clean. Make sure your hair is combed, clothes washed, and you smell good. Take a bath before serving her.

Another thing is, do not spoil her! She is an easy Lwa to spoil. She is quite convincing too, and will try to convince you to spoil her. But whatever you do, don’t. Remember the Lwa are like children, and spoiled children do not like to work. Make her work for her gifts.

For example, tell her you will give her a ring, once you get such and such. If she doesn’t give you results, don’t reward her. But if she does work for you, make sure to pay her right away. You don’t want Freda mad at you! If she doesn’t help you, however, do not break. She will most likely try to tempt you to give it to her anyway.

Freda is expansive too. A lot of times, altars for her start real small and the next thing you know, she is all over the place! She will intrude on other Lwas’ tables and even in your own space. Try to maintain a main altar for her, and do not let it overflow into your space. Otherwise, you may find her looking and acting as if she owns all the space in your home.

Luck

Houngan Hector