The Four Horseman of Spiritual Acension

The Four Horseman have biblical significance as heralds of the apocalypse but their persona can be found in different practices and cultures around the world. I often think that the biblical apocalypse could be the point of transition between our reality and personal ascension. What is the apocalypse but a cataclysmic spiritual shift? It is brought on by the breaking of seals, the breaking of physical shackles. 

There are four among the lwa that transcend personal and Bitasyon relationships to play specialized roles in connection to a great transformation. These lwa are imperative to the balance of spirituality and magic. Whereas the Bible often makes you fear and demonizes ascension, Vodou shows you the power in it. These lwa stand as intermediaries of magic, death, the ancestral plane and metaphysical manipulation. In some circles the Horseman are called Pestilence, Death, Conquest and War. In Vodou, if you look closely, they could be represented as Gran Bwa, Baron, Legba and Kalfou. They work together as guardians of the supernatural. 

Baron is obviously the horseman of Death. While Baron is well known for his position as the Guardian of the Cemetery, what does it truly mean to guard the cemetery? He receives the souls who have passed and welcomes them into their new lives. The cemetery is a transitory point for the ancestral realm. Dying frees you from the limitations of your physical body and expands the spiritual consciousness past the physical realm. He stands as an access point for those who have fallen due to the force of death. He wields the force of death on behalf of those who can call on him. The force of death has always played an interesting role in spiritual work and within our existence. Vodouisant like to say, “If you’re running from a lougarou, don’t go into a church, go into the cemetery.” It is the most consecrated of grounds. The power in the cemetery comes from the force of death. It is something other means of spiritual work cannot overcome easily. We are at the mercy of Death and many spend their lives trying to master its mystery. Many Vodouisants will work with the cemetery, we will work with remnants of the soul and we work with the Baron because typical spiritual work cannot overcome the force of things that have transitioned to the next realm. It cannot overcome the force of Death.

Gran Bwa is the guardian of the forests and nature though modern practitioners forget why that is so important. Pestilence is what he heals, what he provides treatment for. He overcomes and dominates disease. Gran Bwa guards over nature: the representation for and the place where life is initiated. While this is the opposite of famine, famine exists as a result of his absence. Nature, his domain, is the place we first found our power. Today we fill our altars up with manufactured goods from far away places and steadily remove ourselves from nature, becoming ever so disconnected to the spiritual plane. There is a song that goes, “Ma’l cheche fey na gran bwa pou’m sove zanfan yo.” I’m going to look for leaves in the great forest to save the people. In the days of our ancestors, an herb could treat physical ailments, heal a sick mind, or open the gate to an altered state of consciousness. There was a time when we could more deeply connect to the spiritual, find answers to hidden questions, or manifest changes in our lives by going to nature. Gran Bwa, and his domain, are the closest thing we have to a spiritual portal in the waking world. The veil is thin in nature when you allow yourself to experience it. Where one knows how to listen, Gran Bwa has much to say.

Papa Legba is our misunderstood horseman. I think of him as Conquest. I often hear people discussing him as a spirit of opportunity. A lwa to open doors to this want and that need. Though Legba is a missive. He stands at a point between the living, the dead and the divinity. Without his permission, access to the Bitasyon, our ancestry, our main source of power is restricted. Legba’s purpose is to help us in our conquest of spiritual mastery. Although people typically work with Legba to announce the other lwa in ceremony, he can do so much more. You could technically announce him at any point of spiritual entry because he is the universal gate keeper. It is likely why so many can find success announcing him at crossroads even if that is not his domain. Imagine allowing Legba to lead you deeper into the reality of your Bitasyon. He could act as your guide to your spiritual ancestry, he could reveal secrets of Ginen lost over time. Legba could lead you deeper into your spiritual journey by giving you access to new pathways within that path. Every spirit group and each type of spiritual work await their herald, they await Legba. Legba could grant you access to all that you are meant to be spiritually. With Legba you would conquer yourself and your spiritual path.  “Se li ki pote drapo, se li ki pare soleil pou lwa yo.” He is the one who carries the flag, he is the one who shields the sun [heralds] for the lwa.

Which leads us to our final horseman; Kalfou. A lwa at the crossroads. He stands at the junction of metaphysical shifts and acts as a guardian of chaos and spiritual manifestation. If we had to compare him to a horseman, it would be war. Constantly, people fight battles at the junction of the crossroads. We often call these battles Return to Sender, Attack, Domination, or Banishment. Spiritual warfare is raged in the space we call crossroads, the place where one person's path collides with another. The crossroads has seen as much blood and chaos as any battlefield. While Kalfou stands at the center; welcoming the bloodshed as he is well equipped to handle it. No wonder so many people fear Kalfou. He is a focal point for reshaping reality through wanga. When we think of war, death is not so far behind which brings to mind an old saying in Vodou; “Si Kalfou pa bay, cimitiere paka pran.” If Kalfou doesn’t give, the cemetery cannot take.

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