Do gbe ɖa: Prayers

In Vodou, there are many ways to make petition to the Divine, but the most readily available method is do gbe ɖa, prayer.

It is important that you talk to your Tɔgbuiawo(Ancestors) and vodouwo everyday so that you can become to understand each other.

Notice what I said there? Talk. Talk and understand each other. See, in Vodou the spirits, the Gods, have their aptitudes and limitations; spirits of Fire burn and shape, spirits of Water dissolve and sustain for example. But your vodous, the ones that were born with you or that come to you after initiation, these are united to you in the furtherance of your purpose, your Sɛ. To this end you need not petition Them anything provided you are holding up your leg of the Work. A simple enough task for those who follow their Rules(Sɛ).

For those desiring a deeper connection with the spirits a deeper relationship must be cultivated with the same skills you'd cultivate a deeper relationship with anyone else.

Gbe akpe ɖa is a prayer for thanks and require little more than the name of the spirit and a demonstration of gratitude. I'd recommend you either start or end your day with this as it may be the only time you can do so genuinely.

Gbe ɖe ɖa n'u and Gbe bia ɖa are requests for help or material assistance. These both change the dynamic of the relationship, turning the focus from Destiny(Sɛ) to intervention on personal matters. Providing us with what we need to fulfill our purpose in life is the bare minimum for the vodous but pursuing our heart's desires is a different thing. Sometimes they must be fortified to challenge the destinies of others, or to skillfully navigate one of our own limitations but they will never violate their charges to get us closer to our destiny no matter how hard we beg.

So when something we want becomes unattainable it isn't because our spirits failed us. Quite the contrary, it's because they're working.