Fire, Earth and Healing

The final group of Orixás covers essential domains that complete the pantheon: sovereign justice (Xangô), healing and disease (Obaluaiyê), the secret of plants (Ossaim), cyclical transformation (Oxumaré), duality (Logun Edé) and mystery (Ewá).

These Orixás are often the least known to the general public, but they are indispensable for the balance of the system. Without Obaluaiyê there is no healing, without Ossaim there is no remedy, without Oxumaré there is no renewal.

Xangô — The King of Justice

Xangô is the Orixá of justice, thunder, lightning, and sacred fire. The fourth Aláàfin (king) of the ancient kingdom of Oyó, he became an Orixá after death. His instrument is the oxê — the double-headed axe that represents the obligation to hear both sides before passing judgment.

The children of Xangô are natural leaders, magnetic, with a strong sense of justice, an explosive but controlled temperament, and an inability to tolerate lies.

Attributes: red and white, Wednesday, amalá (okra with shrimp and palm oil), oxê and xerê. Greeting: Kaô Cabecilê!

Obaluaiyê (Omolu) — The Lord of Earth and Disease

Obaluaiyê is the Orixá of disease and healing — especially of smallpox, epidemics, and all skin ailments. His body is covered in straw (azê) that hides the sores he carries from having healed humanity by absorbing its diseases into himself.

He is the physician of the pantheon: whoever has the power to cause disease has the power to cure it. His children are often shy, introverted, with a strong vocation for healing and a tendency to carry the suffering of others.

Attributes: black, red and white, Monday, popcorn (doburu) and aberém, xaxará (straw scepter). Greeting: Atotô!

Ossaim — The Guardian of the Leaves

Ossaim is the Orixá of medicinal leaves, botanical knowledge, and the secrets of the forest. In tradition, no ritual works without the leaves of Ossaim — the sacred proverb says: Kosi ewé, kosi Orixá (without leaves, there is no Orixá).

Ossaim is solitary, mysterious, a guardian of secrets he only reveals to those who deserve them. His children are studious, herbalists, healers, people who feel more comfortable in nature than in society.

Attributes: green, Thursday, white corn and black-eyed peas, staff with bird on top. Greeting: Ewê Ô!

Oxumaré — The Rainbow

Oxumaré is the Orixá of the rainbow, of cyclical transformation, continuous movement, and renewal. He manifests as the serpent that bites its own tail — a symbol of eternity and the cycles of life. For six months he is masculine, for six months feminine.

Oxumaré governs the rain that feeds the earth and the movement of waters between sky and ground. He represents the idea that everything changes, everything transforms, nothing is permanent — and that this impermanence is beautiful.

Attributes: yellow and green (colors of the rainbow), Tuesday, sweet potato and black-eyed peas, serpent (dan). Greeting: Arroboboi!

Logun Edé — The Prince of Duality

Logun Edé is the son of Oxóssi and Oxum — half hunter, half mermaid. He lives six months in the forest with his father and six months in the river with his mother. He is the Orixá of youthful beauty, duality, wealth, and refined vanity.

Logun Edé teaches that it is possible to inhabit two worlds without betraying either. His children are often beautiful, vain, talented, with ease in moving between different environments and identities.

Attributes: turquoise blue and gold, Thursday, axoxô and omolocum, bow and mirror. Greeting: Lossí Lossí!

Ewá — The Mystery

Ewá is the Orixá of mystery, hidden beauty, and inner transformation. Little known outside traditional terreiros, Ewá governs the horizon — that line where the sky meets the earth, where the visible meets the invisible.

Ewá is the Orixá of cemeteries alongside Iansã, but while Iansã deals with the active passage of the dead, Ewá guards the silent mystery of what happens after. Her children are reserved, contemplative, mysterious, with a strong connection to the spiritual world.

Attributes: red and yellow, Saturday, discreet offerings, short sword. Greeting: Ri Rô Ewá!