Elegguá

The Orisha of the crossroads, roads and beginnings: he opens and closes paths.

Elegguá is the Orisha of the crossroads, of roads, doors and beginnings. He opens and closes paths, and nothing in Santería begins without him: he is honoured first in ceremonies, because he carries messages between people and the Orishas and decides which way is open.

He is often described as a child and a trickster at the same time: playful, clever, fond of sweets and toys, and capable of turning a situation upside down to teach a lesson. His colours are red and black, his number is three, and in Cuba he is connected with the Santo Niño de Atocha and with Saint Anthony of Padua. Many practitioners keep an image of Elegguá near the front door of the house, where the way in and the way out meet.

Elegguá belongs to the guerreros, the warrior Orishas together with Ogún, Ochosi and Osun, which many people receive early on in their path within the tradition. He is closely related to Elegba and Eshu in the wider Yoruba world, though the way these names are used differs between houses and lineages.

In dreams, crossroads, doors, keys, a road that forks, or a playful child who seems to know more than he says are sometimes connected with Elegguá by practitioners, usually as an image of a choice, an opening or a message on its way. Red and black together can be read in the same line.

As with every Orisha, Santería does not establish from a dream that Elegguá is speaking to someone or belongs to them. That is decided within the tradition through divination with a padrino or madrina, never from a dream alone.