Complaint Review: Madrina Angelique - Georgia

   First off, she says she is a Palera and that her lineage comes from Corta Lima. I talked to a Plaero from the Corta Lima Lineage and he said that Angelique's branch of the lineage does not exist. She may not even know that she is not initiated at all. She may even have been pretending that she is and has been lying about it. I highly doubt based upon how she presents herself that she would even believe that she was not actually initiated into a branch of Palo.

   Also, on her ETSY shop on the about page in the slide show she has, she shows a picture of her alleged Cenlla Ndoki Nganga. The first thing I thought of is how no matter what, no real Palero or Palera would ever show their Nganga online because it is taboo to take pictures of it and show it online period because that counts as giving away house secrets which is breaking one of the many oaths Paleros and Paleras take. The second thing I noticed is that it looked too simple to be a real one. All it has is a human skull, dirt, and sticks in it. The third thing I noticed is that all of the sticks looked the same and are clearly the ones they sell in botanicas in bundles. All the sticks should look different and not the same. Also, there are no Mpacas in her Nganga which are the horns filled with mysteries and have a mirror at the opening of them. There would be a lot more to it if it was a real Nganga. The fifth thing I noticed about it is how clean it looks. If it was a real Nganga, then it would be a lot dirtier than what it is. If it was a real Nganga, then the Nfumbe in it would have been pissed off at her for taking a picture of it and would be eating her up.

   She also in the past had been making what she was calling Lucero fetishes and selling them online and through a store in New Orleans and Rhode Island. She would paint them up and make them for specific purposes like money drawing, love drawing, road opening, etc. First of all, no one can make Lucero fetishes and sell them online or in stores like that. You have to receive them in person from a Tata or Yaya in proper ceremony. They also can not be made for specific purposes like I had mentioned and they also have to have personal effects of the person it is being made for in it, too. They also are never ever painted up at all either and they are fed blood, too. Angelique also did not feed the ones she made blood either.

   Elegba is a praise name and not the actual name of an Orisa or Lwa. She also makes what she calls Elegba head fetishes and sells those online through a store in New Orleans and Rhode Island, too. The ones she makes are painted up and are made for specific purposes like love and passion, money drawing, road opening, etc. That is not how they are supposed to be made at all. On her ETSY store, she sells one that is not painted up but does not make it legitimate. They are not even supposed to be called Elegba head fetishes, either. Esu and Eleggua heads are never painted up and are never made for specific purposes like I had mentioned. They have to be received in person in proper ceremony. They are also made to be a specific aspect/road of Esu and Eleggua and depending on what divination says, is what will determine which aspect/road the person is to receive. They also must have personal effects of the person they are being made for, too. They also must be fed blood when they are birthed, too. Hers are not. Also, she even wrote a book on how to allegedly make Elegba head fetishes. First of all, in Traditional Yoruban Orisa worship, you have to at least be an Olorisa initiated to Esu before you can make an Esu and You have to be an Olorisa in Santeria/Lucumi before you can make an Eleggua and Babalawos in Santeria/Lucumi can not make Eleguas either. They can only make Esus. Her writing a book about that is beyond wrong. On her website, she sells what she calls Elegba poppet dolls that she says she blesses and consecrates. That is not how an Esu or Eleggua is to be made. It is cultural appropriation when someone does that. 

   When it comes to working with and doing ebbo to the Orisas, divination must be done to see exactly which Orisa or Orisas are the ones that one needs to do ebbo to. If it is not Esu or Eleggua, then it is not Esu or Eleggua. It's ok to every now and again to give offerings and what not to any Orisas, but if someone is asking for something very specific, then they need to have a reading done by an Olorisa or an Awo'. If the ebbo is not to be done to Esu or Eleggua, then it is not to be done to Esu or Eleggua and if someone does ebbo to them anyways, then they are wasting their time, setting themselves up for failure, and most likely get the results that they need. When ebbo is done, things are put into motion and things start happening however obvious they do or don't do. Someone may need to do ebbo to one Orisa for one reason and ebbo to another Orisa for another reason all to bring about the results they need. If they don't do the ebbo they are supposed to do, then they won't get they need. If you bake a cake and leave out certain ingredients, then the cake is not going to turn out right.

   In traditional Yoruba Orisa Worship, there is no distinction between Esu and Eleggua, we just have Esu. Sometimes Esu is given just as one stone or is a load encased in cement. Traditionally in Africa, if it is an Esu that is a load, the load is encased in termite mound dirt because termite mounds look like Esu.

   Angelique was also a part of that Global Witches group that ended up collapsing and falling apart. Before that group was created and ended up falling collapsing and falling apart, she would post everywhere else online saying that she is an Iyalorisa in Santeria. She would then say her lineage which ended up being a traditional Yoruban Orisa Worship Lineage. She says that Traditional Yoruban Orisa worship is commonly known as Santeria. Traditional Yoruban Orisa worship is completely different than Santeria and is not Santeria. It appears she was only saying that to make herself seem more legitimate and validated which she is not.

   She also says she blesses Elekes and sells them one her ETSY store. She also makes beaded necklaces that are allegedly consecrated to the Lwa in Vodou that are sold by a store in New Orleans that look like Orisa elekes. First of all, no one can bless elekes and sell them online. They have to be consecrated and fed blood and received in person in proper ceremony. Second of all, Vodou is different from Orisa worship period so it is wrong of her to make beaded necklaces that look like Orisa elekes and say they are consecrated to the Lwa.

   The red flag on top of this is when upon the mentioning of her practices and how things are wrong and how things are supposed to be received and as other people learned more from other credible sources, Angelique started changing up what she was saying and stopped selling those Elegba head fetishes on her website and stopped saying she was initiated into Santeria. She also no longer makes or sells those Lucero fetishes either. I'm pretty sure real Paleros and Paleras started sending her messages on how wrong that is, too. She tried covering up her tracks and changing what she has said about herself to try to make herself still seem real. She is also not initiated into any branch of Vodou or Voodoo and has no right or business to consecrate anything to any Lwa.

   Another thing people need to know is that Orisas, Lwas, Pomba Giras, and Exus, are not apart of conjure/rootwork. On her website she sells a fixed candle for Pomba Gira. A lot of people don't know that Pomba Gira has many aspects. Sometimes Quimbandeiros refer to as a whole and say Pomba Gira, too. Angelique is not initiated into Quimbanda at any level and therefore is not at any level to consecrate anything to Pomba Gira or any aspect of Pomba Gira. In the description of the candle, she says Pomba Gira is often refered to as the sacred w***e. If you treat her like a w***e, then she may very well treat you like one. It is also dangerous to be working with any aspect of Pomba Gira that is not your guardian Pomba Gira unless you are initiated to the appropriate level. The same goes with working with Exu'.

   It's ok to sell Orisa, Lwa, conjure/rootwork, and Quimbanda things along side each other, but there needs to be a clear distinction between them and they can not be mixed with each other.