The Divine Tripartite of Being
From my book New Afrikan Vodún Vol 1: Rites of Spiritual Nationalism © 2005 - 2025
The symbol above is one of the simplest representations of the Vodún tripartite existence of the human’s spiritual makeup.
The square is the base nature of the finite human being. It is the desires, the wants, errors, and pseudo-reality of the human’s mundane existence. It encases the untrained and unspiritualized being at every step of life.
The triangle is the soul-mind of the human. It is likened to the 𞤴𞤹 yɛ (“shadow/mystical soul”) of the individual. It is the “midpoint” of human overstanding. Because the human has furthered her/himself away from Mãwù, this triangle, or yɛ, can sometimes be misinformed by the square which can also be represented by the 𞥂𞤮𞥊𞥅𞤤𞤭𞥊𞥅 kpólí (container of one’s destiny) and its attachment to the ará or body. The yɛ should take its instructions from a Higher Source represented by the circle.
The circle is spirit. As far as I am concerned, I have always viewed the symbolic of the circle as representative of 𞤣𞤢𞤲𞤦𞤢𞤤𞤢𞥉 𞤱𞤹𞤣𞤮 Danbalá Wɛdo. He/She (this deity is a composite of a masculine a d feminine deity) is not only the collective ancestry of all Afrikans, but He/She is the encompassing Spirit, the very soul of the New Afrikan nation.
The presence of the circle (Danbalá Wɛdo) is in this case here to spiritualize the whole components of the body, mind-soul, and spirit. The tools of the great and ancient òrìṣà 𞤮𞥊𞤺𞤵𞥊𞥅𞤲 Ògún are used to chisel away at the roughness and jagged corners of the untutored soul. Some of the tools and their uses are explained below:
avɔ Anvil – symbolic of the Earth’s ability to shape Man
mɔ̌to Hammer– shapes or bends Man’s faculties
hwǐ Machete– protection and clearing of paths
zunkangbo Rake– used to gather together roughness to discard from life
zunkan Hoe– cut the “weeds” (elinini – negating spirits) that can smother one’s potential
afɔsɔ́ Shovel– used for “digging” into one’s potential self
zé hwǐ Pick ax– for “piercing” the hardened areas of life
bù wun Pry– for uprooting and removing stubborn obstacles from one’s path
Using these spiritual tools makes the square a triangle and the triangle a circle. Esotericly speaking spirit resonates in spiral or vibratory motions. Spirit is light in weight. To spiritualize the other major components of the person is to exist at a high vibratory rate of transcendence. We are able, at moments, to transcend time and space just as the represented in the esoteric stories concerning òrìṣà Òṣóòsí and the Vodún hùn Agwé.
Once again one makes the square a triangle through hard work. Then the triangle must be made a circle. Then the circle must not be broken! The roundness of the circle represents the absence of all fetters. It is nondiscriminatory. It does not bend or attempt to make sharp angles. In fact, it has no reason to make any sharp angles. It is even everywhere. It is a sign that the soul-mind is no longer subservient to the finitismal notions of the lower person.
𞤠𞤤𞤽𞤲 𞤥𞤢 𞤦𞤤𞤮 𞤦𞤤𞤮 𞤣𞤮 𞤼𞤢𞤣𞤵𞤲𞤽 𞤱𞤫. 𞤄𞤤𞤮 𞤦𞤤𞤮 𞤥𞤢 𞥂𞤤𞤽𞤲 𞤣𞤮 𞤥𞤢 𞤶𞤯
Kplɔn ma blo blo do tadunɔ we. Blo blo ma kplɔn do ma jɛ ha we. (Fɔ̀ngbè)
Mọ lai ṣe ni isinwin. Ṣiṣe laisi mọ jẹ asan! (Yorùbá)
Knowing without doing is madness. Doing without knowing is useless!