Erzulie: Haitian Goddess of Love
Erzulie, or Ezili, is the Vodou Lwa (spirit or goddess) of love and women. She has many forms, from coquette to fierce warrior mother to red-eyed weeping crone, and can be counted among either the Rada or Petwo lwa (spirits or gods). The Petwo rites arose in the New World during slavery, and Petwo lwa are characteristically dark and powerful, and called bitter (anme). Erzulie is a love goddess who developed during a time when slave owners broke up families and separated husbands and wives at will, and considered raping female slaves a pleasant way to produce more slaves.
Erzulie manifests deep, deep passion, and Her moods can range from the height of joy to the depths of misery—when She mounts (spiritually possesses) a follower she or he goes from coquettish and seductive to crying her or himself to sleep, weeping for the limitations of love.
There are numerous sister forms of Erzulie, and She is sometimes considered a triple goddess. As such She has three husbands—Damballah (the sky god), Agwe (the sea god), and Ogoun (a god of fire and iron), and She wears three wedding bands.
Offerings to Erzulie are all the sweet things She loves—perfume, sweet food, and desserts such as bananas fried in sugar.