What are the major beliefes and guiding principles of Haitian Vodou?

Answer 1

Haitian vodouissants believe in one God (Bondye), and that he begot the lwa - the spirits served by practicioners of the religion - in order to serve as intermediaries, or messengers, between Heaven and Earth, as well as more personally protectors, informants, guides, etc. As well, one does not simply pick and choose a lwa, just as one does not simply choose their parents. The the lwa comes to you, it is ulimately their decision who they seek responsibility over; hence, you may regularly hear the saying that vodou is not chosen, you are chosen by vodou. As with all magick, that in use by vodouissants is neutral to begin with - it is up to the practitioner whether they will use that magick for good, to be helpful, or instead bribe the spirits, thus corrupting them (yes, even the spirits have weaknesses) into doing malevolent deeds that would harm others; thus, the power of vodou is what you make of it, just as in any religion there will always be the good and the bad use of it. Finally, vodou does not discriminate against ethnicity, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, outside religious affiliation, class or disability - this dissolves the popular myth that Haitian Vodou is strictly for African-Haitians.

When speaking of principles, however, the truth is that if you ask 50 houngans (priests) or mambos (priestesses) about the principles of vodou, you can expect 50 different responses. Each lwa, and the different forms of each lwa, will maintain a variety of unique, set principles. Whereas a devotee of Obatala would tell you that justice served is of the highest importance, and that a peaceable demeanor is its own reward, a devotee of Chango would retort saying that justice must indeed be a priority, but few good things are seized without a fight. Unlike Abrahamic faiths, there are no set "pillars" of Haitian Vodou - how you practice vodou and the personal code you abide by are between you and the lwa that chooses you. I hope this helped to answer your questions!