According to popular belief in Haiti, there is an elegant female lwa named Mademoiselle Charlotte who is quite elusive and whose appearances at Vodou dances and ceremonies is considered a rare and unique blessing. She has been known to appear in physical form as a young beautifully dressed white woman wearing a silk kerchief, dark sunglasses, white gloves and immaculately coiffed with a 1950’s hair style driving a pink Cadillac around quiet neighborhoods of Port-au-Prince and the Haitian countryside. Mademoiselle Charlotte is known to be picky with those who seek her favors, but as somebody who has worked successfully with this beautiful lwa, I can tell you that it is well worth building a relationship with her and for this reason I wanted to explain a bit about the origins, characteristics and ways of serving Mademoiselle Charlotte.
The origins of Mademoiselle Charlotte are obscure. Due to her appearance as a white woman, she is believed to be of European, specifically French, origin. Some people believe she is the spiritual embodiment of elegant French plantation wives during the colonial period. It is arguable that she is also of more modern origin since she is seldom served as part of the traditional Vodou liturgy but rather in private settings. She does not appear in West African Vodun nor in Louisiana Voodoo, but is unique to Haitian Vodou. When she does on occasion mount people during Voodoo ceremonies she will only speak French, which in Haiti is seen as a language of refinement. Even people with no knowledge of the French language are known to speak it while under Mademoiselle Charlotte’s possession. Mademoiselle Charlotte shares many of the characteristics of Erzulie Freda in terms of beauty, grace, elegance and refinement, but she lacks her temper and need for attention and does not have the outbursts of crying to which Erzulie is prone. She is intensely private and mysterious, yet incredibly beautiful, kind and generous.
Mademoiselle Charlotte is served in much the same was as Erzulie Freda with many of her offerings being similar. She enjoys champagne, sweet cakes, flowers and water sweetened with flavored syrups. Her favorite offering is called acassan and is a sweet beverage based on corn flour simmered in milk, sweetened with cane syrup and flavored with star anise, cinnamon and other spices. She also enjoys the meat of young chickens either gently boiled or roasted and picked from the bone and presented on a nice plate or platter. Although not traditional, in my experience sweet liqueurs such as Chambord, Cointreau or Banana Liqueur may be offered to Mademoiselle Charlotte. Her color is light pike or rose and candles used during a service to her should be of this color.
Making a service to Mademoiselle Charlotte is simple. Keeping in line with her very nature, her service should be private and elegant. I recommend creating a sacred space just for her in a private and quiet space in your home. Lay out a white tablecloth, ideally lace, and place on top of it some of her favorite offerings and light a light pink or rose colored candled. Write out your requests on a piece of paper and leave it next to her offerings. Quietly exit the room and allow the candle to burn out on its own and leave the offerings in place overnight and then disposed of them the following day. If she takes a liking to you, the blessing of Mademoiselle Charlotte will manifest in your life in subtle yet powerful and noticeable ways.
I hope you have enjoyed learning about the beautiful, mysterious and powerful Mademoiselle Charlotte. I thank you for taking the time to read my blog. As always I wish you peace, happiness and abundant blessings!
