An Excerpt from The Book of Esoteric Demonology by Pierre LeClercq, Vol. II

 

Lupus in fabula 

Bawon Garou is an entity not to be visited or conjured by any white man, much less non-Haitian. The vodou lwa are a complicated sort of species, temperamental but generally inviting to those who ultimately seek to serve them. This is true especially of the Rada lwa, and to a far lesser extent the Petwo lwa. There are other lwa who will accomodate only those of a certain ancestral lineage, or those certain members of established societies.

In a miniscule minority exist a category of lwa in a far darker realm – not entirely evil, per se, but certainly worth avoiding by all but the most unscrupulous practitioners and underground societies.

That being said, the recreational vodouisant has no business contacting or working with Bawon Garou. Garou is not a demon, far from it, and yet his dangerous and hazardous nature begs his inclusion in this demonological collection. Bawon Garou is perhaps best known due to his association with a murderous lycanthropy cult that existed in Haiti in the 19^th century – a cult associated with werewolfism, an arcane subtype of magick that has been largely stagnant since the Dark Ages. Bawon Garou no doubt materialized out of esoteric European occultist practices involving lycanthropism introduced by the French to the Haiti.

Bawon Garou is a twisted lwa of the graveyard, a wolf spirit, or, perhaps more appropriately, a spirit containing and embodying both the elements and spirit of a man and wolf. He is to be summoned only in situations in which the practitioner seeks to become a wolf, or a wolf man. Like most vodou lwa, he is summoned and given offerings via an altar – preferably containing wolf related items. Some altars have made use of images of Lon Chaney, Jr. in The Wolf Man, while others have included Norse fetish Fenrir items and amulets from Scandinavian mythology .

His colors have long been disputed – some suggest red and black, while others prefer strictly black. If one is to make an offering to Bawon Garou, it should be of flesh and bone - he will only accept animal sacrifices. As per the European magick tradition, the most preferable time for a ritual is, of course, the night of a full moon. If you are to honor Bawon Garou, be careful that no other vodou altars exist in your home as his presence is detested by most of the lwa.

So-called European Satanic rituals are preferred to more traditional vodou rituals even though Bawon Garou is known to despise whites. His origin has been speculated, but is said to be the spirit of a French plantation owner who righted his wrongs and manifested the form of the man-wolf during the Haitian Revolution to mutilate and mangle the overseers of mistreated slaves.