Many of us have wondered how to attend to Shangó, the well-known king of fire, lightning, drum and dance, the major Orisha of the Yoruba religion.

First of all, we must bear in mind that Shangó is a skilful and tireless warrior, with great virility, courageous and agile, a lover of parties and beautiful women.

He is fascinated by the dances to the beating of the drum, he is a happy Orisha but when he gets angry because of some disrespect he becomes blind, his anger is so great that he does not see, understand or comprehend anything.

For this reason, all his children and most devout are advised before responding and doing deeds, to think first so that they do not commit injustice or fall into mistakes that are irreparable, which they may possibly regret.

As religious people it is normal that when any kind of altercation happens, we turn to our orishas to overcome all those circumstances that disturb us, hence the reason to learn how to attend to Shangó.

In this case, we will tell you everything you need to know to attend the king of the Osha, the one who represents thunder and lightning, fire and dancing to the sound of drums.

This is what you must take into account in order to know how to attend to Shangó, the Great Orisha of the Osha!  

Shangó must be attended to with enormous firmness, one must always be very sure of what one is doing and saying, of course, and at the same time with great faith, love and unwavering will.

Even if you are going through a very sad situation, you should make every effort to talk to him, you should always show him your face and not hide it, remember that he tends to get upset.

You will come into his presence as you would to your father, calm but not disrespectful, remember that Shangó is that courageous father.

He would give everything for his children, more so when you are suffering from lack of courage to face any situation, he will give you that courage to be very heavy on the path of life.

Learning how to attend to Shangó must be a task of great righteousness. When an initiate is going to consecrate himself to Shangó as his Guardian Angel, he will be 6 days before his consecration doing countless works.

His number will be 6 and its multiples, below we will tell you the form you can use to attend to Shangó, as most saints will always see our love throughout the process.

When exactly can we attend Shangó? 

Shangó’s favourite days are Fridays and Saturdays, but remember that you can ask for his blessing every day without fail, his children should lift their heels off the ground when pronouncing his name.

They should stand on their toes out of respect, King Shangó is greeted in the following manner:

• ¡Kaó Kabiesilé, Shangó Alufina!

Tips for offering and attending to Shangó le rey del fuego (King of Fire) 

Here are these simple tips for you to rejoice and attend to Baba Shangó, learning how to attend to Shangó should no longer be a difficult situation for you.

• Always with great faith, love and willingness you should ask for his blessing. 
• You must be concise and strong when greeting him and being in his presence. 
• In making your requests you should be clear and not beat around the bush. 
• You should never ask for money in your petitions, but ask for development, austerity and goodness to come into your life.
• You should never ask evil for those who offend or wrong you, he knows everything that happens in your life and he will deal with them with absolute justice, rather ask him for love. 
• He makes all your requests while you sound his maraca, you only have to give him your complaints and worries, always kneeling on a mat next to his two red and white candles. 
• He is fascinated by red and white coconuts, bananas and must be green, apples, pomegranates and red mamey, sugar cane and many other fruits; he will welcome everything. 
• He likes red wine so it is good to offer him from time to time, maize flour cooked with or without okra, corn on the cob and sugar cane. 
• You should always be thankful for your life, for your family, for your friends, remember that to be thankful is to be well-born…

Sacred herbs that you can offer to Shangó 

• Poplar Leaves
• Peppermint 
• Palma 
• Paradise 
• Red flowers known as black princes 
• Another flower known as Heliconia Wagneriana Red

These are some of the offerings and how to attend to Shangó to give thanks and make requests, all that is offered with love is received with love. Ashe and blessings!