More Exus, More Power

Modern spiritual trends often distort tradition under the illusion that quantity equals elevation. Nowhere is this more evident than in the growing belief, both in Brazil and abroad, that a practitioner of Quimbanda must “receive” statues or vessels of multiple Exus and Pomba Giras to be spiritually advanced. This view misrepresents the foundations of Quimbanda and risks diluting the sacred bond that defines its spirit work. To understand why this idea is misguided, we must return to the roots of Quimbanda and what it truly means to work with Exu and Pomba Gira.

In traditional Quimbanda, the relationship between the medium and their Exu is a specific, contractual connection. Exu is neither a decorative presence nor a symbolic archetype. Exu is a living spirit with whom the practitioner forms a spiritual pact. This Exu is entrusted with guiding, protecting, and opening paths in the practitioner’s earthly life.

It was never common for someone to claim multiple Exus “in development”, or to call on different Exus for different ends. The same was true for Pomba Gira, who may or may not accompany a practitioner depending on their spiritual composition. Only those whose path required her balancing presence would have one. It was considered presumptuous and dangerous to collect entities as if they were spiritual trophies.

Elders in traditional Quimbanda would remind initiates that your Exu is enough. Through him, you have access to the current and power of all Exus. To know one spirit deeply and grow in harmony with its vibration is the true measure of progress. There were of course times when the head of a spiritual house would ask the children of the house to attend consultations with clients to see where the Exu or Pomba Gira of a godchild would manifest and offer solutions. But this would not mean that the head of the house would all of a sudden “work” with another Exu or Pomba Gira.

A modern misunderstanding suggests that different Exus are needed for different types of work, as if one handled love while another handled money or protection. While it is true that each Exu has his own personality and preferred ways of working, every Exu can act across all areas of life. Your Exu is not limited by category or title. If something needs to be done, your Exu will do it his way. You do not need an army of spirits to handle different situations. You need one relationship built on trust and understanding.

The modern notion of “receiving” statues of vessels of multiple Exus or Pomba Giras comes partly from syncretic blending and the influence of Santería, where initiates may receive several orishas who govern different aspects of life. In that context, it makes sense that someone would receive multiple spirits, since each orisha rules a distinct force of nature and human experience. But Quimbanda is not built on that cosmology.

It is also worth clarifying that the word “receive”, in a Brazilian context, refers to incorporating a spirit in possession. The discussion here, however, is not about possession but about the purchase of vessels consecrated to different entities.

Quimbanda is an initiatory, magical, and often individualistic tradition. Its rituals deal with transformation, justice, and the manifestation of power in the material world. The spirits of Quimbanda are not casual visitors. They are bound through ritual to a specific lineage, house, and medium. The function of initiation is to seal this connection, not multiply it.

The idea that more spirits equal more power likely emerged as popular culture began romanticising Exu and Pomba Gira as fashionable or mystical symbols rather than living forces. Social media and public rituals have encouraged spectatorship over discipline. Some, influenced by New Age thinking, imagine that if one spirit helps, ten will help even more. This misreads African and Afro-Brazilian metaphysics, which prize precision, hierarchy, and alignment, not accumulation.

The obsession with receiving multiple entities reflects a Western mindset of consumption rather than communion. Quimbanda is not about expanding a personal pantheon. It is about deepening an initiatory relationship — a sacred reciprocity that strengthens through respect, communication, and offering.

It is also impossible to ignore the economic side of this trend. The encouragement to “receive” more objects linked to Exus or Pomba Giras often serves material interests, since each supposed reception means another ceremony, another vessel, another payment. In many cases, the expansion of spirits mirrors the expansion of business.

A true medium’s development comes from refining their attunement to the one Exu who walks with them. Through that Exu, the individual learns power, responsibility, patience, and self-mastery. When attention is scattered across many supposed entities, the channel weakens. Messages blur. Ritual direction becomes confused. The current, what Brazilians call the linha da força, loses coherence. Depth creates strength. Breadth without depth creates confusion.

Old masters and mães or pais de santo understood the danger of overreach. Their guidance was simple: receive that who comes through you in possession or trance, consecrate that relationship properly, and work it well. If one day, through legitimate confirmation from your house’s leader and the spirits themselves, another Exu becomes manifest through possession, that is a matter for ceremony, not self-declaration.

This principle echoes through many respected houses. O segredo é fundamento. Foundation, not fashion, makes Quimbanda powerful. True initiates know that the Exu bonded to you in ritual already connects you to the greater world of spirits. You do not need to multiply contracts. You need to strengthen one.

Even across the variations between different lineages — whether of Rio, Bahia, or São Paulo — this concept remains constant. The Exu works as your principal ally and mirror. Trying to branch into multiple commitments before mastering the first is like trying to walk several roads at once: you end up going nowhere.

In today’s culture of instant gratification, people want quick results, fast manifestations, and visible signs of spiritual importance. But the art of Quimbanda does not bend to human impatience. True mastery requires time at the altar, work at the crossroads, and humility before your Exu. The old ones used to say that Exu tests his medium before he trusts. Every offering, every silence, every act of restraint builds that trust.

Receiving more entities does not make one more powerful. Honouring one consistently does. Your Exu teaches that mastery of self and mastery of spirit are inseparable. Whoever cannot obey one Exu faithfully will find ten far harder to handle.

To challenge the idea of multiplying spirits is not to stifle genuine revelation. It is to protect the integrity of the tradition. The spirits of Quimbanda are not souvenirs of initiation or proofs of prestige. They are forces of destiny, justice, and truth. Those who truly walk with Exu know that one disciplined vessel is more effective than a hundred confused mouths.

Reclaiming the authentic path means resisting the temptation to inflate what is sacred. Those who find strength and contentment in their true companion spirit embody the heart of Quimbanda: depth, loyalty, and precision in the service of both the material and spiritual worlds.

Be cautious if someone tries to sell you an Exu or a Pomba Gira, or if in a consultation you are told that Exu or Pomba Gira so-and-so really want to work with you - if only you “receive” their vessel. One Exu. That is the old way. That is enough.

Mario dos Ventos

Journey through the Mysteries of the Spirit World

© Mario dos Ventos, 2026. All rights reserved.