They say that a child of Ogum is hot-headed, quarrelsome, and does not take insults lightly. The characteristics attributed to children of Ogum are among the most searched for when the subject is orixá, and the portrait is usually full of clichés. It is worth knowing this archetype calmly, because it says much less about your destiny than the internet promises.
This article presents the archetype of Ogum, the personality characteristics linked to his children in light and shadow, the influence of the second orixá and, most importantly, how one actually discovers someone's head orixá. Without horoscopes, without self-tests, with respect to tradition.
The archetype of Ogum
Before the characteristics, it is necessary to understand the idea of archetype. The researcher Reginaldo Prandi, following Roger Bastide, popularized the reading that each orixá corresponds to a symbolic pattern of temperament, a tendency that is reflected, as inspiration, in the personality of its children. It is a poetic key of reading, not a sentence. To know the divinity behind this, it is worth first reading who is Ogum.
The archetype of the warrior orixá fits into a strong image: that of the blacksmith who opens the path in the forest with the machete. The same iron that makes the sword makes the hoe. He cuts what blocks life, but also builds and works. Tradition says that Ogum is the first to arrive, the one who goes ahead and does not retreat before the obstacle. It is the energy of someone who faces the demanda with an open chest and transforms brute strength into a tool for conquest.
Keep this in mind from beginning to end: an archetype is a symbolic tendency, not a horoscope. No one is a cliché, and free will, life history, and upbringing weigh just as much as the head orixá.
The characteristics of the children of Ogum
The most cited characteristics of the children of Ogum revolve around courage, frankness, and action. But pay attention: they are generalizations of tradition, symbols of what the orixá represents, and not a composite sketch of every person. Reducing someone to a "born warrior" is just as unfair as saying that every child of Oxum (Oshun) is vain.
The classic description of the archetype, recorded by Bastide and by Pierre Verger and repeated in all literature, speaks of courageous, sincere, and frank people who pursue their goals with energy and do not easily lose heart. In difficult moments, they triumph where many would have abandoned the fight. It is a beautiful starting point, as long as one also looks at the other side.
It is in personality that the archetype appears with the most strength. And here it is worth seeing both sides, the light and the shadow, as in any human being.
Personality: light and shadow
Every archetype has a luminous side and a side to work on. Reducing the children of Ogum only to virtues, or only to a difficult temperament, would be false. It is worth remembering that these traits apply to both men and women, and that no one possesses all of them. A daughter of Ogum is as courageous, frank, and a leader as any son of the orixá.
On the side of light, these usually appear:
- Courage and initiative: the willingness to go forward, face what scares, and open the door that was locked.
- Determination: the persistence of someone who does not give up the fight halfway and starts over as many times as necessary.
- Frankness and loyalty: they speak what they think, detest falsehood, and firmly defend those they love.
- Sense of justice and work: the strength of the blacksmith who builds, of the pioneer who raises something from zero.
On the shadow side, there are tendencies to balance, never character flaws:
- Short fuse and impatience: the same courage, without being refined, turns into irritation and a rush to resolve everything now.
- Impulsivity and stubbornness: acting before thinking, insisting on a path only because of not backing down.
- Difficulty of forgiving: the iron that cools and hardens, holding onto the resentment of old offenses.
- Jealousy and authoritarianism: the frankness that hurts and the protection that turns into control in emotional life.
Each of these shadows is the reverse of a light. The same frankness that hurts is the one that does not deceive. The same strength that tramples over is the one that opens a path for everyone to pass. Working on the archetype is precisely making the light prevail.
Ogum is not synonymous with violence
It is worth dismantling here the most common caricature, that of the "fighter" son of Ogum. The war of the orixá was never gratuitous violence, and the same applies to the archetype. Ogum's sword cuts the brush that does not let anyone pass, the demanda that holds someone's life back; it does not cut out of cruelty.
Translating to personality: the warrior energy of the son of Ogum is made to open the road, face what needs to be faced and protect, not to cause trouble. When this strength appears as aggressiveness, it is a sign of the unrefined archetype, and not of its essence. Confusing courage with brutality is the error that horoscope texts repeat without stopping.
Therefore, the honest reading swaps the label of "difficult person" for that of a person of action. It is people who solve, who take the lead, who do not run from responsibility. The task of a life is to transform the short fuse into firmeza and stubbornness into constancy.
The juntó (accompanying orixá) and the qualities of Ogum
Here is the key to understanding why two children of Ogum can be so different from each other. No one is Ogum in its pure state.
Every person has a primary orixá, the owner of the head, and a second orixá, called an adjunto or juntó, which forms a pair with the first and modulates the temperament. A person of Ogum with Iansã as juntó tends to be more intense and swift, fire with fire. With Oxum, they gain strategy and patience before the sword. With Oxalá (Obatala), they become more serene and balanced. These are examples of the concept, not a fixed table.
Furthermore, the orixá itself has several qualities, different paths within Ogum. The tradition recognizes several in ketu candomblé, such as Ogunjá, more serene and linked to Oxalá, or Onirê, the Ogum king of Irê. In umbanda, there is talk of lines like Ogum Beira-Mar or Ogum Rompe-Mato, which are not confused with the qualities of candomblé. Each path nuances the archetype in a way. The qualities are in qualities of Ogum, and the umbanda lines are in Ogum in umbanda. This is why the generic portrait never captures a real person.
How to know if you are a child of Ogum
Perhaps you recognized yourself in much of what you read. If so, keep this point in mind, which is the most important of all: identifying with the archetype does not mean being a child of Ogum.
A person's head orixá can only be defined in one way: through the cowrie-shell divination, performed by a Pai or Mãe de santo, within a serious house. One does not discover the orixá by birth date, by zodiac sign, by internet tests, or by self-identification with a list of characteristics. There are large portals treating "children of Ogum" as if they were zodiac signs, and this has no basis in tradition. To understand the right path, see how to know what my orixá is.
The tradition itself is careful about this. Even in the divination, the custom is to reconfirm the reading before fixing someone's orixá. If not even the cowrie shell, conducted by someone with foundation, is treated with haste, imagine an online quiz. The knowledge of the ori, the spiritual head, is a serious matter. View what you read here as an invitation to seek out a house, and not as a conclusion about yourself.
How to work with the archetype of Ogum
If there is good news in all of this, it is this: the archetype is not a prison. It is more of a mirror than a destiny. Recognizing one's own tendencies, of light and of shadow, is the first step to growing with them, and not being carried away by them.
Whoever carries the courage of Ogum can make it initiative and leadership, while at the same time learning to count to ten before responding on impulse. Whoever has the warrior's frankness can use it as honesty and loyalty, without letting it strike without necessity. The very image of the blacksmith teaches: the metal only becomes a useful tool after passing through the fire and the anvil, with patience.
On the path of axé, this is what is done in a terreiro: refining who you are, with the help of the orixá and the community. Therefore, the archetype should never be used to judge or label anyone, not even oneself. It is an invitation to self-knowledge, always accompanied by respect, faith, and the guidance of those who care for the house.
Ogunhê, my father Ogum! To greet the warrior is to ask for strength to open one's own paths with firmeza, and not to trample over the paths of others.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if I am a child of Ogum?
The only safe way is through cowrie-shell divination, performed by a pai or mãe de santo in a house of fundamento. One does not define the head orixá by birth date, zodiac sign, or internet test. Identifying with the characteristics of Ogum is merely an invitation to seek a serious terreiro, never a conclusion.
What are the characteristics of the children of Ogum?
Tradition associates the children of Ogum with courage, frankness, determination, a sense of justice, and the initiative of those who go ahead and open paths. These are symbolic tendencies of the warrior orixá archetype, present in both men and women, and not a literal description of each person.
Is a child of Ogum really quarrelsome?
This is a caricature reading that should be undone. The energy of Ogum is meant to open paths and face demands, not to pick fights. When it appears as aggressiveness, it is the archetype without refinement. Courage and frankness are the same strength that, when worked, turns into firmeza and leadership.
How is the child of Ogum in love?
In affection, they tend to be loyal, protective, and direct, someone who speaks what they feel without beating around the bush. The side to work on is jealousy and a certain authoritarianism, which come from the same intensity. As with everything, this is a tendency, not a rule, and the person's second orixá greatly influences this behavior.
Does a child of Ogum combine with a child of which orixá?
There is no compatibility rule between orixás as if they were zodiac signs. What tradition observes is that each person's juntó and life history weigh more than the front orixá. Relationships are built with respect and dialogue, not with a table of combinations.
Where to find items for Ogum
Call us on Joia Mística Laroyê WhatsApp and find what you need to honor the warrior orixá:
- Statues of Ogum with the sword: for your altar or assentamento
- Red, dark blue, and white candles: in the warrior's colors
- Herbs and protection fumigants: espada-de-são-jorge, aroeira, and peregum
- Bead necklaces (guias) and beads: in the colors of Ogum, for your firmeza
- Iron tools and symbols: linked to the strength of the orixá
Visit our shop in Extrema, Minas Gerais or contact us on WhatsApp with delivery to all of Brazil.
To continue the series, also see the characteristics of the children of Oxum and the step by step offering for Ogum.
References
- Reginaldo Prandi: Mythology of the Orixás, USP research on the archetype of Ogum
- Candomblé: the qualities of the orixá Ogum in ketu Candomblé
