Cast Baron Samedhi Cross Veve Pendant in Black Steel

November 1, 2026

What this pendant is

This pendant is a cast seal: a cross veve for Baron Samedhi, lost wax cast in black steel, made to be worn. The veve is the drawn figure used in Vodou work to call and honour a lwa, and a cross veve is a veve in the form of a cross, carried as a pendant rather than drawn on the ground for a single ceremony. Worn as a pendant, it travels with you, and it keeps the connection it represents present through the ordinary day, not only during a formal working. That is the point of a pendant form: it is not put away between workings, it is worn, and wearing it is itself part of the work.

These are pure metal which is actually cast, starting with a wax version, which is much higher quality than the three-dimensional printed versions, using metal powder and plastic, that you find around the internet. That distinction is not about snobbery. A cast pendant has weight, solidity, and a surface that comes from metal poured into a mould made from a carved wax, not from layers of printed material. You feel the difference the first time you hold one, and you feel it again every time you put it on.

Why cast, and why a bail

Lost wax casting is a slow craft, and its slowness is part of what makes the pendant what it is. A wax version is made first, and the seal design is worked into that wax. The wax is then used to make the mould, the metal is poured, and the finished piece is cleaned and finished by hand. Each step takes time, and each step leaves its mark on the finished pendant, in the sense that a hand cast piece is never quite identical to another, even when the design is the same. That individuality is fitting for a pendant that will be worn by one person, for one purpose.

The pendant is made to be worn, not only to be kept. For this black steel version, the bail is what turns a disc into a pendant you can put on a chain and wear. If you prefer a disc without a bail, that is a choice to make at ordering, and it is worth deciding before you order, rather than afterwards, because the bail is part of how the piece is finished.

Black steel, and what to expect from it

Black steel is the metal for this version, and it gives the pendant a particular character: dark, weighty, and understated, rather than bright or showy. A black steel pendant does not catch the eye in the way a gold or bright silver piece does, and for many wearers that is the point. It can be worn daily, under a shirt or openly, without drawing comment, and it sits comfortably with ordinary clothes as well as with working clothes. The darkness of the metal also suits the figure it carries, which is a cross veve, a serious figure, not a decorative one.

Steel is a hard, durable metal, and a pendant in steel is made to be worn, not kept in a box. It will stand up to daily wear in a way a softer metal may not, but it still deserves care: keep it clean and dry when you can, do not wear it where it will be knocked or scratched unnecessarily, and store it properly when you are not wearing it. A pendant that is worn every day will show wear over time, and that wear is not a flaw. It is the record of a piece that has actually been lived with, rather than kept as an ornament.

Wearing a veve pendant

Wearing a veve pendant is different from drawing a veve for a ceremony, and it is worth understanding that difference before you buy. A drawn veve is made for a moment, and then it is gone. A pendant veve is worn over days, weeks, and months, and it becomes part of how you carry yourself. That means the decision to wear one should not be hurried. If you work with Baron Samedhi, or if you are drawn to this cross veve and have studied what it represents, then wearing it is a steady, daily form of that connection. If you have not studied it, and you are buying it because it looks striking, take the time to study first. A veve is not a fashion design, and wearing one without understanding it is a thin kind of work.

When you first receive the pendant, take a moment with it before you put it on. Hold it, look at the figure on it, and be clear, in your own words, about why you are wearing it. That first moment sets the tone for how you will wear it afterwards. Some wearers put the pendant on as part of a morning routine, with a short moment of attention, and take it off at night and put it in a proper place. Others wear it continuously. Either rhythm can work, as long as it is deliberate, and as long as the pendant is treated with respect, not tossed in a drawer with loose change and keys.

Working with the pendant in practice

The general seal-working guidance used on this site applies well to a pendant like this, adapted to a veve. You can hold the pendant in your hand while you focus on the matter at hand. You can put it under a candle while the candle burns for a working. You can put oil on it, if oil is part of your practice. You can carry it with you, which, as a pendant, is its ordinary use. And you can wear it as a pendant, which is the form it was made for. Each of those uses keeps the pendant in the work, rather than leaving it as a passive object.

Showing the pendant, or the seal on it, to a desired person is part of the general guidance for some seal workings, but for a veve pendant the more ordinary uses are holding, wearing, and placing it under a candle. Do not force a use that does not fit your practice. If your practice calls for the pendant to be worn during a working and put away afterwards, do that. If it calls for the pendant to be worn daily, do that. The pendant is a tool for a living practice, not a set of instructions in metal, and it should fit the practice you actually have, not a practice you imagine you ought to have.

Baron Samedhi, and the cross veve

The cross veve is the figure cast onto the pendant, and it is the figure that makes this pendant what it is, rather than a plain steel disc. If you work with this veve, you will know what it represents from your own study and practice, and that knowledge is yours, not something a general article should try to supply in a paragraph.

That restraint is deliberate. Veves belong to a living tradition, and a general article on a shop site is not the place to invent or to summarise that tradition in a few lines.

Made to order, and what that means for waiting

The general made to order time mentioned in the source is approximately two to three weeks, and a longer time, eight weeks, is mentioned for the ones which are not listed but are under the other option, because their waxes have not yet been carved. That longer time does not necessarily apply to this listed black steel version, but it is a reminder that cast work is not warehouse work. A wax has to be ready, a mould has to be made, metal has to be poured, and the piece has to be finished by hand.

If you order a cast pendant, order it with that timeframe in mind, and do not order it the week before you need it for a particular ceremony, unless you have confirmed the timing. A pendant that arrives in good time, and is received with a moment of attention, is a better start to wearing it than a pendant chased for a deadline. And when it arrives, check it: the figure, the bail, the finish, and the weight in your hand. A hand cast piece should feel solid and well finished, and if anything is wrong, that is a matter to raise at once, while the piece is new, rather than months later, after it has been worn daily.

Caring for a pendant you wear

Care for a black steel pendant is simple, and it is mostly about attention. Keep it clean, keep it dry when you can, and put it in a proper place when you are not wearing it, rather than leaving it where it will be scratched or knocked. If you wear it under a candle, keep it clear of wax and heat, and clean it afterwards. If you put oil on it, use a small amount, and wipe away what is not needed, so that oil does not build up on the surface and dull the figure.

Over time, a worn pendant will change, in small ways, and that change is part of wearing it. The surface may soften, the dark finish may wear in the places where it rubs against a chain or against skin, and the figure may become smoother to the touch. Those changes do not mean the pendant has stopped working. They mean it has been worn, which is what it was made for. A pendant kept pristine in a box, never worn, is a different thing from a pendant worn daily, and the choice between those two is yours to make, deliberately, when you first put it on.