A veve is a symbolic design drawn on the ground of the peristyle to summon a particular lwa at the start of the work devoted to it. The priest (oungan) or priestess (manbo) traces it by letting cornmeal, ash, flour or another powder run between finger and thumb, building an intricate emblem whose lines encode the identity and attributes of the spirit: a heart for Ezili, a ship or fish for Agwe, a cross and gateway for Legba, a serpent for Danbala. Each lwa has its own veve, and drawing it correctly, from memory and without a stencil, is part of calling the spirit properly; the skill is transmitted within initiated lineages rather than learned from a picture.
Once traced, offerings, candles and food may be placed on the design, and dancers move and salute around it as the ceremony proceeds; the drawing itself is danced over, walked on and effaced in the course of the rite, so it is made anew each time rather than kept, a living act rather than a fixed icon. Veve are commonly traced on the floor around the poto mitan, the central post of the peristyle understood as the axis along which the lwa arrive, so the drawing is placed in relation to the architecture of the ceremony rather than anywhere convenient. Because the knowledge passes through initiated lineages rather than from any authorised pattern book, the same lwa's veve can differ in detail from one house to the next while staying recognisable, a variation that reflects distinct ritual descent rather than error.