The Cosmogram

The Earthly & Astral Plane

One wheel holds the whole game — and it turns. Spin it, tap an Orixá to light its triangle, tap a movement to see what it blocks and buffs.

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Spin the wheel · tap an Orixá for its triangle · tap a movement to see what it blocks and buffs.

1

The center — three gestures

Everything a capoeirista does in the roda is one of three gestures: Attack, Quebra (the feint that powers a strike), or Passada (the footwork that blocks one). The wheel begins where you begin.

2

The inner ring — nine movements

Each gesture splits into three movements: Golpe, Queda, Floreio for attacks; Finta, Giro, Desafio for quebras; Lateral, Pula, Costas for passadas. Nine movements — the complete vocabulary of the game.

3

The caminho ring — three paths

Every movement travels one of three caminhos: Reto (the straight line), Rodado (the drawn arc), or de Chão (along the floor). This is the ring that decides combat — a passada blocks any attack on its own caminho. The ofá mark on each card is this ring, carried in your hand.

4

The astral ring — nine Orixás

Beyond the movements, the nine Orixás watch the roda. Each appears three times on the wheel — once above an attack, once above a quebra, once above a passada — always on a single caminho.

5

The triangles — where the planes touch

Each Orixá’s three positions connect across the wheel as a triangle: one Attack, one Quebra, one Passada, all on one caminho. Complete that triangle on your board and the Orixá answers with a blessing. The triangles are the combos — the earthly plane reaching the astral one.

Why your cards look the way they do

Every card is a slice of this wheel. The colored bar is its Orixá — its place on the astral ring. The ofá mark at the bottom of the bar is its caminho — the lit limb tells you which path it travels. When you gather an Attack, Quebra, and Passada whose marks match, you have drawn one of the wheel triangles in the flesh — and its Orixá blesses you.

The roda below, the Orixás above, and three paths between them — every match of Patuá walks the wheel.