The Element Encyclopedia of Witchcraft: The Complete A-Z for the Entire Magical World - Judika Illes 2005

Kapo
The Divine Witch: Goddesses and Gods

Hawaiian spirit Kapo’s fame derives mainly from her reputation as a witch and sorceress possessing oracular powers. Traditionally Kapo was considered the deity of choice for occult practitioners wishing to use their knowledge to further their personal aims. She is the matron of the legendary powerful sorcerers of Molokai. Kapo is also famed for being able to reverse any curse or malevolent spell. She is feared, respected, and admired.

Kapo is powerful and unpredictable. She is a spirit of fertility and childbirth; also under her domain are miscarriage, abortion, and death. She is among the pre-eminent spirits of hula dancing, which originally derived from sacred ritual. Some legends credit her with the invention of hula although others suggest that the primary sacred matron of hula is Laka, the Hawaiian Spirit of Beauty.

The exact relationship between Kapo and Laka is unclear. Some legends describe them as sisters. Another tradition considers Kapo to be Laka’s mother. The most generally accepted theory is that they are aspects of one another—two sides of one coin—with Laka being the consistent, life-affirming aspect and Kapo the unpredictable, shadow side.

Kapo’s mother is the lunar spirit Haumea; her more famous younger sister and sometime traveling companion is the volcano spirit, Pele. Kapo was born in Tahiti but was already in Hawaii when Pele arrived. Upon her own arrival, Kapo is rumored to have established a hula school on each Hawaiian island.

Like the other Hawaiian deities, Kapo manifests in any form she chooses—human, animal, botanical or mineral. She can be stormy and fearsome or alluringly beautiful. In addition to beauty, Kapo possesses a magical detachable flying vagina that she flings and retrieves at will. Her sacred plant is the pandanus.

Kapo was once widely adored throughout Hawaii. The imprint of her detachable vagina can still be seen on the eastern side of the hill Kohelepelepe (literally “detached vagina”) at Koko Head in Oahu.