CAN YOU HAVE ANCESTRAL SPIRITS OF A DIFFERENT RACE FROM YOU?

So, this is a thorny subject! So, let me be up front where I stand on some things before I give my two cents. Race, for me, like other socially contrived constructs, is not actually real. When speaking of humanity, we do not have more than one human race walking the earth at this time. You can argue that we have in the prehistoric past, when homo sapiens were evolving from our shared Neanderthal ancestors. And honestly even our knowledge of Neanderthals has been profoundly challenged in the last decade or so as new scientific and archaeological evidence has surfaced. But my assumption in writing this post is that race is a social construct.

That said, race FUNCTIONS in a very real way in our daily lives. Whether you are from a so-called racial group that has been historically privileged or one that has been historically underprivileged, when we take the time to become aware, we can see how race has functioned in powerful ways in our individual and collective lives.

Onto spirits! Since the inception of mediumship in the more organized fashions of Spiritism and Spiritualism, race was front and center. On one hand, Spiritism expressed a universality and equality in the spirit realm and our own, challenging the (Catholic) Church’s doctrines that only clergy and consecrated religious had that deep dial-up access to God. This one premise alone was revolutionary and deeply heretical for that time. Yet the Good Spirits made themselves known and began to deprogram humanity away from its divisiveness.

Like other spirit-inspired books and religions, however, the message has to come through the medium (pun intended!) of our humanity, warts and all. As I have said in previous posts, this meant even founders like Allan Kardec believed there was no nobler spirit than the white European. Spirits of color were second fiddle at best, and if you were African, you were not a spirit capable of doing the work of espiritismo. This continued into the New World, including America, which allowed itself to divide the then Spiritualist good news into racial terms along the same lines. There were white Spiritualist churches and Black ones.

In places of the Caribbean, however, a different strand arose that did not get as warped by racism. In places like Cuba, the espiritistas began to hear the voices of massacred indigenous islanders, who made it clear that not only were they elevated, but they were willing and able to assist in the good work that began in Europe. Another interesting thing happened as well, and espiritistas of color discovered that they had spirits of all so-called races in their spiritual court. And so did the white Cubans! They began to see that the spirit world is not preoccupied with the same desire for codifying human beings like we still fixate over. You could be the whitest white person on the planet and have spirits from all times, places, and cultures. You could be the blackity black blackest person and have Vikings, English gentry, and a Congo spirit all walking with you.

Further baking our noodles was a theory I have heard a few times in different places that all the spirits of a person’s spiritual court are not separate disembodied spirits but manifestations of a person’s prior incarnations all coming forth to assist that person in THIS life.

This brings me back to my titular question: Can you have spirits that are a different race from you walking with you? Yes, you can. That’s just how God deemed it to be. And when I say God, I am not exactly talking about the Abrahamic God. Spiritism speaks of God as Light and Intelligence. Not a white dude with a beard. Not really any kind of body. A better analogy would be the Sun or Moon because they radiate light down upon us. That radiance is the spirits. Our spirits are agents of the divine who reflect God’s love to us, and we then reflect that love to our world and back to the spirit world in our mediumship work. This is a core idea in Spiritism, in a nutshell.

Modern iterations of spiritism that reject oppressive social constructs in their practice are much more interested in the question of WHY do I have the spirits I have? Why is this Congo walking with me? Why does Dr. Juan Gregorio want to assist me in my healing work? The answer to the why is the quest the spiritist enjoys embarking on.

I am writing this today because, now and then, I get clients and seekers who come to me with guilt and fear that some ancestral spirit they have doesn’t belong to them. After all, they don’t share the same phenotype and culture. Nine times out of ten, when we take a closer look at what that spirit is doing in their life, it is very consistent with what said spirit is known for doing. I point out that the relationship they have is evidence that they ARE meant to be together.

There’s a lot of gatekeeping out here, a lot of judgment. People who have not studied or practiced these traditions going on their internalized prejudices, assumptions and unexamined issues insisting what is and is not possible. To that, all I can say is when you KNOW the love of a spirit guide who walks with you but doesn’t look like you, you will see how little sense something like racism makes.

The spirits who walk with you throughout this life are your ancestral birthright. No one can take that from you, even if they try. Ask them why they are with you, and be prepared for an adventure unlike any other!

A Friday Surprise: Psalm Magic for Luck

In these trying and sometimes difficult days, who couldn’t use a little luck to tide them over? At the time of this posting, we are about ten days away from one of the most raucous, pub-crawling parties across America. A day, remembering my childhood, that was belly-full of cabbage and corned beef (yes, I grew up eating it and my mom’s cabbage and beef was VERY tasty!). With so much undeniable negativity going on in our country and around the world, I thought it fit to share with you a piece of my new class that I thought you might appreciate and want to give it a try if you find yourself a little down on your luck.

It is well-known in different occult magical circles that luck is a magical panacea in the sense that increasing it has an overall uplift of positive outcomes to things like magic. This psalm magical working in fact REMOVES negativity and blocks in the way of your personal luck, so it can flow again. But it’s not just the original spell, oh no. I made sure to be thorough in creating this course to add what I call enchancements, based on my knowledge of Hoodoo and other spiritual systems.

If this little taste of the course whetted your appetite, you can join me here: https://soulfulsantero.squarespace.com/soufulsanterocourses.

The following is one of those workings. It is simple, but effective:

Psalm 4: Psalm for Luck

The Scriptures

Psalm 4, in English:

1 Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness;
Thou hast set me at large when I was in distress:
Have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.
2 O ye sons of men, how long shall my glory be turned into dishonor?
How long will ye love vanity, and seek after falsehood? Selah
3 But know that Jehovah hath set apart for himself him that is godly:
Jehovah will hear when I call unto him.
4 Stand in awe, and sin not:
Commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah
5 Offer the sacrifices of righteousness,
And put your trust in Jehovah.
6 Many there are that say, Who will show us any good?
Jehovah, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us.
7 Thou hast put gladness in my heart,
More than they have when their grain and their new wine are increased.
8 In peace will I both lay me down and sleep;
For thou, Jehovah,  alone makest me dwell in safety.[1]

Psalm 4, in Hebrew (using suggested verses 2, 5, 6 and 9)

2 בְּקָרְאִ֡י עֲנֵ֤נִי׀ אֱלֹ֘הֵ֤י צִדְקִ֗י בַּ֭צָּר הִרְחַ֣בְתָּ לִּ֑י חָ֝נֵּ֗נִי וּשְׁמַ֥ע תְּפִלָּתִֽי׃

5 רִגְז֗וּ וְֽאַל־תֶּ֫חֱטָ֥אוּ אִמְר֣וּ בִ֭לְבַבְכֶם עַֽל־מִשְׁכַּבְכֶ֗ם וְדֹ֣מּוּ סֶֽלָה׃

6 זִבְח֥וּ זִבְחֵי־צֶ֑דֶק וּ֝בִטְח֗וּ אֶל־יְהוָֽה׃

9 בְּשָׁל֣וֹם יַחְדָּו֮ אֶשְׁכְּבָ֪ה וְאִ֫ישָׁ֥ן כִּֽי־אַתָּ֣ה יְהוָ֣ה לְבָדָ֑ד לָ֝בֶ֗טַח תּוֹשִׁיבֵֽנִי׃

Explanation

This psalm is meant to enhance a practitioner’s luck away from unlucky or inauspicious things. The simple instructions are to pray the Psalm three times before sunrise. You can Google for the sunrise timing in your area where you live. There is within this working a mixture of devotion, self-awareness, and the holding of the God-name throughout. The God-name is Yehiyeh. The prayer to follow the psalm is also to be recited the same number of times as the Psalm. It is as followed:

May it please Thee, oh Yehiyeh, to prosper my ways, steps, and doings. Grant that my desire may be amply fulfilled, and let my wishes be satisfied even this day, for the sake of Thy great, mighty and praiseworthy name. Amen! Selah!

Suggested Enhancements

There are a few suggested enhancements I would make with this working. One is that this working would benefit from a created phylactery or talisman, to carry the luck generated by the ritual into one’s daily life. For this, I recommend taking the God-name Yehiyeh, and its focal verses to “create” the body and talisman. The intended target person’s name could be written in the center of the paper (preferably with green ink).

Selig also gives an additional suggestion of added lines of prayer for a more directed working, which I would consider this talisman being made. He suggested the following addition (still praying seven times in a row before sunrise):

Let me find grace, favor and mercy in the eyes of [target’s name], son/daughter of [target’s mother’s maiden name], so that Yehiyeh may grant my petition. Amen. Selah![2]

To perform this working, you will need the following items:

·      A bible, book of Psalms or print-out of Psalm 4

·      A virgin (unused) sheet of paper, and scissors

·      A pill bottle necklace or other wearable container that the paper strip can fit into

·      A green candle (chime or taper)

·      A saucer dish (if it is green, even better!)

·      Optional: any luck oil (recipe: alkanet leaf, vanilla oil, cinnamon oil, wintergreen oil/leaf)

·      A new/unused green pen (green is the color of prosperity in Hoodoo)

These are the following steps for the ritual:

1.     Write out the selected verses of the Psalm in Hebrew, along with the God-name and prayer, on the virgin paper in the form of a circle. Place the target’s name in the center of that circle, and write the Name “Yehiyeh” seven times over the afflicted person’s name.

2.     Anoint the paper with Luck Oil (if used). You may also anoint the target person with it.

3.     Recite Psalm 4, the focus verses, and finally the consecrating prayer over the anointed paper.

4.     Scroll the paper shut. Add it to the necklace container you procured.

5.     Place the necklace under the upturned saucer. Attach the green candle to the plate and light it.

6.     When the candle is lit, anoint yourself with the oil, white reciting the accompany prayer again (see above).

7.     When the candle burns down, the necklace is considered consecrated and can then be worn.

[1] It looks as if the psalm only has eight verses, but in the Jewish and Hebrew language versions of the psalm I read, what is written as “8” here is 9. This was visually confusing to me, but verse 9 is there!

[2] Selig, Secrets, 11

Getting the Love We Deserve

I wanted to speak a bit on finding the love we deserve. That phrase itself can feel a bit off-putting, especially if you walk in the world more humbly and don’t spend much energy on considering what you deserve. Therein lies a problem: many of our cultures and origin stories are rife with familial and communal reinforcement about the value of always remaining humble. One of a few problems with that thinking is it can put us in a head space where we never do consider what we want out of life. This includes any form of partnership we may desire.

La Sirena and I made this “Course on Self Love” to do our part to correct something we see as a growing and pervasive trend in relationships. As one example, people will often fight for a dead-end relationship that gives little to no emotional returns because they do not believe they can do better. I would not have thought this was so much the case, except that it comes up repeatedly with divination clients. People are hard on themselves, and sometimes their partners are as well, which reinforces this idea of “this guy is as good as I am going to get.” But I am here to say today that this is just not true.

There is often better out there for us. But the “trick” is that we have to do enough of our work on ourselves to be in a place to see them, let alone attract them. Like Ru Paul always says at the end of her show, “ If you can’t love yourself, how the hell are you going to love anybody else?!”

The answer to Ru is that we cannot. It’s not possible to really love someone else in a for-real way until we learn love for self. It can feel selfish even saying that. But it is true. Our class is not a cure-all but a sound first step in this direction. One that will benefit many areas of your life.

The link to join us is here: https://soulfulsantero.squarespace.com/soufulsanterocourses

Come on in – we look forward to seeing you in class!

An Open Love Note

Remember how it was when we were kids and we used to do all sorts of creative things for somebody we liked? Remember that feeling? I do. I remember when I was in grade school, this girl I REALLY liked, I wanted to get her something special. I think I was still a little young to work a job, but I had a weekly allowance of sorts that I could use. So I saved up. For weeks.

I had my eye on a Broken-Heart pendant. Remember those? The store Things Remembered also allowed you to put a message on it. There was a phrase this young lady and I always said to each other, so you better believe I had that enshrined on that pendant!

When I gave it to her, she was so moved that she literally threw her arms around me, kissed me deeply, and said no one had ever given her something so beautiful and thoughtful before. I remember how that felt! Love returned. The ultimate validation. Really being seen. Feeling like you died and went to heaven a million times over.

I have more than my share of sad and heartbreaking stories about love and my love life over the years too. But what matters, really matters, is to remember those moments we did experience love. Many of us tend to dismiss them if that love did not last. But I don’t think that’s the point. Recalling memories of the experience of being loved goes a long way to affirming to ourselves that we are worthy of love, starting with ourselves. They are memories that someone else saw this worthiness in us, and for a few memorable moments reflected it back.

And no, this does not need to be romantic love either. I have other stories of people who showed love to me at some critical moments in my life, and that display from them made all the difference. But I will reflect on that another time!

My course with La Sirena on Self Love is an important one to developing your spirituality in a healthy way. We are going to keep the class open for a good long while, so folx can come in and experience the reflection of the love you seek. The link to the course is here: https://soulfulsantero.squarespace.com/soufulsanterocourses

See you in class!

ONE-OFF COURSES ROLL-OUT ANNOUNCEMENT

Hi Everyone!

So, after some consideration, I decided to open up ALL of the new courses I am offering through Soulful Santero University, in addition to the two larger courses on psalm magic and self love. I am not going to write a long explanation of all of them here, but will speak to them over the next several weeks. I want to take my time in identifying why I created these new courses and what I think will be the benefit of taking them. For now, I will give a brief synopsis of each, and leave the rest for you to go to the site and explore!

The offerings are:

1.     Singing the Lord’s Song: an 18-week course on psalm magic that includes some history and background, practical uses of these psalms for real life situations, and an exciting blend of psalm magic and Hoodoo principles!

2.     Dream Incubation: a one-off course designed to give tools for gaining more command over our dream state, performing divinatory acts, and Hoodoo-styled methods of interpreting your dreams.

3.     Go Down, Moses: a goetia-styled method of evocation and spirit that draws upon the Solomonic magical traditions of the occult Books of Moses.

4.     Grimoire of the 7 Daimons: another method of spirit-work that calls upon seven chthonic entities within the Greek Magical Papyri tradition. This course will especially appeal to non-Abrahamic practitioners.

5.     Hoodoo Hacker’s Guide to Treasure: drawing on aspects of Hoodoo, ceremonial and chaos magic, this gives practitioners access to treasure-hunting spirits of prosperity. The treasure they hunt is far more than what’s in the earth!

6.     Our Best Friend: a very unique course that gives us tools to spiritually care for our furry and scaled friends. Very few occult traditions address the needs and issues of animals, and this class is an attempt to begin to remediate that!

7.     Self Love: yet another unique course taught by Doc Aaron and La Sirena Selene that equips students with knowledge, tools and an experience to heal, work on self-confidence and really love themselves. We all could use this one!

8.     The Master Key: this course is a part two of Doc Aaron’s treatment of amulet-making. While many traditions do this sort of work, few teach it publicly. This course will go a long way toward strengthening your aura and life with wearable tech.

As you can see, this is a robust set of offerings that can help anyone further foundate their personal spirituality and practice. The Psalm Magic and Self Love course will have Facebook discussion groups as part of the learning process, so if you take them, be on the lookout for information on how to access that part of each course.

The link to the courses is here: https://soulfulsantero.squarespace.com/soufulsanterocourses

Enjoy!

Why I Created “Singing the Lord’s Song”

By now, my psalms course is underway! One of the reasons I create courses like “Singing the Lord’s Song” is because I believe strongly that Hoodoo is one of the true American folk practices because it exemplifies the best of who we are and can be, even in times of severe oppression. I have always loved the fact that, while Hoodoo is at its core African, it maintained an openness to cultural encounters and exchange with numerous ethnic groups over the years. This openness and inclusivity is itself counter-cultural and a point of resistance in times in this country when a large majority of people have wanted it to be the opposite. Our American folk practices did not wait for the haters to change their minds and hearts. The practices surged ahead, mixed and evolved, always staying a step ahead of the racism and fascism like John the Conqueror!

We continue in this stream of resistance when we practice spiritualities like psalm magic, which in and of itself was a part of the historic cultural exchanges between the Black and Jewish communities as African Americans migrated out of the South and into metropolitan areas like New York, Chicago and Oakland. I can see this mixture of religious and ethnic cultures in the ways the workings are articulated even in the past. It is also personally important to me in my own practice to do what I do aware that numerous others before me have done the same rituals, spoken the same prayers, held the same faith. That Great Cloud of Witnesses the Bible speaks of.

If it is not clear, the “Singing the Lord’s Song” class is about far more than techniques and recipes. It is a way to carry the energy and intention of resistance by way of inclusivity in the Hoodoo that we do. Like fried chicken and collard greens, this is good food for the soul.

This class and many of the other new courses I offer have both the full purchase price and payment plan options to suit your needs. If you’d like to join me, the course can be found here: https://soulfulsantero.squarespace.com/soufulsanterocourses

See you in class!

ON LEAVING ELDERS/TEACHERS

It has been a minute since I posted much, and I am aware. I needed to tend to some personal and family things, and also do some retooling work for my own content creation business. I DO have some exciting things coming down the pike as we round the corner of the first quarter of this 2025 year. Some of y’all have been asking me for certain types of courses, and I always aim to please, so keep a look out for information coming soon!

As the title says, I wanted to reflect a bit on my overall experiences having to take leave of certain elders or teachers. Barring circumstances like violence or abuse, it is hard to leave most relationships in life, even when we know in our hearts it is time to. If you are a person who values loyalty in your relationships like I do, this makes it even harder.

Sometimes, though, what has tripped me up for a good long while is the confusion of how it got to the point where it wasn’t working anymore. I think this is for different reasons, but for me when the negativity or toxicity is more of a subtle, slow-burn sort of thing, it can be really hard to see when you are still in relationship. Case in point: I went to Carrie Leitch, who I respect and regard deeply as a woman of faith and diviner, and asked for advice and guidance about an ended mentor relationship. There were things about the way things ended that was sudden, confusing and painful. There were also weird blockages in how things went down that I also did not understand. Of course, it is also really hard to see clearly when our own grief is involved.

What Carrie helped me to see was that the blocks and issues were not because of something I had done (which is what the toxic person kept saying), but in fact an intervention of my ancestral spirits to END that relationship before it deepened and the toxicity became more enshrined in my life and spiritual development. She was, in essence, saying that the relationship had run its course and for me to continue to grow, it needed to end.

Now, I trust her 100%. But it is still not easy to hear this. It is not easy to go from the creature comfort of a long-term relationship that has brought some blessing into your life to striking out solo into the great unknown of life. This is especially the case with ATR stuff, which requires mentorship in the way the tradition functions.

I did make the choice to step away, and when I did, What I found after I did, though, was that my spirits were better able to guide and teach me. I found that there were things that I had to unlearn in my current practice, because they were mixing things that should not be mixed. I found out that there are basic things I should know as a Santero that were not in place.

I also began to discover other people like me who teach and are generous with their time, who will help me to fix what isn’t quite right. I also found other people who too endured religious trauma and are working their way through it, and did not give up their faith. I discovered that I was not as alone with this as I felt like I was. Perhaps that is my important word in writing this. You are not alone either. It is okay to leave. There are others who choose temporary exile over captivity. The exile does not last forever. It is just long enough to lick our wounds, find our True North, and hopefully engage healthier community.

I also discovered deeper compassion and gratitude. Even the teachers who have wounded me, hurt me, or lacked capacity for self-reflection. They continue to teach me long after the relationship ends. What I mean by that is sometimes the teaching is about what not to do based on those negative experiences, which for me means reflecting on them and picking them apart to see everyone’s role in creating the breakdown. Most times when I do this, I can see my own participation. This reflection helps me then try to minimize or avoid doing the same in kind when I bear the responsibility for someone’s development. For this, I will always be grateful to all of my teachers past and present.

In close, be gentle with yourself. Those of us with a strong sense of loyalty, responsibility or affection for our mentors tend to be hard on ourselves, or even internalize a sense of failure that is not helpful. I remember discussing and teaching about the role of white shame in antiracism work. A lot of progressive white people I served in that work would often express this sense of shame about racism and all its historic and contemporary manifestations. But as a facilitator it was my job to gently move those people from the paralyzing shame to an active place of transmuting that shame into how can their white privilege be used to undermine and dismantle racist structures? When people knew they were safe, amazing conversations would result. You would see a vitality rise in their room. A palpable sense of hope as people formed community together and took action in their community.

I believe this kind of work is important here too. There is a place and space for those of us working through things like religious trauma to form community, prioritize ethics, and figure out healthier ways to practice our traditions. But no one person is going to have the panacea. The cure is the collective. This is the kind of future that gives me hope, even in the midst of pain.

THE LIGHT OF ESPIRITISMO

I was watching the show Obi Wan. There is a scene in it where the young Princess Leia looks in wonder at “Ben” and asks him what the Force is like.

He responds, “Have you ever been scared of the dark, then turn on the light? How do you feel then?”

She said “Better.”

“Well, that’s what the Force is like.”

These words stayed with me well after watching that episode. I was struck by their simplicity. But Obi Wan’s words remind me of a bedrock of practicing Espiritismo. I have spoken at length about espiritismo here, so I am not going to repeat myself. But the point of this practice, especially the work we do with ancestral spirits and spirit guides, is because without them we are groping in the dark. Many espiritismo houses will in fact have a picture of a lighthouse. I have seen this before a certain people’s ancestor tables, but did not understand the significance. The light house is understood to be God, and not God as normally depicted or understood. But God as Light and Intelligence. Spirits are emanations of that God in the world as we know it, and we work together to bring guidance on the stormy seas of life. Seas that can leave us feeling rudderless and without a map to guide our way.

The work of espiritistas is to turn on the light in the dark. Now, this is not some racially-coded thing (even though espiritismo and its cousin, Spiritualism, both have a deeply racist past). It is instead the notion that we are reaching for Source to navigate life, assist wayward spirits, and uplift humanity.

Assistance can take on numerous forms. It could be praying for the spirit of someone who took their life. It could be performing an elevation for a spirit who is a good soul, but no one laid their body to rest. It can even be helping someone who is being pestered by a spirit attachment, figuring out what the spirit attached to them wants or needs.

I had one of these spirits once. He was connected to my team of spirits. But the elders I had initially told me he was not elevated and to forget about him. They were dead wrong, as I eventually came to recognize. But the spirit did need work. Months of work, actually. Thankfully, I had learned enough in my years of practice to slowly but steadily free that spirit of their shackles from life.

Turns out, that spirit had a large destiny all its own. A destiny that it now sought to share with me. and this is an important point related to “turning on the light.” Sometimes a way a spirit presents is not who they really are. Like us, spirits can be complex. They can have layers of problems like their own traumas, which will make them present one way. When they are cleansed of that, and spiritually reminded that they are more than those traumas, they will present another way. If we write them off like we tend to do with each other, we may miss a big piece of the blessings that come otherwise.

I’m writing about this because I am aware that many people are scared and afraid these days. There is no one thing that will alleviate all of our fears, but your spiritual court that walks with you goes a long way toward helping us maintain a sense of peace in the face of life’s travails. May you find your own way to turn on the light this year.

PREPARING FOR THE NEW YEAR: SOME SPIRITUAL ADVICE

There have been plenty of folx in the occultosphere offering readings for the new years ahead, to give people who want it a sneak peek at things to come in 2025. In my ATR world, we also have a big mama jamma of a reading that helps us determine which (in the case of Lucumi) Orishas are ruling this year, and what we need to do to overcome certain challenges. I am not writing this to repeat that. This post is more personal and practical minded.

I am aware that most of our traditions also have a lot of practical magic that can be done. But I am going to suggest a few simple things to do to help get your year off right. First, however, I wanted to speak a little to some big trends I see myself.

One is our health. Both physical and mental/emotional. They are going to take a hit this year, for different reasons. Number one is that it is very important to stay on top of your medical obligations. A physical is a must this year. We sometimes dread physicals, but as a Lucumi saying goes “he who knows doesn’t die like he who doesn’t know” (something like that!). Get that physical and follow through with whatever issues or advice comes up. This one was probably disappointing to some of you wanting more profound spiritual advice, or rituals to do. But going to the doctors IS a ritual!

I also recommend that, whatever path you follow, you focus more on tools that bolster, maintain and purify your health from any misfortune that could affect it. In my world, this almost always means spiritual baths, herbal cleanses, health-related teas, and spirit work/pacts to strengthen any deficits in my body. Some herbs in Hoodoo that help with this are: Self-Heal, Life Everlasting, and Eyebright (for those with vision issues). Baths made with such herbs can either draw or cleanse away. Your prayers over the herbal waters determine which way the plant allies will go.

Mentally, I recommend the herb guanabana. This herb can be ordered online, but a lot of Latin markets also carry it in dried form. It can be taken as a tea or made into baths. This herb is great for easing mental anguish, especially if you also find yourself struggling to sleep peacefully at night.

Another big piece of navigating the mental is our own attitude and behavior. This is a year that many of us will be challenged not to fall into conflicts with people over political differences. The ascendancy of President Trump, and everything that follows his wake, will also bring a lot of mental instability that will affect peoples’ behaviors around us. How we react and respond to this will make or break us this year. But in KEY areas of our life, the degree to which we are able to respond calmly and remain calm will highlight the other person’s poor behavior, and this can bode very well in certain situations.

Holding those you love closer to you this year is also very important. All the external stresses on us can definitely disrupt familial and relational harmony. Frequent communication and not giving up when that gets hard are critical to our key relationships weathering the storm of what will come at us this year. If you are honest with yourself and know that communication is not your strong point, this is a good year to get into therapy, coaching or similar modalities and improve your skillset. There is no shame in that game! There are other areas and issues that could be brought up. But the ones I am pointing to will place people in a position where they can better respond to the challenges—and blessings—this 2025 year brings.

NEW YEARS AHEAD READER ALERT: WILDE MEDIUM!

NEW YEARS AHEAD READER ALERT: WILDE MEDIUM!

Hey Folx,

I know it's not Saturnday, but I wanted to get this word out for those of you wanting some guidance for the year ahead. As you have seen me say many times, I do not trust 95% of the workers and readers out here. I just don't. There's too much bullshit and hustling going on that turns me off, and generally speaking if someone is looking at you as a paycheck, it poisons their ability to help you.

Mandy Wilde is not at all like this. She is, like me, a medium, psychic and spirit worker. She especially has a personal devotion to Hekate, who many in this coven also revere. So she gets the more pagan and witchy ways of seeing things. I have also gone to her for readings on my spirits and ALWAYS been pleased and blown away by her accuracy.

So, if you need insight into the year, check her out! The link to her is in this post. Enjoy!

PS - Mandy told me, as of Saturday, that she is also running a sale/discount. Use code "NEWYEAR25" for 25% off your reading!

https://www.wildemedium.com/ 

A NEW YEARS’ READER I RECOMMEND: BLUE TIGER’S EYE TAROT

Hey Folx,

The next few posts from me are to highlight people whose opinion and spiritual sight I value in this world. My trust of occult readers is low, mainly from my own really bad readings with people. Sometimes even a seasoned reader needs to go to someone else for advice and guidance. But that doesn’t mean we turn off our common sense when we do!

The first reader I am highlighting is my dear friend and colleague, La Sirena Selene. Her business is known as Blue Tiger’s Eye Tarot. I have gone to Selene several times in the past to consult about different situations and spirits, and she has never disappointed. Her readings are concrete, to the point, and deeply helpful for getting unstuck, or gaining clarity into a situation.

I highly recommend her also for new year readings. If you are not familiar, diviners offering these readings are to help folks gain a sense of what the 2025 year holds for them. It can be both broad strokes, but also some nitty-gritty life stuff to get a heads up on.

Selene can be reached to schedule appointments at her contact number: 405-633-3088. She can also be reached through her website, which I have included here: https://bluetigerseyetarot.wixsite.com/bluetigerseyetarot.

I pray your new year is better than the last!

WHEN DISHONESTY IS A PART OF FAITH/PRACTICE

I was raised in a divorced and somewhat blended family. I will never forget one memory based on religious differences in that blend. My mom’s family is Baptist. My father’s side is AME Zion, and his second wife’s family is Church of God in Christ (COGIC). It would take me too long to explain the differences between these traditions. But, for the sake of this part of my life story, the COGIC faith is the one that stresses personal holiness the most. Because of that, I grew up experiencing a lot of COGIC people in and outside of my family as judgmental.

Though my dad was in my life, my mom raised me. Thus, I was most influenced in my early years by her faith and how she lived it. One gift she gave me was always to be critical of organized religion. She was this way because as she grew into her womanhood, she told me she saw many of the preachers and pastors where she was from doing immoral things that disappointed her and made it harder for her to respect them or their leadership.

I say “gift” because, at some point, one of my family members around my age expressed an interest in Islam based on some friends he had in school. He had talked to me about it, and even though I didn’t understand Islam then, I thought it was cool that he found it so interesting. When that same conversation was had in front of some of the Pentecostal members of the family, they told him he could look into that – but that they would pray for his eternal soul.

They were visibly crushed, and I was taken aback even as a kid. I didn’t have those words then, but I knew deep down that the guilting and shaming was wrong.

Fast forward many years later, and I am with a mentor in ministry. He was an interesting cat and had a diverse spiritual background. One day, when we were hanging out in his office, he pulled out his phone and showed me the picture of Bishop Mason that I attached to this post. I’m not going to lie; when I saw it, I immediately thought this man was some witch. Roots, herbs, and animal parts surrounded him. You can imagine my shock and awe when my mentor told me Mason was a man of God, a founder of a Christian denomination, AND a rootworker! We had a very long discussion, and my mind was blown that day.

I am writing these stories because there’s been a lot of talk over the past few years about what Hoodoo is, who can practice it, and the so-called fact that it was a spirituality that was never accepted by the Church, including the Black Church. Now, if you study just a bit of African American religious history, you will quickly see this was untrue. In areas of the South, it was common for a church to have its pastor who people went to for spiritual counsel and pastoral care, but then Deacon So And So was the rootworker who had the blessing of the pastor and was the one people went to to heal ailments and deal with spiritual issues outside the purview of the pastor. And yes, some of them, like Bishop Mason, were also pastors and rootworkers.

In more modern days, there are people like me. I am ordained as a Christian clergyman, but I am also a rootworker. I have been both for years. My family had rootwork around it when I was growing up, too. As is often the case for my people, you usually don’t even know you were exposed to Hoodoo until you start thinking back and remembering odd things your parents or grandparents did. I have numerous memories of that. I also know that, in my ancestral lineage, I have rootworkers. So, it is something I know is in my blood, even if my family line walked away from it at some point.

If Hoodoo was good enough for my ancestors, it is good enough for me. If Hoodoo was practiced by some of my ancestors who were also ministers, it is good enough for me.

If these things are in your spiritual path or birthright, you can also claim them. Religions cannot dictate this stuff, try as they might. It’s sad that a denomination could not be honest with itself, too. Back in his time, COGIC people were uncomfortable with Mason’s rootwork – but they could not deny the power of God in his life. Yet, in these modern times, he is not talked about in those circles. And this is just one story of a few I know of the Black Church’s history with Black Indigenous spirituality. I lift these things because people come to me distressed with the thought that they may be called to practice their spirituality in more than one spiritual world. Not everyone is called to that way, but more than a few are. In my power and capacity as a clergyperson and practitioner, I want to highlight these things to encourage more profound honesty about our collective legacies. Deeper honesty about them is key to understanding who we are or what we are becoming. Denying truths like this breeds confusion and disorientation in our development. I don’t know about you, but I am tired of the wasted time.      

STOCKING STUFF SHOWCASE: PORTABLE WONDERS

This showcased one-off course is also something I rarely see offered out in the occult universe. Some of why this is is because not a lot of people know how to create talismans and amulets. Yes, there are some established approaches, such as those within the occult Jewish traditions. However, many of the traditional methods for this are very complicated and time-consuming. Hoodoo, while it has complicated aspects to its practice, is largely simple and easy to execute.

Because of this, I decided to create an approach that was simple enough, yet also effective in creating protective magical tools of wearable tech. I am also not interested in just creating recipe books, but teaching folx the “hows” and “whys” of something like an amulet. One also has to care for them, upkeep their internal energies, and how to align them in some cases with spirit energies set to the purpose for which the talisman was created.

If this sounds of interest to you, or someone you know who would be interested, please follow the link and sign up. The link is here: https://www.theblackthorneschool.com/courses/portablewonders/.

STOCKING STUFFER SHOWCASE: SIGHT BEYOND SIGHT

This week, I wanted to highlight my one-off course on divination, specifically procuring a divinatory spirit. I created this course for a few reasons. One is that I sometimes get clients who ask me how they can learn to divine, not just how to use a divinatory tool but also how to go about a divination process.

Anyone who takes my courses knows that I often encourage people to develop a connection and relationship with spirit allies who help in the ways we need. This Hoodoo Hack is no different. One of the challenges of divination is to convey clear messages while ensuring that readers are confident that what they perceive is accurate. This course goes a long way toward ensuring that!

Finally, in this course, I draw heavily on the practical grimoire of Arthur Gauntlet, so here, a student can see how an actual cunning man’s repertoire could be drawn upon to meet our needs today. Of the traditional grimoires I know, Arthur Gauntlet’s is one of the few to offer such a spirit.

Check out this course if you want to step up your divination game. The link to the class is here: https://theblackthorneschool.com/courses/sight-beyond-sight-the-black-man-spirits-of-prophecy-and-the-art-of-divination/.

YOU DON’T HAVE TO THROW OUT ALL OF WHO YOU WERE TO BECOME WHO YOU ARE: REFLECTIONS ON CHANGING RELIGIONS/SPIRITUALITY

Over my career and spiritual journey, I have made changes to my faith, what I believe and how I practice – including religious/spiritual groups I associate with. One memory sticks out among many, however. I was raised in two black church traditions, but after a series of unfortunate events, I entered into the predominantly-white denomination known as the United Church of Christ. The process of switching was not difficult. It happened organically. I just left the AME Zion ordination process and was attending a house church in NYC. I assisted with worship from time to time as a seminary friend was working as an intern. When her internship came to an end, the pastor of that church approached me, told me several members recognized my gifts for ministry and they all wanted to sponsor me for ordination in the UCC. Before this happened, I wasn’t sure which denomination I was going into. My roots in the black churches of my childhood ran deep. Being exiled from them was extremely painful. But it was very healing to have this church community embrace me in this way, to help me work through my sense of rejection from my own people. I learned the hard lesson that as my people say, skinfolk ain’t always kinfolk.

My challenges continued during my UCC ordination process. The end of that process culminates in what’s called the Ecclesiastical Council. Clergy peers gather with you for dialogue after you undergo a psyche eval, background check and write an extensive paper on your beliefs. I have served on these Councils when I was a pastor too. These are not to police a minister’s personal beliefs, but rather opportunities to insure a coherence to of one’s beliefs, so those beliefs support them through the challenges of their ministry.

But my Council was NOT that. There were two Southern Baptist converts who, if it were not for the fact that they were gay (they stated this strongly and weirdly when arguing with me), they would still be Southern Baptist. They were clear they towed the ultra-conservative party line in the Reformed theological tradition. I knew Reformed theology because I went to a Presbyterian seminary. I enjoyed most of my studies even if I did not personally buy into Reformed theology. I was still working through which parts of my Black Churchness were going to stay with me, and which parts of me were going to embrace this new UCC thing. It was never an option to reject my roots to become UCC. But for these two men, that was the only way.

The thing they had a problem with was me calling myself a Christian Panentheist. Panentheism embodied a way to retain my Blackness and African/indigenous faith expressions and beliefs while staying within the Christian tradition. A God Who was both within and above nature made more sense to me than the radical transcendence the Reformed tradition insists upon.

The people against me were practically foaming at the mouth to prove me wrong, but I stood my ground because these were my beliefs. It also helped that the pastor of that church also explained to them my background and his sense of my commitment to the core values of the UCC. It was also ironic that the thing my future colleagues were giving me shit for was something they were doing as transplants from a related but different Christian tradition. It is often the case when we deal in absolutes that they blind us to the subconscious ways we hold onto our past.

This issue has continued to be a fight in my spiritual journey, to be honest. Even when I found my way to Lucumi and espiritismo, I had elders, usually who are American, who have their own biases and issues with religions like Christianity and cannot see their intolerance affecting their godkids’ development on their own spiritual paths. Instead of living in that tension and remembering that everyone has their own spiritual path, such elders pressure godkids in subtle and not subtle ways for that godkid to leave that former faith or practice completely behind.

I had such an elder do this to me when I was in the recovery period of making my Ocha. They said they did not understand how I could be Christian with the history. I told them I knew the history well and do not argue that Christians have and continue to do evil things. That I saw the remnants of that evil in the slave castles on the coast of Ghana. But that I was Christian and Lucumi because I CHOSE to be. I did this also because many of my ancestors were Christian. Being Christian thus connects me to them. I was honestly disappointed in them that I had to tell them that, because this person was an espiritista.

What I observed over time is that there is an intolerance lodged within most spiritual traditions. Some are more explicit than others. Newly-arrived people come to understand that they are expected to put behind whatever they were to become what they are. In some religions this is hardwired, such as the Apostle Paul’s articulation of being a new creation in Jesus Christ meaning putting away old things, which he considered childish. People text phrase these scriptures, and in doing so rip them out of their original context.

I am aware of this intolerance of absolutism in the faiths and traditions I carry, or have carried, within me. And I reject it. It is a weaponized tool of control designed to shame us for doing something I consider to be natural to just growing in life. Not every life experience has a silver lining, but not every life experience is doom and gloom and despair either. It’s grown people behavior to look back at something we went through and realize there were still good times. All or nothing beliefs limit our ability to integrate our experiences and evolve. A big part of spiritual development DOES happen from what is hard and what almost broke us (or did break us).

The last thing I want to observe is that I find it ironic that devotees of a religion or path often do not reflect on the fact that their exemplar (e.g., Jesus, Buddha, Abraham, etc) were not the religion that was birthed from their witness. They were something else, a part of something older, more established and itself a living tradition that fed and inspired that figure to evolve. If we spent more time meditating on this aspect of the human spirit, we might understand that we all come from somewhere, and that somewhere shaped, formed and influences how we see and think and believe. That’s not automatically a bad thing. It can be a source of our compassion toward others unlike us.

You don’t have to reject all of who you were to become who you are. Those who insist you do are working out their own internal issues. Don’t make their issues yours. It’s okay to be free!

STOCKING STUFFER SHOWCASE: TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS

Now that another Thanksgiving season has passed, many of us will be turning our minds, hearts, and wallets toward the upcoming series of holidays that revolve around gift-giving. If you are anything like me, knowing what to give people can be stressful. Even if you know someone well, knowing what gifts they may like can be different!

With this in mind, I decided to do something different and fun this year and highlight one of my one-offs a week. I won’t likely cover them all, so please look at the Blackthorne School website and see the wide range of offers. This week, I wanted to lift up an excellent course for which I did not see many similar options. The “Taking Care of Business” course does pertain to its namesake, but many of the things I cover have much wider use than just business. For example, the floor wash highlighted in the material is a good idea for anyone to do, even where they live, so you carry that drawing energy of prosperity with you every time you leave the house. These tools could also be used for volunteer fundraising for a nonprofit, where you apply the principles to help worthy causes have a more significant impact in your community.

One of the core lessons I continually teach and emphasize is that Hoodoo, even when taught by someone else, can and should be adapted to work for you. I also do not know anyone who would not benefit from extra tools to gain a financial advantage.

I know how challenging running a business can be. I created this course to help people bridge that gap between desire and vision toward execution and success. So come, feel free to check it out – and maybe even share it with friends.

The link to the class is here: https://www.theblackthorneschool.com/courses/taking-care-of-business/

THE WEANING PROCESS: IMPLICATIONS FOR SPIRITUAL WORK

There’s this concept in medicine that I have seen hospice doctors espouse with their teammates. When there are certain medical problems a patient has, the team does not always know what will work to alleviate or resolve it. The doctor usually then instructs the nurses to (in the case of someone on multiple medications) wean a patient off medicines one by one over time, until the aggravating symptom lessens or disappears. It is only then that the team knows for sure what could be causing the problem medicinally.

I think of this periodically in my life too. We often choose to throw everything and the kitchen sink at life issues and problems all at once. I have found in my own life that when I do that, it can be hard to tell what worked, if anything. Or, conversely, if nothing worked, where the point of failure was. But of course, this is easier said than done when emotions and negative consequences are involved right?

I thought of this post because I am a part of a group where someone asked how they knew their magic worked when they did several different magical things at the same time to make their situation better. I feel for a person when they are in this predicament. It can truly happen to anyone, especially if there’s a lot of anxiety or fear on our end running the show of our decision-making. But I do think there are ways around and through this. Here’s four things I recommend:

1. Develop a relationship with a patron spirit. Even if you are not a spirit worker, it’s just a good idea to have a spirit guide of some sort to assist and in some cases direct your work. This entity is a fresh set of eyes that, if the connection is legit, will help you course correct and focus on times where it feels hard to focus.

2. Develop some divinatory skill. You don’t have to divine to become a professional reader. You don’t even have to read for other people. You can simply learn divination so that your magical practice and skill becomes more honed and focused. This tool and the aforementioned spirit guide are the two things that should help you know the path of least resistance to fixing your issue.

3. Have a trusted friend of spiritual colleague who you can consult with. Spirits are good, but a human is also important because we are living this life in this body and that perspective is different from existence as a disembodied spirit. Trustworthy people also have a way of grounding us when we are going through hard times too.

4. Get a reading from a seasoned, trustworthy diviner. I think this is especially important if you notice patterns in your life you can’t seem to break. A person outside your situation will be able to see the threads and tapestry of your life, and where it’s becoming frayed. And a good reader will also tell you things you can do to fix that!

There are more things that could be said. But I am going to leave it here and invite anyone reading this to add things you have found helpful with issues like this. Here’s to getting unstuck!

MORE THOUGHTS ON MOVING FORWARD

I wanted to leave some thoughts and a continuation of practical ideas I expressed earlier this week about moving forward through difficult times. When I was relatively new to the Bay area of California a few years back, I got invited to a special group meant for spiritual leaders and community activists. The woman who led it conveyed one core idea in her program: that social justice types are poor with our self-care. We are so passionate about the issues we fight for that we often burn out. To make it worse, when whatever that justice struggle is encounters failure, some people take it really hard and really person, and their mental and emotional health suffers.

Her work with us was to create a sacred space where we could rest, sleep, walk labyrinths, meditate to sacred harp music, and eat simple but nourishing food. This program was not the first time I was made aware of my own need to balance my self-care with serving humanity in my sense of call. When I went to seminary, two professors arranged a trip to a monastery on the Hudson River. Though I was very Protestant then, I was spiritually open. I wanted to understand how various iterations of Christianity did what they did to nourish their people with spirituality. So I discovered the power of the Psalter, the blessing of daily Eucharist, and sacred conversations with holy men who devoted themselves to Christian hospitality so the rest of us could find ourselves.

I have been blessed over my life thus far and my career to have had these experiences. They are the anchors I return to when times seem out of joint. When the person I believe to be the wrong leader for my country gets elected. When people around me are freaking out left and right because we don’t even know exactly what things mean anymore.

These experiences and people taught me that there is such a thing as sacred rest—what two of the three Abrahamic traditions call a Sabbath. In my personal life, I can't focus well if I get so caught up in serving, doing, fighting, whatever. I can’t even do my spiritual practices competently. In short, losing sight of this diminishes my quality of life.

My hope for folx is that, regardless of how we all do it, we all find those places to rest and recipe during this time.

Be blessed, and get good rest out there.

THOUGHTS ON PATRIOTISM: A PIECE OF THE WAY FORWARD

I have had a few people ask me to speak on what I think about our recent presidential election. I resisted any urge to speak immediately, however. I wanted to give myself some time to gather my thoughts and feelings and reflect, largely apart from what other people think. I am finding most people’s opinions strong and unyielding, and a lack of openness to real dialogue. Looking around social media, most people who ARE speaking are largely critical with in the way of anything positive or meaningful. I don’t have all the answers either. But it’s easy to be negative. It’s much harder to be a part of the solution.

So here are my thoughts: I think in a moment like this, we need to remember our history. For some of us, that will mean learning the history we have never been properly taught. And no, I don’t mean just what is taught in any school. Schools are just as political as any capitol in how decisions are made around what gets taught and what doesn’t. Even with all of my education, I am STILL learning about American history myself.

I want to tell the rest of my point through a coincidental story: after I spent time at home with my then-newborn grandson, I was waiting at the local airport to fly home. As fate would have it, there were delays. Many people were stuck in that little airport waiting for the next connecting flight. I had been there a while, so I had my own seat. But this nondescript white man came along and looked around dejectedly for a seat. He asked me if he could sit with me, which I was glad to oblige. He had a kind spirit. When he sat down, I noticed he was holding this book, the same one whose cover I included with this post. He saw my curiosity and then proceeded to tell me that he had just come from a military base in Upstate New York where it was NAMED after her!

He definitely had my attention then! He told me that she was many things, but during the Civil War she was a bit of a spy. She got caught by the Confederacy. But he told me she was such a pain in the butt to the Confederate jailers that they released her and demanded she go back North! She did, and soon after returned to continue to be a thorn in their side until the South was brought to its knees in defeat. Her name was Dr. Mary Walker. She is an example of a true patriot, to me. It took me some time to write this because I did not have pen and paper when I met her descendant. It took me some time to find her name.

When we think of patriots, we often think of flag-waving rah-rah American people who want nothing but a Christian God, nothing but white people in this country, and a list of other unsettling things. But the problem is not completely those people. Those of us who are not like them but just as loving of our country do not speak up and witness to a different vision of national pride that is inclusive. To get there we need to know who our heroes and heroines are who have ALWAYS withstood the tides of ignorance, hatred and exclusivity. We need to remember that these patriots have always been here, and we have their stories to inspire us and give us wisdom. Many Americans do not know this history aside from possibly John Brown and Harriet Tubman. They are significant, but there are others.

Looking at these patriots and their stories also reminds me to be realistic. It has never been the case in America that there was a massive movement of American conscience to move the needle in a good way on any social movement. Most movements have happened through a small but dedicated group of people building coalitions outside of their interest group, and then waiting for the right moment to strike while the iron was hot. This was the genius of the Civil Rights movement. Civil Rights succeeded because of community organizing and timely political strikes.

This kind of patriotic courage was established at the start of our country. The trick for us is to figure out how to get there. Part of the answer, for me, is to find out who our heroes were and are. They are there; let’s find them together!  

LOST AND FOUND: A HOODOO WORKING FOR SOMETHING LOST

I heard of this method some time ago and have used it occasionally with moderate success. As you all keep hearing me say, Hoodoo is a mixture of complex and straightforward practices and workings. Certain things require a few hours to do well, while others require just a few minutes and ingredients. This spell is simpler and traditionally only requires two ingredients.

This is known as black candle tobacco working and has its namesake: tobacco, oil, and a black candle. It is not easy to find actual tobacco oil, so it is much easier to pour a little olive oil into a glass Vigil candle after poking some holes in it and sprinkling some dried tobacco leaf on top of that. After doing this, the next thing is to pray over it for the one you have lost contact with. That’s it!

Now, me being me, I would enhance this. Hoodoo relies a lot on personal concerns, so I would also lean a photo of the missing person against the candle glass in addition to the candle. If you REALLY want to get fancy, you can also turn this into a moving candle spell. Let’s say you are working on a square table. I would add four pink or white candles to the four corners of the table with a reconciliation or “return to me” style oil (different oil sellers call these different names), or barring those, crush some balm of gilead buds and sprinkle them into an oil then roll or pour the oil onto the candle glass. Each day, as you pray aloud for this person to return, move the corner candles closer to the center of the table until they touch.

Aside from the materia and ritual I suggested, the most critical part of this working is the intention and steadfastness of your vocalized prayer for this person to return to your life. I had a recent and sudden loss in my life where I have done just this spell. But I am also going to be honest that this sort of working is one where it is best to follow it up with concrete practical steps, such as pounding the pavement, going to the police and filing a missing person’s report, etc. Do not rely on magic alone; instead, combine the mundane and magical to increase the chance of a more favorable result.

That’s all for now! I hope you enjoy this. If you want to learn more about workings like this, please join the current “Working the Roots” cohort. The link is here: https://www.theblackthorneschool.com/courses/working-the-roots/

The class is closing soon, but I would love to have you.