AUTHENTIC COMMUNITY: WHAT IT TAKES

Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many…those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. – 1 Corinthians 12

When I was in college, my first spiritual mother who was also the Protestant University chaplain, impressed upon us a core teaching that was like a thread running through everything we did as a church and community. By the time I went to college in the 90s, the decades-long agenda of the evangelical Protestant church to dominate the public discourse of what Christianity is and what it means to be a Christ had become, to me, our national/spiritual overculture. To this day, when people think of a Christian, they almost always have in their minds an Evangelical. This is because those Christians have been consistent and strategic in bearing witness to their faith.

What the chaplain was teaching her flock of students is that, as moderate to liberal Christians, we operate from a place of weakness when we distinguish ourselves from our Evangelical brethren by reacting to their agenda. She instead taught us how to operate from a place of STRENGTH and integrity in doing the work to articulate a progressive brand of Christian faith. This message revolutionized my faith, and frankly, my approach to life and all my personal identity politics!

It was definitely a battle on campus though. Between our fundamentalist Christian student groups and the rabid secularism that was adversarial to ALL forms of religious life, it felt like a four-year Game of Thrones season. Highly educated professors exhibited low emotional intelligence in classes where they attacked anyone who identified as Christian. More than once I was on the receiving end of that, on top of systemic racism and discrimination. But all the adversarialness, hard as it was, was also where I sharpened my tools in preparation for even greater forms of oppression in the real world. I will forever be grateful to Chaplain Nan for teaching me how to speak truth to power out of the love and conviction of my progressive Christian faith.

I am writing about this today because I continue to see so many occultists and occult teachers sew divisions and contrive conflicts. They are spending a LOT of energy and time on this. Doing this is not creating anything that builds people up, let alone sustains community. It creates the vibe of reality TV, which if you have ever watched you know is fake, contrived and structured to make conflicts where none exist. Even the way people have come at me for choosing to teach Hoodoo and spirituality in an inclusive way is telling of this shift in our common life. I don’t engage the negativity, except to challenge those naysayers to make their own efforts to teach and build something that’s positive. This is almost always where the conversation ends.

I think we can do better. But I think to get there we must return to our sacred wisdom and self-assess how far afield we are from our own standards. The Apostle Paul, who was a complex historical figure, did get some things right. The passage from his letter to the Corinthian Church is where the head and heart of any professed Christian should be. And honestly, you can take the Jesus language out of those words and still be left with a philosophical approach to building and sustaining community that cuts through our bullshit and gets to the heart of why we choose to be in community to begin with. I hope we can find our way back to a healthier Body. A lot is riding on us doing so.

SOMETHING THAT BREAKS THE MOLD: NEARING-DEATH AWARENESS

When I started my work in hospice, almost 15 years ago now, the phenomena of Near Death Awareness (NDA) fascinated me. Not because I didn’t believe it happened. I certainly did. But to work in a field where it happens repeatedly and across all boundaries of identity had me convinced early on that this was a universal human phenomena and symptom of dying like pain or shortness of breath. It was a part of the constellation of healthcare issues a person could have at the end of life.

I started to notice, however, that families often had a hard time wrapping their heads around it. Especially if that family was religious, and even more especially if that family’s religion was hostile to the idea of spirits. As one example, within Protestant Christianity, the only accepted spirits are the Trinity, a few angels and Jesus. Everyone else is pretty much a demon or an agent of the Devil. So in that spiritual framework, there is no room for the Dead coming back to guide anyone to their next life, whatever they believe that to be. Over the years, I started doing work as a chaplain to help families understand the difference between religious belief and doctrine, and what is a human, spiritual condition that exists and occurs independent of religion.

This became so pressing for me that I decided to get my doctorate in counseling and focused on this in my dissertation. NDAs are understood to be a part of the larger phenomena of Near Death Experiences, like people seeing lights at the end of the tunnel and then being thrust back into their bodies in the ER. I studied scientific research and theories on these things as well, and discovered that science as a discipline is deeply challenged by these NDAs and NDEs because science and medicine INSIST that brain function is the only measure of aliveness. There is a subtle fundamentalism in certain areas of science that refuse to consider that human consciousness may be more than synapses firing in the brain. Stories about of individuals who were certifiably dead, often for several minutes beyond what is considered humanly possible to live, coming back. Not only do people come back, but they recall minute details of things going on around them that are not logically possible.

Do I think a day will come where we will understand NDAs and NDEs fully? Yes, I do. But I think when that happens, both science/medicine and religion will have to re-evaluate their assumptions and what they know to be true. They will come to understand that both of them cannot completely capture the complexities of the spirituality of being human without having a dialogue to grasp the pieces of the puzzle they both hold.

What I have been taught by dying patients and their families is that NDAs give patients the opportunity to prepare themselves for what’s next. But also, sometimes, the NDAs also give that dying person the opportunity for healing and resolution. I had an African American patient who was cared for by her daughter. I had visited them several times. In what I did not know would be our last visit, I walked in the sounds of the patient arguing with someone. I asked the daughter who her mom was yelling at. The daughter told me that her mom was arguing with her deceased mother, who had been coming to the patient over a few days. She said that her mother was molested as a girl and her mother knew but did nothing about it. So when her mother came in the spirit, she came to not only apologize to her daughter for failing her as a mother, but also to help her daughter let go of everything she had been carrying in her life related to that, so the patient would be lighter when she left this world.

I was stunned! I had known many people with NDAs. But this was the first one I heard of where it was clear that working was being done between the living and the dead to ease the emotional burdens of the dying process. This family taught me that sometimes it’s never too late, and our ancestors can play a huge role in making sure we die a good death. This is something I hope we all experience when our time comes too.

COMING OFF THE MAT

In a bereavement session I had today, the client and I got to talking about what sustains us when the blow of loss hits us. Most people find the way grief keeps coming over and again as a setback, because deep down most of us believe grief is like an endless progression. We have this assumption wired deep within because of the insights of people like Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross and her stages of grief. Her work was seminal and is still important because it went a long way in combatting the death-avoidance in so many places around the world (especially America!). But what sometimes gets missed is that those so-called stages of grief are just a typology. They are not a roadmap to a finish line. We might want grief to be sequential, but it is not.

This client and I knew this, and when I reminded her of this to help her make sense of having good and bad weeks back-to-back, then we shifted to the discussion of how to manage this sometimes-unsettling rhythm. She talked about Vipassana Meditation (I think I spelled that right). I talked about a Christian style called Centering Prayer. I have practiced Centering Prayer on and off for years since I was taught it. I even include it in some of the courses I teach.

The way my spirituality comes together is such that I do not really care for guided meditation styles. I find it annoying and distracting once I achieve a “flow state.” Centering Prayer is better suited to me. It is not about trying to envision anything. It is not about arm wrestling the Monkey Mind into submission. You have a sacred word, and you repeat that word through your breaths. Thoughts and distractions will come and go. But instead of fighting them, you metaphorically sit on the riverbank and watch them impassively float down the river and away, then return to the sacred word.

The longer I practiced this, the more I found myself having a consistent experience of being on a cliff overlooking impenetrable darkness. There was no bottom. And every time I felt like I needed to jump. So, I did. And when I did, there was nothing. No bottom. No light at the end of a tunnel. Absolutely nothing, just like “The Cloud of Unknowing” says. I am a believer in the Christian faith/tradition. So, my experience in this Nothingness was a simultaneous absence of presence and a consuming sense of God being everywhere in the Nothingness. I know, it makes zero sense. But when you read the Cloud of Unknowing, this is what it says God Is.

But wait, there’s more! This client, who practiced a totally different meditation from a different religion said the same thing I said: that it was not the meditating that was life changing. It wasn’t even the mystical experiences we had. It was what happened to us AFTER we got off the mat. We found ourselves more compassionate. More tolerant of people’s “stuff.” More able to keep hold of the bigger picture. More detached from the things that would normally drive us nuts.

I am not trying to be profound. But I am increasingly aware as I look around me that so many of us are losing hold of the bigger picture. Compassion and taking time to understand someone who doesn’t think, look, or act like us is going out the window. So, in my capacity as a counselor and spiritual leader I am encouraging people to find their mat and seek that bigger picture. There is no one way to do so. But coming to understand that bigger picture makes all the difference.

SAINTLY JUSTICE WORK WITH THE SPIRIT OF HATE

Like many people, I am observing what’s going on in America and considering what to do about it in my own way. This working is a combination of Hoodoo and Latin Folk Catholic magic weaved together. It will also require folks to do some devotional work. One of the bedrocks of what and how I teach is we cannot go to a spirit and expect them to act on issues for us if they don’t know us. To accomplish this work, you are going to need to develop a devotion to a saint that is little-known outside of the Eastern Orthodox and Latin world, Saint Charalampos. The hagiography of this saint is as follows:

“San Caralampio (St. Charalampos) was an early Christian saint and martyr from the third century AD.  A bishop in the central Greek city of Magnesia, like St. Denis he was accused by the Roman governor of converting too many pagans, undermining his authority and fomenting a rebellion against Rome—this during a period of religious persecution under the expansionist Emperor Septimius Severus.

Although of advanced age—over 100 by some accounts— Caralampio was stripped of his vestments and brutally tortured. Proving indifferent to his torments, the saint was finally beheaded by order of the exasperated emperor.

Miracles attributed to him before and after his death, included exorcism and healing the sick, especially during the plague, that led to the conversion of many to Christianity including, according to legend, his torturers and even the daughter of the emperor himself!”

We can see in these words many of his attributes and powers. This is a saint that knows how to stand against the reigning powers and undermine the status quo—in his case, to the point of open rebellion. That Spirit of Rebellion is what will power and direct the Spirit of Hate called on AFTER you have done the devotional work.

By devotion, I mean that one should perform a nine-day novena to this saint. I am going to teach a simplified version of a novena here. Finding this saint’s actual novena is very hard to do, especially in English, so I have adapted the general All Saints Novena to him. It is as follows:

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

San Caralampio, I come before you now in all humility and commend myself, and all suffering political oppression, to your intercession.

Pray for us always, that we may awake each day with a burning desire for the Lord whose Face you behold, that we will maintain an intimate personal relationship with Jesus, our Savior and Head, and that we will not hesitate to proclaim God’s greatness to others, and love them as the Lord loves us.

As you offer your continual praise before the throne of God, I raise my heart to you now to implore your powerful intercession for these intentions

(mention specific request here, including naming institutions and oppressors)

I am confident that your prayers on our behalf will be graciously heard by our loving and merciful Lord. By his grace, may we someday join you in the glory of the Father’s house.

San Caralampio, as I render most humble thanks to God for all the good God has done, so I ask you to remember me in your prayers, the amendment of my life, and imitation of your good spirit, and holy graces against all of this injustice.

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from the evil one.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.

"Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen"

"Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen".

San Caralampio, pray for us! In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Once you complete the nine day cycle, meaning from day ten moving forward, you will repeat this prayer cycle BUT add the following prayer to the end of the prayers before the “In the name of the Father…” section:

Oh most holy Spirit of Hatred, heed my requests this very moment when I am mired in pain and see the suffering of so many people. I wish to be filled with the comfort of knowing your presence will visit this oppression and misfortune into the oppressors’ houses. May they be forgotten. May they disappear, never to be seen again. May they disappear from this life, forever. Oh most Holy Spirit, make their hearts feel the full weight of their hatred as Astaroth felt for Beelzebub so that [name oppressive person or institution]’s very presence becomes hateful and repulsive to everyone around them.

The ritual setup is also simple for this. In the nine days of prayer, I recommend using a plain white candle of any size, a glass of water and, if you have it, a standing cross. You can write the Saint’s name on a piece of paper and put this under the water glass. I have also included an image of the saint in the post. You can print this image out and place it on the altar space and direct your prayers toward it.

May the Saint and the Spirit of Hatred take them down, and out!

Working for Justice with Hoodoo

Hey Everyone,

As I had stated a few days ago, I have been working on retooling an important lesson from my intro to rootwork class that specifically addresses how Hoodoo can be used for justice work in our communities beyond interpersonal magic toward a more comprehensive approach. This working does not answer everything, but it WILL give you a means and toolset to address larger justice issues from a Hoodoo perspective. I was inspired to do this after attending Yamil Henriquez’ class on the same subject from a Latin folk magic perspective. I wanted to show similarly from Yamil how the Hoodoo traditions I practice could weave together something effective like this and get results.

Within you will find a more involved candle magic ritual that allows you to target specific people or institutions. There is also a brief discussion of how to negotiate the boneyard, leave payments and retrieve what you need to collect. There is also the option to create a mojo of sorts that can be carried on your person as you protest, visit legislative offices and speak up to the powers that be. Remember, this is just one way to leverage spiritual practice to achieve justice in the midst of social evils; there are many other ways from other traditions.

2026 YEAR AT A GLANCE OVERVIEW

This is going to be a bit of a long post, as it is something I did in another group I am a part of, in anticipation of what the New Year of 2026 will bring to our lives generally. I encourage anyone reading this and considering it for their personal life to see it like a horoscopes section in a newspaper, meaning not everything may fit or speak to your exact life, but there will be some relevance to you. At the very least, the words and insights you see here may help lightbulbs to go off in the people and community around you.

If you are not aware, many ATR traditions have some form of divination that looks at the months and year ahead. What always distinguishes ATR readings from others in this regard is there is always a practical and prescriptive dimension. We don’t just do fortune-telling. We see how that “fortune” touches down in real life, and what it takes to remedy things. That’s the spirit behind this card reading I am sharing. I used a combined deck of oracle cards, and the spread of the read is in the picture you can see attached to this blog post. With that, let’s dive in!

January: Reconsider is the first throw of the year, with the Moon, two standing stones and a rune. The rune most closely resembles Hagalaz, which looking it up (I don’t cast or work with runes) represents something akin to the Tower card. Hagalaz is a symbol of loss, destruction and change. It is the hailstorm. If you have ever been in a hailstorm, you KNOW this is something rough. I have been. They are sudden, destructive (in terms of harming people and property), and bring sudden change.

What’s important to remember is the Moon stands above the stones. That means to me that the Moon exerts power and influence over the misfortune of this rune. So, January is a good time for people to work with their favored lunar spirits, lunar magic and especially protections around the mind and emotions. This card warns of the beginning of the year bringing overwhelming mental distress, and this will not be going anywhere in 2026. Lean on the Moon.

February: Karmic Relationship is next. This could mean many things, but what is coming to me is that we need to take stock of our core relationships, especially our intimate one. Ironically this is also the month of Valentines, so the bond we have with certain people is deeper than what we experience of them in this life. Some bonds go back lifetimes, and they can be a mix of good and bad. But because many of us go through our days in a blur, we are seldomly aware of this. This is a good month to reflect on this, to sit back and see patterns that may or may not serve you in that relationship and make better choices.

March: Boundaries, reversed. This seems connected to the work done the month before. There will be challenges this month to keeping and maintaining boundaries, especially in intimate/core relationships. With the presence of all the earthy elements on the card, this tells me this is a good month to have wearable medicines on your persons to absorb and reflect the negativity that comes from people crossing lines with you. Medicines will also help you not get triggered or react poorly when they do.

April: Not the Right Time. This month is not going to be a month to follow through or enact new plans. It is a time to focus, reflect and reassess current plans and strategies. Most of us do not spend enough time in reflection and meditation, including myself! This lack shows glaringly in our country and world. If you don’t have such a practice, this is a good month to incorporate one.

May: Choose a New Direction. This month seems to be riding the coattails of the previous month, signaling that NOW is the time to act and move. All the plotting and planning you did in April can now be acted upon and yield good results. However, the grounding rituals you have hopefully incorporated previously are still VERY important, symbolized by the open eye with the overlaid compass. Also continue to take time for reflection, as this is key to moving through the rest of 2026 with more grace than most will have (ala January).

June: Self-Love. I like the fact that this came up mid-year, as it too is a natural evolution of the last two months of work. Now we incorporate self-love and self-care practices to keep ourselves internally strong. I have a class on this subject if you don’t know how. Self-love is critical to magic in any form because if we don’t believe in ourselves, our magic can turn on us. Many of these cards also have the Moon prominently displayed in the image. This is a reminder that lunar energy is key to our stability throughout this year. Keep those Moon rituals and devotions to your lunar spirits hot!

July: Let Go, reversed. It’s interesting that this is reversed, especially when I consider that Boundaries was reversed as well. What’s coming to me is that this card reflects a spiritual build-up that has been happening, perhaps in the earlier months of 2026. If we look back, we will probably recognize that we knew something wasn’t quite right in a core relationship. This month we are advised to look at what it is in the way of letting go, disengaging, or going a new way—or our own way. This is something in my own personal life since parts of 2025 that I have been reflective about. Again, the Moon is prominent, so I would encourage folx to work your lunar magic in July.

August: Go, The Time is Right. As if a follow up to Let Go, we are given a green light in August. This feels like one more big push before 2026 begins to wind down toward Fall and Winter where things go inward. Notice also that this card has several Moons, or one Moon represented as phases. This tells me that we may find ourselves having to shift like the Moon shifts. It also brings up the Lunar Mansions. If you don’t know, Mansions are spirits that change with the phases of the Moon through a calendar month. They address numerous areas of life, good and bad. This is a good month to learn about them and work with them to focus and enact plans.

September: Sexual Chemistry. This card does not have to just be about sex. Sexual energy when ethically applied is about our love for life. Doing the things that make life worth living in how we give and receive love. This will be especially important because 2026 will have difficulties resulting from continued divisive politics and other misfortunes. Many people I counsel express fatigue in living in the face of extremes and absolutes that seem to gain more ground daily. Thankfully the card is upright, so I do not see an immediately challenging issue aside from making sure we use this energy judiciously.

October: Learn More About Each Other, reversed. It’s interesting which cards are upright and which are reversed! Considering September’s card, the warning is if we do not wield that sexual energy well, we could find ourselves not knowing the people we bring close to us. Like the energy of a one-night stand. There’s nothing wrong with a one-night stand if that’s your thing, but if you are looking for something deeper, these become empty quick. Learning someone on the other hand takes time, patience and grace on both sides. It is about genuine curiosity and withholding judgment about a person’s past. It is about honoring that past and all the ways it shaped and formed the person. It is also one of the antidotes to what’s going on in America, where there is more focus on being right and digging trenches for a long siege of stubbornness. In this month’s card, we are being called to another way as 2026 ends.

November: This Is the Sign. There’s no Moon in this card, but this is implied in the radiance of the pentacle of sticks over the hands. The pentacle in most occult traditions reflects the fusion of the Elements, as well as the human being as a spiritual being. The presence of leaves around the pentacle speaks to the centrality of the earth element to bring that radiance. When I meditated on this card, I got the sense that this is about the fruits of our labor throughout 2026. That if we do our work, we emerge with this metaphysical union of heaven and earth that will bring the upliftment we need to shift into 2027.

December: Release Desire to Control. This card almost seems the opposite of November’s card. I believe this card warns that there is always a temptation to let newfound power go to our heads. When it does, the light that was radiating in November goes dark. The flower also wilts. Also note that the singular hand is not open but looks to be in a tight grip. It will be important as this year closes to practice keeping our hands and hearts open despite any temptation to do otherwise. Going into 2027 with an open heart is critical.

May 2026 bring many blessings, prosperity and the Light you seek for your life.

WHY I DON’T TEACH CERTAIN SUBJECTS

Every now and then I get asked to teach things I do not have courses for. Because I talk about the relationship between Solomonic Magic and Hoodoo, people approach me and ask me to start teaching classes on Solomonic Magic. I do have some classes that touch upon that form of magic. But they are not the kind of courses that transmit the traditional method of Solomonic magic. That’s not historically how Solomonic magic intersected with Hoodoo. Their connection was more informal and organic. My own focus is on a different place.

My first reason I don’t teach everything is because it doesn’t make sense to teach a subject when I know from my own first-hand experience of another teacher that they are already teaching something well. People ask me to teach Espiritismo all the time. But I have taken Yamil Henriquez’s classes on espiritismo, and his approach is clear, simple, and effective. I learned several things about my own tradition that I did not know before taking his class. There is no need to build on something that already feels perfect enough in my book.

This brings me to my next point. I am a community-oriented person. Part of being in community for me is affirming that there is room for everyone. If people want to teach, then take the proper steps and do it! I have noticed over the years of teaching that people who have the most negative things to say tend to be the same ones who will never gird their loins and put themselves out there and teach. It’s easier to be critical of someone else’s work than to do the harder work of making your own thing.

Because I value community, I do not see myself in competition with my close occult colleagues. There’s no need for all of that. This is why you see me highlight my colleagues, their classes, businesses, and products. I am not out here trying to make as much money as possible at the expense of community or relationships or my own integrity. There is in our time a rabid venture capitalist mindset that leads to nowhere good. As a Black businessperson, I also stand on the shoulders of ancestral and community-ancestral entrepreneurs. It is in my literal blood to have my own business! Back in the day these ancestors always focused on bringing the community with them as they advanced. Maintaining a focus on this means we don’t have to step on anyone else to accomplish our dreams and goals.

The last reason I will cite is I also don’t need to teach everything because I also believe in giving other people opportunities to step into their calling. Some wise mentors in my past said that if you are an elder and do not have someone younger/less seasoned than you at your side learning from you, your legacy will die. I have seen this happen over and again when elders do not know when or how to let go of the reins. Their knowledge indeed dies with them. Encouraging others around us to step into their calling to teach ensures these traditions stay alive, relevant, and adapt for the emergent needs of our time.

There are more reasons than this, but there IS enough for everyone. A fallacy of our time is the lie that everything is limited, which leads to unrestrained greed and hoarding. Don’t believe the hype.

THE DEVIL’S PIE: A TRIBUTE TO D’ANGELO

Fuck the slice we want the pie
Why ask why till we fry
Watch us all stand in line
For a slice of the devil's pie

This was an unplanned post today. But I felt compelled to write and share these thoughts today in honor of the life and music of D’Angelo. It is not accident to me that on the day he died, it also came out that a group of Young Republicans made it clear that they hate Black people and want to reinstitute American Slavery (among other atrocities). I am hoping that we are finally ready as a nation to be honest that at least half of America feels this way. But I digress.

Like many African Americans, I loved D’Angelo the MOMENT I heard “Brown Sugar.” For my generation, that kind of song expresses the beauty of the Black body, Black sexuality and how we love only comes along a few times a generation. Songs like “Let’s Get It On” by Marvin Gaye. D’Angelo was ascending that lyrical stratosphere. But it goes even deeper for me. Many people don’t know these things about me. But my entire educational journey from grade school to high school, college, seminary, and my doctoral program was deeply marked by white racism. In seminary I endured being asked in front of my peers if English was my first language in my preaching class. When I confronted her about the racism behind her words, she hid behind her experience working in indigenous communities of color giving her authority to ask such questions. I had an Old Testament professor who repeatedly failed my biblical analysis papers, did not meet with me to discuss what she felt I was doing wrong, and ultimately caused me to lose my scholarship. Both professors were white women and were eventually given permanent, distinguished positions at that school. Black seminary students also discovered that the dormitory rooms they were assigned were the slave quarters Southern white seminarians dragged their slaves into, to serve their seminarian owners as they did the Lord’s Work. The racism, past and present, was crushing.

Enter D’Angelo! I took this class on the Book of Revelation taught by one of the seminary’s few African American bible scholars. The way he taught the class was that Revelation should be seen as a work of art meant to inspire Christians to hold fast to their faith and resist the temptations of empire—the very thing Jesus himself did. That to take up the Cross and bear witness to faith in Christ will inevitably put you at odds with any government or empire that claims to be the ultimate authority of life and death. Revelation makes it clear that those are the providences of God alone and that God is in control, not the government. It sounds Evangelical, but it is not. Most American Evangelicals align themselves uncritically with the government and lose their prophetic voice. My professor made it clear that witness and resistance is the CORE of Christian faith.

Part of his emphasis on the class was encouraging us to make use of multimedia and social media tools for our papers and projects. I took to this with gusto! I quickly discovered media and social media as a tool and, frankly, a weapon to combat oppression. I learned how to use movie-making software and made a short film analyzing D’Angelo’s song “Devil’s Pie” alongside the Book of Revelation. This project lit a fire inside my bones, and it gave a means of expression and unveiling of the oppression Black students in particular faced.

What followed that class was a year-long documentary project with a dear white friend and colleague. We interviewed such theological heavyweights as James Cone, Mark Lewis Taylor, and Peter Paris. We researched at the local historical society to unveil statistics of slave-property brought to the area. We interviewed historic African American churches in the vicinity of the seminary that had an alternative memory and recollection of those times and how they ministered to the enslaved. We surveyed the seminary lunchroom and the chasm of perspective between white and of-color students regarding who sat with whom and why. We also centered the voices of Black Women students. Our goal was to show the institution that not having Womanist theologians in residence, who at the time were the most innovative thinkers across academia, was a perpetuation of the systemic racism deep in the soil of the “most southern seminary of the North.” We even got the then-president of the seminary in the documentary! That interview was very telling of many things that I was shocked he said on video. When we finished, we invited the entire community to come out for a screening of the project. When it finished, you could hear a pin drop. We had captured the depth of the systemic racism that religious institution perpetuated. All because of a song by D’Angelo.

As I noted at the beginning of this post, my battles in academia were far from over. But back then, I learned how to transmute systems and energies of oppression and use their own tools against them to reveal them and raise consciousness. That’s what a song like “Devil’s Pie” is about. To make us aware of the ridiculousness of the slice of pie we are constantly asked, manipulated, or otherwise forced to be okay with. I have had more than a few well-meaning but racist white individuals say to my face that the only way to move forward in this country from our race problem is to stop talking about it. At least they are finally admitting there IS a race problem! Those who believe this do not understand the depth of their white privilege thinking that it is a realistic option for any person of color. The other problem for me is that I have a long memory and don’t forget anything.

I can’t.

I can’t forget the death by a thousand cuts I have felt over the years from systemic racism.

I can’t forget the ongoing, daily reminders that I am Black and less-than in the eyes of half my own country.

Forgetting is death for me.

I believe in these out-of-joint times that the arts will be our salvation. It will be our way back. Why do you think the first thing the current federal administration did was take over all modes of artistic expression that is funded by our government? They know how threatening and usurptive artistic expression and creativity are. It is music like Devil’s Pie that keeps me going. That reminds me I’m not crazy. That brings me to say: fuck the slice.

I hope you throw out the slice too.

THE SPIRITUALITY OF ESPIRITISMO

I was reflecting on this topic today, especially as I look out on the world and see more and more people gatekeeping, declaring who’s in and out and who can do what—or not do what. But one of my core practices is Espiritismo, which in English is called Spiritism. I am not going to belabor the history of espiritismo here, but the part that I want to focus on is a spiritist’s openness to many if not all spiritual paths and seeing them as valid. I had to in fact recently explain to someone that belief in God was not even an absolute necessity in espiritismo, which seemed to shock them. But when you dive into the guts of Spiritism, you quickly realize that God is not the narrowly defined, anthropomorphic Father-Who-Looks-Like-Us projection. God is understood to be Light and Intelligence. Everything the lives and breathes emanates from that Light and Intelligence, including spirits.

A spiritist is usually very open as a human being due to the fact that because of our spiritual practice and the discipline in requires, we can find that Light and Intelligence in any spiritual space. Religious and non-religious. Because we have these mystical experiences, it opens us up more and more. We start eschewing absolutes in our beliefs, and constantly assess for beliefs internal and external to ourselves that don’t make sense to hold onto in light of this. Because Spiritism started as a scientific spiritual system, questioning and even rejecting certain concepts is a part of the practice.

Honestly though, these few pieces I am highlighting can get us in a lot of trouble. Just like Spiritism did in Europe when it ran afoul of the absolutisms of European Catholicism. In a country and world that day by day seems to be giving into the temptations of tribalism in the worst sense of that word, we can seem out of sync to declare that no one has a cornerstone on the truth, and that the Truth Itself is ever-evolving. That even spiritual traditions that originated in one ethnic group may itself expand beyond those ethnic boundaries into new manifestations and evolutions of its 1.0 version. Espiritistas believe this happens because God and God’s Creation itself is evolving in a positive direction that can be shaken, but never stopped. Religious figures like Jesus, or the Buddha, we see as people who expanded the circle of inclusive community. But just as these agents of Light and Intelligence further humanity’s evolution, there are Opposing Forces that seek to spread misfortune. One example of this are people who want to close our borders, circle the wagons and snuff the life out of Brown and Black bodies. In America, if we are honest as a nation, we must admit that half of this country no longer wants the challenge of diversity from our differences. People are free to fight me on this point, but if it were not true, Trump would not be our President.

An espiritista sees this for what it is, and then ponders how to be an agent of Light and Intelligence in a world that still often chooses to stay in the proverbial dark. Because our spiritual practices expose us to spiritual realities through our bodies, we come to develop an understanding of a Big Picture reality that exists independent of our world’s sociopolitical state. That reality we perceive changes us. Fascism doesn’t sit well (for many reasons) because God can be found anywhere. This one idea is revolutionary and is the thing that drives many of us, in different ways, to expand the boundaries of inclusion like so many before us have done.

So here is my final word here: as you listen to people in your life and around me, myself included, ask yourself if the person you are listening to values authentic inclusion and expanding it, or if they want you to circle the wagons? Do they advocate for dealing with problems with a sort of arrogant aggression, or do they encourage introspection and compassion?

I end with these words from Dr. Howard Thurman that carry me through dark times:

“Look well to the growing edge. All around us worlds are dying and new worlds are being born; all around us life is dying and life is being born. The fruit ripens on the tree, the roots are silently at work in the darkness of the earth against a time when there shall be new leaves, fresh blossoms, green fruit.

Such is the growing edge. It is the extra breath from the exhausted lung, the one more thing to try when all else has failed, the upward reach of life when weariness closes in upon all endeavor. This is the basis of hope in moments of despair, the incentive to carry on when times are out of joint and men and women have lost their reason, the source of confidence when worlds crash and dreams whiten into ash. Such is the growing edge incarnate. Look well to the growing edge.”

Real Talk: What’s Missing

I had a bereavement client about a week ago who wanted to talk about the recent Charlie Kirk murder and how he felt about it. Right before he asked me what I thought about it, I had observed to him that our country and the world seemed to be getting to the point where we were no longer actually talking to each other, but where instead talking AT each other with no real intention of listening, conversing or being changed from our position. I identified this as a said state of affairs in our most basic societal behaviors, and noted that I tend to see this death by a thousand cuts daily.

Then he asked me what I thought about Kirk’s death. I started to tell him. I do not think I spoke for longer than five seconds before he cut me off and went on a ten-minute perseveration about how innocent and non-racist Kirk was. Most people who know me personally know that I do not tolerate not being heard, ESPECIALLY when I am asked to speak. Nope! I noted to him that he cut me off and did not afford me the same respect I had afforded him. That it made my original point to him that we are not really trying to listen to each other but instead have our position validated AND agreed to.

And that’s one of many rubs for me. Authentic conversation does not require agreement, to me. Neither does validation. But I think we have conflated both of these things to believe that a person HAS to agree with me for me to be heard. Real talk, for me, means that we are direct, up front and clear with our thoughts and sharing. We may or may not agree with each other. But most times I try to listen to someone with an expectation that I will walk away changed by the engagement. At the very least, I will learn how someone thinks very differently from me. To me, there is value in that, because my world is being expanded beyond the boundaries of what I know, believe or hold true. I see it much the same as all the dead white male theologians I had to study in seminary. 99% of what they wrote did not connect with me, my experience of God or just my life experience. At. All. But the GOOD professors I had taught me that there was value in studying beliefs other than my own so I become more competent as a spiritual leader – especially since many people in the religious spaces I served held those traditional beliefs. I was able to walk with parishioners more closely and use their own language to help them find the meaning they sought. None of that made me more conservative or in line with those beliefs. But it did change me and make me more compassionate.

My challenge to those reading this is to engage someone who doesn’t see things the way you do. At the same time, insist on respect and reciprocity. Challenge them to put down the bullshit, gaslighting or domination by perseveration and to really listen as you seek to do the same. If they can find their courage and humility to agree to this, it will take us a step back toward the civility that seems to be evaporating by the day. That’s my hope, at least.

CAN SPIRITS LEARN?

There is a concept in the general practice of Espiritismo where we say a person needs to learn how to train their spirits. I say general practice because Espiritismo is a singular tradition but it has several branches from its original Kardecian European branch to the Caribbean Sazones in Puerto Rico, Cuba and Brazil – to name only a few places! The idea of training a spirit can be offensive to some, to the point that they clutch their pearls over it. Most of us who see this know the majority of this clutching comes from a religious mindset. Meaning whether we are church-going Christians or not, we still hold an understanding of spirits as something to worship and be in awe of because that’s what we were taught in the Christian churches and families we grew up in. I know I had a lot of talk about God being an angry, vengeful God growing up!

Being religious is not necessarily a bad thing. But when it is applied in a blanket and uncritical fashion to our lives and especially our spiritual development, we run into problems. As just one example, espiritismo also has the understanding that the spirits who walk with a person all serve a different purpose and have a different mission. Some spirits are what we call working spirits. This means there is NO worship, not even devotion with them. That spirit literally does not need it, nor is it the point of them walking with us and us with them. They are the kind of spirit we go to for a specific issue, work on that issue, thank them (and maybe give a thanks-offering) and keep it moving. But I know from my own experience and journey that because of the religious mindset I was indoctrinated with as a boy, when I first started in this practice, I felt uncomfortable and at times guilty. How can I ask a spirit to do something for me for free?

But here’s the thing. Nothing is ever free or without cost or payment. When a spirit like a working spirit assist you, the “payment” is that they are bringing more light and spiritual progress to themselves. In the guidance, the warnings, the teaching of workings, there is an exchange of energy both ways that facilitates blessings coming into your life and upliftment and elevation to that spirit.

I digress a little. When we train a spirit it is often at the beginning of our journey with them. They may have been with us for a long time, but we still need to get to know each other. We need to understand their personality, how they feel when they come to us, how they communicate, and how they work with and for us. But sometimes there’s also little issues with the spirit themselves. Some spirits who are closer to our reality, by virtue of this closeness, can sometimes revert to old behaviors from their mortal life. An espiritista is trained to know what behaviors are and are not okay from a spirit. Everything in espiritismo is about energy and vibration. So if a spirit is cussing up a storm when it gives advice, it means there is a thread of wonky energy that can invite misfortunes. That a spiritist does not want. So we then work with that spirit and YES we will correct them when they start dropping f-bombs too much. We have to let them know what is and is not okay, and have the expectation that they will fall in line with that. The traditional prayers we use in that practice also reinforces this. Every prayer in some way states that we are trying with the spirits to maintain a positive orientation with love, forgiveness and mercy. For a spirit to in some way not reflect this is not okay. So we train them.

I am writing about this, in addition to teaching about it, because I know way too many people who do spirit-work and allow their spirits to run amuck. The proof is always in the pudding for me, so if an untrained spirit is able to garner consistent, positive results, then you’re good. But it has been my experience that they will not. Like a negative entity, it will get some things right, and even come through for you a few times, but it will not be consistent. The fruit the spirit bears is what will tell you if all is well. The answer to the question of if spirit can learn is a resounding YES. Everything that has a spirit is learning, including us. Everything naturally in creation is growing and evolving, so why would it be any different with the spirit world? So, don’t be hesitant or afraid to train your spirits. The religious mindset has its place, but when it comes to spirits, it needs to stay in its lane.

A LESS-COMMON SAINT: SAINT GEORGE

As some of you may know from my posts in different places, I have returned to incorporating saints into my practice. Like Angels, saints were an integral part of my regular Christian faith from childhood on. Coming from the AME Zion Church, I grew up on the spiritual breast milk of such saints as Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass and James Varick. They are people who stemmed the enormous tide of racial hatred, white supremacy and systemic revolutions occurring in those historic American moments. But as I always say, it DID something to me as a boy to go to Tubman’s graveside in Auburn, New York and hear the AME Zion chorale sing slave spirituals. I could feel the advent of so many ancestral spirits gather at the clarion call of Black voices singing their joys and sorrows.

Even when I was an adult and went to seminary (and was still AME Zion at that time), I made a pilgrimage to Mother Zion Church in Harlem. I walked where my ancestors in faith walked, and I knelt at the tomb of Rev. Varick and prayed for his blessings upon my ministry. I should have known then that I was meant for more!

Fast forward many years…now, as I work more in earnest with certain saints who mean something significant to me, I find a sort of full circle happening in my spirituality and spiritual development. One such saint becoming more and more important to me is Saint George, or San Jorge as my Latin kin say. The core of his charism is faith. Especially faith amidst the unknowns, the dragons that life throws at us. Like Archangel Michael, he is always depicted standing over the dragon, on the verge of slaying it. But also like Michael, he does not kill the dragon (not in the image, at least). I know, from one of my elders, that this is because killing the dragon isn’t the point. Most images of a saint besting a dragon or serpent has to do with the representation of our higher and lower natures. The lower nature cannot be killed. Thinking it can is a deception in itself that gets spiritual types in a lot of hot water. I see what I am saying like when I do grief counseling with someone whose loved one died 2 or more years ago. They reached out, surprised that their grief is so intense. When I hear this story, my first question is always to ask them what did they do with their grief when the person died. 9 times out of 10, they did nothing. They just went on with life and tried to stuff it down. And with grief, and frankly anything else, that never ever works!

I see George and his story as a lesson to me and others to hold fast to our faith and belief, especially during hard times. To know that the dragons of life are inevitable, because everyone at some point struggles with their lower nature in how they live and respond to life. Faith in this sense is the knowing deep within that the dragons will not have the final say because we choose not to let them. We instead press ahead and maintain the focus on what lies through and beyond the perils, until we stand upon the dragon’s subdued head.

I leave you with this litany prayer of Saint George, which is powerful (albeit heavy on the Catholicism) and can be used if you choose to work with him:

Litany in Honor of St. George

Lord, have mercy, Lord, have mercy.

Christ, have mercy, Christ, have mercy.

Lord, have mercy, Lord, have mercy.

Christ, hear us, Christ, hear us.

Christ, receive our prayers, Christ, receive our prayers.

Eternal God the Father, Have mercy on us.

Son of God who saved the world, Have mercy on us.

God the Holy Spirit, Have mercy on us.

Holy Trinity One God, Have mercy on us.

Holy Mary, Pray for us.

Holy Virgin of Virgins, Pray for us.

Holy Mother of Christ, Pray for us.

Holy Mother of the Church, Pray for us.

Holy Queen of Martyrs, Pray for us.

Holy George, Pray for us.

Holy George, Martyr of Jesus Christ, Pray for us.

Holy George, Friend of Jesus Christ,  Pray for us.

Holy George, Warrior of Christ’s army,  Pray for us..

Holy George, Leader of the Christian armies,  Pray for us.

Holy George, Defender of the Catholic Church,  Pray for us.

Holy George, most faithful soldier of Christ,  Pray for us.

Holy George, courageous soldier of the Christian faith,  Pray for us.

Holy George, soldier ever-victorious,  Pray for us.

Holy George, zealous tiller of the Lord’s field,  Pray for us.

Holy George, glorious and great testimony,  Pray for us.

Holy George, Light that testifies for Holy Truth,  Pray for us.

Holy George, Preacher of the Holy Gospel,  Pray for us.

Holy George, who proclaimed the Son of God without fear,  Pray for us.

Holy George, who worked hard to know the thoughts of God,  Pray for us.

Holy George, who art victorious over the greatest sufferings,  Pray for us.

Holy George, who worked miracles,  Pray for us.

Holy George, who died in the body but art alive in Christ,  Pray for us.

Holy George, whose name is great among the martyrs of Heaven, Pray for us.

Holy George, who art venerated in the entire Church,  Pray for us.

Holy George, Great Martyr,  Pray for us.

Holy George, Noble Martyr,  Pray for us.

Holy George, Martyr renowned,  Pray for us.

Holy George, joyous Defender of Jesus Christ,  Pray for us.

Holy George, Noble Soldier of Jesus Christ,  Pray for us.

Holy George, faithful Testimony of Jesus Christ,  Pray for us.

Holy George, Star that radiates most gloriously,  Pray for us.

Holy George, Victorious Trophy-Bearer of the Banner of Christ Resurrected,  Pray for us.

Holy George, Victorious with Christ in the good fight,  Pray for us.

Holy George, Saint of great power and mercy,  Pray for us.

Show us mercy, Save us, O Lord.

From every evil, Save us, O Lord.

From every sin, Save us, O Lord.

From sickness, hunger and war, Save us, O Lord.

From unattended death, Save us, O Lord.

From everlasting death, Save us, O Lord.

In honour of Your Death and Passion, Save us, O Lord.

In honour of St George’s merits and prayers, Save us, O Lord.

In honour of his true faith, Save us, O Lord.

In honour of his encompassing hope, Save us, O Lord.

In honour of his zealous love, Save us, O Lord.

In honour of his constance in difficulty, Save us, O Lord.

In honour of his perseverance until the end, Save us, O Lord.

In honour of his victory over the world, the body and the devil, Save us, O Lord.

In honour of the sufferings he endured, Save us, O Lord.

In honour of his endurance during the martyrdom, Save us, O Lord.

In honour of his holy death, Save us, O Lord.

Us sinners, Hear us, O Lord.

So that for St George’s prayers, Hear us, O Lord.

You will continue to protect your Church, Hear us, O Lord.

You may strengthen the Pope and your bishops, Hear us, O Lord.

The Church’s rights are always defended, Hear us, O Lord.

The soldiers abide by their duties in righteousness, Hear us, O Lord.

All Christians are united in one body, Hear us, O Lord.

All erroneous teaching will be put aside, Hear us, O Lord.

All sinners are attracted to you, Hear us, O Lord.

The sick and the elderly find solace in you, Hear us, O Lord.

Our love for the Heavenly kingdom is strengthened, Hear us, O Lord.

We obtain all the spiritual graces we ask of you, Hear us, O Lord.

Our children may receive good instruction, Hear us, O Lord.

Our youth find every protection in you, Hear us, O Lord.

We may have trust in your love, Hear us, O Lord.

You may defend our diocese and our Bishop, Hear us, O Lord.

You may protect our priests and religious, Hear us, O Lord.

You may protect our parish, Hear us, O Lord.

You may protect our industrious laity in the parish, Hear us, O Lord.

May you protect our Christian community, Hear us, O Lord.

You call to yourself all sinners, Hear us, O Lord.

We may become saints, Hear us, O Lord.

Jesus, Son of the Living God, Hear us, O Lord.

Christ, hear us, Christ, hear us.

Christ, receive our prayers, Christ, receive our prayers.

PRAYER AND SALT: MY SECOND ANGEL RITUAL

After I had my first big angel experience I wrote about earlier this week, it spurred me on to do rituals and workings more consistently. One summer I was house-sitting for some folks while I was doing coursework for my doctorate. What was nice about that house it is had lots of space. There were plenty of rooms, nooks and crannies for set up altars. As I also said in my last post, I was using a lot of Richard Webster’s books on the archangels. I felt most draw to Archangel Michael, so I knew my first outreach ritual was going to be to him.

It was years back, so I don’t remember all the ritual tools and materia. But I KNOW one thing was salt. The ritual Webster taught in his book to invoke Michael involved performing the Lesser Banishing Ritual, prayers and the use of certain materia like salt. So I had a bowl of salt and whatever else was there.

The two things I thought were absolutely batshit cray cray about that ritual was that, when I began the prayers to Michael, WINDS started to pick up INSIDE the house. It felt like someone had left the patio door open and gusts of wind were whipping through the house. I later learned that this phenomena was very appropriate for Michael to display his presence, as he is a weather spirit! But the winds continued to blow until the ritual was done. The other thing that was crazy to me is that the salt bowl hardened as if the essence of it had been consumed. It was hard as a rock, which makes no sense because it was just salt grains when I poured it out.

Way back then, I did not understand the significances and symbology of some of these things. I just did them and hoped for a verifiable result. Winds blowing in the house was definitely a strong indication that my ritual worked and contact was established! But one thing I want to identify here is there were no expensive magical circles, no rare tools or ingredients. Just prayer and salt. There was also, on my part, faith in the angels, and with that, an expectation that they will respond to my calling out to them.

There is no one way to do angel magic. It is something with many streams of practice and philosophies. Try them all and see what “sticks” to you way!

MY FIRST ANGEL RITUAL, WAY BACK WHEN: A MEMOIR OF PRACTICE

We always start where we start, and it’s usually not going to be where we stay—and that’s okay. I was reflective about this last week as I felt parts of my personal spirituality and spiritual journey reconnecting and a circle closing. This past week it has to do with angel magic. I am learning a more Latin and folk-inspired method of angel work, and I can already feel the difference for my spirituality it is making. But more than anything, I am very aware of how it feels like coming back home, like I am incorporating something that has been like a dangling thread I didn’t know what to do with.

This also brought back memories of my forays into this specific form of magic right at the beginning of my occult spiritual journey. I had already been a person of faith solidly since my college years. But as I embarked on my professional life, served in ministry, and found more and more that I needed to nurse my own spiritual development, I began to explore what was out here. At the time I was not as comfortable veering away from the Christian tradition. But I did begin to gently explore certain aspects of New Agism that were more comfortable. I had believed in the angels since I was a little boy. My mom used to tell me this story of when I was little and I sat with her and told her that I knew the angels up in heaven and we used to play and look down at her on earth! I don’t remember saying that, but either I had a kick-ass time pre-incarnation or a vivid imagination (or both)!

My first stint of working with angels composed of reading Richard Webster books on the four main Archangels, meditating with Angelite stones that I had carved their sigils into, and lighting candles and incense. I prayed a lot to them. I asked for their aid, guidance and for them to appear. I did this for months. It was calming and comforting, but I did not have any sort of manifestation of them.

Until I did!

One night as I was sound asleep, the place where I was sleeping began to light up like someone had turned a light on. Naturally I woke up. When I opened my eyes, hovering over me was a slightly smaller than human-sized angel! She looked female, had a gentle smile, and seemed to take great joy in the look of awe on my face. She didn’t speak to me, even as I spoke to her. She eventually alighted on a freezer chest my friend had in their basement, and seemed to keep vigil over me as I slept. Since that was one of my first experiences with a spirit presence, I was both elated and a bit wired. But eventually I actually went back to sleep, feeling like a dear friend was watching over me.

In hindsight thinking back, I think I was seeing my guardian angel. She did not evoke fear or any sense of dread so often spoken of with the angels. She felt approachable and gentle. She had an interest in me, but I thought it interesting that she did not talk. I later learned that this is likely because the relationship was new and I needed to develop the connection and my own spiritual senses more for a greater effect. But just SEEING an angel changes your sense of what’s real. And for me, that vision of her confirmed that truly anything was possible.

READING WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING: SITUATIONS WHEN DIVINATION PRESCRIPTIONS FAIL

I had a conversation with a dear colleague and diviner a couple of days ago where she shared the frustrating phenomenon where someone comes for a reading, receives advices and a prescription from her spirits—then chooses not to comply. I shared that she is not alone in this. I encounter it too. I think some of this has to do with the fact that people come to an indigenous (especially ATR/ADR reader) and expect fortune-telling. A lot of people have gone to spiritual fairs (myself included), and the majority of fair diviners read this way. In all the times I have gotten these types of reading, not once was I given any prescription to address my situation or problem as they saw it. I felt like they wanted me to be amazed by the accuracy of their reading alone. But the spiritual culture I belong to does not settle for the oohs and aahhs of fortune-telling alone. Indigenous readers pair divination with prescriptions. Telling the future is sometimes part of it, but the most important part is receiving concrete guidance for life.

The second part of this, of people not following through on what was advised, is more on us readers to be up front about how these traditions work in consultation. Some of us are not, and that’s part of the problem. That issue aside, the important thing to realize is, when you read with us, once the prescriptions are given a clock begins to tick on your situation. We call the phenomenon “being marked.” Once the solution is marked, it needs to be addressed in short order. When a person blows this off, nothing is going to change for the better. The problems will linger and likely grow in strength and intensity, especially if a spirit is the culprit. That spirit will see what you’re trying to do and dig in harder.

I do know and understand that money is tight these days. Sometimes a complex ritual is costly. If you know coming to a reading that you are in this situation, state this up front. Then the reader can account for it and check with their spirits for alternatives on your behalf. But if this is not part of the conversation and the situation gets marked, then the options become limited. Not doing the work also means that when you do get around to deciding you want it done, now the situation has to be read again. The delay of response on your part has the same aforementioned consequence in that that what was indicated before may not work because things have been allowed to negatively marinate. Hearing all of this, I would advise a person to go only when they are ready, willing and able to do what it takes to fix their situation.

In conclusion, most spiritual workers know things change. The more complex a working is, the more we have to attend to it like a vigil. This is similar to what happens during a reading like this. Things don’t typically change during a reading, because that reading is like a snapshot on your situation. But delaying the work can put you in a situation where circumstances change to an extent that you have to start from scratch. That juice just is not worth the squeeze.

REMEMBERING THE WHOLE PERSON: WISDOM FOR GRIEF, AND BEYOND

In my day job, my alter-ego is of a bereavement counselor. There are certain repeated themes that come up in my work with clients, regardless of that client’s background. One of those themes is the person wondering how they will move past the potent memories of their loved one being so sick and, if on hospice, dying. This is especially the case of the surviving person was their primary caregiver, because not only is there grief but there is the lived intensity of the caregiving itself. It does something to you to have to change the clothes of your parents when they soil themselves (and no, I’m not talking about the earthiness of it!).

My most frequent advice and counsel to a person struggling with this part of their grief is to work with me to remember the whole person. By that I mean simply that who their loved one was to them was more than just the continuum of time from not feeling good, to being diagnosed with a sickness, to getting sick and finally dying. That was a part of who they are. But it’s not the whole story. We then begin to reminisce, starting often with the origin story of when they met and building out from there. The lightbulbs that go off bring the healing to live without that person. Often caregiving and the demands of it make you even forget the fun times. When those things get remembered, the survivor often has their own epiphanies of things they would like to do in their life moving forward.

This is not just a grief issue though! We live in a society and world that is quick to sum up a person’s entire life almost exclusively by the mistakes and failures a person makes. This is often the case with movie stars, for example. None of us really know them from Adam. But we think we do. And we then start to feel like that gives card blanche to be an authority and judge on that person’s life. But I find that when I take the time to get to know the whole person, I am less judgmental. I am less reactive even when they do something wrong.

American society has a problem with amnesia. Our media and social media doesn’t help matters any. But as spiritual workers, we don’t have to get sucked into that. We can choose to remember that what we see isn’t always what is with someone. Whether it’s grief or some other life event, we can remember and honor the fullness of a person, which is usually more complex than being a saint or a villain. That’s what I’m trying to do myself.

TOP TEN REASONS DIVINER HOPPING IS A BAD IDEA

1.     You will confuse yourself and the situation you need guidance on.

2.     You will at some point get taken advantage of financially (look up “gypsy candle scam”).

3.     Like #2, you will find a reader who will tell you what you want to hear, but it won’t be the truth.

4.     You are in essence avoiding a deeper issue with yourself and not incorporating the advice when you got it the first time.

5.     You risk offending your spirits or the spirits of the person who reads you.

6.     You risk a trickster spirit causing more confusion and mayhem in your life.

7.     You lose the continuity of working with a skilled diviner who both they and their spirits really get to know you and your life and serve as a guiding force for your greatest good.

8.     Unethical readers will fabricate problems that don’t exist and place you in a state of anxiety about your life or spirituality or both.

9.     Unless you know that person’s tradition well, you may find yourself saddled with spirits and tools that you should not even have.

10.  You are approaching your spirituality from a mindless and non-mindful place, which will make your growth difficult if not impossible.

The list above is by no means exhaustive. I am sure people reading this can think of other reasons why hopping around for divination sessions is a bad idea that I didn’t think of. Every now and then a friend, colleague or student will tell me horror stories of instances where they or someone close to them went to several readers on a situation, or just because they like to get lots of opinions. I myself have never hopped around, largely because I have trust issues and do not trust the majority of people out here to read me or open up my life to them. For me, having access to my personal life is a privilege, as it should be for everyone.

I want to tell a personal story related to number two on the list. I had an issue come up with a spirit that was outside of the ATR spiritual house I belonged to, but within the general realm of ATR traditions. So my godfather at the time gave blessings for me to receive a reading from a priest of that other tradition.

The reading looked like it was going well. Then the person told me that not only did I have that spirit in question, but there was a series of spiritual issues and problems that I had to spend $7,000 for them to fix. And that was not for an initiation, just for them to fix said problems! Little did they know that I had a recent reading in my own tradition for another issue and was told all systems were go in my life, so I knew that was bullshit. But I was also surprised that this person was bold enough to try to sucker me out of 7Gs knowing I was a santero and KNOW how much a major initiation in an ATR should cost. I politely declined and thanked him for providing me with the information that I actually asked for. Spirits will sometimes bring up other issues than what you go to a diviner for, but not under the agenda of hustling you for tons of money. Hard nope.

Number 9 on my list is one of the biggest reasons I discourage diviner hopping. Most people when it comes to ATRs simply do not know enough about these traditions to competently engage readers and know when you are and are not being taken advantage of. Even in my spiritual journey, most of my knowledge of this boundary comes from hard knocks, losing money, and trusting treacherous people. Unethical behavior comes with the territory of spirituality and religion.

But then there’s you/us. My wisest elders tell me routinely that lots of times when they read people and their problems, they are not being cursed or thrown at. Most clients are causing a lot of their own problems. This is a hard pill to swallow for many, sometimes even for myself. In the spiritual cultures of the ATRs I practice, however, I come to a reading expecting there is a very real possibility I will get called out by a spirit on something related to myself that I have no one else to blame BUT myself. You just know that this is how it is. This is what makes our divination systems differ from others that sugar-coat, always put the spin of niceness on everything like Frank’s Red Hot, or in some cases outright avoids telling hard truths. But I want to grow and learn and progress. So if there is something in myself I am not facing, hard as it may be to hear, I know if I work on that issue I will be stronger and more powerful on the other side of it.

My greatest advice for those seeking divination advice it to make a list of your questions. Go with an open mind. Expect to be challenged and know that there are things about yourself that may need to change. If you carry these things into the session, you will get what you need the first time.

A SIMPLE DEVOTIONAL PRACTICE FOR THE DEAD

So, this might seem like a strange shift for some of you, but my intention is always to expose and shed light on aspects of spirituality we may not even know exists. One of them that I don’t think a lot of people know about is that the high church traditions of Christianity DO allow for prayers to the Dead. They tend to be devotional in nature where you are not praying directly TO the Dead, but in my book praying for someone is a close close second to that. Like the tradition of praying to the Saints. When we ask saints (who are largely the Dead also) to pray for us on an issue, we are praying to them, straight up.

This is a little different though. It is from the Catholic tradition and infused with my brand of Hoodoo and espiritismo as well. It is one simple method I could see someone using who is from Catholicism or who is open to its spiritual/devotional tools. Check it out!

Things needed:

*a white candle, any size

*a glass of tap water

*optional: holy water to anoint yourself

*optional: a bible or book of psalms

*a table with a white table cloth

*optional: a standing cross or crucifix

1. Anoint yourself with the holy water. If you are not Christian, you can simply dab the water on your forehead and the back of your neck.

2. Set up the table. If you use all the optional objects, then the cross goes in the rear center, the water glass in the center of the table, and the candle in front of the glass. The bible can go to the left or right corner of the table or just be held in your hands. If you want to have the bible open on the table, I recommend opening it to Psalm 23.

3. Recite the following prayers:

Hail, Mary, full of grace,
the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.

Amen.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be
thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,
on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our
daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we
forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us
not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever. Amen.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning, is now,
and ever shall be,
world without end.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Like the seed buried in the ground, you have produced the harvest of eternal life for us; make us always dead to sin and alive to God. Amen.

After this point, I recommend you spend time either in meditation and recollection of this deceased person if it was someone you know, or speak/pray from your heart to them. This does not need to be formal. It should be like having a conversation with a good friend.

You can let the candle burn down completely, sort of as an offering of light to them and to God, or snuff it out and relight the next time you pray.

CULTURAL MISAPPROPRIATION: A SEQUEL

I have written on this subject a few times before. I recently listened to Aidan Wachter on the “Weird Web Radio” podcast, where he talked of his experiences around the ADR tradition of New Orleans Voodoo. A big part of his reflection was on the issue of what he termed cultural appropriation. He had a good head about it, and I do recommend his interview for folks to listen to. There were some pieces I didn’t quite agree with, such as his assertion that a person from an ATR culture where that ATR came from has to be the one who teaches you. But that’s something I would expect someone to say who is ultimately an outsider to the traditions I practice, who does not have the deeper understanding of the universality of Afro-Cuban traditions, for example. I have learned significant parts of my indigenous beliefs and practices from people who are not Cuban, but who have a deep heart for the traditions as I do. It is the heart that matters most, not your proximity to the culture or the color of your skin.

But there’s a bigger issue that I keep bringing up that I feel often gets missed by people when they talk about this. So I am going to say it, again: what people are really bugging out over is called cultural MISappropriation. In my mind there is a large chasm of difference between appropriation and misappropriation. The former is very natural to me. It is inevitable that our cultures, so called races, etc. etc., will interact and be changed and informed by each other. Even in the historical American context, many Americans do not know that before the racist conscience overtook this country, there was significant race and ethnic mixing, but then everybody was lumped into being white or black. Overnight, families lost their actual identities and in some cases it was not discovered until someone in a family took a DNA test.

My point is that it is natural to mix, and when we mix, we admire the best of each other and take it into ourselves. I find Hoodoo to be a beautiful and stark example of this. Am I saying this is the only version of Hoodoo? Absolutely not. But it is a significant part of the Hoodoo historical canon. The other unpopular thing to be said is people on all sides are threatened by this natural mixing, this appropriation. Both sides, to me, hold the fear that who I am will get lost when I mix with you. I can have some compassion toward this fear. But as a person who does not live in fear, it makes me wonder how strong is a person’s sense of self if everything that differs from you threatens it?

Appropriation is natural. Misappropriation on the other hand, is taking something just because you can. Taking without respect to culture, protocol, respect or anything else. It often is also done without giving credit to where it was taken from. A certain purveyor of Hoodoo goods does this often. I listened and read their social media for years and waited to see if they would ever say where and who they learned what they learned their stuff from. But they didn’t. it was always a vague reference to a rootworker in a city somewhere. They are also white, so what they are doing is deeper than just misappropriation. People doing this are why Black rootworkers, and others, are so upset at the misappropriation.

How I choose to deal with this differs from a lot of people. Maybe this is because I am an espiritista. This means my focus in life is on uplifting people and helping their with their spiritual progress more than calling people out and going to war against misappropriaters. I am not knocking people who do. Both are a calling. But I am making the choice in my own teaching and business to be a part of the solution by being an African American man who teaches my version of Hoodoo to anyone who wants to learn. I am clear, also, that I cannot police people. What I do is stress social location and formation of your identity as a rootworker, so hopefully my students operate from a place of integrity and avoid the temptations of misappropriation. I am not interested in controlling people: control and manipulation was something my people already went through for over 300 years. It’s time to break that cycle, starting with myself.

Learn what you want to learn, but honor and respect and NAME the people and culture you got it from. This is how you honor these traditions, and yourself.

NOTES ON DEVELOPMENT

One of the hardest parts of my spiritual journey, especially since I got involved in folk magic, ATRs and ceremonial magic, has been when I realize a teaching I have followed (usually communicated by an elder) was incorrect. Sometimes the FULL realization of this does not occur until I am many years into my practice. This is one of many reasons I teach in my own capacity for students to be suspicious of someone promulgating too many absolutes. Because the hard fact of the matter is all of us will likely be changing, shifting and correcting parts of our spiritual practice as we go. I don’t want to spend a lot of time belly-aching about it, however. The point of this post is for me to give some point pointers on the two core things I have held onto tightly even as parts of my developmental boat have rocked and reeled.

The first I would suggest to anyone is, whoever your core spirits are, when things go sideways in this sense, lean harder on them. Don’t stress about their altar, offerings, or anything else. Just get a white candle, light it in front of whatever represents them, and meditate. Speak from your heart, even if the spirit has a specific protocol you normally follow. All tutelary spirits like the offerings from our heart, even if we are troubled, because we are speaking to them from the authenticity of who were are at that moment. Ask them to assist you with finding your way. Ask them to bring healthier elders into your life who do not manipulate or abuse.

Now, some of you will rightfully ask, what if I don’t have any sort of spirit I work with? Or what if things with that spirit doesn’t feel right? Then I suggest you go even simpler: get a glass of water and a white candle. Sit at a table in your home in a quiet place with those two things. Light the candle and speak to yourself. Yes, yourself. Why? Because you are a spirit as well. There is an aspect of you that is divine like any god or spirit that can receive the same meditation and prayers and appeals. Ask your own spirit to guide you through this rock time, and it will. But key to this work is you have to believe in yourself enough to know that your own spirit IS capable of guiding you. If you have too many self-confidence issues, then consider therapy or some other form of mental health assistance to help you break the negativity of your own cognitions. I have done this work too.

The second big piece relates to the last thing I just said. One lie I was told was that there is a profound internal imperfection that requires a full-on initiation to fix. I say lie because, as I was speaking above, our spirits are not imperfect or created with a defect at the factory of birth. What is divine is not imperfect in that sense. Saying that to people is yet another way to manipulate them into shelling out precious dollars for costly initiations that create more burdens in their upkeep than they do solutions.

But I am also very practical. I know that when mentoring relationships fail because the mentor is toxic, it deals a huge blow to the mentee’s ability to trust and believe in themselves. I feel like this is the same root problem with the isms of our world. I have experienced racism much the same in my life. It’s most destructive power is how it causes me to doubt myself and my humanity, if I let it. Add to this people’s penchant for defense mechanisms and you can find yourself powerless and voiceless pretty quickly.

I can’t give any profound or pithy method for how to get past or through this one. The only thing I have found to work is letting a lot of time pass and doing the work of taking an honest life review of the course of my relationship with that mentor. Almost always, when I do this, I start to see cracks in the integrity of things way back when. I don’t do this review to beat up on myself. I do it to continue the process of my development. Part of developing as a spiritual person is to make the choice to turn and face what’s hard in ways most other people avoid. And the hard truth with a lot of mentoring relationships, like other relationships in life, is we hold onto the person longer than we should because we become emotionally attached. Many of us also have a deep need for their validation, so that also comes into play.

These are the two things I know that works in spiritual recovery. But this is an open post (like an open letter). What have you found to help you through such difficult transitions?

Inquiring minds want to know!