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.   

A DIFFERENT KIND OF PATRIOTISM

Happy Friday! Today I took a shift toward the creative again, and decided to post this poem from Langston Hughes. It felt especially appropriate as the country settles into the unknown of the next four years. I commend these words to you and hope they bring you some hope and solace during this time. 

"LET AMERICA BE AMERICA AGAIN"

Let America be America again.
Let it be the dream it used to be.
Let it be the pioneer on the plain
Seeking a home where he himself is free.

(America never was America to me.)

Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed—
Let it be that great strong land of love
Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme
That any man be crushed by one above.

(It never was America to me.)

O, let my land be a land where Liberty
Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath,
But opportunity is real, and life is free,
Equality is in the air we breathe.

(There’s never been equality for me,
Nor freedom in this “homeland of the free.”)

Say, who are you that mumbles in the dark?
And who are you that draws your veil across the stars?

I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart,
I am the Negro bearing slavery’s scars.
I am the red man driven from the land,
I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek—
And finding only the same old stupid plan
Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak.

I am the young man, full of strength and hope,
Tangled in that ancient endless chain
Of profit, power, gain, of grab the land!
Of grab the gold! Of grab the ways of satisfying need!
Of work the men! Of take the pay!
Of owning everything for one’s own greed!

I am the farmer, bondsman to the soil.
I am the worker sold to the machine.
I am the Negro, servant to you all.
I am the people, humble, hungry, mean—
Hungry yet today despite the dream.
Beaten yet today—O, Pioneers!
I am the man who never got ahead,
The poorest worker bartered through the years.

Yet I’m the one who dreamt our basic dream
In the Old World while still a serf of kings,
Who dreamt a dream so strong, so brave, so true,
That even yet its mighty daring sings
In every brick and stone, in every furrow turned
That’s made America the land it has become.
O, I’m the man who sailed those early seas
In search of what I meant to be my home—
For I’m the one who left dark Ireland’s shore,
And Poland’s plain, and England’s grassy lea,
And torn from Black Africa’s strand I came
To build a “homeland of the free.”

The free?

Who said the free? Not me?
Surely not me? The millions on relief today?
The millions shot down when we strike?
The millions who have nothing for our pay?
For all the dreams we’ve dreamed
And all the songs we’ve sung
And all the hopes we’ve held
And all the flags we’ve hung,
The millions who have nothing for our pay—
Except the dream that’s almost dead today.

O, let America be America again—
The land that never has been yet—
And yet must be—the land where every man is free.
The land that’s mine—the poor man’s, Indian’s, Negro’s, ME—
Who made America,
Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain,
Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain,
Must bring back our mighty dream again.

Sure, call me any ugly name you choose—
The steel of freedom does not stain.
From those who live like leeches on the people’s lives,
We must take back our land again,
America!

O, yes,
I say it plain,
America never was America to me,
And yet I swear this oath—
America will be!

Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death,
The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies,
We, the people, must redeem
The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers.
The mountains and the endless plain—
All, all the stretch of these great green states—
And make America again!

HOLY MOLY!: THE SAINTS & HOODOO

It may seem at first blush that Hoodoo and Christian saints don’t have much of a natural connection, especially outside of the context of New Orleans, Louisiana, where there has been a longstanding historical synergy. If you ever read any of the Hyatt books, where a lot of Southern Hoodoo is cataloged in sociological style, you will see quickly that working with saints was not reserved for that one part of the South.

The connection is not as far-fetched as it might seem. For one thing, saints are Christian spirits. Hoodoo itself has strong Christian roots and tended not to work with a lot of other spirits outside of the Bible (mainly because the most considerable Abrahamic influence on early Hoodoo was Protestant Christianity, not Catholicism). But even for a Protestant worker, if they were Black, they were also working on a foundational premise of African spiritualities (and really, any indigenous spirituality). That premise is that Indigenous people recognize power wherever it comes from. Sometimes anthropologists see the practical results of this belief and assume Black people will worship anything—and when they do, they are missing the point.

The saints have long been established witnesses in the lives of the Catholic, Orthodox, and Episcopal churches. Workers would have seen or known people who revere the saints in the church, seeing them in prayer, at feast days, and so forth, and the light bulb would have gone off.

Add to this the fact that Hoodoo and American Spiritualism/Spiritualist Churches began to exchange ideas and fuse into each other’s practices, and you have the perfect storm for some rootworkers who choose to work with saints. What I find fascinating is, when I read some of the stories and prescriptions Hyatt received where saints were mentioned, the rootworkers would combine reverence for, for example, Saint Expedite with rootwork to get some quick money or return a lost lover. With its reverence for these spiritual superheroes, the “high magic” of the Church made love to the “low magic” of working roots, tying knots, and fixing money to hunt more money!

In some of my classes, I, too, show how I work with certain saints to specific ends. For example, there is no better saint for mental and emotional issues than Saint Dymphna. My first working with her years ago was for a dear friend whose brother got into trouble with the Law and had to do some serious time. The problem wasn’t his crime as much as his mental health. His mom had visited him when he was just in holding, and she could tell that his mental health was already bad. So, she reached out to me and asked if there was anything I could do. So I prayed to Dymphna like I knew how. Pretty soon after, I received a spiritual bath and candle ritual. Dymphna taught me that a mother could take baths for their child, and its benefit would reach the child—because they have an unbreakable bond. And sure enough, when we visited her son, he was much better and wasn’t sure how!

Like other spirits, saints are great teachers and will show you what you need to know. I hope you consider them and their value in your practice.    

THE THREAD OF SPIRITS: ARE THEY THE SAME EVERYWHERE?

There are certain people for whom some spirits seem to walk with them no matter what they practice. This means that from tradition to tradition, that spirit always seems to find them. This is an interesting phenomenon because it bucks some of the trends, assumptions, and gatekeeping that others seem so intent on doing.

Before people start bugging out, I am not saying all spirits are the same or that all spiritual traditions are the same. Just going from a church to a mosque to a Hindu temple will make the point that there are some significant and noticeable differences in belief and expression of those beliefs. In espiritismo, though, I have noticed this phenomenon more than in other places. Although, as a reader and guide of others, I know many people where I can see the thread of a specific spirit manifesting itself across tradition lines when I look with them at their spiritual paths.

What does this mean? To be sure, I do not have all the answers to that. But I will make an educated guess based on my knowledge of different indigenous traditions (which I include espiritismo as one). In spiritualities that work with Congo spirits, the Congo often has a name and attributes all their own. But this palpable sense is also that the Congo walks powerfully with nature force energies. So it may be a healing Congo with an intense energy of the nkisi known as Kobayende. The Congo is NOT Kobayende, but that force of nature is so strong with that Congo that the person who has that Congo as a guide will sometimes feel that more potent energy comes forward.

If spirits like Congos are like this, there is no reason we would not be the same. This is partly why, in Orisha traditions, children of a particular Orisha tend to behave throughout their lifetime with that Orisha’s energy. For example, Chango children can be arrogant. But let me tell you, it is far more menacing to meet one who is humble—because the kingly power of Chango is there and rooted in a deep self-confidence that does not need arrogance to keep it afloat!

My theory is that we draw this sort of thread because it is the choice we made pre-incarnation as our default natural state in relation to the natural order of Creation. With something akin to the Law of Attraction, we then will draw energies and vibrations that align with that, and over a lifetime, we have the potential to become that energy in powerful ways. Just think of people, big and small, who we know who seem to do just this. I don’t think all spirits are the same, but I believe the spiritual thread of like attracting like brings the entities to us that we most align with.

What are your thoughts on this? I'm eager to hear your perspectives and experiences. After all, our individual journeys contribute to the rich tapestry of spiritual understanding.

AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

Hey Folx!

I have another piece of exciting news to share. My dear and beloved friend, Michelle Jacques, has produced a fine album of music rooted in a larger-scale project she has been involved in for years called “Daughters of the Delta.” This artistic project highlights the unique contributions certain women have made to the music and culture of the Louisiana Gulf region. As she says in the link I have provided below, it is a living tradition, and she is doing her part within her musical community to uplift and preserve it.

But I want to get personal for a moment. I have known Michelle for many years, as long as I moved to and lived in California. She is also the music director at my church and is an award-winning international Jazz and Blues artist in her own right. One of the charisms of my multiracial church is the music ministry. Several local jazz and blues musicians participate in the church’s music ministry, and no other church in the Bay can boast of such a claim. Chelle, as we call her, is also a dear friend who has walked with me during some difficult life moments, so it is an honor and joy to share this impressive accomplishment in her life’s work with you.

With that, I commend to you the music of the Daughter of the Delta and warmly encourage you to listen, make a purchase, and let the sounds, rhythms, and spirit of Louisiana enliven your soul!

https://roundwhirledrecords.bandcamp.com/album/daughters-of-the-delta

SOMETIMES, THE ANSWER IS SIMPLE

A few years back, a friend needed my help at the relatively last minute, through no fault of his own. A situation turned urgent for him, and he reached out for help. I had not long had a specific spirit who worked quickly in communication and commerce, so I knew immediately to go to that spirit and see what I could negotiate to help.

I did as I had learned, calling out to the spirit and divining. Sure enough, he agreed to assist. Then came the part that always makes me pause a little—the payment!

It was the first time I had worked with said spirit for someone other than myself. See, people like me, when we receive new spirits, we know not to ask them to do a bunch of stuff, even for us. The first several weeks I usually spend sitting, meditating and talking. Sometimes, I will light a candle or blow some smoke or rum. But this person needed me to act, so act, I did.

Do you know what this spirit wanted? It was nothing more than a candle with some specific herbs rolled onto it.

I was floored. I expected a significant ask/demand for such a last-minute situation. But instead, it just wanted light. Now, to be sure, light is no small thing in ATRs/ADRs. Those of us who practice espiritismo often say that all you need to work with spirits is a candle and a glass of water. I have done this enough to know that it is that simple.

But I digress a little. Light is essential for several reasons. One is that it is an offering of light to the spirit. It makes it easier for them to see in some ways. It brings light to darkness, whether that is the situation, something someone is hiding, or to ease my communication with my spirit. Light also uplifts prayers. It is akin to what the Bible calls the “sweet burnt offering” going up to the Divine. Light means many things.

For my friend, this meant that all the spirit needed was some light and herbs to procure money to get things moving. My friend had what he needed in precisely three days. This spirit has an uncanny ability to accomplish goals in three days, so much so that I know that’s how it works.

But this post is really about the power of simplicity. I am learning of another related ATR system that is far more straightforward than most. We live in an age of oversaturation of many things, so when something simple yet effective comes along, there can almost be a tyranny against believing it has real power. For some of us, we get stuck thinking that what’s powerful is what takes hours and hours to carry out. Some things are this way, yes. But other ways are not.

This is yet another reason why I teach Hoodoo the way I do. To be sure, there are complicated rituals in Hoodoo. But the vast majority of its tools are simple, direct, and effective. Hoodoo was not borne out of a state of luxury but of necessity. It also had to be something that could work on the move because Hoodoo’s original forebears often had to keep it moving while still doing what needed to be done spiritually. If you want to learn more about the simple spiritual practice I teach, please join me in my current cohort of Working the Roots. You will be glad you did!

The link to the class is here: https://www.theblackthorneschool.com/courses/working-the-roots/.

See you in class!

MAKING MAGIC WORK FOR YOU

Several years back, much earlier in my practice and development, I had a good friend who reached out in need of help. He had lent someone a significant amount of money, and though they agreed at the onset to pay him back, he reported that they started to hedge on their promise. His not receiving that money back would have devastated his life, based on everything he said to me.

I had a few spirits I was learning to work with, but few of them had come through strong yet. But that day, one of my spirits did. Very much so. Someone within my spiritual cuadro that was new to me, who I hadn’t even established much understanding about how to work with her. But she came through STRONG. And with her presence came a strong download of specific work to do with her.

What threw me at that moment wasn’t that she was talking so much. Or even that she stood up to assist me in helping my bud. What THREW me was the specific work she gave me. The things she instructed me to do were not things I knew or understood to be something that went together. Yes, I had worked with them separately and in different situations. Cussing someone out. Banging a machete on the ground. And fire, LOTS of fire.

But I knew enough of them to know better than not to do what that spirit gave me to do. And I kid you not, my friend had all his money back in three days, precisely when she said it would return!

What I learned at that time was that it is okay, and even necessary, for me to make my magic work for me. Yes, tradition is important. It is vital to me as an ATR practitioner. There is a way to do things that get consistent results, and more importantly, it connects me to a long line of egguns who did the same thing. So when I follow the traditions, I am not just doing it with the energy of now. I am doing it with the power of countless ancestral spirits who went before me. Even my saying that does not entirely capture the mystery of it, but it is what it is.

Tradition is important, but it only carries you to a point. At some point, a trust needs to be established where your spirits teach you the stuff that tradition alone cannot and will not. This is because tradition is valuable and valuable. It’s because there are mysteries and ways of working that are authentic to you and your spirits that only they can teach. I think this is often misunderstood, to be honest. I think the misunderstanding leads to people thinking teachers like me can teach that, but none of us can. What we can teach is the foundation. We can teach our version of tradition that gives your tree roots from which you and your spirits grow and branch.

I get it, though. We live in an age of instant information, of many people teaching many things. But we also live in a time of Covid and other social problems that make many of us feel we need something clear and specific to deal with. The problem is that we need more than tradition alone to get what we need. The tradition is more like a means to an end than the end itself. In my spiritual work, especially with spirits, the story I told above has repeated itself so many times with so many different spirits that I trust what I am given to bring relief and aid to folks. I know it will work because they have shown it WILL.

Now, I don’t want to romanticize any of this. We are all different, develop differently, and have different skills, gifts, and talents. Some people I know can work with or pass spirits with little effort. Others, like me, have had to work through a lot of challenges to have a consistent practice. The difference I encountered was who my elders were. If I had controlled elders and not worked with me to build my confidence, my development would be slow. If a mentor had an ulterior motive for keeping me in a relationship of dependence with them, my development was slow. But when an elder encouraged me to trust myself, I grew.

Making your magic work for you is fundamental to any spiritual practice. The medium doesn’t matter to me: chaos magic, Solomonic magic, PGM magic, Lucumi, Abakua, etc. Any of them should bring you to the place where however that system works takes you to a practice authentic and unique to you. The methods may not be unique, but how you carry them out should, over time, reflect how you perceive the spirit world. It should reflect a protocol you follow to connect to your spirits, herbs, or astral energies to make things happen as you need. It is not a dismissal from a teacher for you to be on your own unless you choose to be. Following a tradition should connect you to others who walk that same path, even if you walk it differently.

I hope everyone reading this finds their own way to this authentic place. It is what will carry you through the long haul of a lifetime practice.

ANOTHER REASON I TEACH HOODOO THE WAY I DO

The occult world as we know it is chock full of numerous traditions. Among them are a fair number of initiation-based ones. Some initiatory ones, like any ATR/ADR, require hefty commitments and an even heftier price tag. And I am talking about honest spiritual houses, not the ones trying to exploit people. Those are a whole other post for a whole other day.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with any tradition as long as it does not add to the numerous forms of oppression anyone with eyes can see. But as I keep reiterating, initiations are not for everyone. They are not. If a santero, palero, babalawo, blah blah blah, is hustling you to believe initiations ARE meant for everyone, do an about-face and walk away.

I actually went to a misa (read: ATR séance) not long ago where both myself and the person the misa was for were told we needed to receive a million different initiations across three traditions. The person did pass their spirit, but I could feel right away that the spirit was not very evolved. This was confirmed for me when the other person, who is in recovery, was offered an alcoholic drink by the spirit. The spirit tried to push it on them, so I stood up, blocked them, and said NO. If a spirit is elevated, it will know a detail like that and not do something destructive to a person’s life. But I digress a bit.

I am teaching my brand of Hoodoo because there should be spiritual practices that do not require initiation so people can fulfill their potential and walk their path with the right tools. Foremost among the tools I teach is for people to name their social location as the starting point for their personal power. It is also where some people discover or rediscover that they come from a community that brought them to this moment, good or bad. Reflection on this in the class context can help people discern how they will serve the communities around them. I haven’t taken many other classes that take the time to do this.

Most of the time, these things I highlight are things I don’t hear about as much while the class takes place but in the days, weeks, and months after. Usually, when a person fully incorporates what they have learned to practice rootwork in ways that work for their context. It is always fantastic to get this feedback because, honestly, it helps me to know whether my teachings are on track and having the positive impact on students’ lives that I hope for. So, to that, I say thank you.

If you still need to take Working the Roots, know that my next cohort through the Blackthorne School is starting on 10/21. I would love to have you with us! The link to join is here: https://www.theblackthorneschool.com/courses/working-the-roots/.