Black And White Magic In Santeria

This article focuses on Voodooism, which is a “religion” practiced in Haiti since the beginning of its creation. In this article, the author claims that despite the misconceptions that many have about the practice of voodoo, Haitians don’t consider it as their religion, but more something that they serve and use to meet their religious needs. While most of them consider themselves Catholics, Haitians serve the lwa, which are African spirits that are honored for their powerfulness. Practiced since the beginning of the Haitian Revolution in 1791, Voodoo helped Haitian descendants survived slavery,

The phrase, "it didn't happen over night", applies very well to American Revolution. The colonists wrote many letters and organized several meetings throughout the war to persuade the people to fight for their freedom. There were numerous battles. For example, The Battle of Lexington and Concord, and the Battle of Yorktown. Therefore the American Revolution was an evolution because it took extensive amounts of persuasion for the colonists to become independent, numerous battles, and it took years for the war to end.

The nature of evil was spread by Satan and the people that followed, which were witches. Acts of witchcraft was one of the greatest crimes a person could commit, that is punishable by death.

Approximately 90 percent of Haitians are Catholic and 10 % are Protestant (Jacobson, 2003). Within the Haitian-American community, however, Voodoo exists side by side with Christian faiths. Jacobson goes on to explain that “many Haitians see no contradiction in calling themselves Christians while engaging in Voodoo practices” (2003). In Haiti, Catholicism is highly ritualistic and religious practices combine the ancient rituals of African-based cultures with Western-based faith practices. Jacobson explains that “Voodoo cosmology is made up of a large numbers of supernatural spirits…these spirits are believed to have great influence on human beings and for that reason, they must be respected” (2003).

The Haitians that practice Voodoo associate with the Jews because when the Haitians were African slaves, the Europeans expressly considered both Jews and Africans to be devil worshippers.

More than simply a guide to personal spiritual development, Santeria is a social religion. Reminiscent of the Yoruba emphasis on family relationships and the importance of respecting and communicating with ancestors, but more directly imitative of the bonds forged in Cuba’s Cabildo Africano Lucumi that were based on initiation rather than kinship, the modern practice of Santeria in the US is based around the Ile, the community of believers. The santero/a who leads an initiate into the faith becomes the godfather or godmother to the new member, who joins the godparent’s Ile. A system of hierarchy exists within the Ile based on how long ago members were initiated. The Ile gathers together for festivals and to celebrate new initiations into the religious community.

On the other hand, the healing powers that sorcerers possess are respected in other communities. Witch doctors, although not real witches, are trusted to concoct remedies to protect others against witchcraft. Furthermore, Shamans are believed to be endowed with the power to both cure and kill. The Shaman has the ability to go into a trance to interact with the spirit world on behalf of the community. Although there are varying opinions on the practicing of witchcraft, it still continues today whether it is accepted or not.

This process is said to be reciprocal, and follower must look after Lwa by performing these rituals, which can sometimes come in in the form of animal sacrifice. In the other hand some Voodooist ritual allow followers to thank the spirit for their protection, blessings or good fortune. To maintain a good relationship with the Lwa, or stay in good terms followers must all conduct themselves properly according to the customs of the community and the religion. In this way one can see how Voodoo can influence a persons day by day decision, activities, and decision making. Part of voodoo belief is that the Lwa communicate with followers through possession. The Lwa takes place of the host, and temporarily displaces its soul. According to this belief the medium cannot feel pain or become injured while he is in trans. The lwa speaks through the host giving intructions, advices or prophecies of future events. In some cases the Lwa can rebuke the host for failing to perform their duties. This idea of being possessed unites two different types Voodoo practitioners. One of them primarly existing in northern, and central portion of West African coast. This type of voodoo is the oldest known Voodoo and goes back to 6000 years ago from to Fon and Kongo. The other is practiced primarly in Haiti as well as in parts of north and sourth America.

Voodoo. When most people hear that word they think of cursed dolls and similar things. But really It’s a religion. An old one at that. It’s history is interesting too. It branched off into different thing, and It’s practises are cool as well.Voodoo isn’t as mysterious as it may seem. Well not that much

Throughout the years, Cuba is known to be a Communist country struggling to determine its own identity. Some Cubans have fought with the decision to stay in their native country or migrate to the United States. Others have decided to settle in Cuba and let their fate be determined by the gods. Santería, an African religion mixed with Catholic traditions, is practiced by many Cubans and allows followers to establish their destiny by the orishas, or African spirits. It also gives a sense of individuality to the characters in the novel, Dreaming in Cuban which incorporates several elements of the faith into the story. Overall, the Santería religion affects the Cuban people in many parts of their lives politically, artistically, musically, and

Santeria is a religion that has beliefs of the Yoruba and it also has Roman Catholic elements (Types of Religion, 2016). Santeria is an Afro-Carribian religion that expanded during the time of the Cuban slave trade (Types of Religion, 2016). Santeria for many years was considered to be a secret religion. Santeria is practiced throughout the world and not only in Cuba as it once was. This religion is very secretive and there is little known about their rituals and practices and is not general knowledge and kept from the public (Religious Tolerance, 2007). Santeria is an oral tradition (Religious Tolerance, 2007). They do not reference or use any type of book such as the Bible. This religion has a priesthood, so there are priests and priestesses

I'm sure before I talked about voodoo, you expected something totally different. I, myself, thought voodoo was actually all about black magic and evil spirits. However, voodoo is not actually negative. When the early Haitian slaves came over to different parts of the world, they also brought over their faith. However, because they were black and their religion was not recognized, it was prejudged as evil. The priests were known as witchdoctors, the Loa were thought to be evil when in reality, the

Often depicted with their images linked together in a chain circling an image of the crucified Jesus, these deities represent all that is sacred and powerful in Santeria. But within Santeria but there is a common misconception around who they are and how they function. Anyone can call upon the Seven African Powers, as they are spirit guides and everyone has access to these Orishas for their guidance.

Esotericism according to Muck refers "to the practice of keeping some teachings exclusively for the most dedicated members."(630) Meaning esoteric imply private, secret and confidential. According to Muck, New Age and Esotericism "believe God as transcendent and impersonal. They see the world as evolved in stages. Truth comes as the result of spiritual striving and is only available to the worthy, those who have taken the time to understand the nature of the cosmos and who have confronted spiritual reality directly."(632) However Muck points out, the stages comes in levels of initiation. The teachings of the esoteric group are opened to the members who have mastered the levels. (632) The esoteric practice spiritual exercises in a school-like setting. Based upon this information, the author can come to a conclusion of this religion being somewhat like a sorority or fraternity or cult.

The African legacy in Latin America and the Caribbean is particularly pronounced in the realm of religion and religious ritual because with symbiotic and reciprocal relationships between humans and supernatural deities individuals can be connected. This is an outcome of the encounter of two different yet structurally analogous religious traditions. Indigenous and African religious traditions were highly pragmatic and their deities were anthropomorphic beings who, although were more powerful than humans they, also displayed humanlike needs. With these rituals these individuals feel like they are doing what is right and building these key relationships. In some ways these are similar to popular Catholicism because, both are building these symbiotic