Letting the mysteries speak for themselves

One of the things that upsets me as a practitioner of a vodou based tradition is the way in which we tend to treat each other.

Google any well known initiate or go on any vodou based forum and I grantee you'll fine one of the following: X doesn't know shit about X, Y hasn't got a 'real' kanzo, he/she is white/gay/etc and therefore can't have any black spirits or initiate in X, my tradition's spirits are better then yours, etc, etc ad nausea.

Outside of forums or in private messages it can get equally bad with people trying to steal initiates or convince others that they haven't been taught properly or that they are somehow less real or less powerful then X.

You know what its boring, its inane and its kinda pathetic. We should have trust in the spirits and God to weed out the wheat from the chaff or have enough confidence not to have to put others down to feel better about themselves. Do we really think that the spirits care more about skin colour, sexuality and ancestry then about what is inside a practitioner and the qualities they have? Do we as vodou practitioners not have enough prejudice and hatred from the outside world without having to worry about what our brothers and sisters are saying or doing behind our backs?

Yes there will be people out there who do things in the wrong way or who spread misinformation or who are just willfully ignorant as to what they should be doing on their path. But it should be up to us as initiates or priest to lead by example not by trying to spread muck and we should have enough trust in our own mysteries to speak for themselves.

A padrino's love

When I was just starting out in sanse I would frequently turn to my padrino with all sorts of questions, what does this dream mean? What does this spirit want? How do I serve so and so? But with patience and understanding my papa would help me again and again. He would explain what a dream meant, help me to unravel my own court, teach me baths, trabajos and songs and with each explaination and step forward I began to grow.

The mid part of my training was the most difficult, the lwa were beginning to take off the training wheels as it were and I began to deal with spirits and parts of myself that were quite painful and difficult. Still my papa was there; training, teaching, offering help and advice and with his help still I grew.

Now that I have been practicing for going on 6 years I find myself reflecting on the journey I have taken, I'm more able now and have more independence. I can interpret my dreams better for myself, I can do readings, deal with the more difficult parts of my cuadro better and know more and less what to offer my spirits. But still there are times when I need to turn once again to my padrino, with certainty that as my spiritual father he will be there for me with the same love and patience he has always had for me.

It it will be many years until I will be fully independent, but until that day I walk forward knowing that my papa will be behind me ready to help catch me if I stumble upon the path of God and the spirits.

Luz to my papa, Houngan Hector.

http://hounganhector.com/

One of my experiences with the black division

In the summer of 2011 my step dad was diagnosed with a terminal illness, he passed away a month later. I remember the shock at the time, followed by a feeling of numbness. Then with friends that night it hit me, like the ground had collapsed beneath me and I was falling down and I would never stop falling.

I remember the day after the funeral, I had been practicing sanse for two years by then and if it wasn't my first crisis of faith it had been one of the most serious. I remember lying in bed and thinking why should I get up, what was the point? Fuck God I thought and fuck the spirits, there wasn't any point anymore to anything.

I got a text then from one of my friends who was a practitioner, I hadn't text her or told her how I was feeling but there it was. She works with Baron and he had told her to send me a simple message. God and the spirits love you and they haven't abandoned you, even if you think they have. My mum came then and got me up, told me she was going to an interfaith rally to protest against racism and she wanted me to come. At first I wanted to just stay in bed but I got up and went instead and in that crowd of people, each with a candle lit in the night, I knew that God and the spirits hadn't abandoned me or my step dad. That some mysteries, like love, remain even in the face of death.

I've been helped many times since then by the black division, whether by Santa Marta, Baron Samedi, Papa Ghede or Baron Del Cementerio but even though I've had much more impressive things happen, that was their biggest miracle and the best gift from God. Reminding me that love exists even in the darkness of the night.

This is a traditional espiritismo prayer to Lord Buddha and the orientales commission, who can be prayed to for money, luck, peace, success and spiritual elevation:

Oh mysterious spirit that directs all our lives, come down to my humble residence. Illuminate the way to succeed through the secrets of the lottery, the prize that will give me fortunate, and with it, the happiness and well being of my family.

Oh great source of power and wisdom, please show me the way to see to all my needs, and do not allow my enemies to harm me.

God of the oriental, illuminate my path with the same intensity that you illuminate the path of the true believers, and remove from my path all obstacles that have been placed there by my enemies. Amen.

 You as basic offerings you can give them Sandlewood water, incense and candles. This commission can make up various Buddhas and oriental spirits from many parts of Asia. 

Sansista Estrella

I choose the name Sansista Estrella a while ago now and when I did I got quite a few puzzled reactions from various other spiritual workers. After all Estrella is the female name for a star, so most practitioners quite understandable presumed that I must be female which in fact isn't the case.

However, there is a reason I chose this name. You see for me the star as a symbol has many contations: the power of hope, the renewing energy of faith, the element of water and for me a personal connection to the mystery that is La Sirena.

As the star of the sea, to me La Sirena manages to unite many of those qualities in herself. She reflects God's glory and reminds me to turn my eyes up towards Him. She acts as a guiding light when I am feeling lost and as a mother gives me shelter when I am in need of it.

It is for these reasons and more that I name myself Sansista Estrella, not for myself but in honour of her and all that she does for me.

Bottles

 As an artist and a Sanse practisioner I often paint bottles based on art inspired by my spirits as well as Puerto Rican and Hatian practises. Here is some of my work, if you are interested in ordering any please send me a message.

Holy week

The week before easter sunday is an important time of year in our societies calendar, it is a time for us and our spirits to commune with the mystery that is God. For in Sanse it is God that gives all good spirits their power and allows for them to intercede for us on His behalf.

Our spirits do much for practitioners, they protect us, strengthen us and work not only on our behalf but also that of our clients and by giving them this time it allows us to acknowledge their need to rest.

Therefore during this week we allow our spirits to relax and concentrate on papa dios, most pray the rosary and attend mass. I turn to the Koran and the poetry of Rumi because this is how I connect to God. For I find that like finding a light in the darkness, in the silence that follows me taking a step back from the spirits, my mind naturally turns to God.

I do this because it is God who allows me to become more elevated, he protects me and guides me and ultimately gives me and all my spirits his light.

Have a good holy week everyone, luz y progresso.