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.

Marinero, marinero

"Sailors in great storms invoke your name as the Lady of Regla, thereby freeing themselves of fear. Before embarking, they give you offerings in your church in Regla, thus assuring themselves of safe travel." - Excerpt from a prayer to Our Lady of Regla

Sailors, innovators, navigators and guides, the spirits of the Marinero commission are all these things and more. I first came to work with these spirits at a time of my life when I was in real need of direction. I had recently been let go from a job and my confidence and sense of purpose was at an all time low. By working with these spirits I was reminded of my degree and love of nature and turned to environmental volunteering as a way to both build my confidence and get my foot in the door of this career path.

This ability to offer direction and guidance for those lost at sea (figuratively or literally) is something that these seres are well known for and so they are often turned to for these matters. However they are also spirits associated with innovation and as such can help you to find new ways of doing and thinking about difficulties that may get in your way. I also have a strong association with them and travel as for me they are spirits that take you somewhere new. Therefore I might also ask them for protection or help when travelling to a new or familiar destination (especially when it comes to travelling over seas).

As is often the case I have found there to be a profound connection between La Sirena and the marinero spirits that have approached me. For my la Sirena and my guide have directed me towards these seres and the marinero act at this mysterio behest.

When working with the marinero it can be best to offer them a candle along with water, white wine or perhaps even a little rum.

A Sanse of your very own

I'm not Puerto Rican or of Latin American descent, not even a little bit. I'm a Welshman from Cardiff (Wales as a country is that little sticky outy bit attached to one side of Britain in case your wondering). So some people reading this blog might be wondering what (if any) insights I might have into the practise of Sanse.

Well as one of my spiritual brothers once advised me, you need to make a Sanse of my very own. Now, when I first began practising Sanse this was a bit of a daunting task. My initiator lives in America and while I am always able to contact him via email or telephone, there was still alot to learn.

So I started slowly which as it turns out was the best thing I could do, I built a strong connection with a few mysterio at first. This allowed me to develop my foundations, over time new mysterio appeared to me and my cuadro began to develop. My first initiation was a step into a wider world, I was told who my guide was and how to work with him as well as which mysterio would be particularly important to my spiritual development.

This was a difficult step with me as I had grown used to working with the loa and i didn't get the same immediate sense of connection to my guide as he felt quite different. However as time went by I began to build more of a repoire with him and slowly we formed a close relationship.

It was also at this time that I began to attract more diverse spirits to my court, this was helped by the fact I planned to travel to India. By doing so I opened the way to me working with both buddhist and hindu deities. This gave helped give my cuadro more peace and stability when it came to working to elevate some of the more difficult elements within my spiritual court. It also helped me open up to working with the catholic saints more and helped me understand their importance in Sanse.

Not all of the experiences I've had in Sanse have been pleasant, sometimes I've had to interact with some of the more unpleasant elements of my cuadro. After travelling I had a prolonged period of time where I had to look at some more lonely, bitter and painful parts of myself. It was a grueling process both spiritually and mentally but by doing so I was able to come to terms with some parts of my life and maybe if I couldn't fix them I could at least find serenity in them.

I took my cemetary puntos most recently and have discovered much about my seres in the process, it gave me a greater understanding of myself, my ancestry and my connection to my mysterio and because of the time I had taken to get to this point I better able to appreciate all the elements of my spiritual court.

If I've learned one thing it that patience and time are the greatest teachers and if you take your time to learn don't feel ashamed by what you do or don't know. We are all learning and its better to take in the view on this road then to rush and stumble. After all we're all still putting together a Sanse of my very own.

Luz y progresso.

La Sirena

As the The Diosa del la Mar, La Sirena is both the sea's merciful queen and its tempestuous siren and as such hold's sway over all the ocean's depths, treasures and mysteries. She is also a Sanse Mysterio that I am extremely fond of. In hindsight its not really surprising that I would become so drawn to her, all throughout my life the sea has called to me and has continued to inspire me as I grow older. As a child not only would we take numerous trips to the sea but I would sit and draw mer-people of all persuasion. My family had a history of sailors and people with a draw to the sea (and as I found out possible Marinero as well).  This love of the sea followed me all the way to university, where I ended up studied Marine Biology.

As befitting a queen of such a rich domain, La Sirena is said to rule over money, luck and love and the people she walks with are said to be naturally lucky. As a mermaid her song has a seductive allure and as such she is often said to be the patron of many a singer (and from what I have found a muse for many an artist and writer as well). This same allure has been said to enchanted many a man and her children may share this mysterious glamour and call many a lover to their side. She loves to be given mirrors and combs to either look into or brush through her hair and as such is often said to rule over vanity as well. Her dominion does not end with the sea, however as she is also believed to rule over the moon as well.

Like the sea La Sirena can be as dangerous as she is lovely and it is said she may drown people as a punishment (or even if she likes a person too much, so they can be with her forever underneath the waves). There are also many stories about La Sirena abducting people under the waters from 7 days to up to 7 years, when they are returned to the mortal realm they are said to have been taught a great number of magical secrets by her. However, she is a very loving spirit and if worked with properly is a tireless, forgiving and hard working mysterio for her servitors.

This mystery and beautiful spirit is found in Sanse, The 21 Divisions and Hatian Vodou and can be served with melon covered in honey, flowers, sweet refresco, jewellery and perfumns.

Losing touch

Having a spiritual relationship with a mysterio can sometimes be alot like being romantically involved. When you first meet a spirit that you are close to its an incredible experience, I remember when I started working with La Sirena and how passionate I felt about serving her.

But any good relationship requires work and you can find that life can get in the way, for me this involved a number of factors that slowly began to put cracks in my relationship with La Sirena. A mixture of serving too many spirits, too much time spent in front of my PC, serving by rote instead of heart and a lack of artistic drive all led me to feelings of emotional disconnection.

So after the realisation that something was wrong, it was important for me to look at how I could repair our relationship. I started by setting aside a bit of my day to meditate on her and remembering when and how I had first connected with her. Finding time each day to pursue my artistic talents helped to restablish my bond with her. Finally putting her first and foremost amongst any spirits I served and remembering why I care about her so much helped me to overcome the problems I was having.

The thing to remember is that none of us are going to feel 100% passionate about our spirits all the time, we're all human and we all have doubts sometimes and thats ok. But if we can remember the love that brought us to our path, it might be enough to overcome those feelings and bring us back to God and the spirits we love so much.

Now if you'll excuse me i'm off to do something artistic...