#american brujeria

[rosasyruda]

Just finished reading American Brujeria by J. Allen Cross and I have to say I LOVE this book so much! I recommend it to everyone but especially for Mexican American or Latin@ witches. Even if you don’t practice witchcraft, this is a beautiful book that made me feel proud of my roots and of the magic of my people and culture. A huge part of this book was so affirming for me as a Mexican American and as someone who is “in between” two worlds and two cultures. Definitely something that I will keep referring back to. I also recommend the podcast “Invoking Witchcraft” which this author co-hosted on. They have discontinued the podcast but the episodes are still up and have lots of valuable information!

#witchblr #witchcraft #american brujeria #witch community #witchcraft books #folk magic #latinx books #mexican american #folk practice

[spiralhouseshop]

Join Frankie Castanea (ChaoticWitchAunt), J. Allen Cross (Oregon_Wood_Witch) for an afternoon of witchcraft and magic

We are so excited to be hosting this event!

Join Frankie Castanea (ChaoticWitchAunt), author of Spells for Change, and J. Allen Cross (Oregon_Wood_Witch), author of American Brujeria, for an afternoon of witchcraft and magic.

Prepare for a day of witchy fun, book signings, Q&As, and more!

Saturday May 28th, 2022 2 PM Turn! Turn! Turn! 8 NE Kilingsworth Portland, Oregon 97217

Free! All Ages! Mask and proof of vaccination required!

Click here for the facebook event page.

Frankie Castanea is a writer, content creator, and practicing pagan and folk witch more commonly known on the internet as “Chaotic Witch Aunt.” They are on several platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram, where they create both comedic and educational content. They have been interviewed about being a witch on the internet by Bust and Nylon.

J. Allen Cross is the author of “American Brujeria: Modern Mexican American Folk Magic”. He lives in Oregon, and works as a professional witch, psychic medium, and paranormal investigator.

#chaotic witch aunt #chaoticwitchaunt #j allen cross #oregon_wood_witch #spells for change #american brujeria #spiral house shop #portland button works #modern witches #witches of tumblr #witchblr #portland witches #portland pagans #oregon witches #witchcraft #witchcraft* #tiktok witches #witchcraft book #witchcraft books #witch events #frankie castanea

[enchantedliving]

The Postcolonial Brujería of My Family

BY RAQUEL VASQUEZ GILLILAND

It was a typical witchy tween of the early aughts—wearing black lipstick that smelled a bit like sour candle wax, pairing dark JNCO-knockoff jeans with black high-top Skechers. During sleepovers with friends, we’d always watch The Craft, attempting to lift each other up with just the tips of our fingers (“Light as a feather, stiff as a board”). At eighteen I discovered tarot cards and fell in love with the rich dreamscape of their symbolism, and even today I own a dozen decks. My favorite: The Tarot of the Pagan Cats.

I never subscribed to any one form of witchery, nor did I ever join a coven. I just knew that my personal definition of witchery—the understanding that there are unseen worlds and forces we interact with, and that we can influence these worlds (and thus our own world) with rituals and intention—felt as familiar and warm as the oversize tan teddy coat I pull out of storage every late fall. I know now that this familiarity exists because I was raised with a distinct Mexican-American witchery, or brujería.

CONTINUE READING

#colonialism #mexican-american #brujeria #witch #magic #family

[indigepunkz]

Get to Know Me

Ha’ah’hey! Here's my little about my info post as an introduction to my blog as well as myself :) My name is Coyotl, I'm a Karankawa native of the Hawk Clan. I'm a 23 as of Dec 2023, two-spirit individual. I've been practicing magic for over 10 years :) (started in 2011 with a mentor). My main practice is divination and healing; I'm a practicing curandero and brujo. as the user implies, I am of punk ideology and will probably post about it here as well; I'm deaf, disabled, and a service dog handler. I'm a study fanatic and love to learn; I will by using this blog as a way to talk about all things that interest me so be prepared for random strings of chaos to ensue, it won't be very linear. Atcáta aháyika!

#witch blog #witch books #witchblr #ndn #native american #indigenous #punk #crust punk #disability #disabled #brujeria #divination #two spirit

[needylittlegirl]

Oooo please tell us more about being mixed baby

umm! Its always been a super conflicting experience but im grateful for it!! Of course when i was a kid it always felt like i was too mexican for white people and too white for mexican people- while thats partially true it was always more of an internal battle that made me do a lot of working on myself to fix! I learned a lot about myself in so many ways just from the journey I had to go on to find peace in being mixed. Obviously in school there was always “well you dont look like youre from mexico”( jeez maybe cause i’m not.) “how did you learn english?” (its my native language?) “ewww whats that it smells/looks bad” (sorry my mom knows how to season food) but i also got to tell friends about cool traditions! I get to talk about different cultures and values and beliefs!! I get to experience the love that comes from older family members even when we dont speak the same language! I get to see their faces when I do speak spanish! I get to learn about quiet, beautiful traditions that I would have never known otherwise. I get to have two vastly different cultures and lifestyles and traditions and languages to connect with, which is beautiful! I get to look at myself everyday and know that my curly hair is from my bisabuela and my nose is from my abuelo! I got to hear about the stories my grandparents had from mexico, how grateful they were to move to america. My favorite family recipe is in a book thats been passed down generations and its written in spanish but at some point one of my great great tias attempted to translate it into english because she knew that at some point the family would lose our spanish and leave mexico, leaving the roots but she wanted to share it with us regardless. theres so many little tiny details that set me apart in a way that only I could know, it just feels so special and bittersweet to be able to relearn and reconnect with a culture that is yours but got stripped away from older generations of your family. I may not look exactly like them but I know they’re proud of me for loving things they weren’t allowed to. Its the importance of being the in-between 🩷

#i dont know if any of this makes sense! #one of my favorite books is called american brujeria by j allen cross #it talks about being mixed #and what that means for traditions and spirituality #i love it soo much. its so good

[returning-to-brujeria]

Some of my supplies

#my composition sucks #but oh well #my lame attempts at emulating an instragram post #bruja #brujeria #brujería #americanbrujeria #mexican american #catholic #spells #witchcraft #ingredients

[debtsunpaid]

creepy magic murder cop: i see you, boy. the vanishin' fuckin' hiker, i do declare. you think we din't notice you, tryin'a get picked up back in florida? ( constantine, back in dead in america #1: head west, stay off the interstate, and ... don't stop for anyone, okay? ) creepy magic murder cop: he ain't here to save you, shitheel! he ain't here for nothin' but hisself! your time's over, shadow! you and alla your fuckin' parasites!

shivering and shaking like a wet purse chihuahua convincing myself that this is the ghost of frank north coming home to roost. riding out from cali to help his buddy once again.

#OOC. #shut up shut up i know i'm wrong but HEAR ME OUT OKAY #the last time we saw him was dealing with the brujeria!! with john and SWAMP THING!! swamp thing is back now!!!! #and i know he didn't DIE in america but he and benjamin were the only americans in the newcastle crew!!!! #why would they Not haunt their home turf!!!! #alternate theories are that it's Destruction from sandman or ACTUAL SHADOW from ACTUAL AMERICAN GODS #which would be fucking WILD. especially with the crows??? the motherfucking crows?????? mr wednesday ass omens #but idk i see motorcycle & i think frank. i love his stupid ass #bring him home!!!! if you're cold they're cold!!!!! #dead in america spoilers / #also listen while we're here? we are appreciating the ass. it's a nice ass #SCHED.

[justacriousgirl]

i need to know how to magic when you're broke and depressed, like i want to do things but i can't bring myself to do the simplest of task, least of all try to conect and cast a circle and all that

#witchcraft #magic #brujeria #latin american witchcraft #folk witchcraft

[manifestationsofasort]

Things to put in your book of shadows

Of course, only put in your book of shadows/grimoire what you want. If you don't want to put certain subjects in your book then that's fine. It's your book, utilize it how you want. This is just a masterlist of ideas that I've put together. Feel free to add anything else to the list that I may have missed, because there's absolutely no way I included everything.

And for the love of all the gods, if you come across a closed entity or practice, don't try to work with the entity or practice if you're not already part of that group or tradition. You can research it but don't practice it.

+ A blessing and/or protection

+ A table of contents

+ About you:

Your current path

Your personal beliefs

Your spiritual journey

Favorite crystals/herbs/animals

Natal chart

Craft name

How you got into the craft

Astrology signs

Birthday correspondences (birth tarot card, birth stone, etc)

Goals (if you have any)

Anything other relating to your personal practice

+ Safety

Fire safety

What NOT to burn

Plants and oils that can be toxic to your pets

What crystals shouldn't be in water, sunlight, etc

Things that shouldn't be put out in nature (salt, glass, etc)

Potion safety

How to incorporate blood safely

+ Core concepts:

Intention and how it works

Directing energy

Protection

Banishing

Cleansing

Charging

Shielding

Grounding and centering

Visualization

Consencration/Blessing

Warding

Enchanting

Manifestation

+ Correspondence

Personal correspondence

Crystals and rocks

Herbs and spices

Food and drink

Colors

Metals

Number

Tarot card

Elemental (fire, water, air, earth)

Trees and woods

Flowers

Days

Months

Moon phases

Zodiac

Planets

Incense

Teas

Essential oils

Directions (north, south, east, west)

Animals

Local plants, animals, etc

Dream symbology

+ Different practices

Practices that are closed to you (some examples below)

Voodoo and Hoodoo **Closed**

Santeria and Brujeria **Closed**

Shamanism and native american practices **Closed**

Wicca and wiccan paths

Satanism, both theistic and non-theistic paths

+ Different types/practices of magick

Pop culture magick

Technology magick

Chaos magick

Green witchcraft

Lunar magick

Sea witchcraft

Kitchen magick

Ceremonial magick

Hedge witchcraft

Death witchcraft

Grey witchcraft

Eclectic witchcraft

Norse witchcraft

Hellenic witchcraft

Animism

+ Deities

The deity/deities you worship

Different pantheons (the main five are Celtic, Roman, Greek, Egyptian and Norse, all open)

Deities and pantheons that are closed to you

Common offerings

Their epithets

Their mythology

Their family

Deity worship vs deity work

Prayers and how to make your own

Deity communication guide

Devotional acts

Ways to get closer to them

+ Other spiritual entities

Angels

Ancestor work

Spirit guides

The fae

Demons

Familiars

House spirits, animal spirits and plant spirits

Other various folklore entities

Spirit etiquette

Cemetery etiquette

Setting boundaries with the spirits

Communication guide and etiquette

Grounding, banishing, protection and cleansing, aka: "Spirit work safety guide"

How they appear to you

Common offerings

Circle casting

+ Divination

Tarot cards

Oracle cards

Tarot and oracle spreads

Pendulum

Numerology

Scrying

Palmistry/palm reading

Tasseography (Tea leaf reading)

Rune stones

Shufflemancy (Shuffling of a playlist)

Dice divination

Bibliomancy (Randomly picking a phrase from a book)

Carromancy (Melted wax)

Pyromancy (Reading flames)

Psychic abilities

Astrology

Aura reading

Divination via playing cards

Lenormand 

Sacred geometry

Angel numbers

+ Other types of magick

Candle magick

Crystal magick

Herbalism/herbal magick

Glamour magick

Hexing

Jinxing

Cursing

Weather magick

Astral work

Shadow work

Energy work

Sigils

Art magick

Knot magick

Crystal grids

Color grids

Music magick

Charms, talismans and amulets

+ Spellwork

What makes a spell work

Basic spell structure

What NOT to do

Disposing of spell ingredients

Revitalizing long term spells

How to cast spells

What to put in spells (See correspondence)

Spell mediums- Jar spells, spoken spells, candle spells, sigils, etc

Spell timing

Setting up a ritual

Taglocks: What they are and how to use them

+ Holidays and Esbats

Yule

Imbolc

Ostara

Beltane

Litha

Lughnasadh/Lammas

Mabon

Samhain

The 12 full moons (Esbats)

How to celebrate

Deity specific holidays

+ Altars and tools

What they are

The different types and their uses (travel altar, working altar, deity altar, ancestor altar, etc)

What you can put on your altar

What you use your altars for

Common tools in witchcraft

How to use the tools

Food and drink

Common herbs in recipes

Sabbat recipes

Moon water: What it is and how to use it

Potion bases

Tea magick

How to get your herbs

Foraging

+ Mental health and self care

Bath magick

Affirmations

Burnout prevention

Aromatherapy

Stress management

Mental health coping mechanisms

+ History of witchcraft

+ Dream records

+ How to differentiate between the magickal and the mundane

+ Calendar of celestial events (Esbats, retrogrades, etc)

+ How to dry herbs and flowers

+ What chakras actually are and how they work within Hinduism

+ History and traditional uses of reiki

+ The witches' alphabet

+ The runic alphabet

+ Common witchcraft terms

+ Common symbols in witchcraft

+ Your own witch tips

+ Good witchcraft books and authors to avoid

+ Any online resources you utilize often

#book of shadows #grimoire prompts #grimoire #book of shadows prompts #witchcraft #witchblr #witch community #witchcraft masterpost #long post #witchcraft 101 #witches of tumblr #beginner witch #baby witch #witch #paganism #pagan #wicca #pagan witch #spirituality #witch tips #witch tag #closet witch #resources

[the-lost-kemetic]

Red Flags In Pagan Circles

I've seen a lot of younger, inexperienced members of the pagan (and witchy!) communities fall into some traps set up for them by people who wish to harm them. It saddens my heart to see this happen, as a lot of newer practitioners join these circles so they can learn! And because they're new, they often get taken advantage of.

So I'm creating this non-comprehensive list of some red flags in pagan and witch circles. Again, this isn't comprehensive. I will be updating this as time goes by, so I recommend checking in on this. For each red flag, I'll give a brief explanation as to why it's a red flag. As always, feel free to add your own in the replies and I'll add them to this post!

EDIT: 11/15/2022 - since there's been some people misunderstanding some of the things in this post, I've rewritten a lot of it so hopefully it makes more sense! Apologies to any confusion that's been caused. I also added some of the additions people have reblogged as well!

Usage of the terms "black" and "white" magic:

While this doesn't always mean someone is racist or xenophobic, within occult spaces there's this tendency to use this. The association of darkness/black things being evil isn't always a racist thing (we as humans are naturally afraid of the dark), but it did play a part in the Atlantic slave trade by associating dark skin with animalistic, evil ambitions and light skin as being pure and good. This isn't 100% a red flag, but it's good to keep an eye out when it is used! Another issue is that "black magic" was often used to refer to African traditional magic. It's why you'll often see hoodoo and voodoo portrayed as evil.

Argues that anyone can practice whatever they want, regardless of the status of it being closed or not:

Closed practices are closed for a reason, specifically because these practices have had their people murdered, their land stolen, and their practices made illegal for many years. The reason they are closed is so that outsiders cannot just come into their sacred spaces, take what they want, and bastardize it. The belief that you can join these closed practices without being initiated/born into them is rooted in colonialism and racism. This is one of the biggest red flags. Some examples of closed practices are hoodoo, ATRs, Native American beliefs, brujeria, and santeria. Some plants are closed as well, so please do your due diligence.

The belief in folkism/volkism: that open pantheons should only be worshiped by those with their blood:

This is the complete opposite of the above. Open pantheons are open because they have not been passed down to us in a single line, and they are currently being revived. As such, these practices can't really be "closed". People who argue that open pantheons should only be worshiped by those with their blood are partaking in the same beliefs as Neo-Nazis. Please watch out for this especially in heathen/Nordic spaces! These people ARE NAZIS. The specific dogwhistle here is "go back to your roots". (Thank you to @chrisasiaheartman)

Offers to teach advanced practices (baneful magic, deity work, etc.) to newcomers:

It's true that everyone is on different parts of their practice, and not everyone will progress the same way. However, there are certain practices that newcomers should not be doing until they have the basics down. This includes baneful magic and deity work, as you can open yourself up to disastrous consequences if you don't take the proper precautions. This isn't too much of a red flag as often the people doing this do mean well, but it's still something to look out for.

They use the terms "witchcraft" and "Wicca" interchangeably:

They are not interchangeable! Witchcraft is a practice, and Wicca is a religion. These types of people often believe you must be Wiccan to practice witchcraft, which you don't.

They refer to Wicca as an "ancient" religion:

This is false. Wicca was founded in the 1960s. If they do this, it could either be tongue-in-cheek, or it's just blatant misinformation. I would be careful.

They act as though baneful magic is evil.

It isn't. Baneful magic can be a form of protection and self-defense, it is not always a bad thing.

They act as though the "threefold law" is the end-all-be-all of practicing:

Not every witch believes in the threefold law, nor are you required to. This goes back into my point about them believing you must follow Wiccan teachings to practice witchcraft. You don't, period.

The use of racial or cultural slurs, even if they claim it's in a non-discriminatory way:

They are racist. If they're mentioning these slurs in an educational way, that's fine. But if a witchcraft space is just dropping these slurs casually in speech, it's a good sign of them being racist.

They push a specific diet:

You don't need to eat vegan or vegetarian to be a witch. No one has to. Some witches might think that's the best way to practice, and that's fine! Some witches might not subscribe to that idea, and that's fine too!

They push pseudoscience and/or anti-science ideologies (anti-vax, etc.):

This is extremely dangerous. Witchcraft and science can work together just fine. People have done this for so long, and pushing these ideologies can be extremely dangerous to peoples' personal health.

Enforcement of gender binaries:

This is things like the divine "masculine" and divine "feminine". Often times these people will also claim that the womb/uterus should be worshipped as well, and the people who do this are often TERFs/transphobic. Not everyone neatly fits into a gender binary. (Thank you to @hagstone-enthusiast for this!)

They promote the idea that only witches can be female, or that male witches are called warlocks:

Witches can be any gender, and the term warlock is actually derogatory as it means someone broke their oath.

Promotes the idea that mentally ill/neurodivergent witches that that way because they have a strong intuition:

This is very dangerous because being neurodivergent/mentally ill isn't a special thing, and it often is a detriment to many people. People who claim this often believe in indigo children/starseed children. In addition, look out for people to claim that neurodivergent people are that way because they "don't have a position attitude" (thanks to @urchinbeans5000).

#paganism #pagan #pagans of tumblr #witchcraft #baby witch #witchblr #polytheist #polytheism

[vintagerpg]

Other Magic (2020) is so good! The concept is straight forward: What if traditional folk magic, but translated into vaguely D&D terms for use in RPGs? Jesse Ephraim focuses primarily on American systems — pow-wows, rootwork, brujeria and Ozark magic — but also includes the very intense Russian tradition of Zagovory as a sort of contrast. This might seem odd, especially since all of these speak to a more recent historical era than most fantasy games. Early on, though, Ephraim points out that Manly Wade Wellman’s Silver John is a good example of a folk magician, and the Silver John stories are clear inspirations for D&D, despite being set in America in the 1960s, so this sort of thing can definitely work (see also Lowcountry Crawl).

Ephraim details charms, hexes, enchantments and all sorts of interesting details. At a glance, it might seem like folk magic is vastly underpowered in comparison to pulpy magic like the spells of D&D, but in reading through the zine you can see how naturally fantasy magic, particularly its defensive branches (detection, protection, etc), is rooted in folk traditions. Those aspects that lack a direct connection are clearly complimentary. They offer a kind of magical methodology that could be applied to RPGs for interesting effect — the idea of magic being a back and forth, or magic as the application of secret knowledge. The traditions here are lower key and less flashy than fireballs and lightning bolts, but they also imply new systems of play. One example: there’s a charm that can be used to force a shapeshifter into its natural form — there is no corollary for that in the standard suite of D&D spells, but you can easily image it in the game, and see how it might change a lycanthrope-centric scenario, for instance.

All the illustrations are fantastic woodcuts (I believe by Ephraim) that illustrated effects of spells and strange creatures they can summon, which leads us to tomorrow’s post…

#roleplaying game #tabletop rpg #ttrpg #dungeons & dragons #d&d #rpg #Folk Magic #Woodcut Games #Other Magic #Occult

[hihereami]

#babbling babbling

[magicaguajiro]

Resources for Cuban and Caribbean Folk Magic 🇨🇺

Disclaimer: Cubans are not a monolith so when we say ‘Cuban Folk Magic’ its like saying ‘American Folk Magic’ in the sense that it is a BROAD term that includes multiple different cultural threads and traditions. Start by researching your ancestors and where they were from as a jumping off point.

Also, many of these resources are not Cuban themselves, but they either share the same practices or are academic or general sources. I have made it clear when a source isn’t Cuban. For this reason, I have expanded it to be the Cuban AND Caribbean Folk Magic List.

The List

General:

Irka Mateo - Taino - Insta 🇩🇴

Religion.Ancestral.Taino - Insta 🇵🇷

Sancista Brujo Luis - Espiritismo/Taino-Youtube | Blog 🇵🇷

OkaniLuna - Brujería/Taino - Youtube🇩🇴

Juliet Diaz - Brujería/Taino/Author - Instagram 🇨🇺

Sancista 7 Espadas - Espiritismo - Insta 🇵🇷

Odofemi - Regla de Ocha - Tumblr 🇺🇸

Eve the Medium - ATR/Espiritismo - Youtube 🇩🇴

Yeyeo Botanica - ATR/Espiritismo- youtube 🇺🇸

Botanica Candles & More - Great Podcast!! - youtube 🇨🇺 🇺🇸

Connecting w/ Guides and Goals by Adunola - youtube 🇺🇸

San Lazaro - Wikipedia - Novena - Yeyeo Botanica

Caridad del Cobre - Wikipedia

Orisha and Palo Herbs Directory- Website

Ewe (Herbs) Photo Guide - Website

Pueblo Originario Taino Section - Website

Books:

Taino Library* - Amazing resource for books of all kinds, many books about Taino, Cuban and Caribbean Spiritualities, Folklores and Songs! Multiple books on Cuban Myths and Folktales! Highly recommend - Website 🇵🇷

Espiritismo by Hector Silva🇩🇴

A Year in White by C Lynn Carr

The Modern Art of Brujería by Lou Florez(VERY BASIC just as a general introduction to what alot of modern Folk Practices look like)

American Brujeria by J. Allen Cross 🇲🇽🇺🇸

El Monte by Lydia Carbera 🇨🇺

Movies:

Cecilia (1982) - Youtube

Las Profecias de Amanda - Youtube

This list will grow as I find more resources that are reliable enough to share. If you have recommendations or would like to be added, please reach out.

Luz y Progreso 🕯️

(I also have included a Research Guide below the Cut!)

Guide to researching based on your ancestry:

If your family has African roots, you can seek Ocha/Lukumi, Palo, Arara, Cuban Vodou and other African Traditional Religions and Practices. Please approach elders within these respective practices to further your connection to them, rather than using books to create a practice for yourself. These are ancient, community based and are lifelong commitments, not just trendy powerful spells for you to get what you want.

If your family has indigenous roots, research Taino spirituality and modern practices , but also know that there were other tribes in the western and centeral parts of Cuba, with their own languages and traditions you can still learn about like the Guanahatabey. You may also consider joining a Yukayeke, but this isn’t required. Reconnecting and decolonizing is a separate and important topic that is not inherently witchcraft or folk magick-y… HOWEVER, researching and informing yourself with these practices can help you to see their influence within modern folk practices.

If your family has Asian roots, research the buddhist cults and folk practices throughout Cuba! Believe it or not, we also have people of Middle Eastern descent in Cuba who brought with them their own Hindu and Arabic Folk Traditions, which can be found throughout Cuba and the Caribbean as a whole.

If your family has Spanish roots, research some open practices like Espiritismo and Folk Catholicism! Look into the Patron Saints of Cuba, La Virgen de La Caridad del Cobre and San Lazaro. These also tie in to many of the other cultures who were forced to adopt certain elements to ensure survival of their traditions! You can also look into Brujería. Much like modern witchcraft, modern brujería has been commodified to hell and back, but there is still some great knowledge and power to be found there.

The fact of the matter is, that most of us can fit ourselves into two or more of these categories, and this crossover is where Folk Magic is often born. Its also important to note, in alot of these traditions you shouldn’t learn or share certain things at certain times, so some sources who share too much about Ocha and other ATRs should be avoided. Also, I can’t stress how important it is to talk to your family! Ask them about folklore or legends and stories! Also research history and folkore of the specific areas in Cuba your family is from. A-lot of folk magic is incorporated into stories.

Bendiciones, good luck on your Journey!🦎🐊

#witchcraft #bioregional animism #bruja #brujeria #santeria #cuba #cuban #espiritismo #mediumship

[cryptotheism]

For your book, you planning on covering brujeria and other latin american magic, or are you focusing more on magic in europe and its root?

(i offer a handful of caldo)

Id like to do a section on African diasporic religions and their relationship to magic, it's an important element of American history, but I'm probably not gonna be able to go much in depth. It's a massive and diverse subject!

I'd like to do a short section with a robust reccomended reading list.

[breserker]

oh jiminy i got tagged by @wingsyouburn. i'm going to try and go for only reads i've done for fun because lit major

Last Read: Borne by Jeff VanderMeer. I mean what can I say, I really like his work, but since this WAS for a class I just wish I had more time to sit with all of it especially Strange Bird. But I really liked this one and I loved the ending.

Current Read: American Brujeria by J Allen Cross. Technically research for Jackrabbit Brujo, technically ouch ouchies oh owchies my heritage ow ;-; but i had to return it to the library bc someone had it on hold, so i'll resume reading later

Next Read: Probably something by Shirley Jackson!

tagging @lhinelle, @chaotic-history, @aconstantode, and @persante!

#tag meme

[returning-to-brujeria]

Hi, I’m New

I guess I’ll consider this an introduction post of sorts?

I’m a baby brujx who just recently re?discovered brujeria. My mom is white, but my dad’s family is mexican. My grandparents on that side are both dead, my grandmother passing away 23 years ago and my grandfather 3. We didn’t see him a lot, because even though he mellowed out in his old age, he was abusive to my dad when he was a kid.

They assimilated a lot from their native culture to an american one. They did not teach my dad and aunts a lot of spanish, and just didn’t keep some traditions alive.

All of this is to say, I grew up very white. I am white-passing, and when I am not tan, you can’t really tell that I’m half mexican. I have a decent spanish accent from my dad passing on the little bit he knows to me, but I am only able to carry a casual conversation in spanish. There are bits and pieces that survived, like my grandmother’s green chile and salsa recipes, listening to conción mexicana on the radio every sunday, and my dad scaring me with the story of the one time he heard La Llorona. 

I grew up catholic (both sides of the family) but always felt a little off with it. I was intrigued by witchcraft, but never felt right delving into paganism and wicca. I looked white and sounded white and was identified as white, but my dad always told me that I was mexican.

I came across the term ‘bruja’ a couple months ago. I knew what a bruja was, a witch from central or south america, but I didn’t know what a bruja was. I looked deeper, and as I learned more, something clicked.

The catholic school I went to when I was young taught me about La Virgen de Guadalupe. The way my father does the sign of the cross with a kiss at the end. My aunts have what I call pseudo-ofrendas with spaces dedicated to deceased family, or the famous ‘Jesus Wall’ covered in crucifixes and saints and the Virgen Mary like alteras.

By learning about brujería, I feel like I am reconnecting with something that was taken from me that I am only now realizing was missing. My journey is just starting, and if you have read this far, you are welcome to join me and give me feedback.

¡Gracias todos!

#brujeria #brujería #bruja #brujx #mexican american #witchcraft