Angel Oracle Reading

So I drew a card for myself using the Healing with the Angels Oracle Deck to see what is in store for today Thursday, April 28

The card I drew was Enchantment
Card Meaning-"Recapture your childlike sense of wonder and awe. View the world as a magical place."

"Remember when you were a child and how magical the world seemed? The sense of enchantment is the spirit of our inner child. Somewhere along the way, did you lose that sense of wonder?
The angels ask you to recapture your magical sense by remembering that a miraculous power surounds you. Ask God and the angels to help you with anything- small or large. Don't worry-you aren't removing angels from "more important tasks" when you ask for their helo with everday situations. They truly want to support you so that you are free of worries. In that way, you exude the joy and wonder of children who trust that they are taken care of. When you are joyful, your Divine light inspires everyone who sees you."

Prayer

I picked this prayer at random today, when I was praying in front of my Ancestor Altar. It comes from the book Every Day I Pray by Iyanla Vanzant. I thought I would share it with you all. The painting is Symphony of Angels by John Holyfield

Thank God for Faith!

Dear Father/Mother God:
Thank you for the gift of faith.
When I am alone and frightened, faith is there.
When it appears that my resources adn reserves are diminished, faith is there.
When my friends shut their eyes and turn their backs, faith is there.
When I make decisions and choices that are not in my best interest, faith is there.
When my human world is in turmoil, faith is there.
When my human mind can no longer see the goodness you have in store for me, faith is there.
I am so grateful for the gift of faith.
I cannot buy it. I cannot borrow it. I need only to acknowledge you in all my ways and faith is there;
with its Mother, Grace and its Father, Mercy; always at my side.
I am faith filled, I am faithful. I know your angels are faithfully watching over me and paving my way.
Thanik you Father/Mother God.
For this I am so grateful.
And So It Is!

Spiritual Wealth

"Gold there is, and rubies in abundance, but lips that speak knowledge are a rare jewel" -Proverbs 20:15

True Story also known as the Diary of a Mad Brujo
Back in summer 2007, a young brujo was at the top of his game. He was making 42,000 a year, living in his own apartment. For income he taught at a NYC high school and was earning extra money teaching summer school. To supplement this, he did readings at a local botanica. Then as the school year began, everything fell apart. The students began to be more out of control and he lost his passion for teaching. He just began to go through the motions and it showed.
He quit his teaching job and started to work at a retail outfit. He worked there for four years and was unable to get a better job. Small jobs came here and there but nothing substantial. The store has recently closed and he is now unemployed.

and it's smooth sailing...Odoia Iemanja!

Since my godfather has more time these days, we have been having a misa/party for the orixas and egun every weekend. The one for Oxum last week was particularly cleansing and invigorating. This week, we are having one for Iemanja. Iemanja is celebrated on Dec 31st in Brazil. The beaches are crowded with devotees who make small boats filled with offerings to honor the Mother of the Waters. I like to call Iemanja, Miss 11:59 because she is the orixa who seems to bring in sudden change, at the last minute, and turns the situation around 360. She changes the tide, the current, and life becomes better. Where before there was a desert of despair, her waters wash away the sorrow and bring forth a garden of joy. So it is fitting that she is honored at midnight, on New Year's Eve/Day when the old year vanishes and a new one begins. Exu closes the doors to the past and opens the doors to the future.

I have a new godson too these days and my other goddaughter also visits from time to time. I am currently working through a training in Francisca de Grandis' 3rd Road Wicca tradition.

There appears to be a lot of new opportunities on the horizon, new love, prosperity, new direction. I hope you all are blessed with love, health, prosperity, and serenity in 2011. Ashe.

Home, Hearth, and Heart

In my bedroom, I have a shrine to the lwa Ezili Freda and Ezili Aila. Ezili Aila is the lwa of family love and the home. She is represented by Our Lady of Higher Grace (Altagracia). She is the patroness of the Dominican Republic but also is honored in the town of Delmas in Haiti. Altagracia is depicted as a young virgin usually crowned with the baby Jesus and husband Joseph in tow. This picture has always carried a special meaning for me. It reminds me of the desire for a home, marriage, and family. Since moving back home and leaving my own apartment, the desire for these ideals have increased. Often times it leaves me feeling depressed and it seems that I will never possess such things.
Altagracia has always protected the people that I love and treasure. She can be very stern, strict yet loving. She reminds me of the orisha Yembo in that aspect. She can be ladylike as Ezili Freda but more maternal.

Earlier this year, a Haitian mambo told me that the church in Delmas, Haiti dedicated to Altagracia was untouched by the earthquake. She said the church shook but there was no major damage while other cathedrals on the island crumbled into rubble, including the lovely cathedral in Port-au-Prince. She said that this was a mystery that no one could fathom, that why was this church spared and not others?

Perhaps it is because this lwa represents the strength of the family and home that is in the heart of the Haitian people and this can never be destroyed. That despite all the destruction and death, it is the family and loved ones who keep us alive. I know this is true for my life.

Haiti has not been the focus in the news lately but they still need our help. Recently a cholera epidemic has broken out on the island. One of my favorite charities for Hait is Konbit Pou Edikasyon. They help children on the island.
Their website is http://www.konbitpe.org/Konbitpe.org/Home.html

Looking at the picture of Our Lady of Altagracia, I am reminded there is a love that unites us, the gives birth to new ideas and that no situation, however bleak is permanent.

Me and My Shadow

I read this book last month entitled The Shadow Effect: Illuminating the Hidden Power of Your True Self by Debbie Ford, Marianne Williamson, and Deepak Chopra. It dealt with the concept of the Shadow, the aspect of ourselves that we do not like, that we endeavour to repress, that we try to hide from society. Yet repression in fact damages our soul and psyche even more. It is by learning to embrace these parts of ourselves that we can in fact find balance once more.
In spirituality we tend to focus on the light, the happy, the joyful. Yet this is not all there is in the cosmos. There is sorrow, pain, night has to proceed day. In fact, as much as love the summer sunshine, it is the cloudy days that make me reflective, the dark night sky that inspires mystery, the cold winter day that makes you curl up in your warm bed and relax, the intoxicating sensuality of the music in a night club. Our Shadow is just as important as the bright light within us. Our Shadow is the Deep Mystery of God, just as our light is Divine Love.
Remember as you walk this world, the complement of opposites that bring life to balance. Night brings rest and regeneration. A seed begins its journey in the darkness of the earth before it sprouts into sunlight, just as we swim in the dark waters of our mother's womb before entering into the light of the world.

Oya's Garden and La Iglesia Catolica

Today I took a trip to my old hood in Queens. I can't believe who much I miss it, how much it feels like home. I'm living again with family in the town I grew up but it doesn't feel like home. I miss my old apartment, the Persian restaurant, being close to the subway, etc.
I had some business to do in Oya's Garden. For those of you who know what that is, you know where her kingdom is. Nothing diabolic lol, just some Ancestral work that needed to be done.
Afterward I walked over to the beautiful cathedral in Forest Hills. I filled a whole empty bottle of Powerade with holy water. I figured I needed it. I ended up spilling some of the holy water on my shorts. It looked like I urinated holy water. God's joke I guess. Maybe that part of me needed to be blessed lol.
My next stop was to grab a bite to eat and then off to Barnes and Nobles. There I purchased a Bible. In one of Iyanla Van Zant's books, she writes that one should read one chapter from the book of Proverbs every day for a year. I have a huge decorative King James Bible at home that looks like an illuminated medieval manuscript. It's gorgeous but not for practical everyday reading. While looking at all the Catholic editions, I found their translations to be a bit too modern. I guess I prefer the King James version because of it's lofty and poetic language.
Thursday is my ocha birthday. I will be five years old in Candomble but that is another post :)

Let Go and Let God

Being the stubborn Taurus that I am, I am often hard headed. Whilst contemplaiting last night I realized I am like that man in the Bible, Baalam. He was the one who was trying to force his donkey to move. The donkey would not because there was a huge angel with a sword blocking the road. The donkey saw the angel but he could not. He then preceded to beat the poor animal but then God gave the donkey a voice who then protested at the beating and described the angel. Then the veil seemed to lift over Baalam's eyes and he saw the angel.
Sometimes we are our own worst enemies and we get in the way of our progress. Instead of allowing things to happen, we try to control every aspect.
The lesson here is to let go and allow the grace of the Divine to do its work.

Le roi monte sur son trône

So the dating thing didn't work out but it's cool. We're still friends. as a
result I think I want to become a monk and say 12 rosaries a day.
However doing so would deprive society of my magnificent presence so
NO! :) I will still say rosaries however but no monastery. Ah but the love of my heart is furthest from me.
In the meantime, it's time for the mission to continue. I need to get moving on my spiritual work again. I'm officiating the wedding of one of my co-workers next month in Central Park. This will be the third wedding I've officiated.
I'm currently reading the book Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert and enjoying it immensely. It is supposed to be made into a film starring Julia Roberts. I like the author's writing style and her approach to her quest for happiness.
My love for the orishas and especially my own crown, Baba Logunede has deepened recently. All I can say is Orisha is Pure Love!

The mission is what matters

Greetings dear readers,
I have been absent from here as of late. I still don't have a new computer so I must be content to use the ones at the public library. Thank God my phone has internet access or I would be totally cut off.
Spiritually things have been moving in a good direction. From tambors of the orisha I've attended to Pagan celebrations of Beltane, the Universe indicates things are moving smoothly with a few bumps here and there of course.
I am currently dating someone and I hope it works out :)
I have discovered a new patron saint for myself. She peeked out at me at a Haitian botanica. I've known about her all my life but never really connected with her until now. It is Saint Theresa of the Little Flower, a French Carmelite nun who lived at the end of the 19th century. She is the patron saint of people with AIDS, aviators, florists, and missions. She is kind of like a female St. Jude because she deals with cases of emergency and the impossible. After readings a few of her writings, I liked her style because she tended to be more spiritual and mystical rather than dogmatic. Also homegirl wanted to be a female priest and that was pretty forward thinking of her time. Her writings seem so spiritually affirmative. Well maybe she can help me on my "mission" since she is the patroness of missions. My goal is to go back to school and get a degree in Theology. As an initiate of an African Traditional Religion, I realize that very few of our priests and priestesses have clergy status in this country. I think this has to change. After all do we not perform the same functions as our counterparts of other religions?
Mother's Day and my birthday I saw a play about Oshun with my mom at the National Black Theater in Harlem. It was beautiful and it was a great experience to see the stories of our tradition visually enacted.
I spent the day today listening to various Candomble songs and writing the Yoruba words out phonetically. I think I am starting to learn them better.

Well I'm off to Brooklyn today to see Capicu Open Mic event.
Te Amo mis amgigos y amigos. Bendicion!

Persistance and Planning

I was doing a reading for a client last week and this idea dawned on me during the reading. I told her to make a list of 5 goals that she could accomplish in 30 days. I also did a list for myself. The net day at work, I had two of my co-workers do it. I think I am going to focus on short term goals rather than long term ones. With so many dissapointments in life, it feels good when you actually accomplish a task in a short amount of time, that you set out to do.
My five goals were in 30 days to
1) Update my resume
2) Eat healthier
3) Practice the art of forgiveness/letting go
4) Write a short story
5) Excercise

Home Sweet Home

I'm picturing myself in a house. I've never had a home of my own. I've rented an apartment and lived with family. Lately I've been thinking and daydreaming about it. I'm nowhere close to achieving this but that doesn't stop me. I may complain, whine, and shake my fist to the heavens but in the end I rarely admit defeat. I bought a statue of Our Lady of Altagracia last week. In Dominican Vodou or 21 Divisions, She is Ezili Alila. A lwa that walks with Ezili Freda. She is strict, conservative and dislikes loud noise. She is the patron of the home and family love. She is patroness of the Dominican Republic. Maybe I bought her because I have that yearning for a home. Maybe I'm ready to settle down and have a serious relationship. I put her on the same altar as Ezili Freda, who I recently but up a shrine to again. I think I need a little luxury in my life, maybe not of the physical kind. That sense of ease, and leisure that comes from security. Ah that word security, it goes back to what Sra. Altagracia reprsents. I know one day I'll come home, relax, have my orishas in their own temple in the basement, my own office/study upstairs and a handsome husband to sleep next to at night. It could be years from now but I pray to Nuestra Senora de Altagracia/Ezili Alila that my daydreams become reality in the light of day. Ashe.

Dawn of a New Era

New Year, New decade, New era. I really feel that we are ushering into a new point in history where humanity is going to be more open minded. However there is always the reaction and resistance to this. There are those who feel threatened by this. I saw an example of this on New Year's Day. I was on the bus and was listening to a Jamaican Rastafarian man and a Muslim woman converse. Despite their different faiths, they had similar viewpoints on God and spirituality in general. I felt drawn to their conversation and kept listening. However two Evangelical Christian girls got very upset with this conversation. First of all it was rude on their part to interrupt two people who were not talking to them. They asked the woman why she was talking to the Rastafarian. Then they called him "a lying spirit, which they rebuked and binded in the name of Jesus." Now sitting across from them, I told the two women they were negative. For all their supposed piety and holiness, they looked positively demonic when they were rebuking the gentleman. Their faces were filled with such hate and contempt. This is not the message of Christ just a bunch of hypocrites at work. Now if some elder African American grandmother from the South was doing the rebuking, I'd say wow look out! However two twenty something holier than thou chicas, I think not! It takes more than that to scare me! A Haitian man joined in and started telling the Muslim woman she had no Savior and Jesus this and Jesus that. I struck up a conversation with the woman and the Rastafarian and it seems the three of us had similar viewpoints.
A friend of mine once said in the physical world opposite energies attract, in the world of spirit like energies attract. This is what was at work this day. The Rastafarian blessed both of us and told us to continue the good work that we were doing. I felt validated by Spirit that I am on the right path and will continue to be in service to the Divine.

Thanksgiving

I tend to think of the Pagan holidays of Lammas and Mabon as my Thanksgiving or harvest festivals. Still growing up with this American tradition, I always remember the great food and time with family.
For the indigenous people of this land, Thanksgiving is a National Day of Mourning. They welcomed the European settlers, gave them food, only to be betrayed and have their lands taken away as the centuries of imperial conquest continued, first with the Europeans and then continued by the United States.

On this day, I honor the First People of the Americas, the people who came here 14,000 years ago. I honor the spirits of the African slaves, who were forcibly dragged across the ocean to replace the Native Americans as labor. It is a vicious cycle that we still are seeing the effects today, as both Natives and people of color are still experiencing the suffering that was inflicted upon them by the rape and pillage of the Americas.

I give thanks to the Creator, the Divine Mother and Father of All Life for all of His/Her blessings, for the challenges, for the victories, for the moments both bitter and sweet.

"The Great Spirit is in all things, he is in the air we breathe. The Great Spirit is our
Father, but the Earth is our Mother. She nourishes us, that which we put into the ground
she returns to us..."
-Big Thunder (Bedagi) Wabanaki Algonquin

All Souls Day

Happy All Souls Day/Feliz Dia de los Muertos! Without the Ancestors, we would not exist and their wisdom is needed in this day and age more than ever. I made a small altar for the Ancestors in my kitchen. Modupe Egun!

Obstruction or Construction
by DG

Where once were pebbles on your road, minor annoyances,
now lie boulders,
that seem nigh impassable, a heavy load,
slumped in defeat, burdened shoulders.

Desire deferred,
dreams transferred
equation of persuasion,
relinquish what you hold most dear,
surrendering to the drama of fear.

In difficulties lie the seeds of hope
strengthening the will to cope, with the challenges of life,
seeking peace, an end to strife.

Not all is lost, no need to fight or wrangle.
Find a different route, approach from a different angle.
A new perspective made clear.
Many will laugh at you, jeer or silently sneer.

Other wills look up to you and follow in your wake,
marveling and praising the choices you make.
Keep walking forward, head held high.
Never looking down.
Victory is at hand-seize the crown!

ABC Prayer

I got this from Iyanla Van Zant's book, Until Today. Sometimes I say this prayer when I get up in the morning and ask the Divine to bless all of you, my loved ones :)

" I open my heart and mind to be aware...how my ABCs will uplift my spirit.

Almighty Creator of the Universe
Beloved Father, Mother God
Create in me a clean heart this day.
Deliver me from the limitations of the ego.
Exalt Your presence in my mind.
Forgive all that I have held against you, myself, and others.
Grant me peace this day.
Hold me steadfastly with the boundaries of your truth.
Inspire my heart to know you, my ears to hear you, and my eyes to recognize you.
Justify me in the presence of all enemies.
Knead my heart with words of kindness
Let no harm befall me or my loved ones.
May all I do this day glorify you.
Nourish me with your wisdom.
Open my eyes to know your truth.
Purge my heart of all things that are offensive to your law.
Quiet my soul in the midst of confusion.
Renew my connection to you.
Save me from my secret fears.
Teach me to trust you at all times.
Use all that you have given me to serve you.
Victory for your cause is my desire.
Walk with me so that my strength will never be diminished.
Xamine my heart continually.
Your love and grace are my good fortune.
Zealously I commit myself to your will for my life.

Until today, you may not have been aware of the power of knowing the alphabet. Just for today, practice making each letter in the alphabet come alive in your life. "
Today I am devoted to relearning the entire alphabet of life.

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Spirituality in One Dimension-Part One

I am going to examine what sometimes occurs in three religions that I am familiar with, that of Neo-Paganism, the Orisha traditions, and Christianity. I call it the one dimensional view of the gods.

Let's start with the Afro-Caribbean religions. Sometimes there is this one dimensional, human based idea of orisha in which the divinities are sometimes described as dramatic soap opera characters. Grant it there are stories of the orisha in which they may behave in less than perfect ways. However these stories are meant to teach us how to behave better. Many initiates justify their bad behavior because they say well "I am a child of this orisha so I can.." Ok, but you are the child of the orisha not the orisha. Wear your crown proudly but leave your ego at the door.

Also this pinning the orisha down in rigid categories. One time, this woman who was not an initiate criticized me for saying "Mama Oshun". She said, "I see Yemaya more at the Mother and Oshun is the flirt. This is some stupid modern Western concept that says that motherhood and mothers by extent cannot be sexy. Oshun is a Mother of several orishas and is called YeYe, the Good Mother. Oshun also has warrior aspects as does Yemaya, but many overlook this because these orishas are considered "feminine". Yeah, like women never fought before. Yemaya, although maternal is quite sensual, the siren of the seas. Again, the whole idea that sensuality and motherhood is not sensual rears its ugly head. There are some aspects of Yemaya that are often mistaken for Oshun because of her behavior.

Many forget the orishas are aspects of the Divine. Some may have been deified ancestors, some aspects of orishas may have been older divinities that were absorbed. After all there are 401 orisha in Nigeria and only a mere fraction of those are honored in the Diaspora. The orishas exist on many levels, aspects of the Supreme Being Olorun, deified ancestors who were once human, and forces of nature and the cosmos. Also while I am on the subject of Olorun, why do people equate the Supreme Being in Yoruba belief with the Judeo-Christian concept of God. Olorun is neither male or female and cannot be comprehended by human belief. I know some of us come from Jewish, Christian, or Islamic background but that storm and war deity of the Hebrews is not the same as the Supreme Being in Yourba religion or in any religion for that matter. The idea of a Supreme Being transcends human comprehension.

I had an interesting discussion with a young Lucumi priest of Obatala. We were discussing the significance of Ogun. How he represents the iron in our blood that allows us to live, the force that moves our muscle, and the whole idea of civilization itself rests with the concepts of Ogun and Oshun. That story of when Oshun leading Ogun out of the forest has so many deeper meanings. One, that love, represented by Oshun was able to lead him out of the forest of his despair and isolation. Two, the waters of Oshun and the metalworking of Ogun are necessary for civilization as all of civilization came to a halt when Ogun retreated into the forest. The earliest civilizations on earth of Egypt/Africa, Indus River Valley/India, Yellow River/China, and the Tigris/Euphrates/Middle East, they all began in river valleys and learned to use metals and agriculture to forge civilizations. The waters of Oshun are needed to cool and temper the force of Ogun in order for civilization to exist.

Well I guess I will get to the neo-pagan and Christian parts another time as this post became quite long. My purpose is not to rant or criticize but I think we need in general to become better researchers and look deeper into the meanings and dimensions of our spirituality.

Completed Spritual Training

I have been training in a course as outlined in Francesca de Grandis' book, Be A Goddess. It is a 15 work course but due to my busy schedule and my duties as an initiate of Candomble, it took me about 6 months rather than three. I'm good with it because we learn on our own pace. Also I finished at a good time, when I feel things are finally starting to turn around for the better in my life. I started this course at the end of January and finished yesterday. So I celebrated by doing two of the rituals in the book, the Honor Candle and Becoming the Goddess.
Francesca de Grandis is an initiate of the Feri tradition of Witchcraft as well as the founder of her own branch of Feri Shamanism, the Third Road®. She also has another book called Goddess Initiation, which I also have and is a one year course of study. I think I am going to hold off on that one for a while as I am preparing for my four year birthday in orisha this month. I think my next course of study is to study the Tarot more intently using this one particular book I own. I highly recommend Francesca's books and her training programs.
Her website is Shamanic Training
Blessed Be!

Brujo Heal Thyself

We spiritual people like to help others but sometimes we need help ourselves. Don't be too stubborn to ask for help when you need it. Sometimes we need a vacation from helping others in order to re-charge ourselves. Don't be afraid to do this. Because of my empathic gift sometimes I get caught up worrying about others or getting too emotionally involved in their problems. It is good just to take a step back sometimes and take a ciesta to revitalize your energy and well being. Just some food for thought :)