The Spirit of Death is loose in the year 2023 : Otura Niko

Yes this is a year ruled by Obatala and Oshun (or by Exu and Oxum if you practice Quimbanda). But the sign of the year is what seems to truly be reigning this year. Already, it seems that the Ajogún are on the move bringing with them misfortune and death. Yesterday, my friend got into a car accident. A little while later, I learned that my great uncle had died suddenly. 

Between yesterday and today, some of my magical charms for protection against death, started to become overwhelmed. I had to call on the spirits to reverse whatever it was that was sending death this way. And I had to cleanse, re-bless, and recharge all of my charms. And right now as I am writing this, I found out that my neighbor whom I always talked with, died from a heart attack recently. Either just before or after New Years.

From Fine Art America

 I didn’t want to ask the date because that’s disrespectful and insensitive to his poor wife. But it was recent. So either just before or just after New Years. This year is not a good year. It’s not a year that we should all be cheering for. 

It is the year of Otura Niko, the Foreman of the Dead. 

Friends, things are only going to get worse from here. Before in 2020, COVID was the force used by the Ajogún to spread terror and disharmony. But this year they are mixing the tactics up. Now it’s more like a mix of 2020 with 2019. In 2019 it was more personalized attacks sent to different people. 

Personal problems. And 2020 was a massive problem that struck us all. This seems to be a hybrid of both those years. It has all the force if not more, of 2020. But disseminated in ways that will effect us directly. 

A friend of mine who has mixed white and native ancestry told me something recently. Now his magic is strong. He works with indigenous spirits. And when my ass has been in danger, he’s protected me. But he has this thing. 

He says odd numbered years are bad luck.

Plague of Flies

And he had the feeling before I even knew it, that this year would be bad. And now here we are. But it gets worse. Last month a fellow blogger named Librarian of the Multiverse had also had a conversation with me. That she sensed that death would be coming this year as well. 

In my head I was like, fuck because that’s really what we need now. Maybe it is. Because clearly humanity refuses to awaken from this walking coma we’re all in. I wonder if we have fallen so deeply asleep that the Ajogún have seen us as easy prey. That we’re being targeted now because they see us as dumb sheep that are easy to take out. But now I want to move on to something else.

The Divination (letter of the year) says to stay away from lakes and rivers and even rain water. A friend of mine who is a seer told me something that spooked me. You see, she had no idea what the letter of the year had said. I didn’t have the time to tell her. But she said that something is in the water.

That something is in the water that’s going to kill people this year. No, she’s not a nut job. No, she doesn’t normally say stuff like that. For the very first time in my life, I understood the true meaning of the term “my blood ran cold”. Because I felt ice in my veins hearing her say that.

I feel a rising death wave like in 2020. But this one is worse. Part of me feels like I’m on a roller coaster. I want off of and I am screaming my head off into the void. But no matter what no one is going to save me.

So with that said, I think I am going to give you all a simplified version of the Ebbos or karmic cleansings for this year. Along with some additional advice that may come in handy. 

The Ebbos given for this year include animal sacrifices. Which I am against. But I also understand traditions and what not. 

I am no one to judge my people and how they follow the ways of the ancestors. I just don’t like or agree with all the ways of our ancestors. I don’t always follow those ways. I actually considered saying nothing for fear of being rebuked by other Santeros saying I am “exploiting our religion”. 

Or some other horseshit that the zealots in my faith come up with to silence dissent. 

My spirits and my Orisha do not care about whether or not I kill an animal. They accept fruits and vegetable offerings. But they also accept cooked animals. In other words, instead of giving them an animal that is being sacrificed and discarded I give them food. If the Ebbo asks for a roaster, I go out and find a cooked roaster. 

It’s not impossible to find. There are some animals that are sacrificed in Africa that don’t exist here. So with divination and research I find what they would accept and grant them that dinner. In places that are sacred to them. I also add the fruits and vegetables anyway as an added offering.

If blood is what they want that isn’t a problem either. There are butcher shops that are willing to grant the meat and the blood. As long as they get paid they don’t care. Again, this is how I do it because my Gods and spirits allow me to. Because my Orisha allows me to. 

Do a divination, meditate, and find what works for you. And if any Santeros out there have an issue with how I approach our faith, I don’t care. It has served me well up until now. And until they (the Orishas) or my spirits tell me otherwise I will continue. I am accountable to them, not to you. 

Now the offerings in IFA, you can skip because that’s for the order of IFA. The practitioners of IFA divination and magic under Orula. I am going to give you a simplified version of the regular Santero offering. A medium rooster and seven colored strips. 

The seven colored strips symbolize the Seven African powers. The other ingredients are only for Santeros. So this simplified version is to ask the Seven African Powers for help. Tie them into different parts of the house. Such as door knobs and in windows to ward off death.

In fact consider making a bracelet of these seven strips for yourself. As an amulet. The cooked roaster is the sacrifice that will empower the charms. They will work against death. Which will be very important because there is an article I wrote which is about charms against death. 

In addition to that :

– Honey for Oshun, Brandy for Eshu, Incense or anything holy for Obatala because he’s the King of Heaven. And because Santeria is mixed with Catholicism, Christian things like blessed white candles or incense for him will do.

– And you could get another roasted chicken for Orula, his wife Odu, and the spirits of IFA and ask for their blessings and protections. If you approach them with respect, they won’t care what faith you belong to. 

Leave these offerings at a crossroads with three pennies for Elegua so that he will send the offerings to the Orishas. Also this is very important, to a point even more important than the offerings mentioned before.

Offerings for the dead

Praying before the tile of the dead in Santeria

You need to use any form of protection the dead can give you. Sacrifice to your ancestors. Light candles and incense to them, give them Hades Money, etc… don’t be stingy. And if you don’t already have an ancestor shrine to them, now is the time to make it happen. Because our primary protection comes from the dead.

And also our non human spiritual guides such as Angels, Nature Spirits, etc..we need all of their protections. So when you have a chance give offerings at a cemetery to Oya. 

– Nine Purple Grapes

– 9 Red Roses

– Nine Pennies

– A Bottle of Red Wine

For her and for all the dead. You don’t have to enter the cemetery. Oya brings the dead to the front gates. Leave the offerings there and she will share it with the dead. Ask them and her for protection and blessing. 

And for mass purification in all its forms. And dedicate that entire cemetery to her and the Gods of the Dead. You should feel different. As if something negative left your body when you pray to her. When you are done, leave a candy offering to Elegua in his Eshu form. 

And ask him to send these offerings to Oya and the dead. And then leave without looking back. 

Now it’s important to also work within your own religion. If you don’t believe in Santeria but want protection, research these Deities and find someone in your own religion who matches them. For instance, if you’re Christian, the Archangel Gabriel is the Messenger of God (Elegua is the Messenger of the Gods) and he’s one of the Angels of Death. 

So he’s perfect for this. And instead of a crossroads or all these offerings, you make a massive donation to your church for him in Jesus name. And Jesus died and rose again. So any offering to him works. And he’s the intercessor between humanity and God which makes him a messenger as well. 

Any offering you give to him, give with an open heart and perfect love. If you’re Hindu, do this with Ganesha. And look up who the God of the Dead is. One you are comfortable with and work with them instead. If you are Celtic, work with Morrigan. 

She hangs out at the crossroads and she’s associated with the dead. There’s so many options out there. Protect yourself well. But most importantly of all is this.

– Personal offerings to your spirit guides

Whoever your guide is. A God. An Angel. A Faerie. A Ghost. As well as all of your ancestors.

Whoever it is, divine with them and ask what they want and keep giving it to them all year long. By feeding your spirit guide, you are keeping yourself safe. And sacrifice to your loved ones Spirit guides as well. Even do it for your pets. I am.

Finally, I leave you with this. These were special warding rituals I did when the pandemic hit. They kept me and my family safe at the height of the pandemic. We survived 2020 without getting the disease. Even though my Mom is a healthcare worker and she had to enter places that weren’t safe. 

Meanwhile people around us were dropping dead. Even those who were supposed to be safe. This protected us. So please, read this old blog carefully. And adapt the rituals for what’s happening now.

Angry with the Gods – My Blog during the 2020 Pandemic

Just like on that blog I will keep you updated on events with updates here. Do offerings to all those spirits and Gods. And make the same kinds of charms. Do the same things I did back then. Just adapt them to whatever fresh hell we are going to suffer this year.

– M

New Year’s Report : 2021

Venus, ruling planet of 2021. Called “The Little Treasure” in Astrology due to it’s benefits and blessings

We have a lot to cover this year. First let’s get the Tai Sui of the Year out of the way. As well as other things :

https://miamimagus.wordpress.com/2020/12/15/astrological-forecast-for-december-2020-the-last-forecast-of-the-year

Although this was the last forecast of 2020, this covers a whole bunch of things. The other thing that catches my attention is that it comes on a Friday. Friday is usually for ending things. Not for starting new projects. This means this next year will more than likely be about finishing projects or taking care of problems that need to be taken care of. 

Not about embarking on new projects. This is about fixing our lives and ending the nastiness of these last few years. If you already did that and think you can manage embarking on new projects, awesome. More power to you. The new year has come on the back of the Long Night’s Moon.

Also called the Full Cold Moon or simply the Cold Moon. The Moon of Midwinter which reaps and destroys negativity. This Moon influences our new year. So again, this year is for ending all of the bad from the last few years. Work with the moon on this.

It does so in the sign of Cancer. This sign belongs to the negative polarity. And it’s a water sign. So it magnifies cleansing. And it’s also a psychic-empathic sign. 

A total cleansing of the soul. So this year is the time for reaping. Killing the dark things that no longer serve you. And planting and preparing for the things you want. For planting in order to harvest later, but before you can do that, you need to kill all the weeds. 

Capricorn Horoscope for 2021

When I was praying to the Gods of the New Year, I had this heaviness hit me from the crown of my head. This was strange because I cleansed. I protected myself well. Followed all the rituals and then some. This new year comes with heavier baggage than the last one I think. 

~ The Letter of the Year from Cuba ~

From Ile Afroboricua on Facebook https://m.facebook.com/afroboricua

The Babalawos from Cuba have a different and more positive take. And in their divination we are going to be ruled by the Orishas (Yoruba Gods) Olokun and Oshun. Olokun is a very mysterious Deity. It’s unknown whether Olokun is male or female. All Gods and especially the Orishas are transexual entities.

The Letter of the year in Spanish. This is the document I did the translation from

They don’t really have a gender because Gods entail all things. Deities do normally have a set gender they like to use as their default. A preferred form they like to use amongst many. But Olokun is unknown. The story goes that this Orisha had taken human form once. 

And was chased away by dogs to the bottom of a river. So Olokun never leaves the water and is hidden so deep within the caves and water ways that he/she is never seen. The main belief is that Olokun represents the mysteries of water. And Oshun is the Goddess of love, prosperity, nature, magic, and many other things. She also rules rivers. 

Ika Fun is the sacred text or Odu (oddun) of the year. The main message is,

“A blessing of firm and safe health on Earth that Orula will provide”

Also, this year’s flag is blue with yellow trims. The colors of Olokun and Oshun.

 
(Source : http://www.rcm.cu/dan-a-conocer-la-letra-del-ano-2021/)

Other information

– A sacrifice must be made to Obatala. One quail. Sixteen slices of bread. And Cacao, Cascarilla (egg shell powder), and two white candles. 

 – In addition to this, we are told to mop the floors of our houses with the Eight herbs of Obatala (This is a recommended house cleaning for the new year.)

– Another sacrifice must be made on behalf of Oshun and Olokun. The sacrifice is one rooster, one river stone, river water, bread crumbs, dirt from sixteen different places, clothing drenched in your own sweat, eight strips of (cloth) of different colors, and other ingredients. 

Phrases of the year :

“He who laughs last, has the best laugh,”

“Sometimes what you don’t like is exactly what you have to do,”

~ Orixa Regente (Ruling Orixa) of 2021 ~

From : https://www.deviantart.com/oradiancporciuncula/art/Oxala-Obaluaie-e-Oxum-603860687

Orixa is the portugese spelling for Orisha. The Candomble religion is similar to Santeria. Only the slaves that went to Brazil preserved other Orishas that the slaves in Cuba didn’t. Their priests also perform a divination to see who rules the year. And in theirs it’s Oxum and Oxalá (Oshun and Obatala). 

In both divinations we see Oshun take a prominent role. And even though Obatala isn’t the reigning Orisha in the Letter of the year, he’s still clearly important. Usually the divinations go in polar opposite points. Different Yoruba Deities and different messages. Which makes sense because each person divines for their own land.

And also because Candomble and Santeria have different traditions mixed with Yoruba religion. But this year it’s interesting to see just how close the divinations were. 

“The ruling Orixás of 2021 are Oxum and Oxalá and, with them, the next year will benefit from protection, unity, learning and patience . Through this co-regency, you will feel the divine blessings of the two entities in different aspects of your life,”

“As the first day of the year falls on a Friday, 2021 will be ruled by Oxalá, known as the ‘father of the orixás’. However, he will not be alone in this command, as the ruling planet will be Venus, the planet that represents Oxum, called “mother of the orixás”. In addition, Oxum is represented by Odu (the numerological sum of 2021) with the number 5,”

“Therefore, the ruling Orixás of 2021 symbolize the role of mother and father of all human beings. In other words, the energy of family unity, the valorization of the sacred feminine , tranquility and harmony is expected. With Oxalá in charge, you will be blessed by his light and protection. With that, you will feel safe enough to develop personally, professionally and spiritually, as the Orixá brings wisdom and patience as virtues. On the other hand, Oxum indicates that the year will be driven by forces of prosperity, independence and balance. 

In this way, the orixá will act on the self-esteem and confidence of people, especially women. Both Oxalá and Oxum as the 2021 regent Orixás carry the importance of maintaining a good family relationship as a principle. So don’t be surprised if you see that your friends are getting pregnant and raising their own families,”

“In Umbanda and Candomblé, Oxalá is the orixá that aligns the forces that connect people and nature, thus establishing harmony between all living beings. In this way, it brings, in addition to peace and quiet, the peace and calm required to end a cycle. This is because the ruling orixá of 2021 represents the end itself, that is, Oxalá defines the moment of the end of situations, periods and even lives. With the awareness that nothing is eternal, you can understand this orisha as the guardian of the balance of the Universe. Known as the ‘father of the orixás’.

He has two ‘identities’. As a young man, he receives the name of Oxaguiã and adopts paradoxical characteristics, because, while he is calm, he is also quarrelsome; already older, his name is Oxalufã and assumes a calm, patient and fair personality,“

What’s interesting here is that this part aligns with what I said in the beginning of the report. My divination with the spirits and Gods told me this year was to finish business. To reap or destroy the things we don’t need anymore. To end cycles. It seems that is what Oxala/Obatala will be doing this year. 

“Oxum is the female orixá that governs feelings such as love and affection. Furthermore, it is she who maintains the natural order of the Universe, including fertility. For this reason, Oxum is symbolized as the ‘mother of the orixás’ and intercedes for all human beings as if they were their children. In Umbanda and Candomblé, the orixá is the daughter of Oxalá and her image is represented by her feminine strength and beauty. In this way, Oxum can be found in the calm of the fresh waters of rivers and waterfalls by those who seek to heal their wounds, especially those of love.

Therefore, the 2021 ruling orixá is frequently sought to resolve love issues. But Oxum is also known for bringing peace, stability and balance to distressed lives,”

“Oxalá and Oxum bring the importance of valuing both your spiritual and family side. Under the command of these two orixás, 2021 will be considered a period of closing cycles for the beginning of another, as it will be a year of personal and material growth, hard work and rewards,”

Oxalá and Oxum forecast as ruling orixás of 2021:

Spiritual peace ; Balance; Family union; Stable relationships ; Professional effort; Elimination of the superfluous; And open paths.

 “In addition, with the strengths of Oxum and Oxalá, you can fulfill your dream of becoming a mother, as 2021 promises to be a very fertile year. Knowing the right moon to get pregnant, you guarantee the growth of your family, next year,”

“The last message about the influences of the ruling orixás of 2021 is that Oxalá and Oxum arrive to guide you to cut the bad by the roots. So, learn to listen to them, however difficult it may be, because, by eliminating bad energies, your life will take the right direction,”

(Source: https://www.astrocentro.com.br/blog/previsoes/orixa-regente-2021)

And again, they seem to have caught onto the same energy that my spirits and I felt in the divination. Amazing. They also took a very positive stance for this year just as the Babalawos did. 

Ruling Planet of the YearAstrologers from Brazil believe the ruling planet of the year is Venus. A planet love Goddesses such as Oshun rule. They believe this means that contrary to Chinese predictions, we will have peace and mutual respect. With a cool head for negotiations. Honestly, no one force rules it all. 

Maybe we will have some positivity after all. But beware, I doubt we’ll have peace on Earth either. The Sun will enter Aries on March 21st of this year. Supposedly we’ll all be a lot more social and feel lightness. I’ll believe it when I see it though. 

Venus favors rewards and many blessings. And again, it favors peaceful negotiations. 

(Source: https://www.astrocentro.com.br/blog/previsoes/influencia-planeta-regente-2021)

Hellenic New Year from last July

Strangely enough, when my Hellenic Temple and I celebrated the Athenian New Year just a few months ago, the Priests came to a similar conclusion. For my temple, the year belongs to Herakles and Aphrodite.

Herakles brings stability and strength just like Obatala and General Yang Xin. And Aphrodite is similar to Oshun in bringing love and unity. So it seems we are all tuning into the same frequency. 

And finally, I finish this with a list of various New Year’s traditions

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/new-years-traditions 

https://isiopolis.com/2020/12/31/our-lady-of-the-new-year/

New Year’s Cleansings from Puerto Rican Sancistas 

https://youtu.be/mRWuW4h7H1k

Forecast for this year

https://youtu.be/dpeqtuR_Utg

And the most important, the list of 2021 Planetary Retrogrades

https://www.findyourfate.com/astrology/year2021/2021-planetretrogrades.html

– M

Was I wrong? Wisdom of the Orishas

Obatala the White Robed King, and Oshun the Queen of Love and Nature

In my post “Angry with the Gods,” I wrote that the Gods had disappointed me greatly. In the Letter of the Year done by the IFA masters, it was said that Obatala and Ochun would reign. And myself and many others in my community figured that meant this year would be way better than 2019. That 2019 was the worst and that finally, we would see good things. So when 2020 ended up being the worst of the years I have ever lived, I began to grow angry and bitter.

My faith was shaken. I started to wonder “What the hell is this?” If our Gods love us so much then why are they letting this happen? And then after my grandpa died of the Coronavirus I really questioned the hell out of everything. Then reading someone else’s blog on Santeria I realized something : the Letter of the year never said that this year would be better. That was just the assumption we made because Obatala and Oshun reign. And because this year there wasn’t a laundry list of maladies people were suffering from like the 2019 Letter of the Year.

Instead there was only one malady that was listed : Disease. I had completely overlooked that. I figured it would just be diseases in general being strong this year. It never crossed any of our minds that a pandemic was coming. So the Orishas had indeed warned us.

And then I started to realize something else, the Earth is regenerating during the pandemic. The largest ozone layer in recorded history was sealed shut again by a polar vortex. Water and air is starting to become cleaner too. It was even reported that the air hasn’t been this clean since World War II. I also forgot that the practitioners of Quimbanda had said that while Obatala and Oshun were partially ruling in their system, Xango (Shango) was in charge with others.

And that this year, justice would be done against injustices. That Xango would execute his justice. Humanity has been ruining the Earth for a very long time. And now the Earth is finally fighting back. Simply I didn’t want to hear all of that.

I was and am like everyone else, tired of living in constant stress and conflict. I have even wondered sometimes about just being a hermit and letting the world burn. Then I realized how selfish that would be. Every Santero and indeed everyone who comes from an ancient belief, are supposed to defend and protect the Earth.

You can’t do that if you’re sitting somewhere far away, without a care in the world as to what is happening in the planet or current events. But I am overstimulated. Just like everyone else. And just once I hoped we could be given something on a silver plate. Just once I wished manna would fall from heaven.

But sadly it doesn’t work like that. Everything has a price and a counter balance. And in this case, the price is that humanity needed a major wake up call. Because if we didn’t, we would all march into oblivion in a straight, neat little line. Now I am not sure that this is the work of the Gods.

I personally believe that this is nature in the scientific sense, fighting back. And negative spirits. It’s my belief based on Divination that this plague of death is a result of souls not in rest. But regardless, these lockdowns are a wake up call to what will happen if we do not change. For example, people are reevaluating their lives.

We now know that having a job or a nice car isn’t going to do shit when it comes to a Real Emergency. So all those mid life crisis be damned. You can’t eat money. And having a million degrees and being successful is virtually useless when in the face of something like this. We all need to be more practical.

We are now seeing that we have the means to end pollution. We don’t need advanced technology, we just need common sense. Contrary to that idiotic “Paris accords” which was nothing but politics. All it was, was creating a time table to make a time table o end pollution because by that time we would “have the technology to do it,”. What we needed was to not go out so much.

To not engage in wasteful activities. To stay home more often and at this point, we even have fewer Earthquakes now because of decreased activity. Heck, maybe even the face masks we are wearing are probably decreasing pollution. You never know. So I must once again humble myself before the Creators.

And admit that I was wrong. This is the best of the years….for the Earth. For balance to come, disbalance comes first. Just another version of “things get worse before they get better,”. In my humanity, I did not stop to see how what is good for humans is bad for Earth.

And vice versa. Again I am brought to my senses by the Wisdom of the Gods. And again, as in my last post, I have come to realize the truth. That even with truth presented to my face, I am unable to direct my own steps. And I need the Gods in my life just to be able to walk, let alone run.

Adios Juan, Hasta la vuelta, Until we meet again Grandfather

A monument of an Angel crossed with Themis, the Goddess of Blind Justice, carrying a fallen Mambi soldier from Cuba.

Many in my personal life who read this blog are already aware of this. But last Tuesday my  grandfather Juan had passed away. My grandfather did not have an easy life. He had a life marked by pain and by isolation. John Donne said that man is not an island. But with respect, he never met my grandfather.

And while his poem praised human unity, very few humans ever lent him a hand. He was born out of wedlock to a Babalawo and to a white woman of Spanish blood. A woman with a deep interest in the Occult. She loved her Babalawo despite the fact that he was a married man. The two conceived my Abuelo Juan.

His uncles hated him. Because his father was biracial, they told him he wasn’t really a part of their family. Instead he was a “negro they found in a hill somewhere and took pity on”. This was Cuba before the Revolution. My great grandmother had to hide him on that farm with her uncles and mother.

A child born out of wedlock and born of two ethnically different parents. It was a scandal and a shame for the family. And especially for early Cuba. My grandpa had to go through beatings and emotional abuse until he became an adult. His grandmother to her credit, loved him.

And didn’t care that he was mixed. She loved him and took care of him and defended him from his uncles. And was always making sure that he was alright. His mother would visit him on the weekends. He always blamed his father for everything.

Said his father was too much of a coward to tell him who he really was. My family said that his mother kept his existence a secret. She was afraid to ruin his father’s life. My grandfather spent a lot of time alone. He had his friends but he loved his solitude.

He absorbed himself in books, in poetry, in history and politics, and in writing. He was a bit of a ladies man and seduced many woman. He even warned me to be careful with any Cuban girls I date. Because they could accidentally be related to me. Which would put a dent in my dating life to be sure.

But despite all the womanizing he did, there was one person he seemed fixated on since his early years : my grandmother. In his youth, he fell in love with her. She was 17 and he was 14. And while she didn’t pay attention to him at the time, he always vowed that one day she would be his wife. She married a violent and corrupt Batistiano Captain of the police.

He beat my grandmother and was responsible for war crimes against the people before and during the Revolution. My grandfather was a soldier of lower rank under this man. He waited for the bastard to drink himself to death so that he could approach my grandmother and propose to her. And she said yes. Something I don’t think she ever thought she would do because of the age difference.

They were both involved in the failed Counterrevolution on the island and ultimately divorced. But he still loved my grandma. So much that before she died he almost seemed to sense it. And he said to my mother,

“Hija, if one day your Mother should die, please don’t tell me. Because I know I’ll fall apart if I know. Just tell me she’s still alive,”

Unfortunately, he did find out and he went into a state of shock. Which led to him having two strokes and developing Alzheimer’s. Just as he told us, my grandmother’s death undid him. He seemed to go into an accelerated physical and cognitive decline in just months. He was rapidly turning into someone else.

Each month was like a decade for him, and soon the man who helped raise me as a child was disappearing before me. When I was a boy, my grandpa was one of the best and greatest people in my life. He defended me from my father when he got abusive. And  asked my mother what the hell was going on and what she planned to do about it. He warned me about the dangers of cult brainwashing.

You see I was raised in a Fundamentalist church and he didn’t want me to blindly follow the doctrines of men, disguised as ‘divinity’. He claimed to be an agnostic, and once said that he believed,

“In the God who created Heaven and Earth. But I don’t know who the fuck this Jesus guy was. He was probably a delinquent and that’s why they crucified him,”

To my very Christian and very horrified mother. He also “shit on the Seven African Powers” and “Shit on every Saint in Heaven!” whenever he was angry. I always laughed and he couldn’t help but laugh with me. He would also write vulgar poems about Christian people, including a certain sect that knocks on doors to preach the good news.

“The Jehovah’s Witnesses say that soon Armageddon will come, but I laugh, I dance, and I shit on the Mother of God,”

I remember that when he took me out to eat at a Cuban diner. It was the very first memory of him I have. I think it was our first outing. He gave me an unlit cigarette and put it in my mouth and said,

“There, now you’re a man damn it!”

I think I was 6 or 7 at the time. My Mom went apeshit when she found out. It was awesome! Since that time we would go together to Little Havana where we would hang out with his friends on the side walk. Where we would work together on the farms with the animals. We would even make deliveries to places of bird food and sometimes the unsavory deliveries of animals to be sacrificed by Santeros.

Something I vehemently oppose to this day despite being a Santero myself. I would actually wake up at 5am on Saturdays to go with him to have a good breakfast and to plan out our day. We’d go to a Santero Botanica where I would go to help him bring in merchandise. We’d go see old friends of his, which included a couple that got married thanks to him (long story). Other times we would meet random strangers and talk over  cortaditos about random things.

Oh, and then there was the Cuban-Chinese Restaurant. He’d go there not to eat Chinese food. He went there because they had “the best rice and stake he’d ever eaten,”. My mom used to tease him about it. “What? It’s true,” he’d say.

Mostly it was the solitude we both enjoyed. I loved talking to my grandpa about everything. We had no secrets. He quickly learned that he wasn’t so happy by himself after all. I was his partner.

I remember spending an hour eating cold pizza in his old truck. The windows down, the breeze of a nice day. The grey skies that promised a dark and stormy day. Oh how we both loved that kind of weather. Or at least I do.

Maybe he just enjoyed it because he knew I did. I remember when he bought me my first black leather jacket for the cold. I wore it even until the leather went bad and when I was hot. People thought I was crazy or that I was trying to be a punk rocker or something. But really I just enjoyed it.

When it was cold and early in the morning we would go to a diner and have a good breakfast. Then just enjoy the cold weather with a hot cafe con leche and eggs and ham. I knew all of his friends and they knew me. But despite that, he was silent as a tomb about his most private affairs. I dare say I probably know more about some of the things he went through or experienced than most people.

Only my mother knows more.

As a teenager, he loved the cemetery for example. He would spend hours immersed in the silence and the solitude. He’d even go there after school to do his homework. It was also one of the few places where he felt truly at peace. Death didn’t really scare him.

I’m sure like a normal man he feared the pain. But the act of being freed from this world did not bother him. What he feared if anything, was a life un-lived. That gusto for lifetook the form of travel, strange adventures with friends, the occasional brawl (even with younger men, he always won), affairs with younger and older women, and a lot of laughter. He even had an affair with his land lord’s wife.

I remember facepalming myself and going “Ay Abuelo tu eres tremendo,” (Oh Grandpa, you’re something else). I figured he’d end up having to find a new home. But as it turns out that is not what happened at all. He discovered that the man was beating his wife. So one day in their kitchen with both present he promptly said,

“She and I are together now. So, I don’t give a fuck if she’s married to you. She’s not your property. If you touch her again, I am going to crack your skull open and you’ll have a closed casket funeral,”

He said this nonchalantly while both the man and his wife where in the room. The story was told to me by her. That’s how I even know it happened. My grandpa had many flaws, but he loved you and was loyal to you. And he defended you with no care to what would happen to him.

Needless to say, while they were together the beatings stopped. I remember how bizzare that relationship was. That this guy had a tenant he knew was sleeping with his wife. And that the wife treated my grandpa like her husband instead of him. She even cooked breakfast or special foods for him.

My grandpa really seemed to like her. He once told me that talking to her he felt better than if “he fucked the princess of Spain!”. And he meant it too. Which made it funnier. This man could write poems in old Spanish verse yet that’s how he described his personal life.

One time, after he was already sick and looking like a corpse, my mother was “dating” some asshat that had a reputation for hitting women. She didn’t know that when she decided to give him a chance. But grandpa sure did. He sized this guy up, literally looked him up and down. So he looks at my Mom and says,

“Hija what is your size and weight?”

She replied and he said,

“Good! If some piece of shit ever lays a hand on you, you take your fist and you hit him as hard as you can under his chin and fuck up his jaw. He’ll live to regret it,”

The guy laughed nervously. He knew my old man had him pegged nice and good. And even while he was so weakened from his first stroke, that one hard gaze was enough to make even a younger man think twice. This was my second father. In many ways my real father, as he had influenced me in ways that my own could never do.

I remember visiting him at the retirement home for the first time. I took a Lyft to travel from Sweetwater to Miami Springs. I remember it was a beautiful sunny day and I actually enjoyed the little trip. But no one told me, no one warned me about what I would find when I got there. I liked the building, I thought it looked nice from the outside.

I searched for his room in the hallway. That rancid smell hit me all at once. That smell that lets you know there are elders who have not bathed yet. Like a smell of dust accumulating. People who can no longer move on their own.

Who need constant supervision. Then I found his room. He was sharing it with three other people. How can I describe seeing him turn from a strong man, despite his age, into a living corpse? I was shocked to say the least. Holding my emotions in was no easy task

That first day when I got to the Home he had to be placed in and saw him in that bed I hardly recognized him. I’m not exaggerating when I say he looked like death itself. He had lost so much weight, his skin grew so pale as if no blood flowed through his veins. And to make it worse, he couldn’t even stand up anymore. Now he required a wheel chair and a diaper.

Most of his friends weren’t around. He had fallen out of touch with all of them by this time. But not me, I’m your partner remember grandpa? Till the end. I stayed with him all day as he slept. I only left to eat in some little Restaurant around the corner.

I came back and I stayed until 5 or maybe 5:30pm. I knew it was late because night was breaking through. I took another Lyft home and felt mixed up inside. Confused. So, so confused.

I took pictures of him and shared it with my uncle and with my sister. For three years almost without fail myself, my mother, and my sister visited grandpa every weekend. We would bring him Cuban cafe, and chocolate pudding. Sometimes jello. He would devour it and then sing lewd songs aloud.

Mostly he would change the lyrics of Guantanamera to “Juan Cagalera” (Juan Shits alot). He would also sing about a man taking a shit. And that he saw that he had a small gun and a sack with two bullets. My mom was trapped between being embarrassed and laughing at the same time. I’m pretty sure he did it to piss off all of those old society ladies in the home.

The ones who wore fancy pearls and thought they were Spanish aristocrats. One of them was named Daisy. She came up to us to try and complain about my grandpa. My mom quickly defused the situation.

“My what nice pearls you have Daisy!”

“Why thank you child, I’ve had them since I was a little girl,”

Then my grandpa said,

“Coño (damn) they must be over a 100 yrs old. Quick! Run to an Antique Dealer, you’ll be a millionaire!”

My mom, sister, and I tried so hard not to laugh. We went red in the face. And Daisy walked off so pissed we thought she’d have a stroke herself. Gradually, this became the new normal. And my mother said seeing him like this was even worse than watching my grandmother die.

We never thought this would happen to him. We never thought he would end up in a home. We are a family that takes care of our elders. All my other grandparents lived with the family. With their children and grandchildren.

We wanted Abuelo Juan to live with us too. But he was so stubborn. He didn’t want to be a burden on us. He lived on his own and had his own place. But with his cognitive decline, the owners of his building began to tell us that he was falling asleep in the hallways and forgetting where his apartment was.

We never thought a retirement home was where he would end up. It was unheard of in our family. But with each stroke and the growing Alzheimers he needed help only professionals could give him. He’d more or less become accustomed to his new surroundings.  He believed it was a new apartment building.

He’d talk with other people but it was just small talk. The only people he really talked to were younger, attractive nurses. He would hit on them and make them laugh with his jokes. And would speak gibberish that he claimed was Arabic or Russian. But he only really came alive when he saw us.

Especially me.

“Pepito Carajo! Que bueno verte,”

(Pepito Goddamn it! It’s great to see you).

He was the only one I allowed to call me that. Pepe is my father. And I hate being seen as similar to him in any way. But somehow my grandpa changed the meaning of the name for me. The last peaceful memory I have of my grandfather was the last time me and my mom visited him.

My sister had already moved to another state. It was a calm Sunday afternoon. Sunny outside and the light coming from the window cast shadows that made it look as if the room were under water. You know what I mean? Like the reflection of water from a pool. He was already almost immobile by this point.

He never wanted to get out of bed now. Although he seemed more alert and happy strangely. He stayed awake talking to us for a bit and asking me how old I was now. And as usual, when I said 33 he would be shocked. He remembered me as I was in my teenage years.

He thought I was 15 again. He started drifting to sleep. And then we left. And that was the last time I saw my grandpa alive. Because then the pandemic hit.

And his retirement home was shut down. My uncle and mom were able to see him through the window and talk to him. Or sometimes talk to him through the phone. He started developing a cough and we began to get worried. We suspected it was the Coronavirus right away.

But they assured us it was a case of pneumonia. Nothing more. They took forever to test him, if that is what they actually did. And claimed he tested negative for the virus. My mom breathed a sigh of relief for the first time that day.

So imagine what it was like the next day to be ordering dinner and finding out that he passed away. My mom said she had felt a heaviness in her heart. That she knew something was going to happen but not what. She had left work earlier that day to give him a visit but no one answered from his room when she called out. Not even a nurse.

Not his usual protests of “shut the fuck I’m trying to sleep!”. Nothing. The nurses claimed they came in with his food and found him dead at 5:30pm. I had to be the one to break the news to his friend from his old job that he possibly died of Coronavirus. The assisted living facility we took him to, had apparently had 106 cases of Covid 19.

We learned about all these cases nearly a week after he died. We were starting to get grounded. We were starting to come to terms with what had happened. Only to watch Univision at 11pm for one of their daily Coronavirus reports and see this.

I just found out that the Senior Living Facility my Dead Grandfather was living in has 106 Confirmed Cases of #Coronavirus! It was called #FairHavens @ 201 Curtiss Pkwy (#MiamiSprings) they told us he died of Fucking Pneumonia! https://t.co/K8F9I2pJ7i

— Adventures of a Mage in Miami (@MiamiMagus) May 2, 2020

My rage, my pain, my anger. So much hurt in so little time. This had to be the shittiest week of my life. Nothing else could ever compare to this. I used to think my ex leaving me was bad.

I wanted to marry her and have a family. But this was far worse. In fact it set the bar for just how much worse something could be instead of a breakup. Someone you dated leaves you? Big Deal. There’s someone out there for everyone.

You just have to go out and find them. But there are some losses that one never truly gets over. Losing someone that you have loved since you were born, the first person who held you as a baby. That’s a fate worse than death. Or perhaps it is a death of some kind.

It’s as if my life force had been sucked out of body. As if something in the Universe just went cold. I feel numb and almost cold inside. I have had to keep myself from crying and grieving because my mother needs me. She just lost both of her parents now.

She’s not going to see them again for a very long time. Until her time comes to depart as well. I’ve been sleeping on the floor of her apartment so she wouldn’t be alone. And today I heard her talking to her husband (who is stuck in Honduras now). I pretended to still be asleep.

And I heard her crying on the phone. Telling her husband that she’s worried about her brother. Because their Dad’s death has so deeply effected him. That he blames himself for his death. Because he had power of attorney.

Because he trusted the scum from that facility to care for his Dad. That he would be safe and cared for. As mother’s day nears, it won’t be quite the same. For all intents and purposes she’s an orphan now. They have a cliche for this kind of thing.

You know, the one that says that with a person’s passing, the world gets a little dimmer. Well, it’s not a cliche. It’s truth. In Judaism, God is believed to be this gigantic swirling pool of light.

And all of us come from that pool of light. We’re all pieces of Adonai’s great cosmic soul broken down into human form. So when we die, our souls or our light, returns back to the Source. And that Quantum Source is God. Or comes from God.

So when we die, we are dimming the world. Because our light flees this place to go home. We leave the world dimmer and darker than when we first started out because our presence made it a better place. So the dead are not whom we mourn, but ourselves. The dead find peace (usually).

As long as they are remembered, as long as they are not forgotten and the proper rituals and prayers are offered, they are well. It’s only when they are forgotten and unloved that they suffer. No, we mourn ourselves because just a little bit of that light left our world and went back to it’s source. And we are left in a world far less bright, than that which we lived in before. How did I do Abuelito?

Did I succeed at condensing your long, eventful life, into one gigantic post? I found it hard to do. I feel that the Earth has shifted underneath my feet. That my hold over everything is lost. That I am lost. But I won’t mourn you Abuelo, I’ll celebrate you.

We will take our time to grieve yes. But not to feel bad about ourselves. Instead, to heal and to move on. To honor your spirit and your memory. To cherish all the fond memories we have of you.

And to light your way so that you may be with the ancestors. Adios Juan, hasta la vuelta. Until I see you again grandfather. I love you.

 

 

Soothsaying on the Month of March of 2019

If you’ve read my posts before, then you already know that I often divine with patterns. This means that I take random (or seemingly random) bits of information. And from there I actually find patterns which show a bigger picture of events. I’ve done this with Chinese New Year divinations, and African Disapora Divinations as well. Every Month the IFA Priests do their divinations about which of the Orishas (Gods) rule which days, I have paid attention to what happens on those days.

And from there I began to map out the days based on the ruling Gods. Like a do or do not list to avoid trouble. Or to take full advantage of the good energy available for projects or work related issues. I also include any holidays on those days or sometimes not the holidays themselves, but the Astrological shifts happening those days. With all that being said, let me show you what I found for this Month.

If you haven’t read my last post about the Orishas who rule the IFA Calendars, click on it. Otherwise you’ll be confused as Hell. So, Shango and Oya ruled the first day, then it was Obatala, Egungun, Iyami, and Sanpanna, then IFA, Esu, Osun, Aje, Yemaya, and Olokun. Then we get a breather with Ogun, Ochossi, and Orisha Oko. Notice a trend here? Energy in motion is what I am picking up this month.

Constant conflict or battle, dead ends and restarts, etc..we only get one day to chill out before the madness starts again. I believe part of this is the Mercury Retrograde. But the majority of this is what the Babalawos were telling us about in their new year’ divination. This whole year we are being forced to confront our inner demons. Our bad habits.

Our bad luck. Forced to look into reality no matter how painful it is.
Forced to confront our darkness. We’re not being given a choice. And to make that point clear as hell, we are suffering another late winter.

I wrote in my Imbolc divinations that light and dark are fighting with no clear winner in the horizon. But, the dark is doing it’s damndest to win. We have corrupt politicians doing power grabs now more than before. We have more plots in Latin America with Bolsonaro and Duque stealing the elections in Brazil and Colombia and now another US backed coup. We have Shinzo Abe in Japan being a corrupt war monger stirring up the pot against North Korea, while ignoring the wishes of his own people.

Even the so called “good guys” like Bernie Sanders, was pushing regime change narratives in Venezuela. And the Democrats are so far to the right, that with the exception of a few things, they might as well be moderate Republicans. So even the people we are told are good, are not actually good. More mass shootings, storms killing people, and mean while we’re being told it’s all naturally and okay. And that’s just the political crap we’re going through.

I’ve recieved a flurry of clients reaching out to me and my Shaman friend over malevolent paranormal activity. No sooner do we help one group of people, than we end up with someone with something far worse. Like seriously, what the hell? I was already helping a friend through a Generational Curse and teaching him how to cleanse and bless his house after we and our spirits helped break the curse and heal his family. Then we had a guy on his death bed practically. At this point we have to take weeklong vacations to rest before being asked to deal with something else.

To further emphasize this : Mercury Retrogade began the day before the New Moon. So, as one Astrologer that I introduced you to said : 

“We’re ending things right when we are suppose to begin them,”

Because Retrogrades bring an end to something that needs to go. And New Moons are a begining period where we can start over. So the begining period here, is that we are meant to destroy the structures and monoliths of power that aren’t serving us anymore. I already covered this a few blog posts ago. But it seems based on how I have interpreted the pattern I see in the IFA Calender plus current events that March is a real shirtstorm in the making.

It seems January and February were only leading up to our current situation. These are days of note.

March 5-6 : Double Chtonic power

Retrogrades are mini seasons of the dead. New Moons in Hinduism are considered the time for dark spirits of the dead. Which is why, traditionally, people try to avoid doing things or going to places on this day. Especially after dark. Both these days so close together says to me, that this Retrograde period is a time of extra reaping and extra harmful energies and spirits out there.

March 8th (this Friday) : Double Prosperity

Despite that, Friday actually seems more or less good. That doesn’t mean nothing bad will happen. In this season, even lucky days can flip on you. But Friday is an Ogun, Orisha Oko, and Ochossi day which as I explained last time is normally good luck. It is the 8th day of this Month which is a number for stable prosperity.

However number 8 is also the number for Hermes (Mercury) so I get the feeling that in this current retrograde, Friday will be bad for some and good for others. And even more people will find mixed results on that day. Also, Friday is good for Jobs and making money. Witchcraft for finding work is usually done on Fridays. But given the retrograde, we would have to be careful.

March 9th :  Mixed Results

Immediately the next day, we have Sango and Oya. Oya is the gatekeeper for the dead. The guide for souls who need to cross. Saturdays are days to honor the dead in general. And number 9 while it can be prosperous, is also a number for destruction or domination.

In Numerology number 9 can mean slow, but long lasting prosperity. Sango and Oya are royalty. So I don’t know for sure what will come of this day. The good and bad qualities may duke it out or cancel each other out. To mention just how mixed this day is : In Greek religion, 9 is the number of Aphrodite. But in Santeria 9 is the number of Oya.

While Oya does bring prosperity, the retrograde and New Moon just a few days before, and the day itself will probably mean Underworld power on full blast.

Sunday 10th : More Mixed results, but leaning on a peaceful day

Or it should be anyways. It all depends. Sundays are good for white magic and spiritual meditation. This Sunday will be ruled by Obatala, Egungun, Iyami, and Sanpanna. Obatala the white king of Heaven is obviously going to have his influence felt.

But the Iyami Goddesses are known for being violent if offended. Egungun is a dead child of Oya and is the embodiment of all the dead ancestors. And Sanpanna or Sakpata is the lame footed God of disease and cures for disease. Seems like it could lean in any direction.

March 13th : Tripple Cthonic Power, or Mixed Results. You be the judge. 

Wednesday is the day of Hermes who is in retrograde form right now. It’s the number 13 which can be good luck or sometimes bad luck. And it is ruled : By Sango/Oya. And again they can bring good luck or bad luck. Depends on their mood.

March 17th Sunday : Begining of Light Week

This is where the good actually comes from the reaping. I felt that Sango and Oya were bringing good energy this day. And it’s also St. Patrick’s day. The days ruled by Obatala and his party and the days ruled by IFA, Esu etc..and their party started to feel lighter and better to me.
From this point forward.

I began to feel spiritual light appear. 

March 20th : Full Moon, Sun enters Aries/Spring Equinox

Ruled by Orishas Oko, Ogun, and Ochossi. The good energy ia starting to appear en masse. An energitic doorway is open on this day.

March 21 : Thursday (Thor’s Day)

is ruled by Sango and Oya. If you read my last post, you know Sango rules lighting storms like Thor. I felt that Underworld Gods will gain some extra power this day. But, Thursday is good for prosperity magics. And Sango and Oya are both King and Queen.

With Oya being the Matron of the Market place and businesses, and Shango often depicted in statues with black cauldrons of gold. He is King after all. I feel that this is definitely when they will aid with money.

March 22 : Friday

Obatala and his Party, normally give me days of wisdom and spirituality. The number 22 in Angelic Numerology corresponds to the Archangel Raphael. Who teaches knowledge such as the magical uses of herbs (Book of Tobit) and is the Patron Saint of Healing. I feel this day will lend itself well to wisdom, knowledge, and clarity.

March 23-24 : Mostly Good

There’s a partial Chthonic influence on both these days. Saturday because that’s naturally a day for the dead. But I can feel the retrograde dying faster here. It is ruled by IFA, Esu, etc..and it felt like a day of great blessing. The number 23 always reminds me of Psalm 23.

Which I use in special baths for cleansing and blessing. The next day I can feel the retrograde starting to wrap up. I felt a nasty bit of negativity coming out as part of our reaping. But other than that, mostly a good day. Orisha Oko, Ogun, and Ochossi rule here.

And Sundays are meant for good energy as I explained. But it feels off. Dark and gray in the spiritual sense. Murky is the best word for it. That same under world energy feels stronger the next day on the 25th ruled by Sango/Oya but in the retrograde death throes.

March 27th : Extra Blessed

Now at first I thought this was weird as Hell. And I will tell you why : Because the three day lunar festival of the Ancient Greeks is happening here. And the 27th is the first and worst day : Hekate’s Deipnon or feast. Hekate told me when I first started out to celebrate the three day feast the day before the last quarter of the moon at Sunset. I’ve followed her instructions ever since.

Everyone has their own ways for doing this. Many modern practitioners of Hellenismos will do it the day before the astronomical new moon. But back to the point, Hekate’s Feast is a very nasty day. It’s a day when Hekate collects all the nasty energies from every corner in the world and brings it to the crossroads to destroy it all. And part of that, is that she finds all the dark, angry souls of the dead, including murders and suicides and brings them there.

The Hellenic will then go to the crossroads at Sunset with food and drink and leaves it there to appease the dark spirits and the Deity. But now that I am looking back on this, it actually does make sense. The next day : Hermes-Mercury leaves the Underworld and turns direct which ends the retrograde. So the final end of the retrograde is actually this day.
Also, Hekate’s Deipnon is a day to spiritually and physically clean the home.

You take the dust to the cemetery and leave the bad energy there. You also confess your sins to Hekate and ask for a clean slate. A sort of absolution. That’s something other practitioners taught me, not my priest. Hekate’s Deipnon goes on the next day till Sunset.

That also makes sense because the actual day it goes direct, Mercury still needs some time to leave retrograde and station direct. And the moment Hekate’s Deipnon ends (which coincides with us leaving retorgrade) it becomes the feast of Noumenia. The new Lunar Month. Which brings positive energy and good fortune and tidings.

I purify and cleanse and ask for good energy to replace the bad.

March 29 : Cleansing and Restoration

Now that said, negative after effects of a Retrograde can still be felt days after it ends. On the third day of the Lunar feast, it’s the day of Agathos Daimon (the Good Spirit). Now Agathos Daimon actually is a name for a Serpent God of Good Luck. He’s married to Tyche (Lady Luck). But as is the case with may Gods and spirits, Agathos Daimon’s name is also a name used for a specific type of spirit.

Particularly a person’s spirit guides.
This day is sacred to him, your spirit guides no matter the culture they may be from, and the Heroes of Ancient Greece.
The God Agathos Daimon, brings good luck by causing a person to shed their karma and negative or useless traits. Things that don’t work anymore are driven out of your life as a reaping for you to gain good luck. So we just got through a Reaping and we’re going through a final one.

It was explained to me in the Soothsay session that this is similar to giving yourself a final rinse of water before finishing a bath. I was also told that there is a balance of both light and dark happening this day. And it’s ruled by Sango and Oya. Who I saw both glowing gold and pleased in this session when asked about this day.

March 30-31 : Final Blessings, Wisdom

The final two days are ruled by Obatala and company and IFA, Esu and company. We end on a high note with wisdom and clarity after the long reaping of this season. So those are my impressions about this month. Please forgive my weird little divination rants. They tend to come out when I am doing trance work.

I’ll probably read this after it’s posted and go : “What the Fuck?”

As always, take my predictions with a grain of salt. Based on a person’s energy, things could be very different.

Anyways, have a good week,
– M

Who rule the Months in IFA Calenders?

For those who don’t know, the IFA Calender is created by IFA Priests who divine who will rule each day of the Month. So the calender is not set. The Gods who rule each day are always different. My perceptions of these days are mine alone. Perhaps someone else with a different personality would view Sango/Oya days as prosperous all the time.

Or an O/O/O day as warlike. These are the following Orishas :

Sango or Shango

God of lightning and fire, masculine sexuality, and magic. He’s also a seer God. His Wife Oya, is the Goddess of the marketplace, storms, winds, change, and she’s the guide to the dead. She leads them to the front door of the Cemetery. So these are both powerful Deities.

And as both King and Queen they personify wealth.

Shango & Oya

So a day ruled by them may be prosperous or disastrous. Or both, it all depends on the nature of the day. Or how you choose to see it.

Ogun, Orisha Oko, Ochossi

Ex husband of Oya, and brother of Shango. The blacksmith of the Yoruba Orishas. A master of metal and weaponry, every blade made is usually owned by him. Unless he makes it for another God who is then gifted the blade. He also has a powerful responsibility as protector of nature.

Lord Ogun & his Altar of metal work

After losing his wife to Shango and the drunkenness which caused him to disrespect his family, he exiled himself into the jungles. There he grew to understand nature, appreciate, and love the animals. So, similar to Leshi (Ukrainian Green Man) he is a defender of nature. In Haitian Vodoun he is worshipped as a God of Revolution and Freedom. He is the Loa (Vodoun Deity) who inspired the Slaves and Free people of color to wage Rebellion.

He is acompanied by Orisha Oko and Ochossi. Orisha Oko or the God Oko, is the God of agricultural Prosperity. His altars are always outside of a house near grass or plants. He brings prosperity in the form of crops, food, and other necessary things. Ochossi is a master magician and shaman of the Gods as well as a hunter and enforcer of justice.

Ochossi, the Divine Hunter. Founder & owner of all prisons. Dispenser of justice. Mage & Shaman

Orisha Oko in the field. Often synchronized with St. Isidore

The thing all three have in common is nature and prosperity. I personally view a day ruled by them as prosperous. Because Ogun makes things, Orisha Oko grows crops, and Ochossi is a Shamanic Healer. An O/O/O day for me, is always good and actually chill. It’s a day to do whatever you want or to focus on nature and spirituality.

For me an S/O day is usually for major projects, visits to the cemetery, or breaking curses and bad luck (or casting curses).  There is prosperity in these days too but becareful.

Obatala, Egungun, Iyami, and Sanpanna

Obatala is the white robed king. Ruler of Heaven, second only to the Supreme Creator Deities. He’s the King of the Gods. Egungun is a child of Oya, Orisha of all the Dead. The collective dead.

This Deity is every dead person who has ever died or will ever die.

A man dressed as Egungun

The Iyami or “divine and mysterious mothers” are Goddesses of Ashe or divine energy. They are the guides of Olodumare (Mother Goddess) to all of us. They are the pure incarnation of the Aje or first energy. No one can directly make offerings to them. All offerings are done via Elegua.

One of the Iyami Priestesses

And Sanpanna or Sakpata is the Lame footed Deity. The God who heals or causes disease. To me, Obatala and Egungun symbolize tranquillity. And the Iyami Goddesses symbolize knowledge. Sanpanna is a Deity who is normally relaxed with me.

Sanpanna, Sakpata, or in Santeria Babalu Aye

I am not afraid of him. Nor does his presence make me feel uncomfortable. So while others would find this to be a turbulent day, for me it is a day of blessings and wisdom. Comfort and an energy toward action of some sort.

IFA, Esu, Osun, Aje, Yemoja, and Olokun

IFA is the spiritual order created by the God Orula. Orula is the Orisha of magic and divination. A powerful sorcerer deity, he created IFA as a science and religion. The science of understanding Fa, Orisha of Destiny. Through sacrifices or Ebbos, it is possible to alter the course of someone’s destiny.

Blessings of IFA

Babalawos or “fathers of mysteries” are the high priests. They even remove Generational or Karmic Curses. And they have been called upon for the removal of evil spirits. They act as intermediaries with the Gods. Esu is also known as Elegua in Santeria and Yoruba practice.

Esu or by whatever name you call him by, is the God of the Crossroads. Messenger and Gatekeeper of the Gods. Protector of the home. Much like like Hestia or any other home protecting Deity, first and last offerings go to him in any ritual. So Esu is the opener of roads.

The one who makes the way clear. He’s also a master magician who has learned the secrets of every single Orisha. The Patakis or religious stories, tell us of how in his child form (he can be a young boy or a grown man) he cleansed the Creation Goddess Olodumare. When she asked him how he came to have this knowledge, the divine child simply answered that he followed the Orishas and learned their knowledge. From that day forward, the mighty Goddess made him the Keeper of the Crossroads.

Giving him a key necklace as a sign of his Kingship over the crossroads. That’s also how he became the messenger of the Gods. So Elegua is one of the most important Deities.

Osun or Oshun is Oya’s mother and one of Shango’s other wives. She is the Goddess of Love, Nature, Rivers, Prosperity, and a Witch Goddess as well. She actually has an incarnation named “Oshun Queen of Witches”. Some have likened her to Aphrodite. And she does have similar qualities.

Lady Oshun

 
But, she also carries deep associations with nature that liken her more unto Demeter. As a queen of nature, without Oshun, there could be no life on Earth. When the male Orishas laughed at her and told her she was “too girly” to help build the Earth, she fled. The result was that the Earth started falling apart under their too agressive influence. When they panicked, they went before Olodumare and Olofi (The Supreme Father God and Mother Goddess).

Olodumare quickly figured out why creation was falling apart : Oshun wasn’t there to bring balance. When the Goddess of creation ordered them to find her, they were surprised to see that she actually turned her small corner of the world into a paradise. And that it was functioning without any of them. With Oshun alone, her Ashe or cosmic life energy kept everything working smoothly. The power of the Gods manifest in everyone.

It’s the same energy as the Hebrew Ruach or the Egyptian Ekat.

Yemaya is the Queen Mother of the Ocean. Santeros often call her “the mother of the world”. Because without water, there can be no life. She is also a powerful Witch Deity.

Yemaya, worshipped as La Virgin De Regla (The Virgin of the Rule) in Cuban Catholicism

But more than that, she is a Mother Goddess. She watches over Mothers and Catholicism.

Olokun is the Priest (or Priestess) of Yemaya. Some have argued that Olokun is just another Camino (Path) or Avatar of Yemaya. Others say Olokun is a seperate Orisha.

Olokun Altar

And no one knows what gender Olokun is. Because Olokun no longer appears on land. When Olokun had, dogs chased him/her back into the sea. That legend states Olokun was a woman. But other legends describe Olokun as male.

We’ll never know. Though another school of thought states Olokun is transgender. No that isn’t meant to be a political statement. All Gods and spirits are shape shifters. And Gods in every culture have taken a male or female form. Even Shango has a female Camino/Avatar.

Same with every male and female Deity. Oya can shape shift into a man to ride into battle beside her husband. That’s why she’s called “The Woman who puts on pants to go to War”. An I/E/O/A/Y/O day is a day that feels semi peaceful and semi conflictive. I say this because Yemaya and Oshun have a rivalry going on.

These are simply my impressions of the energy of those days. Tomorrow I will post my divinations on this month. 

The Orishas of the Yoruba Nation of Nigeria

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