Brujeria - Witchcraft

For many, Brujeria is nothing more than the Spanish word for witchcraft. However for a vast number of people in the Americas, Brujeria is something much more complex - a religious practice, very different to Wicca or European Neo-Witchcraft and Neo-Paganism!

Surfing the internet, the most common definition of Brujeria found was this: "A Mexican shamanistic magickal system that is an integration of Roman Catholicism and Native American lore. Practitioners are called Bruja (female) and Brujo (male).."

Interesting! Especially as Brujeria is not unique to Mexico and is practiced all over the latino world. Some of my Brujo friends would laugh or at least look rather puzzled if I tell them that we practice "a shamanic magical system". Truth be told, some people might actually practice such a thing and call it Brujeria!

Another source on the net writes "Brujeria is the religion of the Yaqui Indians". Poor Yaqui people to be so misunderstood!

Similar to European Neo-Pagan Reconstructionism, Brujeria in the Americas has seen a variety of attempts to make it more of a religion then a spiritual practice. People have tried to reconstruct and build Brujeria around traditional Aztec religion - similar to what Gerals Gardner and his followers did with Wicca and the religion of the Celts and Romans. As with all reconstructionists, those who practice Neo-Brujeria see themselves as the most traditional Brujos of all. Emphasis on 'see themselves'!

But for most, Brujeria is a vocation in the true sense of the word - a calling, a summons and often times a burden! People either have what is called 'a hand to work' or they don't - the natural ability to make things happen, change lives, situations and the course of destiny. A person is either a born Brujo or they are not. Brujos are very individualistic people, exceptionally difficult to categorise and always good for a surprise!

One person on the net wrote "Don't get me wrong - I don't mean to make it sound exclusive and haughty, because it isn't. But without the calling, there is simply no Brujo, and therefore no brujeria. That's simply how it is!" How very true and how very hard to accept for so many!

Some New Age Publisher (and I'm sure I don't have to say which one) released a couple of Spanish editions of several books about new-age wicca and just used these translations: “Wicca: Practicas y principios de la brujeria” and "Que es la Wicca?: Brujeria de hoy". Now everyone can be a self-initiated High-Priest Brujo of their solitary coven! Some 'tribe' even wrote about Brujos making pacts with the devil and another Anthropologist even adds "a brujo was an apostate who had rejected God through a pact with the Devil"! I just wish people who have no clue about what's going on would stop putting their half-baked information out on the net!

When I last sat with a group of Brujos in the US, one of the older men in the group started laughing "When you go to see a Brujo or to a Bruja.." a male or female witch in English "...you want to see results. You want your problems fixed, your husband returned to you, your enemies taken out of your way and your court-cases solved. If a Witch can't do that, then what good is he or she?" True, true!

I have never seen Brujos dance naked under the full moon or meditate on love and light either! But enough about what Brujeria is not! What it actually is, is much more interesting! 99% of all Brujos that I know believe in God and employ a fast number of Catholic Saints and a variety of other spirits in their work - from La Santisima Muerte, a Latin American folk saint, to personal Spirit Guides and other spirits of the dead. Instead of making 'pacts with the devil'; many brujo's see themselves as spiritual workers who try and fix people's troubles by drawing on a host of 'heavenly helpers'. Many are deeply Catholic and regulatelly atted Mass!

All of the Brujos I met have highly developed psychic abilities and most of them are excellent mediums and psychics and often deeply involved with Espiritismo (Caribbean Spiritism). All of them "have a hand" (gift) to work magic (brujeria).

All the works of Brujeria that I have seen - and performed myself - have been simple, effective, straight forward and down to earth. There has been no fancy posing, no make-up and certainly no rehearsals in cute costumes! Brujos are very pragmatic and exceptionally individualistic and don't organise themselves in covens or circles to celebrate the Sabbats. In fact, many Brujos are not the most sociable of people anyway! Each has his own style of working. Their motto being "if it works, do it. If it doesn't, try something else".

What more can I say? Would you like me to offer you the opportunity to train as a brujo, be put through an initiation and receive some items that will make you the new trend-setter in your spiritual community - for the right fee of course? Well...I can't! If you are a Brujo (or a Bruja if you are female) then you'll probably smile now and know what I'm talking about anyway.

If you think "damn, I really wanna be a brujo but I need someone to initiate me" then read this page again and again until you realise that a Brujo is born and not made! No, brujos don't send out questionaires and no, brujos don't offer "accomodation at the guest house" if you choose to initiate with them! Don't waste your money on some fancy initiation trip to some tropical island - if you have too much, go and find some charitable organization. There are plento of hungry children in Africa and Asia. And truth be told, you most likely get more satisfaction and spiritual rewards by giving to a charity then going on some half-baked tourist initiation! If you have a gift, then work it - 'cause if you don't use it, you'll lose it! Be individualistic in your Brujeria and see what you can accomplish. If it works, keep doing it. If it doesn't, best to reconsider your choice of vocation!

But if you came here looking for a solution to one of life's problems, then please feel free to get in touch and I will see what I can do for you.

MARIO DOS VENTOS