05.08.2020

“Santeria: The Beliefs and Rituals of a Growing Religion in America” by Miguel A. De La Torre

Magick Matters
"Santeria: The Beliefs and Rituals of a Growing Religion in America" by Miguel A. De La Torre
"This book by Miguel De La Torre offers a fascinating guide to the history, beliefs, rituals, and culture of Santería — a religious tradition that, despite persecution, suppression, and its own secretive nature, has close to a million adherents in the United States alone. Santería is a religion with Afro-Cuban roots, rising out of the cultural clash between the Yoruba people of West Africa and the Spanish Catholics who brought them to the Americas as slaves. As a faith of the marginalized and persecuted, it gave oppressed men and women strength and the will to survive. With the exile of thousands of Cubans in the wake of Castro's revolution in 1959, Santería came to the ...>>
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05.08.2020

“Eshu-ellegua Elegbarra: Santeria and the Orisha of the Crossroads” by Baba Raul Canizares

Magick Matters
"Eshu-ellegua Elegbarra: Santeria and the Orisha of the Crossroads" by Baba Raul Canizares
"Yoruba theology teaches that there are 401 powers of the "angels" called Orisha whose role is to act as protectors and facilitators of humankind; there are also 201 powers of the left called Ajogun "demons" whose role is to present humans with challenges and obstacles. Eshu's place is unique because he is both an Orisha and the leader of the Ajogun! He is the one in four-hundred-and-one and the one in two-hundred-and-one."...>>
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05.08.2020

“The Assimilated Cuban’s Guide to Quantum Santeria” by Carlos Hernandez

Magick Matters
"The Assimilated Cuban's Guide to Quantum Santeria" by Carlos Hernandez
"A quirky collection of short sci-fi stories for fans of Kij Johnson and Kelly Link Assimilation is founded on surrender and being broken; this collection of short stories features people who have assimilated, but are actively trying to reclaim their lives. There is a concert pianist who defies death by uploading his soul into his piano. There is the person who draws his mother’s ghost out of the bullet hole in the wall near where she was executed. Another character has a horn growing out of the center of his forehead—punishment for an affair. But he is too weak to end it, too much in love to be moral. Another story recounts a panda breeder ...>>
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05.08.2020

“Mysteries and Secrets of Voodoo, Santeria, and Obeah” by Lionel and Patricia Fanthorpe

Magick Matters
"Mysteries and Secrets of Voodoo, Santeria, and Obeah" by Lionel and Patricia Fanthorpe
"The secrets of Santeria, Voodoo and Obeah are among the oldest enigmas in the world. Their roots go back to pre-historic Africa - perhaps even beyond that. From the 16th century onwards, the slave trade brought these ancient mysteries to the West, where they blended strangely with traditional Christianity: the ancient African gods became identified with legendary saints. This integration of the two faiths slowly evolved to form the many varieties of Santeria, Obeah and Voudoun that are widely practiced throughout the world today. Their characteristic dancing and drumming seem able to invoke strange states of mind in which almost anything is possible. Even stories of zombies - the walking dead - still persist. Is ...>>
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