What Is Brujeria?
A Bruja Speaks From Her Heart
VIVA LA BRUJA
This is a long overdue update of a page I made in 2000. My own life has undergone many radical changes since that time, but I have found what is written here about Brujeria to still resonate with me and its concepts to still be essentially true. Additionally, I'm also sick to the eyeballs with the current regime's policies towards immigration and its related issues. If ever there has been an age for Brujeria, it's now!
Like so much else in the brujo world, I have had not one "name" but several. At one time you would have found me going by Mayahuel, after an Aztec (Méxica) goddess whom I will introduce you to shortly. Sometimes I am still called Juana Bruja, which is both joking and serious. The "Juana" part is the Spanish version of one of my given birth names. The two together are intended to give an impression such as that as "Jane Doe". In mixed company I'm sometimes just referred to as La Bruja. My friends in Mexico have called me Coyote, the slang term for, oh, someone who gets people and things back and forth across the border after dark, so to speak. This has expanded into Cihuacoyotl, or Coyote Woman in Nahuatl. But today, in my home temple here in the diverse city of Philadelphia, I go by Lupia, a name which has come to be as familiar as the name my parents gave me. One gem, many facets. That is Brujeria, at least as I know it.
To learn first-hand for yourself about Brujeria, you may want to see if there are any shops called "botanicas" in your area. The next step is to actually go there and start talking with the people running the shop. I'm part owner of a small neighborhood botanica (so small the herbs are dieting). But the botanica is a great starting point, and one that I know actually exists in many areas.
There are few books available on Brujeria. I don't mean bad Spanish translations that immediately convert "Wicca" or "Witchcraft" into "Brujeria"; I know those exist and may be dismally misleading. In the beginning I learned one of the guiding principles of Brujeria was its secrecy, was the fact that it is passed from brujo to brujo. Well, this would explain the lack of material on the subject, but I kept looking anyway.
I had finally come upon a book that looked promising--Brujeria--A Study of Mexican Folk Magic--Modern Spells from America's Oldest Religion through an E-Bay auction. The book, published in 1982 by Llewellyn Publications (I thought this would have been before the publisher started to go soft and therefore the book had a chance of being worthwhile) by Mary Virginia Devine. She has also written a book called about magic from Mexico, but I was so put off by her first attempt that I admit I haven't read it.
Well, let me say straight out that this is not Brujeria as I know and practice it. The author says that her book is based on the data gathered from 16 brujas in four Midwestern cities. Well damn, but I know 16 brujas who live within a mile of me, so admittedly my exposure might be broader. The author does also mention the vast number of branches of practice in Brujeria--which makes me wonder at the wisdom of writing a book on the subject at all, especially since I've learned Brujeria cannot be successfully taught through the written word.
But lest you think I'm panning the book, let me say that Devine is indeed discussing and describing an extant sect of Brujeria. She claims it is an all-female sect of devotees to Guadelupe. Devotion to the Great Mother of the New World is nothing unusual in Brujeria, but the exclusion of men is. There is also what seems to be a forced influence of Wicca and other European traditions onto a spiritual path which remains--to the best of my knowledge--largely indigenous and interpretaive of those parts of Europe which made it to the New World. But bearing in mind that the author was an outsider to the brujo world and consequently could not truly feel the passion of the brujo--for instance, such as I would demand from myself--this book is an important step in bridging the gap between Brujeria and the non-brujo world. There's a lot of information here which is culturally significant. My only regret is that Devine's book is out of print and seemingly out of mind, too. My copy is a "vintage" book, heavy emphasis on the vintage. But if you do happen to run across it and you are interested in the path I'm about to present to you, give this a read. It's well worth your time.
If you manage to come across a book in Spanish and you have a fairly decent comprehension of written Spanish, the number of books on Brujeria expands. You may also find some good and helpful information too. All right, enough talk about books!
Let's dispense with the silliness right from the start, shall we? No, I'm not obsessed with Carlos Casteneda's works, nor am I something out of Vampire The Masquerade (besides, the Brujah Clan--note that's Brujah and not bruja--don't seem to have much to do with Mesoamerican mysticism). I'm not a fortune teller, either, even if I'm well-known for reading te leaves. It seems to me that self-proclaimed psychics are a nickel a dozen, and besides, anybody who wants to know their future is, in my opinion, a great fool.
Brujeria is a broad path embracing virtually hundreds of traditions of the Americas--there is no right or wrong way, but many ways. Brujeria is NOT Wicca and a brujo/bruja is not a Wiccan. We are not Druids or Thelemites or Streghe or the Golden Dawn or (insert your favorite group here). We are what we are, even if what we are is complex.
So what is a brujo/bruja? With the help of Felipe, who is the spots on my jaguar from Sonora, Mexico (but now living rather close by), I think I've finally hit upon an explanation most people can understand. That explanation begins, of all places, in Siberia with the Russian/Tungus word saman. The saman was an individual using magic to cure the sick, divine the hidden, and control events. This practice, usually referred to in American English as Shamanism, is worldwide. Taking a step back from Brujeria to examine the two practices brought me to conclude that they are essentially the same thing, with a few differences according to culture. If that's the case, when I say I am a bruja, I am also saying I am a shaman. But remember that Shamanism is as varied as the world itself, so if you don't agree with my conclusions, please investigate the shaman on your own and see what you discover.
How I got here is not as important as the fact that I am here. There are no levels or hierarchy in Brujeria as I have learned it. A person is either a born brujo or not. Brujeria is a vocation in the true sense of the word--a calling, a summons. Don't get me wrong--I don't mean to make it sound exclusive and hoighty, because it isn't. But without the calling, there is no Brujeria, and therefore no brujo. That's how it is.
Many people ask me what Brujeria is, what is a brujo/bruja. This is a difficult question to answer. Technically, the word "brujeria" is Spanish for witchcraft, sorcery, and magical doings. A lot of this carries over into the practice of Brujeria, but Brujeria is more. In brief, I see Brujeria as an ongoing dance with the vital spirit of the Americas and my role as a bruja as a conduit for the living energy of the universe. Arguably, today's Brujeria is the continuing magical spiritual path of Mesoamerica (Mexico) which dates back 12,000 years. Brujeria is not a revival of ancient traditions, for those traditions never died out in the first place.
Brujeria does not care about blood heritage. I don't have a drop of Mexican or Latino blood in me, and only a few drops of Native American heritage. Once I lived in Florida, which arguably could be called Spanish-speaking. Now I live in Philadelphia, which I suppose can also be called Spanish-speaking. Yet the spirit and energies that are Brujeria have married me to these brujo lands and made me a bruja.
That is to say, to be a bruja is to answer the calling of the Great Mother of the New World.
As you have probably guessed, Spanish is the lingua franca of Brujeria. Many brujos speak nothing else; many brujos speak no Spanish but "brujo/a" and "Brujeria". In my case, I'm using various Mexican dialects ( and if you know anything about Spanish, you know how many variations there are) while learning Nahuatl, the language of the Nahua who are the modern descendants of the Aztecs. In all truth, it doesn't matter what language you use--the energy is the same. However, Brujeria is also a community, and that community tends to speak Spanish of one streak or another.
But I have noticed that more and more English speakers are joining the dance either through friends or the influence of lovers.
My own band of brujos, the Temple of the Jaguar, has come up with a list of guidelines which we simply call the Code (El Código Brujo). Here I offer a translation from the original Spanish into English. You will need to draw your own conclusions, because if it isn't said it's probably not intended to be public knowledge.
- The universe is a living thing (which is an idea brought into modern Brujeria from Aztec cosmology), and Brujeria is a method of interacting
with the living energy of the universe.
- A brujo/bruja practices what could be termed magic by attuning
himself/herself to this living energy.
- This living energy can seize a brujo/bruja at any time, or through the
concentrated work of an impromptu and inspired ritual.
- An individual enters Brujeria through a personal encounter with the
living energy.
- Once a brujo, always a brujo. It is something that cannot be
shaken off, something like genetic makeup.
- Brujos/brujas are born and cannot be made, even if they do not come to
realize their place in Brujeria until much later in life.
(From this point, I will be using the masculine brujo/brujos when referring to practioners of Brujeria of either sex.)
- A brujo has no ethical laws or limits to restrict his magic. However,
he must also assume complete responsability for his actions and be willing
to submit to the consequences.
- "A dead brujo is more powerful and more dangerous than a living brujo."
What exactly this means is up for interpretation.
- As Mexican Presidente Beinito Juarez said, "Respect for the rights of others is
peace."
- Brujos are free to use their abilities for non-brujos. Example
situations are healing, spiritual counselling, and the creation of
hechizos ("spellwork").
- Brujeria is a community bound together by the living energy of the
universe, and all brujos are brothers and sisters. A brujo is pledged to
assist a fellow brujo wherever and whenever needed.
- Some of what makes Brujeria can be revealed to non-brujos but most of
Brujeria must remain between brujos alone.
- Brujeria is learned from brujo to brujo, and through interaction with
the living energy.
Techincally speaking, Brujeria is a Pagan path, although the brujos seem to have little to do with what has become the better-known "Pagan Community" (or said community doesn't wish to embrace the brujos). Based upon my own experiences, I contend that this split exists because of Brujeria's apparent lax ethical values (which is just a misunderstanding of taking responsability for one's own actions), Brujeria's acceptance of the whole magical spectrum as opposed to being good/"White Light"/positive only, or most likely both. In other words, nobody's bothered to look into us much, hence we seem to be as frightening to the "Pagan Community" as they (appear to) seem to want to placate more mainstream religious groups. And once again I ask how these people can scream and rant to be tolerated by the non-Pagan world and yet be intolerant of a kindred Pagan path such as Brujeria. Be tolerated but not be tolerant in return? There's certainly a real lack of harmony there.
This is about the extent of what I can tell you. No, I won't be cursed for revealing secrets or anything like that. Brujeria remains an oral path, communicated from brujo to brujo through speech, touch, taste, sensation, and experience. Our "spellwork" (if you insist on calling it such) is spontaneous and intuitive. Brujeria really is a living path, one that cannot be captured by the written word--well, the logistics of the practice as an academic study, anyway. But I can share a few things about my own life in Brujeria: my patroness, my guide, my inspiration, and my totem animals.
MAYAHUEL
Mayahuel, often pictured by the Aztecs as sitting on the back of a turtle, was a mother goddess and deity of the famous maguey plant. If you're not familiar with the maguey, go get a bottle of mezcal or tequila. These beverages are made from the maguey sap. One legend tells us that Mayahuel was torn apart (much like Dionysus in Greek mythology), and where pieces of her body fell, maguey plants began to grow. It might not seem terribly lofty to hear the call of a goddess of fermented beverages as a patroness, but there is more. The maguey is an essential part of Mesoamerican culture, and has been so for centuries. Today the Mexican government oversees the cultivation of maguey--tequila and its counterparts are not simply alcoholic drinks to be quaffed down, but rather marks of national pride. In a way, I feel the maguey sap is the metaphorical blood of the land, beating from Mayahuel's own heart. The culture of the magueyeros, the people who tend the maguey plants, is something akin to the winemaking cultures of Europe, and is worth investigating.
GUADELUPE
Many self-proclaimed Pagans take me to task over what they see as only a Christian icon. But Guadelupe is something much more than that--she is the Great Mother of the New World. Anyone, whatever their path, can turn to Guadelupe for comfort and guidance. She discriminates against no one. Catholic Mexicans call her La Madre de Dios or La Virgen de Guadelupe. Among the brujos, I have heard her called La Madre, Guadelupe, La Reina, and even La Diosa--the Goddess. By whatever name and in whatever faith, Guadelupe is a powerful force, a force of unity.
THE QUETZAL
Totem of Spirit
THE EASTERN DIAMONDBACK RATTLESNAKE
Totem of Healing and Medicine
THE COYOTE
Totem of Mind
THE JAGUAR
Totem of Body
You may have seen me somewhere on the Internet before. Yes, I am an active advocate not just of Brujeria, but of traditions indigenous to the Americas in general. More importantly, I'm actively working to somehow--somehow--establish a unity among peoples of all faiths and paths, a common knowledge that we all share this tiny planet and maintaining at least a level of respect is essential. This doesn't make me Miss Popular among the folks who like to flip the bird at certain organized religion, or at spirituality in general. But hey...I can't make you choose unity. That's my choice. You have to decide for yourself.
I hope this page has offered a bit of a window into the world of a bruja and her life in Brujeria!
I leave you with some favorite words of mine, spoken by Mexican presidente Benito Juarez--"Respect for the rights of others is peace."
MY OTHER WEB PROJECTS OF PAGAN INTEREST:
I recommend a visit to the following sites.
