Espiritismo: the Good Spirits Watch Over Us

I received a few questions about my previous post explaining myself as a Spiritist, so I wanted to write a part two. First, the simple summary of Spiritism that I give to people, is that all Spiritists are Spiritualists, but not all Spiritualists are Spiritists.

Spiritism, is a branch of Spiritualism, that follows (to varying degrees) the teachings codified by Allan Kardec, a French Educator and Writer who lived in the 1800s. These teachings are found in a series of books known as the Spirits Codification. These include works such as the Spirits Book, the Mediums Book, and the Gospel According to Spiritism.

If you want to see a great movie about the beginnings of Spiritism, I highly recommend watching the movie Kardec on Netflix.

Spiritism, like other forms of Spiritualism, spread rapidly around the world, and as it did, developed in different ways as it interacted and blended with local populations. As the teachings and publications of Spiritism became extremely popular throughout Europe, they were brought by intellectuals and students studying abroad in European countries to the Caribbean, South America, and Central America.

Spiritism, or Espiritismo in Spanish, rapidly became a popular alternative to the Catholic Church in the island nations, and in the particular instance that I'll be focusing on, in Cuba. In Cuba, the upper and middle classes continued to practice Espiritismo along the lines and structure codified by Kardec, while followers of African diaspora religions such as Lukumi (Santeria, or Ocha), Vodu, and Palo Mayombe began to also practice Espiritismo. 

These ancient systems of healing, divination, worship, song, dance, and ancestral practices were blended with Espiritismo, creating a tradition (actually, several traditions) that is both completely Spiritualist, and completely Caribbean. 

To add one more layer of complexity, these spiritual traditions have over the years become particularly popular in Mexico. In Mexico, these Cuban religious practices such as Espiritismo Cruzado, Lukumi, and Palo are very freely blended and mixed with traditional Mexican spiritual practices of Folk-Catholicism, Curanderismo, and Mexican Spiritualist and Spiritist practices. This highly mixed spiritual system, has then been brought by immigrants to the United States, especially in Southern California.  

It was this highly mixed Folk Spiritism that I first encountered.

One of the Botanicas that I would visit had a row of small spaces set up to some of their Spirits that they would work with: two very popular Saints in Cuban traditions, St. Lazarus and St. Barbara, were next to two very popular Saints in Mexican traditions, St. Martin Caballero, and St. Jude. Each had a little glass of water, and a lit piece of incense near them; there was a little stoop in the corner with a curiously watchful stone head of the Orisha Ellegua, surrounded by candy, and all of these were under the deep, hollow, watchful eyes of a huge statue of Santa Muerte on a high up shelf.

It took me awhile to sort out the individual parts of these different traditions I was presented with, and it has been a pleasure to respectfully learn about each one on it's own terms. I'm still continuing to learn about different aspects of them, but I'm much more self aware of how I relate to them as an individual. Being introduced to this eclectic mix of Folk Spiritism and other Spiritual traditions not only gave me a great appreciation for my own ancestral practices, but also helped me develop a framework that I could use to better understand how to relate to the world in a spiritual way.

I am a Spiritist: I draw on the wisdom and teachings of Kardec, a life of Faith, Hope, and Charity is absolutely something we should strive for. I am not, however, a Kardecist, or Scientific Spiritist. I am a folk Spiritist through and through. 

This approach to Spiritism allows me in my own way to follow those teachings that Kardec codified. The Good Spirits, as Kardec says, guide us to progress, by helping others. I've been guided to learn the properties of herbs, to make spiritual baths, to read cards, to give messages from the dead, to set candles, and to offer prayers to the Saints and Good Spirits for elevation and light. All of this, as part of a calling to help others. 

We're all called by God to help in some way, and this is the way that I have been called and feel the most at home with.