Spiritism Easily Explained, Allan Kardec
The advent of the Spiritualist Movement began on March 31, 1848 when the sisters, Kate and Maggie Fox demonstrated communication with a spirit in their farmhouse in Hydesville, New York through a series of knocking noises, or "raps."
News of the spirit rappings spread rapidly around the area, and the girls were sent to Rochester to live with their eldest sister, Leah. Per the instruction of the Spirits, on November 14th 1849 the sisters demonstrated their Mediumship publically in Corinthian Hall in Rochester, New York. This was the first public demonstration of the Spiritualist movement.
As Spiritualism spread thinkers, philosophers, and teachers tried to make sense of Spiritualist Phenomena and create systematized ways to understand this so-called “New Revelation”.
In the United States arguably the most influential of those thinkers was Andrew Jackson Davis with his Harmonial Philosophy. This system of philosophy would be absorbed completely into what is called Modern Spiritualism, and promoted by most Spiritualist Churches and organizations.
However in France that thinker would be Allan Kardec, who systematized his own research into a set of principles he termed “Spiritism”
Every Spiritist is necessarily a spiritualist, but not all spiritualists are Spiritists.
Allan Kardec, What is Spiritism
Kardec felt that many people were wrongly treating spiritual phenomena as entertainment instead of correctly studying spiritual phenomena as a way to both learn the natural laws of the universe and develop morally as persons; he coined the term ‘Spiritism’ to mark a difference between those who he felt, were not involved with Spiritualism for right reasons.
This is extremely similar to Andrew Jackson Davis, who, while very enthusiastic about Spiritualism as a philosophy, distanced himself from many Spiritualist circles which he felt were only involved for the sake of amusement or other “lower” purposes.
“‘Spiritualism’ and ‘spiritualist’ are English words used in the United States ever since spirit manifestations first appeared; at first, and for some time thereafter, they were also used in France. However, as soon as the terms ‘Spiritist’ and ‘Spiritism’ appeared, their usefulness was understood and they were immediately accepted by the public.”
What is Spiritism, Allan Kardec
Kardec codified the Spirits' teachings that he received through years of investigative seances in several books, articles, and publications which became extremely popular throughout Europe. These texts were brought by intellectuals studying abroad in European countries to the Caribbean.
“Pour les choses nouvelles il faut des mots nouveaux”
“Para las cosas nuevas se necesitan nuevas palabras.”
“New words are needed to convey new ideas”
Allan Kardec, The Spirits Book
Spiritism, or Espiritismo in Spanish, rapidly became a popular alternative to the Catholic Church in the island nations (and many other Latin-American countries, but for now, I’m focusing on the Caribbean).
What was once a very European tradition, began to adapt itself to the local traditions, culture, and beliefs of the peoples who practiced it.
In Cuba, while many in the upper and middle classes continued to practice Espiritismo along the lines and structure codified by Kardec, followers of African diasporic religions such as Ocha (Santeria) and Palo 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.
Over time, as islanders migrated to the United States, they brought with them their traditions of Espiritismo. Here in Rochester, the birthplace of Spiritualism, Espiritismo has essentially come full circle.
While Rochester doesn’t have Espiritismo Centers like those that exist in Puerto Rico, there is a thriving community here of people that practice this tradition, brought back to where the Spiritualist Movement began.
One of the major centers of Espiritismo here in Rochester, is Botanica Obatala Shango.
There are at least two smaller Botanicas here in the city as well, but Obatala Shango is by far the largest. It’s actually probably the largest in the state outside of New York City.
Named after two spirits (Orishas) from the Lukumi religion (Obatala and Shango) the Botanica supplies everything needed for the healing traditions of Lukumi, as well as Espiritismo.
There Espiritistas can buy supplies for their altars: bells, spiritual colognes, and statues. Herbs and ingredients for healing baths, as instructed by guides and ancestors to bring healing and cleansing to whoever needs them. Candles for altars to give light and elevation to spirits; and prayer books, some written by Kardec, are available in English, and in Spanish.
As someone that exists in both realms of American Spiritualism, and Caribbean Espiritismo, I find the fact that this store is in Rochester to be absolutely amazing.
The Spiritualist Movement went from a small farming town on the outskirts of Rochester, to Corinthian Hall in Rochester, to be codified as Spiritism by an educator in France, to come to the aid of individuals in the Caribbean, many of whom were suffering the pains and oppression of slavery, to preserve their traditions and honor their spiritual identity through the teachings and methods of Spiritualism.
One of my favorite prayer books can be found at this Botanica (or any Botanica). I’ve had it for several years and carry it around with me wherever I go.
It’s a small blue book called Helping Yourself With Selected Prayers, vol 2 It contains prayers to Catholic Saints, folk prayers from the Espiritismo tradition, the prayers of Allan Kardec, and a few others.
In a preface to a prayer in this book there is a short line saying:
the Fox Sisters ignited the Spiritualist revolution that was to sweep the North American continent and Allan Kardec began a similar movement called ‘Spiritism’ in Europe…
It’s barely a sentence, and would mostly be passed over quickly to get to the prayer, but I always sort of pause for a moment when I see it because the magnitude of the small line contains so much history, that to me it’s worth just a pause to think about.
