Past Botanicas of Rochester, NY

In my other blog I post some of my research on the history of Spiritualism in Rochester. Unfortunately, something that is even more under documented is the historical presence of Espiritismo in Rochester, as well as African Diasporic Religions such as Lukumi (Santeria) or Palo. 

I've written in another post about the historical connection that Espiritismo has to Rochester, and also mentioned that these traditions are still very much being practiced here today, but I wanted to share this small bit of research that I've found looking through Newspapers about some of the Botanicas that used to exist in Rochester. 

Botanica Santa Ana, 76 Lowell St. 1972 

Mrs. Carmen Betances, who says she "got the power" of Espiritismo at the age of seven in Puerto Rico has statues all over the tiny store as well as on the glassed in porch over at her home next door. She goes to New York once a month to replenish her supply of herbs and oils. 

Botanica San Lazaro, 264 Clifford St. 1983

"We are a religious store," says Aurora Lopez, whose mother, Julia Reyes, owns the San Lazaro. "But we also sell medicine." Julia Reyes had a dream fives years ago that told her to open Botanica San Lazaro. 

Botanica Santa Ana, 830 N. Clinton Ave. 1983 

"We go with the spirit. The spirit works through our bodies and tells us what to do." Treatment usually varies with the individual. "I have to let the people talk." says, Rev. Daniel Garcia "I listen to them say, "I feel this, I feel bad. I feel that. Sometimes a special herbal bath or oils will be prescribed."

Rochester currently has at least two Botanicas in the city, with Botanica Obatala Shango being the largest (both in Rochester, and also in Western, New York). Rochester has a very large community of Espiritistas, which being the historical birthplace of the Spiritualist Movement seems fitting. 

Regarding African Diasporic Traditions, Rochester is a fairly large center of Palo, with Lukumi (Santeria) coming in a close second. There is also a fairly decent sized community of individuals that practice 21 Divisions, or Dominican Vodu. 

The Curious Case of Leah Fox

Leah Fox is usually written off from the history of Spiritualism as the ‘other Fox sister.’ If she isn’t completely ignored in books, she will often be accused of having manipulated her younger sisters into becoming Mediums. 

Leah, in my opinion, is one of the most interesting figures of the early Spiritualist movement, not only as one of the three fox sisters, but her important role in the shaping of the religious aspect of the Spiritualist movement.  When her sisters were adult women making their own choices and leading their own lives as famous Spiritualist Mediums, Leah lead a relatively quieter life, performing private seances for guests at her home in Rochester (and eventually New York City). 

Leah was not the typical Victorian woman, she grew up in an environment before Victorian norms had become commonplace and in a more rural, and pioneer-esq environment; a much rougher and harsher way of life that was far from the picture-book tea parlor life that was considered the ideal norm for Victorian women to strive for.   

I feel this is one of the main reasons that she has been recorded by history in a more negative light than her sisters. While her sisters, in a decidedly Victorian way, could be excused as ‘tragic young women,’ Leah was a much more imposing figure: a strong willed, independent woman. 

Leah was married three times, was a single mother, provided for her own family primarily through her skills as a music teacher, and eventually was a very popular medium in her own right. Leah wrote her own record of the Spiritualist movement, which is still in print (online and in reprints), though not a hugely popular read these days. The work is titled The Missing Link in Modern Spiritualism by Leah Underhill (her married name). 

Although the work clearly states that it is not an autobiography, the work is very much written from Leah’s perspective. It discusses the events at Hydesville, as well as Leah’s own account of what occurred in Rochester as a result, the events that became of it, their family history of spiritualist phenomena, and many, many interesting accounts regarding the early history of the Spiritualist movement. 

An interesting point in the work that is largely left out of many works on the Fox Sisters is that Leah seemed to be very aware of the religious and spiritual dimension of this movement. Leah, seemed to understand that the movement was much larger and more important than a money making opportunity but rather a ‘new truth.’ 

She wrote: “the movement was not in our hands nor under our control. It had an object, and we, as reluctant and humble instruments, were in the hands of other and higher wills and forces, from whom it had proceeded, by whom it was directed, and, so to speak, engineered. We have since come to understand that all these events and incidents, perplexing and distressful as they were to us, were but the birthroes of a new truth, which was destined to revolutionize this world, and establish a communication between here and the hereafter; of the Earth and of the Spirit." 

In a glimpse into her personal spiritual feelings, Leah described an event that she experienced at one of the first seances in her home in Rochester in the terms of a spiritual conversion: 

“We were truly converted, and as the dear old Methodists used to say, “born again.” We could then realize that we had something to live for, something to hope for, in that sacred hour when each one in our humble group “lay at the feet of Jesus,” willing to be guided and directed in the paths of truth and duty."

While the events at Hydesville are often regarded as the beginning of the Spiritualist movement, it was largely in part because of Leah's strong-willed faith in the importance of the messages given to them by the Spirits, as well as her dedication to public demonstration of spiritual phenomena, that the events went from a curious local ghost story to become an international religious movement. 

Though I would hardly call Leah Fox a Saintly figure, I personally do not believe that she has earned the scorn and negative reputation that she has been given. I suggest to anyone interested to take the time to actually read Leah's book, and let Leah share her story, in her own words.

15 Years With Santa Muerte

As of this year I'll have been a devotee of Santa Muerte for 15 years. 

It's kind of strange to think about, because she's been so integral to my life at this point that it really doesn't seem that long. It's been a fascinating journey watching other people work with her and discover her. 

When I first began praying to her and working with her, there was almost nothing available in English. I mostly had to learn how to work with her by asking questions to people in person. When her presence was more online, I started to see how others both in Mexico and America worked with her, and see the changes and trends over time. 

I think one of the reasons she's so easily become part of my spiritual practice is that from the very onset is that one of the strongest elements of religious devotion in my own family growing up was the folk catholic veneration of the holy souls in purgatory. This devotion essentially became hybrid with Spiritualism, and so I pretty much grew up with the idea that the dead were not gone, and that death was not inherinetly bad or frightening. 

Most of the most important saints in my family (St. Rosalia, St. Gerard Majella, etc) are constantly depicted with skulls and bones, and the idea that the Angel of Death wasn't a daunting or scary figure was ingrained in me at a very young age. So when she came into my life she wasn't scary, unusual, or exotic, she was incredibly deeply familiar. 

I've decided that through out the year I'm doing to write a few different posts and musings about Santisima Muerte. So stay tuned for that! 

Italian American Folk Religion

Italian-American folk religion is the practical everyday spiritual reality of Italian-American immigrants. It is a unique cultural practice, with traditions and practices that are a blend of old world Italian religion and American cultural influences. 

Italian-American folk religion is somewhat distinct from Italian Folk Religion. Italy is regionally extremely diverse, with different cultural practices, and even languages being spoken in different areas. These different traditions and practices that may have never actually contacted another in Italy, became mixed in America through the intermixing of different immigrants from different areas of Italy. This was also further mixed with American spiritual customs and practices. So although I do look to Italy for an understanding of history, culture, and practice, the practice that I'm discussing tends to be more what people of Italian descent practice in America. 

This practice doesn't have a specific name, and most Italians will simply identify themselves as being Catholic; a common answer of many people about what these folk religious practices are is simply “the things we do" 

There are some names given to people that are practioners of this folk system of healing and prayer: some are called praticos, “a practioner” implying a kind of medical like skill; guaritori healer”, fattucchiere, fixers, donne che aiutano “women who help” and mago or maga, “magician” mago/a does imply that there is a magical knowledge present, but the title has connections to the “Magi” of the bible implying a level of goodness. 

In the past a title rarely, if ever, used to denote someone that practiced folk religion was Strega, or Witch. The title not only implied maliciousness and evil, but also denoted an almost inhuman nature. Today though the title Strega, has been reclaimed to denote someone who practices a healing and positive form of folk religion and magic, and many Italian-Americans will proudly refer to themselves as such. 

The practice of Stregheria (an older dialect term for Witchcraft) is a revival practice that while emphasizing the practices of folk herbalism, healing, and magical practices, deemphasizes Catholic practices in favor of Neopagan traditions. So although this is a perfectly acceptable modern practice, it is not the tradition most of our ancestors actually ever would have recognized. 

The worldview of Italian folk religion is rooted in a firmly folk Catholic view, but that world is not the Catholicism that most Modern American Catholics would understand. It's a world that is populated with spiritual forces and beings, that constantly influence and guide the destinies of human life. 

With the source of Creation and power coming from the remote and unknowable Mystery that is God the Father, this chain of power and magic is extended through the mediating influences of Jesus, the Virgin Mary, the Saints, Angels, and the Ancestral Dead. 

Also included in this worldview are the earthly powers of nature spirits and plant spirits, and finally the infernal powers of demons and restless ghosts. 

Through a combination of folk wisdom of herbal medicine and the sacramentals of the church, prayer, and spiritual gifts such as healing, prophecy, and mediumship, practitioners bring balance, healing, and blessings to the lives of those who seek their assistance. 

This practice isn't dead by any means, but it's very much at risk. Most elders that are familiar with these practices, or even knowledge of prayers and rituals are dying out without passing them on to their descendants. Thankfully there is a revived interest in preserving these traditions.

Mother Cabrini: Patron Saint of Immigrants

I wrote this as a post for Facebook a few years ago and have reposted it a bunch of times. I think it's about time I post it on my blog so it doesn't get lost, and today seemed a very fitting day. 

November 13th is the feast day of St. Francesca Saverio Cabrini, usually just called Mother Cabrini. Mother Cabrini is the patron Saint of immigrants. I’m not going to go super in depth into her life, but she felt called by God to become a nun, and felt that it was her purpose to go to America to help the poor and oppressed. 

One of the most remarkable aspects of her story is that she came to America as a mission. There’s a fairly strong bias among Americans to see America as the greatest country in the world. She did not. She knew fully well the horrors of poverty and discrimination that most Italians that had immigrated to America were facing, and was moved to leave her country to help those most in need. 

When she came to this country, there was a feeling of disgust for most immigrants (Italians in particular), and most people did not even want to let them in the country, let alone help them. She took it upon herself to leave a fairly comfortable life in Italy, to come to America with six other women, to help these people. She named her order the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in honor of the Love that called her to serve.

Although she came to help Italian immigrants, her love and kindness quickly extended to the multitudes of individuals living in abject poverty. She managed to open orphanages, schools to teach literacy and English as a second language, as well as simple skills people could use to find work; she founded hospitals and medical centers, and offered medicine and care for free to those who could not afford it. She took it upon herself to do these things, against popular opinion, because she knew that it was the right thing to do. 

I think we need to look to the life of Mother Cabrini for our own times. These stories are not isolated events removed from our modern times. On a personal level, her story brings to mind my own family who immigrated to America from Italy. 

On one side of my family, I’m descended from what today would be called “undocumented workers” or "illegal immigrants" who were hired and moved here by a private company, to work in the coal mines in Pennsylvania due partly to their skills of having worked in the sulfur mines in Sicily, but mostly because they were cheap labor, and they could be paid far less than American workers, these individuals, my family members, did not become citizens, yet lived the rest of their lives here and had children who were born Americans. 

On the other side, my great grandfather was sent to America for asylum by his parents when he was 15 years old, so he wouldn’t be drafted into the increasingly nationalist army, while he did communicate with his family throughout his life, he never saw them in person again. If he came here today, aged 15, and without a parent, he would be in a cage.

I think of these things, and I see so many similar stories today: immigrants coming to work here for a better life, refugees fleeing war torn countries, sending their children away knowing very well they might never see them again, just in the hopes that they might survive. 

These are the people that Mother Cabrini came to help; the time and people may have changed, but Mother Cabrini's mission remains the same. We need to consider being more like Mother Cabrini who opened her heart to be transformed by love; it allowed her to see all people as her brothers and sisters, in need of kindness and help. 

 "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh."

Espiritismo in Rochester, NY

“By the year 1848, several strange phenomena were gaining notoriety in the United States, consisting in noises, raps and movement of objects with no apparent cause…” 

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.

Coffee Talk: Chats with the Dead

Growing up in a family that freely blended folk Catholicism and Spiritualism, the concept of talking to the dead was something that was completely normal; that you could literally just talk to relatives that passed away, that they could actively hear you, and in some cases actually respond back was relatively normal.

You simply sat somewhere quiet and private, and you have a conversation. In my own case today, this is done over a cup of coffee. 

I can honestly say that after years of studying Spiritualism and Mediumship... nothing has ever worked better for me than this.

Mind you, I think it's extremely useful for Mediums to actually study the philosophy and theory behind mediumship and Spiritualism while you work on developing and practicing throughout your life. The more you know how and why something works, the better you get at it. However, when it comes to direct experience, these simple and heartfelt practices have always been profoundly more helpful than any kind of structured meditation or spiritual exercise, at least for me. 

If you have an altar, you can pour a small cup of tea or coffee for your spirits or ancestors there, or just set an extra cup on the table. Then just talk to them. Talk out loud, talk in your head. You can switch back and forth between talking with yourself, and to your spirits. Eventually, slowly, you will start being able to discern between your thoughts and words, and reactions given to you by your spirits.

How communication happens is completely up to how you experience mediumship and could range from anything to a simple feeling of peace from having talked things out, to experiences of clairvoyance. You just have to pay attention. 

It seems to be the simple fact, that then we’re alone, at least physically, we’ll usually be able to just be ourselves. We "open up" very easily, and naturally. Especially if we're relaxed, like having a cup of coffee.