The turning of the wheel has brought those of us in the northern hemisphere to the celebration of Imbolc, and in the southern hemisphere, Lughnasadh or Lammas.

This wintry season in the northern hemisphere is celebrated by different traditions under a variety of names – the twelve-day observance of Entschtanning (the emergence), the Shinto Festival of Setsubun (February 3), the feast day of Saint Brigid of Ireland (February 1), and of course...

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It’s 11:11 on a recent Sunday morning and The Proverbial Experience is just getting underway. “Greetings my loves!” proclaims the Rev. Lyvonne Proverbs Briggs, the founder of this weekly spiritual gathering on Instagram. “Anybody got a hallelujah in your spirit?”

As the congregation comes online, Briggs, from her home in New Orleans, greets each person by name as prerecorded gospel music plays. She frames herself in front of a makeshift altar with an assortment of crystals and a sign that reads, “God is love.”

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Read more about African spirituality offers Black believers ‘decolonized’ Christianity

Portlanders have been leading protests against racism and police brutality for more than five months after the death of George Floyd. Organizing months of ongoing direct action is one challenge, but keeping each other safe—physically and mentally—is another.

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For some years now, cultural appropriation has been installed in our modern society to judge the practices of some individuals who extract elements of a culture or tradition that doesn't belong to them and use it for their own benefit. Sometimes the accusation is confusing, especially considering that no culture is pure — not even our DNA is pure — and especially in a global world. 

However, appropriation can also be seen as an act of violence, especially when its legitimate bearers are made invisible or muzzled and the privilege, which takes...

Read more about Magic, Witchcraft and Curanderismo: Let's talk about cultural appropriation

Once taboo, tarot reading is considered spooky, and even wicked by some. But the form of divination that uses cards dates back to the 15th century—and has become the latest spiritual trend. Decks are sold at almost any store, and hundreds of thousands of Instagram and Facebook pages are dedicated to the art of divination. But some practitioners in the United States have been using the cards for decades as a tool in their spiritual practices as they turn away from Western religions for traditional African-centered and Indigenous spiritualities.

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Read more about Black Girl Magic: How Tarot Is Helping Women of Color Connect

Porsche Little, a Brooklyn-based artist, diviner, and aborisha — or someone who serves the Orisha, a group of spirits central to the Yoruba and other African Diaspora religions — says that she has received a huge increase in requests for divinations and readings throughout the pandemic. 

“There’s so much happening right now in the world to everyone, and I know for certain that all of this is happening for a reason,” she says. “A lot of people are stuck in the house and can’t really...

Read more about How some Black Americans are finding solace in African spirituality

People seek Robert Garza when they need answers, healing and hope.

And during the coronavirus pandemic, he said he is more in demand than ever before. At Garza’s store in west Houston, the masses are flocking to buy his herbal remedies and to seek his guidance in spiritual card readings.

“It’s been crazy,” said Garza, owner of Yerberia La Santa Fe.

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Read more about Spiritual Houstonians embrace the metaphysical during COVID-19

 

Owners of the Latino remedy shops known as botanicas are careful to note that nothing they sell can be construed as a cure for the coronavirus.

In a health advisory, a federal agency agrees.

“Some of these purported remedies include herbal therapies, teas, essential oils, tinctures, and silver products such as colloidal silver,” according to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. “There is no scientific evidence that any of these alternative remedies can prevent or cure COVID-19. In fact, some of them may not be safe to...

Read more about Faith in herbal remedies fuels growth of Latino botanicas. Coronavirus accelerates it.

 

Tales of suns and moons determining how you love, hate and live sound like something that comes from fairytales and myths. But it seems nowadays you can’t enter a room without hearing the question, 

“What’s your sign?” 

Astrology is a system of beliefs that the positions of the sun, moon and planets at the time of someone’s birth has a direct influence on their character.

Although I was raised in a Catholic household, we never went to church or did anything religious or spiritual. Because of that, I find myself disinterested in...

Read more about Algorithms ruin astrology, stick to tarot for spiritually

Original Source: Baltimore Sun
Source: ... Read more about Florida man says eviction stems from Santaria religion

In a dark club in Downtown Brooklyn, surrounded by more than 100 people, Agathina Ginoue Nozy took a sip of Haitian rum. She stood near an altar stacked with skulls, lit candles, cigars, rum, coffee and bowls filled with charred salt fish, boiled plantains, cassava and piman (spicy peppers). “You typically drink white liquor during Fet Gede, but if there is none you drink rum with no ice to feel the heat,” Ms. Nozy said. “Gede is a hot thing.” Her face was painted to look hollow, like a skull, and she wore a dark skeleton bodysuit and a black veil. With her fingers wrapped around a smoking... Read more about ‘Voodoo Is Part of Us’