The Sound of Successful Spellwork
My mother’s side of the family hailed from Cuba and practiced Santeria, Palo, and Cuban Brujeria. The first two are magico-religious practices referred to as African Diaspora Religions (ADRs), or Afro-Cuban religions. The latter is not a religion, but a type of witchcraft, or folk magic, containing African, European, Catholic, and indigenous influences.
Both of my uncles lived elsewhere, but my “Tia” (aunt in Spanish) Isabel—“Tia” for short—resided with me and my parents. My father, by the way, was a Greek man and an atheist! Although a very good person and a great father, he was also a traditionalist. He rarely, if ever, entered the kitchen, nor the basement where the washer and clothes lines were located, because he believed that they were the “women’s domains.” But little did he know (or did he?) that the back half of the basement, secluded and shielded by a curtain, was an area filled with huge cauldrons, tureens, symbols on the floor, large sticks, plants, and other magical paraphernalia.
When my father was at home, both ladies acted “normal” and accommodating to his expectations. But, as soon as he left for work, Tia and my mother would oftentimes watch him drive away then gleefully exclaim “He’s gone! He’s gone!” and head toward the basement to tend to their workings..
Whether they were praying, giving offerings to our deities, or performing spellwork, they were always loud. Their repetitive prayers sounded nothing like those heard in a Catholic church. The formal prayers offered to God, Jesus, or the saints, always had a “twist” to them. Verses they deemed important were not only repeated but loudly emphasized, while the name of the deity was exclaimed over and over. When their friends visited to hold a Misa Espiritual (Spiritual Mass), the noise became almost deafening, especially once the screaming began.
“Ebbos” are the offerings to our ancestors, or to the deities of our diaspora religions. They were not simply placed on an altar, floor, or table with a brief incantation. Instead, Tia and my mother would call upon the spirits, over and over again, while telling them what was being served and the reason for the offerings. They also made damn sure that the entities knew exactly who was giving them the sustenance and libations.
The spellwork was even noisier. If it wasn’t for the sounds of the maracas shaking, the ringing of bells, or the implementation of other noisy instruments to call upon deities, their acts of screaming, and even foot stomping, always sounded like an argument. However, their spellwork, performed for either themselves or others, always seemed to yield successful results.
At a young age, uneducated in the ways of magic, and totally convinced that my family was just plain weird, the loud sounds often frightened me. Having boldly asked my mother why prayers had to be so loud, she sharply replied, “because if you pray to yourself, nobody will hear you,” and abruptly walked away. Unsatisfied with that allegedly illogical answer, the same question was posed to Tia, who had more patience with me.
In Spanish, Tia asked me, “Why did you come in third place in your spelling contest last week instead of winning?” Shrugging my shoulders, I replied, “I don’t know.” Tia’s retort was, “I’ll tell you why. You got lazy and didn’t study as much as you should have. You didn’t give the energy into winning. If you want to win at anything, you have to give it a lot of energy.”
Tia’s answer was even more confusing. It didn’t make any sense as to what my failure in the spelling bee had to do with their noisy behaviors. But with age, experience, and practice, it finally all came together. My mother was denoting the importance of sound while Tia was referring to energy output.
Energy is the force that causes movement, as it travels through waves, from one location to another. The intention of spellwork is to transmit as much energy as possible to a specific location or to a specific person. Thus, the more energy output involved, the better the chances of manifesting your desires. What is a major element of energy output? The emission of sound! This energy can be produced in more ways than just noticeable noise. The most common, and inconspicuous, mode is through vibrations: the fundamental cause of sound.
When an object vibrates, it rapidly moves back and forth while pushing and pulling the surrounding air molecules. These physics produce sound. It’s that simple! What emits vibrations? Surprisingly, the most common elements include, but are not limited to, air, amulets, charm bags, colors, certain crystals, fire, heat, minerals, plants, rocks, sigils, smoke, symbols, talismans, water, and written words. Even our thoughts fall into this category.
Thought processes, according to many parapsychologists, can transfer from one person to another, through vibrations. This hypothesis is believed by scholars because all thoughts have substance, and the substance of thought is vibration. Therefore, along with visualizing the manifestation of your goal, it is essential that your intentions (combined with acts of patience, confidence, perseverance, and persistence) must be forceful in order to emit strong vibrations.
But the aforementioned scientific facts are nothing new. This knowledge likely existed for millennia among certain peoples around the world. We know for sure that our African ancestors possessed this understanding. During the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, millions of highly intelligent individuals were captured and stripped of their tools—but not their intellect—and shipped to the Americas. In their new environments, they secretly practiced what they knew, including the importance of sound, and shared their knowledge of countless magical rites and rituals with those they trusted.
Eventually, their original African Traditional Religions (ATRs) were syncretized with the existing religious practices of the time and area, giving rise to various African Diaspora Religions (ADRs) of today. For example, Santeria, Palo, and other religions were birthed in Cuba, while Haiti gave rise to Vodou, and Candomble and Macumba were created in Brazil. What do they all have in common? Noise! Their public ceremonies include drummers, singers, people chanting aloud, stompers, and dancers. All of which are very….LOUD!
There is also an abundance of existing magical African Diaspora Traditions (ADTs) practiced throughout the Americas. In the United States, the tradition of Hoodoo emerged. Over time, it blended with other cultural practices, but it continues to stand as the primary magical tradition among African-Americans, especially among the Gullah people residing in the Carolinas, and the Geechee who live in Georgia and Florida.
Even among the tens of thousands of descendants living in the United States who are religious, but do not believe in magic, still practice traditions brought by their African forefathers. One example is the Ring Shout, or “Shout”, a ritual rooted in Africa and originally practiced in North America by the enslaved. It is an ecstatic ritual consisting of moving in a circle and stomping and/or shuffling the feet while clapping, singing, and praying. Again, a lot of noise! Shouts are still practiced today by several Black Churches located throughout North America, and, of course, by the Gullah and the Geechee.
Thanks to my mother, Tia, our enslaved forefathers (and their descendants), we have learned important aspects of rituals. In my book, Traditional Hoodoo & Conjure, you will learn even more, as it contains a plethora of spells and rituals rooted in the African Diaspora practices. In the meantime, I hope you will always remember the importance of energy output and, of course, SOUND.
