A hundred years ago, it was commonly assumed that most people wanted to cultivate virtues in themselves and their children.  It was considered a good thing to be kind, generous, humble, sober, patient and modest, and a lot of people linked these qualities to a solid religious upbringing.  Being religious and being virtuous came to mean essentially the same thing in some circles, and both were considered important for acceptance in "decent" society.  With the passing of time, however, major social changes transformed the way we thought about virtues and the importance we gave them.  For women in particular, being virtuous was a thorny problem because it meant being chaste, free of sexual desire and sexual experience, and governed by blind obedience to fathers and husbands.  Women's liberation rejected this narrow definition and made us cringe when someone talked about the need to be virtuous.  Because of all the negative moral baggage attached to the failure to cultivate and practice virtues, some people turned their backs on the idea altogether, and the word gradually fell out of favor.

In principle most of us would probably say that being kind, generous, humble, and so on aren't bad qualities to have.  It's just that most of us don't see a lot of this virtuous behavior in the world around us anymore.  Instead, we run into people who're self-centered, demanding and arrogant and, contrary to what our grandparents may have taught us, the very people who are most lacking in moral virtues are the ones who seem to get ahead.   The old saying is: Virtue is its own reward. But, how fair is that, when rewards are most frequently measured in material terms in the modern world?

The Regla de Ocha/ Ifa teaches that virtues are a gift from Olodumare (God).  They come in the form of aché, the energy that runs through us and all living things, uniting us with God.  By choosing to act in a virtuous way, our aché increases, bringing us more iré (good fortune) during our lifetime.  This isn't quite the same as saying that it's a sin to behave in an unvirtuous way, or that behaving as a virtuous person will get us a ticket into Heaven.  Santería doesn't talk about punishment and rewards in the afterlife.  It's much more practical, and focuses on the here and now.  Behaving in a virtuous way makes life go more smoothly for us and the people we come into contact with.  That's what brings us good fortune.

The problem is that when we live in a materialistic world where good fortune is usually equated with material success, the people who show the most virtues are the ones who often end up at the bottom of the heap.  Being humble in some corporate environments is a recipe for disaster.  It means you'll be overlooked, or not taken seriously,  that you can't compete with "the big dogs" who use aggressive tactics to get ahead.  Being kind can be interpreted as weakness, being generous can cause others to take advantage of you.  Why should we cultivate and practice old fashioned virtues when they don't seem to help us?

In many ways, Santería is an old-fashioned religion because it encourages traditional values like discretion, loyalty, sincerity, prudence, fairness, temperance, hard work, and strength in times of adversity. While it's not the only religion that values such moral qualities, it doesn't attach the notion of sin to our failure to practice them.  Practitioners of Santería pray for firmeza, which translates as an unwavering adherence to the morally correct position, one that permits us to transcend momentary weaknesses and indecision and choose the right path in life. It's not always easy to be patient or generous, but if it's the right thing to do under the circumstances,  then it's in our best interest to do it, even if it's difficult.  Temperance doesn't mean giving up pleasure; it means keeping it in balance with other things in life.  Pleasure loses meaning if it's all we ever experience; when it comes after a time of hard work or struggle, we feel pleasure more deeply because we know what it feels like when we have no pleasure in our lives. Temperance encourages us not to waste what we have, to respect the environment, and use only what we need.  It's an antidote for greed.  As part of our spiritual growth, we need to learn self-control, not because excess is a sin, but because it leads to real problems in the here and now.  Strength isn't measured in external terms as a way of dominating and controlling others, but as inner strength, the ability to get through hard times without losing dignity, and the ability to recognize and admit our errors without falling into self-doubt.

Humility, patience and respect are virtues that are increasingly hard to cultivate in the modern world, where we're always in a hurry, we have pressures on us to do more, produce more, acquire more.  It's hard to respect people who don't respect us, especially when they talk incessantly about how fabulous they are and how insufficient and lacking we are.  Who can be patient with people who push us out of the way or walk over us to get where they want to go?    

The ethical code of Santería teaches us that we can't change how other people behave, but we can change the way we interact with them.  Unfortunately, as the religion spreads and is embraced by people who don't fully understand it, some of the traditional virtues are being forgotten. In some Santero communities, individuals who are still relatively new to the religion already imagine that they know more than their elders.  They speak as if they were the only ones to understand and possess the truth.  They judge and condemn others without having a good foundation themselves.  What they don't seem to grasp is that their remarkable lack of humility and respect for others detracts from their own aché as priests and priestesses of the religion.  When they try to build themselves up by putting other people down, they're destroying their own prestige in the community, making enemies, and putting in jeopardy their own relationship with Olodumare and the divine.  Charity is one of the most important virtues for a Santero/a because it teaches us to treat others with respect and not pass judgment on them.  Obedience is another important virtue, because it reminds us that we aren't perfect, and all the knowledge of the world can't fit into one person's head.  We learn as we go, and follow the teachings of our elders, so we don't take a false step along the way and end up with a distorted understanding of the religion.  No one is perfect, and it shouldn't even be our goal.  As humans, we're bound to make mistakes.  But, we could all benefit from practicing a little more humility, patience, repect, kindness, generosity, charity, and other virtues that make our interactions with the world less difficult.  If we understand that virtues are Olodumare's gift to human beings and it's our own free will that determines which, if any, we want to cultivate, we can see more clearly that virtues aren't imposed on us as restrictions, but are tools that we can use to open the path to spiritual evolution.  We may not always see rewards in material terms, but we will have a less stressful and problematic day to day existence.  For many people who practice Santería, that in and of itself is enough reward.

One of the most common criticisms outsiders make of Santería is that it's full of superstitions, and practitioners of the religion are superstitious people.  For many Christians, it's a sin to be superstitious because it challenges the idea that God alone has the power to shape our lives.  This isn't a very logical argument if you look at it closely.  First of all, the teachings of Santería tell us that there is one Supreme God who has three forms, much like the Holy Trinity of the Christian faith:  Olodumare, Olorun, and Olofi are the names of God in this religion.  People who practice Santería believe that God has control over everything in the cosmos.  Concepts like free will and destiny are complicated metaphysical ideas that aren't easily explained, but in the most general terms, we can say that practitioners of Santería believe that everything happens for a reason known only to God, we have some control over how things turn out in our own lives and can influence our destiny through our behavior and the choices we make in life, the Orichás and the egun (spirits of the ancestors) can intervene on our behalf and guide us toward evolution, and those who have the happiest and healthiest lives are those who live in harmony with the destiny that corresponds to them on earth.

Are these superstitions?  The definition of superstition is a belief or notion that is not based on reason or knowledge, an irrational fear of what is unknown or mysterious (especially in connection with religion), or any blindly accepted belief or notion.  All religions require people to have faith, and to accept dogma that explains the basic tenets of the religion.  These ideas aren't necessarily based on reason or scientific knowledge.  At the risk of upsetting people who are deeply committed to the Judeo-Christian tradition, I'll point out that there are many stories in the Bible that defy rational explanation.  People who believe that God passed down the Ten Commandments to Moses, or the Virgin Mary gave birth to the son of God believe that these things are true, even if they are not based on scientific "reason" or "knowledge." These ideas are based on beliefs, and are held to be true by people who have faith in the teachings of their religion.  Santeria is no different, because it also has a system of beliefs that has been passed down from the ancestors, and these beliefs have been considered sacred and holy by many people over the course of many years.

Divination, for example, is not a superstition for practitioners of Santería, but a sacred ritual.  The advice that comes from the Orichás and the egun is divine communication, not fortune telling. The Lucumí people believe that God doesn't speak directly to humans because we don't have the ability or understanding to grasp the complexities of God.  The Orichás and egun are closer to us on earth, and can help guide us toward the right path in life. They know God's plans for us, and they can help us understand those plans a little better.  We communicate with them through divination, trance possessions, drumming and dancing ceremonies, prayers and songs.  Sometimes we carry out other ceremonies like the rogación de cabeza (spiritual head cleansing), we make ebó (tributes, offerings), or we receive additional elekes (beaded necklaces) or prendas (amulets) to protect us or help us evolve. To outsiders, it may seem that these are superstitions, but from inside the religion, they are sacred ceremonies, based on a traditional and ancient system of beliefs.  They are visible manifestations of faith.

The area where things get a little  more shady are the trabajitos (the little spells or 'works') that some practitioners do to influence the behavior or attitudes of the Orichás and egun.  For example, it's commonly believed that putting a clear glass of water under the bed while you sleep will keep away troublesome egun in the night, who might otherwise disturb you when you sleep.  People who suffer from bad dreams or involuntary twitching while asleep might be diagnosed as having a problem with "un muerto" (spirit of the dead) and told to sprinkle themselves with cologne and cascarilla (powdered eggshell) before going to bed.  Are these superstitions?  I prefer to think of them more as folk wisdom.  The belief in egun is fundamental to Santería; for practitioners of the religion there's no doubt that egun roam the earth and interact with the living.   Egun are not the same as ghosts. They don't inspire irrational fear.  Many egun are friendly and act as guardian spirits.  But, the egun need to be kept under control, they can't be allowed to interfere too much with our lives, because even without meaning us harm, they can start to rob of us health, prosperity, and other things we need and desire to live well.  Generation after generation, people have passed down recipes and remedies to help people deal with these problems that crop up in daily life.  Perhaps the effect is merely psychological, but psychological remedies can trigger the subconscious mind into new patterns of thinking that can relieve bad dreams or anxiety in some people.  Studies have shown that there's a connection between what we believe to be true and what we experience as true.

Mainly due to the influence of the media and popular culture, many people think Santería is all about curses and spells and witchcraft.  Many people outside the religion have an irrational fear of it because they associate it with powers they don't understand.  It's important to note that in most cases, these fears are based on misinformation and a lack of clarity about the religion.  Do you have bad luck because you have been cursed by someone?  Or, do you have bad luck because you made bad choices, acted unwisely, engaged in risky behavior, or otherwise brought bad luck into your own life?  Did you lose your boyfriend because someone put a spell on him? Or did you lose him because you were difficult, demanding, unreasonable, or neglectful?  Sometimes people are hesitant to take responsibilities for their own actions, and quickly look for a scapegoat to carry the blame. It's easier to say that someone put a spell on you and caused you to fail rather than examine your own actions to see if you did something wrong. 

Other times, we encounter obstacles and problems that have no apparent cause.  Clearly, we aren't always to blame for what happens to us, and it's natural to look for an explanation outside ourselves.  These obstacles manifest themselves in the physical world as osorbo (blockages, obstacles) that can have many causes and origins.  They may be sent by God or the Orichás to challenge us to change something about ourselves or our circumstances. They may be caused by gossip and envious people who send bad energy to us.  Ogo (witchcraft) does exist as a possible source of osorbo, but it's not the only one, nor is it necessarily the most common one.  Through consultas (divination sessions), ebó, and protective measures one can avoid or remedy problems caused by ogo.  The situations represented in television shows, movies and popular novels where people die as a result of a Santería curse is a distortion and misrepresentation of the religion. 

So, in the end, we have to ask: where does superstition come into the picture?  In order for a spell or curse to work, there has to be belief on both sides:  the one who does the spell has to believe it's real, as does the one it's aimed at.  People who fear Santería as a religion that can harm them must on some level believe it has the power to do harm.  Are they being superstitious? I would say yes, because their fear is irrational, based on something they don't understand.  People who practice Santería as a religion believe that it has the power to help them, and on some level, their faith is what makes evolution and progress possible.  The difference between belief and superstition, then, depends on the point of view of the person speaking.  Insiders understand and accept the beliefs of the religion, and their faith allows them to accept the beliefs as true, despite the absence of logical explanations and scientific knowledge.  Outsiders feel doubt and sometimes fear, because they don't understand the underlying principles of the religion.  The next time we criticize someone as being "superstitious," we need to think about the difference between superstitions and beliefs, and ask if our choice of words reveals cultural narrow-mindedness. 

Some people like clearly defined traditions, and they get comfort from doing things the way their ancestors did them.  They follow the religion of their parents and grandparents, which contributes to their spiritual identity and growth. Sharing customs and rituals with others of the same faith is part of who they are as people, and it gives them a sense of belonging.  But, not everyone finds the answers they're looking for in their inherited religion, and it's not uncommon for people to set out in search of new spiritual practices in adulthood.  In the modern world,  family structures and traditions can break down pretty easily, leaving individuals spiritually lost and alone.  To fill the void, some people start creating a grab-bag of individualized beliefs and customs to create a made-to-order systems of reference to guide them through their lives.  This is a deeply ingrained idea in our modern culture, that ideas and beliefs are there for the taking, and we're entitled to take them and use them however we want.  There's nothing inherently wrong with an individualized approach to spirituality; in most cases, people do it with the best intentions in the world.  It seems innocent enough to take what you want from the buffet of religious and spiritual beliefs that the world offers you, and incorporate it into your life in whatever way you choose.  But because so many religious and spiritual beliefs are tied to specific historical, cultural, and social conditions and to a specific set of ancestors, it's worth taking a moment to consider these beliefs as the intellectual and spiritual property of other people.

Take Santería for example.  Santería is an established religion with roots in Western Africa. Does that mean that white people shouldn't practice it? No, absolutely not.  Santería doesn't exclude anyone on the base of race or ethnicity.  Santería has roots in Cuba, where it was originally practiced in black communities, but that doesn't mean that only Afro-Cubans have the right to be part of the religion.  Many Santería practitioners do speak Spanish because of their ancestral ties to the Hispanic Caribbean, but Santería isn't confined to one geographic area, one language or even one culture anymore.  It's truly a global religion. But, it is still a religion.  That means it has sacred ceremonies, liturgical language, and rules about how things need to be done.  The rules aren't invented by individuals, but come down from the ancestors. They reflect a desire and a need to adhere to tradition, as a way of honoring the ancestors and all they did to keep the religion alive, sometimes in very harsh circumstances and against fierce pressure to let it go.  The belief system that's the foundation of Santería is ancient and sacred.  The Lucumí people believe that it was given to them by God.  They feel a responsibility to keep their traditions sacred because of their close connection to the ancestors and to the Orichás, who are God's messengers on earth.  This is one reason that the religion is based on initiation.  Initiation rituals are complex, costly, and reserved only for those who have been chosen by the Orichás through divination to enter the religion in a formal way.  Other religions have rituals that bring individuals into the church, such as Baptism, Confirmation, and Communion, and marriage and funeral rites.  But most westerners these days aren't really familiar with initiatory religions that require such complicated (and to some degree) secret ceremonies.

People can practice some aspects of Santería without being initiated in the religion.  For example, many people in Cuba go to a Santero when they have a problem, but they don't necessarily think of themselves as members of a religious congregation.  Others attend ceremonies on occasion and receive some of the lower level initiations such as receiving elekes (beaded necklaces), an amulet for protection, or perhaps even Eleguá and the Warriors.  As they become more deeply involved in the religion through these smaller initiations and with continued consultas through divination practices with consecrated Priests and Priestesses of the religion, some eventually will become fully initiated themselves, and others will not.  It's not the aspiration of most Cubans to be fully initiated Santeros/as because that represents a full time commitment to the religion that not all people can take on.

In Latino communities in the USA, that same way of thinking applies, and people practice the religion on different levels, under the supervision and with the guidance of an established (and, hopefully, reputable) Santero/a.   People who really understand Santería from a cultural perspective know that it's not a do-it-yourself kind of religion.  Whether the individual truly believes in the tenets of Santería or not, most people who have been raised in communities where Santería is actively practiced by people they know and trust understand that you don't play around with the Orichás, Santería is a religion and it must be respected.  

True, Santería is described as a syncretic religion, and has borrowed elements from other sources like Catholicism over the years.  But these were organic changes brought about over time by a community of people. It wasn't an individual choice, but a natural process geared toward the survival of an established religious system in a new setting.

People who approach Santería from the outside often come at it with a totally different idea of what it is, what it can do for them, or how they can make it part of their lives.  They're attracted by the exotic, magical and mystical qualities they associate with non-European religious traditions. They embrace superficial (and often incorrect) notions about what Santería is, and they declare that they practice Santería, without understanding the underlying metaphysical foundation, the history, philosphy and culture of the religion. They think they can appropriate the aspects they like about Santería, ignore or change the aspects they don't like or don't understand.

The Orichás are willing to interact with anyone who approaches them with sincere intentions, but they communicate with humans through established ceremonies and rituals under the guidance of initiated Priests and Priestesses.  The Orichás' aché is everywhere, especially in the elements of nature, and it's possible for anyone to have a deep spiritual experience while contemplating the immensity of the sea or the majesty of a tall mountain or the cool beauty of the forest.  The aché of Yemayá and Obatalá and Ochosi are found in those places, and people can sense it, even if they don't know about the Orichás.  If they do know about them, it's possible they feel that the Orichás are reaching out to them in those natural settings, enveloping them in love or giving them strength.  Such a thing is possible, because the Orichás can be very generous and their aché can move people in the spiritual direction they need to go in.  Sometimes such a spiritual awakening leads the individual to reach out to the Santería community and make connections with elders who can guide him into the religion.

But, sorry to sound harsh here, the person who reads about Santería on the internet or in books, and who tries to bypass the steps that will lead him into the religion in the proper way, is only fooling himself if he thinks he's practicing Santería.  Santería requires community.  The community must be led by people who are initiated in the religion, understand the traditions, and are committed to seeing that the traditions are kept sacred.  Santería doesn't permit shortcuts.  Individuals can't pick it up like a new hobby and expect to connect to it in any meaningful way.  And people certainly can't pick and choose the parts they like, throwing the rest way, and claim that they are practitioners of the religion.  The religion requires acceptance of the traditions, and respect for them.  

Most importantly, in honor of the ancestors who brought the religion to the New World from Africa, in honor of those who devoted their lives to keeping the religion alive in hostile new environments, those who taught and trained others in the religion so that it wouldn't be lost, we owe it to them to acknowledge that the religion belongs to them, it is their cultural heritage and patrimony.  We can share it with them, if we enter into it with humility and accept it as it was passed down to them, if we agree to become part of the community that practices it in their time-honored way.  If we put ourselves in the role of students and listen patiently to elders who teach us in their own time and in their own way, we become integrated into the community little by little, as it's meant to happen.  We can't take a crash course and learn all there is to know in a few months or even a few years.  There's always more to learn and more to know, and there are always those who know more than we do, who will teach us if we're humble and patient.

These are aspects of the religion that are hard for some people to grasp in our modern take-charge world. If you're used to being in charge of everything and making all your own choices and decisions, if you want to be the one who calls all the shots and does everything the way you want, if you think you're entitled to reject the teachings of religious elders if their teachings don't gel with your established worldview, you're going to have trouble with Santería.  The religion doesn't call for mindless obedience, but it does require you to go with the established program. It requires you to follow the lead of others, to respect the traditions of a community, to let religious elders guide you. 

What's the best thing to do if you want to be involved in a Santería community and you don't know how to find one?  Depending on where you live, this can be easy or hard.  Try looking for music festivals that include African drumming and dancing.  See if there are botánicas in your city, and check them out.  If there's a Puerto Rican, Cuban or Dominican community in your city, go to events they sponsor, check out lectures, films, or workshops that focus on Afro-Caribbean culture.  Ask around.  Above all, don't be in a hurry.  Don't jump into anything without knowing who and what you're dealing with.  If your desire to be a part of Orichá worship is genuine, the Orichás will guide you where you need to go, and put you in contact with people you need to meet. It may take time, but it will happen.  In the meantime, it's good to educate yourself, using reputable sources of information like this website, to understand the principles of the religion, and to know what you can expect from involvement in the religion, if you decide to go down that path.

Everyone knows stories about people claiming to be Santeros/as who charge huge fees for services and ceremonies of doubtful quality.  In short, they have a racket going, and they take advantage of naive clients.  Yes, unfortunately this happens sometimes, especially now that Santería has become (in some circles) a commodity that's for sale to anyone who has money and interest.  It's hard to understand sometimes why monetary value has to be placed on the spiritual.  Why can't Santeros/as just perform services for free, out of the goodness of their hearts?  Doesn't it take away from the spirituality of the experience to attach a price to it?  Spiritual people aren't supposed to care about money, right?

Well... it's more complicated than that.  Being poor isn't a blessing. Everyone wants to make a living.  In Cuba, as in other parts of the world, many Santeros/as have full time jobs doing something totally unrelated to the religion, and they don't perform services and ceremonies for other people because they don't have the time.  Once in a while, when an initiation or a tambor (drumming party) is going on, a lot of helping hands are needed, so the person organizing the event will contact other Santeros/as to see if they're available to work.  It is work to carry out these ceremonies, have no doubt about it. The whole house needs to be cleaned thoroughly, people have to go shopping and find food for a large crowd, someone needs to prepare the food, sometimes there are special clothes that need to be sewn, or the room has to be arranged and decorated in a specific way.  Some people have to play the drums (which looks like fun, but is actually exhausting work), some people have to dance sacred dances (again, fun, but also work, it requires effort to dance for hours on end). All of these people are bringing their aché (sacred energy) into the room, and guaranteeing the participation of the Orichás they represent. There might be herbal baths and potions to prepare, which requires hours of intense work. For an initiation, which lasts a full week, there are daily chores like washing the clothes of the initiate, as well as complex ceremonies that require many participants and witnesses.  People take off from work and spend the day praying, singing,  carrying out rituals, doing all the things that have to be done for the initiation. For this, they get paid a derecho, which translates into money.  How much? It depends on the place and the customs of the house, as well as the amount of time and work that went into the effort. But everyone gets paid a derecho, because it's not only a way to compensate them for lost time at work, but also to show gratitude for the work carried out by those who are the children of the Orichás and stand in for them at religious events.  Some of the money earned as derecho always goes toward meeting the needs of the Orichás, such as adimús (food offerings), new altar cloths, new soperas (soup tureens used to house the Orichás), flowers, beaded necklaces and tools, and other gifts to keep the Orichás happy.  In this way, the payment of a derecho is not so different from the collection plates that are passed in Christian churches.  Observing religious traditions sometimes costs money.

When someone goes for a consulta (reading with cowrie shells), there's a derecho.  If some kind of ebó or adimú (sacrifice or offering) is required, there's a charge for that as well.  How much? It varies from place to place, and on the customs of the house. But, nothing is without charge, unless it's a true emergency and the person in need has no money.  Like doctors, ethical Santeros/as won't turn away godchildren in need because of lack of money. But, when the godchild's emergency passes and it's possible to pay, he owes it to his godparent to address the issue.  If he can't pay in money, he can offer his services in some way, or offer a gift. Something needs to be done to express gratitude, and it has to take material form, not just an empty "thank you."  It needs to represent some kind of sacrifice on the part of the giver, in acknowledge of the help that was given.

Initiation into Santería is very costly because it requires the work of many people, and because many purchases have to be made during the course of the week.  There are vegetables, fruits, grains, and many animals to buy - chickens, roosters, doves, ducks, goats, etc - how many depends on the individual's path in the religion and the requirements of the Orichás.  The animals will be sacrificed and later eaten by the initiate and all the Santeros/as present at the ceremonies. Animals cost a lot of money, even in rural communities where people routinely raise farm animals for food consumption. If you have no experience buying farm animals, believe me, they cost more than you think. There are many other things to buy, special soap, white sheets and towels, buckets and mops for cleaning (each initiation requires a new bucket and mop, because it's a new beginning), bolts of cloth, herbs, candles, bowls.  In a sense, it's almost like planning for the birth of a new child.  There's a lot involved, and none of it is free.  It all needs to be paid for, along with money paid to the godfather or godmother, and all the other people who work the ceremonies.

Does that mean they're doing it just for the money? Usually, no.  For the most part, what they get paid doesn't come near what their time is worth. They're often working for pennies an hour, and the work can be exhausting. Clearly, most people don't do the work out of need, but out of devotion to the religion and a desire to be part of the community.

Santería is above all a practical religion, and one of the things Santeros/as pray for is prosperidad (prosperity).  The notion of prosperity is not limited to money, but it includes it. It means having what you need to live comfortably, and happily.  No one is happy for long when they live in poverty.  Santeros/as, like everyone else, want to progresar (make progress in life). This means lifting themselves and their families out of poverty to have a few more of the things they need to live comfortably.  In Cuba, this can be as simple as money to buy an extra packet of detergent to wash clothes, or a new pair of shoes for a child.  The derecho isn't going to make anyone rich, but it's like icing on the cake; it's a sweet extra touch.

At the heart of it all, though, is the issue of respect for the Orichás. Santeros/as are the children of the Orichás and carry out services and ceremonies on their behalf.  To work without payment is an offense to the Orichás, who are doing a favor for humankind by getting involved in their business. The Orichás aren't obliged to help us; they help us if they choose to. And if they choose to, we should be grateful.  Orichás don't need our money, clearly.  But they need us to be willing to give up something that matters to us. And, in most cases, that is something that translates into money.  If we aren't willing to pay for something, how much do we value it?  The cost should be enough that we feel it as a sacrifice, but not so much that it causes us economic hardship.  The willingness to pay is a test of how sincere we are about wanting help from the Orichás.  Since prices vary hugely from one place to another and one community to another, it's important to have everything out in the open before entering into any business with a Santero/a.  It's important to know what the cost is likely to be.  Although people tend to be reluctant to talk about money matters, it's possible to find out what other people have paid for similar services if you ask some discreet questions.  If you've taken the time to get to know the Santero/a offering services to you, you should have a sense of how honest that person is.  If you have doubts, talk to someone in the community you trust, and take your time to make up your mind before you hand over your money. 

For some reason, people who don't know anything about the religion tend to call Santería a cult.  I suspect they don't know what the word cult means, or if they do, they don't know enough about Santería to understand why cult's the wrong word to describe it.  The dictionary definition of cult says that it's a new religious movement with a limited set of followers.  It's organized around a self-appointed charismatic leader who isn't accountable to anyone else.  Cults use psychological coercion to recruit, indoctrinate and retain members.  None of these characteristics apply to Santería.  Santería's roots are in Africa and date back to the era before Christ.  Millions of people around the world practice Santería. No individual is at the center of the religion.  Religious beliefs are passed down from the ancestors and dogma isn't developed by any one person.  And, Santería doesn't recruit new members.  People who are initiated into the religion have free will.  They can study the religion, be involved with the community, and practice the religion to the degree they want. 

When we look at secondary definitions of the word cult, it becomes a little clearer why some people choose it when talking about Santería.  Webster's Dictionary, for example, says the word cult is used for religions that are considered unorthodox and spurious (that is to say, phony).  Another dictionary says it refers to a small group of people whose religious beliefs are considered strange or sinister by other people.  Cult carries negative connotations, and is used to put down the beliefs of people who are perceived to be outside the mainstream.  So, doesn't the choice of the word cult imply religious intolerance?  To me, it does.

Religion has a more positive meaning for most people  It refers to a belief system that puts human beings in communication with a higher power that's recognized as divine and sacred.  Religion helps humans understand the universe, their purpose in life, and proper conduct in human affairs.  Santería has all of these defining traits.  For anyone who practices Santería, there's no doubt that it's a religion.  Why are others reluctant to use that word to describe it?  There are some complicated thought processes at work behind the choice of words, and it's worthwhile to look at some of them more closely.

In the simplest terms, cults are bad and religions are good.  To grant a belief system the status of religion means showing respect for the people who practice that religion, having an awareness of the history and the culture that produced the religion, and being tolerant of religious differences.  In Western culture, the Judeo-Christian tradition is the predominant one.  Immigrants introduced other religions like Islam, Buddhism, and Hindu, and while people who practice those religions aren't necessarily integrated into the mainstream, for the most part there's an awareness among the general population that "foreigners" sometimes practice a religion different from our own.   They can be the victims of religious intolerance and negative stereotypes, but for the most part, no one questions that Islam and Buddhism are religions.  At least I've never heard anyone call them cults.

Santería is practiced by an estimated million people in the USA today, and globally, we're talking about as many as 100 million practitioners.  These aren't small numbers.  But, Santería isn't as visible as some other religions. For example, there aren't Santería churches where people congregate on a specific day of the week to attend Mass or hear a sermon.  There's no way to immediately identify a Santería practitioner, because they can be people of any race, ethnicity, age group or profession.  Many are people of color, bringing up the whole issue of racism for us to consider - notice how often people call Santería a "primitive" religion? What makes it primitive?  It's association with Africa?  African had highly developed civilizations when people in Northern Europe still lived in caves.   There's still a shadow over Santería, associating it with "those people" who are dark skinned and poor, due to the fact that for years in Cuba and elsewhere in the Caribbean, it was a religion embraced by slaves and the descendants of slaves rather than the wealthy white elite.  Today, there are Santeros/as who are doctors, lawyers, engineers, professors, architects, writers, artists, businessmen and women, entrepreneurs; not everyone who practices the religion is poor and undereducated.  The religion has been embraced by smart people who are leaders in their communities, but not everyone knows they practice Santería.  Why?  Because there's still some fear of rejection, loss of position and prestige, social marginalization by others who find Santería objectionable.  How many people in mainstream society would feel comfortable going to a doctor who openly declares that he's also a practicing Santero?

The process of making Santería more acceptable in mainstream culture is a slow and painful one.  It's something like the process of a gay person coming out of the closet.  There's risk involved.  Rejection.  Loss.  Punishment.  Despite the fact that our constitution says we have religious freedom, there's still a lot of intolerance for religions that are too different from the mainstream ones.  I don't know that there's any solution to the problem, but I do know that words matter. Choosing to use the word religion and correcting people who use the word cult to talk about Santería is a very tiny step, but at least it's a step in the right direction.  First, admit that it IS a religion, and from there, we'll work on correcting other misconceptions.

Some people are horrified by Santería because they know it involves animal sacrifice.  Well, yes, it does, but much less than you think.  In very specific circumstances, blood sacrifice (of fowl or 4-legged animals like goats or sheep) is required for reasons I'll explain later, but most of the time, sacrifice in Santería takes other forms.  I want to get the image of blood-stained altars out of the way right now, because that's not part of daily life for Santeros.  The Orichás and egun can be honored with very simple gifts, like a glass or bowl of fresh water, a few pieces of fruit, a candle, some flowers, a cigar, a small dish of honey or molasses, a small glass of rum.  They don't need all of this heaped on them at one time like a spoiled child on Christmas morning.  What they want is a steady and sincere expression of devotion.  Santeros who take time to pray to the Orichás, to sit with them and keep them company, who clean the altar, put a fresh white cloth down, leave them a small token of affection: these are the signs of daily devotion that the Orichás and egun like.

In divination, if the reading comes with osorbo (misfortune) or if the iré (good fortune) isn't firm and guaranteed, an ebó (offering) is made to the Orichás who stand up to offer assistance to the client during the reading.  The diviner asks what the Orichás want by throwing the dilogún and asking the client to manipulate the ibó to get yes or no answers.  A good diviner always starts with the simplest and most basic form of ebó.  Depending on the tastes and preferences of the Orichás, they communicate what they want through the diviner.  Remedies are usually fairly simple and relatively inexpensive.  The Orichás, for the most part, aren't greedy and don't ask more than the client can give.  Most of the time, they only want a symbolic offering that shows the client is grateful for the guidance they're offering. 

One of my favorite offerings takes the form of adimú, which usually translates as cooked food prepared for the Orichás.  Sometimes this can be food that you, yourself, plan to eat, too, but if you're preparing it as an adimú, you always serve the Orichás first.  Don't give them leftovers!  After all, they're the honored guests.  Sometimes, though, you prepare food that's just for them.  Ogún likes a sweet potato, baked or fried, rubbed with red palm oil and maybe a little molasses.  Ochún likes an omelette with a little chard and dried shrimp.  Changó loves fried okra.  There are recipes books, recipes on the internet, and even programs on youtube that show you how to cook food for the Orichás.  The recipes, manner of preparation and ingredients, can vary from one cook to another, but the most important thing is that the adimú be prepared with love and devotion. It should be served on a nice plate reserved just for the Orichá, and disposed of in the right way, as determined by divination.  For example, it might go in the garbage, or it might go to the railroad tracks, the river, the crossroads, or the wilderness.  The Orichás say how long to leave it and where to take it to dispose of it.  It's important to dispose of it in a way that doesn't harm the environment or cause unsightly litter.  The Orichás express themselves through the elements of nature, so they want you to respect the natural environment and keep it clean.

The word ebó comes from Yoruba and means both "sacrifice" and "offering" because these two things are interconnected.  Sacrifice doesn't always mean cutting an animal's throat and offering blood. Sacrifice means giving up something that means something to you, as a way to show you're devoted to the Orichás and appreciate what they do for you. When you buy flowers and put them for the Orichás, you're sacrificing the money that you would otherwise be spending on yourself. You're taking time you could spend doing something else to go to the market and buy the flowers. You arrange them in a vase with care and love. These actions require effort on your part, and they constitute a sacrifice. When you make food and give it to the Orichás, you're sacrificing food you would otherwise eat yourself.  Again, this may not seem like a big deal when you have plenty of food to go around, but Santería comes from a culture marked by economic hardship, where offering food to another was truly a meaningful sacrifice.  Another form of ebó is behavior modification, such as avoiding alcohol or staying away from large crowds. That's a sacrifice, if you like to drink and party.  Spiritual cleansings and baths are also considered ebó, because there's some time, expense and effort involved in getting the ingredients together and taking the bath in the prescribed way.  It's not just about money; it's about giving the time to the Orichás to carry out their wishes, and showing obedience by following their advice.  For people who are willful, used to getting their own way, and doing whatever they want, showing obedience and humility can be a major sacrifice, because it means giving up behavior that displeases the Orichás.  

All living things have aché (spiritual energy), so even a seemingly small gift like a glass of cool water has great metaphysical importance.  Water's the source of life. Without it, the planet would die.  Fruits and vegetables come from the earth and depend on rainwater to thrive.  Without them, we'd starve.  Honey and molasses make life sweeter.  Oils, like cocoa butter or red palm oil, make things go smoother.  Simple, natural ingredients make the best adimús and offerings because they're so closely connected to life itself.  Flowers bring beauty into our lives. Candles offer light and warmth.  When you understand the spiritual properties of these offerings, they're no longer simple things but profoundly meaningful ones.

So, rethink the concept of sacrifice, if you're put off by it.  Maybe it's not what you think it is.  Yes, once in a while an animal dies and there's blood. But most of the time, it's not that. It's something simpler, fresher, cooler, and gentler, because the religion is all about living in harmony with nature, with other people, with egun, and with the Orichás, and most of the time, that's accomplished with gestures of love and devotion, not the drawing of blood.


Here's a link to the Adimú Network, which teaches you how to make traditional foods for the Orichás.  The recipes are prepared by an experienced Santera who also happens to be a great cook!

We're not very good at keeping secrets in our modern culture. Social networking and text messaging make it possible for us to follow the intimate details of our friends' lives and receive tons of information from all around the world at the touch of a little button.  A lot of people have trouble understanding why they need to keep anything secret unless they've done something bad and they don't want anyone to know about it. Secrecy suggests underhanded, suspicious behavior, and anything done in secret must be either illegal or immoral.  Otherwise, why keep it secret?  Popular magazines exist for the sole purpose of uncovering people's secrets.  Just think what happened the last time a celebrity or politician tried to keep a secret.... It usually leads to scandal.

In Santería, secrecy has a completely different meaning, and a different social function.  It creates a barrier between insiders and outsiders, making sure the religion remains in the hands of people who will safeguard it and respect it as it was handed down to us by the ancestors. There's no real reason why outsiders need to know certain information.  What would they do with the information if they had it? It would be useless to them, because they don't have the aché (divine energy) to understand it fully.  Santeros don't have an evangelical mission and don't try to convert outsiders to the religion. It's irrelevant if outsiders understand Santería or not.  Those who practice it understand it, that's what matters. Santeros don't feel any particular zeal to get everything about the religion out in the open and share it with the world.  If someone doesn't know about Santería or doesn't appreciate it, it's their loss.  Contrary to what many outsiders think, the secrecy surrounding Santería isn't there to cover up evil deeds.  Secrecy surrounds the religion because the knowledge that comes from Santería is so precious, it can't be squandered.  No one would put a pot of gold in the front yard and stick a sign on it saying: take some.  Santeros feel the same way about the sacred teachings of the religion.  Knowledge is for those who've made a serious commitment to the religion, who respect tradition, and who will use the knowledge to good ends.

Sometimes it's hard to know who's your friend and who's your enemy.  If you share knowledge with someone you think is a friend and later he turns against you, he can use the knowledge he got from you to harm you.  We're not just talking about gossip and the potential for blackmail. We're talking about spiritual power, too, because practitioners of Santería learn how to align themselves with the aché of the Orichás, who bring them health, prosperity, success, and allow them to overcome their enemies, not through witchcraft but through the spiritual protection the Orichás offer their children.  Through secret ceremonies, Santeros strengthen their own personal aché and enlist the help of the Orichás to solve problems.  The secrecy of the ceremonies isn't to hide evil; it's to protect what's good and necessary in life, and keep it in the right hands. Those who are initiated into the religion have a sacred obligation to do the right thing.

In part, Santería's reputation for secrecy goes back in time, when the slaves in Cuba couldn’t practice their religion openly.  They hid the Orichás behind the saints, and kept their ceremonies and rituals secret so those with political and social power (the masters) wouldn’t punish them.  This historical experience taught Afro-Cubans to be quiet, guarded, and cautious.  But, there is something deeply engrained in the religion itself that promotes this careful approach to life.  So many of the refranes (proverbs) of Santería talk about the dangers of talking too much, of telling people information that they can use against you, of teaching others everything you know and finding yourself suddenly replaced.  Knowing when to be quiet and listen is much more important than having the gift of gab.  People who talk too much and too freely aren't to be trusted.  This isn't a paranoid or fearful approach to life but, rather, one that encourages discretion.  Think before you speak. Think about what you're saying, and who you're saying it to. Does it need to be said, or would it be better left alone?  A person who's fearless or smart or strong doesn't need to declare it to the world; his actions speak louder than words. Modesty and humility are important in Santería and a person who constantly boasts about his own greatness ends up looking small in the eyes of his community.

So why are some aspects of Santería kept secret? Santeros would reply: if there's no reason for others to know, why tell them? Tradition says these things are to be kept secret, so they’re kept secret. It's that simple.  Maintaining secrecy is a way of honoring tradition and the sacred teachings of our ancestors. When and if a person needs to know something, the Orichás will lead him into the religion through the proper channels.

By the way, none of the information I'm writing about on this website is secret. The information I'm sharing is general enough that anyone can have access to it. Imagine it as the tip of the iceberg, the part that's visible. There's more under the surface, but not everyone can see it.

People who are raised in the Judeo-Christian tradition are used to the idea of religious truth being written down in a sacred canonical text like the Bible or the Torah.  In fact, the first book ever printed on a printing press in Europe was a Bible, and for many years, the majority of books in print were religious texts. That's how important it is to us in our culture to have something written we can study, so we can know for sure that we're doing things "the right way."  Many of us attend Sunday school or go to class to learn about our religion.  Religious instruction is formal, carried out by teachers who know scripture.  Everything is written in a book, and what's in the book is the law.  The belief that we can study religion and know it through book learning is so deeply ingrained in us, that it's hard for some people to accept Santería as a bona fide religion precisely because it has no Holy Book, and no centralized authority figure who interprets doctrine for all practitioners.  

The fact that Santería has been kept alive for hundreds of years via oral tradition is understandable in historical context - in Cuba, slaves could not read and write - but in practical terms, it means there's no "how to" manual for Santería. Someone who wants to know what "authentic Santería" is like, and who imagines that all knowledge about the religion can be written down, agreed upon, and put into practice the same way by millions of people around the world, well, this person will be bitterly disappointed.  Looking for the single right way to do something in Santería is like looking for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.  It always eludes us, because it doesn't really exist.

Learning through oral tradition engages the mind in a different way than book learning.  First, it requires a lot more time, because it requires a lot of repetition and memorization. The initiate has to be patient, listen, learn, absorb, meditate, and accept the limits of his knowledge as a beginner.  Until a solid foundation has been laid, more complex ideas simply won't make sense, no matter how intelligent you are.  Elders will tell you that Santería requires the head (the mind)  to be transformed via the aché (energy) of the Orichás, and this is something that happens very slowly, poco a poco (little by little).  A popular refrán (proverb) says:  The most certain way to know nothing is to learn everything all at once and too quickly.  Another refrán reminds us that no one knows everything, because knowledge was spread all over the world: No matter how much you think you know, you never know it all.  One head can't hold that much knowledge.

These sayings suggest that Santería views learning as a lifelong process, and one that's never fully complete.  There are definitely rules about how things should be done, and learning to respect the rules is an important part of spiritual development. But, the only way you can learn what's right and what's wrong, what's expected and what's going to cause problems for you, is by listening to your godmother or godfather,  learning how things are done in your particular lineage, and participating in religious activities with your community.  The elders will teach you, poco a poco, what you need to know, when you're ready to know it.  As the  learner, you can't set the pace; the teacher sets it for you. However, most teachers are delighted to find students who want to learn and who are serious about the religion.  In emotionally healthy communities, elders share their knowledge with younger Santeros/as to guarantee the knowledge isn't lost.

In Cuba, especially in small provincial cities like Palmira, everyone in the Santería community knows everyone, they know the lineage they come from, they know the godparents, the parents and grandparents of the godparents, and if they trace history back enough generations, they'll probably even discover blood families ties to each other.  Iyabós (novices, new initiates) are held accountable and carefully watched by elders in the community, who don't hesitate to correct behavior that's inappropriate, or report to the godparent any kind of misconduct.  Social pressure to conform to the expected norms of the ilé (community of Santería worshippers) keeps people in line, and makes sure there's uniformity within that community.  Everyone knows who's serious about the religion and who's not, who does things properly and who doesn't. Everyone knows the elders, they know who's an oriaté (master of religious ceremony), who's an expert at divination, who knows herbs, in short, they know who to ask when they're in doubt, and there's no need to have it written down in a book, because they have their elders at hand.

If you're not initiated and don't belong to a community of Santeros, what are you supposed to do?  Fortunately, many skilled priests are writing about the religion now, both in book form and on the internet.  Much more written information is available now than ever before, and there's less reluctance on the part of Santeros/as to share information with outsiders.  My advice is to read a variety of sources and look for common threads, patterns, and general observations that seem to be repeated by multiple authors.  Use your critical thinking skills to question the qualifications of the writer, the reliability of the information, and the author's motive for writing.  Think about what you read, and keep an open mind. Use book learning to understand in theory what the religion is like, but don't forget that book learning has limits.  Avoid writers who claim to possess the absolute and only truth, especially if they're arrogant and disrespectful of other people.  After you've looked at some books and some internet sites, you'll start to get a sense of who gives reliable information and who doesn't. Trust your judgment, and let your head lead you in the direction you need to go in.  

Here are two websites that provide reliable accurate information. The authors are experienced Santeros with a solid base of knowledge:
http://santeriachurch.org/
http://ochanilele.wordpress.com/

It drives me crazy when people refer to Santería as Voodoo. That's like calling a Southern Baptist a Lutheran.  To someone outside those religions, they seem pretty much the same, right? Both Christian, Protestant... But, people who belong to those churches will tell you that they're "completely different," and they'll get upset with you if you argue that there's no difference between the various Protestant sects. Same goes for those of us who practice African-based religions. Our belief systems might share some basic common threads, but Santería and Voodoo are not the same thing.
First, there are a lot of misconceptions about African-based religions in general.  If you go by what you see on television, you'd think practitioners of Voodoo and Santería are devil worshipers who practice black magic.  They stick pins in voodoo dolls and cast evil spells that kill their enemies. They manipulate and corrupt innocent people who fall under their influence, they engage in wild orgies, and practice ritualistic torture and murder.  We see images of naked (usually dark skinned) bodies, smeared with blood, dancing wildly around bonfires at midnight, all part of a mysterious ceremony that inevitably ends in violence, usually carried out on an altar heaped with candles, statues of saints, bowls, bottles, skulls, bones, dead chickens, and layers of dirt and grime.  Everything about these images inspires fear. They represent a threat to us, our orderly way of life, our belief system.  But, what you see on tv is not Voodoo. It's not Santería. It's the imagination of writers and producers who want to boost TV ratings by showing us gruesome and shocking images of others who aren't "like us."  These strange, primitive foreigners are to blame when bad things happen to nice people.  Most TV shows don't acknowledge Santería or Voodoo as religions - they always call them a cult -  so who's going to say they're showing religious intolerance? They're just showing images that correspond to what a lot of people already think is true. Sure, the world is a frightening place sometimes, and crazy people do horrible things to innocent people. But, most of the time, the crimes have nothing to do with Voodoo or Santería.  Remember Charles Manson, Ted Bundy, and John Wayne Gacy?  How about Timothy McVeigh? Or Jim Jones and his poison kool-aid?  To my knowledge, they weren't connected to Voodoo or Santería in any way. So, let's keep it real when we talk about dangerous people, ok?

What do we even mean when we talk about Voodoo? For example, there's West African Vodun, Haitian Vodou, and New Orleans style Voodoo that's practiced in the coastal regions of the southern USA.  Each variety has its own unique history, character, and set of practices.

Haitian Vodou originated with the Fon and Ewe peoples in Dahomey, West Africa (today Benin, and parts of Togo and Ghana).  Dahomey bordered the lands of the Yoruba people, many of whom would eventually go to Cuba as slaves and take their religion with them. A significant number of Dahomeans ended up as slaves in the French colony of Saint-Domingue (today Haiti). Others were taken to coastal South Carolina, notably the Gullah Islands, and to Louisiana, where the plantation system depended heavily on slave labor.  These slaves took African Vodun to the New World, where it became established in Haiti and the coastal regions of the Southern USA roughly around the same time that Santería was taking hold in Cuba among the Lucumí people. During the Haitian Revolution (1791-1804), many French families fled Saint Domingue with their slaves and settled in New Orleans, and the number of Voodoo practitioners there increased dramatically.  Over the course of the past two centuries, Haitian Vodou and New Orleans Voodoo have gradually taken on different characters, despite shared African roots, and today neither is identical to the religion as it's practiced in modern Africa.

I don't know enough about Voodoo to speak about it with authority, and I won't attempt to explain it here because it's outside my area of expertise. But, this much is clear: just because Santería and Voodoo have similar histories, it doesn't mean they're the same thing. Yes, they have roots in West Africa, and they came to the New World on slave ships. Yes, they grew up in places where Africans were marginalized and abused as slaves, and they offered practitioners a glimmer of hope and strategies for survival in a brutal world. Beyond that, each religion took its own path and developed in its own way, becoming a reflection of the people who practiced it in a particular place at a particular time. The next time you hear someone say that Santería and Voodoo are the same thing, you can confidently tell them they're mistaken.

If you want to know more about Voodoo as a religion, I recommend these books by Kenaz Filan:  The Haitian Vodou Handbook (Rochester, Vt.: Destiny Books, 2007) and The New Orleans Voodoo Handbook (Rochester, Vt.: Destiny Books, 2011).  They're sensible, informative and well written.