About Cultural Appropriation 

Here are a few things about cultural appropriation. You cannot appropriate your own culture. I know to some people that might sound moronic. But I get that question all the time. I hear, “I’m half Irish and half Puerto Rican can I practice Spiritism?” Let me tell you something, it is your birthright to practice the religion of your ancestors. If you go back far enough, we all practiced the same religion at one point in time which was Spiritism. The blood that runs through your veins, in your DNA, gives you the license to be able to call on your ancestral spirits. It does not give you the right to call on someone else’s ancestors or act like a priest in a closed religion. That is cultural appropriation. My time on TikTok has forced me to explain the difference between ethnically closed practices and initiation-based  religions many times. So, I would like to talk about what is and what is not acceptable.  The general rule is if you have to ask whether or not you can practice something the answer is probably no. Anyone can read any book about any cultural practices. Learning about other people’s cultures and traditions is crucial for understanding the world. No one can tell you that you cannot read a book about a religion or an ethnic group or their practices. Let us take a look at a few religious traditions to understand the differences between closed and initiation-based practices.   

Zoroastrianism is one of the oldest religions in the world. But to be a Zoroastrian means that your father and mother are both Zoroastrians by birth. Freddie Mercury was a Zoroastrian. If one of your parents is Zoroastrian and one of them is not, it means that you are not. That means only children with two Zoroastrian parents are considered in the religion. Anyone who is not born a pure Zoroastrian by ethnicity cannot convert to being a Zoroastrian. This is a closed religion based on ethnicity and one of the most extreme examples. 

Let us say you want to study Judaism and the Kabbalah. Even if you become a convert to the Jewish faith you will never be Jewish. Because being Jewish means that you were born a Jew. Even though you can practice the religion you are never going to be truly Jewish. That is an example of an ethnic-based religion with foreigners as converts. 

Hoodoo is a set of folk practices that were performed by Black people in the south, predominantly in the Carolinas of the United States. Folks that practice Hoodoo and rootwork are traditionally protestant Christians. When someone practices hoodoo and rootwork they are calling on their ancestral spirits. Hoodoo is a African American slave magic. And if you are not Black this practice is not for you. I do not care what Catherine Yronwode says. Hoodoo does not come from Ireland. That is another tradition of folk magic known as Conjure, Southern Conjure, or Appalachian folk magic. People who work in the Conjure traditions use the same kinds of magical equipment. That can be jars, candles, honey, nails, crossroad spirits, etc. But if you are not a descendant of black slaves in the United States you do not practice Hoodoo, you practice Conjure or some other variation. 

Santeria, Palo Mayombe, Vodou, and other religions that come out of the Caribbean are initiation-based religions. Anyone of any ethnicity can be initiated into them if the spirits allow it. The traditions are closed because it requires you to be initiated to practice. When you are initiated you receive a “license” to practice the religion, learn the magic, and work with the spirits. To practice the religion properly one must get Godparents, get a reading, take the first steps towards initiation, and then be crowned with their spirit. All the traditions that come out of the Caribbean have some form of initiation to officially introduce you to the spirits no matter your ethnicity. Performing rituals that are only for initiates is appropriation. There are ways to honor the "gods and goddesses" of these traditions without being disrespectful, but you should seek the advice of an elder.  

A closed practice by ethnicity is something an ethnic group does in a religious ceremony and would be offensive for an outsider to perform. That goes for most ALL Native American traditions and rituals. A closed practice by initiation means trying to perform ceremonies that are only for initiates. You cannot wake up one morning and declare yourself a Catholic priest and perform the role of one. Well you can! But if you go down to the Catholic church on Sunday and tell everyone you will be serving Mass they will laugh in your face. All religions should be treated with the same level of respect regardless of how many people practice it. 

How can you avoid appropriating another person’s culture then? It is simple. Work with your OWN ancestral spirits and guides. By doing so this removes any confusion about what would be and not be appropriate to practice. You might be adopted and not know who your ancestors are through a family tree and that is OK. I recommend that everybody get a DNA test so that they can find out what their family's migration patterns are. And no, it is not OK to borrow from another tradition even if you do it "respectfully". It is disrespectful for you to feel entitled to take what is not yours just because you want to. That is spiritual colonization. And it is a slap in the face to the elders and the spirits of the tradition you have appropriated. Most of the time if you are not formally introduced to the spirits they will not be listening. At worst you will piss off a spirit and learn your lesson the hard way.

The only exception to this rule is…  In mixed spiritism we believe that our spirit guides and guardians can come from any time, any religion, and of any ethnicity. What is this based on? Traditional mediumship for hundreds of years. If a person who is white has a spirit in their celestial court who is specifically from a closed practice that practitioner must work with their guide and follow its direction on how to practice magic. Let me be super clear. And let’s use Hoodoo again as an example. If you are not a black American, you should not be practicing Hoodoo for others. You should not be practicing Hoodoo online, casting spells for others, or calling on another person’s ancestral spirits.   If you have a La Madama spirit guide who was a rootworker while alive, and is now one of your saints, work with her under her guidance. Your spirits will teach you and guide you. They will take you deep into the mysteries if you allow them to do their job. This kind of Hoodoo inspired work is for you and yourself only. It is the same if you had a Native, African, Indian, or Asian spirit guide. Since our spirits have influence over our life, they will drag us to where they want us to go. But your spiritual practice and important magical work should never be put online or social media. Another exception is if you are invited by a practitioner of a closed practice to come along and work with them. If the invitation is to practice side by side with your friend in the craft, it is ok. But even if you did help your friend cast their spell it does not mean you can go home and start practicing their ancestral magic. You must have the spirits to work the tradition.