Longtime readers of the blog will know that for a very, very long time we both were in a fairly hardcore atheist/skeptic phase.   This started when Lizz was talking with a former friend of ours, and this friend mentioned that she knew a lot of people lied about their spiritual/magickal experiences.  She realized then that someone could use that lying to influcence or even control someone else, and so that started a spiral which led her, and finally me, to reject everything but hard science for many, many years.

I can't remember exactly how or when it happened, but during the early or middle part of last summer, we both were again called back to the spiritual/magickal realm in some fairly overwhelming ways.

It was again to African Traditional Religions (ATRs for short) that we'd always been drawn, and were again.  These are systems such as Vodou, Santeria, Ifa, and so on.  We located a botanica down in Indianpolis and shopped there for the things we needed to replace.

The nice thing about the ATRs is that the pantheons of spirits are extremely similar across them, so that even though this botanica serves the Orishas of Santeria (the owner is an initiated Santera), one can still get items of use for those that work with the Lwa (which we are generally more drawn to).

So that was last summer, and we'd been doing very small service for some of the Lwa, and also doing readings with our NOVT decks.  A Bad Event(tm) near the end of the summer/middle of fall caused us to back off a lot from this - and about everything else, but we didn't totally abandon the spirit realm this time.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago.  She remembered that we used to have a copy of the Vodoun Gnostic Workbook - a very controversial and strange work blending Vodou with highly sexual magick and the like.  We also knew of David Beth, who had written a book entitled Vodoun Gnosis based on the VGW and his own exploration.  We bought a copy of VG and the VGW - and several others along the same lines.

She's been studying the VGW and also VG - and I've been reading a much less controversial book entitled The Hatian Voudou Handbook.  We're working on getting some small altars set up in our home, too.  Oshun, Manman Brigitte, and Erzulie Danto(r) are temporarily on our main central altar.  Papa Legba (and Ellegua) are near the door where they traditionally go.  Oggun and Oya will be next; we purchased shelves for their altars yesterday.

As we've been increasing our involvement, more and more things have been happening that have no explanation other than "we are on the right path."  Over this past weekend, on Friday and Saturday, we were very clearly sent on a mission - though we have no idea what the goal was nor for certain whom wanted us to undertake it.  But, when you are asked to travel to the Indianapolis pound and then Marion Country Jail and back to the pound, for someone you've never met, ... you have to just believe, at that point.  And a man in red and black opened a door for us.  And led us to one in black and green.

I have no idea where this will ultimately lead us.  I was once told by a fairly experienced Brujo (now deceased; I need to maybe divine if he is now a personal Lwa) that I should or would eventually become what he was yet in a different way for a different group of people.   I don't know if that was true, or if it was a self-confidence booster attempt, or what.  I don't even know if I want that kind of thing.  But... we're all "fate's bitch" and for now, I'm following where things lead, together with my partner and greatest love, Lizz.

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