From The Warriors

Ancestral Message, Extended Divination + Directions

Blessed Saturday!

This offering is specifically an ancestral message, and while it is first and foremost to my Hoodoo and Conjure-folk, it should be known that the wider bodies of American Folk Magicks and War Spirits are all contributing here. The Land herself is calling for change, to protect what Lives, to protect what is Green and Good. Gratitude to the Ancestors and especially the warriors, to the hunters and protectors, to the matriarchs and Mami Wata.

There is a long and detailed divination at the end of this offering followed by some recommendations and links, for a personal session please book with me here.

Change makes folks itch, conflict can be triggering, and asking others to try new things (or reclaim some old ways in new spaces) is uncomfortable to say the least. It’s one thing to say we honor Nat Turner or Mother Araminta, but it’s another to actively carry on the work of justice and liberation. The idea of turning the other cheek may be admirable and applicable in some spaces but not here. We are not peaceful but rather we have collectively become complacent, fearful, harmless, acquiescent, and then defensive about it all. We need to call up bravery and courage, make peace with the fact that speaking up for the good of others may lose us friends, that truly doing what is right may not have a happy outcome. Living in fear of fear of fear has folks trapped, spines liquified. This isn’t to say we don’t have reasons here in the US for being complacent, hooked on convenience. This is an oppressive empire and a lot of us make up the back of house workforce. It can be a rough wake-up call when you realize that so much of your life, even with struggle, contributes to the harm of another (think of The Good Place and the realization most people don't understand the production behind their purchases). I like my cozy life, and I want it to be cozier and easier, softer. But not at the blood expense of others, not like an animal caged in a zoo, and not in a way that murders the Earth. So conversations need to be had and choices made. Do you understand your own desires? Who told you a certain lifestyle will finally get you that recognition? Are you consuming what you actually want or are you hoping to become someone accepting of self through acquisition? Is more and newer actually better if it’s stacked up in a landfilll in Ghana tomorrow? Are we really pro-Ancestors if we throw our garbage to the Ivory Coast and disparage the wounds of our international siblings? Free Congo, Free Sudan, the folks chanted. Not My Business Not My Problem, they followed up with. Black Capitalism will not save us.

I am by no means as tough a person as I want to think I am. I cry at the drop of a hat, I hate leaving my house. But I abhor injustice and cruelty enough that I would rather interfere than not, facing myself would be impossible after walking away. We may not be superheroes or impervious to danger but we do have the gift of heart and presence. I would rather speak up than abandon. Something that comes to mind is a moment I’ll never forget. I was at my local Target (a couple years ago) and saw a young Black man being harassed by a white woman, a concerned young woman to the side of the young man. I stepped in to be on their side, but the scenario continued to escalate until cops were called. Praises up it was resolved without violence but not justly, not with any truth. I spoke to the cops multiple times, from the beginning to after a manager who was not present for the events lied boldfaced to an officer. In the end the weeping woman who had been harassing the young man got her way, the store employees continued on like they hadn’t just banded together in lies. The young man was still a teenager, the woman a whole adult with a baby. I cried a lot in my car, I was fucked up for days because so many shootings had recently happened. It’s not a glamorous story, it’s not an uncommon story, but it is an example. We don’t all have to embody a guerilla fighter, but we can become civil warriors: to create a breakfast program and feed children, or provide emergency response services, to protect our neighbors without documentation, this is also the work of the warrior.

Some of us are called to this work whether or not we want it. Many days I feel like I have already fought enough, through myself to get to myself, through wounds to get to peace. But that’s the thing, we have to work on self mastery first. We have to balance ourselves so that we can break our chains and wield them as tools. This is different for everyone: my journey might look like pioneering thought, the composition and delivery of practical and applicable spiritual work borne from my challenges, burdens, mistakes, goals, and gifts. I have a one track mind of using as much of my own experience as possible to help others not only feel seen but equipped and inspired, my lane is the care and nourishing of spirit. We have folks caring for the coral reefs, tending to the wetlands, offering classes on security. As I’m wrapping this message up I’m sitting in on the first session of a multi-week caregiving class that was offered for free, one of the amazing resources of Supernova Momma. My mentor Baba Flowers is tending to the lineage of storytelling and spirit-work through literature. We have Greta Thunberg who seems to genuinely delight in their activism. We are complex individuals and our lanes of purpose and stewardship are varied, likely to evolve and change throughout life. Even in these spaces the work we are called to should be aligned with our spirits and bring some joy or satisfaction.

In this incredibly Martian age, we are called to be way-makers and road-pavers, the ones wielding the axe or machete to cut through the wilderness. Without the hunter, we do not eat. Without the way-makers, we are stagnant. While warriors are honored and loved, they aren’t always welcomed or seen with clarity until after the work is done - everyone likes to eat, everyone likes the benefit of the work. As spirits and as concepts, the Warrior(s) can be hot tempered, demanding, forceful, but also protective. They are not asking if it is okay to defend themselves or their home, but simply doing so (which is another reason that actual warrior spirits require preparation according to your lineage). At the end of the day if the message does nothing else let it be a reminder, and especially for those who think they want to be conjure. Are you comfortable with making chicken feet? Do you understand the roots of Hoodoo? If red brick dust and sulfur scares you then at least hit the daily Psalm 91 and light some frankincense. These ain’t the seasons to be scary, nor the time to play pretend. There is no space for conjure cosplay and folks don’t need to be knowing what you doing.

This message comes from the Dead and from the Land. We have to draw a line and stand on it, we have to speak up instead of waiting for an invisible force to come save us. Think about how we can band together, think about the ways we can start showing up for one another. We will have to grow, to expand, to shift, to learn, to reach out.