$18.95
A practical, hands-on guide to Mexican-American folk magic.
American Brujeria is about the fascinating blend of American and Mexican folk magic currently practiced by those living in the US but whose roots are steeped in Mexican culture. The author, who has named this tradition “American brujeria,” explores this magical system, while also offering practical advice on using it. American brujeria is a living, vital tradition that -- while it shares things in common with other folk magic traditions, such as American Conjure—also features its own unique traditions, as well as familiar ones, such as the veneration of saints, both canonized, such as Guadalupe, and folk saints like Santa Muerte.
American Brujeria includes stories from Mexico (folk saints, the story of Guadalupe), the influence of Catholicism, the art of limpias (spiritual cleansings), spell casting, oil crafting, praying the rosary (in English and Spanish), making an altar to Guadalupe, using novena candle magic, crafting protective charms from saints’ medals, and more.
Real traditional Brujería is a very secretive tradition accessible to very few people. (When written correctly in Spanish, as opposed to Spanglish, Brujería has an acute accent over the i. You must be mentored by a real brujo/a, and it is not a type of magic that you handle lightly.
When you ask Mexican American folks what Mexican folk magic is called, they will often refer to it as Brujería, again, sometimes as a joke, but it’s what we continue to call it nonetheless. While this is traditionally inaccurate, there is a large tendency for folks to diverge from tradition after immigration—much like how you have Voodoo, Haitian Vodou, Puerto Rican Voodoo (Sanse), and New Orleans Voodoo. Still, it would be damaging to my culture to write a book that is not actually about real traditional Brujería. I wanted to help preserve the meaning of Brujería and I wanted to differentiate between the traditional kind and what we call Brujeria here in America. Thus, I coined the term American Brujeria to describe this unique path.
