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Question Title	Posted By	Question Date
Santeria and spirits	anon	Thursday, March 26, 2009
Question: Hello Br. Ignatius Mary, I was wondering if you would be able to provide more information on just what is Santeria. I know it is occult practice, and mixes voodoo practices with Catholicism, however can those so called spirits they conjur haunt people? I believe they are really demons. My daughter's ex-fiancee had told her recently that he experiences presences that hold him down at night and he actually sees figures of people in his home. He comes from South America and I asked my daughter to see if anyone in his family practices Santeria. His aunt does and he told her that when he was small he used to visit her one day she had a circle with some kind of candy around them and being small he ate the candies. When his aunt found out she commented that he must have a strong spirit since nothing happened to him. He is being what I call demonized - is this correct? I assured my daughter that since she is practicing her RC faith they cannot harm her. God is more powerful than any spells that can be cast. What about this young man though? He is not right with God and is being haunted. He actually feels hands holding him down and he cannot move and sees these so called spirits even though he doesn't practice Santeria. When my daughter had ended their engagement he did purposely break into four pieces a crucifix my daughter had brought to his home. How harmful is Santeria? thank you and God bless you for all your work here.
Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OLSM Dear Anon: Santeria merges the Yoruba religion, brought to the Caribbean from slaves brought in from Africa, with Catholic and perhaps Native American traditions. The religion of the slaves included a practice of going into a trance to communicate with ancestors and deities, as well as animal sacrifice and ritual drumming and dance in which the person is possessed by one of their "deities."Also part of the Santeria practice is the casting of curses. It was in Cuba that these traditions evolved into what we now call Santeria. It is thought that there are around 30,000+ practitioners in the United States. Curses, in essence, are a kind of prayer -- a prayer to Satan to cause harm to others. This is true regardless of whether or not the person casting the curses knows it or not. The curse, in essence, brings Satan's attention to the target to harass and attack him. Demons brought into a person's life through a curse from Santeria and similar groups can be very difficult to cast out. I think the reason for this is that the demons, in this case, are constantly "fueled" by the Santeria religion. The demons are like ants attracted to sugar. They just keep coming and coming to the sugar cube until it is consumed. Using the ant analogy, the curse is like secretly putting a sugar cube in your pocket. The demons (ants) are attracted to it and will not stop until the sugar cube is found and destroyed. My thoughts about why such curses are hard to break is speculation, but does seem to fit anecdotal evidence. It is because of these dynamics that Santaria, Voodoo, and other similar systems can be so harmful. We need to remember, however, that God is more powerful than any curse. Thus, ultimately God wins this battle if we cooperate with Him. One of the ways that curses, or hexes, are conferred onto the target is through food that is usually adulterated with various substances that are part of the curse. Your daughter's ex-fiance's experience of eating the candy may have placed a curse on him. The fact that nothing seemed to happen thing doesn't mean much. The effects of the curse can begin later -- as may be happening to this young man now. As for your daughter being a practicing Catholic, I praise God for that, being a practicing devout Catholic is not automatically immune from curses, demonic harassments, and the like. I would advise her to pray on a regular basis the Hedge Prayer of Protection found in our Catalog linked below. I would also advise her to prayer the Breaking of Spells and Curses periodically since it sounds like the man was not pleased by the break-up. Santeria and curse making is all about revenge. Better to be proactive just in case there is any attempt to curse your daughter by him or his family. God Bless, Bro. Ignatius Mary For information on how to receive help see our Help page. We suggest that before contacting us directly for help you try the Seven Steps to Self-Deliverance. These self-help steps will often resolve the problem. Also our Spiritual Warfare Prayer Catalog contains many prayers that may be helpful. If needed you can ask for a Personal Consultation.

Question Title

Posted By

Question Date

Santeria and spirits

anon

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Question:

Hello Br. Ignatius Mary,

I was wondering if you would be able to provide more information on just what is Santeria. I know it is occult practice, and mixes voodoo practices with Catholicism, however can those so called spirits they conjur haunt people? I believe they are really demons.

My daughter's ex-fiancee had told her recently that he experiences presences that hold him down at night and he actually sees figures of people in his home. He comes from South America and I asked my daughter to see if anyone in his family practices Santeria. His aunt does and he told her that when he was small he used to visit her one day she had a circle with some kind of candy around them and being small he ate the candies. When his aunt found out she commented that he must have a strong spirit since nothing happened to him.

He is being what I call demonized - is this correct? I assured my daughter that since she is practicing her RC faith they cannot harm her. God is more powerful than any spells that can be cast. What about this young man though? He is not right with God and is being haunted. He actually feels hands holding him down and he cannot move and sees these so called spirits even though he doesn't practice Santeria. When my daughter had ended their engagement he did purposely break into four pieces a crucifix my daughter had brought to his home.

How harmful is Santeria?

thank you and God bless you for all your work here.

Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OLSM

Dear Anon:

Santeria merges the Yoruba religion, brought to the Caribbean from slaves brought in from Africa, with Catholic and perhaps Native American traditions. The religion of the slaves included a practice of going into a trance to communicate with ancestors and deities, as well as animal sacrifice and ritual drumming and dance in which the person is possessed by one of their "deities."Also part of the Santeria practice is the casting of curses.

It was in Cuba that these traditions evolved into what we now call Santeria. It is thought that there are around 30,000+ practitioners in the United States.

Curses, in essence, are a kind of prayer -- a prayer to Satan to cause harm to others. This is true regardless of whether or not the person casting the curses knows it or not.

The curse, in essence, brings Satan's attention to the target to harass and attack him. Demons brought into a person's life through a curse from Santeria and similar groups can be very difficult to cast out. I think the reason for this is that the demons, in this case, are constantly "fueled" by the Santeria religion. The demons are like ants attracted to sugar. They just keep coming and coming to the sugar cube until it is consumed. Using the ant analogy, the curse is like secretly putting a sugar cube in your pocket. The demons (ants) are attracted to it and will not stop until the sugar cube is found and destroyed.

My thoughts about why such curses are hard to break is speculation, but does seem to fit anecdotal evidence. It is because of these dynamics that Santaria, Voodoo, and other similar systems can be so harmful.

We need to remember, however, that God is more powerful than any curse. Thus, ultimately God wins this battle if we cooperate with Him.

One of the ways that curses, or hexes, are conferred onto the target is through food that is usually adulterated with various substances that are part of the curse. Your daughter's ex-fiance's experience of eating the candy may have placed a curse on him. The fact that nothing seemed to happen thing doesn't mean much. The effects of the curse can begin later -- as may be happening to this young man now.

As for your daughter being a practicing Catholic, I praise God for that, being a practicing devout Catholic is not automatically immune from curses, demonic harassments, and the like.

I would advise her to pray on a regular basis the Hedge Prayer of Protection found in our Catalog linked below. I would also advise her to prayer the Breaking of Spells and Curses periodically since it sounds like the man was not pleased by the break-up. Santeria and curse making is all about revenge. Better to be proactive just in case there is any attempt to curse your daughter by him or his family.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary

For information on how to receive help see our Help page. We suggest that before contacting us directly for help you try the Seven Steps to Self-Deliverance. These self-help steps will often resolve the problem. Also our Spiritual Warfare Prayer Catalog contains many prayers that may be helpful. If needed you can ask for a Personal Consultation.