It is well known that Venezuelan Spiritualism has as its platform a spiritual category from which others, similar or not, have been derived, but to date we have nothing written in an orderly and logical manner that allows believers to deepen their knowledge of it.
Rites and superstitions today What popular customs seem to be associated with gods or spirits?
Whether people realise it or not, much of what they do is linked to superstitious practices or beliefs, and some of these revolve around deities or spirits; for example, did you know that celebrating birthdays comes from astrology, which places great importance on the exact date of birth, and what about birthday cakes?
It seems to have something to do with the Greek goddess Artemis, whose birthday was celebrated with moon-shaped cakes made of honey, topped with candles.
Also, did you know that wearing black to a funeral was originally a ruse to keep the evil spirits that were said to lurk on such occasions from noticing the person dressed in black?
Some black Africans paint themselves white, and in other countries mourners wear strangely coloured clothes so that the spirits will not recognise them.
What popular superstitions do you know?
In addition to these popular customs, people everywhere have their own superstitions and fears; in the West, breaking a mirror, seeing a black cat, walking under a ladder and, depending on where you live, Tuesday the 13th or Friday the 13th are all seen as omens of evil. (See: Judaism article: )
In the East, the Japanese wear their kimono with the left side folded over the right, as the opposite side is reserved for corpses.
When building their houses, the Japanese make sure that no windows or doors face north-east, so that the demons believed to come from that direction cannot find their way in.
Exploring the unknown: What unique quality distinguishes man from lower creatures?
Contrary to what evolutionists claim, man possesses a spiritual dimension that distinguishes him from inferior creatures and makes him superior to them, he is born with the impulse to investigate the unknown, he is always struggling with questions such as What is the meaning of life? What happens after death? What is man’s position in relation to the material world and, indeed, the universe?
He is also driven by the desire to communicate with something higher and more powerful than himself, in order to gain some mastery over his environment and his life.
How does a certain scholar describe “spirituality”?
The perseverance with which man, throughout his history, has transcended himself; his energies have never been directed solely to satisfying the necessities of life, but have always been searching, groping, striving for the unattainable; this strange impulse inherent in man is his spirituality.
Venezuelan Spiritism: Cult, religion and legend.
In the central west of Venezuela, in the mountain of Sorte, spirits circulate everywhere, ready to take on a physical form among the many mediums who gather to worship a trilogy of popular gods called the “three powers”, led by an Indian woman called Maria Lionza.
She is the queen, mother or enlightenment of a spiritist, folkloric devotion in Venezuela, these believers are known as “marialionceros”.
There are many legends about this India, the most folkloric symbol of which is a sculpture mounted on a tapir (tapir is known in Venezuela), with her arms raised, holding a female pelvic bone.
Close to the Indian Maria Lionza, there is the Indian Guaicaipuro; he was an indigenous cacique who fought against the Spanish conquerors and the Negro Primero; he was a soldier of independence who fought with Simón Bolívar, he establishes the triad of ideals at the top of a hierarchical structure that composes the folkloric, but they do not accept earthly reasoning.
The most important dates in the calendar are the 12th of October, known as the “Day of the Race”, and the “Day of the Indigenous Resistance”, when the “magic mountain” is visited by pilgrims.
Gods and pilgrimages.
The European foundations of Catholic, African and indigenous religions are based on Marianlioncero spiritualism, which recognises only the Holy Trinity and the Virgin Mary above the triad led by Maria Lionza (see: article on Christianity and Freemasonry).
Below her is a list of personalities such as African gods, including civilians with historical pedigree such as the first Simón Bolívar, Antonio José de Sucre and Francisco de Miranda, traditional symbols, prestigious doctors of the past such as Dr José Gregorio Hernández, known as the venerated (usually idolised as a saint), Viking kings and princes.
On a lower level, we find the so-called “santos malandros” (evil saints), to whom powers are attributed that supposedly come from beyond the grave; they are recognised as the “less luminous” spirits of the pantheon.
Some of them can appear on the mountain of Sorte, in the midst of the abundant spiritualists who appear on the date of 12 October, they are commissioned for those who seek advice or healing.
The spiritualists call the spirits to enter the body, saying that they come from the spirit world, according to the person’s needs. However, they need the permission of the one known as the Mother of All (Maria Lionza).
The spiritist prepares to temporarily hand over his matter to the spirit before transporting himself and asks the India Maria Lionza who will occupy his body, which can be the Viking court, doctors and the low or high court of the Malandros.
Some courts of the spirits are more used than others because they have more fans, so in this video we want to show you which are the most popular courts of witchcraft.
Rituals and religion.
Some people come to the mountain to be visited by these spiritists (mediums) for so-called purifications, cures of illnesses or for advice.
The ceremonies begin and the air is polluted with tobacco fumes, which the marialionceros consider essential for purification and for evoking the souls and obtaining the energy radiated by the mediums and disciples.
The men do not wear shirts and the women wear little clothing, the mediums experience tremors, their voices and faces become deformed, other mediums pierce their cheeks, eyebrows and legs, a medium chooses a small child and turns it round and round, the mother feels a sudden shock of the spirit, together with changes in her face or voice.
In other places on the same mountain, they sacrifice animals, make illustrations with blood on the body of the companion; they walk over burning coals; they show that what is happening does not belong to this world.
People (patients) lie on the ground, supposedly unconscious, and after a while they stand up as if waking from a dream; they are said to be enlightened, illuminated or cured (see: article on Hindu culture: ).
According to Wade Glenn, who estimates that 45% of Venezuelans and another 45% of foreigners (90% in total) profess at least the Catholic religion, the veneration of Maria Lionza and other entities in Venezuela is impressive, apparently not excluding the others.
The other part of the Catholic religion says that we are all Catholic Christians, those of us who meet on Sundays in a church, temple, etc…, listen to Mass, do Bible studies and worship one God and his son Jesus.
The experts say that religious ignorance is what makes these spiritualists and followers say that they are Catholic, in this doctrine one cannot be a Santero and Catholic at the same time, it is impracticable, nevertheless, in the Mountain of Sorte the law that counts is the one that they express.
There may be many doubts and questions about what Venezuelan Spiritism is all about, so we would like to present the following video where we will explain a little more about the subject and you will understand a little better what it is all about.
The images of Maria Lionza and the Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus, will not abandon the altar they share, nor the devotion of those who pray to them.
Venezuelan Spiritism and its Courts.
Venezuelan occultism, or spiritism, is directly linked to the figures of the spirits of the deceased, who scourge and please the body of the deceased, and all the practices that are frightening when observed.
Venezuelan Marialioncero Spiritism is a cult with an indigenous base. The believers believe that the spirits are missionaries led by the Queen, who, according to God, receives orders to help all those who need her.
The main basis of Marialioncero spiritism is the incorporation of the spirit into a sorcerer (medium) or commonly known as “materia” and their work is in healing, cleansing or giving some advice on ways of life to their believers.
Their basic tools for performing rituals are flowers, fruits, candles, rum and tobacco; the ceremonies they perform are full of colour, taking the power of nature and respecting the universal laws and the elements.
The spirits, in these movements of Venezuelan magicians, have their ranks, in which God is in the first place, above all the entities, archangels, angels, saints and virgins, and in the centre Maria Lionza, who forms the celestial trinity with the Indian Guaicaipuro, the black Felipe, called the three powers.
Then the different spiritual courts, where the spirits that are integrated with the magicians (mediums) are concerned, according to experts say that there are about 21 courts, but the most known are
White Court: in other places it is known as the Chamarrera, it is made up of sorcerers who have hidden secrets and work with different plants, in this court we find characters such as: Don Toribio Montañez, Lino de las Mercedes Valle (known as Professor Lino Valles), Don Nicanor Ochoa Pinto, la negra Francisca Duarte, (anima del Taguapire), el Platinado, el sute Serrano, la negra Tomasa, el negro Congo, la negra del Congo, la negra Juana de Curiepe and the list of infinite characters continues; they are characterised by their joy and their expressions when speaking colloquially.
Indian court: Made up of caciques and Indians who rebelled against the Spanish at the time of colonisation, it is led by cacique Guaicaipuro and includes the Rosa, Parmaconi, Tiuna, Tamanaco, Tibisay and Chicuramay Indians, among others.
African Court: organised by the spirits of the African pantheon, it is led by the 7 African powers; also a beautiful being known as Father Eloy of Africa, Mr Angelo, Cochis Babao, Kimbo; Princess Alondra and the Great Centaur of Africa; it is marked by the use of candles and the predominant colour red, they perform dances and songs.
Viking Court: is made up of Nordic spirits with great physical strength such as Mr Barbarian, Mr Viking, Erick the Red and his daughters Rosmelyn and Erika; they are classified for performing invigorating ceremonies and drinking whisky with rose petals.
Gypsy courtyard: this is one of the most beautiful courtyards, without underestimating the others: Lorenzo Manos de Fuego, the Patriarch, La Gitana Isabella, Constanza, among others; the ceremonies are characterised by perfumes, flowers, fire and everything based on love.
Nowadays there are many courts, but with different characters and all with the aim of helping others; the mountain of Sorte was declared a natural monument in 1960 and although it is visited by its followers all year round, the day of its ceremonies is the 12th of October. There are groups of sorcerers who perform a collective act known as the Dance of the Embers or the Dance of the Candle.
Venezuelan sorcery is a magical symbiosis, agnostic, rooted in the fundamental beginnings of the Spiritist doctrine founded by Alan Kardec, and pigmented with the magic of its Indians and ancestors.
The Chamarrera Court.
It is the second most important court and the main one within the marialionero spiritualism, highlighting that the two were in different historical epochs in Venezuela.
This court Chamarrera all the spirits belong to the folkloric llanero of Venezuela, also they are characterized this court since their spirits is conform with wise and old, many of them died with advanced age from the 70 and 120 years approximately (see: article Voodoo in Haiti).
They stand out for their knowledge of nature, they perform healings, dethronements, ensalmar, they are energetic to counteract the sorcery imposed by some people, some of the spirits concerned came to be prayers, giving help to people in need by offering their prayers and moving from village to village.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pg7zUIi4Pew
After their death, they continue to help and save people through the mediums, the Chamarrera court has an affinity and intertwined with the court known as the Don Juanes.
The Chamarrera Court is made up of four pillars, which are Francisca Duarte (El Anima del Taguapire); Don Toribio Peña Montañez, Don Nicanor Ochoa Pinto Morillo, Don Juan de los Tabacos.
The Venezuelan Indian Court.
This is made up of the indigenous ancestors who fought against the Spanish colonisation in life and after their death they continue to fight for the land, in this court we can find one of the manifestations of Queen Maria Lionza, they make a scale that they call “The India Yara”.
According to history, India Yara was born in the tribe of Caquetío, her father, the cacique Yaracuy, wanted to kill her when he saw that his daughter had green eyes, according to the cacique this was a sign of bad luck, this news reached the ears of the cacique Manaure, who then moved to the tribe of Caquetias to protect the newborn girl.
For Cacique Yaracuy, the only solution to keep the girl alive was for Manaure to take her away from his lands, which he did; he took the girl to the mountains of the region where she was raised, learned the secrets of nature and studied the Spanish language; it is also said that when Yaracuy died, the Indian Yara became the cacique of the tribe where she was born.
Don’t miss this video to find out more about the story of the Indian Yara and how she became such an important figure in this religion.
The head of this court is Cacique Guaicaipuro, who was appointed president of Venezuela and who united the Indian tribes in the fight against Spanish colonisation. On the 12th of October, the indigenous resistance is celebrated on the mountain of Sorte (known as the Sacred Mountain of Maria Lionza), where a ceremony known as the dance in candela is held, in which the chief sorcerer and the most expert of the so-called banks enter to dance on the burning embers carried by their respective spirits.
The Viking court.
It is also known as the barbarian court, the spirits referred to are the strongest and in life they were of great size; the Viking era dates back to around the year 900, they were pirates and sailors, they were found in some countries such as Iceland, Mongolia, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, among others.
Erik the Red was born around 950 in the area of Jaeren Rogaland in Norway; he was the son of Thorvald Asvalsson and died in Greenland in 1003. He founded the first Viking settlement in the same town where he died, he is also known as Erick Thorvaldssen and his nickname was “The Red” because of the genocides he carried out during his conquests.
Another Viking is the son of Ekick Red, he is known as Leif Ekicksson, born in Iceland in 970 and died in 1020, according to him he was one of the first Vikings to set foot in North America (they were known as pagans at the beginning, they did not believe in God) as they had their own gods.
Other famous Vikings coexisted: Mister Forex, King Viking, Mister Viking, Mister Safari, Mister Barbarian, Mister Sapphire, Mister Black Viking, Prince Johnson and others. The word “Mister” means “sir”). It is important to remember that they were not monsters.
Their language can be Nordic or English, they are already doing their missions and they speak in Spanish, not perfectly but they are understood, they also use these materials the vinkingos as: the cape, glasses, Viking helmet, ribbons, cigars or tobaccos, animal leather boot (used to bottle wine, whiskey or water), dagger, rose petals and fruits. Their colours are orange or red, black, etc. They also like to drink whisky, wine or water.
When there is a healing they are given a blade, it is not to bleed the material or the spiritist, what they do is cut the skin a little so that it bleeds for the healing of the person, they also ask for some needles or skewers for when they are very charged with energy and need to drain the powers to protect a patient.
The Malandra Court.
This cult is the most recent and its representative symbols are made up of delinquents of both sexes, most of whom died violent deaths in the 60s, 70s and 80s. The rise of this belief was accelerated in the popular areas and places inhabited by people with few resources, who ascended the altars of the sorcerers.
This court, known as calé, is made up of malandros, the term used to identify delinquents, and these altars can be found in the neighbourhoods around the city of Caracas and in other states in Venezuela.
In the 1970s there was an alarming increase in violent deaths and the authorities saw no way of protecting the citizens; for the followers of this ceremony, the spirits of criminals become intermediaries between the followers and heavenly favours.
According to experts who have studied the phenomenon, these malandros have one thing in common: in life they were considered heroes because they stole for the benefit of their communities.
The court of the malandros is made up of Malandro Ismael, Petróleo crudo, cabeza e motor, Felix Azuaje, Malandro Ratón, Luis, Antonio, Miguelito, Luis Segundo Virguez “el malandro de la parroquia”, tres cuchillos, Isabelita, el muelita, William, el chino, la Cleo, Oscarsito, Rigoberto Martines, among others.
How to prepare a medium.
There is a spiritualist chair known as the Cosmic Michaeline Celestialist Chair “San Miguel Arcangel”, founded on 29 September 1933. Later its name was changed to the Chair of the Ray of Light.
The Teacher is the Archangel Michael, the ruler of the activities of the Chair, which provides services to those who visit it, without distinction of creed, race, colour or social condition, to those in need, where they can practice spiritualism and explain the bases of their experiences.
It is in this chair that they can prepare themselves as mediums of the individual, the spirits that are incorporated do not spoil the matter (it is known as mediums of incorporation) and they arrive giving messages of true light and giving help to the people who visit the chair.
One of the most dangerous rituals, but one that can elevate the practitioners to the highest rank, is the dance on the candela, one of the most impressive demonstrations you will ever see. Don’t miss the video below.
In this place, the body is not mistreated, the mediums are prepared earthly and spiritually for the tasks they will perform, they are given an earthly hierarchy to respect and they continue their studies.
The spiritual characters that are integrated come with an appropriate verb and do not come mistreating nor hurting the mediums, fulfilling what is required, a vibration comes as a path towards spirituality, respecting the practices that are formed and transiting to the beautiful universal law “As above so below” and it is understood that up on the higher plane there are no negative situations.
Basically, what can be said about the basis of all such practices?
In examining the various aspects of Spiritualism, we have found that they are closely related to beliefs about souls leaving the body and the existence of spirits, good and evil.
In essence, then, belief in spirits is based on a form of polytheism that has its roots in the doctrine of the immortality of the human soul.
Many people realise that this is all superstition and has no real basis in reality, adding that if they engage in such practices it is only for fun, others even claim that spiritism is actually helpful because it provides psychological security to people who would otherwise be too intimidated by the obstacles they face in life.
