Like so much else in the brujo world, I have not one "name" but several. You will find me going by Mayahuel, after an Aztec (M�xica) goddess. Sometimes I'm called Juana Bruja, which is both joking and serious. The "Juana" part is the Spanish version of one of my given birth names. The two together are intended to give an impression such as that as "Jane Doe". One gem, many facets. That is Brujeria, at least as I know it.
Let's dispense with the silliness right from the start, shall we? No, I'm not obsessed with Carlos Casteneda's works (though they are certainly engrossing), nor am I something out of Vampire The Masquerade (besides, the Brujah Clan--note that's Brujah and not bruja--don't seem to have much to do with Mesoamerican mysticism). I'm not a fortune teller, either. It seems to me that self-proclaimed psychics are a nickel a dozen, and besides, anybody who wants to know their future is, in my opinion, a great fool. Brujeria is a broad path embracing virtually hundreds of traditions of the Americas--there is no right or wrong way, but many ways. Brujeria is NOT Wicca and a brujo/bruja is not a Wiccan. We are not Druids or Thelemites or Streghe or the Golden Dawn or (insert your favorite group here). We are what we are, even if what we are is complex.
So what is a brujo/bruja? With the help of my friend Felipito in Sonora, Mexico, I think I've finally hit upon an explanation most people can understand. That explanation begins, of all places, in Siberia with the Russian/Tungus word saman, who was an individual using magic to cure the sick, divine the hidden, and control events. This practice, usually referred to in American English as Shamanism, is worldwide. Taking a step back from Brujeria to examine the two practices brought me to conclude that they are essentially the same thing, with a few differences according to culture. If that's the case, when I say I am a bruja, I am also saying I am a shaman. But remember that Shamanism is as varied as the world itself, so if you don't agree with my conclusions, please investigate the shaman on your own and see what you discover.
How I got here is not as important as the fact that I am here. There are no levels or hierarchy in Brujeria as I have learned it. A person is either a born brujo or not. Brujeria is a vocation in the true sense of the word--a calling, a summons. Don't get me wrong--I don't mean to make it sound exclusive and hoighty, because it isn't. But without the calling, there is no Brujeria, and therefore no brujo. That's how it is.
Many people ask me what Brujeria is, what is a brujo/bruja. This is a difficult question to answer. Technically, the word "brujeria" is Spanish for witchcraft, sorcery, and magical doings. A lot of this carries over into the practice of Brujeria, but Brujeria is more. In brief, I see Brujeria as an ongoing dance with the vital spirit of the Americas and my role as a bruja as a conduit for the living energy of the universe. Arguably, today's Brujeria is the continuing magical spiritual path of Mesoamerica (Mexico) which dates back 12,000 years. Brujeria is not a revival of ancient traditions, for those traditions never died out in the first place.
To be a bruja is to answer the calling of the Great Mother of the New World.
