Culturally Tone Deaf in 2025!

Bear with me on this. I rewrote this post multiple times and was ready to publish it a year ago, but chose not to. From then on, I have been rethinking repeatedly. And every time I reread it, I rewrite it even more. But it's not offensive at all, and I'm proud of the result, so be patient with me on this.

In 2025, we will still be tone-deaf deaf about black culture and its importance in the craft. Imagine continuing to support cultural appropriation (cause of the research) and thinking your magic is practical after that. As someone intensely appreciating the rich diversity of cultures and the eclectic paths of global spiritual and magical traditions, including many I practice, I often reflect on the ethical considerations of exploring practices outside our cultural heritage. In 2025, as our world becomes increasingly interconnected, the conversation around cultural appropriation remains as vital and nuanced as ever. It's a dialogue that requires conscientiousness, maturity, and a willingness to examine our positions and intentions.

Discovering practices, deities, and philosophies from different cultures is undeniably alluring. It speaks to our innate curiosity and desire to connect with something larger than ourselves. This natural attraction can be a beautiful starting point for genuine learning and respectful engagement. When approached with the right mindset, it can enrich our understanding and foster a more profound sense of connection.

As I see it, the issue's core lies in understanding power dynamics, lived experiences, and the historical context of these practices. When individuals from dominant cultures or positions of privilege extract elements from marginalized cultures, strip them of their original meaning, and then commodify them, it's not just insensitive; it's unethical. This isn't about gatekeeping spiritual exploration but acknowledging the real harm that can occur when sacred traditions are treated as mere commodities or aesthetic trends.

At home, Dec 2023, signing copies of my book ''Dream Witchery '', a book about South American Folklore, from the hands of a South American person. What part of that is too difficult to understand?

 

I would love to learn more about La Santa Muerte. Still, it is kinda tricky when the entire metaphysical virtual compound, apparently leaded by white American men, behind white-focused blogs, and white editors, behind white publisher houses, just want a bleached and over-processed version of whatever black culture they wish to sell, written by just white authors and bloggers, not by black and brown voices.

Consider the example of La Santa Muerte. For many Mexican people, devotion to La Santa Muerte is deeply intertwined with a history of struggle based on racism, poverty, discrimination, homelessness, and even queerness. It's a connection forged in the crucible of collective suffering, offering solace, protection, and a sense of justice in the face of systemic adversity. This profound, emotive bond is something that people in positions of privilege, who have not experienced these specific collective struggles, simply cannot fully grasp or replicate.

When someone from a privileged background, without having walked that difficult path, writes extensively about La Santa Muerte and then profits from courses, classes, and books, it raises serious questions about authenticity and intent. Is it possible for them to truly convey the heart, the pain, the profound hope, and the lived reality that underpins this devotion? Often, such endeavors, however well-intentioned on the surface, can inadvertently flatten complex spiritual traditions into marketable products.

Just like Patheos Pagan Blog, that have more than ten years of experience focusing on the idea to promote unethical posts targeted at black and brown readers, written by just white folks. They have posted about La Santa Muerte multiple times. They even have a white woman proudly shaming and mocking Hispanic practitioners for using the word 'Shaman' or its Latin version 'Chaman', which comes from the root 'Chama', literally not related to asian culture, but both to South American indigenous languages. Still, anyway, if it sells, and is written by white tone-deaf people, Patheos Pagan will publish it for sure.

Also a year ago, another popular blog, The Wild Hunt, choose to highlight an interview to Cressida Stone, a fake-ass and lack of principles white British woman, pretending to be a Mexican Elder to sell a terrible wiccan-ish book on La Santa Muerte, edited also by two people who have been multiple times accused of Cultural Appropriation. Anyway, The Wild Hunt, instead of looking for Mexican authors, bloggers, and or practitioners to write about the topic, they instead ignore all the lack of ethics in the topic and just go for the white woman who chooses to disrespect the entire Mexican community pretending to be one of their elders.

The "magic" in these practices isn't just about rituals or incantations; it's imbued with a community's collective experiences, resilience, and spiritual inheritance. When that profound connection is overlooked or superficially understood, what is being transmitted is not the true essence of the practice.

I can write you down a thousand posts about Maria Lionza (me been Venezuelan) or about the folk practices of my grandma and my grandpa (Venezuelan, Turkish, Portuguese), but if you don't understand the struggles of my people, the difficulties of my community, or the regional complications of my practices, is just so profound you can go, and more critical, independent of how much interest you pay on this, is not reason why these deities and spirits will pay attention to you, especially if you are so proud of publicly disrespecting the long-term practitioners who follow these same spirits.

Don't care which offerings you serve to La Santa Muerte or Yara Lionza, if you proudly respect their practitioners. Assuming that these all-powerful deities will "serve you" or "work with you" just because you give them an offering is selfish and absolutely tone-deaf. The spirits don't have any responsibilities to you.

This isn't to say that people from different backgrounds cannot learn from and go deeper into certain practices. On the contrary, cross-cultural learning can be incredibly enriching when approached with humility and genuine respect. The distinction lies in who is being centered and whose voices are being amplified. Suppose we genuinely want to discover the power within these traditions. In that case, it is our responsibility to support folk practitioners teaching and writing about their practices, from their own experiences and points of view. These voices carry the weight of authenticity, the depth of lived knowledge, and the wisdom passed down through generations.

The Seven Lucky Gods & Tu'er Shen.

The Seven Lucky Gods at the door.

These are two "paths" (to call them in some way) that I've always been drawn to: Japanese culture (just like many other people) and devotion to the rabbit god. My attraction to these comes from my heart, not from the ice, so I've dedicated special spaces to both in my home. The house's pantry is entirely decorated with allegories of the seven lucky gods, statuettes, banknotes, panels, coins, and a small altar with incense for them, decorated with ornaments from Chinatown and various items I've collected over the years. Especially because Hotei is extremely popular in Venezuela, where every Asian restaurant (Chinese and Japanese equally) always has his giant statues in the entrance.

Then, right across from these, there's a small altar on the other wall dedicated to Tu'er Shen, the rabbit god and protector of romantic relationships between homosexuals. I read a small pamphlet about him in 2011. I bought a keychain with his symbol back then. Years later.

Rabbit God wood piece and lucky rabbit keychain.

I read more about him and became interested in his work. I've decided to visit his temple someday. I've set up a small altar to him at home, decorated with perfumes, figurines I found online, a wooden tablet engraved with his name that I made in my backyard a couple of years ago, and a scroll with a prayer dedicated to him in his respective language.

I don't offer classes or workshops on these deities; it's not my responsibility to do so, but rather someone from their culture. I don't teach classes about them, I don't write entire books about them, I don't blog about them (although I really would like to), and I don't sell anything related to them. The closest I came was briefly mentioning the seven gods of fortune in a short 1-page summary in my book Manifestation Magic, in a chapter about different gods of fortune in other cultures. This chapter invites the reader to find more of these deities in their respective cultures and create a relationship with them.

Understanding and supporting my husband's path.

My husband, who is an Italian born in Venezuela, has a large part of his family living in each of these countries, but also a group of cousins ​​living in India for just over 20 years - they are the reason all our altars at home have bronze statues and/or incense burners, as they are sent as gifts from there - has been a devotee of the Norse religion since we met in 2010. Back then, it was simply an attraction to the history of the Vikings and their sagas, and then to all the video games, movies, science fiction books, and television series related to the same cult.

However, it wasn't until his second medical accident in 2020 that, upon leaving the hospital, he decided to take this even more seriously and dedicate himself entirely to studying Norse culture. My husband has read every book (esoteric and non-esoteric) on Norse culture, listened to every podcast, attended every workshop he could on the subject, gotten involved with the local Norse community, and has academically studied the runes and their symbolism, as well as their history.

He celebrates certain days in the sagas that I'm entirely unfamiliar with, and has dedicated an entire living room to altars and statuettes devoted to their respective gods, whom he worships in person, with respect, and in private. Not for his IG followers, not to impress anyone, and not to write books about it or make money offering classes on the subject. He does it because it comes from his heart to do so.

Joining my partner and his colleagues around a friendly bonfire for Jól/Yule. 

Again, no one prohibits you from worshipping whoever you wish to worship, but there is a fine line between "this is the deity or path I identify with" and "this is the deity or path others worship, so I'm going to sell it to them."

This is 2025
In 2025, as conversations around ethics and responsibility in various crafts and disciplines grow, our spiritual and magical practices should be no exception. We often speak of energy shifts and the need for heightened responsibility. This ethos must extend to how we engage with and respect other people's practices. Taking something because it looks "shiny" or possesses a certain aesthetic appeal, without understanding its roots, context, and profound meaning to its originators, is a disservice to the practice itself and the people who hold it sacred.

True efficacy in magic, ritual, and spiritual growth stems from genuine connection, respectful engagement, and a deep understanding of the energies and intentions involved. Books written heartlessly, with the sole aim of cashing in on interest, lack this vital ingredient. They may offer information, but they cannot transmit the essence, the subtle nuances, or the potent resonance from a practice deeply rooted in its original cultural soil. There is no real magic in appropriation, because magic, at its core, is about connection and integrity. Let's commit to this understanding and engage with practices in a way that respects their origins and meaning.

When drawn to practices outside our heritage, let us reflect deeply on our motivations. Let us ask ourselves: Am I seeking to learn and honor genuinely, or am I inadvertently contributing to a cycle of extraction and commodification? Are we amplifying the voices of those who hold these traditions most authentically, or are we inadvertently overshadowing them? The path we teach, the ethics we uphold, and the responsibility we embrace must be congruent with our actions. In 2025, there is simply no excuse to continue promoting or defending cultural appropriation. It is time to walk a path of true respect, humility, and genuine reciprocity.

Buy my books! Click on the title of the book to order directly from Amazon or buy it directly from your favorite local bookstore.

~ Dream Witchery: Folk Magic, Recipes & Spells from South America for Witches & Brujas.
~ Manifestation Magic: 21 Rituals, Spells, and Amulets for Abundance, Prosperity, and Wealth.
~ The Magical Art of Crafting Charm Bags: 100 Mystical Formulas for Success, Love, Wealth, and Wellbeing.