Gods and Goddesses of.....

[La Bruja Ina]

I really should know this and I feel a bit stupid for asking, but for Brujeria (mexican witchcraft) what gods and goddesses do they incorporate? native american? Roman catholic saints? i've heard of both being used. Please submit your imput.

[maldito]

It depends on what part of México you are. Many brujos practices the Santeria, and adore la santa muerte "holy death", I personally don't like this idea, but it's being more popular with the time. In other parts -south with the lacandones and north with the seris- the witchcraft it's more in shamanic-fashion oriented. Others pray to Catholic saints in order to do their faithcraft.

[Gede]

MM La Bruja Ina :)
Seeing as Mexican Witchcraft is exactly that...Witchcraft that is Mexican, it makes sense that a Bruja would honour the Gods of place, they being the Aztec Gods. A list of well-known Mexican deities include (from Witchcraft magazine #42):

Chalchiuhtlicue (Jade Skirt): Goddess of rivers, lakes and oceans.

Chicomecoatl (Seven Serpent): A fertility deity.

Coatlicue (Snake Skirt): Earth Goddess and mother of Huitzilopochtli who is also identified as Cihuacoatl (Snake Woman).

Huehueteotl (Old God): An ancient God of fire, the oldest deity in Mesoamerica.

Huitzilopochtli (Hummingbird of the South): Both a warrior God and a sun God. His temple was the focus of fearsome sacrifices of prisoners captured by Aztec warriors. Victims' heads were strung as trophies on a great rack the Tzompantli erected in the precinct below.

Quetzalcoatl (Feathererd Serpent): One of the four creator Gods, God of morning and evening star, patron of wisdom, the inventor of writing and the calendar.

Tezcatlipoca (Smoking Mirror):Another of the four creator Gods, associated with the night sky, the moon and sorcery. He was also the patron of war and warriors.

Tlaloc (He who makes Things Grow): God of water and rain.

Tlazolteotl (Lust Goddess): Goddess of sex and the Earth, who also had lunar attributes. She was the "eater of sins" to whom the Aztecs confessed their transgressions.

Xipetotec (Flayed Lord): God of planting, spring and jewellers, who also had sexual/fertility connotations. In his honour, victims were said to have been flayed and their skins worn by priests.

It makes sense that a Bruja would revere these Gods considering the Spanish who settled in Mexico and thereabouts brought with them the Catholic saints and the Christian Divinity. Perhaps you could look into the saints as shadows of vibrant God-forms. There is a book published by Llewellyn on that subject. Can't remember off the top off my head...I'll get back to you.

Namaste, Gede...

[Gede]

MM~
Here it is...

http://www.llewellyn.com/bookstore/book.php?pn=K456 (http://www.llewellyn.com/bookstore/book.php?pn=K456)

The Magical Power of the Saints: Evocation and Candle Rituals
by: Reverend Ray T. Malbrough

Throughout the ancient world, people presented offerings to the deities along with petitions and prayers. Most often they were supplicated with a bonfire or flame from an oil lamp. In time, Christianity pushed the ancestral deities into the background. Within the religious systems of Santeria, Condomble and Voudun, people began to worship their gods under the guise of Christian saints. The saints took on characteristics of the pagan deities.

Namaste, Gede...

[Pandoras]

I was under the impression that Mexican brujeria is similar to Cuban Santeria - a mixture of native deities and Catholic saints.

[La Bruja Ina]

Thank you all for your imput, especially Gede, being most helpful!
MM,

[Hangatyr 13]

Uh, I'm not exactly fluent in Spanish yet, but I think "brujeria" is just Spanish for the English word "witchcraft". I don't think it's really a "path" per se. Oh, I'm sure there is some kind of "brujeria Mexicana" path or whatever, but I'm pretty sure that "brujeria" is just a word, the kind of word that a native Spanish speaker might use to descibe what a wiccan does, for example. Maybe you should check out Santeria or the Native American church (there are actually people in the NAC who still claim to be Aztec). Hel, there's probably even some kind of "Aztec Recon" religion if you look hard enough. There's my two cents.

[Pandoras]

Uh, I'm not exactly fluent in Spanish yet, but I think "brujeria" is just Spanish for the English word "witchcraft". I don't think it's really a "path" per se. Oh, I'm sure there is some kind of "brujeria Mexicana" path or whatever, but I'm pretty sure that "brujeria" is just a word, the kind of word that a native Spanish speaker might use to descibe what a wiccan does, for example. Maybe you should check out Santeria or the Native American church (there are actually people in the NAC who still claim to be Aztec). Hel, there's probably even some kind of "Aztec Recon" religion if you look hard enough. There's my two cents.

There have been a lot of debates over that here on MW, like this one - http://www.mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?t=81155&page=1&pp=10&highlight=brujeria (http://www.mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?t=81155&page=1&pp=10&highlight=brujeria)

[Ptah]

I really should know this and I feel a bit stupid for asking, but for Brujeria (mexican witchcraft) what gods and goddesses do they incorporate? native american? Roman catholic saints? i've heard of both being used. Please submit your imput.

Bruja have two main female figures, Mayahuel and Guadalupe. Mayahuel is the Aztec goddess of the maguey planet and of the fermented beverages it produces (such as tequila). Guadalupe is sometimes controversial among Pagans who do not understand her unifying significance. In one sense, Guadalupe is the Virgin Mary. But in a much greater sense, Guadalupe represents the Great Mother of the New World. While Mayahuel gives strength and ability, Guadalupe gives the bruja guidance. Mayahuel, Guadalupe and the bruja, make up a feminine triune.

As far as the male to that triune, El Diablo. Afterall, Bruho/Bruha are considered bad witches.