This weekend I got a call from J., a close friend of mine for quite a few years now. He’s been moving into a new house. I guess his friend just bought it and he’s renting out part of it.

He mentioned that he got so creeped out that he ran out of the house. Felt like someone or something was going to get him. Keep in mind, this guy is in his late-20′s and a blue-collar construction worker, so he’s not usually one to get easily freaked out about stuff.

So he was sort of convinced that it was a ghost — that a spirit is haunting his new house.

Didn’t really know what to tell him, ya’ know? I know he’s a Christian, but don’t really know what type or how active/involved he is in it. Either way, like any close friend, we tend to have similar mindsets. If there’s a logical explanation, we’re both likely to give it more consideration than something irrational/emotional.

So I gave him the only explanation I could think of outside of the supernatural. I suggested he check the electrical system over there. An improperly shielded breaker box, main power cabling, etc. could expose him to a lot of electromagnetic activity. There are theories that prolonged exposure to it can cause paranoia, irritability, mood swings, and even skin irritation. How much of that is fact and how much is fiction, I have no idea, but I figured I’d mention it to him. He appreciated the info and said he’ll look into it. If nothing else, it’ll give him something to rule out.

All of this reminded me of the power belief holds over people. If you truly believe bad stuff is going to happen — whether you believe that it’s going to contribute or not — you ARE going to pay more attention to the bad stuff in your life. And the opposite holds true as well. If you’re an optimistic person, you’re going to focus on all of the good stuff that comes your way.

How’s this relate to my friend and his ‘ghost’? Well, if he believes there’s a ghost, he’s going to pay more attention to the proverbial bumps-in-the-night that would normally be excused as being just normal noises from a new house.

Sometimes I kind of think the placebo effect is enough for folks. I just wish I wasn’t so darn rational all of the time. While it’s nice to remain level-headed and skeptical towards the negative aspects of this religion, I do kind of feel like I’m missing out sometimes not being able to just believe in and accept things as easily as others.

[UPDATE: This post is especially relevant for me lately, since lately I've had quite a bit of "activity" at night, myself. lol. Not saying MY house is haunted, too. But I definitely can sympathize with J. It sucks to have a feeling like someone/something it wandering around outside or, worse yet, inside the house. For me, the sounds from weather, old appliances, and local cats/opossums/squirrels/etc. are probably the majority of my issue.]

I picked up the pumpkin for Ochun today.

There was a clay plate at the store that was just the right size I needed for it. Also snagged a few tiny lil’ ones that will be good for other offerings later down the road.

Anyhow, tonight I coated the pumpkin with some honey and palm oil. When I get ready to leave it for Ochun, I’ll add five pennies along with it. Like I told padrino, I know the drill by now

I’m a bit of a slacker… and I’ll be the first to admit it. Tonight as I was getting ready to go to bed, I kept getting this nagging feeling — like I was forgetting something.

Well, I hadn’t forgotten. It was more that I had procrastinated.

I try to get a lot of my spiritual/religious stuff taken care of on Saturday’s. It doesn’t have as much to do with being a child of Oshun as much as just mere practicality. During the week, I work. When I come home, I typically just want to watch a bit of television and go to bed. On Friday’s, the week is finally over and I just want to go to bed. By taking care of things on Saturday, I get a bit of rest before and after taking care of things. Or, like this weekend, I have an extra day to do the stuff I should have the day before.

My plan was to clean Elegua with some palm oil and refresh the water in my boveda. None of that actually happened, though, until about 10pm tonight. lol. Takes a while to get motivated sometimes, you know?

First was Elegua. Got him taken care of. Then I took care of my boveda. The water had only evaporated a little bit, so I just topped it off with some bottled water I had nearby. I lit up some candles for eggun and then Elegua and also gave them each a bit of Bacardi Coconut Rum (yes, I give ‘em the good stuff. lol).

That was all I had originally planned to do before going to bed.

I happened to look down at my eggun pot. I hadn’t cleaned it with palm oil in, well, I don’t even remember how long. Initially, I told eggun. ‘Sorry. It’s late and I already put away the palm oil.’ I changed my mind.

After a good cleaning of the stone, I looked down at the pot. Dang. That needed oil, too. ‘Sorry,’ I told eggun, ‘I don’t think I’m going to do that tonight.’ Again, I changed my mind shortly after. Eggun guilt-trips me with silence every time

So now eggun is happy, I think.

And hopefully Elegua is too.

Now I want to do something for Oshun, though.

I haven’t received any orisha aside from the warriors, but I do have a small spot on my altar for her. Just a little something simple — a bell, a large shell which I use as a candle/offering holder, and a small stone jewelry box in which I keep, well, secret Oshun stuff in Some of it is specific to her. Others have meaning to me.

Anyhow, I kind of have an urge to get her a small pumpkin. Since padrino keeps telling me to go with my instincts, a pumpkin she shall get. lol. And probably five pennies to go along with it.

For now, I’m done for the night and am going to bed.

There are a couple of pet peeves of mine that didn’t quite fit in with the last post, so I’ll quickly touch upon them now…

Walmart Elegua. I’m sure you’ve seen them at the botanica, websites, etc… Little chunks of cement with a couple cowry shells and a price-tag on it. I won’t get into the whole rant, but — seriously — stay away from that stuff. If you feel like you need Elegua for your house, you’re better off just getting your Guerreros instead. It might be a bit more expensive than buying some premade Elegua (or maybe not, depending on where you go), but it’ll certainly be of more benefit to you.

Too Much Focus On Elegua. It’s all about balance in this religion. Yes, Elegua is great at opening the doors of possibility and communication. But you can’t stop there. Ogun, Ochosi, and Osun are needed to give you the full balance for defense, offense, and pretty much anything in between. Eating fruit is good for you, right? But you can’t live only off fruit. Other things are needed in a healthy diet. The same thing applies here. Think of the warriors as a balanced spiritual diet. Elegua opens the path, but Ogun, Ochosi, and Osun are there to make sure that obstacles along that path are clear and to make sure you do not walk alone.

Not All Elegua Are Childish. At least not all the time. There’s a stereotype out there that all Elegua are childish pranksters. Like most other stereotypes, there are plenty of exceptions to the rule. This is part of why it’s important to know the path of your Elegua and to get a feel for it. Put yourself in Elegua’s shoes for a moment… As Elegua, maybe you’re thinking, ‘The economy sucks and this guy is pretty broke. Maybe there’s something I can do for him…’ Then Mr. Homeowner (you) walks in with a shiny toy car and a lollipop for Elegua and expects him to take care of everything else….Riiight. Thankfully, Elegua isn’t a person. He doesn’t think like you or me. And that’s good. Because, I’ll tell you what… If he did, he’d want to slap that stuff out of your hand and tell you to focus on getting your bills paid. lol. I’m sort of exaggerating, but still, the point I’m trying to make is that you need to get a good feeling for your Elegua and know when to sweeten it up with candy or just light a candle and give some space.

It all starts with Elegua… and this blog is no different.

My Elegua is looking a bit dry, so I plan on using a bit of palm oil on him a little later today.

In books or whatever, they usually talked about taking care of Elegua every Monday and said that if you didn’t do it one Monday, you’d be ‘reminded’… Pssssh. lol. Maybe that is how some folks feel. But not me.

Most of my opinions are based on common-sense and observation.

From what I’ve seen, much of the religion has more to do with what is in your heart — how you approach it, how you treat it, etc — than just mindlessly following rituals.

It shouldn’t be a chore that you feel like you have to do. You should want to do it because you feel like it needs done. It isn’t like getting the oil changed in your car after so many miles or an annual dental cleaning. At times, Elegua may need more attention than at other times.

Everyone is different and everyone’s Elegua is different. Acknowledge that uniqueness.

I’ll assume you already know the basics. If you don’t, feel free to check out some of the links.

Ok, so maybe you’ve just been reading books or websites. Maybe you know someone in the religion. Heck, maybe you even found yourself some old-school santero to show you the ropes.

No matter what your current situation may be, my advice is the same… If you’re just getting started, take it slow!

It’s not a race to see how fast you can acquire knowledge or things. Take small steps towards your goal, whatever that may be. That way, you’ll be able to actually notice changes in your life and in yourself.