Valeria Ruelas - The Mexican Witch Lifestyle: Brujeria Spells, Tarot, and Crystal Magic

The Mexican Witch Lifestyle

Brujeria Spells, Tarot, and Crystal Magic

Valeria Ruelas

I dedicate this book to my brilliant editor, Veronica Alvarado, who so lovingly worked on this book alongside me through many drafts! Thank you for helping me find my authentic voice and allowing this secret knowledge to be preserved forever in this book.

This book is also dedicated to my parents and sister; my personal astrology teacher, Christopher Marmolejo; and my best friends, Chuck, Rachael Burke and Gage Burke, and Julian Toscano.

I NTRODUCTION

W elcome to my brujeria book! I am Valeria Ruelas, the Mexican Witch. I am a bruja and also a brujx. alchemy, and the tarot are all really beneficial!

I am very glad you have decided to join me on this questI cant wait to guide you through a spiritual awakening and to introduce you to the bruja lifestyle. The bruja lifestyle is a way of living that involves doing magic every day, which will ultimately help you to be fulfilled and happy with yourself!

My brujeria is very easy to learnit involves reading tarot cards often, casting magical spells from the comfort of home, using healing crystals, working with the universe, and overall leading a life centered around pleasure, joy, and learning. Brujeria is not inhibited by binary moral codes or religion. Moreover, brujeria rejects the notion of white-and-black or evil-and-good magic for a set of more open ancestral views. Generally the practitioner doesnt cater to a single religious institution or even to any gods or spirits in particular if they want total freedom from that!

Below are some useful terms to know to navigate the world of brujeria. When you begin this journey, it is important to learn these so that you can speak to brujas/brujos/brujx and buy supplies to cast spells even if you dont speak Spanish. When it comes to the types of brujas/brujos/brujx that exist, this is only a breakdown of what I believe to be the most common, modern, and useful terms used today.

• A MARRE : Any spell item that draws in love or keeps someone faithful.
• A MULETO : An object made for protection or luck, such as colorful horseshoes.
• A NCESTRAL R EADERS AND A STROLOGERS : Astrology is a popular practice in Mexico. Many practitioners choose the label astrologo/a/x and incorporate astrology into tarot. Most study Western astrology, and some perform divination using ancestral practices, including with the tonalamatl, maize kernels, tobacco, the divinatory calendar, or with glyphs.
• B OTANICA : A store typically owned by a person of color who speaks Spanish or another non-English language that sells brujeria supplies. Botanicas are typically found in neighborhoods with lots of Spanish-speaking people.
• C ONJURO : A type of spell or magical object made by pact with a spirit. This is also the name for the sets of magical words that are used in Nhuatl to work magic.
• H ECHICERA : A group of secret knowledge, practices, and techniques that are employed to dominate outcomes and people in a magical way. Both brujeria and hechicera have the same definition, but the definition for brujeria includes actions realized by the means of supernatural power.
• H ECHIZO : A spell done on someone.
• L ECTURA : A reading; to say tarot reading, you say lectura de tarot.
• M ERCADO : A mercado is a large market space; usually it is exposed to the outdoors. A great example is El Mercado de Sonora, which is sort of like a mall of brujeria stores.
• N AHUALLI : While these may seem like things of legends, my research and personal experience have led me to believe that nahualli are real. Nahualli means one who has the power to transform into another being, usually an animal or an animal hybrid.
• S ORTILEGIO : A direct translation of the word sorcery. It refers specifically to spells and acts that modify destiny or make someone submit to your desires and will, including magical remedies. This word is largely out of use but is common in texts relating to Nhuatl-speaking cultures. Sortilegio also involves adivinacin (divination).
• T IENDA MISTICA : Meaning mystic store; a popular term for stores that sell brujeria supplies.
• T IENDAS DE PRODUCTOS NATURALES : Natural or alternative medicine stores. You may have to ask for the brujeria items here since they may not be on display. Some of these stores dont carry brujeria supplies, but you can buy yerbas for tea and candles. Ive included this here because these stores sell all the plants we will be working with.
• T RABAJO : A continuous amount of spell work to take care of a problem.
• Y ERBERIA OR H IERBERIA : This is another name for a store that sells brujeria supplies and specializes in plants in particular. Yerberias/hierberias are typically more common in Mexico, while botanicas are more common in the US.

It is also important to note that some levels of expertise in these areas cant be learned through books or classes. It is very important to seek out apprenticeships if you are interested in studying some of the more advanced forms of brujeria, and I will indicate in the text which ones you need to apprentice in to have a legitimate grasp of the practice. Usually this takes a few years, and in some cases, knowledge may only be passed down in certain bloodlines. If you feel drawn to these practices, you can use spells to draw in a proper mentor.

P ARTERA /P ARTERX W ORK (M IDWIFERY )

This is one of the most arduous paths to take in brujeria. Parterx help people from conception onward, offering herbal remedies, plticas (motivational talks), and physical checkups during the pregnancy and after for a few months of follow-up. The parterx assists, for example, with teaching the birthing parent to breastfeed correctly and supporting the new parents emotionally. Parterx are also ritual birthers, and they support the client in magical ways. The partera/parterx may perform the newborns birthing ceremonies, such as burying the umbilical cord in a ritual or doing a traditional calendrical reading.

She/they may also provide natural gynecological care in the community. The parterx is usually knowledgeable in treating sexually transmitted infections and sexual ailments with herbs, limpias (energy fixes), and incantations. Typically, helping birth a baby is more than just physically assisting the parent. It also involves complex ancestral rituals to borrow the soul of the child from the gods and bring it into the body.

R ITES OF P ASSAGE P RACTITIONER /L IFE S PECTRUM D OULA /C OMADRE

This is a fun facet of brujeria. It also requires training but is a more social and emotional supportive role rather than a medical one. There is no formal word for this type of work, but most people who do this call themselves brujx or a comadre, which is an endearing term that means friend. Those called to this work facilitate rites of passage, commonly for occasions of pregnancy, puberty, coming out, marriage, aging, abortion support, and death. Basically when these moments come around, the comadre works with the family or individual to plan a ceremony and then facilitates it for the person(s). Those who work a lot in the thresholds between life and death are called illness and end-of-life doulas, as well as abortion-support doulas and death doulas. A death doula usually starts working with a person when they have been given a terminal diagnosis and counsels, casts spells, and provides emotional and energetic support for the person until they die. They then sometimes carry out grief support work with the families of anybody who is dealing with loss. Doulas offer extended services, working with folks through all stages of grief. (The word