sinchi sinchi, qam hampi kanki

━ 𝓐𝓫𝓸𝓾𝓽 𝓜𝓮

[Pictured above from left to right: x, x, x] {pfp was done using this picrew and banner is my own photography}

Welcome! You can call me Song. I go by She/Her and They/Them. I'm an adult, actively finding my own path for about 15 years now, building upon my family's Tradition of Medicine and magic.

I am a Folk Healer (of both Body and Spirit) first, Witch (the fate-weaving kind) second. My practice is led by the Ancestors and centered in Community and the Territories we are part of.

You can get a glimpse of my personal practice in the #Blood and Water tag, aswell as read some of my own writing in #My notes. I read tags and you probably should too!

As an Afro-Indigenous medicine carrier, I am a lineaged, trained and initiated Sahumadora (Fire + Smoke Medicine Carrier), Yerbatera (herbalist, Plant Medicine Carrier) and Cantora (folk singer, medicine singer). I am also a hereditary Macumbera, Dream Worker and Spirit Seer. You can find my notes and experiences on each of these practices in their respective linked tags. I love to talk about all this so don't be shy to leave a note here!

⛰️ I am multilingual {southern qechua / spanish / portuguese / english} and based in the global south. I am not reconnecting, I grew up connected and since I'm part of a network of Medicine Carriers and Knowledge Keepers of various Nations throughout Abya Yala (colonially known as Latin America), If anyone ever needs help finding trustworthy resources or contacting Cultural Authorities / Elders, don't hesitate to message me! I would be delighted to lend a hand.

📣 As a general rule, I force unfollow any blog that starts following me but doesn't interact with my posts before doing so. I would highly appreciate that you like or leave a little note on any post that you read and caught your interest, or even just like this pinned post, before following, it makes interaction more human! and feels less like a stalker suddenly breathing on your window 😅

I give water, fruit/food(nothing that could harm wildlife is left out or offered outside Ive given them a sandwich once though), and talk to them.

Should I -stop-?

Hi! how are you? First of all, I want to say that I really appreciate you asking ! taking time and space to consider these things and being open to rethinking your Spirit relationships to the Land. It really is huge!!

To begin dissecting your question, that "mexican american if it counts for anything" caught my attention, before the actual question you asked did. I'd ask you, in turn: does it?

For you, I mean, does it count "for anything"? If you're mentioning it to me, it would indicate that it does, to some extent, yet the way that you mentioned it felt a bit like brushing it off. I'm not sure you meant it to come off that way but that is, in of itself, a thread worth pulling if you want to decolonize your relationship with Land spirits: in Indigenous worldviews, the Land we come from lives on in us regardless of where we may find ourselves, and so do their Spirits, who are our guides and guardians, they "rule" over our lives as much as they rule over the Land. If I were to do a divinatory reading for you, for example, I'd need to ask permission from those Land spirits that you belong to, in order to respectfully approach you as a whole spiritual being in a network of spirit relationships that make you, you. That is, who you are is a part of Them, and They are a part of who you are. They are also the ones that hold records over not only all information that concerns you, but also everything that concerns your entire bloodline, and even define your future. In our eyes, that relationship cannot go unacknowledged.

Which is why traditionally, many Indigenous Nations agree that in our relationships, we must acknowledge both the spirits of the Land we currently reside on, aswell as the Spirits of our own lineage and Land. Our relationship with the Land is, therefore, also the collective relationship of all our own relations (of origin and blood, the individual person being a collective of spirit relations) with all their relations (the Land you currently live on as a collective network of every person and spirit there). It's not strictly a 1-on-1 relationship, not even a 1-on-collective or practitioner-to-collective-Land-Spirits relationship. It's actually collective-to-collective, with you as an individual being the mediator or "representative" for every collective that you belong to. All that claims you, and all that you claim.

It's actually great that you're asking because I was just thinking about making a post related to this topic, since I mentioned in the Introductions post on Decolonizing Magic that we always introduce ourselves that way: including where we come from, and where we currently live. In Indigenous circles, that is because we recognize that we, as individuals, belong to the Land. The Land that I come from lives on within me, as I am an embodied Spirit of that Land, but so does the Land I currently inhabit, which nourishes me in every spiritual and material way since I've moved here. The Spirits that walk with me are central Andean and I currently live in the southern Andes. Being in relation to local Indigenous communities, participating in community, and doing my work and research here, I've formed countless relations with people and Spirits of this Land that add up to who I am, in relation to the Land. And even just living here, by the mere fact that the water of it's rivers sustain the blood in my veins, it's produce, my flesh, it's atmosphere, the air in my lungs, it's mountains, the mineral in my bones, It has become part of me as I have become part of it aswell. So even as a guest, acknowledging that I am not native to this region in specific, I am part of this Land as much as I'm part of the Land of my Ancestors and I represent both. As a relative, and as a guest, I follow the protocols and guidance of those who are Indigenous to this specific region, and maintain Reciprocity with Them, both living culture and Spirit relations, as one would a cousin who's come to stay in their home for a while.

Oftentimes, we don't even realize but the way that we present ourselves, and to what extent, reflects more about our worldview than we are conscious of, or intentional about. In your question, you started off defining yourself firstly as a pagan, then mexican american, and lastly asking about your offerings to Land Spirits. To decolonize that paradigm, I'd ask you to do a bit of a journaling exercise and answer in depth the following questions: what does it mean for you, as a pagan of your specific faith, to maintain a balanced, respectful, Reciprocal relationship with the Land Spirits? being that it seems to be your first or main identifier, how does your faith or religion answer to that question? and do you feel you're embodying that answer in your actions? Try to list qualities of a good guest from your personal, cultural or religious perspective, and also list how you embody those qualities, or take action upon them where you live, and with it's people.

Furthermore, besides offerings, the living cultures and traditional stewards of the Land you live on need to be acknowledged as much as the Spirit relations, if not more. How are you embodying that kind visiting cousin to the traditional stewards of the Land you live on? have you taken the time to engage with them? to learn from them the protocols and guidelines to tread on this Land respectfully, in Right Relationship and Reciprocity? do you know what it means, locally and culturally-rooted, to stay in respectful relationship to the Land, both spiritually and materially? The offerings you give may make sense to you as a pagan, and may be perfectly appropriate within that pagan context, but just to give an example, the local spirits I engage with don't take fruit specifically... other kinds of things are offered and only in certain locations, with a ribbon or piece of cloth tied to a nearby tree to commemorate the "payment" or "pact" for "rent" as it were. I learnt this directly from my local Indigenous relatives.

Sumaq sukha masiy!! that's such a great question thank you!! añachayki. I'm assuming it's stemming from my pinned post, where I specify "Witch (the fate-weaving kind)". Kind of my meaning of identifying as a Witch, or what Witchcraft means in my practice, to differentiate it from more general definitions where witchcraft is accepted as anyone who performs any sort of magic.

I mean someone who twists fate to their will by force. It's important to mention then that, in my views, there are forms of magic that do not force an outcome entirely, and not to one's will exclusively. Sometimes, I'd argue that most of the time, we're not "re-directing" fate, we're just enticing it toward it's natural direction. Speeding an already natural outcome, or embellishing it with some extra details. We're often also working for somebody else's good and not just our own, even if we're not entirely aware of that. Most magic works with the already-spun thread into already-woven pieces of the tapestry, as a continuation of them, and in a context where things already favor you in one way or another as a small part of a bigger image. It's like a singular dark spot in a gold sea, mending that spot wouldn't be a problem at all, if what you're doing is mending a hole or a stain to restore it to it's original state.

Fate-weaving is strictly unnatural and what my Elders would describe as strictly selfish work, damn the consequences and damn how it affects others. It requires special care because the consequences of Witchcraft rest entirely in the Witch's hands, however kind or cruel those may be, and you have to be prepared to pay the price, and shoulder the responsibility. Instead of restoring or embellishing the tapestry, you rip apart a section and re-weave it to your liking, to suit your needs. But that tapestry is made up of past and present actions of other people, their sovereign decisions... who's hands you're now forcing. When it's not directly manipulating someone else's will or decisions (which some witches outright refuse to do for ethical reasons), it's manipulating the environment around them enough that their hand will be forced either way (functionally, the same thing).

Notice how I'm not saying it's strictly harmful work, because it isn't. Most of my work as a Witch is actually tearing apart otherwise perfectly woven pieces of the tapestry of fate to help someone, myself or others. To avoid unjust treatment or the consequences of prejudice, to prevent harm from systems that have been set up, and their power solidifying itself, for centuries. It's the magic you do when the odds are stacked entirely against you. Often, because of deeply rooted behaviors in someone's psyche and actions that would otherwise cause harm. But I am forcing their hand to stop, or at least, give relief to someone in a particular circumstance to be able to achieve something good, or get out of harm's way. But that's not all it is. The same methods are used by others to prevent an enemy's success out of pettiness, or to harm without considering who they're harming in the end. In my practice, you have to understand what it will do to the rest of the adjacent pieces before making a final decision. It is a living tapestry and what you change in one spot will inevitably spill into other lives, around you and around your target and around every person, spirit and place, involved in that situation.