Strega Mystica - Afro Sicilian & Southern Italian Esotericism

Remember focus on what you want. Not on your fear or what you don't want.

Let's talk about my personal favourite character in "Agatha All Along" -- Lilia Calderou, played by the goddess of stage and screen, Patti LuPone.

As a lifelong Afro-Sicilian and Romani esotericist -- a "witch", "warlock" or "Strega" by popular standards -- I found LuPone's portrayal particularly wonderful and expansive.

Now, I am aware that for some of my Roma friends and family, there may be some disagreement on this, but please hear me out.

Lilia Calderou is a Sicilian-Gypsy witch (Queen of the Gypsies actually). In our language, she would be called a "Zingara siciliana". We don't refer to ourselves as witches... that's something that only came to fashion with the emergence of 20th century, white male created "witchcraft" that now pervades the pop-culture.

The Zingara siciliana are a particular culture and tribe. We have our ways of dressing, of speaking, and our own worldview that is very similar to the Roma, but with more of a North African and Semitic influence. These were the ways of my Grandmother's people. And the way in which LuPone portrayed Lilia was culturally accurate and respectful of this.

Of course, LuPone would have an understanding of this in her blood, as she told one interviewer recently, "Well, I think I am a witch. [laughs] I do. I think I'm a Sicilian witch. But I thought I was a Sicilian witch before I get a telephone call from Jac and Mary. And it just sort of, it was like destiny. It was like the universe was unfolding because I had just done something that started out as a bathhouse singer and ended up being a tarot card reader.

"And then all of a sudden, I was in a world where things were similar to things that had just occurred. And there was no turning back, really. It was destiny."

But please understand that our ways are not representative of the whole of the Romani people. (My maternal grandmother's people, for example, were quite different and much more Hungarian-Romanian in their cultural practices, because their people came from the Slavic world.)

Still LuPone deserves her flowers for a stunning performance, as do her co-stars.

Honouring the Sacred Ancestors wasn't just something we were taught to do once or twice a year. It was an integral part of our worldview as Afro-Sicilians (Southern "Italians").

In an esoteric and metaphysical spiritual tradition that was deeply rooted in who we were as a people -- where we came from, what we did, and how we came to be in "the New World" -- it was essential for us to ensure that every act we took was one that would honour the blood and water that courses our veins, because they hold the power... and the breath we breath holds the ability to call it forth.

And without those Ancestors, none of that would be possible.

Aga-Thoughts...

I found the first season of Agatha All Along to be nicely written, even though I tend to be a strict canonist, when it comes to the MCU. (Maybe as I get older, I just get a little more flexible... at least that's what guys tell me. 😂)

I liked the visual weaving of so many of pop-culture's fictional witchcraft stories with an underlying theme of Frank L. Baum's "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" and the journey of self-discovery for each of the characters.

I found the departure from canon on the story of Nicholas Scratch and the Salem Seven to be somewhat unnecessary, and wonder if they didn't shoot themselves in the foot when it comes to future stories from this part of the MCU, and even crossovers into the Archie Comics Universe, depending on The Walt Disney Company's future acquisitions.

But overall, it was a nicely intriguing, entertaining story, without making it feel overdone. Nice lay-up to the Hallowe'en Season.

And I apologise to my sister-in-law Shauna and other loved ones who have had to hear my "theories" each week (especially since all but one theory proved true). I didn't mean to spoil it... But good stories make you think. And this one did. 🎃✨

If you imagine that you will escape suffering by trying to avoid pain -- projecting upon others that you're "being triggered" by their honest and thoughtful expression of their own thoughts, ideas and aspirations -- then I am afraid you don't understand how suffering works.

I walk with the Holy Mother Death, because She represents that journey each of us must walk through the challenges, pains, losses and grief that comes in life and in death. She reminds me that the only way to avoid suffering is to move through the pain.

This, of course, is likely difficult for a generation that received participation trophies for everything, who believe they are entitled to whine about being "triggered" and to expect others to modify their expression of personal truth to suit their personal, emotional and spiritual immaturity and chosen "fragility".

But the simple fact is that pain and discomfort are unavoidable in life... suffering is optional.

And there are tools that can help you move beyond being a professional victim. You simply need to avail yourself of them. I am always here to help you rediscover them.

Worth repeating... NO, the celebration of Hallowe'en was NOT a syncretised version of Celtic Samhain... It has NOTHING to do with Samhain, and never did.

Neo-pagans are not always the most well-informed (or even well-intended) of people. Their religion is often more informed by pop-culture and movies than by history, anthropology and FACTS... And sadly, YES, that includes some of the "authorities" out there.

Not only is Hallowe'en not related to Samhain, but neo-pagan Samhain isn't related to the authentic celebration of Samhain, which had nothing to do with October 31st either.

It's cultural appropriation and misinformation to pretend otherwise.

Your ancestors have always had your back, even when you've wasted years chasing the ancestors of other people, trying to learn ways that were never your own.

All you need to do is to STOP running after everyone else, and allow yourself the quiet space to show those who are your own that you appreciate their patience and love, and that you are now ready to be their hands and feet on this side of the veil, to heal what's left to be healed.

Some people spend their lives chasing down every pop-culture trend, spending small fortunes on curios and trinkets that they will never successfully use, despite the items' value.

And that isn't because the items or trinkets don't work. It isn't because pop-culture spirituality doesn't work.

It's because THEY don't work.

You're never too busy to spend 15-minutes working with and honouring your ancestors. You're never too busy to allow 30 minutes a day to centre you in your peace and power.

And if you think you are, then all the tchotchkes and veils in the world aren't going to produce the magical life you claim to desire... because desire without action is fantasy. And magic expresses itself in ACTION.

“When I was born, the word for what I was did not exist,” writes Madeleine Miller in her brilliant book, "Circe".

This is true for me as well. Witches was a word that had come to mean pop-culture, neo-pagan witches, so it wasn't applicable to who and what we were. Later, in solidarity with the pop-culture witches, I would call myself a warlock or a witch, but then some over-the-top bu****it merchant would appear on a daytime talk show and embarrass themselves with the shmaltzy, cheesy, theatrical nonsense they were peddling, that I had to stop calling myself a warlock as well.

I am simply an elder in the Afro-Sicilian folk magic tradition. When people ask what I call myself, I answer honestly, "Gianmichael". When they ask what I do, it depends. I am a rootworker, a medicine worker, a spiritual medium, healer, and seer... I am also a baneful spellcaster, a social justice esotericist, and a force to be reckoned with.

I am my ancestors' child. I am the child of the Old Ones. I am a Child of the Mother, a psychopomp, and probably a bit of a psycho. 😘

There was a time when I gave of my time and support unconditionally -- supporting the authors, creators and practitioners I continue to respect and care about.

Their lack of reciprocation was never really an issue for me. I understood that they were still held captive by fear of what the "popular crowd" would think about them showing support for someone who called out some of the biggest frauds and liars in the field of modern esotericism. And many of their publishers would not like that, because they were making lots of money off of the colonisers and culturally appropriated content from those I was calling out.

I will not withdraw my support or endorsement of those authors, creators and practitioners who re doing good work out there. They've earned the recognition and deserve gratitude and acknowledgement.

Neither their success nor mine depend on the approval or validation of others.

The popular notion that "the veil becomes thinner" at this time of year is folklore and superstition. It's a useful metaphor, however, because it reminds us that we are not distantly separated from our loved ones who have crossed over. They exist in a realm parallel to our own, always within reach.

What actually shifts at this time of year is our *awareness*.

Holy Mother Death is always right here, in the present moment, waiting for us to take Her Hand and help us to cross into the liminal space, where we can sit with the Ancestors and honour them with our gratitude, our work, and our love.

And when there is an elevated awareness of this priceless gift we have in the liminal and psychic realms, we collectively create a shift in awareness that makes the "veil" seem thinner.

But know that your ancestors and mine are always right here... Whenever and wherever you need to reach them.

And now the page turns... Shifting into the beginning of my favourite time of year...

The ghee lights of Diwali have been lit and will take us deeper into the Season of the Ancestors and further down the road to the awakening of our Indwelling Anointed One -- Our True Nature.

(Also, Storm Faerywolf, I didn't know if you heard this amazing mashup!)

AGATHA x GAGA - Bloody Mary x The Ballad of the Witches' Road (FULL MASHUP) ft. WEDNESDAY I'll dance, dance, dance, down, down, down the witches' road 😈💃 Short 3:29https://youtube.com/shorts/A5HLTDKJcAA______...