Quimbanda, the Cult of Exu and Pomba Gira, is a Shamanic Witchcraft Tradition practiced in Brazil. Sometimes called Macumba or even referred to as Satanism and Devil Worship, it incorporates elements of African and South-American believes and religion as well as Medieval European Witchcraft. NA GIRA DO EXU gives and introduction to the roots and historic development of Quimbanda, the role of the priesthood, ceremonies, magical workings and the hierarchy of the spirits of this cult. Over 300 Pontos (songs and invocations) and more then 100 Pontos Riscados (ritual sigils and drawings) for Exu are also included. This extended edition also contains a newly added section on how to contact and work with your personal Exu

Quimbanda, the Cult of Exu and Pomba Gira, is a Shamanic Witchcraft Tradition practiced in Brazil. Sometimes called Macumba or even referred to as Satanism and Devil Worship, it incorporates elements of African and South-American Indian believes and religion as well as Medieval European Witchcraft. This new edition of Na Gira do Exu presents over 330 Pontos Cantados (songs and invocations) and more then 100 rare Pontos Riscados (ritual sigils and drawings) for Exu and Pomba Gira, the Spirits of Brazilian Quimbanda, and looks at the roots and historic development of this cult, the role of the initiate, ceremonies, magical workings and the hierarchy of the spirits of this cult.

• Explains how Kimbanda’s presiding deity Eshu embodies both masculine and feminine principles, both god and devil, and thus represents human nature itself with all its vices and virtues • Discusses Kimbanda’s magical practices, initiation rites, sacred knives, and sacrificial offerings • Details the seven realms and the entities that inhabit and govern each of them Although it has been demonized as a form of Satanic cult, Kimbanda--the tradition of Afro-Brazilian black magic--is a spiritual practice that embraces both the light and dark aspects of life through worship of the entities known as Eshu and Pombajira. Exploring the history and practice of Kimbanda, also known as Quimbanda, Diego de Oxóssi builds a timeline from the emergence of Afro-Brazilian religions in the 17th century when African slaves were first brought to Brazil, through the development of Orisha cults and the formation of Candomblé, Batuque, Macumba, and Umbanda religious practices, to the modern codification of Kimbanda by Mãe Ieda do Ogum in the 1960s. He explains how Kimbanda’s presiding deity Eshu Mayoral embodies both masculine and feminine principles, both god and devil, and thus represents human nature itself with all its vices and virtues. Discussing the magical practices, initiation rites, and spiritual landscape of Kimbanda, the author explains how there are seven realms, each with nine dominions, and he discusses the entities that inhabit and govern each of them. The author explores spirit possession and Kimbanda’s sacrificial practices, which are performed in order to honor and obtain the blessing of the entities of the seven realms. He discusses the sacred knives of the practice and the role each plays in it. He also explores the 16 zimba symbols and sigils used to attract the spirits most apt to realizing the magician’s will as well as traditional enchantment songs to summon and work with those spirits. Offering an accessible guide to Kimbanda, the author shows that this religion of the people is popular because it recognizes the dark and light sides of human morality and provides a way to interact with the deities to produce direct results. DIEGO DE OXÓSSI is a Chief of Kimbanda and Orishas Priest. For more than 20 years he has been researching and presenting courses, lectures, and workshops on pagan and African-Brazilian religions. He writes a weekly column at CoreSpirit.com and is the publisher at Arole Cultural. He lives in São Paulo, Brazil.

Palo Mayombe: The Garden of Blood and Bones is an initiate's account of this much maligned cult whose central nigromantic mystery is the prenda, the cauldron containing the human skull or bones, reanimated by living spirit. Nicholaj de Mattos Frisvold traces the roots of Palo Mayombe back to Kongolese sorcery, the warrior and leopard societies, and the impact of the Portugese Mission. The original African faith is carried in chains across the abysmal waters of Kalunga and it flowers in Cuba as a New World Creole religion and cult. Yet Palo Mayombe can only be truly understood in the light of a highly developed African cosmology. In drawing parallels with the ancient Greek practice of necromancy, and the grimoire tradition, Frisvold also considers the Western tradition, showing what we have lost in our denial of the dead and the cult of the ancestors. The magical head of Palo Mayombe in its three-legged iron cauldron has implications for understanding our own histories, whether Odin, Baphomet, Bran, John the Baptist or Orpheus. The Misa Espiritual suggests one way in which we can reforge that vital connection and resurrect both our dead and ourselves. The Garden of Blood and Bones gives explicit detail of the workings of Palo Mayombe for good and ill, the method of divination, the herbs, animals, trees and plants, powders, baths and waters, the songs and chants. It presents a complete living system one which embraces both the arts of healing and resurrection, and those that remove life. This study confronts the sinister and violent aspects of the cult, but rather than purveying lurid sensationalism expresses the deep dignity and integrity of its nature; it is intended to serve as a guide for practising Paleros and those seeking initiation. With access to rare materials, pamphlets, booklets and unpublished field notes, this is the most comprehensive study of Palo Mayombe to date. Santeros and practitioners of Vodou will also find much to ponder within these pages.

The mythological, folkloric, and religious beliefs of Western culture have resulted in a long and ongoing history of esoteric themes in theatre from the Middle Ages to the present in Spain and the America. Now Robert Lima, a noted comparatist, brings to bear on this material his wide knowledge of the world of the occult. Lima defines the terms "occult" and "occultism" broadly to embrace the many ways in which humans have sought to fathom a secret knowledge held to be accessible only through such supernatural agencies as alchemy, angelology, asceticism, astrology, demonolatry, divination, ecstasy, magic, necromancy, possession, Santeria, séances, voudoun, and witchcraft. The dramatic works covered range from medieval materializations of Hell to the Golden Age plays of Lope de vega, Tirso de Molina, and Calderón de la Barca, to modern stage works by Valle-Inclán, García Lorca, Casona, Miras, and a number of significant Afro-Brazilian and Caribbean dramatists. The concluding comprehensive bibliography of the drama of the occult is invaluable.

Holy Harlots examines the intersections of social marginality, morality, and magic in contemporary Brazil by analyzing the beliefs and religious practices related to the Afro-Brazilian spirit entity Pomba Gira. Said to be the disembodied spirit of an unruly harlot, Pomba Gira is a controversial figure in Brazil. Devotees maintain that Pomba Gira possesses an intimate knowledge of human affairs and the mystical power to intervene in the human world. Others view this entity more ambivalently. Kelly E. Hayes provides an intimate and engaging account of the intricate relationship between Pomba Gira and one of her devotees, Nazaré da Silva. Combining Nazaré’s spiritual biography with analysis of the gender politics and violence that shapes life on the periphery of Rio de Janeiro, Hayes highlights Pomba Gira’s role in the rivalries, relationships, and struggles of everyday life in urban Brazil. The accompanying film Slaves of the Saints may be viewed online at ucpress.edu/go/holyharlots.

The following Afro-Brazilian Grimoire of Ceremonial High Magick of the Quimbanda Goetia celebrates the celestial "72 Astral Spirit Mysteries" of the Holy Divine Angel, Exu Maioral. In the magickal practice of the Quimbanda Goetia, the Holy Divine Angel, Exu Maioral is syncretized as the Holy Angel Baphomet and the Gnostic Occult Mysteries of Saint Cipriano. This ceremonial magick book was written by Marcelo Ramalho Gomes of Sao Paulo, Brazil and Carlos Antonio De Bourbon Galdiano Montenegro of Los Angeles, California. This very unique Grimoire of the Quimbanda Goetia represents a very powerful and eclectic magickal philosophy which is a precise Esoteric Gnostic blending of Western Magick, the Afro-Brazilian Kimbanda religious tradition of Brazil and the American Quimbanda, Gnostic Orthodox Rite religious tradition of the United States of America."