Espiritismo: Puerto Rican Mediumship & Magic

santuario, or sanctuary. Not all brujos have a whole room dedicated to the
work, however, and many set up their altars in dining rooms, living rooms,
and other spaces.
Different altars and setups hold different purposes or are dedicated to
different guides. Regardless of their purpose, however, altars are considered
foundational to the practice and are one of the most important tools
espiritistas use to develop their faculties. In fact, a simple altar setup is
considered all that is necessary for the work to be performed.
Most practitioners keep a personal altar table dedicated to their cuadro
that is designed according to the instructions of their guias espirituales.
This altar reflects their spiritual frame and no two are ever quite the same,
although they all follow some basic rules. They usually include a fuente, at
least one candle, various prayer books, and perhaps a bell or a rosary. These
personal altars can be decorated in various colors and the espiritistas's
patron saint is usually found sitting in some central position, along with his
or her guia principal.
Since brujos often have many spirits working within their cuadros, it is
not uncommon for their altars to hold many spirits. On some altars, these
are arranged according to their courts; on others, they are mixed together.
Some contain only saints and some only the patron saint. Some are simple
and spare, while others spill over with statues lined up like a spiritual army
ready to do battle. (Remember Doña Ana's impressive display.) Some
contain no statues at all, but are surrounded by images of spirits attached to
the walls. Some altars are small; some are huge. But no matter how they are
set up, they are always intensely powerful.
Another quite common type of altar in Espiritismo is the boveda. These
altars entered the tradition with the influence of Cuban Espiritismo,
Cruzado, and Santeria. Bovedas are altars to the dead and to the guides.
Unlike mesas espirituales, which are altars to all the espiritista's spirits,
bovedas are only used for certain classes of spirits. Likewise, the rules for
using bovedas differ from those used by most Mesa Blanca practitioners.
Bovedas feature a large central fountain that holds a crucifix to
represent God. The fountain is surrounded by a number of other glasses,
usually seven or nine. Each of these glasses is dedicated to a spiritual guide
or an ancestor, or to a group of spirits.
An important tenet of Espiritismo is that the power of the work resides
in practitioners and their cuadros, not in the items and tools they use. When