Espiritismo: Puerto Rican Mediumship & Magic

Next, you will begin to develop la luz and your power. If your padrino
or madrina, your godparent, also runs a centro, he or she may require that
you attend any reuniones or Misas performed there. Throughout the course
of your training, you will be taught how to discern the various currents and
shown how to clean la casilla, or the house of the spirits, so that only the
highest and purest spirits will come through.
As you grow and unravel, your facultades, or spiritual faculties, will
begin to manifest. Mediums begin to develop their faculties, and to discover
and illuminate new ones, through the process of desarrollo, or unraveling,
which causes the light to develop. Although at this point, some mediums
may be receiving messages, they are advised not to follow through on them,
but rather to write them down so they can be checked by the padrino to
determine which ones come from good spirits and which ones come from
dark spirits. This also helps mediums develop their power to discern
between different fluids.
During your training, your padrino will also administer passes or work
on you spiritually, healing and resolving blockages between you and la luz.
When your cuadro is strong enough, the process of removing and lifting las
causas begins. This can only happen after all blockages to the light have
been removed because, without the light, new mediums don't have the
strength to fully resolve causas.
Being free of causas is most essential to mediums. When mediums
carry unresolved causas, the messages they receive will be contaminated.
This is one of the main problems that underdeveloped and untrained
mediums face. At the start of their training, novice mediums always need
the help of their mentors to remove causas, because this requires a strong
light—something they are still developing. Once their light has developed
to a certain degree, however, they can cast off many of their own causas.
Once novices are free of causas, they can begin to develop connection
to and communication with the spirits in their cuadro. By this point, they
have learned how to develop the light, how to discern between fluids, and
how to keep their casillas clean. They have also learned how to clear
themselves of causas and how to do passes on themselves. They have set up
their altars and work with them frequently.
If they haven't already done so, they are ready to set up their mesas
espirituales, which are dedicated to the main spirits in their cuadro. Their
mentors will help them by transferring their own cuadros and through