Espiritismo: Puerto Rican Mediumship & Magic

provided a perfect place for these practices to continue without constant
persecution.
In fact, native beliefs and Kardec's teachings already shared many
similarities—a belief in one Supreme Being, God; a belief in a spirit world
with varying levels of development; a belief that the spiritual world and the
physical world influence each other and interact. Yet there were many ways
in which Kardec's teachings did not align with or were directly
contradictory to native practices and beliefs.
For example, Kardecist practices didn't address the problems of the
common people or the issues and concerns they faced in life. Kardecists,
many of whom were members of the upper and middle classes, focused on
political and social change. They were concerned primarily with mental
practices, social activism, enlightenment, and politics. These were things
with which most of the population could not afford to be concerned,
however. For the majority, they didn't provide the day-to-day help they
needed. On the other hand, the native healing practices had always worked.
But, realizing that a certain level of protection and acceptance was afforded
to Kardec's brand of Spiritism, native healers adopted the term Espiritismo,
and even incorporated some of Kardec's practices and terms as well.
For instance, espiritistas adopted the term medium for those who had
the capacity to communicate with the spirits and work with the spirit world
to heal and create miracles, although in native traditions these individuals
had always been known as brujos or curanderos. They also adapted their
practice of veladas and sessiones, making the table or altar the central focus
and tool of the rituals. This adaptation became known as Mesa Blanca
(White Table) Espiritismo, which eventually became the predominant strain
of Spiritism on the island. The ancestral healing methods that had been
preserved and handed down were incorporated into Mesa Blanca, including
magical practices, herbalism, the use of talismans, and more. What had
been called brujeria, or witchcraft, and curanderismo, or folk healing, both
became a major part of Mesa Blanca. But for Mesa Blanca espiritistas, the
purpose of communication with the spirits was to heal people, to resolve
life's problems, and to gain guidance. For them, illness and life's problems
were caused by negative energies in the spiritual world.
Mesa Blanca has also been known under many other names, including
Espiritismo Criollo, or Creole Spiritism, because it is a blend and mix of all
the spiritual wisdom and influences of the people of Puerto Rico. It was