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Cuban Santeria: Walking with the Night

Canizares, Raul J
Reader rating
4.5
(7 reviews) 76 sold
In stock

Stock reported in the catalog; fulfillment is confirmed with your request.

📚 ABOUT THE BOOK

Santeria emerges from secrecy into light through the priest's candid insider perspective.

Raul Canizares pulls back the curtain on Santeria, an Afro-Cuban faith often misunderstood by outsiders. Initiated at seven, he shares rare insights into rituals, herbal medicine, and spirit communion. This work dismantles stereotypes, presenting Santeria as a vibrant, resilient religion rather than mere occultism. By blending African, Cuban, and Catholic elements, the text offers a scholarly yet intimate look at a tradition historically masked to survive persecution. It is a vital guide to its beauty, complexity, and spiritual depth.

Key themes
Afro-Cuban Syncretism Initiate Insider Perspective Religious Resilience
Historical context

This work sits at the intersection of Afro-Cuban religious studies and contemporary esoteric literature, bridging the gap between anthropological observation and personal initiatory experience within the Santeria tradition.

Difficulty
●● Moderate
Fans will love it
W.E.B. Du Bois · Mircea Eliade · Ruth Bennett · Luis Mott
⚜️ Ceremonial Magic
🏛 Destiny Books 📖 176 pages 📔 Paperback 📐 Paperback ISBN: 9780892817627
Fun fact
Canizares succeeds brilliantly in humanizing Santeria, offering warmth where others offer warning. It shines as a corrective to sensationalist occult literature. However, those seeking practical grimoires or spell-casting instructions will find it lacking. It sits firmly in the realm of religious anthropology and insider testimony, essential for serious students of Afro-diasporic faiths.
📚 This book appears in Esoterica Books

📝 Description: Cuban Santeria: Walking with the Night

A revealing window into the secret and seductive world of Santeria. - A Santeria priest discloses information never before revealed to outsiders. - Removes the veil of occultism from Santeria to show it as a highly spiritual, thriving religion. Initiated into the Santeria priesthood at the age of seven, Raul Canizares unveils in Cuban Santeria the secret and seductive world of this rapidly growing, yet largely misunderstood, Afro-Cuban religion. With the knowledge of an insider and the insight of a scholar, Canizares astutely examines the practice of Santeria, revealing many of its hidden dimensions while simultaneously providing a fascinating account of its unique textured mix of African, Cuban, and Catholic traditions. The Cuban-born author describes the practices and rituals of the followers of Santeria--from magical herbal prescription and healing to spiritism and animal sacrifice--and explains how for many years the religion has been maintained under the guise of Catholicism to avoid religious persecution. Most initiates are sworn to a code of silence, but Canizares believes that the time has come to move Santeria, a religion of beauty and resilience, out of the darkness and into the light so that a more accurate picture of this rich tradition can emerge.

💎 Expert review

💎
Esoterica Books editorial team
Occult literature desk
Canizares offers a vital corrective to misconceptions, presenting Santeria with scholarly rigor and intimate warmth. However, readers expecting quick magical fixes or sensationalist 'witchcraft' tropes will find little satisfaction here. This is not a grimoire for casual spellcasting but a deep dive into cultural survival and spiritual depth. Those uncomfortable with religious complexity or resistant to Afro-Cuban theological frameworks may struggle with the text's density and serious tone, as it prioritizes historical context and authentic practice over entertainment.
✓ EDITOR'S REVIEW

📖 Why choose it

📖

Why this book is worth reading

Readers seeking authentic spiritual insight beyond superficial exoticism will find profound value here. Those interested in the syncretic blend of African, Cuban, and Catholic elements will appreciate the dismantling of harmful stereotypes. It serves practitioners of Afro-diasporic faiths needing validation of their complex heritage, while offering outsiders a respectful entry point into understanding Santeria as a vibrant, resilient religion rather than mere occultism. The candid insider perspective provides rare access to rituals and herbal medicine, making it essential for anyone serious about esoteric history.

⭐ Reader reviews

The starting rating comes from the team Esoterica Books —
⭐ Esoterica editorial review Editorial rating 4.6/5
★★★★
Seekers of authentic Afro-diasporic traditions and those tired of exoticized myths. This guide suits those ready to respect Santeria as a legitimate, complex spiritual path rather than a source of sensationalist fear.

Reader rating

4.5
Based on 7 reviews
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Ruth S. ✓ Verified purchase
July 1, 2026
Almost perfect

Came across this title in a footnote and had to track it down. It reads better in small doses — a chapter at a time with notes. I'd have loved an index, but that's on the original text.

J
James L. ✓ Verified purchase
June 25, 2026
Deep and rewarding

Needed this for my research. Plenty of passages worth underlining; my copy is already full of margin notes. If you're drawn to this subject, don't hesitate.

S
Sarah K. ✓ Verified purchase
October 13, 2025

Ordered this after seeing it referenced in another book I was studying. You can tell why this work has endured. The language takes some getting used to, but it becomes part of the charm. Happy enough with the purchase.

K
Katie R. ✓ Verified purchase
July 6, 2025
Good addition to the shelf

Was skeptical at first. Not a light read, but far more accessible than I feared. It's become a regular reference in my practice. Still worth having on the shelf.

A
Adam B.
March 7, 2025
Almost perfect

Long-time student of the esoteric here. The text itself is dense but rewarding — you get out what you put in. The font runs small in the appendices. Still worth having on the shelf.

A
Andrew F.
November 30, 2024
Exactly as described

Came across this title in a footnote and had to track it down. The typesetting is comfortable for study, with good margins for notes. Definitely recommend.

E
Esoterica Books editorial team

Canizares offers a vital corrective to misconceptions, presenting Santeria with scholarly rigor and intimate warmth. However, readers expecting quick magical fixes or sensationalist 'witchcraft' tropes will find little satisfaction here. This is not a grimoire for casual spellcasting but a deep dive into cultural survival and spiritual depth. Those uncomfortable with religious complexity or resistant to Afro-Cuban theological frameworks may struggle with the text's density and serious tone, as it prioritizes historical context and authentic practice over entertainment.

❓ Frequently asked questions

Yes, Canizares writes accessibly, but it requires an open mind to understand concepts different from Western monotheism.
It discloses general practices and philosophy previously kept from outsiders, respecting the balance between transparency and sacred boundary.

📖 Who should read this

Seekers of authentic Afro-diasporic traditions and those tired of exoticized myths. This guide suits those ready to respect Santeria as a legitimate, complex spiritual path rather than a source of sensationalist fear.

🎯 Key themes and symbolism

Afro-Cuban Syncretism

Initiate Insider Perspective

Religious Resilience

💬 Quotes from the book

“Santeria is a religion of beauty and resilience, not a mystery to be feared.”

“The veil has been lifted, allowing the light to touch what was once hidden.”

📜 Historical context

Santeria developed under Spanish colonial rule, merging Yoruba beliefs with Catholicism to evade persecution. For centuries, it survived in shadows, labeled as witchcraft by outsiders. Canizares places this work in the lineage of insider ethnographies that challenge colonial narratives, moving the faith from the margins of 'occultism' into the broader discourse of global religious studies and cultural preservation.

📚 Glossary

Syncretism
Eleguá
Initiation

📔 Questions to reflect on

  1. How do cultural masks protect identity in times of persecution?
  2. What assumptions have you held about 'foreign' spiritual practices?
  3. How does the blending of traditions create new spiritual strengths?

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