And the Shadows Wore Colors: Reflections of a Spiritualist strives to explain the difficulties that the members of the Yorubal/Lucumi community - specifically African Americans - have experienced in incorporating the realm of spirit into its ceremonies and teaditions. Throughout her life, Candita C. Gual has encountered many puzzling and troublesome paths. She has been fortunate to have the guidance of experienced mediums with foundations rooted in truth and logic, assuring safe footing for her as she has traveled the road of the unseen and commandeered rituals and solutions for the problems at hand. Yet she still has questions about what she has learned and what is to come in her continued search for knowledge. And the Shadows Wore Colors provides a record of her experiences and conversations that will reveal some answers for those who have questions. In this volume, she examines the stumbling blocks that hinder the spiritual evolution sought by so many people, to perhaps bring some direction and closure to them. She explains her perspective on some of the many facets of the world of spiritualism, divination, and initiation ceremonies based upon her thirty-four years of experience. And the Shadows Wore Colors is a work in progress that will hopefully open the door to m any discussions and books on this topic.

And the Shadows Wore Colors

Reflections of a SpiritualistBy Candita C. Gual

iUniverse, Inc.

Copyright © 2012 Candita C. Gual
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4759-0277-8

Contents

A Message to the Reader..............................................ixPreface..............................................................xiForeword.............................................................xiiiPrologue.............................................................xixIntroduction.........................................................xxiiiHow it all began.....................................................1Can spirit be explained?.............................................3The principals of spirit.............................................6The Supreme Being....................................................9The karma of spirit..................................................12The development of spirit............................................17Where our responsibility lies........................................22Spiritual Unity......................................................25A Call to Spirit.....................................................28Am I hearing voices in my head?......................................31A Discussion on the Yoruba Influence.................................33A need for further understanding.....................................37The Manifestation of Spiritual Energies..............................44The Effect of Astrology on Spiritual Progression.....................48Believing in self....................................................52The Language of Spirit...............................................56Embracing Faith......................................................66

Chapter One

How it all began

"In the life of the spirit there is no ending that is not a beginning" Henrietta Zolde

To my recollection I met Cynthia Graham-Ward, Sister Basset as she was known to many, in 1992 in Hartford, Connecticut. Unbeknownst to either of us we had an elder in the Lukumi tradition in common. Yet, Cynthia recalls meeting me approximately a year earlier at a tambour (a celebration set to African call and answer rhythms), I attended "in a beautiful blue dress". She was there with her godfather and when they left, she had many questions for him regarding the lady in the blue dress; she wanted to know why the lady could not speak. "That lady was you" she said to me; "with an energy that was unknown to me". "You whooshed across the room so fast; it was hard keeping up with the direction in which you scampered relaying messages in a kind of sign language to various participants". Cynthia had met my Yoruba entity, who at that time had not yet received the gift of speech, and her recollection of that encounter was the beginning of a friendship that to this day continues to grow.

On that day in Hartford, our godmother, a daughter of Oshun, decided that she would bring her godchildren together. This was a wonderful gathering as many of us who were scattered across the east coast, had never met, although some of us knew of one another. The gathering was to give homage to the ancestors, and our godmother an avid participant in the drumming rituals of call and answer had gathered all the tools necessary for a successful spiritual celebration. During the festivities, the calling of the ancestors and spirit guides to join the celebration resulted in the appearance of my principal spiritual entity. This guide found Cynthia in the group and that encounter began a conversation that continues to this day. (Spirit other than Orisha, which was Cynthia's' first encounter with me, does not have a restriction for speech, and will normally speak in the language of its host). In her journey through the worlds of Spirit, Santeria and Ifa

Cynthia found that she had many questions regarding the revelations made to her in the various forms of divination incorporated by the elders she had interacted with. Cynthia documented many of the exchanges we had and presented them to me with a reminder that the answers I had provided her had indeed helped her to understand. She urged me to review them and formulate a text that would in her words, "help others like me a means for understanding". I thought about it long and hard and in the following pages I will attempt to recapture some of those conversations. I hope the reader will benefit from the responses, as its purpose, as Cynthia reminds me "is to bring clarity for those individuals interested in spiritual evolution of a positive nature". She is adamant that there are individuals who employ trickery into this sacred practice and uses said practice for their self-interest and monetary gains and manipulate those who seek assistance into believing falsehoods, which garner continual clientele resulting in a steady financial evolution.

Chapter Two

Can spirit be explained?

"We always attract into our lives whatever we think about most, believe in most strongly, respect on the deepest level, and imagine most vividly Shakiti Gawain

During one of what was to be many visits and conversations with Cynthia, we began to discuss the abstract aspect of spirit. Cynthia was concerned with what would be the appropriate interpretation of this phenomenon, and how she could distinguish if she was correct in her analysis of her experiences thus far, and how she could relay the lessons of these experiences to others. Cynthia was further concerned with the differences in the people she had encountered with acclaimed spiritual prowess; my response was as follows:

"It never ceases to amaze me how the knowledge of spiritual understanding lacks focus with the individuals who claim to have a connection with the unseen. So many profess to be the charismatic messengers of the world of Creator, yet they consistently prophesize these ideals attaching human attributes to its characteristics. I cannot fathom how those that have stated to have the ability to communicate on a spiritual level have failed to grasp the fundamental truth of their journey".

When I refer to the attachment of human characteristics to spiritual encounters, I am speaking of how the most prophetic of spiritual individuals will group all aspects of the phenomenon into one category. They set the tone for the consult and do not sway from it as all individuals that they encounter fall into the categories they have chosen as the catalyst of the problem before them. For me this is an attitude based in ego.

"The concept of ego impacts the role of the spiritualist and has in some instances tainted the teachings that they have been entrusted with. The ego driven spiritualist cannot effectively implement the "gift" that Creator has given, because they have forgotten that it is a gift, one that is to be used as it was intended: to bring enlightened awareness to Creator's plan. Ego only serves one purpose: itself. It compares the success of others who walk in this realm to itself and unfairly criticizes the concepts that are being professed. Ego for the most part comes in anger coupled with superiority and exists to infuse these attitudes to all it encounters. It cannot exist in peace and harmony as its purpose is to implant doubt and mistrust so that the intent of the "gift" is misguided and confused but manifests caring and concern. The manifestation of ego in a spiritual teacher for the most part exhibits in that person an ego centered righteousness with a conviction to convince followers that they are the: "be all and...