...& Now You're Mine

According to the Spirit Daily, "as many as one out of every ten residents in the Miami metro area dabbles in a form of voodoo known as Santeria." This concept is nothing new to me, I've heard about the spiritual practices in Miami since I was young. It's no town secret. But as I've grown up I've become increasingly more interested in what exactly Santeria is and why it's so commonly practiced in Miami. Characterized by sorcery and spiritual possession, voodoo is a subject of taboo.

Voodoo is used to define spiritual practice in which the magic that is effected through the gris-gris objects and invocations, is solely the work of spirits. Santeria is similar to voodoo, and both come from the same religious tradition, Vodun. The major difference is the substitution of Spanish influence for French influence. Santeria is common within the Cuban community, which heavily populates Miami.

But who am I to judge?

I just don't understand it. 

Why are goats and chickens washing ashore?

Why are headless goats being found in Biscayne Bay?

One out of every ten. Ten percent of the people I interact with believe in the same religion or practice as the extremists dumping goats into the Bay. Maybe one out of ten people aren't decapitating goats in their backyards but how can you tell who is?

Sometimes I like to stroll through Miami and observe the people around me.

I like to watch people and try and decipher their motives. thoughts. history. 

Are they good people? Do they practice voodoo? Does voodoo make you a bad person?

My observations turn to surreal analyses. 

I wonder how many of these people have cut off a goat's head. 

A chicken's?

According to the statistic, at least one of the people in this photo "dabble in a form of voodoo." 

I say it's the little girl in the purple shirt. She definitely does voodoo.

Just kidding.

In Nadja by Andre Breton, Nadja's mother, like me, likes to sit on the metro and observe the people around her. Breton doesn't find people going or coming from work on the metro interesting. I bet he would if he knew one out of every ten people on the metro were decapitating goats in their free time.

Is it true that the beyond, that everything beyond is here in this life?

I can’t hear you.  Who goes there?  Is it only me?