Tonight’s topic is Gypsy Magick. It’s kind of a hard topic to talk about as they do not have a single tradition. They are not a single tribe for one, and they do not all engage in entertainment for a living, or didn’t.
Fortune telling, thieving, maybe edging on witchcraft? Actually, no witchcraft. Not as westerners know it, and most have embraced the dominant religion of the places they have settled.
More leaning to Voodoo then? Yes. Actually for those who are Catholic their magickal practices are more like Santeria. Santeria is adapted from Voodoo, but replaces the Loa with the Saints and reveres Mary Mother of Jesus perhaps most.
The Gypsy peoples actually originated from India. Some migrated through northern Africa and is why they got the name Gypsy. It’s an adaptation of the Greek word for Egyptian, but they are not Egyptian. They may have adopted tarot imagery from Egypt though, and yes, they do commonly read tarot, but also palms, tea leaves. Really what method of divination they practice would be passed down from their teacher, but there is a root for their continued practice of fortune telling. Their original beliefs involved the worship of Kali who is death and also time. This is why witchcraft got to be associated with reverence for Mary, because Kali is the Great Mother, and in Gypsy culture only women are considered to be able to divine. The Gypsy people also revered a horned God. The name and image of it is currently lost.
Their primary concern when it comes to magical practice is dealing with issues of luck. They will not divine for their own people, because it’s considered an insult to the spirits that guide them, and though men don’t divine they are acknowledged as sometimes being possessed of magical talents as well.
Would they offer divination to others for money? They actually never formally ask for money. Their magick originally stems from the practice of tribal Saddhus who received offerings. Officially, if a Gypsy has to ask you for a specific amount of money, you have insulted them. You have not shown proper respect for their spirituality. This is also considered bad luck. They do believe in the divine.
Is the Gypsy curse a myth as well then? You insult them and they will curse you? No, it’s real, and is again considered to stem from their spirituality. They will curse you because you have defiled their peoples spirit, and your insult will bring them misfortune as well. They focus on their own version of the Hindu purity laws, and they insist that all of their people, and even adopted children, respect these laws.
So much like a priest will say you have sinned and need to confess? Yes. If under a Gypsy curse, you can make it right. Otherwise, you suffer bad luck because basically you have incurred bad karma. Especially if one of their women has done a reading for you.
Part of the reason they have their issues with money is among themselves there is no such thing as one member of a family earning more money than another. They give freely to each other. If you fail to show generosity to them or at least to honour an agreement, they see you as unclean. You bear the mark of the Devil. This is why you act that way in their view.
They do believe in a Devil, and they do believe in a God, but their understanding of God and the Devil differs from the more commonly held beliefs. They don’t believe God punishes you, nor do they believe that the Devil can corrupt you. They believe that God and the Devil are the governing forces of the two sides of life. So if you come into bad luck, it’s because you have entered into the Devils realm, the unclean world, and you can with sincere intent remove yourself from that world as well.
Your thoughts are welcome. Be well friends.
Travis Saunders
Dragon Intuitive
~science,mysticism,spirituality~
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