J. Lo’s Black Magic? – The Practice of Santeria

As the entertainment section articles on Beginning and End have detailed, time and time again, the biggest stars in pop culture are involved in the occult or promote it through their lyrics and Illuminati symbolism in videos.   Numerous media  sources through the years have alleged that former American Idol host, mega-star Jennifer Lopez, aka J. Lo, is a practitioner of Santeria, a form of black magic that was spawned in the Caribbean and central America by the descendants of slaves brought to North America from West Africa. Lopez, who has achieved great success in music, acting and as a celebrity mogul has been one of the biggest stars in pop culture of the past decade.  And as is often the case with the biggest stars in society, there is a connection that leads back to the occult.

Santeria – Caribbean Black Magic

Forced to adopt the Roman Catholic religion in countries like Brazil, Honduras and Cuba, African slaves in the 18th and 19th centuries incorporated the symbols and images from Roman Catholicism and combined it with their own Yoruba and Bantu religion to form what is now known as Santeria or, “the way of Saints.” Santeria consists of myths, stories, and legends (or patakí) that provide a basis for its customs and ceremonies. Although more than 400 deities exist, only 16 are actively worshiped. Those 16 deities that form the foundation of the religion.  It is around these foundational and warrior Orishas- or head guardians-that rites of initiation, divination, and magic are celebrated.

In essence, Santeria offers its believers (known as santeros) the means of acquiring predictive knowledge of the world, as well as access to the principal sources of power. Its practice is supposedly limited to white magic and excludes any black witchcraft. Those who observe Santeria worship Olofi – also called Olodumare and Olorún – their almighty god and supreme being. Santeros believe that it is in the forces of nature where the Orishas manifest Olofi’s will.  The santero’s central goals are to worship the saints (Orishas), observe feasts, obey orders, and carry out rites. In exchange for total submission, believers are promised supernatural powers and protection from evil-including health, influence, position, and the ability to see and modify the future. So while it may seem like Catholicism on its face (which also is not in line with Biblical Christianity), it is really a hybrid type of occult religion. In Christianity, there is no worship of ‘saints.’ In fact, any person who is a born again believer in Jesus Christ, is considered a saint in the Bible.  Speaking to the dead or necromancy, is a sin. However this is exactly what many Illuminati rituals require.

For many involved in Santeria, the allure to it is divination, or trying to see into the future. In Santeria, practitioners believe in reincarnation and that a person’s destiny has already been pre-planned. And thus through proper rituals, they can find out what decisions to make to bring them good fortune in life and avoid bad outcomes. Divination can also help find out commands from an Orisha which the adherent is required to obey. For help with this, Santeros will often wear amulets, light candles, display many statues in tributes to the Saints, as well seek counsel from the dead (necromancy). The goal is to invoke and invite the maximum amount of Orisha spirits to the ritual. When the rituals are successful, a spirit can even “mount” a Santero and speak through them to those in the room.  The Bible described this activity over 2,000 years ago as demon possession:

And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with [demons], coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time? And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding. So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine. And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters. –Matthew 8:28-32

Notice the demons in these men that Jesus encountered were able to speak through them. Additionally, they were obviously very old beings because they were fully aware of who Jesus was and knew that He would one day come and “torment” them (most likely a reference to the Second Coming of Christ – when He will judge the entire world) and fear Him. In Luke chapter 9, Jesus even granted His 12 disciples “…power and authority over all [demons]“  and they returned stunned at their new ability. All spirits are subject and fear Jesus Christ and thus they do not want people to look to Christ as their Savior.   Participating in occult activities keeps people far from God’s Word and opens one up to demonic influence and possession.

Animal sacrifice is also a major part of Santeria. The orisha gods must be worshiped and animal sacrifice is done to satisfy this. Additionally, animal blood is also used to put curses on others, remove curses and “cleanse oneself.”  All of this of course is what the Bible calls witchcraft. Satan, from the time of his rebellion against The Lord has sought to “be like the Most High” and tries to copy every aspect of God. This is why numerous occult systems require the worshiping of false gods.  These black magic  rituals are all major sins and offenses to the God of the Bible:

There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch. Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee. — Deuteronomy 18:10-12

Christianity is based on the worship of God through Jesus Christ. Santeria adherents worship a series of gods they call “saints.” Santeria ignores Jesus, the need for salvation or His death on the cross, which provides forgiveness of sins for humanity. Like many mystical religions, it does not deal with sin at all. Instead, it embraces every practice that God calls an abomination. God identifies the “gods” of these esoteric religions right in Scripture:

“And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven [angels], shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.” (Deuteronomy 4:19).

Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. (Galatians 4:8)

For all the gods of the nations are [demons]: but the LORD made the heavens. “ (Psalm 96:5)

There is only one true God – who is the Creator of Heaven and Earth. In the sinful age we live in at present, Satan and his angels and demons have been permitted to have limited influence and authority in this Earth and use it to continue to masquerade and present themselves as ‘gods’ or ‘helpers’  to humanity (for a more detailed explanation on this please see our article “11/11/11/ Deception — The Meaning Behind the Phenomenon“).

Occult Initiation

To be initiated into Santeria requires a long, complicated process in which a “Santero” adopts the initiate as their child and puts them through a series of rituals (some costing money). Lopez’ ex, Ojani Noa, who has tried to profit off his intimate knowledge of the star, claims that his spiritual “godmother”, a woman named Merle Gonzalez, took Lopez under her wing and put her through initiation rites:

“At the end of the ‘90s, my black magic godmother – who is now Jennifer’s spiritual leader – was protecting me, taking care of me, helping me and guiding me like a son,” Noa said on the Spanish-language show “Frank Cairo: Sin Libreto.”

“We participated together in sacrifices of chickens and hens, and in one occasion, I was present when they were cleansing Jennifer with the blood of a hen.” The hen’s blood was poured over Jennifer until she was covered in it, Noa said. Then she was bathed in “holy water” to wash away the blood, and herbs were passed over her body. “Meanwhile, the godmother was asking the gods to cleanse Jennifer and save our marriage,” he said. (source)

Noa claims he participated in the Santeria rituals and animal sacrifices only because Jennifer believed in them. Jennifer’s parents come from Puerto Rico, where Santeria is commonly practiced, but Jennifer has strongly denied that she has taken part in anything involving Santeria.
Noa also claims the “godmother” used the bloody rituals to get money from Jennifer, and eventually turned J.Lo against him. Noa says:

“I’ve realized that I was never in favor of the animal sacrifices, but I was present at the rituals Jennifer was doing to improve her career and her love life. Jennifer had a lot of faith in these animal sacrifices, cleansings, black magic and Santeria. But the godmother planned them so she could have financial security through Jennifer. Afterward, she eliminated me and then got Jennifer to start hating me.”

In court documents, Noa stated that Lopez practiced voodoo and put curses on a number of ex-boyfriends including, Sean P. Diddy Combs. In the documents, Lopez’ own lawyer makes a direct reference to her “Madrina”, or spiritual godmother and Noa states that both he and Lopez practiced “voodoo” with her.  Thus even J. Lo’s own legal team acknowledged  her involvement in Santeria.

Lopez’ former makeup artist has also supported the claims that J. Lo practices Santeria. And as far back as 2003, news reports stated that the reason for Lopez breaking off her wedding with actor Ben Affleck (4 days before the ceremony) was based on advice from her Madrina, Merle Gonzalez.

Lopez visited Gonzalez’s ramshackle wooden house in a run-down Los Angeles suburb. She is said to have become one of Merle’s “godchildren” and regularly turns to her for advice. “I am involved in Santeria and yes, I am friends with Jennifer Lopez,” said Merle through the gate. “But I cannot discuss my relationship with Jennifer.”

“Apparently she can go into a trance for up to five hours at a time and really look into people’s pasts and predict the future. I’m surprised that a millionaire celebrity would visit someone like that.”   A neighbor of Gonzalez added: “It’s Merle who Jennifer turns to whenever she needs counsel on the important things in her life.” Astrologists are also said to have marked the date of the wedding as “risky”. (source)

The Spirit of Divination and Fortune-Telling — Demonic Possession

The Bible details that some of the people who are wrongly using the powers of divination, fortune-telling and contacting spirits are truly tapping into occult power. However, it is just being done through demon possession. In the book of Acts, the Apostles Paul and Timothy were traveling though Phillipi when they had an encounter with a diviner:

“And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour. And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers,” — Acts 17-19

Notice that the Bible immediately identifies the source of the young woman’s powers – she was possessed by a demon. Rather than call things like fortune-telling and witchcraft a bunch of fiction, the Bible readily addresses it as a real spiritual activity. But there are demonic forces behind it. And notice what the woman was saying: she was calling Paul and the disciples servants of God who show the way to salvation. She was making a true and accurate statement. Yet it was coming from a demon.  Like most forms of witchcraft, Santeria is promoted as the “white form” of magic and thus not evil (PaloMayome is the “dark” version of Santeria). However the Bible is clear that contacting the spirit world in any form is dangerous because Satan, his evil angels and demons are looking to corrupt and destroy humanity. By luring people into white or black magic, the devil has succeeded in keeping the person for that time, away from the true God of the Bible and put the person at risk of going to hell.

This is why the book of Ephesians states: “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”  The evil spirits are the enemies of humanity but will often present themselves as “helpers” or “guides” or even dead relatives. But this is all a deception. The bible says Satan himself can disguise himself as “an angel of light”. Humans are not equipped to handle all of this confusing deception and this is why the Bible says stay away. Angels have lived far longer than people and know how to manipulate and deceive.

Also interesting was that even back in Paul’s day, the woman who was fortune-telling was doing so to make money. From ancient times, the worship of false gods was always for some material gain. Today, it is no different. Whether it is for relationship advice, maximum financial success or to harm an enemy, the false gods of Satan are still being sought out. The urge to know the future, whether it is through magic, tarot cards, psychic networks or other means, many people in society today are constantly willing to pay for divination. 1 Peter 5:8 says: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour”

The short-term promises of material gain are never worth eternity in hell. Jesus Christ said: ” For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” Practicing witchcraft and occult rituals, despite any short-term gain, are ultimately, serving Satan. Yet despite this, society is moving further away from the God of the Bible and being encouraged to do all forms of witchcraft and occult practices. This is all out of sin and rebellion against God. The Bible states that there is no reincarnation: ” And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: “ (Hebrews 9:27).

Rather than seeking to contact “the spirits”, society should be concerned about their souls and look to God for forgiveness and eternal life in Heaven through Jesus Christ. God is real and does want to interact with humanity in a loving relationship and provide for our needs through eternity. But it requires faith on the part of the individual. “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.”  (James 4:8)  When we seek God with a desire to be forgiven for our sins, He will draw closer and make Himself more real and present. If you are a Christian and you are dabbling in these activities, repent. And if you are not a Christian, know that there truly is a spiritual world. We do have souls and a war is being fought for them. Satan will use any means to entice people into his snare. Do not be deceived.

And the good news is that through Jesus Christ, we can know the future. A born again Christian can know with 100% certainty that they are going to Heaven and eternal life.  That is by far the best future prediction anyone can hope for.  Jennifer Lopez is a mega-star who has achieved a great deal of fame and fortune (and was recently named to Forbes Magazines “100 Most Powerful Women” list), but if it as the cost of worshiping demons it will never be worth it. The good news is that she, like any other Christian, is a sinner who can be forgiven by God for their sins and come to love and worship the God. Let us pray that  she realizes this.