bruja
Latina folk witch
A bruja is a witch in Spanish-speaking cultures, carrying connotations of folk magic, healing, and sometimes malevolence.
The term appears in discussions of Latin American and Caribbean spiritual traditions, often blending indigenous practices with Catholicism.
In contemporary use, bruja has been reclaimed by some women as an identity embracing feminine power and ancestral knowledge: She identifies as a bruja.
Traditional spiritual healer
- spellArrange letters correctly
- hexMalevolent incantation
- curseInvoked harm through words
- potionEnchanted liquid mixture
cauldron · coven · familiar · incantation · enchantment · sorcery · ritual · grimoire
Unverified traditional tale
- mythTraditional explanatory tale
- superstitionBaseless belief in omens
- old womanAged female person
- croneWizened old woman
hag · wise woman · shapeshifter · owl · night · village · storytelling · cautionary tale
Gaining authority or confidence
- reclamationRecovery of something lost
- resistanceCapacity to withstand force
- sisterhoodBond among women
- magicSupernatural or illusory power
spiritual · self-care · intuition · tarot · astrology · crystals · manifestation · goddess
Syncretic Afro-Cuban religion
- altarSacred ritual table
- ancestorsThose from whom one descends
- botanicaLatino spiritual supply store
- cleansingRemoving dirt or toxins
sage · copal · eggs · spiritual healing · Mexican · Caribbean · Afro-Caribbean · protection
curandera
Traditional spiritual healer
potion · cauldron · coven · familiar · incantation · enchantment · sorcery · ritual · grimoire · amulet
legend
Unverified traditional tale
- mythTraditional explanatory tale
- superstitionBaseless belief in omens
- old womanAged female person
crone · hag · wise woman · shapeshifter · owl · night · village · storytelling · cautionary tale · evil eye
empowerment
Gaining authority or confidence
- reclamationRecovery of something lost
- resistanceCapacity to withstand force
- sisterhoodBond among women
magic · spiritual · self-care · intuition · tarot · astrology · crystals · manifestation · goddess · divine feminine
Santería
Syncretic Afro-Cuban religion
cleansing · sage · copal · eggs · spiritual healing · Mexican · Caribbean · Afro-Caribbean · protection · blessing
- ocultismobrujo, talisman, tarot, encanto
- witchcraftwitch, spell, spellwork, witches, spells
- witcheswitch, enchantress, good witch, bad witch, white witch
- healersnurse, doctor, physician, surgeon, medic
- magic userswizard, sorcerer, mage, witch, enchanter
- dark magesnecromancer, warlock, black mage, black magician, lich
brujasaint
Canonized holy person
angel · Virgin Mary · curandera · healer · nun
brujacurandera
Traditional spiritual healer
healer · medicine woman · folk healer · midwife · herbalist