What Is Black Magic?
First, I want to clarify something for readers outside Brazil. What is often called “black magic” is simply magic intended to cause harm—what we usually refer to as negative magic. Moreover, in many magical communities, using the term “black magic” isn’t considered very appropriate, because it can carry misleading associations. Therefore, many practitioners prefer to use the term “negative magic” instead. I think it’s important to make this distinction before we go any further.
The Beginning of a Problem
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I turned to the cult of Exu and Pombagira near the end of the COVID-19 pandemic because I was going through serious problems involving people at the company where I worked. If you haven’t read that post yet, click here.
At the time, I was living in a small town, and politics had always been a huge problem there. To be clear, I don’t know how things work in other countries, but in Brazil, openly expressing your political views can become a real issue — especially if you’re a woman with left-wing political beliefs, like me.
During one of the local mayoral elections in the town where I lived, I decided to put a campaign sticker on my car. However, the problem was that the sticker supported the opposition candidate against the current mayor. That was the moment my nightmare started.
Some coworkers immediately started giving me dirty looks. In addition, others warned me that my decision would cause serious problems, but I couldn’t understand why. I was born and raised in a relatively large city where people had much more freedom to express their political opinions. Therefore, to me, the whole situation felt ridiculous and insane. “Maria Padilha, why did you kill the young man? We kill and go to jail — you kill and don’t.”
Workplace Escalation
Then one morning during my hospital shift, my supervisor told me I would literally be punished for “speaking badly” about the current mayor in a WhatsApp message. Yes — that’s actually what happened.
I was horrified, but I tried to defend myself and seek my rights as an employee. Unfortunately, nothing happened. Nobody helped me. That’s one of those moments when adulthood hits you hard.
They changed my work schedule from night shifts to daytime shifts and cut off my overtime hours, which I depended on to supplement my salary. In response, I confronted my supervisor about the overtime issue, got emotional during the argument, and told her I would contact a lawyer.
That’s when things escalated.
Some people tried to create a situation where they could accuse me of theft so I would face legal charges and lose my job. Luckily, a friend who worked at city hall overheard two people talking about me and discussing their plan. She warned me before anything happened.
For almost a year, I worked under extreme psychological stress, somewhere between anxiety and complete burnout. Every single day I feared someone would plant something in my bag to frame me. Therefore, I took every precaution I could.
Maybe some people reading this will think I’m exaggerating or making things up, but unfortunately, every word is true.
Seeking Spiritual Help
That was when I first sought help through Umbanda. However, I couldn’t find the kind of help I was looking for because harmful spellwork is generally frowned upon by the spirits who guide Umbanda temples. I only stayed in Umbanda for a few months before eventually moving to a Kimbanda house, where I witnessed a great deal of negative magic being performed.
My Experience With Exu and Pombagira
The first time I saw a medium channeling a Kimbanda Pombagira was surreal.
She called me by my name even though I hadn’t told anyone who I was — I was there only as a visitor. Then, I sat in front of her while she took a drag from her cigar, hugged me tightly for about ten seconds, and subsequently started talking about things only I could possibly know.
She spoke about my past, including an extremely delicate and traumatic situation I had experienced years earlier involving a local sorcerer. Furthermore, she spoke about my future — things that are actually happening in my life right now.
I asked her if I could return the injustice that had been done to me. Her answer was immediate: she told me I absolutely could give everything back.
In Kimbanda, Exús and Pombagiras are completely amoral beings. Indeed, human ideas of “right” and “wrong” do not necessarily apply within the Law of Exu.
I explained everything that had been happening at my workplace, and the Pombagira immediately asked one of the assistants to bring her a black hen.
At the time, the Kimbanda house had a massive backyard filled with animals: ducks, roosters, hens, quails, and even a goat, all living together.
The assistant returned carrying the black hen. Then, the Pombagira requested two spools of thread — one black and one red — along with some rusty nails and a glass jar labeled “destruction powder.” I only understood what it was because the label literally described it that way.
Everything about that moment was completely new to me. In fact, I was fascinated by how naturally the Pombagira approached solving through magic something that, to me, felt impossible to fix.
She stood up and asked the two men playing the atabaques to start singing a specific song used during harmful spellwork rituals:
“Maria Padilha, why did you kill the young man?
We kill and go to jail — you kill and don’t.”
Obviously, I can’t describe exactly what was done during the ritual, but I can say with certainty that the Wiccan crowd would probably hate it — even though nobody was actually harmed or killed.
Furthermore, songs used during negative spellwork rituals exist to “ignite” the spirit and create an atmosphere more favorable for aggressive magical work. In addition, anyone familiar with Hermetic principles understands how powerful mental focus and emotional intensity can be in those moments.
Afterward, I went home deeply thoughtful that night, replaying every moment I had experienced inside that Kimbanda house. By then, I had already decided I wanted to keep attending.
Consequently, my goal was to learn every kind of spellwork possible.
Subsequently, I remained in that house for some years.
Today, I can confidently say that Exú and Pombagira exist beyond simplistic concepts of “good and evil” or “right and wrong.” Moreover, when an Exú decides to perform harmful magic against someone, we often have no idea what exists behind the scenes spiritually. Therefore, only an oracle can truly determine whether something is justified — or whether there is spiritual permission for that kind of work even if it appears morally questionable to us.
Clearly, magic has never been a simple recipe, and one day I’ll write more deeply about that.
What I can say, however, is that the person who harmed me eventually went through an extremely difficult period in life.
Conclusion
In Brazil, there’s a popular saying:
“Whoever has no godfather dies a pagan.”
Spiritually speaking, this means that when you properly honor and cultivate your ancestry, you build a powerful bond with your spirits. Consequently, your ancestors become capable of protecting you in ways most people cannot imagine.
In the situation I described here, it wasn’t an ancestral Pombagira of mine who helped me, but she empathized with my suffering.
Today, I consistently honor and work with my ancestors, and as a result, I can honestly say that nobody has humiliated me again since then.
That said, worshipping Exú and Pombagira does not turn us into invincible superheroes protected from every evil situation in life. Indeed, life still has to happen. We are human beings, and earthly experiences — painful or not — are part of our path. Furthermore, those experiences shape us and make us stronger.
Nevertheless, my ancestors help me immensely.
And for that reason, I truly have nothing to complain about.
Deixe um comentário