The Indalo Symbol, A Shaman bridging the Worlds.

For many years I have searched for the Magick attributed to my Ancestral lineage, not easy when all your grandparents have passed before oneself is even born but ask the right questions to the right relative and one can begin to build a picture of ones roots.

The Maternal side of my family were of Moorish descent and even carried their name from Spain to Britain way back in the 1600’s, where they seemed to have first appeared in Norfolk. However none of the family seemed to follow the usual Islamic trends of Moorish teachings, the only lead i had seemed to be that the females in the family, swayed towards a strange admix of ‘God’ and Mysticism. While growing up i found this most confusing as many of the family friends read tea leaves, tarot and used Ouija boards, being young i had no clue that most of what was going on could be deemed as a form of Necromantic practices. Something which fueled my imagination and curiosity.

From a young age I was taken back to Spain and spent time in the Pyrenees Mountains with its scenic Caminos and small villages. All of which was a far cry from busy streets of Barcelona or ‘Baca’ as we call it. Over the years and with plenty of time given to research I eventually found more than i had first bargained for, something which explained my passion and pull towards Shamanism and Magickal Practices.

Iberia has a rich cultural history which consists of many tribal peoples, Northern Iberian Celts, Jews, Moors, Visigoths to name but a few. During the age of persecution, the Moors,Jews and local Gypsies fled to the Catalan Mountains and Amalgamated for safety in Numbers. It was here that true Flamenco was born and if one knows how to look, you can distinctly see the three influences folded into one. First the dances with their swirling movements and Females in colorful dresses comes from the Moorish Sufi Influences, the stories of passion and romance contained within the music stem from the Hesidic Jewish line and the preservation of old folk tales, while the Guitar work is attributed to nomadic Gypsies. However, Flamenco is not so old and any relation to the guitar possibly stems back to earlier instruments such as the Lute or older designs. Either way we can clearly see Tribal Customs being preserved in a new era.

Now the not so nice aspect of being young and following tradition was the being forced to witness the legendary Bull Fights, something i never agreed with. In fact when the Matador was pierced i would actually stand up and cheer alone in a ring the size of a football ground. Much to the disapproval of the crowd but years later the whole affair began to make sense. The Prime Goddess of this region was in fact one of the Ancient Shamanic Grandmothers, her name had been lost through time and in later years and with the arrival of Latin Influences from Rome, she became known as Santa Marina. Unlike her later namesake Saint Mary, Marina was much more Archaic in her nature. A Goddess of storms, thunder and lightning, the Oceans and the Earth but she was believed to have lived under the ground in a cave. (Nephilim / Anunaki ?) now this would clearly suggest the Moorish / Berber aspects and the spread of such a figure from Persian Origins. To pay homage to this archaic figure the Shamans would sacrifice a Black Bull to her, El Torro (the Bull) creature of the star sign Taurus and close proximity to May 1st, the first day of Summer.

Strangely enough in my later experiences with Haitian Voodoo, a black Bull is Sacrificed to the Loa Ogun, the deity of strength, protection  and thunder. The same attributes carried by Marina. Now in the modern world we have traveled beyond the need for animal sacrifices but these elder cultures, could feed several villages at a fiesta from one Bull. Another tradition which seems to creep in is the old Nordic ritual of coming of age, when a warrior would have to wrestle and kill a Bison with his or her bare hands.

Another association to Marina is the colors red, black and white, something found further away in the Mexican Santa Muerte, three colors which coincedently or not i have always been drawn to more than others. Like marina, Santa Muerte is another Goddess who carries multi tasking attributes. So as i deepen my research the plot thickens, maybe i am only seeing what I want to see, after all Marina who is not actually named so, is so old even modern Catalans agree her true nature is lost within history. Another strange link is the indalo glyph at the top of the page, which seems to suffered the same as Marina. Found in a Cave in Andalusia the image is known to be paleolithic but its meaning is lost, however, this image is very similar to the Moorish rune which symbolizes the tribe as a whole. While the Indalo, a symbol said to bring good fortune, contains ‘ a man or woman holding a rainbow, the Moorish variant is more a symbol of invocation posture, the likeness is too close to ignore. The same symbol known as the Shamans Rune is also found in Taltos Shamanistic Culture from Hungary. A sign perhaps that this symbol has moved with human migration.

I may never get to the truth or substance of what any of this means, like anyone else i can only follow what my genetics dictate and intuition serves up as a guideline. What is apparent to me is somewhere throughout the entire Iberian / North African Cultures there appears to be some strange cross over between Islam, Voodoo and a more traditional strain of folk magick. Something Shamanistic in nature and loaded with an almost forgotten arm of sorcery, all of these Cultures are known to have used Iron Cauldrons, Horse Husbandry and the wisdom of Ancient Nomads, Alchemy and tribal ways. Where that will lead me or anyone else i cannot say. What matters is, there is a forgotten Magick which we may never find.