Can someone please explain Santeria to me?

In like...easier terms? I've read Wiki, definitions, other stuff that comes up on Google...

Thaaanks very much!

Sorry I don't practice Santeria. I ain't got no crystal ball.

edit: I Haze a sorry Stagger! D:

It is the worship of the Catholic saints and believing that they do miracles etc for you..
They use the supposed virgin Mary who appears in Mexico as a Mexican and France as a French person and in China as a Chinese. How they can believe that one supposed person can appear like that I don't understand.
Wikkipedia seems to have a different version, but this is what I have seen here, maybe I am wrong ...
The people here go way beyond what the Catholic church does in venerating the saints.

dammit FailCat!!!

Santeria is a strong belief in the existence of microbes. Followers have the tendency to use large amounts of chlorine bleach to kill the imagined germs surrounding them. It is curable and normally requires multiple sessions with a psychologist.

While essentially Santeria is Catholic-infused with African-magic, there are a few different "degrees" of Santeria, depending on the geographical location. East-Coast/Island Hispanics-Santeria is more African-based (when the slaves hit the Caribbean Islands/Puerto Rico/Cuba they brought their Gods with them. When Catholicism was introduced to the slaves they took their old God's characteristics and applied them to Catholic Saints. Voodoo works much the same, although Voodoo appeals straight to the African Gods in question.) West Coast Santero's or Santera's typically appeal to the Saints themselves with not a lot of "African Gods of old are really behind this" but more of Catholic belief that the Saints themselves are lending a hand in their spell work. The true history of Santeria is African God-based, but again, it morphs a little as you move West. It also depends on the Santero or practitioner.

Basically it's hermetic, spell magic within the Hispanic community, intertwined with the Catholic faith, but magic just the same. I know a few superstitious Mexicans who think even a common cold is the result of an evil spell so therefor you must go to the Botanica for a reversal spell. It's so prevalent in my community there is ten Botanicas locally, and even my grocery store carries Santeria supplies like candles, waters, oils and incense.

There are books available on it, I used to own quite a good one, so keep an eye out. You can't always trust the Internet.

The Catholic Church does not approve of Santeria.

The most I can make of the article in Wikipedia (which is not necessarily correct as pr oven recently) is that it is a religion in Cuba that began in the slave era. It involves elements from African religion.

It is growing in the United States. It apparently involves animal sacrifice.

It appears to me to be very similar to voodoo from what I could tell.

It involves belief in demons as one mother and sister were accused of murdering their daughter (sister) with a plastic bag trying to drive demons from her.

Wish I knew more.

Pastor John