SAFE

Santeros Against Fraud and Exploitation (SAFE) is an action committee of the Santeria Church of the Orishas

Santeros Against Fraud and Exploitation (SAFE) is an action committee of the Santeria Church of the Orishas, dedicated to the exposure of deceptive practices and prevention of exploitation within the religion of Santeria. As an extension of our mission to educate, SAFE seeks to expose fraudulent practices to members of the public who may be uninformed about what is considered traditional, legitimate practice by the culture bearers of Santeria (Lucumi, Lukumi).

In addition to educating the public about fraudulent practices we also firmly believe that a healthy religion is one that functions with transparency and adheres to a code of ethics. In an effort to spread ethical practice, the Santeria Church of the Orishas adheres with the Code of Ethics and Code of Conduct of the Association of Independent Readers and Rootworkers (AIRR – a subcommittee of the Missionary Independent Spiritual Church).

Code of Ethics

Those in the Association of Independent Readers and Rootworkers (AIRR) agree to follow this general Code of Ethics for Psychic Readers and Hoodoo Rootworkers:

  • I will become aware of the laws of the county, state, province, or nation in which I am practicing. I will strive to conform to those laws in my practice as a psychic reader and conjure worker.
  • I will dedicate myself to providing compassionate and competent services. Within the scope of my knowledge, training, and experience, I will serve all my clients to the best of my abilities.
  • I will represent myself to the public with a standard of professionalism. I will be honest and upright in my dealings with clients and colleagues, and I will encourage and assist others to maintain this standard.
  • I will respect the personal rights of my clients, colleagues, and other professionals.I will safeguard the privacy of my clients and I will not slander, misrepresent, or make comparisons in a negative manner toward my competitors, colleagues, fellow workers in AIRR, or AIRR itself.
  • I will continue to study, apply, and advance my knowledge and understanding of divination, hoodoo, conjure, rootwork, and related fields. I will ever strive to become more proficient in my practices in order to better serve my clients.
  • When a client’s requirements are outside my scope of spiritual practice or area of specialization, I will notify him or her of such. If possible, I will recommend one or more AIRR practitioners with qualifications in that area of spiritual practice or specialization.
  • If I believe that a client may be in need of mental health evaluation or care, medical examination or treatment, or legal advice or services, and I am not personally qualified in such fields, I will refer her or him to a qualified professional or agency.If necessary I will postpone my services until I am assured that he or she is receiving competent mental health, medical, or legal services.
  • I will not misrepresent myself or my services while advertising. I will not make promises, guarantees, or claims of results that are false in order to increase interest in my advertisements.
  • I will not attempt to conceal my contact methods from the public. In addition to a contact name, my advertising materials will contain at least one of the following valid contact methods: telephone number, email address, street address.
  • I will not engage in identity theft, plagiarism, or copyright violations. I will not substitute the photograph or image of another person to represent myself, nor will I publish photographs or texts describing the spiritual works of another person to represent them as my own.

Code of Conduct

Those in the Association of Independent Readers and Rootworkers (AIRR) agree to abide by this simple Code of Conduct for Psychic Readers and Hoodoo Rootworkers:

  • Ethical Psychic Readers and Hoodoo Rootworkers do not charge more than agreed upon with each client. There are no “hidden fees” or “add-ons” after a stated price is agreed upon for the psychic reading or the conjure work to be performed.
  • Ethical Psychic Readers and Hoodoo Rootworkers expediently assist clients whose cases they accept. They set reasonable working hours and they do not “dodge” phone calls from clients that are received during those hours.
  • Ethical Psychic Readers and Hoodoo Rootworkers do not claim that their spell-casting efforts will succeed “100%” or “in 24 hours” nor make any “guarantees.” In the event that obstacles are encountered in their work, they inform their clients honestly and they set reasonable limitations on how long the work can be expected to proceed before the case is considered to be intractable.
  • Ethical Psychic Readers and Hoodoo Rootworkers do not take financial or social advantage of clients with perceived psychological, medical, or legal problems.Whenever possible, they suggest appropriate and practical medical, legal, and social services to their clients that are supportive of the reading and the rootwork. They do not attempt to convince a client to renounce or refuse appropriate medical, legal, or social services.
  • Ethical Psychic Readers and Hoodoo Rootworkers do not engage in any activities harmful to their clients. They do not engage in financial fraud, psychological abuse or domination, sexual seduction or molestation, personal deception, or unscrupulous magical manipulations of their clients.
  • Ethical Psychic Readers and Hoodoo Rootworkers do not provide advice of a legal, financial, or medical nature. They do not supply advice which is significantly beyond their areas of actual training and competence, or for which they are not legally licensed or accredited.
  • Ethical Psychic Readers and Hoodoo Rootworkers do not harass or abuse clients or other rootworkers. No matter what differences of opinion may arise, they do not engage in disrespectful, aggressive, mean-spirited, unwantedly sexual, revengeful, or malevolent behaviour.
  • Ethical Psychic Readers and Hoodoo Rootworkers do not require that their clients be exposed to dangerous chemicals or hazardous situations. While engaged in conjure services, they do not expose clients to hazards such as liquid Mercury, nor do they urge clients to expose themselves to peril in the procurement of unusual magical objects and substances.
  • Ethical Psychic Readers and Hoodoo Rootworkers do not traffic in rare and endangered species of animals or plants. They refuse client requests to procure materials on the CITES list, or items that are illegal to collect or possess.
  • Ethical Psychic Readers and Hoodoo Rootworkers do not engage in animal cruelty or animal torture, as defined by the laws of their regions, states, or nations. They refuse client requests to engage in animal cruelty or animal torture.

SAFE Alerts

As an action committee of the Santeria Church of the Orishas, SAFE will issue occational “SAFE Alerts” to alert the public about specific instances of fraudulent, non-traditional or deceptive practices by unethical workers, to prevent religious abuse and exploitation of those who seek Santeria with faith and trust in their hearts. SAFE is also dedicated to the ethical and respectful treatment of animals, and upholds compassionate methods of ritual sacrifice and ritual slaughter of animals.

We invite members of the Santeria (Lucumi, Lukumi) community to join us in our efforts to spread ethical and traditional practice within our faith and to stand with SAFE against fraudulent activities and exploitation of people or animals.