Umbanda Religion Course

Lesson 1 • Historical Origins of Umbanda

Traces Umbanda's emergence in early 20th-century Brazil from African, Indigenous, and Spiritist influences. Provides the historical baseline needed to contextualise all doctrinal content.

Lesson 2 • Umbanda Within Brazilian Religious Context

Positions Umbanda relative to Candomblé, Quimbanda, and Catholicism. Students understand syncretism and how Umbanda distinguishes itself doctrinally.

Lesson 3 • Core Cosmological Beliefs

Explains the Umbanda worldview: spiritual planes, the nature of God (Zambi/Olodumare), and the role of spirits. Grounds students in the metaphysical logic underlying all practices.

Lesson 1 • Identifying Your Guardian Orixá

Explains methods for determining a practitioner's ruling Orixá through observation, divination, and initiation. Connects personal spiritual identity to ritual practice.

Lesson 2 • Understanding the Orixá Concept

Defines Orixás as forces of nature and divine archetypes within Umbanda cosmology. Establishes the conceptual lens through which all individual Orixás are studied.

Lesson 3 • Orixá Correspondences and Symbols

Maps each Orixá to colours, days, numbers, foods, and natural elements. Students use these correspondences to correctly prepare altars and offerings.

Lesson 4 • Primary Orixás and Their Attributes

Covers Oxalá, Iemanjá, Xangô, Ogum, Oxóssi, Oxum, Iansã, and Omolu in detail. Students learn each deity's domain, colours, symbols, offerings, and associated qualities.

Lesson 1 • Other Guides: Crianças, Marinheiros, and More

Surveys additional entity categories including child spirits (Crianças), sailor spirits (Marinheiros), and Boiadeiros. Completes the student's map of Umbanda's spirit world.

Lesson 2 • Preto Velho: Ancestral Wisdom Guides

Examines the Preto Velho spirits, their archetypal identity as enslaved African elders, and their healing and counselling roles. Students learn to recognise and work with these guides.

Lesson 3 • Caboclo: Indigenous Warrior Guides

Covers Caboclo spirits as Indigenous Brazilian archetypes embodying strength, nature, and protection. Students learn their ritual role and how to receive their guidance.

Lesson 4 • The Seven Lines of Umbanda

Introduces the organisational structure of Umbanda spirits into seven lines, each governed by an Orixá. Provides the taxonomic framework for all entity study.

Lesson 1 • Incorporation: Receiving Spiritual Entities

Explains the process of incorporation (receiving a spirit) in Umbanda, including signs, stages, and safety protocols. Students practise under supervised terreiro conditions.

Lesson 2 • Preparing the Medium: Body and Mind

Covers physical, emotional, and energetic preparation required before mediumistic work. Students learn hygiene practices, dietary guidelines, and mental discipline techniques.

Lesson 3 • Protecting the Medium During Work

Teaches energetic protection methods used before, during, and after mediumistic sessions. Ensures students can maintain spiritual health throughout their practice.

Lesson 4 • Developing Sensitivity and Perception

Guides students through exercises to heighten spiritual perception, including visualisation, breath work, and energy sensing. Builds the foundational skills for incorporation.

Lesson 1 • Ritual Music: Pontos Cantados

Introduces pontos cantados (sung ritual points) as the primary means of calling and communicating with entities. Students learn key pontos and their correct use.

Lesson 2 • Ritual Music: Pontos Riscados

Teaches pontos riscados (drawn ritual symbols) as sacred geometric signatures of entities. Students learn to draw, interpret, and use these symbols correctly.

Lesson 3 • Specific Giras: Types and Purposes

Distinguishes between giras dedicated to different entity lines (Preto Velho, Caboclo, Exu, etc.) and their unique protocols. Students can adapt ceremony structure to each context.

Lesson 4 • Sacred Space: Setting Up the Terreiro

Covers the physical and energetic preparation of the terreiro, including altar construction, spatial arrangement, and consecration. Students learn to create a properly prepared ritual environment.

Lesson 1 • Environmental and Ethical Considerations

Addresses responsible offering practices that respect natural environments and community spaces. Students learn to balance tradition with ecological and social responsibility.

Lesson 2 • Preparing Offerings for Orixás

Provides step-by-step guidance for preparing food, flower, and object offerings for each major Orixá. Students learn correct materials, timing, and presentation.

Lesson 3 • Spiritual Logic of Offerings

Explains why offerings are made in Umbanda: as acts of gratitude, exchange, and energetic alignment. Grounds all practical offering work in doctrinal understanding.

Lesson 4 • Despachos: Ritual Dispatches

Teaches the construction and delivery of despachos as ritual packages sent to specific entities or locations. Students learn materials, assembly, and proper disposal methods.

Lesson 1 • The Passe: Spiritual Energy Transfer

Teaches the passe as the central healing technique in Umbanda: a laying-on-of-hands energy transfer. Students learn correct hand positions, intention, and protocols.

Lesson 2 • Umbanda's Healing Philosophy

Establishes the doctrinal basis for healing: spiritual causes of illness, the role of karma, and the healer's ethical obligations. Frames all practical healing techniques.

Lesson 3 • Cleansing Baths and Body Rituals

Provides practical instruction in preparing and administering ritual cleansing baths for energetic purification. Students can prescribe and guide clients through the process.

Lesson 4 • Spiritual Consultation and Diagnosis

Covers how mediums and leaders conduct spiritual consultations to identify a person's spiritual condition. Students learn questioning, observation, and diagnostic frameworks.

Lesson 1 • Running Development Classes

Teaches how to structure and facilitate mediumship development classes within the terreiro. Students gain practical skills for guiding newer members safely.

Lesson 2 • Sustaining and Growing the Terreiro

Covers practical aspects of terreiro sustainability: finances, outreach, and preserving tradition. Students learn to balance spiritual mission with organisational needs.

Lesson 3 • Terreiro Hierarchy and Roles

Maps the organisational structure of a terreiro from Pai/Mãe de Santo to new initiates. Students understand each role's responsibilities and how the hierarchy functions.

Lesson 4 • Conflict Resolution and Community Care

Addresses interpersonal dynamics, ethical disputes, and community well-being within the terreiro. Students develop skills to maintain harmony and resolve conflicts constructively.