Welcome to the Moon Garden

I, Debora Greer, was born and raised in Brazil, in a family of makumbeiros: practitioners of an Afro Brazilian Spiritual Tradition with Indigenous Influences.

​

Makumba as a survival practice is a spiritual tradition born of the forced interactions between African Bantus and Indigenous Brazilian Peoples. This spiritual system means to preserve ancestral knowledge and reunited us with our Dead. This is a nature based - necromantic practice that also carries strong Yoruba influences and in some families it has also been shaped by the Roma People, Folk Catholicism practitioners, Kardecism and European Witchcraft.

​​

I have had the privilege of being initiated by my godmother Vovó Joaquina das Almas and my title is of Cambone or/ and Ekedi, which means that  I am a story teller, teacher and ritual leader. I am not a yalorixa and can't initiate other people into the practice. 

What I can do is teach the values, cosmology and ritual tools meant to support our earthly journeys. 

​

The current matriarch of the family is my mother Leila Cristina, who besides being my greatest inspiration in life is also a yalorixa of Umbanda and an elder of the tradition. I also constant learn from my Tata Claudio Zeferino, the leader of the Quilombo das Almas and of a Casa de Makumba in Brazil.

​​

  Makumba is a path forged of resilience and ancestral medicine and each family has its own particularities.

In my family, we work  with Orishas in syncretism with the Nkissis, but mostly, we venerate our Ancestors and the Ancestors of the Spiritual System we are a part of.  As a makumbeira, I am in a loving  relationship with nature, and a follower of Bantu philosophy of life.

​

In my family, we practice Makumba as a philosophy of life. We see Umbanda as a healing path.

We are backyard practitioners and our magic ha survived in our kitchens, gardens, successes and struggles.

Being called a Makumbeiro can still be seen as a slur by dominant society. But to me, is an honor and privilege.

​

The Pombagira Gypsy of the Road and I​

​​

Many years ago, during a beautiful Summer night in Brazil, with the Full Moon ruling over the night sky, I was walking on an empty street. I stopped under a Jabuticaba Tree and that's when my great ancestor, the Spirit Pombagira Gypsy of the Road first made herself known to me.

Sofia, as friends and family call her, is my ghostly mother and the Spirit who leads all the spiritual work I offer: books, classes, oracle readings and rituals.

We have been working together since I was a teen, and being her horse (her medium) is a joyful honor.

​​​

Together, the Gypsy and I created the Moon Garden: a place of virtual classes, rituals, mentorship and oracles. The focus of our work is to empower people in taking care of themselves and of their loved ones by using magical and herbal knowledge, and we firmly believe that there's no such a thing as "one path fits  all."

We believe in the uniqueness of each human being and ancestral spirit .

In our work, we strive to always offer historically and culturally accurate information to empower our clients and students in making choices that will provide them with spiritual autonomy and joy.

​​

In my house is right, in someone else's house is only different

​

There's no absolute truths in our work. No intention of being the only source of information, or only teacher.

What we strive to do is honor the Makumba I inherited, the practice that allowed Sofia and I to be reunited and that can heal and support many people.

​​​

We work to always make the Moon Garden  a safe space for BIPOC,  members of the LGBTQ+ community, Roma people and s3x workers. We are also welcoming of practitioners of all faiths and philosophies, as long as their believes are not harmful to others people's existences.

 

You may also find in the Moon Garden classes and ritual with ​​ Spiritual Beings who are not a part of a based Makumba practice.

 In my many journeys, I've had the amazing opportunity to meet a couple of wonderful Deities and Powers  from other spiritual traditions and engage in a healthy relationship with them through ritual, study and devotional work. These Powers will come sometimes in Moon Garden rituals and classes to share their wisdom and love.

​​

On top of all of this, I have also studied North American herbalism with Rosemary Gladstar who I see as a role model and has positively influenced by devotion towards the green world.

​