I’ve always been curious about people who have a deep connection with the spiritual world. When my sister told me about a friend who practices a certain type of spirituality, I thought it might be an excellent way for me to understand what, for many of us, could be some kind of hocus pocus. I wanted to write about it for the people who are also intrigued by it. I went into this conversation with a particular interest, but what I learned about this intriguing human is both impressive and inspiring. So, if you want to be enlightened just as much as I was, I encourage you to read on.
Who is Uma?
Uma Acosta is a 23-year-old multidisciplinary artist who goes by the name of Saru and currently majors in Fashion Design with a minor in Image and Movement at the Escuela de Artes Plásticas y Diseño at Puerto Rico. She first started her academic journey as a Psychology major at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras campus, mostly as a way to understand and cope with her family issues. Nonetheless, she always ended up translating her feelings into art regardless of what she studied, a realization that sparked her deeper-than-anticipated connection with all things artistic.
She had a love for music, as she taught herself how to play various instruments as a young girl, such as the violin, guitar, drums, flute, and clarinet. As she got older, she developed a bigger passion for photography and fine arts with interest to capture the human anatomy—body, and nudity. Her love for the arts expanded to include the art of performance, as she’s also a drag performer that goes by the name of Uma Goddess.
Uma, who identifies as a two-spirit Taino, created her own clothing company called Ku Hura, as a means to encourage Puerto Ricans to embrace their indigenous roots, for her designs are inspired by the art the Tainos painted on their bodies.
Last but not least, and the main focus of our conversation: Uma exercises spiritual practices such as Reiki healing and tarot cards readings. Let’s dive into her spiritual gifts.
The Spiritual Dimension
Uma is not a psychic or a medium. When I asked her what she labels her practice as she says, she doesn’t mark it as anything. Instead, she says, “I consider myself a spiritual person, in the sense that I have a spiritual practice.”
She lived in an abusive home, and her house was haunted. Her parents were possessed by negative spirits, as she would see them manifest from a young age. As a result, she embarked on a self-discovery journey. The journey took place in an all-boys high school that led her to go through a state of deep depression, even to the point of self-harm. That’s when she turned to the universe: Uma asked for a path out of that state, a natural way that didn’t involve drugs, alcohol, or sex as an escape.
“The spirits then revealed meditation to me,” she said, “which I knew nothing of. I meditated for 5 minutes every morning and every night. In less than a month, I recovered from the depression without any pills.” Since then, she kept meditating and exploring her spirituality, where she connected with her indigenous roots and began to know herself from the inside out, as she describes it.
I asked Uma what it was like to live with her gifts, and she admitted to being a very empathic person. When she does Reiki healing, she becomes susceptible to the other person’s positive and negative energy. She revealed that in the past, she would channel energy that didn’t belong to her and felt it as her own. As a result, she learned how to care for herself by doing protective meditations so that the negative energy didn’t affect her.
Tarot Cards (Let’s spill the tea)
Uma explained that there are different ways to read tarot cards. The way she likes to read them is through storytelling, revealing the person’s past, which is connected to the body; their present, which focuses on the mind; and their future, which is linked to the person’s spirit. She admits that she doesn’t need the cards to read a person or to deliver the messages from the spirit world because, since her spiritual connection is so strong, they come to her voluntarily or involuntarily.
“Messages from the spirit world come voluntarily when I read cards because I’m consciously entering into that space to receive messages. I receive them involuntarily when I’m just talking to a person, and they [the messages] just come to me,” Uma explains.
So, when Uma passes her hand over the pile of cards, shuffles them, and puts them upside down upon a surface without looking at them, she’s already receiving messages and communicating them to the person. When she turns them over and reads them, they reveal the same information she was already delivering. That way, the person realizes that it’s not the cards which are providing the message, but the spirits through Uma. The cards are merely validating them.
Also, she says she doesn’t pull the cards, meaning she doesn’t take out the cards she wants, but while shuffling the cards, they either fall off or stand out from the bunch. The spirits choose the cards that need to be pulled apart according to the person’s energy and spirits. “The cards,’’ Uma concluded, “are merely a tool that serves to strengthen your spirituality. During the process, you can educate yourself on the potential and importance of your spirituality and what the cards mean.’’
We All Have the Potential to Become Witches
As she dove into how this works, I was fascinated, but I couldn’t help to wonder HOW and WHY she’s able to do all these things. I referenced films with characters that claim they are “the chosen one,’’ therefore able to practice magic, and her response was eye-opening. She pointed out the fact that either we’re all witches or have the potential to become witches.
“Everyone has these gifts, there is no “chosen one,” she admits, “but not everyone has the interest to explore it. Through interest comes the free-will because that energy is in all of us, but it’s up to us to decide whether or not we open that door: stay in the material world or explore the mysteries of life. The people who do decide to open that door experience how their lives change completely. Sometimes, when these spiritual messages come from me to a particular individual, it’s a way of the spirits showing them the door to explore that path.”
The word ‘witch’ popped up a few times during our conversation, and I was interested in knowing what her definition of the term “witch’’ is since we might be aware of the history of witches and the fate they faced if people were to find out about them. About that matter, she admitted that it is a strong word with many connotations.
To Uma, a witch is a person who practices witchcraft; in other words, someone who uses magic. She expanded her response by saying, “magic is energy and energy is neutral. There is no white magic, black magic; black witches, white witches; dark magic, etc.” Uma specified that magic is neutral because, just like the tarot cards, they’re a tool that can be used for construction or destruction.
She explained that the “magic that is used for healing and construction is seen as good magic [or white magic]; Magic that is used for destruction or manipulates the person’s will is seen as black magic, but it’s more on the person’s intentions and how they want to use their gifts.” The thing which Uma clarified is that good and bad are also relative terms. What’s a good deed to someone might be a bad deed to someone else.
A Message from Uma
As we wrapped up our conversation, I asked what she would say to people who view these spiritual practices in a negative light, and she responded: “Don’t be afraid to be who you actually are because those gifts and those interests come from our soul and our past lives. They make most of who you are. […] I would tell people not to limit themselves and to be open to all the mysteries that are within you because we are multidimensional beings who have a lot to learn from ourselves.”
I found my conversation with Uma to be astonishing, exciting and moving. As she shared details of her life with me, I was able to see how strong of a person she really is. She went through a difficult upbringing wherein she battled abuse and depression; discovered who she truly is, and formed the self-taught and versatile artist she’s still becoming; created two businesses, and is finally living out her spirituality. She lives as an example of perseverance and being self-driven. Uma’s story also teaches us to be authentic and proud of who we are as we pursue our goals and dreams because anything is possible if we start with that one, life-changing decision that will take us to where we want to be.