The Doctrine of the Celestial Heart

The Church of the Celestial Heart, while independent and standing on its own, is an Umbandaime church, based on the doctrine of the Santo Daime religion, which was founded in the 1930s by Mestre Raimundo Irineu Serra. Similar to the Santo Daime religion, the Church of the Celestial Heart is a syncretic religion that incorporates several religions and spiritual traditions such as esoteric Catholicism, especially the line of St. Francis of Assisi, Kardecist Spiritism and the practice of spiritist mediumship, Brazilian Umbanda and Umbandaime, the mediumistic teachings of the Brazilian Chico Xavier, and the indigenous Brazilian shamanism as brought forth by the Kaxinawa and Yawanawa indigenous tribes of Acre, Brazil. As we have learned with the indigenous tribes, the sacramental practice of using Daime, or Ayahuasca dates back to over 2,000 years ago. We do all we can to honor these ancient traditions and pay our respects to our elders and teachers, and have their full support to carry this work. (To learn more about our lineage, click here).

The Church of the Celestial Heart was formed in order to expand the syncretic nature of the Santo Daime and Umbandaime religions and offer their profound wisdom and teachings to an English-speaking audience. In addition to using the Portuguese books of prayer (Hinarios), we also utilize English translations of these hymns and our own book of channeled prayers called ‘Prayerful Heart,’ which has over 300 prayers dedicated to our religious and spiritual practice. (more about our sacred texts - here). We also deeply study and teach the psycho-spiritual aspects of doing such work and guide our facilitating members in the understanding of how to support their brothers and sisters within this kind of spiritual ritual.

The Church of the Celestial Heart is based on the core belief that we are spirit-soul, residing within a material, human body, and have arrived at this plane of existence in order to learn, evolve and fulfill our Divine Mission. We believe in God, the Divine Creator, which is found within everything and within all. We believe in the existence of the ‘Astral’ – a spiritual plane where we can access angels, archangels, and a multitude of spirits and guides. We believe that with the ceremonial use of our sacrament – Santo Daime, or Ayahuasca, we are able to connect to the astral, ignite our divine connection to creator, and through this communion come to a profound sense of healing, peace, and understanding that brings about transformation in all levels of human existence.

to those who have drunk of the sacrament, no explanation is necessary;
to those who did not, no explanation will suffice.

Esoterically speaking, we believe our sacrament to be divinated, which means it has been bestowed upon humanity in a Divine manner, meant to awaken and bring about reconnection to Great Spirit. We consider our sacrament to be Divine in itself, we relate to the sacrament as the spirit of Mother Earth and esoterically as the sacramental blood of the Earth or the blood of Christ. Paraphrasing the Catholic priest, Thomas Aquinas - to those who have drunk of the sacrament, no explanation is necessary; to those who did not, no explanation will suffice. Partaking with the Daime is an essential and foundational practice within our faith and is required in order to bring about this Divine reconnection, the awakening of the soul and as a means to receive the teachings the sacrament and the astral planes hold. The Sacrament is made in a holy ritual, called 'Feitio', which we consider to be Divine Alchemy. It consists of combining five different elements – the vine, Jagube, the leaf, Chacruna, water, fire, and the human heart. The vine and the leaf represent the masculine and feminine principles; with the medium of water, they are fused or connected with the power of the heat of fire. The fifth element, the human heart, allows this process to transform from a process of cooking to a sacred act of Divine Alchemy. 

We believe that through the ceremonial use of our sacrament, we allow our members to commune with their ancestors, their higher selves, their guardian angels, guides, mentors, and the spirit of Gaia, Mother Earth. Through this communion, profound moral and ethical lessons are transmitted through which deep healing occurs, allowing our members to process or release unresolved karma, complete broken promises, heal trauma, and come to an understanding of the individual’s purpose in life, the primary calling to fulfill their Divine mission.

We believe that our sacramental ceremonies allow for a profound transformation within our members, guiding them to a deeper sense of self-love and acceptance, which in turn leads to living fulfilled lives, becoming better parents, partners, friends and stewards of change and healing for planet Earth.

We believe, within our faith, as we study Umbanda and African animism, the study of personifying the forces of nature allows us to feel more connected to our surroundings. Our sacrament, the Daime tea, helps us see that, for example, more than stepping into the ocean, we are bathing in Iemanja, the Goddess of the ocean, offering us oceans of love, comfort, and support. This approach brings about a profound transformation in our relationship with Mother Nature. This practice encourages our members to be active participants in the healing process of life itself. We have rituals and practices that promote better care and guardianship of Mother Earth.

We believe that our sacrament allows us to see and experience that we are spirit-soul encased within a material human body. As such, we came to this life to evolve and experience lessons that further us in our spiritual evolution. We believe that at the physical death of our body, our soul carries on, and the experience of spiritual realms and the ability to navigate these states of consciousness is of great assistance in the moment of transition. We have found that our members are better equipped to handle the passing of loved ones and facing their own mortality as they have direct experience of their soul and its eternal condition. Within our ceremonies, we often dedicate prayers and attention to connect to loved ones who have passed, allowing our members to let go of grief, fear, and anxiety. We believe that an essential part of this work revolves around understanding the causality of our past lives and the effect they have on our present and future. Understanding the lessons we have come here to learn and make better choices to empower our growth.

The two patron saints of the Church of the Celestial Heart are Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Michael the Archangel. Following their teachings, we seek to live our lives in utmost integrity, standing in our weakness, having forgiveness be our guiding light, and holding on to faith as our shield of protection. Following the guidance of our patron saints, we hold kindness, compassion, and love as our highest aspirations.

Within our faith, as we innately understand, we are all spirit soul, and our physical body is nothing but a vehicle through which we navigate the lessons we have in this life; we hold dear the values of equality and acceptance with no regard to ethnicity, race, color, gender, or sexual identification. We do all we can to offer spiritual guidance and support to those seeking to participate in our study and work, basing our teachings on humility, compassion, and love to all.