Orisha worship is thriving on the Web, from music to chat forums to guides to ritual and prayer. Below are a few sites (in alphabetical order) that educate initiates and non-initiates alike and a few that sell cool orisha stuff.

•generation ñ. Check out these three web episodes of a documentary on Cuban Santeria in Miami.

•Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye This is the organization that was involved in the Supreme Court case that upheld practitioner’s rights to perform animal sacrifices.

•Eleda.org This site has everything from books and music to scholarly articles to guides to rituals and prayers.

•FolkCuba.com This full service botanica offers books, clothing and even ceremonial plants via two-day shipping.

•IfaCollege.com This site is intended for the education of initiates, pointing out that traditional apprenticeship in the modern world is nearly impossible. I love the IfaScope, an orisha version a weekly horoscope.

•Manigua.org This Chicago-based non-profit offers everything from substance abuse programs to drumming instruction. It also offers a section the herbs associated with Eleggua, and a cleansing for the home.

•MySanteria.com A social networking site that requires registration to post and view some areas of the site. Select postings can be viewed on the Forums page can be viewed without registering.

•Santeria Religion 101 An informative blog.

•Orisha.Tribe.net Another social networking site. This one has links to a Santeria tribe, as well as ones for practitioners of Brazilian Candomble and Vodou. Check out this photo of this orisha devotee during a ceremony on a beach.

•OrishaWorld.com This site has a link to a great Amazon.com powered store that offers a great list Santeria and orisha books, music and DVDs. It also has a link to OrishaRadio, a subscription service that plays orisha music 24-7, and a chat forum for mediums.

What not to do online. I would not recommend buying anything more than basic supplies online and caution against doing business with anyone willing to sell you a reading or perform a long-distance ceremony. These ceremonies are performed in person and rely on the client’s energy for accuracy and effectiveness. That being said, once someone is initiated, their godparents can do simple readings for them remotely. In my opinion, no respectable practitioner would perform a long-distance initiation.