Criminal Minds2005

Aaron Hotchner:
Reid? Anything helpful?

Dr. Spencer Reid:
Yeah. Yeah... The Afro-Caribbean syncretic religions began when slaves mixed their traditional religions with Catholicism in order to camouflage them. The elements in this altar look to me like Santeria. It's a Yoruban-based religion developed in Cuba. Practitioners worship Orishas, deities that roughly correspond with Catholic saints.

Derek Morgan:
And what about the shells?

Dr. Spencer Reid:
Let's see. This is Ellegua, the deity of the crossroads, a trickster and the impartial enforcer of justice.

Ashley Seaver:
So, is the UnSub sacrificing the victims to him?

Dr. Spencer Reid:
None of these religions openly call for human sacrifice, only animals.