Occult Discernment Methodology

[AbammonTheGreat]

Curious as to the methodology behind everyone's discernment when dealing with spirits and entities. Are they lying? Are they who they say they are? Are they misleading?

I have only a few techniques personally. I can "sense" different types of spirits. Leeches will feel nauseous while djinn will have a psychological darkness to the interaction. If I am visually seeing them it is easier to tell when they are lying as there are inconsistencies in their appearance versus what they are saying or presenting as. But wholly if I get the feeling I am being lied to then my only method of testing them is through threats, binding spirits, and godnames. Sometimes this is not the most optimal approach as if it is a spirit I am on good terms with I would rather not be resorting to the aggressive techniques to assert whether they are who they say they are.

I am curious to the methodology of the other conjurers on here, seeking some inspiration in refining my technique and practice.

 

[AlfrunGrima]

[Archive] - [Leonardo] Discerning Authentic Spirit Contact

I've been meaning to write a blog post on discerning authentic spirit messages as I've received many emails from readers regarding this issue. Reading through the forums lately, I've noticed several posts related to this very topic. Perhaps some of these notes I've made so far will help those of...

wizardforums.com

There is a tutorial on Wizard Forums about this topic. Perhaps it is worth while to look at it. And for beginners who are reading with us it is a good article to read.

 

[AbammonTheGreat]

Wonderful tutorial! I might have worded my prompt incorrectly though. I'm more curious as to how the conjurers here discern correct information from false information and discern between types of spirits. How they make sure the information they are receiving is 1) truthful and 2) coming from the source they are trying to contact. I have found that astral entities like to takeover methods of contact and provide false information and I was curious as to how people in their practice enforce this without having to get aggressive towards whatever they've conjured.

I have personally found myself binding and threatening a spirit that I had a developed relationship with because a different entity was masking as it before. I would much rather not push the spirits I have a relationship with into the triangle using my athame and godnames if there are some other more tactful ways to guarantee that the spirit that I am speaking to is in fact the one that I think it is.

 

[Yazata]

other more tactful ways

The Golden Dawn developed the method of projecting / casting a letter towards the spirit. That would then be the Hebrew letter that corresponds to the planet the spirit falls under. The idea is that the planetary energy of the symbol would distort the entity if it isn't of that sphere.

I personally don't think of the Triangle as offensive, same for my athame (steel and with AGLA ON etched into it).

John Dee was told (by Michael I believe) that the outer ring of the Sigilium Dei also is a barrier that ensures that no evil spirit shall enter it (I am paraphrasing..) Even though I made a variation of that symbol, I consider it to work in the same way. Another thing you can do, and which I have done in the past, is to first open the seal of the King the spirit falls under, and then place the seal / sigil of the one you are calling (or having doubts about) on top of it.

 

[Lurker]

I'm working from a medieval grimoire for summoning the archangels. It is typically Christian and has a verbal test to interrogate the spirits when they arrive, which they must answer truthfully. That is followed by requiring them to agree with a very pious statement or be banished by not agreeing with it.

Interestingly, to operate the system according to the grimoire only requires a crystal ball, a candle on either side, and the seal of the archangel, which is placed under the crystal ball ". . . in the manner of Trithemeus." The seal is not worn as a lamen and there is no table of practice. (This makes me wonder if the table of practice was actually an invention of Francis Barrett's.)

However, for the second round of workings I've made and am using a table of practice, so whatever spirit(s) shows up will manifest in the triangle in the center of the ToP, where the archangel's seal is placed.

However, this hasn't really been an issue, and I don't expect it to be. According to the Qabalistic taxonomy (with the caveats that taxonomies are human inventions and the map is not the territory) archangels are sublime, Briatic level beings, so I don't expect an Astral level being to be able to interfere.

Before that, I did a little work with the planetary spirits using Ogdoadic magick. That always began with banishing using The Setting of the Wards of Power to purify the space, so Astral critters were not an issue.

Does your practice include banishing at the beginning of the ritual?

Also, good topic!

 

[AbammonTheGreat]

In ceremony and ritual, yes. Everything starts with a purification of myself and the space, appeal and prayer to God, then a casting of the circle. This seems to work effectively though sometimes I find an issue arises by what gets in after the ritual or if I attempt to casually access the spirit later (like calling upon the spirit throughout my day).