Working with Deities

[pinkdiamond846]

How do you know which deity to work with? How do you know if they’re trying to reach out to you? Can you just work with the elements of nature and not deities or spirits if you’re a beginner? What if I was interested in Selene? How do I ask her to work with her? Do deities ever reject people?

 

[Morell]

It seems that you know who do you want to work with. Reaching can be done in many ways. offering and prayers are good start, also they can help you find if the deity agrees. Id the deity refuses... and that does happen... they will let you know, bad feelings, bad coincidences connected with your prayer or ritual, like family always disturbing when you start the rite... those suggest that it might not be a way to go.

 

[pinkdiamond846]

It seems that you know who do you want to work with. Reaching can be done in many ways. offering and prayers are good start, also they can help you find if the deity agrees. Id the deity refuses... and that does happen... they will let you know, bad feelings, bad coincidences connected with your prayer or ritual, like family always disturbing when you start the rite... those suggest that it might not be a way to go.

Thank you

 

[Saint]

There are multiple ways how to sense if a deity is calling. A strange, unexpected, sometimes sudden drawn towards them that wasn't there before. You may see their name or shape pop up more often than usual, a rising curiosity towards without conscious focus on them. Drams, visions, or their symbolic animal appearing often than before (in these case always worth to double check how common these animals are or how often you encountered them before, just to keep it healthy and grounding).
ㅤIt is possible to observe how you feel when you hear their name, think about them or read about them; you may feel a bewitching, 'drawing in' sensation rising. If that's the case, there is definitely an undercurrent steaming behind the veil.

I think working with a deity often begins before you directly make a contact. This is the phase where you focus on the entity, think of them, read of them, listen experiences, stories, documents of them, gather images, artworks, and allow your consciousness and psyché to welcome their frequency. This is a good beginning of a tuning in.
ㅤYou can give them some offerings in the meantime, meditate 'on them' for balance and connection, and so on. They are more than aware of your intent when you open up, so once you feel like you are ready, you can step forward and invite them.

Being rejected is completely natural and more common than you imagine. Again, that's because they see through you, and they know exactly what they want. They have every right to say 'no' to working with a person, same way you can say no to them if they reach out to you. Lack of response, activity, stimulation or results in your practice are good signs of you being ignored.

Worth to mention, sometimes these are not signs of rejection, but your lack of practice or even a test, to see how you handle a situation in which you need to go further than you ever did. This is something only you should truly explore, and not let others tell you what's the matter.

And yeah, working with elements as a beginner is completely okay too.

 

[OberonFromTheHills]

Can you just work with the elements of nature and not deities or spirits if you’re a beginner?

If by "elements of nature" you mean trees, rivers, winds... It's a very good idea and it's most likely the oldest form of magick that exists.

Also the definition of spirit is a fluid concept through history. People once thought everything had a spirit. So working with elements of nature can be seen with a spirit worldview and/or symbolic one.

This approach also exists with gods, people treating them as symbols and archetypes. I'm not here to discuss the controversial subject of seeing spirits as symbol... I just know some people do and have results.

When it comes to god, i always thought the idea of "being called" is heavily romantized. If you are interested in a deity, try to study, contact, aspect, channel them and see what happens.

 

[saber]

Sometimes you can be called in a very dramatic way, I have experienced this, but I think that that calling on a spirit (usually by giving offerings and reciting a prayer) and seeing if they want to work with you is a good technique that works in my practice.

I've gotten plenty of refusals, some polite, others a bit tougher to handle, but you get a bit used to it. I have pretty intense spirit senses so I can usually tell when a spirit is displeased with me or doesn't want to work with me lol.

If deities seem a bit too tricky to work with, I have found that angels tend to be pretty easy spirits to work with. You can also just set out an offering and ask to work with anyone who is willing and see who shows up, it's a pretty easy way to immediately get into contact with a spirit that's interested in working with you.

 

[skatedom]

I did some readings with the Lenormand deck and had some results pointing to Loki, but I've had difficulty finding books about him.

 

[veaer]

How do you know which deity to work with?
Generally speaking, you can figure out which deities to work with based on your interests and inclinations. For example, someone who enjoys the healing arts may naturally be drawn towards healing related deities (though not all of them!). You might also just have an instinctual feeling. When I started my practice, I went with instinct. As I went deeper, I started inquiring with which deities may wish to work with me.

How do you know if they’re trying to reach out to you?
Sometimes there are signs, sometimes it's a feeling, sometimes they'll make it obvious. Sometimes it takes a trusted reader (or multiple). But I t end to say that we can't always 100% prove something and sometimes it's up to us as individuals to be discerning. If you think a deity is reaching out and it is a beneficial or neutral experience (rather than one that makes you anxious or uncertain), then I would follow that thread. It tends to be safe to start researching a deity if you start noticing their presence and seeing how you feel.

Can you just work with the elements of nature and not deities or spirits if you’re a beginner?
Yes you can. Some people consider the elements of nature to be deities and spirits as well. You might explore something like animism or pantheism. But yes plenty of people worship the elements without deities.

What if I was interested in Selene? How do I ask her to work with her?
You should follow your interests since Selene is part of an open religion. You can start by giving her an offering of incense and a libation of water. Maybe say a hymn to her. And really, just get into it. Study about ancient greek religion and what sort of practices are associated and start doing it.

Do deities ever reject people?
I don't think it's very usual because they like to be worshipped and in my worldview they like to interact with humans. But I do think there can be experiences where a deity expresses that a certain connection may not be constructive or that it's for a later time or that you aren't ready etc. It can be quite personal and doesn't have to be a negative thing either.

 

[egokenny]

You can start with your own birth chart, see what energies/deities are tied to you specifically by checking whatever diety is associated with your traits. Start there, that way you can see what you are putting to much energy into and what's not getting enough, from there consistent practice should strengthen your own voice to where you don't need to ask or consult anyone outside of yourself. Rmeebr these are not people in the sky these energies exist within your DNA, they are sleeping or in your subconscious you just have to wake it up by doing practices. Don't second guess your self or your work, the first thought is usually the most spiritual one. Some good book to read are encyclopedia of Spirits by Judika Illes which has thousands upon thousands of deities and spirits from worldwide traditions. Thhere are so many energies available I would suggest it's not really worth it grtting stuck on only one deity think of it like only owning one appliance. You are a multi-level being. Plug into what you need. When you know about Osiris and you read Dionysus, you can fill in the gaps on both because they're the same energy. When you know Shiva and read Dionysus, you can pull information from either direction. When you know any Orisha and read about a corresponding deity in another tradition, you double your information. Correspondence is key! Have fun!

 

[Morell]

Do deities ever reject people?
I don't think it's very usual because they like to be worshipped and in my worldview they like to interact with humans. But I do think there can be experiences where a deity expresses that a certain connection may not be constructive or that it's for a later time or that you aren't ready etc. It can be quite personal and doesn't have to be a negative thing either.

This is complicated matter. I remember the case of a young guy who wanted to start connecting with Loki, but his rituals were always somehow interrupted, really bad luck with that. It turned out that he also worked with his ancestors who did not wish him to follow Loki, so they kept interrupting the practice. So it ended being a choice between ancestors and Norse paganism. The guy dropped following Loki and remained with ancestors...