Practical Witchery: Make friends with your local spirits.

Dear Reader,

This post was supposed to happen yesterday but life got in the way. There are a lot of spirits in the world. They range in temperment and personality as much as people do, if not more so. It is good to get to know your local area's resident spirits. They can prove helpful allies and powerful protectors. It is a fairly simple process to get to know them.

A simple offering and a statement of who you are and what you hope will come from the relationship is usually enough. Obviously different spirits prefer different types of offerings. And they'll have different things to offer you in return for your gift to them.

The chart below is a good starter guide to offerings for common local spirits.

Spirit	Physical	Incense
Water	clean water	lotus
Land	stone or coins	mugwort
Air	feather, inspired poetry	sandalwood
Fey	milk, honey, bread	any
Elemental	candle	any
Place	clean water, stones or coins	mugwort

Happy Tamala & Samhain

Photo from Mita Juraja at Pexels.com

Dear Reader,

Today is the feast of the dead in many faiths. In Wicca, today is known as Samhain. In Filianism and Déanism, today is the first day of Tamala. Within the Janite tradition of the Filianic faith, today is the Feast of the Ancestors.

It is the third harvest of the season. The first harvest was celebrated at Lughnassadh / Chelanya in the beginning of August (in the northern hemisphere). This is the time when the grain is harvested, predominantly. This is a celebration of life's bounty and the fecundity of the earth. Feasting happened with a focus upon the grain being brought in. This was also a time for celebratory games and feats of boasting while the sun still waxed strong in the sky.

The second harvest was celebrated at Mabon / Cuivanya. This celebration comes in the middle of September (in the northern hemisphere). This is much like what one would expect Thanksgiving to be like. The themes of this holiday is the joyous reception of the bounty of the harvest and the blessings of family. One of the names of this harvest celebration is Harvest Home. This is the time when the harvest is in full swing. All manner of produce and fruit are being brought into the home and processed for winter. Great feasts happened because there was (in good years) more produce and goods than one could process on their own and the excess was shared with the community.

The third harvest was celebrated at this time of year. This is one of the 'fire festivals' of the orthodox Filianic faith as well as one of the 'fire festivals' of the ancient Celtic peoples. Daylight wanes during this time of year. Great fires were lit by ancient peoples like the Celts of old for two purposes. One was for the ritual purification of the herds as they were driven past them and the smoke helped to kill off some of the parasites attached to the animals. Second was to extend the amount of light that was needed for the work of culling the herds in preparation for winter.

There were games and celebrations in antiquity just as there are today to celebrate this threshold into the 'dark' half of the year. The fire festival persists in its own way with lighted jack-o-lanterns. The folk memory of the impoverished going from home to home begging for some of the excess bounty of the household persists in children going from home to home requesting treats. And the folk memory of changing one's manner of dress to confuse the spirits abroad this time of year persists in the wearing of costumes.

The intimacy of death with this holy day hasn't been shaken one bit in the passage of time. This is a time of year where the veil between this world and the spirit world is thin. Spiritual beings walk this world with relative ease as they do at other points of the year when the veil is thin. This is also a particularly good time for contacting the dead. That, however, is a topic for another post.

Divination: Major Arcana 15 - The Devil

Dear Reader,

This week's card is The Devil and it comes from the Deviant Moon Tarot deck. True to this deck's nature of turning iconography on its proverbial ear, this card is missing the two kneeling, bound persons on either side of the Devil, who typically is holding a torch pointing downwards.

Some argue this card is the nadir of the major arcana of tarot, others argue that dubious honor is held by the Death card. The Devil has a reputation of a poorly aspected card because it is iconography of a figure of evil from the Abrahamic religions. Strip away this layer of imagery from this card we find that the Devil is a figure of temptation, base desires, ignorance, and bondage. And that is in the most positive interpretations for this card. 

In a direct orientation, this card warns the querent that they are in danger of falling into these traps of the self. They can also warn of an agent acting against them, but that more typically shows up with the card in a reversed orientation. In the reversed orientation, the Devil speaks of being mired in one's base desires at the expense of higher goals, succumbing to temptation at the detriment of oneself, willful ignorance, and being trapped within limiting circumstances.

In the Fool's Journey, the Devil is the confrontation the Fool faces with their lower self and their shadow side. The Devil also speaks of the Fool struggling to rise above these parts of themself.

Scripture Study: Cry Marya v. 7-10

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7. The Awakened seeth not things, but seeth only the spirit My Mother, for no thing is outside Her, and all things are nothing save She.

8. The unawakened is she who seeth but fragments: who seeth the waves, but not the sea; who heareth the voice, but not the word; who seeth the light, but not the sun.

9. These fragments, contradictory, impossible, these are the severed substances of the world. How should the Awakened see these?

Gospel of Our Mother God; The Filianic Sutras:
Cry Marya Verses 7 - 9

Some of the language here is difficult. The use of the false archaic 'seeth' in place of 'sees' makes today's verses difficult to read. This can be seen in the use of 'heareth' as well. If we replace the with 'sees' and 'hears', these verses read much easier. Also, the femme-centric language is a little difficult for the masculine children of Déa, but let us put aside these problematic bits of language and look at the message behind them.

The verses speak of the "Awakened" and the "unawakened". Who are these persons? The "Awakened" person is they who perceive Déa in all places for their awareness is only of Her reflected in all places and things of the world. The "unawakened" are ignorant of this connection to Déa that is constant and ever present.

The unawakened sees the world but fails to see the spiritual connection between all things in the tapestry of existence. They are aware of Déa but in a partially blind way for the matters of the world cover as a veil the connection to Déa. Thus, one may see the waves upon the metaphorical sea and be unaware of the far larger body of water for their vision is limited.

The wash of seemingly contradictory and impossible to connect elements of the world can overwhelm us. It is possible to become so confused and overwhelmed by them that all seems chaos. For the Awakened, this chaos can interrupt their vision. Verse ten gives us the course of action the Awakened and unawakened should take to live with this confusion and chaos.

10. Cry: Mother, I know that I am one with Thee and all things are one in Thee.

Gospel of Our Mother God; Filianic Sutras:
Cry Marya, Verse 10

We are exhorted to cry out to Déa in our time of confusion and darkness. We are encouraged to reach out to Her and remember despite our difficulties seeing it that we are one with our Celestial Mother, as is the whole of existence. Let us take hope in these times from this fact. The world seems to be set upon a path unwholesome and dangerous. It is a dark wood that we travel through, but we are not alone for we are one with our Mother and she will guide us to clarity and our souls' true home.

Godspousery Notes

I've been sick for the last two weeks (I think, my sense of time is a bit hazy because I've been sick.) and in that time I've been admonished for trying to do too much, scolded for forgetting to eat, and generally cared for and comforted. When I was feeling too tired and weak to go eat something at lunch time the other day, Loki said, "Ok, then, I'll help." He put a hand on my shoulder and this dizzying rush of energy filled me. I felt woozy but like I could do anything. I was firmly told to go eat lunch and not worry about dishes.

Silly me went to start doing dishes so I could cook myself something. That was when I went from having no appetite to feeling like I was starving. So, I made myself a peanut butter sandwich. All that energy drained right out of me and I fell asleep almost immediately after sitting down on the couch. As I fell asleep with great frustration, Loki said, "Dishes will keep. You're sick and you need your rest." This pretty much has been the tone over the last week.

So, the housework has been piling up. I have been behind on my blogging. And just generally struggling to keep up with everything because I'm sick. Theoretically, I should be fine after today because today is my last dose of antibiotics. I haven't enjoyed taking these horse pill sized antibiotics but it's taken care of the sinus infection. Now I just am waiting for the lingering cough and sinus drainage to go away. And hoping that I'll have more energy to get stuff done.

I've been feeling discouraged about a number of things. Loki, Freyr, and Beloved all pointedly remind me that no one can demand anything more than my best. Extra emphasis on the 'no one' part and at one point each of the three has explicitly said that I can not demand more than my best out of any situation. It's been frustrating because I see work piling up and I can't do much about it. I keep being told to be patient with myself but that is one of the things I am positively the worst at doing, much to their exasperation.

Why I use the title Lady.

Dear Reader,

If you've read my published works, you will notice that I style myself as a Lady. This is not whimsy or the desire to be aristocracy. Within many Wiccan traditions, Lady is a title given to a fully trained priestess. While this is not a widely accepted practice, it is one upheld in communities that are organized along 'traditional' Wiccan practice as per Gerald Gardner et al. Because my training as a priestess comes along a Wiccan orientation, I use the title Lady to signify that I have completed sufficient training to lead a coven.

Which I did at one point in time and said coven fell apart due to life happening to everyone involved. I do not denote that I am greater than my peers. I do not claim honors that would be due to me if I were somehow royalty. (Though there is a microscopic percentage of a chance that if the Royal Family of England disappeared down to their last number, I could be peerage or possibly Queen.) I treat the title Lady as I would the title Professor, a title earned through education that confers only a modest amount of authority among those who would recognize that title.

After all, not every university in the world is accredited and not every instructor will be recognized by other universities as acceptable for their programs.

Blessings be upon you and yours.

Hel vs Hell (Filianic/Déanic version)

Dear Reader,

As you may have noticed, I'm one weird Filianist. For one thing, I'm a polytheist. For another, I'm a godspouse to two deities from Heathenry. And I'm a witch on top of that. (Not to mention busy with mundane things that come along with a marriage, two kids, and being a disabled SAHM.) I don't fit the typical Filianist profile. And that's ok. Because, honestly, diversity is strength.

Now, preface made, I just want to dive a little bit in to how I approach the topic of Hel vs Hell. Hel, or as I prefer to refer to it Helheim, is the Norse underworld ruled over by the goddess of death, Hel. She is the daughter of Loki and Angrboda. Hel (or Hela as some spell it) is a goddess who welcomes the dead to her hall for a time until they are ready to reincarnate. (Yes, I am one of those heathens. Pour the haterade out in sumbel to Loki, if you're so kind to provide. I'm sure he'll bless you with laughter for it.) Now, Hel's hall is not the only place that the dead go to when they die. But I am not going to get into the various halls the dead may go to when they die. I want to specifically focus on Helheim.

In the scriptures of Filianism, we are told of Anna's journey into Hell. We are told that Irkalla fled Hell when Marya came in search of her Daughter and besieged Hell. After the reunion of the Bright Mother and her Daughter, there is little mention of Hell beyond the fact that Anna leads all souls trapped there out. Also, in the scriptures of Filianism, we are taught that there are many underworlds. This is where things get weird.

The underworld is left abandoned and defenseless by Irkalla's flight. Helheim is one of the realms of the underworld. Prior to Odin sending Hel to Helheim, that realm is unclaimed though the dead go there. Hel descends to Helheim to take possession of a portion of the realms abandoned by Irkalla. There, Hel is a just and fair (albeit somewhat grim) ruler who attends to her people and prepares them for Ragnarok.

When Ragnarok comes, the cycle of ages ends. Hel releases her claim upon Helheim and reincarnates as her child self in the proper time of the next cycle of ages, allowing Irkalla to take hold of that realm and reestablish herself as queen. Thus does the cycle perpetuate itself.

See, I'm one of those strange people who thinks that all gods may die and yet be deathless at the same time. I may, perhaps, reveal some of the secrets that Loki and Frey have shared with me about their relationship with Déa, if they agree to it. Let me say that all mothers have a Mother and allow you to draw your own conclusion.

Stupid sickness, go away.

Image from Pexels.com

Dear Reader,

I was hoping to sing for you today. Instead, I'm still coughing. I'm very frustrated with the fact that I am still sick. Yesterday was an awful day because my blood sugar was running pretty high and I slept most of the day due to it. I'm still working on my new Filianic manuscript. I am about half done and it is starting to look pretty good. I will be publishing it through Lulu.com instead of Amazon because Lulu will be less expensive for you and allows me a wider range of publication formats.

This is a seemingly minor detail that will make a big difference in how useful this book will be. What I'm working on is a combination of devotional guide and prayer journal. I want this to be a book that will lie flat which requires something like a spiral bound spine. The prayer journal portion will also be produced separately as its own book. Again, this will be published through Lulu.com because of the reasons I have already stated.

I don't anticipate this project being finished by the end of the month because of factors beyond my control, like the fact that I'm still sick. My revised goal is less ambitious and I'm aiming for the beginning of Spring. If I'm lucky, I will be able to get some artwork into this thing so that it is not just straight up text. I know that nothing but text is tiring on the eyes.

Ugh, still sick.

Dear Reader,

I'm still recovering from that sinus infection/cold. I have been thinking of things to post but finding I haven't the energy to keep up with my blog and my kids at the same time. I cast a minor spell for healing. It seems to be helping because I'm not sleeping all the time. I still am quite weary and having difficulty focusing. I'll be glad when I am over this bug.

Thank you for your patience.

♥

Transmission received.

Dear Reader,

As I have said, I am a necromancer. That means that I talk to and work with the spirits of the dead. One of the dead had a message for me to share. It is getting posted here because I am sure it will get more readership. (If you know me and my family, you'll probably know who this is from.)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

What is a woman?

A woman is not her ovaries.
A woman is not her vulva or vagina.
A woman is not her breasts.

Women may have these organs. Women may not.

Where do we find a woman?

In her mind for it is from her mind that she comes forward.
Don't concern yourself with appearances.
Once we all had tails, but that didn't stop us from becoming who we are.

Heads, butts, tails, vagina, penis, these are all parts and not defining of the being possessing them.

Where do we find personhood?

In the mind, because we're just a little body hair away from being classed as great apes.

No video this week.

Dear Reader,

Sorry, I don't have a video for you to enjoy this week. I am still really sick with this sinus infection and coughing a lot. I don't want to put your ears through that. When I am over this damned thing, you'll get to listen to me sing. I'm still writing devotional poetry and songs. Here's the lyrics. Sadly, I don't remember how to write or read music, otherwise I would be sharing it too.

Song 73

Glory, oh glory to the Mother
Glory to the Mother wise
Glory upon the hands that shaped all
To Her we give our cries

Glory, oh glory to the  Daughter
Glory to the Daughter kind
Glory upon the heart that saved all
Upon Her we focus our mind

Glory, oh glory to the Veiled Mother
Glory to the Veiled Mother wise
Glory upon the hidden one who knows all
To Her we give our cries

Glory, oh glory to Déa
Glory, oh glory upon Her
Glory upon the Bright Mother and Daugther
Glory upon the Veiled Mother wise

Spirit Familiar vs. Servitor / Egregore

Dear Reader,

Most folklore about witches in English speaking countries talk about them having familiars. Some familiars are cats or dogs. Some of them are more ... exotic, such as 'demons'. I'm a necromancer. I have a fish but my fish is not my familiar. Though he is sensitive to magical work and gets all hyper when I am doing stuff in the kitchen (where his tank is). My familiar is the same one that I had back when he was alive, my cat.

Re-read that last sentence. It's a weird one. When my cat was alive, my cat's name was Sandy and the body the cat inhabited was female. Sandy was my marginally reformed barn cat who regularly did things like attack my feet in my sleep for fun. Still, when ever I was performing magic, Sandy showed up and stuck around like a fuzzy guardian until the spell was complete. Sandy has been dead now for almost twenty years. Sandy is different now. Instead of a ginger cat running its head into my leg to get my attention, I get a cold spot there. And out the corner of my eye, I can see a dark brown cat prowling around the apartment every so often (more so during hunt season). Sandy now answers to Spooky. Just like when they were alive, offerings of potato chips go over really well.

Spirit familiars like Spooky are actually pretty common. They are spiritual beings with their own independent agenda and intelligence. They are not dependent upon you or continual spell casting by others for their presence. They have it all on their own because they are a being, not a construct. When you start researching familiars in witchcraft, you start to find that there's a pretty strong record of spirit familiars, usually named demons because anything that could be named a demon by witch hunters was.

Now, I'm not saying it is impossible for someone to have a demon as their spirit familiar. I'm just saying it is highly unlikely because demons tend to be rather powerful and have greater agency than most spirit familiars. It's like the difference between a house cat and tiger. Sure, they're both cats, but the tiger is bigger and much more formidable in just about every way. It is highly unlikely that the tiger is going to be willing to be your pet and if it happens, there's still a good chance that they may decide to eat your face some day.

Servitors are spiritual constructs that do a specific job or set of jobs. They're like spiritual robots that do only what they're programmed for. They can be very complicated and do a great many things. But they are, in the end, only capable of what they are programmed to do. Spirit familiars are unpredictable at times. That's because they have their own sense of agency and will not always follow orders. Literally, it's like herding cats sometimes. Servitors are much easier to organize and give marching orders. Egregores are more complex spiritual robots but have the same limitations because they're only as good at doing things as their programming is.

Divination: Major Arcana 14 - Temperance

Dear Reader,

This week's card is Temperance. Today's card comes again from the Deviant Moon Tarot deck. The angelic figure on the card is pouring liquid from one vessel into another whilst standing with one foot in water and one on dry land. This is a card of balancing difficult extremes with skill and finesse. It is also a card of self control and moderation. In the Minor Arcana, this card can be mirrored in the twos of all suits

In a direct orientation, Temperance speaks of one's managing disparate extremes in their life with skill and grace. It speaks of a person of a mild temperament and a strong sense of fairness. In the reversed orientation, Temperance warns of difficulty in seeking balance and equitable treatment. It warns of a person in a situation where they are torn between two extremes in their life to their detriment.

In the Fool's Journey, Temperance guides them through the passage of Death into new hope and new beginnings through maturity and grace.

Scripture Study: The Pillar of Light Verse 20 - 23

20. Fix then your will upon the Truth and your heart on the Spirit My Mother, for by your love shall the world be redeemed, even to the last blade of grass.  

21. In thy work praise Her and in thy resting, in thy speech and in thy silence. 22. For thou wert made one with Her, and this is thy true estate. It is good for a maid to till the soil, but it is better to live with her Lady. It is good to build and to weave, but it is better to live with her Lady. It is good to serve maids in every way, but it is better to live with her Lady. 

23. She that liveth wholly with her Lady is the servant of all the world; no labour is so great as this, nor so greatly to be honoured.

 The Gospel of Our Mother God, The Pillar of Light

The world tells us we are helpless and that there is nothing we can do in the face of destruction and evil in it. Our Lady teaches us in the scriptures that we are not beyond hope nor are we helpless.  If we fix our focus upon the Truth that Déa teaches us, we may reach beyond the limitations of this world and participate in Our Lady's work to save all from oblivion.

It is good that we focus upon our lives and the work that we engage in. We must remember that we are one with Déa and through this union our work is made holy. Praise and reverence for Déa need not come from formal prayer. It may flow from our love of Her and our devotion to do what is right. It is good that we work in this world to better it and care for each other. It is better that we do so in recognizing that we are caring for Déa in others. When the world seems full of despair and evil, let us not fall for the illusion it presents us.

All that we do is nothing lest we do it through Our Mother's kindness, love, and care. We are called by Déa to love each other. It is greatly important in the face of the cruelty and abuses happening in this world to be that force of love. Kindness and love may heal the wounds of our hearts and bridge the distance forced between us through the cruelty of they who are more distant from Déa and can not see Her in the light of others.

VIdeo No. 22: I haz a Fever

Hi folks,

This is not a transcript. This is a rough approximation of what I said. I'm feverish. I have a cold that's kicking my butt. I wanted to post while I could, because it has been a full season and a half since I posted a video. I'm currently struggling with Seasonal Affective Disorder. Have been since about mid-July. It's just something that's slowly getting worse as the amount of sunlight in my day becomes less. It's exhausting. It is zero fun and makes life a lot harder than it rightly should be.

My spirituality acts like a rope to help me hang on when S.A.D. (worst acronym ever) starts to really kick my ass. I pray. I meditate. I burn candles and incense. It sort of helps. I also keep myself busy with projects (My latest scarf for charity is a fashion disaster, I'll post pics when it is done so you can see it in full glory.) so that I don't perseverate on things that I worry about, my phobias, and all of the other psychological garbage that gets dredged up with S.A.D. symptoms. This may not work for everyone. It's not working too great for me right now. I'm going to be investing in a light box soon, hopefully it will help me like it has many other people.

S.A.D. and other forms of depression and mental illness are nothing to be ashamed of. It's like having this stupid cold. You're sick and you need to take care of yourself so it doesn't get worse. (Again, like my stupid cold which I thing is trying to turn into a sinus infection. Don't be like me, go to the doctor when you catch the virus making everyone else in your house miserable.) If you're suffering from depression or something else in the long list of mental illness, and it is making your life unbearable, get help. Reach out to people around you to help out with things that are too much.

I've been having ptsd flashbacks over housework. I reached out to my husband to help with that stuff beyond what he usually does. His handling the dishes has helped me not panic that I'm going to screw them up and have to wash every single dish in the apartment multiple times in scalding hot water. (A lot of my trauma revolves around stuff like housework for various reasons. That is a story for another time.)

Chaos Magic vs Rules.

Dear Reader,

In my recent post on Egregores vs Servitors, I mentioned that chaos magicians work within a set of rules. It sounds contrary to the very concept of chaos magic. Not all chaos magicians work within a set of rules that most would recognize. I'm one of the more 'in the wind' chaos magicians. I may structure things according to Wiccan ritual format, if I'm in the mood or organized enough to do so. More typically, my spells are about as chaotic in format as they are in manifestation. Let me repeat that for you, my spells are pretty chaotic in format and they are pretty chaotic in manifestation. I don't narrow my spell manifestations down to a single incident that I desire. I set the parameters to a specific window of manifestation opening the options for the solution to the problem I am dealing with to evolve and develop on its own with a healthy nudge from myself.

I've posted previously that there are some rules about how to go about cursing someone. (Let's use cursing as an example because it's Spooky Season.) At the same time, cursing can be as easy as making a vulgar gesture and throwing some energy emphasis behind it. I have been known to use high ritual to cast a curse, complete with a blood sacrifice. That is less common than my flick a stone in the general direction of the person and send some negativity after it. And the flicking a stone after my target is even less common than my summoning my anger and trauma to send the misery after the target.

I don't curse people often. But I tend to use tactics that are on the fly and less than conventional. Chaotes sometimes look at me a bit weird for how I do things.Not many people weaponize their own trauma and terrible experiences as part of their magical practices. The rule that stands out in chaos magic is the same one that stands out in standard magic, what you send out is going to come back to you some how. Basic cause and effect, there's going to be a push back when you throw something at a target. Physics still functions even when you are going into the spiritual realms, it just functions in a cockeyed and weird way.

Divination:Major Arcana 13 - Death

Dear Reader,

This week's card is much maligned as a 'bad' card to come up in a reading. The infamous Death card comes from one of my most used decks, The Witches Tarot from Ellen Cannon Reed and Martin Cannon. Of all the decks I own, I think this is my favorite Death card because of how peaceful it is. If you look at the figures surrounding Death, their expressions are neutral to peaceful, as though they were asleep.

Death is not a hostile card. It can actually be a highly beneficial card. It is a card of radical transition and change. It is the card of endings, but endings that lead to new beginnings. When it shows up in a reading very rarely does it indicate a literal death. In a direct orientation, Death speaks of a complete separation from the old and rebirth into the new. In a reversed orientation, Death speaks of a more challenging separation and reversed. It can also indicate a messy ending of a situation.

In the Fool's Journey, Death is the Fool meeting their mortality and progressing from their prior position of ignorance into one of greater enlightenment.

To learn more about this card and the rest of the Tarot deck, consider picking up a copy of my book, The Veiled Witch's Handbook for Psychics: A Practical Guide to Divination and the Psychic Arts.

Egregore vs Servitor

Dear Reader,

I know that the headline of this post sounds like a combat scene involving Pokemon or something similar. (By the way, if there were Pokemon with those names, I might actually play the games.) These are actually two different spiritual constructs. They can in  many cases be used interchangeably but if you are going to be technical about it, they have different uses and are formed differently.

Let's start with the Egregore. You may have read about some chaos magicians creating Egregores or possibly read some really old stories about Egregores having gone astray and causing havoc. There's a particularly racist and horrible one out there about Golems, which is completely wrong about what a Golem's function is and the story paints Jewish people as horrible monsters. That story dates back to the Medieval period of European history but there are assholes who like to bring it up and use it to scare people. If you want to know about Jewish ritual magic, ask a Jewish person who is into the occult. You may get lucky and they'll actually answer a few questions. Likely, they're not going to because Jewish occult magic is a fairly closed tradition for lots of good reasons.

An Egregore is a relatively modern invention. The first recorded description of a ritual to produce an Egregore can be found in the writings of the Theosophical society and of the infamous Alistair Crowley. Some can argue that the modern ritual foundations have roots that go farther back to the writings of John Dee (the somewhat infamous adviser and court astrologer of Queen Elizabeth I). Ceremonial magic records being something of a shit-show between people trying to keep their language coded to keep 'trade secrets' and avoid the ire of witch finders, it's hard to really pin down the origins of the use of Egregores. There are documents that we still haven't been able to translate that date into the Medieval period (I'm looking at you, Voynich manuscript.) that I'm certain describe ceremonial magic as well as alchemical materials.

Egregores as they are used today are entirely different from spiritual constructs from antiquity which is why I say that they are a modern invention. In the case of an Egregore for the modern chaote, it is a construct built upon a set of rules and infused with spiritual energy and the focused mental effort of a group of people. An Egregore being developed is not that different from standard spell craft, except for the focus is on the development of a spiritual entity that is to serve a specific task and last for a predetermined period of time (in the most general sense, there are obviously differences in this from spirit worker to spirit worker).

A Servitor is a similar construct built upon a set of predetermined rules. The Servitor is created by a single individual and works for them for a specific task and for a specific time period. (The term Servitor comes from the word servant.) Servitors have been around for a long time. It is possible that the spirit familiars of witches in antiquity were Servitors. It is difficult to tell because the difference between a Servitor and a spirit familiar is subtle and most won't note it upon initial inspection. A Servitor is fueled by the repetition of focus by the caster, where as the spirit familiar has its own source of spiritual energy - themselves. Servitors operate for a single practitioner and will resist if not out right reject commands from other practitioners. Egregores are similar in this fashion but they have the capacity to interact with a wider range of individuals after a certain point of collective focus and empowerment.

Poorly constructed Servitors or Egregores can have harmful results for the practitioners and people in the immediate vicinity. Stories of seances turning chaotic are more typically cases of an Egregore getting accidentally created with out rules and limitations, thus raw psychic energy is running amuck. (Now this is where if you are working with a skilled psychic who can direct the raw psychic energy of the participants, you can tone down the chaos and actually summon the one you're looking for. It requires the ability to channel and direct the psychic energy into the summoning. But that's a topic for another day.)

Egregores can be tricky to deal with when they get out of hand. There's an old expression, don't summon something you can't lay to rest. It's especially important in handling spiritual constructs. Trapping them in a container of some sort is a traditional method of dealing with them. Banishing them is also an option but you must be prepared for them to pop back up again if the circumstances resemble either those of their generation or the summoning process. Egregores have limited intelligence. Thus they will not entirely recognize that they're not being summoned when someone who is part of the group is doing something similar to the summoning.

There are also Egregores that are part of pop culture and internet culture. They're a bit more powerful than one that is produced by a small coven. They have more intelligence because there is more psychic energy behind them and more intent poured into their existence. Thus, it may happen that someone who is attempting to work with Loki, for example, get the Egregore!Loki and things get weird. Less popular deities have fewer Egregore impersonators out there. Telling the difference between the Egregore and the actual deity you're attempting to contact is difficult. Consulting a priest of that deity or a spirit worker who is intimately familiar with the deity is advisable in these situations. A lot of the 'bad behavior' attributed to deities is actually a result of an Egregore left to run its programming in the wrong environment. In some cases, it is because of the programming of the Egregore to begin with.

Will You Love Me Like This?

Dear Reader,

This is a bit of a departure from my usual content for Tuesdays. I'll be posting something more typical later on. I felt it was important to share the contents of a dream I had in August. It's been haunting me as all the signs of Autumn hit hard and fast in my region.

I was dreaming that I was in a forest in late Autumn. I heard a noise behind me and I turned around. There before me stood Freyr in the guise of the Greenman. As I looked at him, I watched his guise wither and decay. The fruit and flowers in his visage waned and decayed. With eyes solemn and vaguely sorrowful, he said, "Can you love me like this?"

I answered, "Of course. I will always love you."

He then held up a mirror. Light flashed off it and I woke.

I have tumbled this dream over and over in my thoughts. I think about it and believe the message is that I should love myself in all states. If my sense of well being is poor, I should still treat myself with love and compassion. If I am depressed, I should still treat myself with love and compassion. I'm not here just for the summer and spring time. I'm here for all the seasons with Freyr. And I know he is here for me in all the seasons of my life. I need to show up and be here for all the seasons in my life for myself as well.