The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum

I know for a past year that some god or deitie was calling me. I don't know which one is calling me or generally I don't want to worship a God without knowing that they even called me. I hope I didn't mix that up sorry I'm bad with wording.
Best wishes,
A MughalCow

There's another option for you MongolianCow:

Who says you have to know the specific name of the god in order to take a step toward it/them?  The name and details can come later.

May I make a suggestion?  You could set up something of a generic altar with a (white or black) candle representing the, as yet, unknown deity.  Once the altar contains the elements you are comfortable with then literally call out to the deity to show itself to your minds eye.  Take note of any impressions, images, words or symbols that flash across your awareness, even if only for a split second.  Keep asking the deity to identify itself and make itself known.  You will begin to get glimpses and clues of the deity you should follow.  As you get clues of wHO this god may be you can add to the altar, adapting it based on the information you are gathering.

Take it all one step at a time.  Go with what you know until you know better.

Bright blessings to you!

What do you mean by elements I'm familiar with an alter with candle in north, salt in middle, and water to the left, and the knife at the south can't remember what was on the right, also in my time I sorta left trying to contact Athena, but leaving a crack open in the door. I think I should focus on the Celtic and Germanic gods for they been patcent(16 and still can't spell) and answered my prayers so I need to know how to offer some fruit to Woden(if Woden takes fruit) and some for the Celtic gods.
Best Wishes,
A MongolianYAK:D:

I have mentored many individuals in the pathway of magickal power.  A most common issue is confronting the "shoulds." Suffice it to say that powerful magick can be done under the umbrella of MANY different belief systems and many diverse traditions.  The power of the mind and Spirit has few, if any, restrictions.  My admonition to students in general is this; find that which feels good to YOU.  Harmonizing your methods with your true nature results in GREAT magickal results.  Restricting yourself with too many "shoulds" or "should nots" can dilute your power.

If assigning the elements in the way you describe above suits you best, I recommend it for YOUR PRACTICE.  Just be aware that I have known MANY powerful witches who do otherwise.  I know of powerful magick workers who cast a circle with the wiggle of her finger. No quarters are called and no spirits of the watchtowers petitioned.  I know powerful witches who can cause REAL results in the REAL world who do NOT appeal to Wiccan gods and who do NOT cast circles or even work "spells."  They may even work with spirits and gods you have never heard of. Some work with NO gods.

My point is simply this: search out the ways and means that work for YOU.  IMHO, there are no "shoulds" and "should nots" that are written in stone.  The bottom line is whether your magick rocks your world!  If it does, no one cares HOW you did it!

I hope this is helpful.

I have mentored many individuals in the pathway of magickal power.  A most common issue is confronting the "shoulds." Suffice it to say that powerful magick can be done under the umbrella of MANY different belief systems and many diverse traditions.  The power of the mind and Spirit has few, if any, restrictions.  My admonition to students in general is this; find that which feels good to YOU.  Harmonizing your methods with your true nature results in GREAT magickal results.  Restricting yourself with too many "shoulds" or "should nots" can dilute your power.

If assigning the elements in the way you describe above suits you best, I recommend it for YOUR PRACTICE.  Just be aware that I have known MANY powerful witches who do otherwise.  I know of powerful magick workers who cast a circle with the wiggle of her finger. No quarters are called and no spirits of the watchtowers petitioned.  I know powerful witches who can cause REAL results in the REAL world who do NOT appeal to Wiccan gods and who do NOT cast circles or even work "spells."  They may even work with spirits and gods you have never heard of. Some work with NO gods.

My point is simply this: search out the ways and means that work for YOU.  IMHO, there are no "shoulds" and "should nots" that are written in stone.  The bottom line is whether your magick rocks your world!  If it does, no one cares HOW you did it!

I hope this is helpful.

 
Twas helpful, the thing about magic its powerful and in the wrong hands can be deadly or overwhelming. I come from a Islamic family and magic was a big no,no. Personally I only want to use magic to contact to the gods, do the Celtic and Germanic gods like music?

I'm not sure if it was helpful to the member who started this thread, but I want to thank you most sincerely as this was very helpful to me.

I have never felt comfortable or confident trying to perform the various gyrations associated with many of the rituals I've read about. No Gods or Goddesses pique my interest, and none have whacked me (to date) that I'm aware of. Yet I still feel that I'm a spiritual person deep down even without a higher being connection.  

I'm not sure if others here in the forum would be interested, but I would love to know a little more about the folks you mentioned, if that's something you feel you could share.

And thank you again; you're comments definitely struck a chord with me.

You are most welcome Runt.  I know that my post would not satisfy everyone, although hopefully it was of value to the author of this thread.  

There are many individuals who want to be told precisely how to do this or that; the"right" way of things - as if there are such a limited number of ways to effect magick. These folks prefer very specific how-to instructions.  This is their comfort zone.  In my view, there is nothing wrong with this approach but to such individuals instructions to 'find your own path' are unsatisfying and even frightening.  Still, in my experience when a student can develop a craft that perfectly harmonizes with their own individual SPIRIT, their true essence, the Craft brings them to themselves more powerfully.  IF... IF an individual finds a true home in an already established tradition and they can thrive within its teachings then that is also a good path. To each his/her own.

As to your question:  the individuals I spoke of, like myself, have found their own inner truth and they practice their Craft accordingly.  One young woman I know follows a more or less Wiccan path because it pleases her.  On the other hand she does not allow someone to tell her she must cast a circle by calling the corners or walking it thrice.  She is secure in her power and knew she could cast a circle with the flick of her finger. I know of another witch who does no ritual at all but who merely speaks into being her desire.  Circumstances change and things happens because she KNOWS HER OWN AUTHORITY irrespective of tradition or ceremony.  Still another sorcerer of my acquaintance uses fictional characters in place of conventional pantheons and he swears they serve him as well.  There are other people I could speak of but this post is already too long.

In my experience that which we call magick is limited ONLY by our own imagination.  If you prefer a traditional route it will work for you.  If you prefer a more personalized practice that too will serve.

I hope this reply is somewhat helpful Runt.

You are most welcome Runt.  I know that my post would not satisfy everyone, although hopefully it was of value to the author of this thread.  

There are many individuals who want to be told precisely how to do this or that; the"right" way of things - as if there are such a limited number of ways to effect magick. These folks prefer very specific how-to instructions.  This is their comfort zone.  In my view, there is nothing wrong with this approach but to such individuals instructions to 'find your own path' are unsatisfying and even frightening.  Still, in my experience when a student can develop a craft that perfectly harmonizes with their own individual SPIRIT, their true essence, the Craft brings them to themselves more powerfully.  IF... IF an individual finds a true home in an already established tradition and they can thrive within its teachings then that is also a good path. To each his/her own.

As to your question:  the individuals I spoke of, like myself, have found their own inner truth and they practice their Craft accordingly.  One young woman I know follows a more or less Wiccan path because it pleases her.  On the other hand she does not allow someone to tell her she must cast a circle by calling the corners or walking it thrice.  She is secure in her power and knew she could cast a circle with the flick of her finger. I know of another witch who does no ritual at all but who merely speaks into being her desire.  Circumstances change and things happens because she KNOWS HER OWN AUTHORITY irrespective of tradition or ceremony.  Still another sorcerer of my acquaintance uses fictional characters in place of conventional pantheons and he swears they serve him as well.  There are other people I could speak of but this post is already too long.

In my experience that which we call magick is limited ONLY by our own imagination.  If you prefer a traditional route it will work for you.  If you prefer a more personalized practice that too will serve.

I hope this reply is somewhat helpful Runt.

 
Thank you, Qumran, that reply was most helpful indeed! It does feel very unnatural to me to subscribe to some of the common/expected trappings of witchcraft/magick. I don't "Merry Meet" anyone and, as far as the Rede goes, sometimes someone deserves a good ass-whipping, if you will ... so the 'harm none' can go against the grain.

The point you made (she knows her own authority) is where I'm stalled out for the moment. Until I am able to cement in my own mind the inherent power within as bonafide, anything I do feels more like just an attempt without likelihood of success.

I do strongly believe that knowledge is power, so I have re-immersed myself in reading up on aspects of magick I dabbled in before, as well as delving into some new areas that are calling out to me.  This time around, however, I will cast aside my paranoia about doing everything 'by the book' and fly more by the seat of my pants and what feels right (broomstick not included).

The first one obviously matters a lot more for personal practice than the second one, but either way it's often useful to poke at things, go "Why *is* this thing done like that?" before assuming you don't need it at all. And knowing that something's done a certain way because it's useful in group settings, with people who don't have your brain, is sometimes also useful because it can give you a way around blocks in your learning or practice.  

Which is all to say: definitely go with what works for you. But if you're seeing lots of sources that include a thing, there's probably *some* reason, and that's a good time to ask questions/look at more materials/etc.

 
Thanks, Jenett, that makes a lot of sense. Actually, you hit upon one of my personal quirks: the "WHY" factor.

My education and working background (everyday have to make a living platform) are technical in nature. So, like a young child who's main goal is to drive the parents insane, I am constantly plagued by the "why" questions.

One of the first books I read many years ago was Bonewits' Real Magic and Real Energy. The explanations made more sense to me, and I reread them fairly often. LOL, if there's a halfway reasonable explanation for anything (some tidbit of logic in the brew so to speak), it gets my attention.

I just ordered some very cheap Cunningham books I've never read, so that should keep me busy for awhile.

The why questions are awesome! But a lot of books deal with them very badly. Fortunately, there's been more stuff out in the last decade or so which is doing better with 'why'.



I find Cunningham doesn't do the 'why' very well, for a variety of reasons. (And also, his books suffer from him having died earlier enough to have missed a lot of conversations in the larger community about what things need more explanation.)

I think 'which books talk more about why' might make a great new thread (since this topic is a significant digression from the thread title, and people may not be reading who'd have good comments about why books, so I'm avoiding doing a long list here, but you might also look at material by Deborah Lipp, Thea Sabine, Ivo Dominguez, and Amber K, all of whom do better with 'why this thing' in various dimensions. (There are others too, but that'd depend on what your interests are.)

I also have a website for people interested in religious witchcraft which a lot of people find helpful on the 'why is that thing like that' front, called Seeking though there are still a lot of topics I haven't had a chance to write up that I want to.

 
Thanks for the reading recommendations, Jenett, I will definitely do some looking into those authors.  The Cunningham stuff I ordered is more for filling in some gaping gaps in my reference material. For example, I just started delving into the Crystals/Gems/Stones Magic research, and went hunting for some old jewelry, etc.  While I do have some nice specimen pieces I picked up over 10 years ago at a metaphysical store, I also ran across pieces that have some nice stones in them I had forgotten I even owned. Now, of course, the goal is to reacquaint myself with the various stones and all the correspondences that go along with them. So Cunningham's Encyclopedia is on the way to give me a starting point.

I will definitely check out your site. I agree, we are off topic from the original post.

When Lord Anubis called to me it was during a time that I needed him the most. I had done a little research on deities of darkness and it was at a time when I was at a crossroads in my path. At the time I had a great fear of the dark and I was determined that I would finally get over my fear. I, more or less, called out to him and he answered back. He helped me overcome my fear and became my paternal deity. Lady Bast called out to me through a dream. I knew it was her immediately because I had dreamed of her in cat form and it was an Egyptian-type dream.

I have had similar experiences to yours, anubisa.

In addition to the ones I call upon for aid and inspiration, I have one "mystery deity" who used to show up in my dreams when I most needed a nudge or simply comfort and encouragement. I keep trying to grasp his identity, but the mystery of that identity is also what keeps me interested and curious to know him better. He has disclosed to me his name, but it could be a symbolic name and in any case not helpful in identifying him beyond it because it raises so many possible interpretations.

In my encounters with him, mostly during dreams, he has always taken a masculine form, but otherwise clothed himself in many shapes - animal as well as human. Sometimes he is alone and at other times he is accompanied by another presence who is connected to him somehow but who, until now at least, has not communicated much with me.

First after having encountered him, I remember being scared of making mistakes, like I had been back when I was a Christian. What I have found, however, is that he doesn't care what name I call him, where or in what pantheon I seek him, he is always ready to provide guidance. And if he sees I need guidance without asking for it, he usually intervenes somehow, and always gives me the same experience of total peace and love.

Lately I've been thinking it might be Frey or Baldr, but I have no idea to be perfectly honest. At one point I thought it was Zeus.

I guess my point is that I do not think we often need to be fearful of making mistakes with various deities. In my experience, they are more understanding than we might first expect. They know that our knowledge is limited and they generally seek to help provide guidance.

I also think that sometimes a deity can act as a patron for a limited time rather than for a lifetime. They may visit to teach us something and then let us continue on our own in learning the actual lesson and continuing our lives.

I hope some of this was helpful to the OP. If nothing else, at least you know you're not alone in feeling bewildered.