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Author Topic: Getting to know popculture entities  (Read 2847 times)

EclecticWheel

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Getting to know popculture entities
« on: October 31, 2016, 07:12:48 pm »
Some background on where I'm coming from: a few years back in addition to my main religious practice I constructed and practiced a rudimentary religion I observed separately based around Alice in Wonderland.

It was interesting to say the least which was my primary reason to do it, but it was too much to observe parallel liturgical years and flip between two theological systems.

Only one relationship I developed remained, the rabbit.  He ended up absorbing attributes and associations from a childhood story I loved along with influences from a Taoist deity.

Eventually I associated him with a living human being, and he naturally almost unconsciously got absorbed into my Christian-pagan-lite paradigm.  That really made the whole endeavor valuable even though I ditched everything else.

Since then I've been happy with the rabbit, my guardian Angel(s), the official saints and angels, and God, though at times I find myself drawn to popculture entities still, almost a pull of the heart trying to grab my attention.

I dream about them, too, though I can tell when it's really my Angel in guise by the voice and other mannerisms.

One day after a shower I could feel all these people inside just chattering, just chattering with each other trying to come out, but they have no voices or forms to do so, and I started thinking of popculture entities again because sometimes angels and saints don't align well with issues I want to address, and I've never had luck or resonance with non-Abrahamic deities.  When I do, I end up contacting a different entity with some of those attributes I was attracted to.

I have an idea what entities I may be able to contact and plan to keep them on a friendship or aquaintance level at first for various reasons.

And I will not incorporate them into my wider religious practice unless that evolves naturally and has to make perfect sense and may require tweaking or working with only an aspect of an entity in a certain context.

Otherwise I'd keep it casual and separate.  And not all entities want to be gods.

My main concerns are

1) How to get started and

2) I want to be careful to keep them under control, but only so far as to guard myself from harm.  I am not treating them as tools to do my bidding or anything.

All of my experiences with this sort of thing seem to involve aspects of my psyche taking on helpful forms, thus my comment about the chattering figures, but my inability as of now to hear them and work on whatever has them stirred up.

So I want to make sure I help them assume helpful forms in a structured setting, structure being imperative to keeping my psyche integrated.  I have quite a bit of experience with that in my religious paradigm which is based on re-integration but that paradigm is tradition and religious-specific.

So far in my studies I find little on basic popculture practice and I am looking for good ways to contact one of them safely in a comfortable form in a structured safe way.

More traditional approaches would probably be applicable, though most my experiences involved Judeo-Christian entities or entities that simply showed up.

My experience with making the first introduction is rare.
« Last Edit: October 31, 2016, 07:20:40 pm by EclecticWheel »
My personal moral code:

Love wisely, and do what thou wilt.

Faemon

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Re: Getting to know popculture entities
« Reply #1 on: October 31, 2016, 09:34:43 pm »
Quote from: EclecticWheel;198417
I started thinking of popculture entities again because...I've never had luck or resonance with non-Abrahamic deities.  When I do, I end up contacting a different entity with some of those attributes I was attracted to.

I think that happens to me a lot, too, with pop culture entities, so I don't know if I can help you with that not happening if I offer:
Quote
1) How to get started and

Because I figured that the way to get started was to glean something from the source material. The aesthetics and themes, movement and relationships, all convey complex ideas that form what fandom culture refers to as your headcanon. That resonance is a start? But, it works that far to me in the same way that reading myths does.

But before then, I suppose it's personal approach as well. I enjoy a lot of works, but having a headcanon doesn't automatically mean external resonance and thwapping. If I some mystical spiritual episode, then these entities kind of do technically "thwap" whenever I write without a block or a slog, but they don't send signs or dreams or chatter at me or I don't hallucinate(?) that they're in the same room as vividly as corporeal people except that I know other corporeal people can't see them. If they start by any of those other avenues, even before I'd ever head of the source material (which hasn't happened to me in pop culture, but I've read that such things can/do happen), then...I, uh, roll with it. Sorry, that's 97.3% of my spiritwork: huh, that's odd, but okay guess I'll roll with it.

It could also be a matter of the approach itself coming from the source material. My favorite example of this is the contrast between Persona 4 and Devil Summoner Raido Kuzunoha, both made by the same game company, both involve a lot of CGI mythic and folkloric figures, but the programming conforms to very different worlds. In the former, these same figures are products of the main characters' psyches; in the latter, these are autonomous spiritual entities who can communicate. The gameplay is very different based on that, although the computer animation of those specific figures are the same (probably recycled to save on costs.)

Another example I like is J.M. Barrie's prose version of Peter Pan, which conveys very elegantly how the Neverland is present in childish play pretend...and that it's also a hungry Faeryland that can physically kidnap your children.

So, I guess I do sort of shift gears depending on whether I'm doing Persona-style inner work, or approaching the Neverland with the requisitely hazardous amount of levity.

Going back to this a bit:
Quote
Only one relationship I developed remained, the rabbit. He ended up absorbing attributes and associations from a childhood story I loved along with influences from a Taoist deity...he naturally almost unconsciously got absorbed into my Christian-pagan-lite paradigm. That really made the whole endeavor valuable even though I ditched everything else.

This can still happen. Pop culture entities with mercifully lax and/or not-widespread rules for How To Do may behave surprisingly as entities. Like a cat may look at a king :) But that said...

Quote
2) I want to be careful to keep them under control, but only so far as to guard myself from harm.

Have you a paradigm and method of your own by which you usually guard yourself from harm? Does the source material convey something you could adapt to keep a pop culture entity in line by their own rules?

Quote
structure being imperative to keeping my psyche integrated.  I have quite a bit of experience with that in my religious paradigm which is based on re-integration but that paradigm is tradition and religious-specific.

If it works when you apply it, then it probably applies. I guess I'd start with fanfiction because I'm a writer, but I think it depends on how you do you...
The Codex of Poesy: wishcraft, faelatry, alchemy, and other slight misspellings.
the Otherfaith: Chromatic Genderbending Faery Monarchs of Technology. DeviantArt

EclecticWheel

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Re: Getting to know popculture entities
« Reply #2 on: November 01, 2016, 01:35:18 am »
Quote from: Faemon;198431
Have you a paradigm and method of your own by which you usually guard yourself from harm? Does the source material convey something you could adapt to keep a pop culture entity in line by their own rules?


If it works when you apply it, then it probably applies. I guess I'd start with fanfiction because I'm a writer, but I think it depends on how you do you...

I am not sure what you are referring to with the term "thwap" -- are you referring to an entity grabbing one's attention, like a thwap on the head?

In my religious paradigm all prayers revolve around God (within, without, all) and call on various angels and saints and those elements and the structure itself sooth and protect.  But this will probably not be the right context in which to work with some other entities unless there comes to be an evolution of an entity or revelation of an aspect of an entity that would make that coherent and appropriate.

Having read our posts again it occurs to me I can always ask the Little Rabbit to help and protect me prior to any such endeavor since he started out as (and has in some sense remained) a gatekeeper and given his origin I am sure he can still function independently of the Christian-based paradigm.  Makes sense for a gatekeeping, mediating type figure.

I will ask him to guide me.  In the meantime while I collect reading material I need I've been looking for articles and videos on this topic.  Unfortunately much of it lacks detail or focuses on defending it from ridiculous objections.  I have come across some gems.  It really is a fascinating topic.  I wish there was more information.
« Last Edit: November 01, 2016, 01:36:38 am by EclecticWheel »
My personal moral code:

Love wisely, and do what thou wilt.

Sefiru

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Re: Getting to know popculture entities
« Reply #3 on: November 01, 2016, 06:38:21 pm »
Quote from: EclecticWheel;198445
I am not sure what you are referring to with the term "thwap" -- are you referring to an entity grabbing one's attention, like a thwap on the head?

 
Yes, this is how the term 'thwap' is often used here.
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Faemon

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Re: Getting to know popculture entities
« Reply #4 on: November 01, 2016, 09:16:02 pm »
Quote from: EclecticWheel;198445
I am not sure what you are referring to with the term "thwap" -- are you referring to an entity grabbing one's attention, like a thwap on the head?

Quote from: Sefiru;198472
Yes, this is how the term 'thwap' is often used here.

Yes. I say it like: whether or not you already know about them, a "thwap" is the moment you know* that they know about you.

* for a given value of knowledge

Quote from: EclecticWheel;198445
In my religious paradigm all prayers revolve around God (within, without, all) and call on various angels and saints and those elements and the structure itself sooth and protect.  But this will probably not be the right context in which to work with some other entities unless there comes to be an evolution of an entity or revelation of an aspect of an entity that would make that coherent and appropriate.

More source-material leaning exploration, then?
Quote
Having read our posts again it occurs to me I can always ask the Little Rabbit to help and protect me prior to any such endeavor since he started out as (and has in some sense remained) a gatekeeper and given his origin I am sure he can still function independently of the Christian-based paradigm.  Makes sense for a gatekeeping, mediating type figure.

Or that works, too!
Quote
In the meantime while I collect reading material I need I've been looking for articles and videos on this topic.  Unfortunately much of it lacks detail or focuses on defending it from ridiculous objections.  I have come across some gems.  It really is a fascinating topic.  I wish there was more information.

There's also the Pop Culture Pagan prefix in the Pagan Religions subforum, if you like.
The Codex of Poesy: wishcraft, faelatry, alchemy, and other slight misspellings.
the Otherfaith: Chromatic Genderbending Faery Monarchs of Technology. DeviantArt

EclecticWheel

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Re: Getting to know popculture entities
« Reply #5 on: November 02, 2016, 01:12:56 am »
Quote from: Faemon;198487
Yes. I say it like: whether or not you already know about them, a "thwap" is the moment you know* that they know about you.

* for a given value of knowledge


More source-material leaning exploration, then?

Or that works, too!

There's also the Pop Culture Pagan prefix in the Pagan Religions subforum, if you like.

 
Great!  I still overlook sources in this forum at times by getting accustomed to a couple sections.  I always like reading what others are doing with this form of explanation.
My personal moral code:

Love wisely, and do what thou wilt.

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