General/Non-Specific: General question from a newb- radio silence?

[BubbleCow]

Hello all, I recently restarted practicing kemetism after practicing it for a very short time a couple of years ago. I've gone about things much better this time and have tried not to let my anxiety about practicing get in the way, but there is one question that kind of bugs me.

A lot of times when I read pagan forums and such things, a lot of people talk about such personal interactions with their gods. Like I read something yesterday from a girl who said that recently Bast had been on her to wear a perfume she bought recently, and a lot of times people speak about offerings thier gods seem to like or even ask for. Whenever I give offerings or just in general, I never seem to feel or 'hear' anything. i don't know if that's because I'm doing something wrong, or if these things just take time? I only started practicing again a week or so ago.

Also extra random question- I used to be on a forum that was just called paganforum. Anyone know what happened to it? I looked for it a while back but couldn't find the site.

Thank you!

[Redfaery]

Hello all, I recently restarted practicing kemetism after practicing it for a very short time a couple of years ago. I've gone about things much better this time and have tried not to let my anxiety about practicing get in the way, but there is one question that kind of bugs me.

A lot of times when I read pagan forums and such things, a lot of people talk about such personal interactions with their gods. Like I read something yesterday from a girl who said that recently Bast had been on her to wear a perfume she bought recently, and a lot of times people speak about offerings thier gods seem to like or even ask for. Whenever I give offerings or just in general, I never seem to feel or 'hear' anything. i don't know if that's because I'm doing something wrong, or if these things just take time? I only started practicing again a week or so ago.

Also extra random question- I used to be on a forum that was just called paganforum. Anyone know what happened to it? I looked for it a while back but couldn't find the site.

Thank you!

Hi and welcome! It's actually perfectly normal to have "radio silence" from deities. In my experience, there can be all sorts of reasons for it. Sometimes, as you said, it is just a matter of it taking time. Another reason may be that the deities *are* trying to reach you, but you just haven't noticed the signals. I'm personally so dense that I don't notice recurring signs/patterns until I'm basically slapped in the face with them.

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[Jenett]

A lot of times when I read pagan forums and such things, a lot of people talk about such personal interactions with their gods. Like I read something yesterday from a girl who said that recently Bast had been on her to wear a perfume she bought recently, and a lot of times people speak about offerings thier gods seem to like or even ask for. Whenever I give offerings or just in general, I never seem to feel or 'hear' anything. i don't know if that's because I'm doing something wrong, or if these things just take time? I only started practicing again a week or so ago.

That's really normal! Many people have relationships with deity that don't rely on close interactions. (And historically, that's the majority of people for probably thousands of years...)

One thing that might be helpful to you is the concept of open headedness and close headedness - terms that are used by some people to describe a spectrum of being open to deity communication, spirits, other beings, etc. It's not that one is good and the other is bad - but like a lot of things that create a spectrum, they both have some good points and some bad points.

People who are naturally more open-headed get communication more easily (which can be great and reassuring) but it also means they're a lot more likely to get bugged by random non-physical being communication at times when it's not a great idea (when they're trying to focus on work, or driving, or doing something complicated.) They may be a lot more sensitive to energetic shifts in a space, too.

Someone who's more naturally close-headed has to work for that communication, or find other approaches that satisfy them (which can include "I do this thing, and I assume it's an okay thing because I'm not getting negative feedback") but they're not likely to get bothered by contacts at unwanted times (or have weird sleep disruptions) and they may be a lot more able to be helpful in some situations because they're not so easily overwhelmed by other people's energy or emotions.

With practice and learning specific skills, people on either end of the spectrum can often move more toward the middle, and have a bit of both worlds (or deal with the more annoying bits of whichever their natural tendencies incline them toward) but that's like learning any other skill, and your results will depend on a lot of factors.

I've got a longer article on my website that talks through some of this (including some ideas if you'd like to explore getting a bit more interaction)

[Darkhawk]

A lot of times when I read pagan forums and such things, a lot of people talk about such personal interactions with their gods. Like I read something yesterday from a girl who said that recently Bast had been on her to wear a perfume she bought recently, and a lot of times people speak about offerings thier gods seem to like or even ask for. Whenever I give offerings or just in general, I never seem to feel or 'hear' anything. i don't know if that's because I'm doing something wrong, or if these things just take time? I only started practicing again a week or so ago.

So, there are a number of pieces here.

First of all, yes, as other people have noted, there is a wide variation in open-headedness.  But there are a whole bunch of other factors.

When people report communication from deities, it is often framed in a way that makes it sound to others as clear and direct.  This is extremely rarely the case, even for people who have fairly direct communication.  "The god didn't like my offering" is very likely to be a translation of, for a few possibilities:  "I felt really yucky in ritual when I put it down on the table", "the incense kept going out and this brand is usually reliable", "I accidentally knocked over the cup", or something like that.  "Bast really wants me to wear that perfume" could very well have been "every time I see that perfume I feel a pang of YOU SHOULD TRY THAT" combined with the knowledge that Bast is the goddess of perfumes and/or "when I finally put it on, the neighbor's antisocial cat let me pet him for three whole seconds!"  Common forms of more direct divine communication include inexplicable "this song is stuck in my head", "I can't stop thinking about this name/epithet" (how useful, egoist god), artistic inspirations....

Remember that there are fringey news stories about Christians who say they have received messages from the divine in the shapes that showed up on their burned toast.

Which brings to the next thing:  discernment.  If having an earworm is a common divine communication, how does one learn to separate that from the rest of the obnoxious brain noise that's happening?  I fully expect that there are plenty of people who haven't developed the skillset to notice that sort of thing, and I suspect that people are hampered by the idea that there's a booming voice from the heavens involved rather than a random impulse to Turn Left instead of right at that intersection.  One can work on developing that skill with various practices keyed to learning what your brainnoise sounds like and what bits are from elsewhere, and by taking up forms of divination until you find something that keys in well for you.

Worth keeping in mind, though, that discernment goes both ways, and a lot of people who claim super-special contact from the gods are talking to their own egos instead.  I suggest familiarizing yourself with tools for evaluating your gnosis so you can spot this in yourself and others.

[Eastling]

Hello all, I recently restarted practicing kemetism after practicing it for a very short time a couple of years ago. I've gone about things much better this time and have tried not to let my anxiety about practicing get in the way, but there is one question that kind of bugs me.

A lot of times when I read pagan forums and such things, a lot of people talk about such personal interactions with their gods. Like I read something yesterday from a girl who said that recently Bast had been on her to wear a perfume she bought recently, and a lot of times people speak about offerings thier gods seem to like or even ask for. Whenever I give offerings or just in general, I never seem to feel or 'hear' anything. i don't know if that's because I'm doing something wrong, or if these things just take time? I only started practicing again a week or so ago.

A week is not a very long time to develop a practice. It's awesome that you've started, but it's likely to be a while before you learn how to perceive spiritual interactions, especially if it doesn't come naturally to you. (This is also fine, as others have noted--you can work on your skills, and even being naturally "closed-headed" can have its advantages.)

I would suggest doing research on the gods you reach out to, both in terms of ancient lore and the experiences of modern pagans, and while you do that, continue your practice. Make offerings, even if you don't feel an amazing surge of energy when you do so; perform rituals, even if you're not sure if they "work." It may also help to keep a journal of your experiences as you do this--having a record of what's happened and what you've noticed will help you notice patterns that may turn out to be the way "divine contact" works for you.

[BubbleCow]

Thank you all for your replies! Darkhawk your reply especially cleared a lot up for me, so thank you for that. It's very reassuring to know that this is a normal experience and I know it's not a long time to be practicing yet, I just do worry about just about everything haha. I was very nervous posting here but you all have been so very nice to me! Thank you! I'm hoping in the future I'll have much more to share on the forum, but for now I will just read and learn

[Aster Breo]

Thank you all for your replies! Darkhawk your reply especially cleared a lot up for me, so thank you for that. It's very reassuring to know that this is a normal experience and I know it's not a long time to be practicing yet, I just do worry about just about everything haha. I was very nervous posting here but you all have been so very nice to me! Thank you! I'm hoping in the future I'll have much more to share on the forum, but for now I will just read and learn

I'm hoping in the future I'll have much more to share on the forum, but for now I will just read and learn

And please ask questions as they come to you!

This is, IMHO, the best place online to get answers, feedback, and reassurance as you get deeper into your practice -- especially if you don't have connections to other pagans practicing the same way irl.

I'll echo what others have said: direct communication from deity is rare.

And when it happens, it's even more rare (rarer?) for it to be in the form of an actual voice speaking actual words. I've been a dedicant of Brighid for 15 years, and I've only heard Her actually *speak* once outside of dreams, meditations, and ritual. And that was only a single word and happened in the midst of a genuine life-threatening situation.

My communications from Her come in the form of signs, too many coincidences piling up, and/or specific *feelings*. I wish I could describe it better. It's just a feeling or impulse that is very strong and very not-mine.

So, as someone said up thread, you have to learn over time to recognize the things you see, hear, feel, taste, and smell that are different from your normal in a specific but indescribable way. You have to know your own thought patterns and internal voice, so you can recognize when something is different.

Maybe an example will help. Many years ago, when I started to learn magic (which was after I'd begun honoring Brighid), I'd get a feeling of sort of being physically pushed away and a mental image of a stop sign whenever I thought about trying a spell. I interpreted that as Brighid telling me not to do magic. Could it have been my own subconscious? Of course. But it didn't *feel* like me. So I chose to believe it was a message from Her.

Another time, I had been agonizing over a decision for ages. One morning, I was standing on a platform in the subway system, on my way to work. And out loud, but quietly, I asked for a sign to confirm that I should choose option A over option B, as if labeled them in my head. Moments later, the train pulled in and, as I boarded, there was a sign posted right in front of me in the train that had graphics of traffic signs all over it. The most prominent said "one way", with the arrow pointing in the direction of a street sign that said "A Street". Coincidence? Maybe. But it sure did feel like the sign I'd asked for being delivered very literally.

But it can work very differently for different people.




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[Darkhawk]

But it can work very differently for different people.

Here's my today example.

There's a particular goddess who's traditionally honored on the first Friday of the month, who I was introduced to by a song when I was in my teens.  I try to honor her but I'm really bad at scheduling stuff in general.

Today I was out driving, and on random shuffle that song started playing.  And I was humming along and went, "... wait.  It's the first Friday in October."

And it slipped my mind again, but I did eventually remember to put out her offering this evening.

[Hariti]

don't know if that's because I'm doing something wrong, or if these things just take time? I only started practicing again a week or so ago.

They take time, if they ever come around at all. I've only had a few "concrete" encounters with my Gods, and none of them come close to some of the stories I've heard from others! 

I can understand how being around people who've had such experiences makes one question one's own devotion, but you really shouldn't, because the Gods aren't under your control, and their decision to visit you or not is largely outside of your control, and depends on their being proactive, not you!