Banishing and Discernment

Quoting: |a dear friend

|...I don't think the spirits would be
|*that* offended at being brought into a space for the sake of some kind
|of transaction and then invited to leave again.
Perhaps I don't know the spirits well enough, then, to have this sort of
relationship with them. I'm watching other people to hear what they say
and where they've come from that we are different in our actions.
|> I guess I just don't feel the same way about those beings which have
|> joined with me as tools and those entities/energies which I have not
|> asked to be in such a relationship. ...Sometimes I am rejected.
|> Sometimes I do not feel right about the energy regardless. I do not
|> force my will in these matters.
|
|What if they force theirs?
I have never been forced or violated by any spirit of which I was aware.
Perhaps I am immune or simply ignorant as to their activities. I've not
often felt fear about the elementals or dragons with whom I frolicked,
and I've never been the subject of violation within the astral plane as
some apparently have (Fortune, for instance). I've wrestled Guardians
of Gates and had them pin me down until I relented my assault. Yet this
was different. We made love and merged in a way I never could have if
I had not gone to that place and yielded my antagonism/fear.
|I think that Hathor is much stronger than I. If I invite her into my
|home and she doesn't want to come, she won't come....
Yes, my interaction and relationship with the gods is much different, it
sounds. I cannot 'invite a god into my home', since for me the gods are
around me (as well as making me up and being within me) all the time.
It always sounded quite strange to me to hear people speak of 'invoking
gods' and mean by this some sort of possession like I hear about in horror
films and by the less eclectic neoAfricans.
When I say 'invoking' I mean by it a coming to deep awareness of the god
who is right here all the time; of manifesting a certain aspect of the
divine presence within personality, *my personality*, the personality of
the world. For me, 'to invoke' indicates an INWARD CALL more than a
'calling something into me'. I send my will into myself and gather
together the energies surrounding that godname. I seldom feel as if
some sort of external entity comes to reside in my body.
I've been to rituals in which people have 'become possessed'. It was
very strange to me. They took on a completely different (and yet
subtlely similar) personae. I interacted with them and found the
experience jarring and at once familiar. They called out of me a type
of energy which I can only relate to Siva, the ascetic monk. I watched
in silence in my half-lotus. I think that is one of my fear reactions

to the unknown (withdrawal into asceticism), and yet this same energy,
this same experience I have felt when I 'invoked' beings like Myrddin.
|...the gods are certainly willing to take part or
|else they wouldn't deign to appear. That's always been my experience...
What is it about the experience which tells you that they *are* appearing?
I mean, how do you know (and I'm not trying to imply anything, I'm curious)
that you aren't making it all up in your imagination and that this godbusiness is a way to understand it so that you'll feel okay about it?
|I guess that's why I see a possible problem with your approach: your
|will *is* important, and it needs to be a vital part of whatever ritual
|is going on.
I tend to keep my will to myself and not apply it except within my Circle.
By 'my Circle' I mean my direct sphere of influence where it is welcome
and expected. Surely there are exceptions to this, yet in general that is
my focus and when I do venture out (Internet is a good example of such a
venture) even then I am usually expected and welcome where I go, even while
vehemently opposed theoretically.
My Abyss (/SO) has shown me quite alot about being willful. She takes me
on walks through what I have learned was 'other people's property', and
yet she sees it as an important magical experience to walk in the wilderness, even though our social custom is to call this 'trespassing'. I am
frequently reticent to accompany her, but more for fear of repercussion
than of respect for the barbed-wire fences and despoiling 'No Trespassing'
signs.
|Perhaps "neti, neti" is necessary for some people, or else
|they'll find themselves washed in spirits who want to take part and
|unable to catch the attention of those who don't.
Yes, I think that we each move into paths which are suited for us, and the
crossing of energies may not always be suitable except for the adventurous
and willful. :>
tyagi
nagasiva
tyagi@houseofkaos.abyss.com