Introduction
Welcome to the sixth module in the Live Your Magic course. This is where we get into some of the spiritual practices of magic and how we can apply them to our lives. This module is going to cover the topics: working with deities and spirit helpers, animism and magical calendars.
Working with Deities and Spirit Helpers?
Deities can be a touchy subject when looking at magical living. People coming from a religious background may balk at the idea of working with them for many different reasons. Additionally, those who come from an agnostic or atheist worldview might not see any value in invoking deity at all. Not wanting to get involved with deities is a valid choice and I’m not advocating that one must do so in order to live magically. Personally, I work with Hestia, but my relationship with her is low key and not a cornerstone of my life.
The same can be said about working with spirits. Some people will find no reason to do so and that’s okay. Spirits generally tend to have a live and let live attitude. If you don’t mess with them, they won’t mess with you.
However, you should at least be aware that spirits do exist and that we share space with them. Most spirits, like genus loci, have been here long before we were and will be here long after we are gone. As such, if you are going to work with spirits, or deities, you’ll need to approach them with respect. This includes learning about them, how to approach them, what they are like, and how others have worked with them before you start.
Finally, if you are not interested in working with spirits or deities you can always work with archetypes. Found in places like the Major Arcana of the Tarot, archetypes can provide guidance and focus for your magical living. For example, if you want to invoke more spontaneity and trust in your life, you can work with the Fool card. If you want to get in touch with your sensual side you can work with the Empress card.
Let’s start with deities. These are often embodiments of certain activities, knowledge or areas (both geographic and esoteric). They are often said to “rule over” their area of expertise, having outsized influence mystically. Nearly every civilization has had a pantheon of deities that ruled over various domains. Many of these pantheons are open so you are likely to find a deity that you vibe with.
It’s important to note that I mention working with deity, not worshiping them. Some people will have that kind of relationship with deities, but as someone who grew up in an evangelical religion, I balk at the idea of worshiping anything. I want to be on equal footing in my mundane and magical relationships. To that end, if you have the same issue when it comes to deity, I invite you to reframe your approach so that you view them as coworkers.
There are many reasons you might want to work with deities, spirits and archetypes. The first is that they provide a framework for different aspects of magical living. Working with Aphrodite, for example, helps guide you in bringing magic to your love life. Or working with a genus loci of a park can help you get in touch with nature in a deeply meaningful way. Deities, spirits and archetypes are helpers on our magical journey. They can help you focus, aid in boosting your magic, and can even offer advice and support during difficult times. As long as you treat them with respect, they will be steadfast companions.
So, how do you find a deity or spirit to work with in the first place? This is where the tools and techniques that we have already covered come into play. You can use divination, meditation or mindfulness.
For divination you will use your chosen divination method to ask if there are any spirits or deities that you can work with, or who want to work with you. You can also use it to check to see if working with a particular deity or spirit would be a good idea.
Next there is meditation. In the hands-on assignment section of this module you’ll find a guided meditation that you can follow along with to open yourself up to any deities or spirits that might want to work with you.
Finally, there is mindfulness. Pay attention to your life, what symbols or animals keep popping up in your life? You can search them and see what deities or spirits they might be associated with. Your dream journal might hold clues as well. If symbols are showing up in your dreams or life you can once again turn to divination to try to suss out who it is that is reaching out to you. Finally, look at your life as a whole. Are there areas where you feel your life is lacking? Are there any deities that you could work with to help you in that area?
Once you have found a deity or spirit to work with. You need to spend some time on researching them. If it is a genus loci, otherwise known as a spirit of a place, research the area it is associated with. Who lived on that land before? What was it used for in the past? Spend time on divination and meditation to find out more about it, especially how it prefers to be contacted and addressed and what it would like in exchange for working with it. The same goes for deities. Take the time to get to know the god or goddess you’ll be working with before you begin. This sort of prep work will show that you are serious about the relationship and someone who can be trusted.
That relationship can range from one of friendship and support, where you talk to your deity or spirit helper on a regular basis, to one that is more formal, where you work rituals on a set schedule. Ask your new coworker what kind of relationship they want. Does the genus loci wish to only work with you during the full moon and only for abundance? Respect that. Does the deity like to be kept in the loop on what is going on in your life through regular talks? Do that then. Each relationship is personal and different. Which is why the previously mentioned research is important.
Animism
When we talk about working with spirits we need to talk about animism. This is the belief that objects, places and creatures all possess a spiritual essence. It is a belief that is widespread, most notably held by Hindus and Buddhists, as well as many indigenous religions.
Yes, this means seeing trees, plants, even rocks as spiritual beings. This includes man-made objects as well. If you’ve ever had a piece of furniture that just didn’t sit well with you, or if it was your most favorite thing, you can understand a little bit what I mean when I say that objects have spirits.
Treating everything around us as spiritual entities helps to get us closer in tune with nature and the world around us. It’s hard to feel alone or lonely when you realize that there are so many beings of different types around you. It also helps to expand our consciousness so that we are less selfish in our interactions with the rest of the world. The practice is one of gentleness.
Now this isn’t to say that all of these objects and items have “souls”, but that they have a spiritual essence, something that is indefinable in a materialistic sense. They might not be “conscious” in the way we expect, but that doesn’t mean they don’t deserve the same kind of basic respect and care we would give to another person or animal.
We come back to mindfulness when we talk about animism and working it into our magical living. When you are going about your day to day life you want to be mindful of how you interact with the world around you. Take time to notice the objects you encounter and handle. Start with those things you use on a daily basis. Your clothes, your dishes, your furniture, treat all of it with respect. Notice things like how your clothes feel when you wear them, what mug you use all the time, which chair you favor when you sit down to eat. This awareness is the starting point of your relationship with your possessions.
Next we bring in the gratitude practice. If you have ever heard of Marie Kondo and her decluttering method, you might be aware of her insistence that we thank objects that we are getting rid of. I suggest taking that attitude further, thanking our objects when we use them. This gratitude strengthens our connections with the outside world. Go beyond thanking your items. Thank trees for the oxygen they provide, thank bees for pollinating plants, thank the sun and moon for being part of your life.
Recognizing the energies and spiritual essence of the world around you will allow you to work with the natural world in a deeper way. It also enhances your magic as you have a stronger innate connection to the crystals, plants and other materia magica you might use in your spellcasting. Finally, it helps you to identify spirits of place and objects that you might work with.
Your own Personal Magical Calendar
Once you’ve started living magically you come to realize that life is one huge interconnected web. Strands connect you to the land you live on, to the objects in your home, to your friends and family and even that coworker who dumps all their work on you. You are part of a vast web that sees you only a matter of degrees removed from the stars. More than that, you begin to see that these elements have an effect on you as much as you do on them.
This is where a personal magical calendar comes into play. The movement of the sun, moon and stars, as well as the march of days, weeks and months all have an impact on you and your magical living. It behooves you to be aware of those influences and plan for them. For example, Thursday is ruled by Thor whose Roman counterpart is Jupiter. It is a day filled with money and prosperity energies. As such if you were looking to ask for a raise at your job you might want to ask on Thursday rather than other days to better support your goals. Similarly, spring is related to new ideas and planting so you might want to schedule a new fitness routine to start then to give you the best chance, magically speaking.
Creating your own personal magical calendar isn’t difficult. You can buy calendars and apps that will give you the moon and astrological phases as well as major astrological events such as eclipses. It is then on you to use the calendar to your advantage. Take time to look over the upcoming days, weeks and months to see what the universe has in store. Then schedule your appointments and tasks when they will be most magically meaningful.
Don’t forget to add dates that are important to you to your calendar. Anniversaries, birthdays and holidays are just as important as the movements of the stars. This is your calendar so make it personal. Keep your calendar where you will see it. Transfer important information like the phases of the moon and planetary movements to your planner or calendar app so that you have the information at your fingertips. Creating the magical calendar is only the first part of the process, using it is the second.
Conclusion
We are connected to the rest of the universe and honoring that connection only deepens our understanding of what it means to live magically. How that understanding manifests–whether as working with deities and spirits, or just in acknowledging the presence of others–is up to you. This is your life and you define how it looks.
Take the time to fill out the self-assessment exercise at the end of this lesson and don’t skip the hands-on assignment. I’ll see you in the next lesson.
Now that you have gone through the lesson in this module it is time to work on your self-assessment work. The questions in this exercise are meant to get you thinking about how you can put the information in the lesson to work in your own life.
Turn to a blank page in your journal and answer the following questions as thoroughly as you are able. Take at least five minutes to answer each question. Don’t feel like you have to limit yourself to writing, either. You can doodle, color, sketch, and even collage and stamp your answer to the questions. Do what feels right and makes sense to you. Just make sure that you will be able to understand your entries later.
You can also print out the attached PDF document and write your answers there, if you want.
Go ahead and answer the following questions:
- How can you align your actions with the cycles of the moon, the season and the wheel of the year?
- Are there any deities or helper spirits that you are interested in working with? Make a list here and answer why you might want to work with them.
Guided Meditation
Practice this meditation in order to get in touch with a deity or spirit who might want to work with you. Choose to do the meditation at a time when you won’t be interrupted. Turn off phone notifications and other electronic distractions as you meditate.
The purpose of this meditation is to get you into a calm, relaxed mindset. You will then cast your mind to a place where you can meet the deity or spirit. Once you have communed with them for a short while you will come back to your body. The most important aspect of this meditation is that you journal about your experience afterwards. Don’t wait to write down what happened. You want to capture the moment while it is fresh in your mind.
If you are ready, read through the meditation below and then practice it.
Sit or lie comfortably and close your eyes. Breathe in and out. Let the chatter in your mind quiet down. Continue breathing in and out for several seconds. When thoughts come to interrupt you let them float away as if they are bubbles in the wind. Breathe in and out.
Picture yourself in a place that has a spiritual connection for you. This might be a cathedral, or the ruins of a Greek temple, it might be a clearing in a forest or the shores of a beach at twilight. Breathe in and out. Feel the air around you, listen to the sounds. Feel the reverence and peace fill you up from your toes, through your legs and body, up through your hands and arms, right to the top of your skull. Just be in this place and wait.
Breathe in and out. In your mind invite any deity or spirit who might want to work with you to approach. A deity or spirit may choose this time to present itself to you. Wait for them to approach you. Are you surprised? Or is this what you had expected? Thank them for appearing and then wait for any information they want to impart to you. They might not have anything to tell you at the moment. This might just be an initial introduction. That is all right. Thank them. Let them know you are looking forward to working with them. Make your goodbyes.
Breathe in and out. Wiggle your toes and fingers. Move your legs and arms. Roll your head on your neck and eat or drink a little something to complete your grounding.
Once you have come back to your body, get out your journal and write down what you saw, who came to you, and what information, if any, they gave you.
You can practice this meditation anytime you want in order reconnect with the deity or spirit you are working with.
Animism Resources
- Alive with the Spirits by Althaea Sebastiani – Information on animism and how to work with spirits.
- “Introduction to Animism: Definitions and Core Practices for Nature Spirituality” by Dana O’Driscoll – A good overview of animism and how to incorporate it into your daily life.
Deity Resources
- 365 Goddess by Patricia Telesco – A large list of various goddesses with brief information on each.
- Modern Witchcraft with the Greek Gods: History, Insights & Magickal Practice by Jason Mankey & Astrea Taylor – A good introduction to the Greek pantheon and information on how to work with them.
- Celtic Myth & Magick: Harness the Power of the Gods and Goddesses by Edain McCoy – This book has a large list of various Celtic deities, spirits and folk heroes with detailed information on them.