Many people have asked me publicly and privately about how to develop a relationship with the gods. I cannot speak for everyone, but I can certainly give you tips that worked for me.
1. Learn how the gods communicate. There are many ways the gods can communicate with us, and developing the “ear” to hear them is both difficult and important. Some examples are:
Divination - runes, Tarot cards, etc.
Animals - if the gods are associated with an animal (like Anansi with spiders or Ishtar with lions), you might start to see them (or images of them). Pay attention to what they’re doing, but don’t be convinced that every bird or everystray cat is trying to tell you something. Use your discernment.
Weather - like animals, if the gods are associated with a particular kind of weather (Thor with thunderstorms, for example), those might be a good time to reach out to them.
New cravings/interests - you’ve never liked cinnamon before, but now you really want it… but you don’t want to eat it either. What gives? Put it on an altar and see who responds.
Other people - Sometimes the gods use us as mouthpieces, so listen up for when someone says something profound that you don’t expect. Maybe they aren’t the one holding the strings just then.
2. Listen. Once you start paying attention to these things, the gods will communicate more. But you can’t just hear what you want to hear; just because you really want a relationship with Freyja doesn’t mean that she’s going to talk to you just yet. This is okay. Don’t judge what you hear, just hear it.
3. Show that you’re listening. When you realize you suddenly love Mr. Ibis from American Gods and can’t figure out why, reread that part of the story. Or look him up, do some research. Show them that you hear them. In the “godphone” metaphor, it’s you picking up the phone when they call so you can start a dialogue.
4. Ask for help if you need it. So some of this stuff isn’t working for you and you’re frustrated—ask for help. It’s okay to say you don’t have an intuition for this stuff right away. I spent the first three years of my practice praying specifically for the ears to hear their messages, even when I got pretty good at it.
5. Give them gifts. There are so many ways to thank a god for their attention, or ask for it, and just like any human, they really love it! You can:
Offer them food they like
Light incense with a scent they like
Light a candle with their colors
Wear a piece of jewelry to honor them
Write to them (especially true for wordy gods and tricksters)
Make projects for them (I’ve made key rings, calligraphy, and illumination projects, while my friends have done devotional embroidery or even research papers for their gods).
Collect jokes (if they enjoy jokes of course)
Talk about them to others
Share tea/alcohol/water with them
Research them and talk about the results of that research
6. Go back to step 1. Go back to listening. Did they like the jewelry you wore today? It’s okay if they didn’t, just ask them what they’d prefer instead. You develop these relationships like any other.
Trust that they’ll tell you what they want.
Trust that you’ll be able to hear them.
blakekathryn
origamiaround
yousharknotpass
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