You’ve seen it around and decided you want to try your hand at Spirit Work or you have had encounters and would like to take back some control by deepening your knowledge of this practice. So:
Ask yourself and define this: What do you want to work with? What do you classify as spirits?
Ancestors and Known Deceased
— These tend to be the easiest to communicate and connect with, due to your shared experiences and energies. In this type of Spirit work most people tend to utilize divinatory instruments or the astral.
— Just like the first example, these also are somewhat accessible, since their plane tends to be parallel with ours. Normally it requires more steps of protection and precaution, since you don’t know the spirit's temperament nor it’s signature.
Nature Spirits: elements, plants, animals
— These are at the same time the most common and the most difficult type - common because people tend to, unknowingly, communicate with them all the time and due to that their presence is quite naturalized, making it tricky for some to actively seek them out. Each of the subcategories also have their own language and means of communication.
*I’ve added elements, because honestly, ask any nature or green witch out there, elements are also spirits and have their own language, messages and signature.
Nature Spirits a.k.a Entities: angels, fay, demon
— Ah, yes. The coveted and honored. These are easy to connect to, but also are easy to mess up with. Each subcategory of entity has its own subcategory, and in those the methods of communication and connecting vary a lot, but are heavily influenced by two aspects: Respect and also Trying not to mess up and unknowingly sell yourself.
Divine Spirits a.k.a Deities
— Divine Spirits and Deities are the most popularized, since many these days are visited and maintain a tight relationship with their deities. Each deity or divine spirit has its own specificities when it comes to communication and connection, not to mention the UPG’s and particular experiences of their followers, worshipers or workers.
Thoughtforms a.k.a Tar Spirits
— This is a topic to debate, as I’ve seen thoughtform being used in various themes with different connotations, but to specify, this one is related to what the web has been calling Tar Spirits. I, particularly, don’t communicate with them because their egregore and existence isn’t really one amenable to cleansing, enlightenment or anything - but there are people who claim they do so, these two have their own way of being handled when doing Spirit Work.
Those were only some (yes, only some!) generalize examples, each one has its own subcategory. So you see, deciding what you want to work with, first and foremost, is the first step to begin practicing Spirit Work. Also, nothing impedes you from broadening your range of work with time, as long as you have a clear intention as to who and what you’re working with.
With that done, you’re ready for the part that many dread and others adore - Research.
Yeah, yeah, I know. People in the community are already tired of seeing research be always recommended, as if it is implicit. But hey, doesn’t hurt to comment about it once again, because it is true.
This practice, as any other can be done through the empirical way, but will you really put, quite literally, your life at risk?
If the answer is no, then a way to prevent that is to research. Understand the details and methods of the target audience you’ll be working with so that you can prepare and protect yourself.
You defined your target audience, you researched, so much so that you’re confident in yourself and have a certainty that you’ll be safe. Now what? Practice!
Finally the time to start acting and testing all the theory you went through, so… how do you begin?
I’d suggest here beginning in controlled environments with controlled methods. Those, different from just wandering around on energetically charged places (like hospitals, cemeteries and so on) are the ideal to at least not be straight up traumatized in the beginning. So, choose your method of communicating - will you use divination, herbs, meditation, trance, the astral plane, channeling, psychography (the spiritual one, not the study method)?
Whichever method you choose make sure it’s one you're well versed in interpreting, so the chances of having your leg pulled are lesser.
Checked all of those? Then you’re ready to go.
Always make sure to tell a friend who knows what you're doing before, so they can also serve as a second pair of eyes if anything goes haywire.
Now, that’s a complicated topic. One because the answer, as you have probably guessed, is to practice. But other than that, when doing Spirit Work you have some… branches of possibility you may choose to follow.
One is to master one technique, applying yourself to the specific type of Spirit with one specific method. Another is to branch out, try as many different Spirits and methods as you want.
So yeah, pretty contradictory, though nothing impedes you from mastering something and then branching out after, just a thought.
Most Spirit workers do their practices alongside instruments, that of course is not an obligation and it doesn’t mean that if you don’t have one of such you won’t be able to do Spirit Work - but I can not lie, having at least an aiding instrument helps a lot, specially so that you don’t use all your energy up, specially in the beginning of your practice.
Okay, so, these instruments will include herbs and such because they work as an aid during spirit working and also methods of communication, because these too are instruments. With that said, here we go, yeah?
Divinatory Methods: Cards, Runes, Charms, Seashell, etc.
— Used for communication.
Smoking Stick, Candles, Crystals or Incense
— Used for either channeling, warding or intensifying. Can also be used for inviting.
— Used for cleansing the space before the Spirit work session and after to get rid of any lingering negative energies
— Used for directing and controlling energy
— Used for attracting and Inviting
— Used for cleansing and passing on the Spirit.
Bones, Remains and Plants
— Used for channeling and Inviting.
-> How to Communicate with Spirits: Seances, Ouija Boards and Summoning by Angela Kaelin
-> A Brief Introduction to Macumba - on The Culture Trip site
-> Features of Trance Mediumship in Tibetan Buddhism and Modern Spiritualism by Martha Maxine Meilleur
-> The State Oracle of Tibet, Spirit Possession, and Shamanism by Homayun Sidky
-> Buckland's Book of Spirit Communications by Raymond Buckland
-> Talking with the dead: Spirit mediumship, affect and embodiment in Stoke-on-Trent by Nadia Bartolini, Sara MacKian and Steve Pile
This is it, I’m happy I could approach this topic because it has been one that I’ve been wanting to breach for a while here on tumblr. The readings above are mostly easily accessible pdfs, so if you have time take a look at them, yeah?
Hope this somehow can help someone.
