Persephone

Persephone

Thursday, December 31, 2015

Safe Practices for Seers...a cautionary tale for Witches

~~ Good Morning and Happy New Year's Eve! ~~

   I'm going to make a guess that a good many of you reading this blog and following my Face Book page use some form of divination device- be it cards, stones, talking boards, pendulums or what have you. Divination before spell work or ritual is par for the course for most who practice magic. It helps to fine tune any workings , gather the needed energies, make sure you're on the right track, or scrap the process all together if the oracle sends up negative or blocked responses to what is asked about.
All very handy and really quite easy to do.

  Being a 'Reader' however is a bit different in so far as the Witch is now opening him/herself to the energies and Spirits of another. And here is where my tale begins....





   While visiting New Orleans this past October and November I did quite a bit of Reading for clients- some known to me, others not. I have a well developed ritual for Reading (I use cards) that involves both opening and calling in my Spirits to protect and advise me. It works quite well and I have learned over the last 20 years or so to trust my Spirits to not only advise me as to card meanings and nuances pertaining to an individual client but to also guard against any Spirits that a client may have that would be non beneficial to me.
 But something that wants to get through will find a way and its important that a Reader knows what to do when this happens. If the Reader is especially sensitive or empathic the chances that something nasty will become aware of him or her are much greater. Sensitives and Empaths are tasty psychic snacks for astral-nasties. Not being particularly keen on being something's after-dinner mint I've learned over the years what to look for and how to be rid of it.... here is a quick list of myths and truths for you...

1.) MYTH-You're reading for a client and will KNOW something is amiss.
      TRUTH - not always. But yes- sometimes. Always trust your gut (aka: your Spirits and Guides). If something or someone seems 'off' politely call off the session. If you are a professional Reader you should have an 'exist strategy' in place. If you don't, get one ASAP.  But, let's say you are Reading and the client seems fine, no warnings from anywhere during the session. This means everything is ok, right?
Not until you've cleared, cleansed yourself and the space and closed up yourself and any open astral portals in the reading space.
2.) MYTH - there isn't any reason to go all 'high magic' for a reading; creating sacred space, casting a circle, etc, etc.
      TRUTH - whether the Reader is aware of it or not Divination and Reading for others is an act of connecting with the astral plane and interacting with discarnte energies and entities. By doing so the Reader is opening a door way - or portal - between the realms. Just as you would not leave the front door to your home wide open allowing all manner of human and animals to wander in and out at will, the same holds true for astral portals and doors between realms. So, yes! It is important to not only set guardians but to close these doorways when the Reading is concluded. This is done by way of ritual; creating a sacred or 'cleansed' space, cleansing yourself (and your client if necessary), setting guardians or casting a circle and then releasing all of this and closing the doors when you have concluded the Reading.
3.)MYTH - an entity cannot harm me if I do not acknowledge it or believe in it.
    TRUTH - False! False! False! Just as standing in front of a charging bull elephant and claiming that it cannot hurt you would end in disaster so too can sticking your head in the proverbial sand when astral-ickies come to call.

Back to my story--
So I know that when I Read I am interacting with other realms. And I know to close up all door ways, cleanse myself before and after, cleanse and sanctify the space, etc, etc. But after one very 'normal' Reading this fall something slipped through and went undetected by myself and my Spirits. Did I close everything and cleanse as needed? I thought so, but honestly the client and I began chatting afterwards and I may have been negligent.
I was completely unaware of anything amiss until I spent the most terrifying night I have spent in many years.The 'dreams' were horrific, to say the least;violent in the extreme, and terror-filled. I very clearly saw a woman within this dream that I have never seen before but knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she meant me great harm.
 The next morning I was shaky, still quite scared and physically ill. I knew that this was no dream and that whatever had slipped through the evening before needed gone.

**ATTACKS CANNOT BE IGNORED. If an attack goes un cared for or ignored it will get worse and worse until the person under attack is very ill. When the entity that is attacking has taken everything of value physically and energetically from the first victim it will move on to another in the household. Simply 'not believing' is akin to deciding you will not get wet if you jump in the lake. **

 Over coffee I told my husband about the 'dream' -- he does not practice and believes only on occasion but was horrified at the images I was telling him about. We got dressed and headed out to do the day's activities but I asked him to first stop at a small Bodega around the corner from our place in the Treme. I felt absolutely drained so I was very very grateful that when I walked in the Voodoo Priestess who owns it knew exactly what I needed with very little talking from me- I told her I had done a reading and had suffered an attack and she gathered the items I needed. Very matter of fact ( a small lecture on cleaning myself lol) and told me to call her if I needed more advise or help.
  Because I know that a good many of us Readers are not within walking distance to Haitian Voodoo Bodegas, Metaphysical Shops, or knowledgeable shop-keeps I am writing this.

 Back to our Myth/Truth List---

MYTH -- lighting a white candle and calling in white light will stop an attack.
TRUTH - Doing this may hinder the attacking entity but won't send it way in my experience.

MYTH - objects such as black salt, tar water, and Saint candles are bogus and used to bilk folks out of their money
TRUTH - Black salt, holy water, incense, Saints, Guiding Spirits, Deities, blessed oil, brick dust and bells are all time honored and cross-culturally effective objects to rid a place or person of unwanted energies or entities. They work. And they work fast. Use them.

Back to the story-
 Mambo Marie provided me with a cut and release/banishing candle, black salt, and a small dark purple candle- total amount? $14 and change. Well worth it. Later that day I rubbed the small candle with some of the salt and lit it in the bedroom then sprinkled the rest of the black salt under the bed and around the interior perimeter of the house. I slept perfectly. The next day I lit the banishing candle, walked through the house with a bell to further break up the energy and then smudged it all away. That night I blessed the house with herbed salt and holy water. No more problems. (by the way - this is a full house cleaning and blessing but with the added 'oomph' of my having a target entity to banish).

The last few Myth and Truth's ---

MYTH --  when 'The Church' warns against divination its all lies and fear mongering.
TRUTH - while the Abrahamic religions may have their own agendas for what is forbidden activities and why their warnings are not completely unjustified.  To blunder into unknown realms with no training and no insight is dangerous and the results have led to many scared and injured folks showing up at their Priest's door. However, knowing what the potential dangers and pitfalls are AND HOW TO FIX them is the job of the Witch.

MYTH -Any bad dream or feeling of anxiety is an attack
TRUTH - Psychic attacks from wandering entities or other Witches are extremely rare. Most bad dreams are simply bad dreams. Feelings of anxiety are often from not acknowledging something within ourselves or when an Empath picks up another's feelings of anxiety. Learn to shield and to ground and most times these things will take care of themselves.

  So there ya have it! The ins and outs of safe divination and what to do if things go awry from the point of the Reader...





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