V.V.F.

khal-winchester:

vvf:

khal-winchester:

I wrote this to leave offerings and things for Archer, but (since I used to get a lot of questions about how to honor your spirits and ancestors) I decided to share it.

Things You’ll Need

• A Shrine - It doesn’t have to be anything big. Just a place to lay out your…

A couple of things about this advice strike me as odd. If you’re calling upon a being from some far off realm into your home, then I guess casting a circle makes sense? But it seems excessive for this purpose.

If there’s any spiritual activity for which casting a circle of protection is probably unnecessary, it’s the act of leaving offerings. If there’s a spirit you want to make offerings to regularly, it’s a lot less risky and time-consuming to simply dedicate an idol or a vessel to that being, so that any offerings you put there can only go to whom you intend. Whatever name the spirit wishes to be called should be sufficient for dedicating objects to that spirit. Or if the spirit has some personal glyph, that’s pretty much foolproof. (If you ever do need to summon a spirit, ask them if they have some kind of sigil you can use. It cuts way down on uninvited guests.)

Then you don’t have to worry about other entities “showing up,” because you’re more or less performing sympathetic magic, rather than evocation. This is the most basic function of a shrine, and that’s why humans make them. And if you don’t want it looming at you all the time - if that creeps you for any reason - you can put it in a cupboard, or a box, or cover it with cloth or something. No need to freak out. 

Otherwise, if there’s a spirit who you “don’t know very well,” or who isn’t welcome in your home for any longer than it takes to make your offering, then you should probably go outside to do that. Go to a crossroads, or a tree, or a body of water, or some other liminal environment, dedicate your items to the intended spirit, and leave. Whatever protective measures you take on an everyday basis should be sufficient, because, again, you’re not summoning anything - you’re meeting in the middle, which is quite helpful any time you’re giving physical items to a spirit. 

The circle gets cast for two reasons. 1. My family and I have an open door policy with spirits because of the specifics of our practice. Hence not knowing what’s going to show up.  2. Like I said, the spirit I wrote this for is not exactly brave. It’s mostly to make him comfortable, because he was human and does have comfort levels. 

Secondly, this isn’t advice. Like I said in the post, it was something I wrote specifically for Archer that could also be helpful to the people who pose questions about just things in my inbox. Especially those who don’t work with spirits in the sense that they could ask them for a sigil or symbol. There are a lot of people who could use this for things like giving offerings to their ancestors who don’t have the ability to waltz up to their great-great-great-great grandfather and say, “Yo, gramps. Give me your symbol.” 

That’s the thing, though…particularly in the case of ancestor offerings, you should be able to just have a photo and a name, and a little shrine, without having to go to any greater lengths. Summoning and face-to-ghostface interaction shouldn’t be absolutely necessary, was my main point.

I understand if your particular spirit buddy likes to have a safe space. It just seemed like you were sharing your method so that others could apply it. My mistake. 

khal-winchester:

I wrote this to leave offerings and things for Archer, but (since I used to get a lot of questions about how to honor your spirits and ancestors) I decided to share it.

Things You’ll Need

• A Shrine - It doesn’t have to be anything big. Just a place to lay out your…

A couple of things about this advice strike me as odd. If you’re calling upon a being from some far off realm into your home, then I guess casting a circle makes sense? But it seems excessive for this purpose.

If there’s any spiritual activity for which casting a circle of protection is probably unnecessary, it’s the act of leaving offerings. If there’s a spirit you want to make offerings to regularly, it’s a lot less risky and time-consuming to simply dedicate an idol or a vessel to that being, so that any offerings you put there can only go to whom you intend. Whatever name the spirit wishes to be called should be sufficient for dedicating objects to that spirit. Or if the spirit has some personal glyph, that’s pretty much foolproof. (If you ever do need to summon a spirit, ask them if they have some kind of sigil you can use. It cuts way down on uninvited guests.)

Then you don’t have to worry about other entities “showing up,” because you’re more or less performing sympathetic magic, rather than evocation. This is the most basic function of a shrine, and that’s why humans make them. And if you don’t want it looming at you all the time - if that creeps you for any reason - you can put it in a cupboard, or a box, or cover it with cloth or something. No need to freak out. 

Otherwise, if there’s a spirit who you “don’t know very well,” or who isn’t welcome in your home for any longer than it takes to make your offering, then you should probably go outside to do that. Go to a crossroads, or a tree, or a body of water, or some other liminal environment, dedicate your items to the intended spirit, and leave. Whatever protective measures you take on an everyday basis should be sufficient, because, again, you’re not summoning anything - you’re meeting in the middle, which is quite helpful any time you’re giving physical items to a spirit.