Visiting That God At His House And Other Stories

[Shefyt]

So: more obscure powers. Thoughts, experiences, commentaries. Whether it involves visiting them at their house or not.

I have a lovely barque *full* of obscure Gods: Heru-hekenu, Khonsu-Heru, Wenut, Heryshef, Sekhet. It's like I hit some kind of Per-Bast/Delta current, and there they all were. Heryshef is probably the best attested of all of them, with that great prayer of Somtutefnakht's in Lichtenstein's Ancient Egyptian Literature as well as some other sources; for the rest I just have little hints here and there. And some snippets of UPG, of course. (If there can be an "of course" with UPG.)

I don't think I'm to the point yet of trying to find out what Mystery is there, or even if there is a Mystery there (or a set of Mysteries for each of them, yikes). I'm right about at the "Hi, nice to meet you, would you like some cookies?" stage of the relationship. So I have a long way to go. But getting to know them better is definitely a priority, although it's still somewhat behind my service to Bast.

But talking of going to visit the God at His house -- Sekhet inhabits very particular places. She's the/a goddess of the fens, and if I want to talk to Her, better I go and hang out at my backyard wetland, or by the vernal pools in the tanglewoods, or at the very least alongside a lonely stream. She's probably the "witchiest" of the Gods I've connected with, if that parses in a Kemetic context -- skin-crawlingly numinous, all water and mud and roots and birds and secret deep places. The others are much more sociable and nonlocalized.

-Shefyt

[SkySamuelle]

What I'd be looking for isn't so much sources or UPG on specific deities, as much as ideas and brainstorming about the *process*. What is a "Mystery"? Is it an approach to religion? A particular kind of relationship with deity? A philosophy? A school?

That's a question that always struck a chord inside me.

Whenever I consider it my mind always go back to Eleusis, to those who had to be unique moments where the veil that covers what it stands between human reality and the Other was lifted. Moments of revelation that had to be deeply changing and that, while approached in a public setting, were also personal glimpses of intimacy between the human and the divine.

Mystery and Mysticism for me are closely interdependent concepts (maybe we can have a private group on that for the support and share method thing? it would be interesting, I think) - part of my work with Hekate was around the point 'I can answer your questions on how the world really works and some thing you might even share, some others I will you to share, but some other are not helpful as public knowdledge.'

Regardless of which deity/ies, how do you go about developing a Mystery in our current world? Is that even possible, or is this an idea whose time has passed? Is it really something you can do alone, or does it require a group?

What, exactly, are you trying to accomplish? Is it about creating the circumstances necessary for a personal "audience" with the god/dess in question (e.g., specific states of consciousness, imagery, physical surroundings, etc.), and, if so, how? Is it about developing a formal practice that you can then teach to other people? And so on.

I suspect "Mystery" means different things to different people. Just exploring those differences might be interesting and helpful.

~ Aster

I think going about it is very possible, even by yourself, but I also think it's necessary that there is a strong 'help' from the other side when you approach this kind of work.

[veggiewolf]

...And I have pretty much no idea what I'm doing.

This is where I am, as well.

Of late, I've been running into wall after wall with what I'm calling "mystical stubborn-headed-ness" because I want to GET THERE RIGHT NOW! But...I have pretty much no idea what I'm doing. And getting there requires that I figure it out.

My gods (so far) are fairly well defined with reference material and yet I keep running into things that aren't in "the lore", which sends me into the walls I mentioned above.

So. Yeah.

[SatAset]

So: more obscure powers. Thoughts, experiences, commentaries. Whether it involves visiting them at their house or not.

My Kemetic deities for the most part are in the "Lore". What I'm finding though is that for Aset most information in English is more from the Greek/Roman side of things than a Kemetic one.

What I'm building with Aset seems to be a way to honor Her in a Kemetic context, but there are Mysteries with that, that I haven't found them in others' sources (Mysteries of Isis by Regula and Isis Magic by Forrest, etc). I feel like I'm putting Her back together like She did for Wesir. I write Her Mysteries as poetry/oracles.


I feel more lost with Frigga. She is in some of the Lore, but not much. I'm just seeing how others worship Her today and asking the Goddess Herself what She wants. With Her, I've just started with the home. The first thing She'll ask anyone to do who honors Her is to clean their home. De-clutter it. So I have and do. And I'm realizing that there is magic in this. There is a Mystery here about right order, and the cosmos, etc.

I guess my advice would be
1) Read what you can about the deity and/or their culture/religious ritual etc
2) Build a shrine
3) Ask deity what He/She/He-She/She-He wants
4) Speak with others who worship said deity about their experiences, impressions etc.

[Annie Roonie]

So: more obscure powers. Thoughts, experiences, commentaries. Whether it involves visiting them at their house or not.

I still don't have a path and I'm getting more comfortable with that. At the same time, experiences (flashes, audio/visual fun etc.) have increased with such frequency that I want to find out what they mean. I don't know if I am looking for a deity or a spirit or something I haven't even considered. So knocking on the door of someone who might be able to direct me to answers is appealing. Have been exploring the idea of making a connection for a bit.

Not sure if that is what your talking about though, since I do not have any particular deity in mind.

I've read about mysteries that involve help in overcoming the limits of typical consciousness. Teas, incense, rubs, eye drops etc. and trance meditative states, fasting. I know from experience how powerful it can be to open the limits of consciousness and that such experiences can be shared. I recall it because I think that this might have played a part several mysteries.

I intend to travel that road when I can, to see what and who I can see. Maybe to get some answers. But I strongly feel that while the veil may indeed be thinning all over, slipping the boundaries of accustomed thought processes will open me up to other ways of knowing.

Is this something you would ever consider as a method to reach the house of a god?

[spoOk]

This is where I am, as well.

Of late, I've been running into wall after wall with what I'm calling "mystical stubborn-headed-ness" because I want to GET THERE RIGHT NOW! But...I have pretty much no idea what I'm doing. And getting there requires that I figure it out.

My gods (so far) are fairly well defined with reference material and yet I keep running into things that aren't in "the lore", which sends me into the walls I mentioned above.

So. Yeah.

oh man I am so totally going thru this!
when I took on the task of getting to know,more about hekate,I kept butting up against her origins and wanting to scrape further back to her from before Greek integration. I am not connecting with this Wiccan crone goddess,triple deity thing part of her that is more common these days and to try finding the real hekate under the layers feels always like I'm missing the best bits!
like getting a movie preview that shows the lamest parts of the movie....and leaves the best parts or all the punch lines out.

and partly I get the same thing with my moon deity cuz 'he's' not really out there ,he's up here and in here *points to self* I delt with him before I looked for more pagan knowledge elsewhere,so I'm on my own with how things go there.
and also partly my 'on hold' dealings with legba/eshu.
becuz!: no matter what folks are telling me,I keep getting the feeling or outright being told by him,that they(in my situation anyhow) are either the same being only two faces of sed being,or at least don't mind at all being worshiped together in unison. so I am kinda on my own and winging it in that respect.
sigh.

[SkySamuelle]

oh man I am so totally going thru this!
when I took on the task of getting to know,more about hekate,I kept butting up against her origins and wanting to scrape further back to her from before Greek integration. I am not connecting with this Wiccan crone goddess,triple deity thing part of her that is more common these days and to try finding the real hekate under the layers feels always like I'm missing the best bits!
like getting a movie preview that shows the lamest parts of the movie....and leaves the best parts or all the punch lines out.

and partly I get the same thing with my moon deity cuz 'he's' not really out there ,he's up here and in here *points to self* I delt with him before I looked for more pagan knowledge elsewhere,so I'm on my own with how things go there.
and also partly my 'on hold' dealings with legba/eshu.
becuz!: no matter what folks are telling me,I keep getting the feeling or outright being told by him,that they(in my situation anyhow) are either the same being only two faces of sed being,or at least don't mind at all being worshiped together in unison. so I am kinda on my own and winging it in that respect.
sigh.

You shall excuse me for finally saying it, but it weirds me out like every time you mention your lunar god, I keep picturing the Japanese god Tsukiyomi ...

[Aster Breo]

I've read about mysteries that involve help in overcoming the limits of typical consciousness. Teas, incense, rubs, eye drops etc. and trance meditative states, fasting. I know from experience how powerful it can be to open the limits of consciousness and that such experiences can be shared. I recall it because I think that this might have played a part several mysteries.

I intend to travel that road when I can, to see what and who I can see. Maybe to get some answers. But I strongly feel that while the veil may indeed be thinning all over, slipping the boundaries of accustomed thought processes will open me up to other ways of knowing.

Is this something you would ever consider as a method to reach the house of a god?

I think that might be the ONLY way. Or one of very few ways, anyway.

That's an inherent problem with trying to do this alone: How do you experiment with substances and techniques for changing your consciousness alone and still maintain some measure of physical safety, if not mental safety, as well?

And even if you could -- or are willing to take the risks -- how do you know you're doing it "right" (assuming there is a "right" way), rather than imagining things, when there's nobody to teach you or even just act as a sounding board?

I've had a bit of training in an oracular seidh technique. That training was mostly in a group setting, which provided constant verification. Because of the independent descriptions we were all giving of our mutual experiences, it was clear we really were sharing the same experiences.

F'ex, we spent a fair amount of time journeying as a group. When we were "over there", I saw the members of my group very differently from how they looked in "realty". We all wrote descriptions of each other and compared them together. They were all consistent. There were many such pieces of what I can only call evidence. Things I saw while journeying that I didn't mention but someone else described completely accurately. Things like that.

When I try to journey alone, I don't have that kind of verification. Or any other verification, really.

~ Aster

[Maps]

I think that might be the ONLY way. Or one of very few ways, anyway.

That's an inherent problem with trying to do this alone: How do you experiment with substances and techniques for changing your consciousness alone and still maintain some measure of physical safety, if not mental safety, as well?

And even if you could -- or are willing to take the risks -- how do you know you're doing it "right" (assuming there is a "right" way), rather than imagining things, when there's nobody to teach you or even just act as a sounding board?

I've had a bit of training in an oracular seidh technique. That training was mostly in a group setting, which provided constant verification. Because of the independent descriptions we were all giving of our mutual experiences, it was clear we really were sharing the same experiences.

F'ex, we spent a fair amount of time journeying as a group. When we were "over there", I saw the members of my group very differently from how they looked in "realty". We all wrote descriptions of each other and compared them together. They were all consistent. There were many such pieces of what I can only call evidence. Things I saw while journeying that I didn't mention but someone else described completely accurately. Things like that.

When I try to journey alone, I don't have that kind of verification. Or any other verification, really.

~ Aster

This is exactly why I have trouble relying on my meditation/trance sessions (not even going to call them "journeying" because I am just so not there yet haha), other than that it's really difficult for me to get "there" at all at this point. I have seen/heard/felt some things that I thought were UPG but were later verified by lore, so I trust in my ability to do it... I just don't know how to separate the wheat from the chaff, so to speak, alone.

This thread had really got me thinking about what I'm looking to gain from formalizing some Mesoamerican Mysteries, and what I even mean by "Mystery". Super cool stuff to chew on.

[Annie Roonie]

I think that might be the ONLY way. Or one of very few ways, anyway.

That's an inherent problem with trying to do this alone: How do you experiment with substances and techniques for changing your consciousness alone and still maintain some measure of physical safety, if not mental safety, as well?

Substances don't scare me as much as other methods. Drugs have lots of information available about them and most of them wear off. This is a book I need to save for. An unhelped method can screw a mind up indeterminately. So I see your point. Mental safety is worrisome to me.

And even if you could -- or are willing to take the risks -- how do you know you're doing it "right" (assuming there is a "right" way), rather than imagining things, when there's nobody to teach you or even just act as a sounding board?

This is the main issue for me too. Not that I want someone else's experience to color mine, but having experience logs can ameliorate some of the stress caused from the unknown. Experience logs are the sounding boards for the solitary I suppose.

A good example of this is the bad trip. A very old acquaintance once told me that whatever mind you're in is going to be magnified, so scared is going to become terrified. And this was how a random bad trip was explained when the rest of a group was all good. Not a lot of information there, but enough to quell a body so a good experience can be had. And this kind of information is available online now in logs, but not directed at ritual usually, or not that I have found. Lots of eye rolling recreational wtf accounts to wade through.

I've had a bit of training in an oracular seidh technique. That training was mostly in a group setting, which provided constant verification. Because of the independent descriptions we were all giving of our mutual experiences, it was clear we really were sharing the same experiences.

When I try to journey alone, I don't have that kind of verification. Or any other verification, really.

~ Aster

The shared experiences happen even with recreational use and IMO so wild. It's been a long time since I have been interested in such things, so I haven't gone a-googling it, but aged real life experience tells me that it's common and more common with specific substances and situations. Anyone has access to the other it seems, but not everyone knows what to do with it.

So for me that is a quandary. What use is it to land in another plane only to get lost for the duration? Might be cool for the recreational user but not so much for the spiritual quester looking for a more specific address. It'd be awesome if this kind of information was logged somewhere. (Probably is, I just have not found it.) What if an inert ingredient is the key to a more directed experience? Like part of the address to the deities' turfs. I haven't found any information like that and only guess that it might play a role.

Anyway, I am going to look into oracular seidh technique to see if it can help road map wise. Thank you for that tip!

I only have tips that might already be known. There's some detailed information over at Susun Weed's forum on ayahuasca brew. There are many experience logs concerning it about the web (some of those tend to be more spiritually inclined even if that was not the purpose going in). And an acquaintance who is a far more avid/active explorer than myself gave me a catalogue to The Basement Shaman. Haven't explored there yet except to find a few reference books to own (perhaps they have the logs I seek!). I do see they have some things that are not universally mind or mood alterers. Kratom, for example, induces migraines for me and not much else. Phooey on that. Which illustrates how experience logs might fall flat too.

My time allowance for this kind of exploration is very limited. I do not allow such things during the work season, and just now I've got to be tested as a potential bone marrow donor match and I'm not going to toy with anything, add any complications, just in case I can be a match for a dude. So for me at least, it's going to be another year min. before I can actually partake in anything. No bigs. I still don't even have an address for the otherworld yet, so I'll spend this next year studying psychoactives and shamanism etc. when I can to hopefully be more prepared. I also prefer to stay within the laws of whatever area I am in, so my eventual quest may involve travel. Pinching the pennies over he-ah. (Gah, I hope there is a helper that is not ayahuasca. Reading about that prep has put me off a bit.)

If anyone does form a group inquiry here, I'd love to be involved. I can skype/phone sit. Long distance designated driver, me. I realize there is far more to mysteries than this part, but at least this is a part that I can study fairly easily alone.