IT ALL CATCHES UP: THOUGHTS ON SELF-CARE, SELF-AWARENESS (AND TO A LESSER EXTENT, ANGELS)

Self-care has to be a priority when you work in a helping profession like mine. I have done this work long enough to see what happens to people when they don’t. For example, I live in the land of “spiritual, not religious.” Nothing is wrong with that if spirituality or religion doesn’t work for you. But when you do helping work, you must work harder to find something outside yourself that grounds you and enables you to find your center. I have seen younger and less experienced healthcare clinicians burn out or give up because they did not understand this.

In the world of hospice, where I have my day job, we are not only dealing with death and dying and all the medical issues that come with it but also the way the specter of death unleashes ALL of the “closeted” and often toxic family dynamics. When I served people as a chaplain, my social worker colleagues and I took the brunt of the psychosocial and spiritual blowback with this, struggling with families to balance their grief and emotions with focusing on the sick person’s plan of care. A lot of times, though, people make things about them and not the ones who are dying.

I include clinicians when I say that. Chaplains are the only discipline in hospice care with training that forces self-reflection on how one's identity affects one's work. We undergo intensive training that continually confronts our defense mechanisms and how we avoid staying with someone’s pain. By the end of that training, you never want to do it again—but at the same time, you are grateful for the increased self-awareness you have about yourself as you do the work.

I am bringing this up because sometimes, even neglecting self-care to care for everyone and “take one for the team” belies a deeper self-centeredness. What people typically call a savior or martyr complex. Many people in the helping professions have this issue, which is why psychotherapist training programs and certification bodies often mandate trainees to be in therapy themselves. The bottom line with these professions, especially the psychologically oriented ones, is we cannot help others heal if we do not have our own experience and awareness of being healed.

However, even if a person is aware and does their work and tends to the garden of their own spirit periodically, the hard truth is the work of human services WILL get to you. It just will. If you are the least bit empathetic, intuitive, or a compassionate and loving person, bearing witness to the suffering of others will get to you. I can only go so long hearing about brutal domestic violence, childhood abandonment, and sexual abuse (among a very long list of misfortunes!) before the sadness makes my heart hurt. This, for me, is the moment where I need to plug into the Source of what I believe in to remind me of the bigger picture—a picture where I have zero control over it but get to be a note in the symphony I call God.

You are probably wondering what this has to do with angels at this point. When I look at entities like the Shemhamforash Angels, I see an entourage of spirits with long-standing relationships and care for humanity. Though I cannot prove this, I think the connection is intimate with them because they are the “descendants” of the more ancient Decan spirits. These spirits historically were bound to a part or function of the human body. If I am right, these Angels can be understood to be intimately concerned with our well-being. When we are discouraged and mentally overwhelmed by the evil we see, we can appeal to Elemiah for relief from its burden. When clients live in mortal fear and guilt over a shady past, we can teach them to work with Aladiah to find the courage to live through the shame. When we are saddled with depression, and even if a psychiatrist cannot find a way to lift the dark cloud, we can pray to Ornael and seek their companionship to remember we are never alone.

I lifted these Angels and created a class in their honor because I believe having allies who meet you where you are is good. There is value in reaching for something big like the Holy Guardian Angel. But there is also something to be said about being able to dial up your oldest friend who gets you, where there’s no bullshit in the relationship, and no matter how long it goes between talking, the moment you pick up the phone, it’s like no time has passed. We need both guiding forces to get through the challenges of this life.

This is going to be my last post about my “Working the Names” class, but I have had these thoughts percolating for a few days and wanted to share them. The link to join before we close the registration is here: https://www.theblackthorneschool.com/courses/working-the-names/.

May the Angels always guide you to your best self.   

EVOCATION TO VISIBLE APPEARANCE: MY THOUGHTS & CONCERNS

When I was in seminary, students of color, LGBT, and women students (and yes, some were all three LOL) had this way of differentiating schools of theology between “neck up” and theology of the whole body. Most of the theologians we had to study were “neck up” European men who articulated their theology as if doing theology could be pure if one just focused on the attributes and actions God takes in the Bible and the world. The lack of consideration for context was frustrating in the classroom discussions. People like Paul Tillich, Karl Barth, and James Cone wrote during historical periods of immense socio-political upheaval—namely the Nazi regime and World War 2, and the Civil Rights and Black Power movement for the latter. Not considering the context these men wrote felt silly and disingenuous to many of us. Even so, some seminary colleagues insisted on the neck-up theology as supreme. I was not one of them!

Sometimes, I feel the same when I read through ceremonial magic texts. It doesn’t take much exploring before you start to see that bringing spirits to physical manifestation is the chief aim of many grimoires. What I find light in many grimoires is the same whole picture sense many of us in seminary wanted. As my elders in this tradition teach, many grimoires either assume you know the context or intentionally hide it. The Arbatel is the only one I have read that has somewhat of a developed sense of purity that goes deeper than fasting and days of abstinence. This book makes it clear that purity is about how you live and how you serve humanity. The beginning of that grimoire is something that, if I were teaching traditional ceremonial magic, I would point students to study first. Preparation, for me, begins with how I walk in the world. The rest flows from that.

But I digress a bit. The fixation I see on visible appearance concerns me, especially for people just starting in spirit work. It is almost as if this bar was set to discourage people from practicing (because it takes so much effort) or set an unreal expectation. Case in point: I had some students recently note that they DID feel a significant presence during their operations, but because they did not see the spirit, they wondered if things worked. Thankfully, they had the spiritual development and maturity to recognize that things did work. The community we created also validated them.

I know from my years of practicing espiritismo that spirits manifest in multiple ways to let you know they are present. Physical manifestation is one of many ways such things can happen. In all my years of doing this practice, however, I have not seen it happen in the context of our version of a séance. Most of my experiences of visible appearance happened in moments when spirits like Orisha appeared in human form and then vanished. It has happened twice to me. Most times, however, they have come through a person and given a message, much like what happens at a Misa in espiritismo. But it is also common in espiritismo to “see” spirits through another sense. For example, many spirits register on my body with heat and cold flashes. When that happens, shortly after, I will catch a vision of who it is. That opens up a floodgate of messages, more images, visions, and sometimes even emotions from the spirit. We know we are not making this up by the evidence we give to the intended target with the spirit’s messages.

All of this said, instead of stressing something like visible appearance as the standard, teaching people the different ways spirits manifest and encouraging them to develop themselves while remaining open to experiencing Spirit any way Spirit chooses to make itself known. It is an excellent practice to surf the fluidity of our connection and communication with spirits, where the control and who’s in control flow back and forth.

I am not saying physical manifestation has no place or is irrelevant. It is time to relativize its place in spiritual development so people can grow and apprehend their unique abilities in working with spirits. As you do this work, know that the best is yet to come.    

A LITTLE FRIYAY INSPIRATION!

On this Venus Day, I wanted to share a bit of creativity from my guru in the spirit, Rev. Dr. Howard Thurman. This is a beautiful piece of the many poems he wrote, the sort of thing that waters my spirit during dry and weary times. I commend to you and hope you enjoy it. Have a great weekend!

The Threads in My Hand

Only one end of the threads, I hold in my hand.
 The threads go many ways, linking my life with other lives.

One thread comes from a life that is sick; it is taut with anguish
 and always there is the lurking fear that the life will snap.
 I hold it tenderly. I must not let it go …

One thread comes from a high-flying kite;
 it quivers with the mighty current of fierce and holy dreaming
 invading the common day with far-off places and visions bright …

One thread comes from the failing hands of an old, old friend.
 Hardly aware am I of the moment when the tight line slackended
 and there was nothing at all — nothing …

One thread is but a tangled mass that won’t come right;
 Mistakes, false starts; lost battles, angry words – a tangled mass;
 I have tried to hard, but it won’t come right …

One thread is a strange thread – it is my steadying thread;
 When I am lost, I pull it hard and find my way.
 When I am saddened, I tighten my grip and gladness glides along its quivering path;

When the waste places of my spirit appear in arid confusion,
 the thread becomes a channel of newness of life.

One thread is a strange thread – it is my steadying thread.
 God’s hand holds the other end …

WHY IT’S GOOD TO HAVE A PSYCHE BACKGROUND AS A DIVINER

I recently had a divination client who asked me about their current relationship and the many issues she came to discuss. By all accounts, the relationship was stable. However, as most know, stability is not the only important thing between a couple. There was a lack of intimacy and focus on priorities in a way where this person was not a priority. I answered all the questions about their relationship.

However, my assisting spirit made me feel strongly that there was a deeper communication issue. So, I put my tool down and talked about what I saw in their communication and the need for clarity for her sake so that she could feel more emotionally safe and secure in the relationship. This is what prompted this post.

Should diviners be counselors or psychotherapists? No. There are many reasons why the two things should remain separate for most emotional or spiritual issues. Especially if a diviner is not psychologically trained, they can cause enormous damage in addressing a client’s emotional issues—beyond urging a referral to a mental health professional.

However, being psychologically trained helps me differentiate the two issues. Even if someone has an issue containing spiritual and emotional problems, they must be addressed separately. No ritual is going to entirely and magically remove an emotional problem and vice versa. An exception is when, for example, a spirit is the root of the emotional distress. But even then, sometimes a person will need counseling or therapy to deal with the damage that spirit caused so they can move forward with their life more healed from the wounds of that.

The other reason this sort of background is good for a diviner is because I have to know when an issue requires divination and when it requires counseling. I depend on my divining spirit to identify the issue, but then I take the reins and unpack—in the case of the aforementioned client—what concrete steps need to be done to ameliorate her situation. I spoke about the need to set more timelines so the person was not in a limbo of multiple years waiting for their partner to get their shit together. I talked about the importance of her internal deadline, which is how long she would let things go the way they are before she decides she has given it a hero’s try.

Lastly, a psychological background was initially crucial to my day job as a bereavement counselor and chaplain. At the beginning of my career, I would see people’s mental health problems, but I didn’t understand what I was seeing and why they were behaving that way. Years later, with experience and training, I can assess that and adjust my approach to create the best chance for them to get what they need from me to help themselves. I have seen this so much that I have long felt that my training has paid for itself many times over.

This is to say that if you desire to become a diviner in any system, I strongly encourage you to find a method of studying psychology to strengthen your divinatory and assessment skills. Trust me, you will be glad you did.

ANOTHER EXCITING CLASS FROM MUERTERO YAMIL!: LEARNING MUERTERISMO

Hey There, everyone! I'm excited to share some news with you.

You have heard me rave about my spiritual brother from another mother, Yamil Henriquez. I just learned from him that he also teaches another crucial course for many people's development and spiritual path. This class is on a folk/indigenous spirituality called Muerterismo. The closest comparison to Western European magic would be considered necromancy.

I have heard Yamil speak about this spiritual practice through YouTube interviews, and I find them fascinating. It is a way of working with the Dead that allows a practitioner to honor those who have gone before them and those who have been neglected in the boneyard. Nothing is sadder than going to a local graveyard and seeing gravestones in disrepair and in such states of neglect that you can tell no one has visited them in a very long time. From what little I know of Muerterismo, it is a tradition that speaks to these spirits and empowers you with powerful allies.

If this interests you, reach out to Yamil at Lamagiasanta@gmail.com. Let him know you’d like to join up in this upcoming cohort. The class begins next Monday!   

I also want to share Yamil’s own words on the subject, as he states well what Muerterismo is all about:

MUERTERISMO THE PRACTICE OF LATIN CARIBBEAN NECROMANCY AND SPIRITUALITY. This is a class you don’t want to miss. Here you will learn how to develop yourself with the dead, working with tools connect you with the spirits that are closest to us. Have that interesting piece of bone and don’t know what to do with it. This is the class for you. Want to work with the spirits of your family or working with graves. I will teach you how to make pacts with the dead, work with them, develop a relationship with them and how to pick a good spirit to do your bidding.

See you in class!!!

ANGELS, ANGELS EVERYWHERE!: SOME ADVICE ON HOW TO PROCEED

A question that comes up regularly when doing readings where people want insight into their spiritual path is what sort of spirit they should work with. It’s a valid question and often an important one. Even in one tradition, such as Solomonic Magic, you can have multiple grimoires, spirit registers, and approaches to do the same thing. Sometimes, people also want to combine systems and create something they feel is more suited to them. This is where things can get wonky and, quite frankly, dangerous. Even in the same system, like grimoire magic, it can be tricky to merge two or more.

What, instead, is a better answer? Well, anyone who has been following me for any time will see my consistent message that spirit work is best done with a strong familiar, guardian angel or patron deity at your back. Can it be done without that? Sure. But why would you? If you have a choice between getting into a fight with your best friend at your side or going into the fray solo, it would not be very smart to choose the latter.

But I wanted to highlight a bit more than this. Let’s stick with Angels for the sake of this discussion. In the traditional ceremonial world of magic, the most important Angel in many ways is the Holy Guardian Angel (HGA). Attaining this Angel is grueling work, but the result is not only a lifelong spirit companion but dominion over hordes of demons—some of whom also choose to follow and assist the initiate. With this kind of spirit at your back, it is much easier to progress into other magical systems, especially ones with what I will call wild spirits. The Angel helps you put and keep those spirits in place, among many other things initiates have told me.

Then there are systems such as the Key of Solomon, which focus on the seven planetary Archangels as the patron spirits one conjures and bonds with. These angels do not go in you the same way the HGA does, nor do they impart authority the way the HGA does. But they ARE a way to establish a similar authority to command and conjure spirits of the Key system. I have not heard many Solomonic magicians speak to working with these Angels in the fashion one would work with the HGA to oversee spiritual development, but that certainly does not mean it would not be possible!

The third option that comes to mind is the Natal Angels. Aaron Leitch has a wonderful mini-course on these entities. The most laborious part of attaining them is gaining their name. Once you have that, you can build an entire practice with this Angel, much like the HGA. There is no specific Natal Angel system like the Key of Solomon or Abramelin. Still, one could easily jailbreak, for example, the Key of Solomon into a conjuration system that focuses on your Natal Angel’s planetary correspondences.

The last I will highlight is a system of angels I use and teach called the 72 Shemhamforash Angels. I have always seen these angels as close-to-earth entities who have an easier time manifesting things on our plane of existence than some higher-order angels. This implies no sense of less-than but rather a difference of purposes. If you read through the tables of 72, you quickly see they focus predominantly on this-worldly issues. They lend themselves greatly to the practical magical focus of Hoodoo and other folk systems, which is part of the reason I created my own course to just that effect. That and the Shem Angels did have a historical connection to Hoodoo through some famous grimoires in the Hoodoo system. This system also has the capacity for people to ascertain their birth Ruling Shem Angel, who can be worked with in ways similar to the angels I already mentioned. I will include a link to the course here, in case you’re curious: https://www.theblackthorneschool.com/courses/working-the-names/.

I am aware of a few more angel systems than these, but I made my point in these highlights. There are many ways to approach angel magic and spirituality. And yes, some of these systems can be functionally combined, even if one respects them as separate systems. By that, I could attain my HGA and then connect my practical work with my HGA to one of the Shem Angels systems being taught, giving me greater versatility in addressing practical and theurgical needs I might have. The HGA would be the guide and indicate which Shem Angel to work with for a particular issue. The path one chooses depends on your goals and aspirations for yourself and your practice. Such as whether you want to be a solo practitioner or an eventual public servant worker who provides spiritual services to the community. Or do you want to do this magic solely to develop and evolve yourself spiritually, or do you want to engage in a lot of practical magic?

Whatever you choose, know that there are people like myself who take what they teach seriously but also have a sense of joy in teaching what we do. May the Angels guide you and help you contemplate your bliss!   

HOW I GOT TO WHERE I AM: SOME REFLECTIONS

This post may disappoint some readers because it is about something other than occult subjects (at least, not in an obvious way). I often receive compliments on my writing. You would think such a thing would be a stroke to the ego. But what it does to me, instead, is remind me of how I got here.

I did not get to this place of proficiency alone. I had a lot of trouble writing in fourth grade, especially with grammar. Things like how to structure sentences and paragraphs so my thoughts build on each other. I was particularly fond of fantasy writing. I could envision worlds in my mind’s eye just fine, but as many writers know, putting those worlds to pen and paper is a whole other thing!

My English teacher could see all of this as fate would have it. I couldn’t see the potential yet, just the problem. But SHE saw the potential and did not give up on me. She called me up front after class one day and made me an offer: if I were willing to spend an hour, every day, after school for a year, she would teach me how to write better. So I did.

I didn’t know until years later that the time she spent with me was time away from her family. She had a baby at that time. Yes, she had a husband, but anyone with children knows it is hard for a mom to be away from her newborn. I also learned that she and her husband, from Belfast, Ireland, had lived through the Time of Troubles there. Her husband would give a homily at school and show us one of the bullet casings he pulled out of the wall of their home when they were shot up one night. They made it out, but many people did not. I went to Ireland many years later after those Troubles ended, and I saw pubs still empty and charred from rockets fired into them.

She and her husband had been through a lot and had to rebuild their family here in America. By the end of their careers, they were hands down the most celebrated and revered teachers in the history of my grade school.

I am telling this story because, as good as my writing may be, I did not get to this place alone. Every single time I pick up a pen or put my fingers to a keyboard, I remember Mrs. H. Every time I get up to speak or preach in front of a group of people, I remember Rev. Dr. DeVries, my first spiritual mother who encouraged me to articulate my progressive Christian faith aloud in a religion where my Religious Right brethren have dominated for way too long. Every time I pray, I think of Grandma, who taught me how to get on my knees to stay strong.

The list of people I could name who shaped and formed who I am is long. I know there are self-made people in this world, in my country, but I am not one of them. I have met some self-made people, and they are impressive. But even with them, if you get down to it, someone almost always helped them become who they are.

It is a strength of America (and no, not ONLY America!) that we can come from wildly different and diverse backgrounds and when we are operating at our best, we lift each other up. We make each other better than when we found each other. Sometimes, I shudder to think what kind of educated Black man I would have become had that Irish woman from the Time of Troubles not opened her heart to me. But she did, and in doing so, she lit a fire in me to do the same for others who cross my path.

We hear a lot about what’s wrong all the time, and it is very easy to focus on that and get lost down that rabbit hole. That’s why I take moments like this and actively remember what is right and good—that my life is not just disappointments and struggles but a life of light, love, and compassion, sometimes from the most surprising of places.

I’m not going to be Polyanna about it, though. I know some have never had this sort of experience. I have had my share of crushing moments myself. Sometimes, the fact remains that, in those places and spaces where hope is grim, we have to make the hope ourselves. One of the reasons I practice the spiritualities I do, especially ATRs, is because they do not acquiesce to fate. It may take sacrifice, even painful sacrifice, but change can happen. I also subscribe to the theology of Rev. Dr. Howard Thurman, who repeatedly asserted that the contradictions of life are never final but held by God in all their fullness. My sense of being held through the good and bad was the difference between giving up and taking just one more step. That, and remembering people like Mrs. H., who didn’t give up on me, believed in me, and, in a way, saw me before I saw myself.

Few of us are self-made, but we can help each other become better versions of ourselves. That is my prayer and hope, anyway.       

A FRIEND’S NEW CLASS ALERT: WORKING WITH THE ANIMA SOLA

Hi Folx!

So, it is not very often that I talk up a lot of new people (meaning new to me), but I have made the acquaintance of a fellow brother in the spirit who is teaching some fantastic things. His name is Muertero Yamil Henriquez, and in addition to being a spiritual teacher, Yamil is also a diviner with many years of experience. I can personally attest to his skill and what we call in the ATR world “vista,” where he was able to decipher a puzzling relationship to a spirit that has walked with me in a way no one else, not even previous elders of mine, were able to do.

This post, however, is about an upcoming class on a folk spirit whose influence spans the Americas, Europe, Africa, and parts of the Caribbean. The class is about learning how to work with the Anima Sola. I am not going to go deep into who and what the Anima Sola spirit is here, as I know all of that will be covered in Yamil’s class. But the reason I am lifting his course up and encouraging everyone interested to take it is because Yamil dispels a LOT of misperceptions about Animas (and yes, there are more than one of them!). This class is not about fear but about empowerment and understanding.

I myself have seen that the vast majority of information out there is fear-based. At best, people will tell you to pray for her soul that she be freed from Purgatory. But this is missing a lot. It is missing a vibrant and life-giving folk tradition that does not fear Animas, but works with them, tends to them, and uplifts them. When we uplift spirit, we uplift ourselves.

Animero Yamil has already been very gracious and free in sharing the fundamentals of connecting to the Anima Sola on social media, but he has assured me that this course goes into far more depth with the Anima and equips those brave enough to become an Animero. This course has the potential to transform your understanding and relationship with the Anima Sola.

Yami’s courses are available for sign-up through his “Magia Santa” account on Instagram. If you cannot access that platform, you can contact him at Lamagiasanta@gmail.com. See you in class!

I fully intend to answer the call. Why don’t you?   

TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL: WHAT IT MEANS (TO ME) TO HAVE AN ANGELIC GUARDIAN

Many who read this will likely walk away thinking, “What he said could be applied to any guardian spirit.” And you would be right! In some ways, that is why I am writing all of this and reflecting on one of the most important foundational concepts of spirit work that I noticed tends not to get emphasized as much. There is a definite precedence of diving right into a spirit system and its correspondences without considering how people will protect themselves or what they will do when things go sideways. I have been practicing my spiritualities long enough to know that even when everything is done with all the proper protocols, sometimes things go sideways anyway. Or you pick something up from that person’s cleansing or exorcism.

There are several compelling reasons to take on a guardian and have them take on you. As I already stated, guardians protect us. I already wrote recently about how my head Orisha did so for me, without me even asking or knowing at the time that Orishas did that. This brings me to another important facet of their role: they will guide you. I cannot tell you how often my guardian spirits have told me NO to trying a new system. When I ask why, they frequently clarify that while that system may work well for many people, it will not work well for me. What’s even wilder is to go to a reader and have them confirm this without asking. There are many reasons a guardian spirit may say no to us, and I have worked with mine long enough to trust a no as a no and not push it further. Whenever I ignore that guidance, things don’t go well…

Guardians play a role that may surprise many of you, especially in an age of gatekeeping and fear of cultural misappropriation. They also serve in spirit leadership. This was something I first witnessed in Espiritismo, where spirits from vastly diverse and different modalities work together for their charge in this life. This experience shattered the rigid divisions that religions and some of us make, showing that they don’t mean a thing in the bigger picture of the spirit world. Your guardian will direct the traffic of all your spirits, regardless of their origins. If you find yourself having difficulty with one of your spirits, your guardian is the one you can turn to for help. I know this because I have done it and seen how they refocus spirits.

Another benefit of a guardian is they can often gift familiars. I am using the word familiar here and know it is not universal across systems. Guardian spirits tend to be able to call forth other serving spirits to assist you in your work. However, doing this requires a super strong bond with your guardian. You can sense this when you open Solomonic grimoires, even angelic ones, and see phrases such as Angel so and so commands 600 legions of spirits. Whenever you see that sort of language, there is a strong implication that one of the legion spirits could be assigned to you.

While we often focus on the benefits of guardian spirits to us, it's important to remember that the relationship is mutual. Working with guardian spirits helps them understand more about what it means to be human, with all our wants and needs. Even if they were once human themselves, they are likely far enough removed from that lived existence that they need reminders of it. This sort of knowledge can help with the way you work with them. Deepening their understanding will make for more accurate work and results.

Guardians can also learn how to see and experience our mortal, material world through our eyes. I worked with a Thai Prai once, and after doing the requisite chant and feeling the spirit on me, I invited him to experience eating again through me. I FELT its presence more strongly and could feel its sense of pleasure at experiencing food with me. Aside from teaching and reconnecting them to something long foregone, it also sometimes feeds some of what may be lacking in them.

Perhaps most important is that any of these connection points, when nurtured, means guardians grow as spirit-beings with us, and as we grow and develop together, the bond gets that much stronger. Much more can be said, but I will leave it here for now and encourage all reading to consider a guardian spirit that best suits the magic and life you intend to achieve and maintain. Blessings to you all!  

PICK ONE AND RUN!: KEEPING FOCUS IN SPIRIT-WORK

A theme that has come up a few ways recently is the importance of focus when working with spirits. This would seem a no-brainer, but there are specific challenges to living with this idea. One is that in the current occult world of near-limitless access to materials such as grimoires, we can be tricked into seeing a spirit list of correspondences and think that a spirit for love, let’s say, is only suitable for love. I find it more helpful to see such a list as an insurance provider’s list of Doctors. All medical doctors know how to practice medicine. But some are trained for surgery. Some are trained to deal with vision issues, etc., and I have experienced doctors, such as my PCP, who say that whatever medical issue I bring to them is better addressed by a specialist colleague. You find, then, that the specialist has a depth of knowledge and can speak to your issue in a way a PCP is not.

It can be this way with spirits. But more often than not, I have experienced a guardian spirit who clarifies that although their specialty is what it is, they are also the ones for me to go to first. Sometimes, they will indicate another spirit to go to. Other times, they will note that they are the ones who will address it. When this started to happen more and more, I began to understand that I did not need to summon every spirit on a correspondence table to address the problems and challenges of my life. I had to work with the one I felt more connected to and trust that they would direct me to who to go.

This realization had several consequences for my practice. One is that it kept me from getting overwhelmed and burned out. It also mitigated that sense, when you work with many spirits, that now I have too many mouths to feed. It also took off the pressure of the juggle of time and attention I felt I had to give everyone. As long as I maintained that primary relationship, things seemed to flow like they were supposed to.

In my upcoming class on Shem Angels, I ran with this idea. The foundation of the class is apprehending your guardian Shem Angel, and then building the rest of the practice around that spirit as the spiritual air traffic controller. Once that sort of connection is established, there are many possibilities. One can build everything from a devotional practice to hoodoo-like practical magic and even professional work within one’s community. However, being consistent with results means having consistent relationships with essential spirits. Angels such as the Shemhamforash are one beautiful way this can be done.

If you think this might interest you, I invite you to join me for the class in the next few days. The link is here: https://www.theblackthorneschool.com/courses/working-the-names/.    

WHAT IT TAKES TO TALK TO ANGELS: ONE PERSPECTIVE

One of the things I love about students and teaching is the questions people have. It’s the questions that lead to fruitful and energizing discussions. Many of us are sometimes insecure about asking questions, however, because we had some teacher from Hell in the past who made us doubt ourselves. I know that because I have had such teachers from elementary school all the way to my doctorate. In most cases, I later learned that the worst of these people were acting the way they were because they were suffering in some way in their own lives. It is a cruel fact of life that hurt people hurt people.

But I am not here to talk about that today! Today I want to stay with the positive and focus on a great question a new student asked me as he was considering whether to take my upcoming Shem Angels course. This post is dedicated to him.

The question was whether he had to learn and perform traditional Solomonic Ceremonial Magic to conjure the Shem Angels as I taught them. The short answer is no. Other instructors out here already teach traditional Solomonic magic, so it doesn’t make sense to me to repeat what they have done—especially when I feel like what is being taught is top-notch. I am referring to my brother from another mother, Fr. Aaron Leitch, and his wife, Rev. Mother Carrie Leitch (she doesn’t call herself that, but in my priestly tradition, that is a title given to women priests, hehe). As I say in this class and others, I heartily encourage people to take the Leitches’ class if you want to learn Solomonic magic in its fullness. Even if you don’t use that specific method to conjure spirits, you will walk away with an eye for this form of magic and understand the simplified versions someone like me teaches better!

What I teach in Working the Names is more a combination of Solomonic Magic and Hoodoo principles. This seems odd to some of you, but there is a history of Solomonic Magic and Hoodoo being fused together in all forms of American folk magic. I have seen it in Appalachian magic. I have seen it in Powwow. And I have definitely seen it in Hoodoo. Working the Names is not a Hoodoo course like some of my other classes. Still, it parallels my Hoodoo courses’ focus on generating lasting relationships with the Angels for the primary purpose of practical magic goals.

For example, the particular branch of Shem Angel magic taught has a magical circle, but the instructions could be more specific regarding the size and method of deployment. Other forms of Solomonic Magic go into great detail about the Circle and how it is used. Because of this, I opted for a portable option, where a practitioner could open a book or binder with their magical circle on a laminated piece of paper, lay out candles and other ritual paraphernalia, and perform their conjuration where they were right then and there. Most forms of traditional Solomonic magic do not lend themselves to portability, but my version does.

One area that I would say is more in line with traditional Solomonic Magic is the way we work with the Black-Hilted Knife. This is one of the places I go pretty traditional (minus animal blood) to ensure that practitioners have a tool that will command and enforce when needed and help them set strong boundaries when that need comes.

All of this is to say that the class has an eye for the traditional and even draws deeply from it in places without being bound by aspects of the tradition that are unnecessary for working with the energy of the Angels to a specific end. My approach is also not as focused on evoking to visible appearance, but instead working with your chief angel and the others to accomplish particular tasks those Angels are known for.

If this interests you, please join me in this coming cohort. The link to sign up is here: https://www.theblackthorneschool.com/courses/working-the-names/.

Take good care, and I hope to see you in class!    

A FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION (OR TWO) ABOUT SPIRIT WORK

I am a diviner and read people fairly often. Most times, they want to know something specific and practical, like how to find love or how to make more money. There is nothing wrong with that! Every now and then, though, I get a client who wants to go deeper, usually in their spirituality or practice. One of the most frequently asked subjects is, “How do I connect to and work with spirits?” This is the subject of what I am writing here.

The answer to this question can vary greatly depending on the tradition(s) you're interested in. For instance, in Espiritismo, there's no one-size-fits-all approach to working with spirits. While there's a tradition and foundational tools to learn, these will only take you so far before you need to forge your own unique spiritual path. It's not effective in Espiritismo to mimic an elder. You and they have different spirits and may not connect with them in the same way, if at all. Even if you share the same type of spirit, your version of that spirit will be unique.

Setting aside traditions, there's a fundamental concept I want to underscore. In my opinion, the best way to start spirit work is by forming a strong bond with a guardian spirit. There are many options, from a Holy Guardian Angel to pagan deities, to certain types of Thai Prai spirits. A guardian is crucial because, no matter how skilled you are at summoning and working with spirits, there will be moments when you need backup. I vividly remember an experience from years ago that highlights this. I was summoning a spirit I had never encountered before. The spirit appeared, but I sensed it trying to breach my defenses and establish a connection that made me feel unwell.

Just as that feeling started to pass over me, I felt my head Orisha stand up and make itself known in a commanding and intimidating fashion. The bothersome spirit immediately shrunk back and didn’t give me a problem the rest of the night. That was the first time I had experienced that since I made Ocha, and it opened my eyes to something, not even my elders at the time talked about. Sometimes, I think their lack of discussion is intentional; they often want us to learn through our own experiences.

Another reason why a Guardian Spirit is crucial is because, almost as frequently as the first question, people ask me, “How do I know the spirit is talking and not me?” This is a valid question with a complex answer. Self-doubt can be detrimental to spirit work. If it plagues you, it will make it difficult to differentiate between your own thoughts and those of a spirit. Most of us will agree that if a spirit always agrees with everything you think and want to do, and never challenges you, then it's likely not a beneficial spirit. In all seriousness, guardian spirits are even less likely to simply agree with you because they are the ones who are truly invested in your success and your learning spirit work in a healthy way.

Finally, I cannot underscore the importance of consistency and follow-through. No, you don’t have to sit with your spirits every day. If you do, that’s great, but it’s not required (there are exceptions, such as Thai Prai). Consistency, to me, is that you make an effort to prioritize your spirits in your life. Maybe you go out one time less a week, and spend that time with them. Perhaps you occasionally get that more expensive bottle of rum as an offering. But maybe even more than this, you must do what you say you will do. In this sense, spirits are like us. Recall how you feel when you have to work with an unreliable person. Not only do they not inspire you to work with them, but you will often not trust them.

Some people will displace their lack of consistency and follow through on spirits in this place. Because I asked for a million dollars by Friday and only talked to the spirit again on Saturday, said spirit has failed me. That’s not how this works. To paraphrase another occultist, your life must be enchantable for the magic to enchant. Recently, a lot has been said about human efforts toward that enchantment. However, this aspect of discipline and following through on the spirit of work is just as important.

WE ALL START SOMEWHERE: A REFLECTION ON MY EARLY FORAYS WITH THE ANGELIC WORLD

Many people work with angels today, from traditional occult methods such as Solomonic Magic to New Age practices. I have tried them all over the years of my practice. I actually remember the first time. One was working with these gemstones, which are human-made but attributed to angels called angelite. I engraved the stones with these New Agey sigils and prayed fervently to the Four Archangels while practicing Centering Prayer. They were the first time I held gemstones and could FEEL energy come from them. That whole beginning experience felt very magical and wonderful!

The second experience I had was with Richard Webster’s books on Angels. They were these pamphlet-sized books that focused on the Four Archangels. I had two of them and worked his steps to conjure and invoke those Angels. I later understood that he mixes a lot of Golden Dawn ceremonial magic into what he does to create a hybrid Angel magic. It seemed to work for me because when I did it, a rush of wind went through the house (and the doors and windows were closed). I had offerings like a bowl of salt, and when I finished, the salt was hard as a rock, like the Angels consumed the essence of it. This was another time I was blown away.

The third one relates specifically to Shem Angels. I had heard about them, read a few books, and endeavored to connect to my guardian Shem Angel. I worked on this for weeks using that method, and nothing seemed to happen. Then, one night, I was startled awake by a soft but noticeable light shining above my head. After a few blinks, I saw the faint figure of a female angel hovering overhead. I was in a friend’s basement, and they had one of those big freezers. The Angel flew from me, alighted on top of that freezer, and seemed to sit and watch me. As startled as I was initially, she was so comforting to see and feel that I could drift back to sleep, feeling very protected. The following day, my friend came downstairs and told me that when he and his wife woke up, their house was blanketed in a spiritual mist like nothing they had seen before!

Some would say these experiences don’t amount to much because they did not result in concrete guidance or actionable intel. Well, accurate as that may be, I think it is an absolute ALWAYS to expect spirits of any sort to be concrete or actionable in all they do. Humans are often not like that, so why do we project that onto spirits?

For me, when I think back on these moments, they were about beginning to show me that the spirit world is very real. That helper spirits will come when called and make their presence known. Though no words were exchanged, I felt the Shem Angel came because I had been praying for a protective presence around me. And that is exactly how her presence registered.

The course I created on the Shem Angels allows people to do this their own way. I do not find them difficult spirits to connect with, especially once a person has done the work to find their Guardian first. That Angel will direct all the traffic of the others. Because they are also, to me, angels close to the earth, their ability to help us manifest things is more significant than other spirits. So, if this interests you, I invite you to join me in August when we get started. The link to sign up is here: https://www.theblackthorneschool.com/courses/working-the-names/.         

Hope to see you soon!

RESISTANCE AGAINST DIVINATORY DEVICE

As some of you may know, I am psychologically trained. I have a doctorate in Pastoral Counseling. I will also tell you that when I was a pastor, I saw very early in my career that my initial training in counseling was shitty in addressing real psycho-spiritual issues people often brought to me. I DID know how to connect to community resources, so many issues were referred out to professionals with more of that training. But I knew that I would need to gain more training, which I did later in my career.

One of the bedrock concepts of psychology, counseling, and therapy is that all clients have defense mechanisms. Part of any counseling or therapy is knowing how to work with and, in some cases, bypassing a person’s defenses to get them the help they came to you for. In many cases, their mechanisms are the thing that helped them survive as long as they had before they came to your office. So, it is not intelligent or wise for a counselor to have an adversarial stance with this in people but to engage defense mechanisms with compassion and competency in their training.

There is actually something similar that happens in giving readings to people. I have seen it so much that there are times when I feel like what a person really is coming for is psychological help. Many times, my spirits, knowing what I know, will point to the root issue being psychological and cognitive and not spiritual. As an example, I read for someone who is pagan in their practice. It is their core. I saw it right away. But part of their problem is they were all over the place with their spirit work. They were doing the Pokemon thing. I had to talk extensively about the value of focusing their practice and gaining a firm foundation, then venturing out through the guidance of their foundational spirits.

Not long after this discussion, I discovered that they completely ignored that advice and conjured some very wild spirits. Ironically, they had come to me partly because of problems they were having from a very wild spirit they conjured years ago. So, they knew the consequences of drawing the wrong spirit but did it anyway.

As a reader, I don’t get angry or upset. I step back and take a deeper look at the resistance and how it is coming up. And I ask lots of questions. I am genuinely curious why someone would come to me for help but then ignore what I said. What in their ego is making them think they know better? Is a spirit causing an intransigence to get them stuck? Do they have trauma that makes it hard for them to absorb new information? Or are they just flat-out arrogant?

Any of these answers and more could be the truth. But I would ask anyone even considering going to someone for help to have the following in the front of your mind:

*Be open to the answer you are seeking not being what you assume or expect.

*Be prepared for the reader and their spirits to confront you on blinders you may have.

*Be prepared to work independently and not just expect the diviner to do your work for you.

*Be open to things you have done up until the reading, either being incorrect or not working, because there may be things you don’t know about your situation.

*Be very prepared for spirits bringing up more significant and profound issues that you are coming with because if you have a lot of defense mechanisms, odds are you have been avoiding certain pieces of your personal work and spiritual development.

These are just some suggestions to help prepare you for a reading. They will make the process go more smoothly and help you get on track!

SHEM ANGELS: WHY WORK WITH THEM?

These days, we have many options regarding the kinds of spirits we can work with. Adding to this excitement is the fact that more grimoires and spirit registers than ever before have been found and translated, opening up even more worlds of possibility. Today, I want to speak a bit about the Shemhamforash Angels.

As I've shared in previous posts, Shem Angels are uniquely connected to Earth and humanity, unlike the average angel. This is a hunch and a conclusion drawn from their correspondences and existing systems. Many of these Angels possess powers directly impacting real-world issues, a characteristic that sets them apart from other angelic registers. This 'this-worldliness' is particularly appealing in the current trend of magic that delivers results. It's as if these Angels were designed for this very purpose, making them a fascinating and efficient choice for your magical endeavors.

There can be a bias away from working with Angels. One is that it involves ceremonial magic to do the work. Fasting, purifications, special days and hours—all of that gets deter folx who don’t want to do the level of intense work traditional ceremonial magic requires. I get it. I am in traditions that do this form of magic and other ceremonial magic that are even more involved and complex. There are times when you don’t feel like doing all of that. And yet, other times, you don’t have the time or convenience for a long, drawn-out ritual.

When it comes to ceremonial magic, I understand that the level of intensity and complexity can be daunting. However, I've found a way to make it more accessible and efficient. By drawing on ceremonial magic’s historical connection to folk magical forms like Hoodoo, I've developed an adapted approach that allows for the same powerful magic in a more manageable and respectful way. This is not about making things up but about studying the historical relationship and finding ways to bring it into the present. I believe I've achieved this based on the positive feedback from my students.

There are a few great teachers who share what I am talking about. But even with an adapted approach, nothing I have found replaces the importance of having an established relationship with a spirit BEFORE asking it to do a bunch of stuff with or for you. This is the role of something like the Ruling Angel of the Shem system. Even though that angel comes from a particular decan, zodiacal period, etc., it is your lead activator and “crossroads” spirit. The solidity of your connection with them ensures that you can work with the energies of their angelic counterparts to achieve a specific goal that the secondary angel is adept at.

Another reason I think folx shy away from Angels is because they are not dark enough. There is an implication that so-called darker spirits are spirits with less restraint and more willingness to get things done by any means necessary. That may be true for some, maybe even many. But my experience with different spirits is that the more wild they are, the greater the chance of problems or blowback with them.

However, if you can’t do magic without a dark edge, have no fear! The Shem Angel system I teach and adapted actually understands the Angels in their Night aspect and evil angel side. The information about these things is not well spelled out, so it becomes a place of experimentation, an opportunity to bond and connect with these Angels more deeply to develop your practice.

Working with Shemhamforash Angels is different from working with other Angels. I invite you to join me and discover just what I mean.

The link to the course is here: https://www.theblackthorneschool.com/courses/working-the-names/.

See you in class!   

WORKING THE NAMES: SOME THOUGHTS ON SHEM ANGELS

My upcoming course on the Shemhamforash Angels is a unique opportunity! Unlike others, such as the seven planetary archangels, these angels offer a diverse and intriguing approach to their study and practice. Their names, which have multiple spellings, reflect this diversity and how they are perceived and worked with. While some traditions provide a primary method for approaching the Shem Angels, many must be further developed to be more practical. This aspect of the Shem Angels, their potential for practical magic, is what initially fascinated me.

What intrigued me about the Shem Angels was their practical nature, as evidenced by the correspondence list they come with. Unlike the common perception of angels dealing with significant picture issues, the Shem Angels are more practically minded. They have a historical connection to the older Decans system of magic, which was initially intended to address health and illness issues. However, the specific ceremonies or rituals to activate the Decan energy have only sometimes been passed down. This is where the Shem Angels come in, offering a potential bridge between ancient and Abrahamic spiritualities and a unique opportunity for practical magic.

Reviewing the old Decans systems, we can see that they were initially intended to address disorders in the body—many health and illness issues. Each Decan was also a spirit all its own, with zodiacal rulerships and materia correspondences. What has not always made it to our modern day is specific ceremonies or rituals to activate the Decan energy or infuse it into a particular talisman.

These impulses continued the shift of the Decans toward being what we know now as Shem Angels. I am still determining how and when this transformation happened from Decan to Shem. What I LOVE about it, though, is it is a point of intersection between ancient spiritualities and Abrahamic spiritualities—a place of dialogue and synergy. I can see enormous potential, for example, with working with the established Shem Angel correspondences and reconnecting them with their older Decan purpose of strengthening a person’s health and body’s healing properties. There is a lot of untapped potential with these Angels, the potential that rivals the current fixation on working with goetic demons to “get stuff done.”

My “Working the Names” course is not an in-depth exploration of the Shem Angels in its first iteration but offers a practical and tangible way to connect with these angels. You can generate tangible results by discovering your Ruling Angel and setting yourself on a path of practice. I invite you to join me in this unique opportunity to explore the Shem Angels and their potential for practical magic.

The link to the course is here: https://www.theblackthorneschool.com/courses/working-the-names/ .

See you in class!

SOMETIMES IT’S JUST THIS SIMPLE

I started listening to more 80s and 90s RnB and Soul music in my office at work. I do this more toward the end of the day when I finish my paperwork and sessions with bereavement clients. I noticed a little while ago that I wasn’t listening to this music like I used to. I was getting so busy and caught up with other life stuff that I moved away from doing it. But I know this music grounds me.

That was a mistake. See, I am one of those kids who grew up coming over to my grandma’s to the tunes of RnB groups playing from my aunt’s records in their basement. The sound, the beats, and the harmony of the groups instantly take me back to that time of hope and limitlessness. The kind of inspiration that changes when you grow up. But more importantly, the music also shows the emotional range of my people. It shows men being vulnerable. It shows women being strong. So many things.

Returning to this music also reminded me of the power of simplicity. Not everything in life, or spirituality, has to be complicated. As you know from other posts, some of my spirituality is complex and involved, while others parts are simpler. But sometimes spirituality or spiritual practice isn’t even any kind of formal ritual. Sometimes, it’s just tending to something in life that connects you to the bigger picture. Sometimes, spirituality reminds us to return to some part of ourselves that we lost sight of. The world we all live in can be hard. It can make US hard. We need reminders sometimes to soften our hard edges. To sit. To rest. To refresh. Spiritual practice can be part of that, but it shouldn’t be all of it. But music? Music is everywhere!

If you’re not thinking about it by now, I encourage you to consider simple places in your life that bring you to yourself. You’ll be glad you did.

PRAYER TO THE CASTAWAY AND SHIPWRECKED: A SLICE OF ESPIRITISMO

Turn your gaze towards this unworthy creature,

oh Lord, and do not let me die amongst the waves of the ocean.

Give me the strength and the will to overcome the abyss,

give me the grace altogether that your bounty does allow.

If I like a brittle twig, thinking myself strong and healthy,

have attempted to cross the sea of humanity, in search of human delights;

let me my Lord return to dry land, promising to be a soldier to your Son.

If I thinking myself steady, have challenged the darkness and void,

by walking the deck while the storm rages against my boat,

I promise for now on, not to be so bold; as to ignore the lament of those who suffer at sea.

If I as I follow my bliss, have been so bold as to ignore the lighthouse

that has saved me from crashing amongst the rocks.

I promise my Lord, never to laugh at the holy cross,

from which your beloved son was crucified.

Oh you, Father of my Soul. Who listens to the afflicted,

and can see my face ashamed, from what my life had been.

Save me, my Father, and give me the time required to correct the wrong

I have done, before the death of my flesh, and I implore you not to castaway my Soul.

Amen.

This prayer is a core one we who practice Espiritismo make use of. It is a prayer usually said at the beginning of a misa/séance or when one sits at your boveda to do spiritual work with your spirit guide. The word “boveda” originates from how graves used to be built, where they were shaped like tables. In a way, we continue that tradition when we set up our ancestral tables.

Back to the prayer! The Shipwreck prayer sounds a bit dreary, but several tenets and understandings about why we practice spiritism are encoded within it. For example, the world is understood to be a spiritually dark place. Yes, God is there and is Light and Intelligence (much how we articulate that entity within the writings of this coven). God’s spirits are also a big part of that Light. The hard part is ALSO understanding that we, too, are of that Light. Part of the premise of this prayer is that many things conspire against us not believing, seeing, or trusting that Light within ourselves. I know this to be true outside of myself because, as I counsel people, they often do not trust themselves. They are also hard on themselves because they cannot see their Light.

The practice of espiritismo is one of the ways a person can go about navigating this, discovering the Light within, and assisting Light of the spirits. They are all like a lighthouse through this life to the Source. This is why some Spiritism Houses usually have a picture of a lighthouse somewhere prominent in the centers where they do the work.

Espiritismo, as you often hear me say, is an open tradition. So, this prayer is NOT something only spiritists can use. I encourage you to try this prayer if you feel this struggle in your life or practice. Don’t get caught up in any of the Abrahamic language—it’s not really about that. I suggest lighting a candle, sitting in a quiet place, saying the prayer, and then meditating. See what happens over time.

Be gentle on yourselves out there. Light is always with you.

TRAINING THE SPIRITS: MORE THOUGHTS ON SPIRIT WORK

When Father Aaron and I had our occult jam session a couple of weeks ago, we said a few things like teasers, but we didn’t go deeper on the subject. One of them we talked a little about was the idea that spirits can only address issues in depth, as far as our knowledge takes us (something like that). Now, this is not to say that spirits sometimes don’t know more than us on certain things. They most certainly do. For example, there’s no way I could know more about Heaven than an angel who dwells there.

But I think it’s a different scenario when you talk about using magic to make things happen in our daily lives. If I don’t know how to do candle magic to get a job or a promotion, it will be much harder for a spirit to help me do that sort of work. Yes, they can and do teach many things to someone over a long-term relationship with them. But I have found in my development with spirits that my workings are much stronger when I have a substantial knowledge base that they can reference and embellish or adapt to make sure what I do is effective.

The other place I see this, routinely, as a diviner for others is in the problems people bring to me that relate to spirits. I had one recently where numerous New Age shamans and practitioners told someone that they had over 30 spirits possessing them. These same people also told them they had no idea what to do about those many spirits, wished them luck, and sent them on their way with no solution. Of course, they still took their money! When I looked, there were no spirits attached to the person. My own divining spirit confirmed this. What I saw, instead, was that whoever looked at them was unable to tell the difference between discrete spirits and negative energy that can behave like a spirit but is not. It's more like something that takes on a life of its own. Telling someone they have a biblical-level population of spirits in their body is also a bit of a stretch and so rare as to almost be unheard of.

I am bringing this up because a core tenet of Espiritismo is that we train our spirits. That sounds demeaning or derogatory, but it is not. It is the understanding that even elevated spirits are removed from their formerly human existence, sometimes for thousands of years. They do not automatically understand everything about human existence, technology, etc. They sometimes also don’t understand the boundaries of social conventions and other things, so it is the espiritista’s job to teach them that.

Similarly, our spiritist practice is active. We don’t just gawk at spirits and marvel at their manifestations. Espiritistas who are well trained know that they have to, to quote the Bible, “test the spirits” and insist that a spirit tell them details that give evidence of who they are and their purpose. If a spirit fails to observe those protocols, they get dismissed. A person cannot adequately develop with a spirit if that spirit is not clear about these things. The development can’t happen adequately because our relationship with our spirits is such that we understand why they are with us and their core mission by their area of focus for our life.

Finally, a considerable part of the development is discernment. Remember in my previous post I talked about how important the ability to see and perceive spirits is in Espiritismo. Spiritual sight is essential to see what is going on accurately. Without it, things get misdiagnosed, and worse, for those with actual attachments, it can prolong their suffering. This concept of training spirits is also not unique to Espiritismo. It is done in Solomonic magic and several other modalities I am aware of. It is also a way to build an authentic relationship with said spirit as you develop mutual understanding, much like in our intimate relationships when we navigate expectations, hopes, fears, and everything in between to deepen our bonds. In a sense, we train each other in our human relationships all the time. If you are reading this today, I hope you can find an authentic spirit relationship like this. The bonds of it will get you through many of life’s ups and downs.      

SPIRIT WORK, PART 2: GUARDIAN SPIRITS AND PATRONS

One of the topics Aaron and I discussed during our recent online session was the importance of having a chief spirit in place BEFORE engaging in a lot of other spirit work. Oddly, this is not a concept I see emphasized across the board of various spirit traditions. Some, like Quimbanda, are built differently in the way you work with the titular spirits, and yes, I am aware of that sort of difference. But I mean more, generally, that teachers and elders do not typically train a practitioner to attain that main spirit first. Like before, I will address this from the perspective of Espiritismo.

As open and light on doctrine and rules as Espiritismo is, it is a tradition with its own protocols. It is not chaos magic in the sense that things can be made up or changed as you go. There is a sense of order and progression in Espiritismo because you are building your own personal practice and approach to it. Your teacher is vital, yes, but more importantly is the spirits who walk with you. Your teacher can show you the tools and how espiritistas do their thing in different ways, but it is the bond you create with your spiritual court that runs the show. This is so much the case that you could even have a godparent who practices Espiritismo teach you something, only to have one of your spirits tell you what you were taught needs to be done differently because that works well for them the way they do it, but it won’t work as well for you. A teacher who understands this knows to keep their ego in check because they have had those experiences throughout their practice.

In Espiritismo, one first step you take is to work with a teacher or community to determine who your guiding spirits are. I can only go into some of the different ones they could because each would be a separate post and then some to explain! But foremost among those spirits is an ancestral guide called a Head spirit. That term is misleading a bit because those of us in initiatory traditions, when we hear that phrase, we think of something like a Holy Guardian Angel or Orisha crowned to a santera’s head. But Espiritismo has its own Head spirit that walks with each human being. This is a spirit you do not need any initiations to attain because they are with you the moment you are born (and really, before you’re born!).

This spirit is essential for many reasons. One is that they direct the traffic of your spiritual development and how other spirits walking with you work with you. Because of this, sometimes a Head spirit can feel distant or not present at all. But that’s not what’s going on. It is more like they are in an air traffic control tower, ensuring all the planes take off and land while you are at the gate to receive passengers. You aren’t both working the terminal gate, but you are working in concert together to keep things in order. Make sense?

In my relationship with my Head spirit, I usually experience them when something big is afoot or about to happen. I consistently feel the energy around me to remind me of the importance of staying grounded. To meditate and let things go that others around me are holding onto and creating misfortunes for themselves because they do. To have compassion when I would rather destroy someone. In essence, to take the high road as much as possible in this life. When they show up, it usually makes me stop what I am doing and pay attention. It doesn’t register like others of my spirits, who tend always to be around and talking and guiding.

All that said, Head spirits are also important because they will set boundaries. For example, I cannot tell you how many times I have gone to that spirit with an interest in trying a new spirituality, only to have the spirit say no. When I ask why, they respond with things like “Because it won’t work well for you” or “You don’t need to add anything else.” I have learned over the years of this work to listen to that no and roll with it. This aspect of the relationship can be challenging for some people who don’t like to be told they can’t or shouldn’t do something they think they want to do. But if we are honest with ourselves, we all know there have been times when we embark on some new spiritual path only to throw it away in short order. Head spirits can help you not waste time, money, and other valuable resources.

Finally, one of the most important reasons to have a Guardian is that they protect you. They protect you from other people and their pettiness. They protect you from wilder spirits who try to go sideways on you. I have heard Aaron talk about how the Solomonic tradition deals with entities like demons. The way that tradition forms its goetia, following the protocols should keep the demon in check. But honestly, there’s no guarantee of that. I have followed the protocols of a tradition and still gotten gunk on me. But the Head spirit can be the difference between spiritual oppression by an entity that you can’t get from under and the ability to chase that thing away when it decides to ignore your exorcism prayers and holy water. I have experienced this myself, where an entity I was trying to initiate a working with started to try to attach itself to me, and my Head Orisha rose up and put them in their place. I could see the whole thing happening in my mind’s eye and felt a great sense of gratitude to my Orisha. That happened a few years back. What fascinated me was that I was not doing any ATR work, nor had I called on Chango. But he was there and prepared to put that spirit down into the dust.

These are just some reasons you see teachers like Aaron and me encouraging people to attain a spirit like this before engaging in more intense spirit practices. They make the whole thing go much easier.