Hi all! some general beginner questions etc

New Magician Help & Introductions
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hello everyone!
my name is nori, i’m 21 and from toronto.
i’ve been reading on BALG for close to a year now, quietly working on gaining knowledge and information before i try any sort of ritual or invocation out of respect. i don’t know what to put here fully, so to keep it short i’ll leave some bullet points for folks to reply to.

  • i consider myself incredibly “in tune” with energy and spirituality, and i have been for as long as i can remember
  • i’m interested in lhp and rhp equally, and i find them both fascinating and beautiful. however, when i was in high school i frequently used ouija boards out of curiosity (i was always respectful) but a spirit attached itself to me for a long time, and it has made me afraid to connect with demons. i’ve tried searching for topics on how to overcome these fears / internal biases but haven’t had much luck. if anyone could speak to this it would be so wonderful!
  • i’m afro-carribbean and really want to learn more about vodou but have heard it’s difficult if you haven’t had the right initiation. if anyone has personal stories they’d like to share about embarking on that journey i’d love to hear it!
  • i want to generally gain knowledge on rhp/lhp and vodou but do so respectfully and conscientiously as i do it. i think balg is the best forum i’ve found to assist with that! any folks on here that have started their spiritual journey through this site: where are you now? how did you further your learning?

thank you in advance for your support and comments, sending my positive energy & light to all!

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Thank you for making an introduction :smiley:
Welcome to the forum @nori , you will get plenty of answers in your questions if you use the search function. Plenty of topics have been discussed here and I’m sure you’ll find them interesting.

I haven’t had many experiences in voodoo magick ,although I have done some spells mostly for changes in my appearance. I do have posted a weight loss spell based on voodoo magick, if you’re interested , in which I describe the method I used to make my own voodoo doll.

Apart from that, I don’t really know much about this field.
But honestly, I don’t think it’s any more difficult to delve into than any other aspect of magick.
You can master any skill through effort and error and I’m positive that it doesn’t matter wether you’re correctly initiated or not. You can find the right way on your own, if you decide to devote enough time on research. When you start doing spells and practices you can find what works for you and what doesn’t.
It’s your magick and there is no right way to do it.

I started my journey when I discovered that some things I dreamt or randomly thought about became true after a while. I was little and I thought I had a really cool superpower. As I grew older I always felt drawn to magick and the LHP. So I started digging, found multiple sites, until I stumbled across this one. I stayed because ,really, most people here are very caring and open minded. The topics discussed are greatly interesting and helpful.

Now I am trying to perfect divination and spirit communication. I have done some invocations ,but want to push it all the way to full evocation. Also, I’d like to learn as much as possible and gain more experiences. It’s a lot of work, but -hey- I’m still young.

Furthering your learning can be achieved both ways:

-You either research, read books and grimoires, study spells and different practices etc (This is what I always recommend to beginners before they take the step to practice. Because usually people dive into trying to evoke without having opened their astral senses, or without having learnt how to enter trance and then they are disappointed because of failure)

-You practise , gain experience and learn through your mistakes. If you never try something, you’ll never know if it works for you or not.

-And of course you can do both simultaneously.

That is all I have to say for now. I’ll be happy to see you around in the forum and see your contributions :upside_down_face: (and must I say your hair is AMAZING :smiling_face_with_three_hearts: )

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Welcome, Nori! In regards to the fear, I can understand. But remember that negative spirits are not demons. Most of what the common chattle think are demons are really negative spirits in disguise.

V.K. Jehannum teaches that demons and similar entities want us to evolve. They want us to raise up and ascend. His site can be easily googled and is full of invaluable information.

I was also afraid of demons when I started. I had been a witch for almost 20 years but had never really crossed fully over into the “dark side” lol. I am so glad I did. It was like coming home.

To get over my fear, I created a mini ritual using a hymn V.K. Jehannum wrote. I asked the demonic entities to take my fear from me. They did and it worked beautifully. I knew I was safe immediately and I have had few troubles since.

Since you have little practical witchcraft experience, this may not be the best option for you unless you have any entity at all that you already work with whom you really trust to have your back should an imposter spirit show up wanting to play demon. I have been a follower of Hecate since my teens so I knew I would be safe if any pretender spirit showed.

But honestly, the only way to really learn is to do.

There is an app called"Goetia Guide" you could download. It gives info on each demon including which ones are good for beginners.

Ave Lucifer! Welcome to the Path. May you Walk it Well!

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thank you so much for your reply mystic void! was super insightful (i read it like four times, lol).

as far as your info about vodou, it was incredibly helpful. i bookmarked your ritual, i think it could definitely be useful going forward. i read through the thread and i do have some specific questions, but i’ll leave any under the thread once i decide to work with it. i’m going to do some more deep diving on here about vodou and the most respectful ways to work with certain entities and initiate connections with them. for some reason i’ve always felt very drawn to the idea of creating a bond with papa legba, so i’m going to forge on with my quest thanks to you! sometimes it can be scary feeling like there’s gatekeepers to certain ways of practice. i’m sure you know what i mean.

i think i might right this down in my book of shadows with your blessing if that is okay with you! such a great way of thinking about it.

as far as hearing about your journey into the path, i feel as though i’ve had a similar experience. i’ve always felt similarly connected through dreams and an energetic proximity to something that certainly wasn’t from this realm, i just wasn’t sure what that meant or what exactly was calling to me.

i have purchased a few books and have done a ton of research (which will definitely not stop!) but would you say that ritual work is okay even if you’re not versed on everything and anything to do with a certain practice? i read a thread talking about working with Prince Seere and his willingness to work with beginning magicians and am considering trying it, but it would be my first attempt at invocation. do you think if you’re practicing as a beginner with the utmost respect for the entity that it would be a good idea? i apologize if i’m asking a silly question given that you said practise is a good way of learning, just wanted to clarify!

thank you again, and thanks for the love about my hair!! it was originally meant to be a neon orange for the month of october but it’s now faded to a pink… can’t say i hate it though! haha.
sending you much love and respect ! :rose::heavy_heart_exclamation:

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hiya LaStrega!

thank you so much for your reply - it certainly made me feel much less alone. i’m going to look into the works of V.K Jehannum, and definitely look into creating my own ritual in time using the hymn you mentioned. i’m assuming i can find it easily enough with some research.

i’ve read that this is quite common. i don’t have any entities that i trust aside from Archangel Michael who i’ve called on using very simple candle magick for protection. but even given that, i think my idea of “trust” is coming from the societal views of angels as being “safer” to work with than demons or goetic entities.

anyhow, i downloaded the app you mentioned and have already started reading! it’s so interesting, thank you so much! i mentioned to mystic-void that i had an interest in working with Prince Seere, but it would be my first attempt at ritual work. do you think this would be wise given the fact that entities can pretend to be a certain demon?

thank you again for the response! it has made me a lot less fearful even knowing that someone as experienced as you felt afraid of the left path. much love :two_hearts:

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:smile::smile::smile: Glad I could be of assistance

I do get what you mean .
And I can’t help but say that this is a pun :joy:

I don’t mind at all, I’ve done this also with some quotes from other members :sweat_smile:

Yes, that is true, many members decide to work with entities and form a mentor-apprentice relationship.
To me, that’s not bad at all ,though I really recommend you open your astral senses first. Develop your clairaudience and clairvoyance, work with energies in order to learn how to perceive them.
It will help you immensely.
And go for it. Yes, learning from the masters, why not? :slightly_smiling_face:

Do you wanna have anything to do with someone who doesn’t respect you? I believe the same applies to entities. But , I suggest you treat them as equals and not superiors. Respect is fine ,but submission is not, at least for me.

:yum::yum::yum::black_heart::black_heart::black_heart::metal::metal:

Tell me about it… I have a Christian background. I couldn’t even say “devil” or “satan” without being lectured… :sweat_smile:
I feared demons were after my soul. What a joke… :joy:

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Nori, absolutely happy to help! I think if you feel compelled to work with Prince Seere, you should do so! We are told that if a certain demonic keeps coming to mind, they likely want to work with us. For me it was Leviathan who I felt a calling to even though many people warned me in the beginning Leviathan was “too advanced/dangerous” to work with.
You need to do what feels right to you. If you want to work with Prince Seere, do it. I can completely understand that you are nervous but remember that the demonic entities want us to ascend, evolve and become better. You should respect any entity you work with, but you do not need to be afraid.
Definitely check out V.K. Jehannum;s youtube as well. He explains some really interesting concepts, including that the demonics want us to advance.

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Welcome to the forum @nori
I’m not a voodoo practitioner but I know voodoo really well because I’m Cajun (New Orleans born and raised). The thing with voodoo is it is very common for people to confuse it for something its not. It is a religion, not an occult practice. My best advice is to be very wary of occult authors treating voodoo like its some sort of black magic occult practice and claiming to be initiated into the “mysteries of voudon”. Honestly that pisses me off so much. It pisses me off more that people actually believe their nonsense too. Voodoo is a religion. It was the religion of the African slaves when they were brought to america and it was converted and twisted by Americans and portrayed as something it isn’t (western culture has a history of doing this). Also be wary of anyone white saying they’re initiated in voodoo (did I mention its a religion of African people?) Perhaps they’re initiated in New Orleans voodoo, which is very popular and mainstream these days. Honestly there is probably more new Orleans voodoo practioners then there are authentic voodoo practioners these days. Not that its a bad thing, just that 99% of people don’t comprehend the difference.

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