I’ve already asked for initiation with his sigil but I fee I should do more. How do i go about this?
I feel like you have already received this answer in your other threads tbh. 
For one I don’t personally think there is any need to self initiate to a deity before working with it. For two there really isn’t a set way to do this with any spirit unless you take someone’s premade ritual, or the spirit gives it to you directly and most of those that are premade for the spirits are closely related to religious views of some sort.
Usually when someone talks about self initiation, or initiation of any sort, they mean into the entire current of spirits, because they are going to be working with a specific pantheon- usually long term and as their main focus for a while. There’s nothing wrong with you doing what you are, but usually it’s something like…
I work with the Loa, there’s an appropriate way to approach to show respect to the spirits. So even though I was invited to work with the Loa by Baron Samedi and Met Kalfu, when I finally accepted over a year later- I approached Papa Legba and asked him to open the gates for me to the Loa. Or some people call it the crossroads but for whatever reason I always ask him to open the gates.
So basically I think you are over thinking it, and all of the answers you’ve received about self initiation to any other deity apply here. If you insist on needing to do it for every deity you are going to work with though, I would suggest actually spending some time working with them- rather than hopping around, so that the time and energy expended on making an elaborate ritual is worth it for both of you, and look at it as a beginning of a relationship with said deity rather than just opening communication, because like I said, you don’t need to initiate to every spirit you just want to say hi to.
But I’m sure @itsnathanm7 can probably guide you on some details that would be useful also, for this particular deity.
5 Likes
Thanks! I hope I’m not annoying anyone.
1 Like
Uhm, if you are, oh well. They can ignore it, the forum is to ask questions. I just feel like you’re missing the boat on needing to have things so… laid out.
Granted I am only one out of thousands of us, but I think if you’d just let things flow- and let go of these little details that are consuming your thoughts, that even though it might seem weird or awkward, you’d find where you need to be quicker.
I know there’s a lot of paths and a lot of spirits, and it can take some time to figure out where you need to be headed, so I’d just create your own initial contact ritual, use it for each one of these and go from there. Eventually a few of them will stand out as winners to you, and you’ll likely develop a deeper relationship with them.
Yes! I’m creating my own ritual right now.
1 Like
Generally speaking, what works for one, will work for most. The only caveat is where you need to approach a gatekeeper spirit first, like with the Loa- that is Legba. That’s the only pantheon that I personally work with that has this need, but I know there are others, just not which ones they are offhand. I work with spirits of the dead, the Loa, djinn, demons angels and a few gods- but none of the gods I work with required a gatekeeper spirit to approach respectfully.
1 Like
I thought Vodun was a closed practice. How could you work with the loa?
1 Like
I don’t practice Voodoo and I can work with the Loa, because Baron Samedi and Met Kalfu came to me and invited me to work with the current due to past life connections
Not everything is in your current blood. I didn’t even know about the past life connections until August of this year, I had no knowledge of it when I received the invitation. Voodoo is a religion.
1 Like
I see!
1 Like
If the spirits themselves invite you, I see no reason to hold to a manmade religion, particularly one where the spirits often use the follows for a prime source of energy in exchange for an occasional favor from the spirits to the worshipper. (Pretty much every religion)
I don’t practice Voodoo and I do not worship, or give offerings. They teach me how to do magical things myself- with my own energy, usually, rather than do it for me.
Also a few of the Loa, predate the first instance of Voodoo, but you really have to research hard to find their origins in Ancient Nigeria, during the Ancient Egypt era. It took me about 6 months to honestly dig that deep, information gets scarce the further back you go.
2 Likes
Awesome! I’m so glad I’m in this forum. I was originally in a discord channel and everyone kept dogging me for working with Lilith. They told me that I can’t work with her even if she came to me.
3 Likes
No offense, but I’ve told people to go pound sand up their ass for shit like that. I feel like everyone’s path is their own path. I’ll give my opinion, share what I know, then whatever they do with it is their business and doesn’t effect my day, and I expect the same, or I don’t need to conversate with that person about my practices- or whatever the topic is.
Adults can agree to disagree and still conversate about it, and about other things without it changing anything as far as the relationship goes. They just don’t all realize it.
Often when someone tells you can’t work with a spirit, they’ve got religious/ dogmatic views clouding their judgement- even if they don’t realize it.
2 Likes
Correct!
1 Like
If I were to use chili pepper in my initiation ritual what could I use it for?
1 Like
Well, technically I’ve been known to use whatever herbs I have and assign a meaning to them when I didn’t have anything else but.
Usually with hoodoo works, chili peppers are used in baneful works, and to spice things up. Like if you’re doing a freezer or jar spell, you’d put it in to burn/scorch the target. If you were using it for love, you’d use it increase the intensity or spice of the sex life. ( I don’t practice hoodoo either but I studied it a while, that’s actually where I started my personal path and have implemented some of the practices into my workings, but I rarely use them in entirety as they were found)
So it’s important to know what your intent is with the herb and to hold that intent in your mind as you add it, to charge it so to speak with the energy of your intent. I would say you could probably use it to intensify the ritual.
1 Like
I guess I could use it to “spice up” the initiation.
1 Like
I’d say intensify, with the intent being to make it… hmm how do I word this- the spiritual presence more known to you.
You can also google chili pepper magic uses, and see if something else jumps out at you. But like I said, I don’t always use herbs the way they are traditionally spoken about, the intent is the important part, so unless it’s truly contrary with the nature of the herb, it tends to fine. I’ve never had it not be, but I’m sure you could do something so wonky opposite that it just didn’t mix with the energy of the herb.
The spiritual presence of the deity? Correct?
1 Like
Yes. I’m not sure how well it work, and it will depend to some degree on you putting the energy and intent into it doing that, but my mind tells me you truly want to use it that way, and push the intent into the herb before you use it in the ritual, it should aid in that way.
Granted if you have zero open senses, that might just mean the temperature of the air somewhat changes or whatever. It could be minor but more than you’d normally get. So basically whatever level you are at, I’d expect it to take it up maybe half a notch or a whole notch or something like that, but not like… from nothing to 100 you know?
Yes! Basically you are saying I will gradually feel his presence whilst performing the ritual.
1 Like