Below is quoted, at some length, from writings by one on the subject- that addresses the issue of what-one is Contacting.. the structure (and concerns to keep in mind in these experimental-ages)... for thought
[this may relate to draining-contacts that don’t seem to give the info or development, or outer-world results desired…] -vs just lead you on…
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re Contacts- to learn from, that have/are given ‘personalities’ to relate to… (whether contacted through Evocation, or Soul-Travel, or some in-between exchange… dream or association)… ~“Inner-Teachers”
"It is wise to keep in mind that their human element makes them fallible: they are not all-knowing and all-wise, but they do know things we do not, and if they are worked with magically and within the system that they operate in, they can become useful allies in magical work.
If the magician attempts to work with them outside of their system,
then problems occur, such as parasited contacts. It has become fashionable in certain quarters of magic to work with this type of human contact in an often out-of-context and near whimsical way. This exposes the magician to a whole host of problems, and because it is becoming such a widespread magical fashion, it is an area of magic that you need to be aware of as an apprentice.
In earlier times, these contacts were worked with only within their
own system, and as a result were not problematic contacts to deal with. But when you form a connection with any being out of its context or system, you disengage all the protective magical patterns within its structure. This makes you fair game for any being who wishes to feed off you, amuse itself at your expense, or, more dangerously, manipulate you for its own agenda.
We are in an exciting time of magical experimentation. With access to
the internet, we are exposed to all sorts of cultural, religious, and magical
systems that only fifty years ago most people were unaware of. This brings great benefit and expansion to magic, but it also brings trouble: it is good to be mutable, but it is also good to approach that mutability with foresight, intelligence, and care.
The first step in this experimentation and expansion is an understanding that not everything is as it seems, and not everything in magical fashion is real or stable. Magical fashion, which is often seen as the latest ‘in’ deity, saint, or spirit, is a sharp, two-edged sword. On the human side it is often fueled by a wish to sell product, and on the inner side it receives a parasitical response." -Josephine McCarthy
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How evaluate what is within-system, vs outside of their system?
(relating to traditions that have a real-energetic structure, not just "history")... previously worked for hundreds of yrs(?) vs a couple of yrs (yet longer ago, harder to decipher and be clear what they did- ex Egyptian, mythos and action-patterns from Hieroglyphs and Icos ~neteru)
Can one just assemble whatever seems to work? Then if there is no inherent Energetic Pattern behind it, then no such response (wisdom- coaching/assistance) can return (?)
if there is an Intelligence and Power(s) that respond.. then it is something that has a structure (thus one either follows/resonants with it, or is dis-connected from it).. not really both (whatever the nature of that "structure" is one's "sub-con mind"; an Outer Energetic form; something worked upon in the past; Still supported by InnerContacts out there- that respond in the same way that one may respond to this post via the internet. -issue being the response = 'works')