Religious Practices and Myths

[Ishtar Shakti]

Various religions have different practices which are mostly imparted or gathered from myths which are passed down through generation from generation and are interpreted by the knowledgeable persons of each new group (wise men women etc.)

The myths though, those that were actually written down, can be read through various sources and have some interesting aspects associated with them. Some generational practices and ceremonies are passed on through oral tradition and institution myths which may be hard to replicate or understand.

Links:
http://www.sacred-texts.com/shi/kojiki.htm
This is a copy of the Kojiki it isn't the one I read for class but if your interested. It also has a cleansing ceremony in it
http://www.magictails.com/creationlinks.html
http://folkloreandmyth.netfirms.com/creationmyths.html
http://www.dreamscape.com/morgana/ariel.htm
http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/creationmyths/Myth_Creation.htm
This seems to be a decent link to various creation myths and information. In anycase research is fun so go look into a few of the names for your self.

Some practices of pagan persons call upon dieties in order to ask them for favors or for guidance.
This is different then worshiping a spirit or praying to them as you are calling for their interaction or interference or for them to touch your life in some aspect.

In order to safely call on a being it is important to understand the person you are calling on and reading the stories and myths associated with a being can be helpful in establishing a safe and proper practice.

In some cases a person may call upon a deity and get a completely different spirit. The spirit may pose as the deity or the being and use the person lack of knowledge in order to gain influence over the person. Its important to know what your doing in order to avoid this. While the spirit may not be malevolent I have come to expect all beings especially deities to have their own desires and goals which should be kept in mind when dealing with them.

Well established practices for calling on a specific being may have more efficacy as they are ingrained in tradition and the being aforementioned may be more familiar with that method and that name.

I have found that proper energetic naming and signatures is important in order to actually call on the person to manifest that you are aiming for.

While I do not advocate invoking a beings name without proper reason or necessary cause I do advocate knowing what you are doing if you are going to try to attempt it.

In anycase research your deities.

A small comment on worship or offering gratitude to a deity or god. This is generally not dangerous. The worst that can happen is that the energy that you are using worshiping the deity will not reach the deity and may be used by other spirits or scavengers. This can happen at places of worship etc. that aren't properly guarded. Also worship can act much in the way of spell craft, when you are focusing on your desires you might not be giving your will to your god but to your desires and thus what you might be praying for your will might be creating in the world around you.

All this is generally harmless.

It is also important to not trick yourself into creating your own deity. Some people will desire something so much that they will subconsciously create the manifestations of a god or a being much like a god in their own life. They will see this being as they want it to be seen and they will cloth other beings in the guise of their spirit. This is where the line between willful delusion and metaphysics may appear.

Be careful to know what you want and what your doing before invoking a spirit.

This is all on the word of caution. Much like someone advising you not to let yourself get possessed. Due to all the Bad consequences and possibilities that May happen sometimes in advisories the good outcomes may be over looked. There are plenty of positive experiences with invocations that have ended well and made rich interactions between a person and their chosen deity. Just the bad happenstances have tainted the pall of experience a bit.

It also may be a good idea to establish rapport with a deity before trying to invoke the said deity. Worship first invoke latter with due respect humility and knowledge.  

[Brass Bell Doll]

Ishtar Shakti

In some cases a person may call upon a diety and get a completely different spirit. The spirit may pose as the diety or the being and use the person lack of knowledge in order to gain influence over the person. Its important to know what your doing in order to avoid this. While the spirit may not be melevolant I have come to expect all beings especially dieties to have their own desires and goals which should be kept in mind when dealing with them.

I feel it is orth noting we can also create spirits unconsciously by imbuing energy with characteristics designed to react to stimuli in certain ways. A very basic example would be an energy that is designed to respond to a name.

I also feel that it is possible for someone to offer reverence with less risk than is being presented and without the kind of in depth understanding many of us use.  

[Ishtar Shakti]

Brass Bell Doll

Ishtar Shakti

In some cases a person may call upon a diety and get a completely different spirit. The spirit may pose as the diety or the being and use the person lack of knowledge in order to gain influence over the person. Its important to know what your doing in order to avoid this. While the spirit may not be melevolant I have come to expect all beings especially dieties to have their own desires and goals which should be kept in mind when dealing with them.

I feel it is orth noting we can also create spirits unconsciously by imbuing energy with characteristics designed to react to stimuli in certain ways. A very basic example would be an energy that is designed to respond to a name.

I also feel that it is possible for someone to offer reverence with less risk than is being presented and without the kind of in depth understanding many of us use.

Well... that wouldn't be a spirit but a doll or a servitor that we created to look like a person or react like one.

That definitely is worth noting though.

I've noticed alot of times when people offer reverence or practice worship there really isn't much danger. Hmmm maybe I should be more specific that this is if people are asking direct guidance or interaction with these spirits then just worshiping them.

Though I want to add that even when people worship spirits sometimes the worship acts more like a spell then the energy actually going to the being that they are worshipping  

[Ishtar Shakti]

added some stuffs  

[Brass Bell Doll]

Ishtar Shakti

Well... that wouldn't be a spirit but a doll or a servitor that we created to look like a person or react like one.

I feel this is likely a difference in our understanding of what a spirit is.

I feel Servitors and other similar concepts present in Peter Carroll's work are different kinds of spirits, with the term spirit being a reference to beings that don't have bodies.

It may be helpful to discuss what you feel a spell is.  

[Ishtar Shakti]

Brass Bell Doll

Ishtar Shakti

Well... that wouldn't be a spirit but a doll or a servitor that we created to look like a person or react like one.

I feel this is likely a difference in our understanding of what a spirit is.

I feel Servitors and other similar concepts present in Peter Carroll's work are different kinds of spirits, with the term spirit being a reference to beings that don't have bodies.

It may be helpful to discuss what you feel a spell is.

A spell is a construct. It is a created thing shaped by will
A spirit is a form on one level that isn't physical. A spirit differentiates from a doll because a spirit houses a soul. If their is no locus of will from which change is made then there is no spirit. Or well spiritual form. Its just a doll/servitor. A type of construct of energy.

Usually self suffiecient dolls bend preexisting channels to them and ride the channels so to speak.
A doll as in a shape with no soul. A servitor as in a doll which ultimately serves the desires of its master. I would also probably differentiate those as a doll when I construct them is running a program independent of my will while when most people construct a servitor they are linked to it and feed it energy.

I like self sufficient spells though. Dolls work best when they can run a program and collect data on their own. I only use the word servitor because everyone knows what I mean then.