Barbelith Underground > Temple > contacting the gods

In my experience, I've found that godforms don't generally like to mess about with the fabric of reality by doing things like generating a physical body out of nothing to house their essence unless there is a pretty good reason, and chatting with curious magicians usually doesn't cut it. This being said, they still have other ways to communicate. I've become used to two of these:

Man-made godforms (those whom I consider to be born out of the imagination and worship of humans) normally use the same technique that chaos mages do: they influence probabilities to bring about certain natural events which don't break natural laws but cause a desired effect. They usually have a large selection of personal symbols at their disposal that they can use to make the contact recognizable. Bear in mind that some of these entities have been communicating with man for millenia and have gotten the hang of how to do it in a cost-effective manner, however they are used to dealing with people who have been specially trained in their ways and can thus interpret their "code". When attempting to contact such entities, first read up on them and learn all their associated symbols: glyphs, totem animals, weapons, tools, alternate names and titles, centers of worship... read any stories and myths in which they star to recognize their typical behaviour. And then wait. If you suddenly begin to encounter major chains of synchronicities featuring these symbols, this is the god talking. Take note of where and in what situation which symbol is encountered and try to deduce the intended message. Try to follow their lead if they suggest one. Once you are in contact with one entity you are dealing with the traditionnal symbolism of the society which created it. So if certain symbols to them meant danger, wealth, love, bad/good luck, etc... they may be used. It is also a good idea when creating your own servitors to assign them such symbols and instruct them to use this to communicate with you. This has worked for me.

The other form of communication I've encountered comes from what I call natural entities: those which were not intentionally created but were born out of the amalgamated emanations of lifeforce and the coalesced thoughts and emotions of beings living together within a particular area. They include both nature spirits native to a forest, mountain, lake or similar place, but also the spirits of cities. These entities normally lack a clear, preset form of communication and are also less used to talking to humans. Accordingly, this type of contact is a bit harder to make and always vague a best (for me anyway). It consists mostly of emotional influence. It necessitates a period of acclimatization to the area, getting a feel for it, finding sensitive points. Then meditating and attempting to send basic images and emotions to the spirit and waiting to feel something in return. It's a lot harder to believe since it's basically all in your head but you eventually learn to recognize actual contacts from imagined ones, and it can be very rewarding. Talking to cities, especially, is useful and has become a favorite of mine.

Both of these methods assume communication within our own reality. If an entity has the right opportunity it will prefer to work in a reality where it can take control of the environment without stretching natural laws and expending vast amounts of energy. This means getting the receiver into an altered state of consciousness. The best moment for this is while dreaming. After an apparently failed ritual, pay close attention to your dreams. Learn to remember them well. The second best, as it's been said, is while under the influence of some hallucinogenic substance.

OK, this is long enough as it is, personal examples perhaps later.

All of the above, of course, is IMOLU (In My Own Little Universe).

[ 06-11-2001: Message edited by: Gus ]