I think this practice is foundational of anyone who believes in a sort of spirit or entities tied to another realm. This, of course, has evolved over the years, as most things do, and now when witches talk about doing “spirit work” they are rarely talking about working with the dead, damned, or demons. If you are like me and came into witchcraft from a more folkloric setting, this may strike you as rather odd. After all, what is a witch without their spirits, imps, demons, and familiars? This word - spirit - has now turned into a catch all between working with your HGA to Necromancy to intentionally trying to communicate with folkloric creatures and spirits such as the fair folk or elementals. Of course, this little excerpt is just touching on language that I’ve seen changed, or at least redefined from what I understood it as, by the witch community. A spirit is ultimately a non corporeal being.
But, how do we, as witches, connect with them? Work with them? Are we to build relationships and respect them or use them as tools at our disposal. As per usual, in witchcraft, it really is up to you. But lets say you are a novice who has no knowledge of spirits or making spirit contact. The first thing people will push you to do is research, however I think this is way too general a statement for this task. If people are still telling you “just research,” without any further explanation of what that means, topics to research, or an area of focus in a topic to research, they aren’t really helping you at all. Nor do they want to. And that’s okay. There is some independent decisions that need to be made before getting into spirit work. Ancestral veneration is often seen as a great way to start spirit work and I agree. If you are trying to “make contact”, however, please keep in mind it is a bad idea to call upon family members or spirits who you lost traumatically or you still have emotional baggage with.
To start up a relationship with your ancestors - or the general dead for those witches who prefer - you ought to start praying or offering at a shrine or altar. This can be anything as a single photo and candle to a whole ornate set up full of tools for cleansing, protection, and divination. There are many, many different ways to do this. If you are having trouble working with your altar, I have made a post about this as well.
Once you start getting comfortable with having their energies around, being able to hone in on what is coming through, you will be ready for meditation. Note that this is advice for someone who has never even thought about contacting a spirit. Setting up the altar or shrine and introducing the energies to the home is a slow, steady process not all witches may have to take. If you view yourself as comfortable with spirits and ready to work with them, just follow these next few steps for first contact in meditation;
When it comes to spirit work, you should always be protected and cleanse yourself afterward. I find it slightly counterintuitive to cleanse a space before I attempt to contact a spirit. Why would I drive out those things which I’m trying to contact? There is an argument for driving out solely negative entities, which is great in theory, but has never worked for me in practice unless I am connecting to Divinity. For simple protection during spirit work, you could cast a circle or physically put one down (with salt, flour, rice. Consider how it would react to your working space.) And for simple cleansing, using sound, vocal incantations, smoke, or prayer is all quite common. I’m a fan of physical circles in my practice, but I know it isn’t everyone’s cup of tea.
So, all this prep is great and all, but when are we going to start hearing voices in our head? Right about now. This is not possession but rather channeling. You are simply being a conduit for the spirit to speak through. You are not losing will or ability, but simply connecting to the spirit. There are ritual forms of doing this which enable the spirit to lean more toward a possessive nature, but these are rituals you should be well-studied for and comfortable with simple contact first.
The Meditation
Simply sit down and get comfortable in a space where you are okay with bringing these energies about. Make your breath steady and low. Once you feel you are completely calm, call out unto the world. We are all familiar with the “are there any spirits here?” from Ouija, but this is a bit different. To show you what I mean. here is a loose incantation of what I do: “Wandering Spirits, restless or cold, come forth to my circle for secrets be told. By fortune’s luck, and witch’s reign, I raise the dead to this Earthly plain.” This is a bit more welcoming of a variety of spirits, and the beginner may want to vocalize the type of spirit or attitude of spirit desired. Keep in mind, however, not all spirits are honest. I recommend taking a divination tool such as tarot or coin to assist in determining whether or not a spirit is being truthful. And, as always, use your own discretion and intuition.
I hope this is able to help somebody if anybody!
