spirit work is how it sounds, working with spirits. these spirits can be spirits of plants, people, animals, mythical beings/creatures, familiars, and otherworldly spirits. it is communing with these spirits, building a relationship with them (forming trust) and asking for their aid (be that in protection, spell work, etc).
TYPES OF SPIRITS
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now i should preface this with the types and branching of spirits is vast and wide, and it is dependent on culture, tradition, and religion. i am going to be focusing on animism and the undead spirits, but i will briefly touch on other important/highlighted entities.
: ̗̀➛ plant/flora spirits; spirits that are of trees, plants, flowers, rocks, etc. things found in nature that aren’t mammals or animals. most common/popular examples being nymph spirits.
: ̗̀➛ animal/fauna spirits; spirits of mammals, bugs, birds, and reptiles - spirits of the animal kingdom excluding humans.
: ̗̀➛ house/domestic spirits; house spirits have the potential and possibility to be human, but they can also be non-human. domestic spirits (in rome they’re called domestici lares) are guardians of a household and generally the protectors of the home and even the hearth (depending on mythos and region). a common/popular example being saints.
: ̗̀➛ tutelary spirits; tutelary/guardian spirits are exactly how they sound, they’re guardians. these spirits can be guardians of a specific place (like a temple or holy ground, see Shi lions), graveyards (this can be any spirit but the most famous is a gargoyle), or of a person (like guardian angels, but any spirit could be a guardian, such as gryphs)
: ̗̀➛ human spirits/shades; a human soul can and is defined many ways and varies from person to person and tradition to tradition, but human spirits (aka shades, ghosts, etc) can and do reside in our realm alongside the spirit realm (via transport, normally by liminal spots or the aid of a psychopomp, but some can travel on their own).
: ̗̀➛ vampiric spirits; vampiric spirits are spirits who drain energy in order to survive or gain strength. back in the day they were known to cause sickness, health issues, and low immune systems, etc. most common/well known spirits are vampires/vampyres, succubi/incubi, some umbra/shadow people, and as i like to call them - dream wyrms.
: ̗̀➛ infernus spirits; infernus spirits are those relating to the underworld, this can at times overlap into the demonic, but not all of the demonic are infernus. infernus spirits are mostly those who aid as psychopomps, but they can be the servants and attendants of infernal or chthonic deities.
: ̗̀➛ mythical creature spirits; mythical creatures or legendary beasts are those who are not of this plane and reside in the spiritual world. some can be worked with while some cannot (such as faer folk, a note about faer folk is that it’s best to just leave them alone, or yokai).
: ̗̀➛ familiar spirits; familiars are spirits/entities who are shapeshifters and sometimes called demons who create a pact with a practitioner/witch/mage/etc. in order to aid them in magical practice and even protection.
it’s important to know and note the basics of spirit work in order to start spirit work. so here are the foundations of what is needed to know for proper and safe spirit work.
let’s firstly begin with what cleansing is and why witches do it. cleansing is a way of forcing negative energy out of an area or person. cleansing is an act that is sort of like a reset button. think of it like showering! you shower because during the day you collected dust, dirt, sweat, etc. and you want to be clean so you take a shower! cleansing is similar, you collect negative energy from weeks of active or inactive craftmenship and even spirits or other entities can latch onto you and your home which then drains your energy. cleansing is needed to keep your space clean and easy to manage energies. it’s important to cleanse yourself, your space and even items. cleansing is important for all magic arguably, but especially spirit work. there are plenty of methods to cleanse, the most popular is smoke (do note it’s important to not smudge smudging is a closed practice to natives and indigenous in north america). but there are other methods such as sound, air/wind, energy work, and water.
banishing is also an important skill to have in your back pocket. banishing is is a more forceful means of cleansing. it’s to forcefully remove an entity and less “nice”. banishing can be done in rituals, spells, using fire (writing the name or being down and burning the paper), air (writing the name or being down and tossing it in the wind), earth (writing the name or being down and burying it), water (writing the name down and tossing it in the sea or river, drowning the paper, etc), etc! loads of ways to banish and more i didn’t mention!
grounding is an extremely important part of spirit work. grounding keeps you in a stable mindset and energy wise keeps you balanced. ways of grounding can be dancing, shaking your hands and feet, stomping/jumping, meditating, taking a walk, listening to music, etc.
section iv. circle casting/closing
circle casting is important, especially for beginners, it creates a wall and safe zone for yourself and the spirit. one of the easiest ways (physical circles) is to pour a circle of salt around you, candles or crystals at four points (in the position of a pentacle), etc. as far as mental/energy ones, some use their finger or a wand and do a complete circle around them, or, a circle and a pentacle (pentagram). while casting circles some people call upon and evoke deities, angels, the watchers/watch towers, spirit guides, elements, etc. for protection and ensuring safety. some believe you must cast a circle starting north and finish at west, some don’t. no matter where you start the circle you must start and end the circle at the same point, going the opposite direction than what you started with when casting, will close the circle. so if i casted my circle clockwise, i would close it counterclockwise and end at the same point i started with.
section v. further protection
casting a circle isn’t the only method of protection that should be precautioned, there are also the means of protection such as layering warding (which is a lesson in itself). some examples of warding are; energetic wards, spell jars, spell bags, charms, crystals, sigils, and house guardians to name a few. you can also veil during spirit work, but it’s not necessary.
setting boundaries with spirits is super important, especially if they’re staying long term (but even if it’s short term have boundaries!) so say you don’t like it when spirits knock, establish the boundary politely of “i don’t like it when you knock at night or during the day, so please don’t do that.” remember, be polite, but be firm too. and if you want a spirit gone tell them sternly!
section vii. what are vessels?
vessels are what ground spirits and help to stabilize them in our plane, a vessel can be anything too, such as jewelry, dolls, a pen, bones, literally anything. an anchor is similar to a vessel, but an anchor doesn’t “house” the spirit, more so provides it a free range and source of stability. conduits channel the spirits energy, it can be symbols, sigils or other iconography to channel and then utilize a spirits energy. these are all important tools and things to know when it comes to spirit work.
: ̗̀➛be assertive, but be polite
: ̗̀➛ do not forcefully bind a spirit to an anchor, vessel, or conduit alike
: ̗̀➛ always use consent when it comes to using vessels, anchors, or conduits
: ̗̀➛ ask and negotiate, come to a compromise, have firm boundaries too
: ̗̀➛don’t forget to feed and provide energy for any vampiric or even familiar spirits
: ̗̀➛ make a schedule if you really need to/set reminders on when communication is and isn’t ok
: ̗̀➛ don’t sell, show, or give away spirits
: ̗̀➛ treat them like you would treat a living breathing human
: ̗̀➛ when entering a house, i normally like to whisper a quiet greeting or even in my mind saying “hello”, “good day”, “good afternoon”, “good morning” etc.
: ̗̀➛ depending on your belief, greet the house guardian
: ̗̀➛ light a candle to them, do divination, learn about them!
: ̗̀➛ don’t take what’s not yours, it’s impolite
: ̗̀➛ have manners, people from all centuries probably reside there
: ̗̀➛ greet & give offerings to the guardian at the front gate (this can be a tree, a specific spirit, animal spirits, etc.)
: ̗̀➛ treat them like they’re people
: ̗̀➛ dont step on the grass (this is respectful to the dead and their families)
Landmarks (i.e. lakes, forest, plains, oceans, etc.)
: ̗̀➛ introduce yourself & say a greeting
: ̗̀➛ spend quality time & respect boundaries
: ̗̀➛ offer things that will benefit them / the area (i.e. water, compost, etc)
: ̗̀➛ don’t be shy to strike up conversation and divination
