Obligatory Disclaimer
Far too often online, I’ve found a ton of resources on popular social media sites where the occult has created space for itself and provided the instruction and tools necessary to work with spirits without the warnings of doing so (or, how to protect yourself from the bad aspects of such an exercise.) I want to share, firstly, these resources in the event that it is something you want to dabble in yourself.
If you learn to protect yourself out there, metaphysically, spiritually, mentally, or otherwise, you can avoid traps that you could fall into with parasites or ill-intentioned entities. While there is no “bullet-proof” defense mechanism, here are a few resources I found helpful:
Rey Cuervo’s Banish, Cleanse, Shield
Additionally, “handsome Cuervo” has taken the time to assemble a beginner’s thread where you can learn more about other methods of protection, baneful magic, and the like:
Now that’s over with, moving forward.
What is involved in this work
At the beginning of my journey, I attempted to work through the Goetia spirits with enn-citing and evocation, but both of those methods were difficult to focus on and I found that my attention would waver often. Due to my lack of focus with this method, my connection during these sessions were very weak.
I then moved to pathworking, which is still (years later) my favorite spirit working method.
What is Pathworking?
If you’re entirely new to this and don’t know what pathworking is, I’ll quote Theodore Rose from his book, Lucifer and the Hidden Demons:
“Pathworking is a form of mental journeying…… It is not an exercise in fantasy, but the purest magick, and by telling a visual story of yourself, you connect with demons in a way that is as real as any elaborate evocation.”
– Theodore Rose, Lucifer & The Hidden Demons
My first experience with pathworking was with the demon Zalomes from this book. Theodore Rose suggested that an area of expertise for Zalomes was to reveal secrets, which is something I am very interested in. To give you an example, here is the pathworking of Zalomes from his book:
A black horse galloping on the horizon.
A motionless man in flames, feeling no pain.
Saplings grow through the marshy grass.– Theodore Rose, Lucifer & The Hidden Demons
Unlike the book by Rose, which primarily used visual queues to deepen the transe, Corwin Hargrove in Goetia Pathworking mentioned that his group found using pathworking that engaged all of the senses worked the best.
I personally found that when spiritual journeying, if I could engage with textures of the destination it would ground me into the vision or experience, so engaging the other senses during pathworking seemed to be a no brainer for me given my preferences.
This method requires no tools. As a result, it’s exceptionally accessible for individuals who want to work with entities on a budget. You don’t have to have a book, as there are many online resources available. If you decide to purchase a book (which I recommend hard copies!), Corwin Hargrove and Theodore Rose write the concepts exceptionally well and make their content approachable to new readers.
The Journey
In what I will refer to as my “late phase” in the practice, I’d reached a maturity that I thought I could take on this working, which was popular in the community at large, and inspired in my more immediate community by some thought leaders in the space. It is not a working that has to be undertaken with any sort of cadence, and in reading about the experiences of others across the internet, there was a lot of variance in timing, approach, and engagement. It was definitely a matter of preference for the practitioner when working with these entities.
This experience was a strange one, with me relating it to something from my high school English class many years ago:
Mrs. [Walter] lifted the small, egg-like object in front of the class. “A crucible is a container. You put something in it, turn the temperature all the way up, and what comes out of it is the broken down element. The purpose of the crucible in this context is to break you down to what you really are.”
When I finished my first few pathworking sessions, I went through a period of drastic change. I felt pushed to new directions, experiencing previously unfathomable feelings about myself and my circumstances. I toiled and struggled, but I feel like the goetia work did just that: break me down to what I am.
I was forced to deal with my inner shadow again, except for real this time. The work is far from over, but the shame I previously had has loosened its grip on me. I look forward to the peace that awaits me, with hopefully a nice little “here’s the answers you were looking for all this time” in a nice little filing cabinet next to it. (Unrealistic? Too much?)
Regardless of what awaits at the end of the path, in whatever form it takes, I will share my experiences with these entities and the experiences I had as a result in follow up to this header post.
