Devoured by Flame

It is almost impossible to describe something that is unseen being made evident. Many people have tried to boil it down into a “feeling” that you get and some people may not feel anything at all. 

However, there are feelings that are universal depending on where in relation the Divine is to ourselves. The closer They are, the more prominent They can feel. When you are having an authentic experience with a Deity, it is very difficult to not pick up on and can feel completely obvious. This isn’t to say that anyone who cannot pick up on the Divine is stupid or bad at being a pagan, this is saying that there are certain environments in which the Divine are more easily accessible than others. All humans are capable of sensing the Divine – it is only a matter of how, how often, when, and why. This blog is answering the question of “when.” 

I think the best way to describe what it feels like is by using examples from all over the world as well as some science-based analogies regarding how the human body can react to energy on as big of a scale as the Divine. 

Attaching Energy to Beings

All things on this planet have energy attached to them. Energy can neither be created nor destroyed. Because all things have energy, the Gods, spirits, ancestors, and etc. all have energy attached to them just as much as humans do. To call down the spirits/Gods/ancestors, it is an age-old practice to “raise the vibrations” by singing, dancing, procreating, or anything else that gives an energetic response to cue the Divine energy towards the physical location in which you are standing. 

Some things that better encapsulate this is the fact that the Gods are not all-seeing, all-knowing, and omnipresent beings. They can be distanced and further or They can be as close as being within a human. It really depends on what the intention is or what you’re wanting to do. 
The form in which the Divine function is different from how humans perceive other human beings. It is strictly an energy source that is strictly energy and nothing material. It is not defined by any human capacity or perception, and we can only really glimpse a portion of it before it can be too much. 

It is not something to trifle with much less something to really think lightly on, though people tend to do that anyway. It is dangerous if it is not handled properly and the Deity can take advantage of those who do not know how to hold energy within themselves. The Deity should know better, being the one making those advances but there occasionally is the Deity who wishes to teach a human not to get too close or too hubristic due to their ego. 

I do not wish to fear monger – that isn’t the point here. The point is, however, that it is not something to take lightly into consideration. That isn’t to say you shouldn’t do it. 

Sex and Gods

Similar to sex, working with the Divine is something humans naturally crave. It is an enigma while also being something that can be completely pleasurable to the human experience. However, it can be mishandled and deemed to be inappropriate just as often as sex is, if not moreso. Sex is treated with gloves similar to how the Divine are treated. In both cases, humans are naturally inclined to have more of these experiences and are not as easily told to not go about doing it. Also in both cases, we need to learn how to have safe experiences so we don’t end up doing something that could cause harm to both ourselves and others.

In fact, sexual gratification is often perceived as Divine in its own way. Though we all have some sort of relationship within the framework of how we perceive the Divine to act in our lives – be it familial, platonic, or romantic – being close to the Divine can create a sort of reaction triggered by a heightened nervous system response and cause arousal that is akin to that of a sexual nature. It can cause ecstasy and can feel as though you are aroused and sexually enamored with the Divine. 

Just like we have longing for other humans sexually, the Divine also longs for us to be with Them. It is often treated as sinful – just think, people wanting to have intercourse with the Divine! How unholy! How sacreligious! – when it really is just a natural response to wanting to be close to the Divine and hold Them within ourselves. The Divine also wish for this to be true – if it wasn’t the case, why would we still be talking about the Gods today as if They were our friends, our relatives, and our partners? 

This aroused state is also a reaction to the energy caused by the Divine. Some people describe the room as getting heavier, the air thickens, and it becomes difficult to look at anything else but wherever the source is coming from. That is often the case when there is a manifestation in the room of a Divine presence in either a human body or a manifestation through a shrine or other anchored sources. 

I often describe it myself as a moth to a lamp whenever this happens. It’s difficult to turn away but it’s also difficult to gaze at Them. It’s intriguing but it’s also something that causes a great amount of discomfort. Each time is stronger than the last, and each presence of the Divine is unmistakable, unforgettable, and remarkable. Most of the time, I’m in awe instead of having meaningful conversation which is also to be expected. 

Manifesting the Divine

The source of the Divine energy can change and be manifested in a variety of ways. It can either be consolidated into one point in a room or it can be drawn across a room during a ritual. Typically, I have found there is an aura around the main point of the source of the Divine even when there is a specific point in an object or a person, which is how I know that the Divine is there and not something else. 

There is also a sort of empathetic response in regards to what the Divine may be feeling. Human emotions become magnified. If you are not used to the embodiment of a Divine being or a manifestation, it can cause a strong emotional reaction, overwhelm, and a sensation that is difficult to comprehend in the moment until it passes. The Divine also feel emotions which can be shared or not be shared based on the nature of the relationship with the human. I have found myself grieving on behalf of Loki without realizing the tears were not my own and I have also found myself raging at things I would not normally rage at that have some resemblance of being something Loki would feel strongly about. These things do not occur often and feel different than my normal emotions. I often feel it in my chest and it radiates outward into an emotion. 

Which brings me to my next point. The source of Divine presence is also within our bodies. Hindus refer to this as the prana or life force, which is connected to the heart and also connected to our souls. The Divine also reside within this chakra and so often when the Divine manifest, our heart chakras are more easily triggered and attuned to this presence. It can start from the heart and gradually course its way through the body or it can feel like anxiety or anticipation depending on how frequently the human is exposed to such a thing.

In the beginning of my relationship with Loki, I have found that He often felt similar to anxiety when He was around. I even cut back on caffeine and other stimulants just so I could have an easier time whenever He felt nearby. Over the years, it began to shift from my stomach to my heart as my body related the feeling from a traumatized response to being anxious because my heart rate often increased to being more able to react from a place of calm. The overwhelm became easier to handle though it is still there and still often the case whenever I have an interaction with Him in close proximity either through another human or on my own. 

Overwhelm can feel awful and often people misinterpret this as being a problem or a “trickster” energy because the Divine are not supposed to feel this way. I know I also misinterpreted Loki when He came close to me because my ears began to ring which was completely new for me and not what I once thought would happen. The Divine are supposedly subtle to experience according to anyone who I knew who spoke about their experiences, and this was not subtle at all so I quickly wrote it off as a trickster spirit. Little did I know that this was Loki all along and He was trying to be in close proximity to me and the air shifted and changed in a way that caused my nervous system to react similarly to when you take off in a plane or when you go up a mountain. 

What to Expect When a Deity Knocks

The fact is, the Divine are not subtle energies to pick up. However, this is only something that happens if the human would react well to this shift in energy. They do not make a habit of wanting to scare humans away from Them given the state of the world and how we are already struggling to bridge the gap between our relationships with Them and the state of Westernized religion in general. 

I do think, though, that the more people are aware that this can happen, more people would be more prepared for something of this nature. I certainly wasn’t prepared until after I witnessed people in trance states carry a Deity within the same room as me did I realize that I was exposed to the Divine in this way without realizing it. 

It is necessary to be prepared when this happens, however. As I said previously, it can be dangerous to your health if you go too quickly too fast. It can destroy the nervous system and cause a lot more fatigue and pain for people who may already be on the verge of any other kind of illness or disability attributed to the nervous system. People who are more physically active tend to have an easier time of holding this kind of energy. It isn’t that one person is more skilled than another, but similar to any other muscle in the body, the body’s ability to retain energy is a bit easier than others. 

That isn’t to say an ill or disabled person cannot stand in the presence of the Divine. As someone who struggles with fatigue and nausea daily, I can safely say that it is something that I got used to over time. It just takes a bit of sacrifice to my already depleted spoons. It can feel like having a cold or an illness and my body temperature tends to be raised a bit more similar to how muscles expand and contract in order to grow. It took a near constant exposure to the energy in order to hold it safely and comfortably. Now I am quick to recover any time I do any sort of serious work with Loki and after a ton of practice. 

When I say “get comfortable being within the presence of the Divine,” I mean it can manifest within and outside of the body. It is typically either/or though there can be sometimes where I am experiencing the Divine outside of myself while also having an internal experience. That tends to take a while to get used to, but it is possible. 

Internally can often mean that the Divine is seeking a way to be expressed within the human. This can mean a state of interchanging between channeling to possession. Externally is often when the human is picking up on energy outside of themselves through a shrine, ritual, or interaction with someone carrying a Deity as a medium. Both scenarios require building up a muscle in order to retain the varying levels of a Deity.

Regardless of where the sensations happen, they are unmistakable and unforgettable though uncommon as there is very few resources that give any sort of explanation about how this happens, why it happens, and what we can do so people do not have a mental breakdown each time a Deity steps a little too close to their devotee. 

In future posts, I’m going to explain the vernacular around what to do when a Deity approaches you in this way in order to create a framework that is more easily translatable for a Western audience rather than taking from cultures that are not mine to frame it. I will eventually spend some time explaining the varying levels of possessory states, how to go about channeling and divining, and how to respond when a Deity has a message for you.