It is a little known fact that a Deity can actually become a tangible, noticeable thing within your presence. This has been a practice for several millennia and is still something that can be done within your home, as well as around your physical body and within your physical body.
The many different ways of manifesting the Divine is a practice that has been lost within the neo-pagan community and the occult tends to make it a thing that is a bit more in line with target practice – shooting an arrow and seeing if it lands anywhere and it may not be something you’re really wanting to do unless you anger someone you shouldn’t. However, it’s very real and it can become something of a joyful thing when you do it right.
A lot of people feel discouraged when they don’t seem to figure out how they can make sense of the Divine like others seem to. It seems like it’s impossible to communicate effectively for others and while it may be impossible given the situation you’re in, this is something that all humans are capable of doing and something that is important for those who wish to have a sort of relationship with the Divine which has this added benefit of two-way communication.
We often forget that there are both sides to this entire experience and the Divine need the same sort of environmental differences as humans do to make Themselves more obvious to Their devotees. It’s important that we stop entertaining the notion that only special people get to do this, and realize that it’s not about being chosen as much as it is the capability of recognizing patterns and information that is not obvious right away.
Why Physical Manifestation?
Discernment – This work can make it easier to discern and practice other aspects of your work. By practicing this ritual technique, you can become better at any sort of magic or energy work you put your mind to. If you want to be able to discern what the Gods are trying to say to you, these are also typically the means in which you can begin to interact with Them in a more precise way on your own time without needing divination to be the medium. The better you are at using the energy and tools at your disposal, the more likely you will thrive in this work.
Spirit Work – This can also work for ancestors, land spirits, fae, etc. I am just using the Divine because that’s all I really work with. However, lower spirits like the ancestors, land spirits, or fae do not require excessive amounts of energy to manifest as they are lower on the vibrational scale and do not require an immense amount of work to come by.
There are ripple effects to this – Things in general tend to work out better the more you bring the Divine into your physical space. They tend to make Themselves available for those who have the space to keep Them in. Though this takes time and work, of course, the benefit is that it is more efficient than just throwing down cards or runes and hoping to derive an answer from nothing.
It’s really fucking cool – I mean, I don’t know about you, but this gets my rocks off. This is the best kind of proof I have of the Divine being an immanent presence in my life and it’s changed my whole fucking world. It’s also made me a significantly better practitioner of energy work, healing, and diviner. Ensuring that the Divine have a place in my life has been extremely impactful to my ability to be a confident person and has excelled my devotion to Loki in a very, very short amount of time.
The Basics
Invocation – Calling out to them
Not always needed but preferred and useful when starting to build a shrine, placing a statue, or performing ritual in a newer space and area. There is a sliding scale and the less familiar you are with the Deity, the more energy is needed to pull Them towards you.
If you consider that we must meet the Divine halfway and you are just starting to do this sort of thing, the more energy you create, the easier it is to pull Them towards you and for Them to reach down and be there as well. The longer you do this sort of thing, the more work you put into it over time, and the more positively the Deity responds to you, the easier and faster it’ll be. You don’t need to be important for this to not be a thing, but you do need to have a skill in determining how frequently and useful it would be by ways of divination, asking for a confirmation, or simply doing trial and error.
The best sort of experiment is an experiment where you are free to make mistakes and go back and fix them. Otherwise, you’re just playing games and you’ll likely only ever stay there. You cannot assume you’re already good at this sort of thing. The Deities understand that you’re working on trying to make it easier for Them to come around, you need only a little push from Their side to make you aware of where you stand with Them.
The act of creating can be used as an invocation because it builds over extended periods of time. For example, lighting a candle and then doing something that would require long periods of time to make, like devotional art, jewelry, writing, cooking, etc. can be a really good way of inviting a Deity into the home without making it formalized and ritualistic.
Making a poem that has a good rhythm and rhyme is also really useful to build energy around a shrine or place that you are wanting a Deity to be.
Making Space
Anchors
Given that Deities are not omnipresent, it is important for there to be something for Them to hold onto and have while asking for Them to come around. So having a candle holder that you use for lighting their candle would be better than just having one that is lit or one that will melt and then be gone. Having an incense holder that you use specifically for a Deity is also helpful while keeping it on a shrine rather than specific incense though storing the incense you use on the shrine will also be helpful.
Cleansing
Making use of an area that is already kept sacred and clean enough for a Deity to come by is also an easier way of allowing Them to come around. You can do this by vacuuming the carpet, sweeping the floor, dusting, throwing away any trash around the area. Making sure no one that would otherwise not be a good person to keep around isn’t nearby – for example, if you think they have a bad energy, you shouldn’t do this kind of work with them. That isn’t to say you shouldn’t be friends or live with people who have a bad “vibe” but it can throw off what you’re doing and deter the way you feel around the area.
Around the Shrine
Having Their shrine set up in a specific way is helpful as well as the objects on the shrine being specifically used for each specific God. Sharing things is okay but it is preferred to be kept separate. You can store the shrine on a shelf, in a box or in a cabinet.
Keep candles lit while using the shrine and while having Them there. Once they are blown out, They will typically depart unless there is something that is already being used as an anchor point. Throw away any candles that are otherwise being used for something other than invoking a Deity and don’t use any candles that are stored in places that are not kept clean. Typically, even just a tealight from the dollar store will do the trick and is cheaper than tapers, but tapers are always okay, too. Even just making a spell candle that is useful for the Deity is better than taking candles from around a house and throwing it together.
Different Ways the Divine Physically Manifest
Touch – Tingling, warmth, and pressure on a specific area on your person is typically how it feels when a Deity is reaching out to you. One practice is to hold out your hand while sitting at a shrine and feeling out for Them. Sometimes it can feel prickly or like your hand is going numb. It depends on how strong Their presence is and how often you do that.
Sometimes, it can feel like the wind is moving your hair, or that someone is close to you or besides you. It will feel obvious and weighted.
Sight – While it’s important to note that this isn’t always going to be a Deity and it could look like you are getting a migraine or your vision is going, you also need to notice when this happens and how frequent it happens and if it correlates with anything else in the room.
That being said, a Deity can also appear to humans as an orb but it typically is very fast moving and can appear in the corner of your eye. You’ll likely not be aware of it unless you are looking for it and also it only can happen if the space you are in is conducive to Their energy. If it’s not clean and if you’re not trying to invoke Their presence, it can be a bit more difficult. Some of the time, They can also use a space that is not being used by humans like out in nature or some other noticeable way.
If a room is significantly darker than usual, it can also be an indication that They are there. It will feel like the light is fixed on one area which is where They are like a shrine, a human being who is being possessed by Them, etc.
In a dark room, They can look like colors changing in your vision or blurs of spaces. It can be a spatial awareness thing where things feel closer than They really are.
This often won’t happen unless you’re okay with it. Most Deities are not inclined to freak anyone out and most of the time, it won’t happen at all unless it’s something you’ve been working on for a number of years. There are, of course, reasons this can’t happen for some people and I’ll get into that later.
Smell – If there are smells that are frequently used like incense or a candle and if they are not already lit, sometimes the Deity can manifest as that smell anyway. If you notice you’re smelling something that isn’t there, it’s a good indication that They are around. They will not cling onto harsh chemicals or otherwise toxic or potent things so make sure that you’re not using any chemicals to clean the area and if you are, make sure they are dry and already mopped up.
Feeling – Different sensations tend to be significant to different energies. For example, Loki feels warm while Odin feels cold. Freyja also feels warm but more vibrant. I tend to feel these within my heart chakra and throat area all the way down to my stomach. It’s different for everyone, but the more open you are, the easier it is to feel Them as comforting rather than anxiety because the intensity a Divine being is often bigger than you’re otherwise used to and Their presence can be overwhelming. This is the most common form of physically manifesting as it’s the easiest to access for Them. The other senses are not as internal and would require a significant amount of work for this to become more obvious.
Vocalizing – This tends to not be an audible experience, though you can always tell that a Deity is closer if you’re more inclined to hearing Them say certain things. The less manifested They are, the fewer words They will be capable of using. The more manifested They are, the more sentences and words are more easily accessed.
A lot of people don’t know that a “godphone” can be multiple things at once. You can use an area of your home as a sacred space and notice that you’ll hear the Deity talking more there than They would in other spaces of your home that are not kept sacred for Them. The more you cleanse your home, the more other people living in it are okay with the energy around Them, the easier it is for this to continue outside of your sacred space.
It is likely that you will not hear Them outside of this and it will tend to seem fuzzy or misconstrued for other things that don’t always make sense in the moment. That’s okay. This just means you can eventually use things as an anchor for Them to continue to hold onto until you are more comfortable with knowing the distinctions.
Emotions – Though this isn’t exactly physical, it can manifest within yourself. Emotions tend to be stirred when this work is effective. Oftentimes, the unique exposure to Divine energy can make people either laugh hysterically or bawl. It really depends on the energy that is being imposed on the human involved. For instance, when having Loki around me sometimes it can feel like everything is hilarious or it can cause intense rage or grief. The Divine often need a place for Them to release Their own emotions and it can make you feel things in return from being in Their physical area.
This is not something to be scared of or ashamed of feeling, either. When I first started this practice, the very first time I could see Loki caused me to weep for a few hours after. It wasn’t because I was sad, but because this was the only way I could release the sensations He caused me to feel.
Troubleshooting
Not Being Grounded – A Deity’s energy can be extremely overwhelming. The more present They are around you, the more important it will be that you have something on you that has the same amount of energy as Them.
Think of it like raising the vibrations of an object and getting it to match the vibrations that surround you. If you charge an object on your shrine that you’ve been working on for a while, it will likely already be something you can hold onto when the energy gets to be a little too much.
Some symptoms of being ungrounded can mean that you lose track of time, your brain feels fuzzy or it can’t think about anything else, your energy is really buzzed but then gets depleted the moment you come down from it, and also dissociating in other parts of your day without even realizing it can mean that you are not fully present in your body.
Some outlying factors in this tend to most often be that you don’t actually have anything that is keeping you in your body so if you’re prone to dissociating, scrolling on social media for hours, or watching a lot of videos, shows, or movies and not pay attention, it is more likely that the effects of this will be really hard for you to deal with. You likely also will be a more anxious person or depressed. Both of these often are factors of when you are likely not going to feel good when a Deity is around you.
It’s important to have your needs addressed and stay that way while doing this work lest you come to find that it’s getting harder to do this in which it’s okay to stop for a little while and come back. Your health is always more important than this, and your Deities will appreciate your maintenance and knowing that it’s important for you to take care of your needs.
It is important to be more grounded in your body also by moving your body, working out, walking, being in nature, and having something that is immediately going to ground you. The more work you do to remain in your body and stay there, the easier it is to be able to come back after having this kind of experience.
It’s like building muscle. You need to eat right and gain weight and lose it accordingly in order to strengthen your muscles and in this case, you need to maintain proper hygiene spiritually and physically in order to maintain a better holistic response to the Divine and maintain a good presence with Them.
Distorted Perception of the Divine
It is true that you can only lead a horse to water and it’s also true that you may not always realize that Whomever you are working with has no interest in you or has stopped coming around should They have once been around before. You may not always realize when a Deity has left but you may find it difficult for Them to manifest should They not agree to come around for you.
You should not demand Them to talk to you, be disrespectful, or if They feel ignored even when They have been obvious to you and you didn’t listen, They may not find it worth Their time to make Themselves known.
It’s important to resolve any issues you may have around working with some Deities and it’s best to leave an offering around if you aren’t really sure about where you stand. The Deity may even have a bone to pick with you and unless you’re ready to hear about it, you may not want Them within your range of hearing until you are wanting to listen. I’ve witnessed Deities come down to humans only to berate them for not talking to Them respectfully, hearing Their opinion, or encouraging Their devotions even when you may not feel like it.
You should not be blatantly casual with a Deity regardless of who you’re speaking to and regardless of how close you think you are to Them. You shouldn’t approach with saying “hey, fucker” to any Deity and especially even if They are known for being laid back. Regardless of how laid back They might feel, talking to Them as if They are your friends can be presumptuous and insulting especially if you have not attempted to reach out in an effective way until now.
Do not be casual with a Deity until it had been made absolutely clear you can. Do not assume a relationship with a Deity unless that has been proven through multiple means, and do not assume your importance to Them.
Approach this work with an open mind which could mean being denied Their attention and having the means to work with Someone else should you be going down the wrong path. It’s important that the more you involve the Divine in your life like this, the more capable you are at being wrong about things leading up to this point.
It is much more possible to only be somewhat wrong and have fragments be correct – for example, you know you work with a trickster energy and for a while you thought it was Hermes but since you started this, it was Loki all along. Or you may think that you’ve been working with Odin for years when you’ve actually been working with a thought-form and the real Odin has been knocking this whole time and couldn’t get you to listen because you’ve been too busy asserting you know everything about Him when you don’t. I’ve seen this happen to many people and the list gets longer everyday.
This is just a fair warning and if you don’t believe me, that’s fine, but don’t say I never warned you.
To be clear, it is possible to have a casual and laid back relationship with a Deity no matter who it is, but assuming it is because everyone else is performative or even wrong and assuming it themselves does not mean that when you call a Deity down to your home you should greet them with an insulting name and no offering. It’s like telling a stranger to go to your house for dinner and not having a table to sit at and assumed they would bring food with them.
Unclean Energy
It’s also important to note that cleansing too often can kill off the energy you want to be around just like washing your hair or face too often can lead to oil and bacteria. You’ll want to maintain a hygienic practice mostly by making sure you have a clean area and space around the shrine or ritual activity. Spiritual cleansing using metaphysical techniques should only happen once every two weeks to once every month depending on how frequently the space is used by someone other than yourself.
If you find that it’s getting to be difficult and things keep interfering with your work at the shrine and no other person has been around you or your sacred area as of late, it’s likely that you have unclean energy around the space. It is okay for this to happen and not a moral imperative, but you’ll need to either smoke cleanse, use salt water, or keep a salt bowl nearby to balance out the more negative and parasitic energy.
If you yourself feel unbalanced, try taking a shower or bath and intentionally cleaning the “dirt” you feel and feeling it go down the drain. It might take multiple times for this to be maintained but it’s important that you know you can change what’s going on around you and yourself to be a bit more amenable for the Deities to be around.
Also, watching shows or movies that are distressing can induce a parasitic sort of energy around you. If you go from watching a movie or show that is not amenable to keeping a very peaceful atmosphere, you’ll need to meditate, ground, or cleanse.
This is typically known in Hellenic circles as “miasma” and several people typically see this as morals or values to live by but there’s really not anything that is supposed to be assigned a moral issue. If having the Gods around you is important and you want to have a relationship that is meaningful, it’s important to notice the things you consume, do, or be around to make sure that everything around you is approachable both to the Gods and for other humans to be in your space as well.
If in doubt, ask the Gods for guidance around how you can go about making sure that your space is good for Them to be in. Use a pendulum or cards or even just meditating and figuring out via your own feelings what They feel. If it’s important, you’ll know what you need to move on,
Feeling Like This is Impossible
In some cases – many cases, even – you will likely find this to be more difficult than I am making it sound here. This isn’t something for you to be worried about immediately but if this troubles you, I would take it up to the Gods involved with keeping your space clear of any debris or parasitic energy. Sometimes it means relationships need to change, people need to leave, or you need a different atmosphere. If this is impossible for you to do, consider talking to Them about figuring out other methods for you to do in order to have a space carved out for Them to be in.
As an example of needing to leave for there to be a meaningful time with a Deity, I used to walk at a park when I lived with my ex-fiancé because his presence was not sustainable to having a good balanced area energetically for Loki. I didn’t know this at the time, but I found that the more I tried to make my space easier for Him to be in, the more my ex was pushed back and eventually I left within a few months of me learning this process.
Some Deities are More Present Than Others
When in doubt and you’re doing the right steps and making the right choices, it is possible that the Deity you are reaching out to is not wanting to reach back. It is also possible that They might not have the ability or desire to come through the veil for you and be present in the way that is useful to work with. They might determine that a relationship with you is going to be more effort than it’s worth or it’s possible that They know Someone else is already there and won’t take that away from the other Deity. You may be barking up the wrong tree depending on who or what you’re looking at.
I have known people to struggle with this because they are calling out to the wrong God and they’ll never know it’s another Deity who is reaching out to them. I have also known people to struggle because it’s something in their environment that is causing a disturbance in the environment the Deity is coming down through.
In Summary
The Divine are Inherently Catalysts
If you make a vow or promise that you want Them in your life, They are going to go to lengths that you may never see coming in order for your life to be kept in a way that is good for Them to be in. This can mean cutting relationships, leaving a home, or being on your own with your praxis. It can take a while for this to happen but if you’ve been working with a Deity for a long time, it’s likely you’ve already felt the nudges of what needs to happen in your external environment as well as your internal for it to be more conducive for Them.
The closer They are to you, the more things will happen that you may not realize is Them controlling variables and arranging parts of your life to be more suitable. Most of the time, this is a benefit for both sides and not just Them, but it really depends on Who you’re working with. Some Deities will take what They can get and leave no scraps for you to deal with, and others will be gentle and reassuring while taking apart your life and rebuilding it for Them to be of use in.
Loki tends to be noted as the destructive one and the permanent Tower card and while this is true, I do believe that it’s in order for us to maintain a better life with Divinity Themselves. He may cause things to crumble in the way that will make them more suitable for the Divine to come through and His methods tend to be more obvious, but all Gods have Their own way of going about it. This can just be a last resort at times or even if you’re a stubborn person like I am, it’s the only way for Them to get through the rubble.
Variances and Choices
All of this varies and there’s no single right or wrong answer. The logic is clear, though. If you want to have a good relationship that is a two-way street with the Divine, some things will have to be given in order for it to come to pass.
Nothing is ever written in black and white when it comes to mystical beings and mysticism in general – it is mostly gray and liminal. While there is no doctrine or dogma in polytheism, there is praxis and ways which are more effective than others at maintaining a balanced life with the Gods around you. They are not human and do need to have assistance at reaching you, but They are there and They will be there if you call and They will respond. You just may not realize it because you have not gotten to the point where you need to be in order to listen.
More often than not, the deeper you are in this work, the uglier it can be until it levels out. It took me about 5 years, which is not a long time in the grand scheme of things, for everything to finally be put in a position where I can easily access my Deity in a way that is conducive to learning and instruction. However, things had to be destroyed, taken away, and resolved before any of this could even begin and even then it took years of leveling off certain parts of my life before things could finally grow. It’s like soil composition – things need to rot and die out before others can take root and flourish.
It all takes time, courage, and sacrifice, but I did get here in the end by the skin of my teeth. I’m also stupidly stubborn and no one could tell me not to do something because I’m going to do it anyway. Experimenting is a bitch.
Moral of the story is that anyone and everyone can do this – no matter how mystifying it may seem – if they are willing to put in the work, time, strategy, and effort. And if not, there’s nothing wrong with a casual offering every now and again and moving on with your day. It depends on what you want, need, and think you can have that makes it your choice. It’s all a great big science experiment, trial and error, hypothesis, changing variables, and results. You just have to keep guessing and see where you’ll land and allow yourself the ability to fail and try again.
The Gods won’t hold it against you if They see that you are putting in effort and are actually trying to make Them an important part of your life. They won’t refuse your time or your effort and if anything, They will respect you for even attempting to reach out even if They aren’t the ones you need to go to in the end.
Devoured by Flame 