This is my introduction to different forms of Deity communication. In this post, I am merely glossing over briefly the different kinds and levels of Divine communication you can have and what you can do to start opening up a conversation with your Deity of choice. It got to be a bit too long to be one blog post so I’m dividing it into two parts.
Please bear in mind that I am not sticking to any specific tradition, this is merely from years of experience and trial and error. I also do not adhere to most historically based evidence though you will more than likely find that there is attestation of how this was conducted in other ways.
Who can do this?
It does not require a special sort of person to communicate with the Divine. In fact, all people, beings, plants, animals, and so on have a connection to the Divine at differing points in their psyche. Humans are the most evolved species when it comes to this sort of thing, but every animal that has a brain can know whether or not they are being communicated with by different sources, especially the Divine.
That being said, no person is incapable of opening a direct line of correspondence with a Deity and no person is exempt from bearing witness to the Divine in their life. The Divine is not omnipresent, but rather, each and every human carries a piece of the Divine within themselves. This is because our nature as humans aligns with the Divine in a very succinct way. No human will ever be without this piece of themselves and no human will ever fall short of having this piece within them.
However, due to the circumstances of the present time, we are at a loss with this sort of practice. We have ceased recognizing our feelings regarding the Divine due to religious upheaval in the West as well as Christian supremacy that has mistaken our inherent Divine nature with acts of counterproductive service and sin that is apparently only the inherent part of why we are here in the first place. No longer are we tied to the Gods in our own unique way but we have begun to identify with a moral superiority that takes no precedence in the ways before our time.
It is important that we recognize our influence and position over what came before this started and what we can do now to make sure it is never taken away again. We are the counterparts of our Divine selves and the Divine walk alongside humans as much as They can even when we are not looking to Them anymore.
For this reason, we are all connected to the Divine but the signal has been lost in the fabric of time, bias, and residual side effects of a long lost art of mysticism and wonder. It is not something of our imaginations that we think about all the time, but it is also not something that everyone is automatically capable of doing anymore, nor were they ever capable would it not have been their profession or specialty within their community.
Why should I talk to Gods? Don’t They already know me?
The short answer is no. You should not assume that any Deity you go up to you will automatically have a connection with. It’s just like walking up to a stranger and assuming you’re friends. That’s just not how it works. Though we each carry a piece of the Divine within us, there is still so many parts to the Divine that becoming familiar with one does not mean you are familiar with all. There are still multiple facets and ways in which the Divine reach out to humans and typically, we are the ones who are needing to come around to the idea in the first place.
You cannot build a foundational relationship with just any Deity, either. Some of Them will have no interest in your offerings or service. Some of Them would not know who you are if you do not reach out properly and give an introduction. They may know your name, what you do, but that is all the subjects that They would have an awareness of.
Consider that the Divine are not material and so because They are not material, They do not have eyes to see the world as it is. They also do not have any material body or bones or flesh and it never existed in the first place and it can’t exist now. They can, however, come down closer to humans and see us in Their own way, but we have to be the ones who are reaching just as They are.
It is like having a bright light attached to you the more you reach out, give offerings, develop a shrine, and build altars and rituals. Not all offerings, rituals, shrines, and etc. are created equal, either. Some hold more weight than others depending on how long they have been at them, how meaningful it is, and how knowledgeable they are of the Deity they are responding to and offering to.
It is not a given privilege to have a ritual be acknowledged by a Deity as it is likely not going to be on their radar. This is not to say there must be structure and ritualized formality all the time, but there does have to be some weight to it, repetition, and meaning otherwise it will go unknown.
The eyes that the Divine see with do not look at particles of light, but rather, see meaning and substance rather than a material subject. The more meaning you put into anything you do, the more authenticity you bring to the table, the more emotion and energy behind what you do causes, the more likely you are going to have a very likely chance of reaching a Deity. I talked about this more in my Basics of Physical Manifestation post.
The Gods aren’t omnipresent
Because They are not able to be anywhere and everywhere you are, They require having altars and shrines built that have objects on them of sacred value. I talk about how to build a shrine here and I’ve also talked about how to make sure the objects on them can build energy, meaning, and etc.
Consider that the Deities are magnets that are attracted to sources of energy that are conducive to Their energy and are charged with Their energy. They cling to things that hold value to Their natural inclination to be a part of this world and also build relationships with the beings within it. They have every desire to be relevant and continue to change the way we relate to Them but first we have to know how it is They get to where They are and why They must continue to be relevant to our lives.
You cannot assume whether or not They know you
I’ve said this a few times but I’ll say it again: do not go up to a Deity and say “hey, fucker,” or give Them a high five and intend on Them being okay with it. You don’t go up to strangers that you don’t know and insult them or give them a false title and expect to be treated with respect in return. That’s not how we operate and that’s certainly not how They operate. You cannot assume the Deity knows who you are and why you’re reaching out to Them if They’ve never heard of you before.
If a Deity does, in fact, know who you are and will reach out and have familiarity, you will be aware of it. It will be impossibly obvious and conducive to continuing to build a relationship with Them. If you do not feel that They are aware of what you are doing and have not had any signs or omens that would say otherwise, assume that They don’t already have any awareness of who you are and do not wish to be casual with you.
That being said, formality is a good way of going about it – though not too formal as it is only a sign of respect to be respectful to the Deity until proven that you do, in fact, have a relationship built with the understanding that you can be casual with Them and They want that sort of thing. Not all Deities want to have a casual relationship with humans and even Deities known for being casual want to have a casual relationship with all humans.
Loki is a good example of this. A lot of people will reach out and assume that He is all jokes and games and not really know about how to offer to Him or be respectful based on the assumption that He is not interested in being formal with anyone. I’ve known this to not be the case as He is often given a bad rap for being an odd one out because He is not treated in the same way as the other Gods are because He is a trickster. He is not all games and jokes and I’ve never really known Him to be funny up front to anyone unless they are ready for a swift kick up the ass.
Though Loki is hilarious and can be extremely playful, whether or not it is at the whims of Him not being treated properly and responding to not being treated with respect or because He is finding it fun to observe people responding to Him teasing them, it is yet to be determined unless you sincerely approach Him with authenticity and not put up the facade of being a jokester. Which not a lot of people do, it seems.
What kinds of communication are there?
You’ve built your altar, you’ve offered things, and now you want to have a direct correspondence to whom you are reaching out to. Cool. So there are many different ways in which you can reach out to a God and all of them, at least in the initial stages within the first few years, would require a level of offering to Them as well as giving Them a place to anchor onto because you are likely not going to be an anchor for Them without something for Them to hold onto.
With all of these forms of communication, it is recommended to first sit at the altar, light a candle, and pour out an offering or give food – even if it’s just water or bread, it is still something that is significant. Once you have done all that and built the space for Them to come down to, then it would be good to begin attempting one of the forms below of communicating.
Prayer
Prayer is more often than not a request made to the Deity to help resolve a problem or issue that you have come across and you are wishing for Their assistance. This can either be something They are known for assisting with or if you have a relationship with one Deity who is closely related to another, They can assist you in finding the other Deities to reach out to for that thing They cannot otherwise provide.
Prayer can look like requests, praises, feelings of devotion, or even just talking to Them out loud and catching Them up with your day. Thanking Them for what They do for you with an offering and candle can go much further than sticking a bag of Doritos on a shrine and calling it a day. Try to be your most authentic self and by that I mean, not being ridiculously formal that you have trouble having a conversation, but don’t put on any airs or pretend to be someone who you’re not for Them. That will not go very far. Performance is not a tactic in which you will receive any respectful acknowledgement nor will it likely be responded to well.
Formal prayers are often discouraged, and formats are not really a thing. Just speaking to Them from your heart and without the anxiety that They won’t hear you even after you do all of the things to get Their attention before, a little goes a long way.
I also recommend making a journal for writing to the Deity in. You can be brief in it or go on for pages about what you did that day or how you feel about the Deity in particular. It is easily stored on a shrine and can be extremely effective in maintaining a connection with a Deity because you are dedicating it to Them, storing it on Their space, and using the energy of writing to maintain it regularly.
In the same vein of journaling, I highly recommend trying to do automatic writing even if it’s just nonsense the first times. I would start with a pen and paper unless you feel your hands can type really well and fast on a keyboard, and start by asking a question about the Deity or what They need for you to know. Go from there and ask for context, clues, omens, etc.
I would recommend starting this by being grounded and calm. Do not do this if you are anxious, had an awful day, or feel angry or any other powerful emotion that would overwhelm you. Do this from the most neutral position possible and it’s good practice for discerning anything let alone talking and listening to a Deity. They will likely be pleased to answer a question as long as you make sure you’re sitting at your shrine from the start, have an offering and a candle and are ready to hear things you don’t want to hear or even what you do want to here depending on how far along you are in your discernment.
Write down the first things that come to your mind into the journal. If you have images, relate that onto the page, get descriptions of what you’re thinking or even if a song came to mind, write the lyrics of the song that you’re hearing, or the emotion behind it. Anything that comes to the forefront of your mind is worth writing down and keeping a record and tabs on. Once you are finished jotting everything down, draw a tarot or oracle card or rune and ask for a confirmation from the Deity that that is the response They are wanting you to hear or understand. That can also give you more of a framework around what They are trying to get you to understand.
If you are looking for even further confirmation, ask a third party tarot reader to give you a reading just to make sure you understand. Remember to only take what resonates and leave the rest but don’t hesitate to keep considering that even if this doesn’t resonate right away, don’t feel discouraged that you’re getting the wrong message.
Sometimes the message won’t be for you to know in that moment but rather something that will unfold in time. Keeping tabs on everything you come across will make it easier to reference back to and gather evidence for what the overarching message is.
Divination
As I said in the prior category, confirming things is the most encouraged way of approaching using tarot, oracle, or runes in your communication. It is highly recommended that you first use your intuition before going into using your divination tools because at that point, not only are you using your divination more thoroughly, but your bias will also be apparent in a neutral position.
If your divination is not really relevant to what you thought you were receiving, ask more questions about it and get to know why it was said in that way. Sometimes you’re completely wrong but I find that it is very rare to be 100% wrong all the time. It’s the context around what we hear and understand from messages that tends to get distorted because we think we know what we’re hearing when really we are twisting it to fit our own narrative. Divination is important to keep you anchored to what the actual intention of the initial message is and also having backup plans with other diviners, asking the Deity for more signs and omens, or even asking for further clarification after the initial message can also go a long way.
Levels of communication
Not many people are aware of the fact that there are multiple levels and ways in which a Deity can reach you. All of them have to do with the proximity They have to you, the easier it is to get through your head, and the clearer your mind, space, and life is.
If you are trying to build a communication with a Deity and trying to listen for Their responses and you aren’t getting very far, it is recommended that you pause and get back into your life and understand what’s happening there rather than looking to the Gods for guidance. It’s not that They won’t help you – They will – but They cannot get to you unless you are willing to acknowledge that there are some things standing in the way between you and Them. If They have guidance for what you’re doing but you’ll only hear Them berate you for doing something wrong, try to get to the bottom of why you believe you’re not worth hearing any sort of positive ways of going about doing things.
Your different levels of communication can also be determined by how long and consistent your relationship has been built over time. It is often also not how long you’ve been with a Deity but rather what quality of time you’ve spent with Them has built. If you have spent your whole time looking at other people in the community, listening to what other people are saying, and only going off of what history says about the Divine rather than your own experience, the quality of the amount of time you’ve spent on this journey will decrease rapidly.
So before you assume you’re incapable of having the level of connection that some random person on Tumblr says they have with the Divine because they have all these cool back and forth telephone conversations with the God and you just get static, know that it’s more than likely all bullshit and games unless they’ve done the work and made it to the point in which they can have the kind of back and forth kind of conversation. It takes practice and effort especially because this is so unique to humans and our time where none of this is considered conventional at all.
That being said, there are different sorts of resonance in which you can access a Deity’s communication to you directly.
Images, pictures, analogies
Metaphor, stories, and analogies are the primary way for Deity’s to function. Consider this Their bread and butter and Their basics in understanding human thought and emotion. It makes sense that the first level of correspondence you have with Them will likely be analogies, pictures, stories, and images. You may have flashes of a song in your brain that you can’t get out of your head, different sayings, or thought patterns that repeat again and again and hold a kind of emotion behind it even when it’s seemingly irrelevant to what you’re doing at that time.
I wrote a bit more about this in my post about gathering context and it is something that beginners could look to in order to build a more proper background in this sort of thing while getting to know the basics of Divine communication.
Words or phrases
After a fair amount of time has passed in which you are learning the ways in which the Divine interacts with you, and you have allowed information to flow through you effortlessly without using filters and other ways of understanding it, words or phrases will start popping up.
I liken this a lot to “word vomit” and by that I mean when I ask a question in my mind, without even thinking very much of it, I will hear a response to it in my head without me even thinking about it. Sometimes more information will follow very quickly and soon I will have a full paragraph in my mind about what the Deity is responding to. Also important to note that Loki is very chatty and He is more often than not the only one in my head talking. Other Deities may only ever stick to images or single words because They don’t really care to be super apparent in Their ways of communicating. This isn’t tried and true across pantheons, though if this would happen, it would be very similar to this.
Word vomit can also happen when you least expect it. It depends on what mind frame you are in or how close you are to Them in that way. You can give yourself more of a good idea of how to go about doing this by automatic writing where words in relationship to the Deity become a lot easier to comprehend. If you are a verbal person, saying the answer out loud into a microphone would be easier than writing it down, but if you are on the spectrum like myself, having it written in a journal, notebook, or Word document is easier than just keeping it locked in your head.
Don’t be afraid to have files and files of Deity communication. I use apps like Google docs and Obsidian to keep my thoughts and ideas organized when I am in a position to listen to the Gods and put words together. I also have divination noted down in confirmation (or not) of what I am hearing and also journal about that. It really depends on what kind of learner you are and whether or not your auditory processing skills are strong.
I also find describing things can go a long way. If an image pops into my head, I will note down what it looks like, how I’m feeling during the image being described, and what happens when I think it will go another way. Most often, my mind will double down on the response if it’s something that I find to be accurate because the Deity who is wanting this to happen will likely enforce it into being.
Sometimes just knowing is more important than second guessing yourself repeatedly. Your first answer, if it comes out as easily as “word vomiting”, will likely be the most important thing you get in this case. It’s when you go in circles about getting confirmation to the point you obsess over being right so much that you become wrong and get anxiety about thinking what you did initially… that’s when you have trouble and spiral out of control.
You will often get “pinged” when this happens and you finally unravel the context around it. “Pings” can look or feel like chills, sensations, warm feelings, and sudden emotions that overwhelm you briefly or for long periods of time out of nowhere. Those typically can be the feelings of being correct and a Deity is wanting to make sure you know you’re on the right track. It’s when those feelings stop happening is when you should worry about barking up the wrong tree.
Complete sentences
This is the final level of hearing things. This essentially becomes second nature to you after having gone through the previous steps and finally being able to have the Deity close by and They can manipulate the things you hear, say, and sometimes do.
If you consider that each level of intimacy is when They grow in Their knowledge of you and you of Them, the closer you are to the point that if you were a Venn Diagram, the two circles overlap – the point where the circles are overlapping is when you can get complete sentences.
This tends to be when a channeling, mediumship, or possessory experience takes place. If you find yourself going on about something without even realizing it, you will likely have found yourself being able to be a medium. As I said previously, everyone is capable of doing this and it’s an inherent part of being human. However, not everyone is going to respond to the fact that they can do this. Some people are more natural at it than others and others have trouble realizing they are good at it because they’re too paranoid about being wrong that they prevent the channel from clearing out.
This experience is often accompanied by shifts in energy, ringing in your ears, loss of control of certain parts of your body or twitching, and more symptoms of having an energy overriding you. Your senses will often be heightened and aroused. This is often a more advanced technique which I will go into more detail in another post but even those who are not yet so far along can have this experience right off the bat which is why I’m talking about it here for those who are questioning whether or not they need to see a psychiatrist or not.
In the next part I am going to speak on how to know whether or not it is a two-sided conversation and troubleshooting. Stay tuned!
Devoured by Flame 