Call your Deity

@Randomz Luckily, I'm more active on SoM right now, but if you [or anyone] has a question, don't hesitate to mail me. If it's something I don't know or is asking too much, I'll let you know, but I'll still try my best to help. Plus, it's the only way to ensure I'll see your question.

First, I want to stress you don't need to work with a deity, or necessarily have a deity, so don't feel bad if you don't work with one right now. On a personal level, I wanted to work with deities from day 1 of my craft, but I didn't know the right way to do it, so it looked more like collecting Pokemon rather than veneration. I'd get in contact with a deity, it would last about a week and move on to the next one [which is why I've worked with so many deities. I basically introduced myself, we hung out a bit, and I never called them back] Sekhmet is the Goddess I'm devoted to and have worked with the longest [but that's a cautionary tale on why you shouldn't make promises you won't keep] I had worked with many Kemetic [Egyptian] deities in the beginning because I was a huge Egyptology nerd. So, when I was around 18-19, I wanted to work with someone less ''Love and light'' and more ''Radical feminine'' energy. That's when I was drawn to Sekhmet. She was [and still is] the first deity that didn't let my nonsense slide.

I began as always, Googling ''Deity associated with'' and then whatever I was interested in [so Egypt, female, cats/lions, battle, strength, justice] and when I felt that pull, I researched her. [It's this lightbulb moment where something seems to stick out as if it's been highlighted when it hasn't. It's hard to describe, it's one of those ''You just got to feel it'' things. I hated when people told me that, but it's true. When you feel it, you'll know] So, that's step one. Research. Lots of research. Research your genealogy and what deities your ancestors worshipped. Think about what animals, plants, and activities you love. [I took a few years away from practice and when I returned, I wasn't in contact with Sekhmet, so I began researching maternal Goddesses because I wanted a gentle guiding hand. A line of my ancestors are Irish, so I looked for Celtic Goddesses. I also loved bears and remembered a few interesting encounters with bears growing up. That's how I met Artio]

Once I felt confident in my research [there isn't much with Artio, it's mostly UPG, which stands for Unverified Personal Gnosis. UPG isn't a bad thing, but it's personal beliefs you gain after working with a deity and not VPG, Verified Personal Gnosis which is backed up by historical sources] I contacted her. From my research, I knew at least what she was associated with, so I put a bear statue on my altar, lit a candle, put out some berries and water and introduced myself. [Hi, my name is Neko, and I'd like to work with you for these reasons. Please give me a sign if you'd like to work with me too. Thanks for listening, enjoy this offering] You can ask for a specific symbol if you'd like [a deity associated with crows, you could ask to see a crow with a stick or a specific group of crows, or if you just said ''Crow'' you might notice a crow seeming to follow you as you're walking] After I said my piece, I meditated for a bit, then thanked her for listening, wished her safe travels home, then snuffed out the candle and went about my day. The next day on lunch, I had this strange experience like a loving glow hugged me and I knew Artio wanted to work with me. From there, it's just finding a consistent practice of prayer, meditation, and work on behalf of your deity to help strengthen your bond.

That isn't to say you'll work with the same deity forever. You can work with deities without devoting yourself to them [think of devotion like marriage, it's a binding contract which can't be broken easily] A deity might be with you for a season for a specific reason. Artio was a maternal force who eased me back onto my path [I left because of a traumatic spiritual event] and when I was ready, Sekhmet returned and Artio stepped away.

As for a specific deity being assigned to you, that's rare. Deities are drawn to certain types of people and might be drawn to you for a specific reason, in which case, they'd call you, but most of the time, you'll contact the deity first. If you have a deity's favour, it might not be obvious to you until they reach out. I've been watched over my entire life by Hades, but I didn't discover that until Yule 2020 that he'd been with me for 31 years. I hate Greek. Greek mythology, Greek design, Greek food. The only Greek deities I like are Hades and Persephone [and to an extent Disney's Hercules movie] I know their myth and myths about them, but the rest of it annoys me [which is one of the reasons I never saw the signs] Growing up, I spent a lot of time alone in cemeteries, talking with spirits, into gothic stuff [Addams Family, Tim Burton] terrible at math but brilliant with finance, and a lot of trauma to name a few. A lot of people who work with Hades have difficult pasts, and he helps people heal from them [so a lot of shadow work] He's this very chill older male type [like an older brother or uncle] Many people seem scared of him because he looks scary, but he's honestly a sweetheart. [like that goth kid you think is scary but just wants to show you pictures of his dog] Hades, I met on accident.

Pomegranates are big for Hades and Sekhmet. Every Samhain, I place a pomegranate on the altar for Sekhmet and it stays until the spring [it never rots, it mummifies] So, I place the pomegranate on the altar and a few minutes later I get this pissed energy in the room, so I'm trying to figure out what it is, and it's Sekhmet. I'm like ''What did I do?!'' The spiritual essence of the pomegranate was taken before she got to it [like someone took a bite out of it] And I'm trying to sus out who did that and I suddenly sense someone standing in the doorway and get this random ''Hades'' thought and the energy vanishes. For the next 2 weeks, I'm dealing with all these Hades signs everywhere [people talking about him, posts online, dreams with him, black dogs everywhere, crows, my nannie is diagnosed with terminal cancer] So I go ''Okay, if this is Hades, give me an undeniable sign.'' And my Pyrex cooking tray exploded [nobody was in the kitchen, so nobody was hurt, I had finished making dinner and was going to wash it later so it was sitting by the sink] So, now I work with Hades too.

I would also like to give you a bit of advice, change your expectations. Social media has messed with the view of what deity work is. Yes, I bring my spiritual team with me everywhere I go, but they're not spiritually walking beside me and we're drinking lattes and chatting all the time. It's more like you're out and about and get a text from a friend. Also, there's a difference between worship and working with. Working with is what most witches do. It's a partnership, you leave offerings, and they give advice. Worship is more bowing down and venerating them [which, I pray to my deities, but it's more like a one-sided phone call over me grovelling at their feet] Think of it like you and your best friend. Sometimes, you are inseparable, other times, you might go a month without speaking, then pick things up like no time passed. And sometimes, one of you needs something, so you call them up and they're over in a flash.