The spirits are clearly autistic, because that’s exactly how one communicates with autistic people (of the verbal kind) in order to lighten the load of guess work. I call this interpersonal hygiene, and recommend it as a more practical way to delegate in any situation.
I can generalize here in brief, though there is a lot to getting a complex shrine working well. Generally, when there are many nodes of agency present things get hectic and cluttered. Too many cooks in the kitchen all with their own ideas of how things are best done. A big part of fixing it is having an intercessor (such as St. Cyprian or Hecate) to handle all the decision making for optimization, which means getting the other spirits to follow their authority as the prime organizing and managerial presence in the system. Switching it up and re-routing through an intercessor/operator if there are already a lot of spirits present can cause some initial challenges though, including headaches and pressure in the room for a week or two as the channels re-route and the spirits get accustomed to their new roles. This might be avoided by inducting one spirit under their management every few days instead of all in one go. There is also a lot to be said for protection. Standing orders to all protective spirits to be at rest unless directed to action by the manager/operator/magistrate/etc. (Cyprian or Hecate) can help a lot so long as there is another spirit who strictly observes and reports without ever acting. Protective spirits who are always on the lookout for threats tend to act on their own judgement and sometimes escalate situations that might be best handled through more gentle and less combative means, and constant vigil with the expectation of action can also run things a bit hot. So it’s a lot about delegating roles and standing orders to keep everyone doing what they do well and generally resting and not trying to do other stuff unless the information comes through and the intercessor decides action is a good idea. Even just too many spirits all making decisions can make a shrine space feel heavy or too thick, and giving the job of decision-making to one intercessor who excels at magic as part of their identity can really smooth things out, after the initial adjustment phase, that is. But the adjustment phase can be trying and it’s tempting to interpret the headache as “I’ve done something wrong” and reverse the work. In all cases the spirits being “installed” in this way should have some say in the matter, depending upon your relationship to them. But hierarchy in this respect is only about functionality and organization, not superiority or dominion. I hope that helps clarify, but would advise against doing too much at one time. Slowly is best, taking time to divine and listen and be certain of what you’re doing each step of the way. Damn I just wrote a lot hahaha.
This post has opened my eyes a little more on how shrines can operate. I like how you describe a shrine as a spiritual ecosystem. It would be a pleasure to hear more on what you have to say about this!
this was helpful. not really one for altars or shrines (i am the altar) but also practice energetic hygiene daily and work with certain angels. when i ask for something, i’m usually turning toward my inner wisdom and allowing that to steer me in the direction of other souls or spirits who might be able to help along the way. perhaps i like the scenic route. either way would love to learn more!
I think putting the proper weight and giving the proper time to turn inwards before acting and formulating requests is the best way to go about things, whether you work with one spirit or a whole retinue. I love the “I am the altar” concept, though for someone like me I get a lot of benefit from having physical objects to represent things. They stay fixed in place even when I am internally inconsistent so I guess stability is part of it, at least for me. I am fascinated with practices which install spirits into the body though. That seems incredibly practical and potentially touching on something innately human. Thanks for reading!
The spirits are clearly autistic, because that’s exactly how one communicates with autistic people (of the verbal kind) in order to lighten the load of guess work. I call this interpersonal hygiene, and recommend it as a more practical way to delegate in any situation.
This was so helpful! Could you also speak about the best ways to clear a potentially overactive shrine?
I can generalize here in brief, though there is a lot to getting a complex shrine working well. Generally, when there are many nodes of agency present things get hectic and cluttered. Too many cooks in the kitchen all with their own ideas of how things are best done. A big part of fixing it is having an intercessor (such as St. Cyprian or Hecate) to handle all the decision making for optimization, which means getting the other spirits to follow their authority as the prime organizing and managerial presence in the system. Switching it up and re-routing through an intercessor/operator if there are already a lot of spirits present can cause some initial challenges though, including headaches and pressure in the room for a week or two as the channels re-route and the spirits get accustomed to their new roles. This might be avoided by inducting one spirit under their management every few days instead of all in one go. There is also a lot to be said for protection. Standing orders to all protective spirits to be at rest unless directed to action by the manager/operator/magistrate/etc. (Cyprian or Hecate) can help a lot so long as there is another spirit who strictly observes and reports without ever acting. Protective spirits who are always on the lookout for threats tend to act on their own judgement and sometimes escalate situations that might be best handled through more gentle and less combative means, and constant vigil with the expectation of action can also run things a bit hot. So it’s a lot about delegating roles and standing orders to keep everyone doing what they do well and generally resting and not trying to do other stuff unless the information comes through and the intercessor decides action is a good idea. Even just too many spirits all making decisions can make a shrine space feel heavy or too thick, and giving the job of decision-making to one intercessor who excels at magic as part of their identity can really smooth things out, after the initial adjustment phase, that is. But the adjustment phase can be trying and it’s tempting to interpret the headache as “I’ve done something wrong” and reverse the work. In all cases the spirits being “installed” in this way should have some say in the matter, depending upon your relationship to them. But hierarchy in this respect is only about functionality and organization, not superiority or dominion. I hope that helps clarify, but would advise against doing too much at one time. Slowly is best, taking time to divine and listen and be certain of what you’re doing each step of the way. Damn I just wrote a lot hahaha.
This post has opened my eyes a little more on how shrines can operate. I like how you describe a shrine as a spiritual ecosystem. It would be a pleasure to hear more on what you have to say about this!
this was helpful. not really one for altars or shrines (i am the altar) but also practice energetic hygiene daily and work with certain angels. when i ask for something, i’m usually turning toward my inner wisdom and allowing that to steer me in the direction of other souls or spirits who might be able to help along the way. perhaps i like the scenic route. either way would love to learn more!
I think putting the proper weight and giving the proper time to turn inwards before acting and formulating requests is the best way to go about things, whether you work with one spirit or a whole retinue. I love the “I am the altar” concept, though for someone like me I get a lot of benefit from having physical objects to represent things. They stay fixed in place even when I am internally inconsistent so I guess stability is part of it, at least for me. I am fascinated with practices which install spirits into the body though. That seems incredibly practical and potentially touching on something innately human. Thanks for reading!