#godphone
Godphoning & Its Inherent Dangers In The Spiritual Community
Disclaimer: this is aimed specifically at “causal” acts of godphoning and does not represent my opinions in regards to communication with deities in religious or spiritual practices which require that only specific people (such as initiates) communicate with their gods.
As always, I am here with some poorly contained salt. This time, it is aimed at the casual practice of “godphoning”.
Specifically, I want to discuss the tendency of certain practitioners to (supposedly) channel, horse, or otherwise pass along messages from one deity or big entity to another practitioner. (At times, they may do this unprompted, and somehow, their messages tend to suspiciously sound like their regular dialogue, or align with their own agenda).
At its core… it really doesn’t seem like a bad thing . After all, spirit communication is one of the main goals spirit workers have.
However, beyond this, godphoning for others has some insidious implications that we should all be very afraid of.
The act of becoming a “voice” for a deity is rife with unhealthy power dynamics. The messenger is given all control and all responsibility for this interaction. They must first receive the message, translate it or articulate it properly, and then deliver it as the god intended. Through this game of telephone, intonation, accuracy, nuance, energy… it is all lost. This is made even much more concerning by the fact that spirit communication is rarely an easy, effortless, direct thing. More often than not, spirits give us messages which are heavy with meaning that can only be understood through specific contexts. Additionally, the agenda of the god may be obscured by the agenda of the person tasked with delivering their words.
To become a “godphone” requires the receiver of the message to suspend their diselief and place upon the messenger faith and trust which should be solely reserved for their deities. At this point, it is very clear that the two parties are not equal. More concerning, this may bleed into other aspects of the relationship, so that the godphone must be treated (at all times) with unquestioning respect because through them speaks divinity.
Even messages which might be lighthearted, or seemingly harmless, have this effect. Moreover, they have the unintended consequence of robbing practitioners from the potential of spiritual intimacy with their own deities. To rely on others when receiving the words of gods is to keep yourself from learning how to hear their voices directly.
To conclude this, I can only say: if you are someone who relies on godphoning to speak with your gods. Stop.
Seriously, you’re not doing yourself any favours. The thought of someone tangible validating or guiding you into the ethereal might be comforting, but it is inherently unhealthy and harmful towards you.
Stag’s Rules for Responsible Mediumship:
I have a lot of opinions about what it takes to be a responsible medium. I’ve seen a lot of irresponsible mediumship, and it’s so common that I no longer feel comfortable offering my own mediumship. I now refuse to offer mediumship services, despite offering them years ago.
These are my personal rules for my own mediumship skills, and I’ll admit, the rubric by which I assess other mediums. I’ve set them up in a series of Do’s and Don’ts + some explanations/ reasonings for each.
1.Do: Ask permission before reading, channeling, for relaying messages for anyone.
Don’t: Read, channel, or relay messages for someone unsolicited.
- This should be obvious. Give people a chance to accept or deny your services. We should all understand consent.
2.Do: Help people who express having a problem and ask for help or mediumship.
Don’t: Try to help someone who hasn’t asked for help.
- Not everyone who says they are having trouble with something wants external help. They may want to figure it out themselves.
3.Do: Take responsibility for what you read, channel, or relay.
Don’t: Pass the buck for your reading, channeling, or messages to the entity.
- It’s like being the person at the D&D table who makes wild choices and then justifies it as “That’s what my character would do.” No one like “That Guy” don’t be the occult version of “That Guy.”
4.Do: Encourage people to vet your readings, channeling,or messages with their own divination or outside sources.
Don’t: Expect, or worse insist, others to rely on you and you alone for their knowledge and gnosis.
- As a medium you should want what you say to be backed up by other sources, either academic or community based. This proves that you’re not just making things up or presenting your UPG as fact.
5.Do: Encourage others to develop their own skills, and help/offer advice if asked.
Don’t: Just do a task for someone else who is struggling with a skill you have so that they don’t have to try.
- This will prevent the people you read for from developing their own skills. As a medium should feel proud when someone says, “I don’t need your services anymore, I can do it myself.” There is a good chance your work was helpful in them getting to where they don’t need you anymore.
6.Do: Relay messages or channel for someone with as little personal filter/interpretation as possible.
Don’t: Insert yourself, your opinions, your UPG, or your personal paradigm into someone else’s spiritual relationship.
- I know this one is hard, and it takes practice to master, but irresponsible mediums will use their mediumship to assert their own understandings and beliefs over others. Not everyone has the same understanding or relationships with incorporeal entities, and as a medium you need to remember that and let whoever you are performing mediumship for make their own informed decisions and interpretations. You wouldn’t set yourself up as an unsolicited intermediary between two physical friends, so don’t do it for a person and an incorporeal entity.
