This is all good, but as spiritual people, we must take care that we don’t abandon God while embracing Goddess, or ignore the masculine forces of Nature.

It is especially disheartening for me, with Vodun as my home faith, to see people co-opting female/feminine Orishas without any understanding of them or their place in the Yoruba or diaspora pantheons.  Somehow, the vast majority of them pounce onto Yemaya without first, going through Eshu.  There is a reason that everyone must ask Eshu before approaching other Orishas.  If one does not have the proper attitude of reverence, one cannot successfully work with Nature.  There is a good reason that the Orisha we approach first with reverence is identified male, and it’s not just because his first human avatar was.  There’s a reason he chose a male body first, with whom to enter the human consciousness.

The female may carry babies and give birth.  This is no small task.  The male however, provides the seed, provides for the mother (or his female relatives in matriarchal or heavily matrilineal cultures), physically and psychologically protects her, and does the vast majority of the warrior and builder duties that keep societies functioning.  Without male presence, children would have to be born walking and talking.

Yet in western culture, maleness is being villainized.  We’re told that there is a rapist or murderer lurking in every dark place, waiting to strike, and we’re told that these are almost invariably male.  We are taught to suppress any hint of masculinity in our boys except as it directly profits a woman.  Some Pagan and Wiccan feminists even attempt to force feminist political agendas through magic, without considering the long term effects, much less what the spirits who nurture humanity may want.

A spiritual person should be able to see through all the mess, and should understand the need for reality and for balance.  A spiritual person should have a God in harmony with their Goddess.

A spiritual person should be egalitarian, not feminist.  The spirits do not have a political agenda.  Where you may have a closer affinity to feminine spirits if you’re female or have been driven that way because of a special talent (you may be two-spirit regardless of your orientation), you should have place for the masculine as well.

…and for goodness sake, if you’re incorporating spirits or paths from the Vodun or diaspora systems, get into Eshu first.

We all know at least one Goddess proclaiming person whose life is in shambles.  They’ve alienated the men in their lives as they are attempting to distance themselves from masculine spirituality.  Yet they claim that since they’ve embraced the Goddess, they’re doing the right thing.  As the years go by, you’ve seen them become ever more shrill in this proclamation, and yet become ever more hollow and shallow.  If you’ve ever been in a coven or group where it seemed like a competition to be the most “empowered” and felt uncomfortable with this, that was your animus and probably Eshu with Shango singing backup, telling you to get out of there, and rightly so.

Respect the masculine in harmony with the feminine, and you’ll find many things in your life improve naturally.  You’ll feel more free to let your Oshun aspects come out when you know there is a Shango around.

Suppressing masculinity suppresses femininity because both need each other to exist.  Even and especially if you are a naturally tough woman, you should be able to access the masculine spirits.  A good many if not most tough ladies became so with considerable contribution from their fathers or other positive male role models.  To balance expedience and honor, one must balance their masculine and feminine self.  Just as men and women need to learn to live in peace in the outside world, you need to learn to live in peace with your feminine and masculine self in your inner world.

The visible world is like the tip of the iceberg.

A question that I get a lot from both healers and seekers of healing is about how someone can possibly do it from a distance.  It is actually quite simple if one knows how.  The basic technique can be used by those with or without a special talent.  It doesn’t take a particularly deep spirituality.  What it does take however is a relatively strong mind.  It also helps with the visualization, to have a strong intellect.  You will need to be able to think in more than three dimensions.

First, we will review the facts, and then we will go into the how to, based on the facts.

Fact:  Everything in the universe, even in 3 dimensions, is connected.  We are not made of any unusual or unnatural substance that popped out of nowhere.  The same dirt the Earth is made of is the same dirt that we are made of, and is the same dirt that the stars and planets are made of.  We are just not all arranged the same.  The plastic spoon you use to stir your coffee is part of the same universe that you are.   The main difference between you and that plastic spoon though, is that you can sense the influence that plastic spoon has on you, but it can’t sense the influence that you have on it.

Fact:  The mind stores information, and information that is important enough is regarded as an influence.

Fact:  When an object or person influences us, we carry that with us beyond the moment of the incident.

Fact:  When influence between living beings is mutual, both have stored a mental image of one another, and the higher the impact of the influence, the deeper the connection is between the beings.

So, based on all of this information, the psychological connection between any two people overrides any physical distance.  You may reach out to one another through your minds at will.  Many people interpret such reaching out as a mystical experience.  However, it is very much psychological and doesn’t really require any particular ceremony. 

You may wish to use protective and positive prayers though, since you will be using the same parts of the brain that allow us to handle mystical experiences without going insane.

How to Reach Out

Clean and quiet your mind by the means that you are used to.  This could be deep breathing, relaxing to some soft music, chanting, dhikr, mantras, whatever.  You will need to reach a state of inner awareness first.

Imagine yourself (not your body, but your self however you are in your mind) standing in a wide open field with no ground.  You are in an area, not standing on a floor, but a stable area.  Then imagine all of the living beings you have ever met in your life (not their bodies, but their impressions as they have influenced you), even bugs and plants all around you.  Now remember that they have all had some influence on your life and the way that you think of things now.

If they appear to be spiralling around you, try to shift this to both a spiralling and a rolling towards you.  Remember that you are visualizing the influences that living beings have had on you because you are attempting to utilize your mutual connection with them.  Keep yourself steady while this is going on.  Going “out” to join them is a different exercise.

Don’t try to be specifically conscious of each and every individual being.  This will tire you out before your mission is started. 

Just be aware that they are all there, and all a part of your sphere of influence.  Then reach towards the being that you are attempting to contact by thinking of them.  It helps if you have seen and talked with them.  If you haven’t, then thinking of a letter or call you received from or about them is enough.  If the idea is just to connect with them, then when they come into your inner view, receive whatever information there is to receive, and then detatch naturally.  If you are to give them a gift of positive energy, then give this to them after receiving information, so you know what exactly to give them.

Then allow the visualization to dissipate gradually as you return to the “real world”.

See?  It’s not so difficult.  It just takes a bit of practice to get used to.  Try it out with close family and friends first, and then move outward to people who have had less mutual influence with you. 

You may someday be able to do distance readings and healing, but be patient with yourself.  Your natural abilities and level of openness will determine how well you will be able to use this technique.  Some times you may be more capable than others.

Blessings in your quest!