5 MAGICK + SPIRITUALITY RESEARCH TIPS TO AVOID MISINFORMATION
Because how do we know what's for us, and what's just straight up wrong
Researching magickal and spiritual topics is both easier, and harder than it has ever been. We have a plethora of knowledge available to us; however, with that comes the need to sort through more information to find the nuggets of truth that we’re actually looking for.
One thing I notice whenever I do Q+A's or work with clients:
"How do I start to learn information about ___________ if I wasn't raised with resources/stories about them/ancestral practices passed on?"
A common question or dilemma that comes up for pretty much everybody. It even happens to me! While I was raised by a preacher's family-and a family of teachers-I generally didn't pay a whole lot of attention when it came to "how to research intentionally and critically" when I was younger. Growing up conservative Christian, I also wasn't encouraged to research information outside of the religion I was raised in. Learning how to research, without being drowned and lost in all the information-and form my own opinion of what info to apply to myself-was something that took a good deal of practice and stumbling on my end. Hopefully today, I can help you help yourselves; and, save you some trial and error.
Here are some of my tips for spiritual research, though they can apply even if you're researching recipes for rice Krispy treats, so distill this info as yee will:
Admit what you don't know about magick and research. When researching, it's important to remember that it's okay to have to do research. One thing that holds us all up, is being mad/embarrassed/sad that we have to look things up at all. We can wish we started or learned things earlier. We can wish we grew up with someone to tell us the info we're looking for. We can be embarrassed that we have to Google something that might be everyday knowledge for someone else. We can do these things all we want, but it won't change that at the end of the day we don't have that information.
Start with what you DO know. Since we've now gotten over the hump of our own perfectionism, we can now actually start researching. Starting with what you DO know is two fold.Â
Start with what you know you believe about magick or spirituality. It sounds...redundant, right? It might be, but, you'd be surprised at how well reminding yourself of your sure beliefs can filter out information not even worth you looking at. I like to think of my beliefs as bricks. If you're familiar with the concept of the Cornerstone of the Church, it's similar.
Start with associations you know that are magickal or holy to you. This is on the more practical end. Maybe you don't know all the mythology for the culture your ancestors came from. You could be like me, adopted and never knowing Chinese mythology. I want to work with my Chinese mystic ancestors, and work with gods of my lineage as well, but I didn't know names, time periods, etc. for even what to Google, or what books to buy/read.Â
THINK OF YOURSELF and your magickal, spiritual practice FIRST. LE GASP! When do we ever get permission to do this? Well...over here, a lot. If you've been around for a bit, you all know I think it's important that our own experiences, habits, and just general personalities are used to formulate what we want to do or be.Â
Be Magickal, have fun! When we remember that mundane things like research can be done with a magical mindset, we give ourselves permission to be magical people-not just people doing magic. This basically means that we recognize everything has the ability to be magical, because we are the source of the magic-not the activity or external entity we work with. You can do spellwork or make sigils to help your critical eye when researching. You can manifest the right documents or resources to come in. You can ask your ancestors to help you, and communicate with you on where to go.
Embrace the magick of Chaos. Chaos fits in with magic, because at some point you have to sit back and let the damn thing cook. If you ask for resources, trust they will come; and, be open to any way they can come. I've had my ancestors bring me information I'd looked for through traditional research methods, through memes; through other people via a text; through random books I have; through a line on a tv show. YOU NEEEEEVER KNOW how or when, so don't limit your spiritual team by being impatient or stubborn with blinders on.Â
These are the basics to get anyone started; and only a piece of a large blog post on my website here.
