How to Know if God Is Calling You to Do Something
Somebody asked this question in a social media comment on Chosen by Problematic Gods. I went looking for a web log post where I discussed information technology and I couldn't find ane. I've written plenty about my own callings, what to do when y'all're chosen by a God yous'd but equally shortly avoid, and what to do when it seems like nobody will e'er phone call. But in over ten years of blogging, I've never directly answered the question of how you know if a God is calling you.
I guess that means information technology's time for me to write about information technology.
What it means to be called
Before we talk about how yous know if you're being called, we need to discuss what information technology means to be called in the first identify.
Evangelical Christianity says that anybody has to take "a personal relationship with Jesus" or they aren't a existent Christian. That idea was unknown in ancient polytheism and it has no place in contemporary Paganism or polytheism.
A polytheist is someone with a religious regard for many real Gods – being called is not required. If ane or more Gods speak directly to you lot, bully. If not, honor Them but the aforementioned. Embody Their virtues and assist build a world that reflects Their values. It is your deportment that make you lot a polytheist, non your experiences.
Being chosen means y'all're asked – or in some cases, required – to perform sure actions or live in sure ways higher up and beyond what is expected of those who are not called. The reasons why are not likely to exist explained, at to the lowest degree not to your satisfaction.
Being called can be a smashing affair, simply it's not winning the lottery. It'southward not a birthday check from your favorite aunt. It's more than like existence drafted into the regular army – oftentimes the army of a country you lot didn't even know existed six weeks ago.
The signs
There are three main signs that a God is calling yous into Their service.
Recurring imagery. You lot brainstorm having dreams involving the roles and imagery of a God. Perhaps you dream of stags, you proceed seeing deer in diverse media and maybe even in the wild, where you don't expect to find 1. You keep running into torques and serpents and diverse animals, all of whom bear in means that are atypical for them. You may be hearing from Cernunnos.
That last qualification is important: bear in ways that are singular for them. Animals are sovereign persons the aforementioned as we are – they practise their own things for their ain reasons, reasons that rarely involve bringing "messages" to humans. Before y'all decide that something in Nature is a sign or an omen, make sure it'due south not just ordinary brute, plant, or weather condition beliefs.
But when y'all continue seeing the imagery related to a certain deity and so many times it feels like it can't be random chance, it probably isn't.
A persistent presence. If y'all haven't experienced this you may not understand information technology. If you accept experienced it you know exactly what I'm talking about.
A vocalization in your head, except it's behind your head, not in it. Thoughts that aren't yours that tell yous things you accept no way of knowing. Or that tell you things y'all know are true but have been trying to deny and avoid. The presence of Another, just at the edge of your peripheral vision.
This doesn't happen once or twice. It happens over and again. Our materialistic culture tells y'all you're making it up, or maybe you lot're hallucinating. That is possible, and if nosotros are wise we consider all the likely mundane explanations outset.
Simply if your experiences defy mundane explanations, you may exist hearing from a God.
A dramatic introduction. The vast bulk of calls involve some combination of the commencement 2 signs. But occasionally a deity will make a loud and dramatic advent that leaves yous with no doubt They're existent… and They're really serious.
It's more likely this will come later in the relationship. That'due south what happened with me, anyway. After several years of working with and for Cernunnos, I had my first feel of ecstatic communion with Him. Information technology was astonishing and overwhelming and terrifying and I will never forget information technology.
But occasionally that happens right up front. In that instance, run across the link below to the postal service titled "Am I Hearing a God or Am I Going Crazy?" Considering a dramatic introduction from a deity can have you questioning your sanity.
How to respond: listening. No matter what the signs, listen. Heed with all your senses. Avoid the urge to interpret the signs right away. At the least, wait until your electric current experience is over. If you beginning trying to figure it all out as well presently, you're likely to miss more signs, and you're likely to bound to incorrect conclusions.
When the Gods speak, listen.
Who is calling you lot?
Yous might think this would exist clear, but it seldom is. The Gods rarely announce Themselves by proper noun. Peradventure They think everyone should know who They are, like in ancient times. Peradventure They don't call back who They are is particularly important. Maybe, like many spiritual beings, They know there is power in a name and They don't throw Their own name effectually lightly. Regardless of why, it is likely that you'll realize you're beingness called long before you know who'due south calling you.
Is the Forest God y'all're hearing Cernunnos, or Herne, or Pan? They're not all the same. And call back that while the Gods are virtuous, bottom spirits tin and volition lie. Discernment is required.
How to respond: research. This is where the one-time proverb that Pagans are "the People of the Library" comes into play. Do your homework.
Offset with ancient stories and myths. Read scholarly works on how our ancestors understood and worshipped their Gods. Talk to Their gimmicky followers – we're to the point now where pretty much every deity who's agile in our world already as a few priests and devotees. And well-nigh of us love to respond questions about our Patrons. Yes, yous'll run across a few flakes. Later on a while you'll learn to tell them from the mystics who seem similar flakes to the mundane world merely whose experiences are shaping the restoration of our modern polytheist religions.
The more yous know about the deity you recollect it might be, the ameliorate job you can do of figuring out how closely your experiences lucifer up.
What are y'all chosen to do or be?
Once you make up one's mind that a God is calling you lot, the next question is "called for what?" The many Gods do not be for our benefit – They do Their ain things for Their own reasons. But sometimes those reasons involve humans.
Many people assume that if a God is calling them, it's to be Their priest. That's certainly one possibility. Simply priesthood is not the default relationship betwixt humans and Gods. Rather, it's one specific type of human relationship; a formal delivery to a fix of duties and responsibilities. It is not to be entered into lightly.
If you lot think you are existence called to be a priest, read Preparing For Heathen Priesthood. And remember that there are many sacred callings that aren't priesthood.
You may be called to be a devotee – someone who honors a God and who performs occasional service for Them, just who does not accept on the obligations of priesthood.
Or you may be called to perform a specific task – something They need or desire done that yous're particularly suited to do.
And it's possible yous're simply called into a relationship. If a new neighbor knocks on your door, they probably don't desire to borrow your power saw or sell y'all band candy. They just want to introduce themselves and see if in that location'due south the possibility of an eventual friendship. The Gods aren't all most love, but some of Them do love us, for reasons known only to Them.
How to respond: meditation. Especially in the early days of a phone call, Gods are not known for being transparent and specific. You know you're being chosen, simply you're not sure exactly why.
Meditate. Whatever method works best for yous. For me, that's long walks outside early in the morning. For you that may be sitting in silence, or in contemplation of an image of the deity in question, or some of other grade of meditation.
Then when y'all think yous take the answer, meditate on that. See how it fits with what you know and with the experiences you've had. If you've got it, great. If not, keep trying until you understand what y'all're being chosen to do or be.
How volition you answer?
Discerning the call is simply the commencement function. Now you lot have to answer.
You lot are a sovereign beingness – you can say no. Most Gods will take no for an reply – They'd rather go find some else who's eager to do the work than endeavor to persuade you to do something you're reluctant to do. Most times, that is. Sometimes They won't accept no for an answer. If you find yourself in that state of affairs, encounter the link to "Negotiating With the Gods" beneath.
You may desire to limit your commitment, especially at first. "I will practice this but non that." "I will do this for a yr and so we'll re-evaluate it." "In exchange for this I want that from You." There's no guarantee your offering will be accepted, merely you lot never know till you ask. If y'all're uncomfortable negotiating, call in exterior counsel – find a priest of the deity in question to negotiate for you.
How to respond: divination. Tarot, runes, bibliomancy, geomancy – whatsoever method works for y'all. Divination won't tell you which conclusion to make, merely it tin can show you what things will be like if you cull one path or another.
Recently I had a spiritual decision to make and I was genuinely conflicted. I saw four possible choices. All of them were doable – none of them were ideal. I bankrupt out my Tarot cards and drew a three-bill of fare spread for each selection, asking "what volition happen if I make this choice?" Two of the options showed unfavorable outcomes – I immediately eliminated them. The other 2 required more than reflection, but as I studied the cards (both the standard meanings and how the artwork spoke to me in the context of this situation) it became credible that ane option would yield better results than the other. So that's what I did.
The choice of how to respond to the call of a God is ultimately yours. Divination is one tool to help make that decision.
Other posts that may be helpful
Negotiating With the Gods
When You Hear The Call of The Morrigan
Am I Hearing a God or Am I Going Crazy?
Called, Not Called – Building an Inclusive Paganism
When Yous Can't Experience the Gods for Yourself
Source: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/johnbeckett/2018/11/how-do-i-know-if-a-god-is-calling-me.html
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