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In The Presence of the Gods: The Night That Changed Our Lives Forever

This is an experience I do not normally talk about, because I don't want to come off as a bragger. I always say that you can tell the difference between people who have had legitimate spiritual experience and those who haven't, because those who have will not brag, or try to use it to score religious, social or financial points. Those of us who have had real experiences in these realms, don't go around blowing our own trumpets. The only time I tell this story is when it is necessary to describe why my wife and I became worshipers of the Greek Gods. It's not something someone will usually find me discussing or trying to spread around on a consistent basis, because I don't feel the need to be personally validated or convinced of my experience, nor do I care if others believe me or not. In fact, the only reason I am telling it now on my blog and website here is because I feel I should make a reasonable post about it for my readers. They read my life story in my autobiography, but it doesn't describe this massive change, so I am going to tell one of the greatest stories of my personal life.

The Greek Gods are not merely myths as many consider them to be. They were real before and during ancient times, and they remain real in our own time, immortal and deathless, and the rulers of heaven, Earth, and the worlds and realms beyond those. Nothing escapes their authority or their blessings, for it is theirs, and always has been and will be.

The event took place shortly after my wife and I, my fiancee at the time, moved into our first apartment together in North Carolina in the summer of 2009. At that time, she was a Wiccan of ten years and leaned more toward a Norse Pagan persuasion, but she also knew of the Greek Gods and considered herself to have a relationship with Athene. I considered myself to be a "Christian Wiccan," or more accurately, a "Christian Witch." Even though I knew of the Greek Gods as the only alternative religion I had heard of through my years in school, I retained the Christian belief system I had been exposed to all my life and combined it with the emerging practices of magick and witchcraft that I so dearly loved.

Because we had just moved in together and completely left our old lives, we had little money. I was unemployed and my wife only had a part time retail job. So we had to go to thrift stores to get the things we needed for our apartment, which there's no shame in at all. Many times, thrift stores can have very nice things. Although this particular thrift, which shall remain nameless, was unlike any I had ever entered. When you walked in, you could sense that there was just something very, very negative, even perhaps evil, about the place. It just was not a pleasant feeling at all, but rather a feeling of extreme uneasiness. It's not unreasonable to think that such places could possess negative influences, energies or beings because you never know where the items therein originated. They could have been involved in violence and other bad things, or could be the property of a deceased who is very angry that their stuff is being sold. There are several problems that could come with random belongings of others that have been taken or discarded. Nevertheless, we really didn't give it much thought at the time. We just wanted to get a table and chairs for our kitchen, and after a short time, we found a set and went on our way back home.

On into that evening was when things turned weird and terrifying for us. A presence began to manifest in our home which can only be described as a serious and aggressive haunting. Some kind of spirit or negative influence had entered our home, probably having followed or latched onto us from the item we came into contact with and then attacked when we took it to our home. Whatever this thing really was, it made itself known by slamming doors and filling us with fear, saying that it was not going to leave until death was brought on us. Not only could we feel and hear its hostility, we could hear its voice and it talked to us as plain as any person would.

Me being highly Christian, I began an exorcism, calling on Jesus and also Saint Michael, the biggest enemy of Satan, to kick the spirit out. However, not a single prayer of mine worked. In fact, the situation became more and more desperate with each passing minute because the creature grew more and more powerful, or so it seemed. One thing is certain, it laughed at me in everything I did and every prayer I prayed.

My wife told me that she could tell that the spirit feared the old Gods, and how she knew that I did not know. Perhaps she was closer to the Greek Gods than I was at the time. But at this point, I was willing to try something different because nothing I was doing was working. So I decided to turn my prayers to the Greek Gods, particularly to Athene and Apollon. Athene is the great warrior Goddess and defender and Apollon is the God of Light who averts evil and purifies ill. So I prayed to them, my wife joining me, simply asking for them to please help us. After what seemed like a few seconds of praying to these Greek Gods, my wife described an image of a lady with a spear and a male of light appearing and confronting the spirit. To quote her exactly, "Athene grabbed him by his tail," and stabbed him, then Apollon's light filled the area and cleansed away all the impurities. Then, almost as fast as it had begun, the time of terror came to an end.

Needless to say, my wife and I cuddled closely in the bed for the rest of the night, sometimes fearing the spirit might return, but it never did. It was gone, and so was our former religions. The next day, without even verbally confirming it to ourselves, we became ancient Greek. It was a given after our experience, especially with me, because the god I had spent years serving and defending never showed up, while the Gods I had given nothing to, gladly extended their hands in help in our time of desperate need.

I knew that each time I would tell this story, there would be Christians who would not only tell me I wasn't a real Christian, but that what really happened was not that the Greek Gods came and rescued us, but that it was actually Satan tricking us, that he was the one who removed the demon of his to trick us. The theory of this ultimate conman is reverted to sometimes more than the name of his counterparts. But what I found to be interesting about this claim was the fact that Jesus said the exact opposite in the bible, because Jesus plainly stated that Satan cannot cast out Satan, because it would divide his kingdom (Mark 3:22-27). By the words of their very own religious and spiritual icon, no, it wasn't a trick by this alleged Satan, because Satan would not drive out his own presence. The simplest answer is probably the right one, that the Greek Gods are real, they are authorities of goodness, and they came to restore goodness and order once more as they have done for so many years in Greek religious belief.

In the Goodness of the Dodekatheon,
Chris.

Exorcising Ghosts & Spirits - The Ancient Greek Way

Welcome to my final installment on ancient Greek banishment. It has been my pleasure to use my own personal experiences and studies to counsel people on this practice, as it can become necessary at times.

Dealing with ghosts can be difficult. You can read about one of my own haunted house experiences and how I dealt with it here. You can also refer back to my Hellenic House Cleansing rite, because that has worked wonders on hauntings. A while back, a friend of mine a few towns over called me in hysteria over a human ghost that had been messing around in their apartment and that had finally manifested before them. Their residence was right beside a graveyard, so to me, the explanation was rather simple. Not only did I do the Hellenic House Cleaning rite, but I also invoked Gods like Athena and Heroes like Bellerophon and asked them to do battle for the people who lived there, to make the ghost leave or move on (Hermes being the Psychopomp can also be asked to move ghosts or parts of the human spirit onward). When it was over, my friend reported no more incidences in their home, and that people were even sleeping better. Note that anything trying to scare you, is reliant on feeding off that fear. Therefore, don't show any when you enter a place that may be haunted. Be brave and invoke the Gods and Heroes.

Finally, we come to the worst situation of all, but also one that seems to be a rarity, possession of the body or attachment to the body. A spirit can take possession of a human being or cling so tightly to them that they influence their actions. I have seen it happen first hand, and successfully exorcised it. Fortunately, I have only had to encounter this a couple of times, which is why I say that, in my experience, it is rare. It can be prevented by doing all the things I have talked about here and in the past 2 posts, but normally, when you run into possession, the damage is already done. There's no preventing what has already taken place. The only option then is to cure it. Normally, I would advise someone to be heavily experienced in their spirituality or call a priest or priestess for this kind of situation, but that's not to say you can't exorcise the person or yourself successfully.

First, you must determine if possession is actually taking place. If the person has severe depression, severe anxiety, bipolar disorder, personality disorder, schizophrenia, or severe anger issues, you may simply be looking at mental illness, especially if they are not medicated. However, if the person is not known to have mental problems, there is likely something else at play. In short, acting out of character. Someone who is possessed or claimed by a malevolent spirit, will normally exhibit the following traits or conditions: Hate for self, others and the world, extreme resentment of anyone or anything that symbolizes goodness, order or love, angry verbal or physical outbursts, self-harming, isolation, prolonged unhappiness, suicidal thoughts, plans or attempts, unable to remember bad behavior, scratching, biting, growling or talking in strange voices, finding pleasure in the pain of others, going in and out of consciousness, or exhibiting a split or multiple personalities. Of course, all of the symptoms I described can be medical and not spiritual, but when all mundane explanations have been ruled out and all tactics tried, it's time for spiritual intervention.

In one case I handled a long time ago, the girl would show malevolence unlike herself, but when I looked into her eyes and called her name, she started to cry as she became herself again, begging me for help. She described it as a drowning feeling when the spirit was in control, and that hearing me call her name brought her back each time. But then, she would fall back into the other personality immediately after I stopped. Only after successfully achieving the help of Athena and Apollo was the spirit forced out, never again to return. This was a legitimate case of spiritual possession or attachment.

A spirit that has possession of a person can be explicit in their presence by coming right out and telling you who they are, or they may try to hide. In a rare case, I've even seen spirits masquerade as deities in order to fool people in a number of ways, but remember the ancient proverb; if something does evil, it is not a God. The spirit might claim to be all kinds of things if they think it will further their ambitions of fear, control and destruction, which is why you really shouldn't listen to the ramblings of evil.

To begin an exorcism of someone else or yourself, cleanse the body with sea water or spring water that has been blessed (the basic prayer to Apollon and Poseidon in the House Cleansing rite will suffice for the blessing).

I ask that Apollon and Poseidon bless this water, to drive out malevolence from all it touches, and shake us free from the bonds of evil.

I have also seen malevolent presence successfully hindered by the burning of sage in the room. It appears to weaken the spirit's grasp. If possible, open the windows and let sunlight come in the room or on the person.

When you begin your prayers, you must focus on Gods and/or Heroes who are specifically geared toward battle and the destruction of evil or monsters, so for example, Athena, Apollon, Ares, Theseus, Bellerophon, and Kadmos. Giving them offerings and sacrifices will increase your chance of successfully gaining their attention. You are to ask them humbly to please fight for you or the person, to expel the spirit and the presence of evil from yourself or another. This is where you may see things really take hold. The spirit will probably hate your prayers deeply, and hate the Gods. Sometimes, this can be the hardest part because you may have to stick it out for a long time and keep up the pressure. In my own experience as a Hellene, I have never gone more than 5 or 10 minutes doing a banishment or exorcism. The Gods and Heroes are very powerful and responsive, but I can't be sure that everyone will have the same experience as me. Stay with it until it's over, and trust me, it will eventually end. It's also possible that it could end several times. In other words, you may have to be a kind of doctor to the afflicted, and return from time to time if their condition arises again. Sometimes, you may find yourself in a continuous fight, the ultimate outcome determined by whose will is stronger.

Before doing an exorcism on someone else, always have their permission and do not harm or allow them to harm themselves. Remember, if it's legitimate, you're not actually dealing with the person. You're fighting that which is not physical itself. I also would not suggest jumping right into one if you're inexperienced. If it's forced on you, that is one thing. You have no choice in the matter. But you should dedicate yourself to deep study, a strong relationship with the Gods, and maybe even some smaller banishing of energies before exorcisms generally speaking, because trust me, they are terrifying and difficult. I sincerely hope that all of my advice and experience in these entries has helped, and will help, all of you.

In the Goodness of the Gods,
Chris.