Séances: General Advice for Contacting the Dead

updated by: High Priest Zevios Metathronos & Pythia

Necromancy, from the Greek νεκρομαντεία, is the art of communicating with those who have passed from this world. Many books on witchcraft, séances, channeling and mediumship advise an elaborate process for contacting the deceased; in truth it is not difficult to summon a soul who remains on the astral. The art asks for a trained mind, reverence toward the dead, and the protection of the Gods who govern them.

Where the Dead Are

Many souls are "lost" and remain on the astral. Ghosts seen or sensed in old houses are often those of people who died there. Those who cannot part with living family members or loved ones usually attach themselves to something: the house, the place of work, the living family, or a surrogate family. The astral is often a lonely place for these souls, and many wish to make contact with the living.

A soul may also remain because of unfinished business in which it needs the help of the living: a burial, an unsolved homicide, a missing person, or another matter that keeps it from finding rest. Such a soul usually makes itself known. Objects are misplaced, electrical appliances turn on or off, and in some cases its presence is felt even by untrained people.

A soul who has reincarnated has entered another life and cannot be contacted. An Initiate who is attuned enough perceives this, and knows that it is of no use to try.

Deceased humans are spirits, of a lower order than Daemons or angels, unless the person empowered their soul in their former lifetime. When the souls of the departed are contacted, they are as they were in life: their personalities do not change, and a soul does not advance in power in any way after death. Death is stagnation. This is one more reason for every Zevist to make the most of this life, working to develop and empower the soul while embodied.

Ghosts stand at different levels. Most are of the first level: souls with their emotions and personalities intact, sensed by people who are open at the soul and by children, with little power, often spiritual victims awaiting their road onward; some do not even know that they are dead. The second level is rare: souls who were powerful sorcerers and witches in life and who know that they are dead, poltergeists able to move objects and cause harm. If anyone is harassed by such an entity, the Gods can handle the matter quite easily. Ghosts: Direct Experience gives accounts of both.

Strong souls, particularly those aligned with Zeus and the Gods, do not remain in this way. The soul of a dedicated Zevist is escorted by the Gods to places of protection.

Before a Séance

Meditation opens the mind so that the Initiate can sense and see spirits, and hear and communicate with them. With this faculty developed, contact can be made in a room where a spirit is present without any props; the tools described below are optional aids.

Void Meditation is essential here, as is a strong mind and spirit with command over one's own thoughts and emotions. The ability to turn off and block out anything unwanted protects the practitioner whenever anything is invoked from the astral, because some spirits feed on fear, on an untrained mind, or on other emotions.

People who are fearful, overly impressionable, or prone to excessive emotion, hysteria or unstable behavior should not take part in any séance. Every participant remains calm and collected at all times, and the medium remains in total control of the situation.

Always use protection: the Aura of Protection before any contact. Approach through the Gods who govern the dead: Pluto, also called Hades, over the realm below; Anubis, who escorts and protects the departed; Nephthys, over mourning and the passage of the soul; Hekate at the crossing; and Hermes Psychopompos, the guide of souls. The dead are souls under their protection, never tools, and disturbing them without cause is unethical.

How to Make Contact

The deceased does not need to be lingering nearby. Anyone who has died can be contacted, provided they have not reincarnated, and a summoning can be done at any place where one can focus.

Tarot cards can be used to make contact, and a Ouija board or a pendulum to communicate. When a group wishes to reach someone who has died, every participant is focused and serious, and one person acts as the medium.

With the cards or the board

1. The person closest to the deceased, or the one most recently in contact with them in the case of a known spirit, shuffles the cards while concentrating on a reading that will contact the one being summoned and give information about them. The medium then reads the cards.
2. With a Ouija board in place of the cards, proceed the same way, the medium sitting opposite the person who wishes to call on the deceased.
3. A personal object of the deceased helps a medium who is inexperienced or less psychic.
4. The person closest to the deceased usually feels them before anyone else. The medium invokes the soul and speaks for them.
5. When the communication is finished, direct the soul to depart. Form no bond of any kind with the soul, and keep the exchange as impersonal as possible.

With a pendulum

The medium should have some experience with a pendulum before choosing this method. Begin by asking whether there are any spirits in the room, house, building or area. If the pendulum answers yes, go on to ask more questions, or use a Ouija board to carry the conversation.

Conduct during contact

Never try to force a spirit to answer questions it does not wish to answer. Rudeness gives the aura a bad vibration on the astral, and future attempts at contact with, or invocation of, other spirits may be thwarted.

Human spirits are fairly easy to invoke, and their energy is nothing like a Daemon's, as practitioners who have invoked both can confirm. A human spirit's energy can usually be felt only when it enters one's body. A Daemon is electrifying, and the residual energy can make the skin tingle for several days afterward.

Since 2015 the Temple of Zeus High Priests have worked extensively with many deceased spirits under the direction of Zeus: souls residing in a lower region of the astral plane, whom they were empowering. One such spirit, with whom a practitioner had worked for some time, pulled them into an embrace and nearly drew them out of their body. Contact with the dead can be that strong; keep command of every encounter.

When contacting the dead, attend to your dreams and remember what is seen in them.

Release and return

Close every contact with a release. These are the Temple's closing words for the dead, from the Ritual Frame:

The closing

Honored dead who may have approached, return in peace to your proper place. No word spoken here binds you. Hermes, guide each soul. Hekate, close the threshold. Pluto and Persephone, keep the order of the dead. Zeus Most High, restore this place to the work of the living.

Then return fully to the body: feel its weight and its breath, move the fingers and toes, and open the eyes before standing. Afterwards, write down what occurred, keeping apart what you remembered, what you formed on purpose, and what arose in the silence.

What an Initiate May Seek

Beyond the séance, the Temple's Rites of the Dead give a proper form to each purpose one may have toward the departed. They ask for at least three to four years of consistent meditation, practice beyond the intermediate level, and ease with God Rituals; the Hades Power Ritual may be performed beforehand to deepen the connection with the God who governs the realm of the dead.

• To honor one's ancestors, of the family and of the spiritual path: the Rite of Honoring the Ancestors, with remembrance, offering, petition, and an undertaking by the living.
• To speak with one named person about a defined matter: the Rite of the Open Gate, a single consultation that closes with a release by name.
• To help a soul who lingers, known by name or forgotten: the Rite of the Restless Dead, a prayer that places the soul before the Gods of passage.
• To seek counsel from the dead in deep meditation: the Nekyia, a descent of attention under the Gods, with no more than three questions, the cup of Mnemosyne, and an ordered return.
• To worship the Gods of the dead: the Rite of Chthonic Communion, in honor of Pluto and Persephone, with Hekate, Hermes, Anubis, Nephthys, Ma'at and Osiris.
• To intercede for a soul's correction: the Rite of Rectification and Release.

For a death within the last forty days, the Zevist Funeral and the Genesia come first. The Ritual Frame gives what the rites share: the preparation, the opening under Zeus, the forming of the image of the departed, mental address and receptive silence, offerings, and the release and return.