If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you likely know what the Estes Method of spirit communication is and my thoughts on it. After over a year of performing it regularly, here are some tips I have for magick practitioners to increase the quality of their sessions.
Accept the Reality of What You Are Doing
You are channeling a spirit of some form. Plain and simple.
Lets remove the idea that a ghost is manipulating radio waves. We have no real way of knowing that is the case, and its irrelevant to the results. You are allowing synchronicity to provide a method of conversation, and its not far off from straight up letting an entity speak through you.
So treat the session appropriately! Remember, you are performing magick! Ritualize the whole thing if it helps you keep this in mind. Light candles and incense. Meditate to get into the proper headspace. Wear fancy robes if it helps!
Banishing
Since we’re treating this like any other form of evoking/invoking an entity for conversation, we should do a banishing before (and after!) any session. This can be a complicated ritual, a standard Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram, or even clapping your hands or banging pots and pans together.
The intention here is to clear the area you are working in of any other entities and energies that might interfere with the working, and then to clean up anything hanging around. Give spirits permission to leave when you are finished. These are good magickal hygiene practices.
Control
You, the operator asking the questions, are the one in control of the session, not the spirits you are talking to. Do not let them dictate what happens. You can even go as far as creating a physical or mental circle (and triangle!) into which the spirits are invited, and which no others are allowed to pass.
I recommend evoking an entity which is not part of the communication to help out. You can call up an Archangel, an Angel, a Servitor (try DJ PH!), one of the Forty Servants, or any other entity you are comfortable working with. If the spirit you’re speaking with is not cooperating, or if other spirits are butting in and stealing the conversation, ask the evoked entity to regain control for you.
Don’t be afraid to tell uncooperative or troublesome spirits to leave. You can be firm and in charge without being impolite. Some spirits will try to get around answering some question. Keep your wits about you, and if you think something is trying to trick you or distract you from answers, do what you have to to get the session back under your control.
Know Who You’re Speaking To
You should have someone or something specific in mind when you begin the sessions. This can be an individual person, an invitation for anything with specific knowledge, or simply asking any local spirits hanging around. But be clear in what you’re looking for. Invite them, mentally or out loud, to come and communicate.
Consider having something that connects you with the entity. If it was a formerly living person, an item of theirs is a good start. Even a photo or a drawing is better than nothing. If its some other entity, display or draw a sigil or seal for them!
Try to get a name for the spirit, or some way to identify it clearly. Ones that simply want your attention, or want to mess with you and waste your time, will usually not give a name. Having a name lets you address them directly when asking questions, lets you confirm that you’re speaking with who you intended, and will allow you to resume communication at a later date.
Pay attention to the words that are said to identify when different entities are talking. Did the vernacular change? Have you been getting answers and suddenly none at all? Are multiple distinct voices coming through the radio. These are all important things to consider.
Also pay attention to the answers you are getting to questions. Can you positively identify the entity based on their answers? Do they make sense for who you want to speak with? For example, if you’ve called up an angel to have a conversation, they aren’t going to be asking you to make a sacrifice or do a special ritual for them. There are distinct classes of entities, do the answer you’re getting match the intention of the working?
Right Man for the Job
An Estes session is, at minimum, a two party working. One person in the headphones (the Channeler) and one person having a conversation (the Operator).
Make sure you’re both clear about what you are doing. For best results, the Channeler should not know what entity is being contacted, nor be able to hear the Operator speaking. The Operator should know the purpose of the working and be able to lead a conversation in that direction. The Channeler should be able to clearly hear the sounds from the radio.
If you have more than two people, only one is the Channeler, and while you can have many Operators, a specific person should be in charge. If you have multiple people listening to the same radio feed, you’re no longer doing an Estes Method session. Others in the room can ask questions, but one person should be leading the conversation and directing which spirits show up and are allowed to speak, and when the session is over.
Allow the Magick to Work
We’re looking at this from a magickal perspective, and so our method of action is synchronicity. So allow synchronicity to happen.
When you are the Channeler and you’re deep in trance in the headphones, listen carefully but don’t worry about accuracy. This may seem counter-intuitive at first, but consider that the noises on the radio are not the agent of synchronicity here, its the words that you say. If you hear something but aren’t exactly sure of what it said, its ok to just speak the word that it might have been.
You also don’t have to worry about catching every single word that pops up. If you miss one, that’s OK! Accept that you likely weren’t meant to hear it and move on. If you get a strong feeling of “say this!” and all you’re hearing is static or garbled sounds, say what you think you should say!
From the Operator side, give the questions you ask time to be answered! Don’t be afraid to be direct, ask for specific information, and repeat questions that are unanswered (or dodged by the spirit).
A Grain of Salt
Don’t assume everything a spirit says to you is the absolute truth. Don’t expect that they have your best interests in mind. Don’t take the fact that you’re talking with a discarnate being mean that everything about the conversation is important.
Sometimes, especially if you’re just asking for local entities instead of something specific, an Estes Method session can be like walking onto a crowded street and asking if anyone wants to talk. Imagine doing that, not being able to see the person you’re speaking with, and expecting to get important information from it. You could be talking to a wise person, your average citizen, or someone who stopped taking meth just long enough to shout insults at you.
Accept the limitations of this form of communication, and treat it accordingly.
Experiment
Get funky with your magick.
Look up specific planetary hours related to the entity in question, and try contacting at those times. Try a session out in the woods in the middle of the night, or at noon at a bar by the beach. Wear silly clothes, or no clothes, and see if it makes a difference. Surround yourself with a circle of crystals. Blindfold everyone in the room.
Try new things! But try things with intent. Each part of your magick should have a reason for why it is included in the working. A candle is nice, but what is the reason that it is there? Perhaps it is devotional to the entity in question. Maybe its there to signify when the working is active, and it is blown out to end the ritual. Put thought into the why of each component, make sure that at least the Operator knows those reasons, and then perform the working.
I hope this helps increase the quality of your sessions. I’d love to hear about results of your workings when giving these tips a try!
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