The following are questions asked by various people when I put out a call to help me build a useful FAQ regarding my oracular practice. If you have a question that isn't addressed here, feel free to contact me and perhaps I'll add it to this page.

How did you develop your practice; what is your personal history?

Trance states have always come fairly naturally to me, but I didn’t immediately think to use them for oracular purposes. I have also been interested in divination since my early teens, but didn’t take it much further than Tarot for many years. For the first several years I was actively pagan, I had a handful of what might be termed truly oracular experiences, both unbidden and planned – there was the time I was called in to prophecy the future of a newborn baby at his Asatru naming ceremony, or the time I “went under the cloak” on behalf of an online friend and had my first and only glimpse of Athene (and my first understanding that as an oracle, one can have intense divine experiences that one would never otherwise have, on behalf of clients).

Then in 2001, I started developing a stronger relationship with Apollon. He came to my aid on several occasions, providing answers or insights via divinatory or oracular means. I know I was already interested in Delphi by that time – I had visited in 1998 and felt the presence of Apollon watching me, and I had had several intense dreams of the place both before and after visiting (and continue to have them regularly) – but I don’t know if it had occurred to me yet that I could do oracular work in the same vein.

In the fall of 2002, I began to receive omens that I was in need of a major initiatory experience. All the signs pointed to Apollon and His mysteries. I decided to craft a Mystery initiation for myself, which somehow worked even though I was woefully unprepared and didn’t really know what I was doing. I’m not even sure what I expected. But a high seat turned up (in the form of a tree stump in the dark woods next to a sacred river), and I mounted it, and I learned something of what it would take to do oracles this way (that’s about all I can say on the subject, it being a Mystery after all).

After that, I bought myself a nice leather barstool to use as a high seat, modeled vaguely on the tripod at Delphi. But I rarely used it. I was going through a rough time in my life and did not have the self-confidence or the focus to really delve into this work. Eventually, I did start to do the occasional oracle here and there, as I felt called to or was asked to by someone else, but it was haphazard. My preparations were basically the same as I’d do for any trancework, and while the results seemed pretty good, I knew I was only scratching the surface.

In 2006, I was getting ready to move to Oregon, and I promised the gods that if they helped me find (and afford) a two bedroom apartment, I would devote one entire room to being an adyton (the inner sanctum of many Greek temples), where I would pursue all kinds of trancework, including oracles. They did, and I did. A short time later, unsurprisingly, I came to a turning point in my spiritual life which resulted in my decision to focus intensely on oracular work.

At that point, I began to develop the system I am using today. I pledged to do oracular sessions on the seventh of the lunar month during the majority of the year when Apollon is traditionally thought to be in residence at Delphi (He takes the winter months off in Hyperborea) – and to this day, this is one of the few spiritual obligations that I refuse to alter, move or neglect, no matter if legitimate issues would otherwise prevent me from being able to adequately perform my duties. Though, perhaps because of this commitment, I have always been able to access the proper trance state, even when I would have thought it impossible (due to illness, extreme distraction or discomfort, etc.). I also started accumulating a series of ritual actions and devotions that go on throughout the day of the session, which help mark that day as sacred and separate, and prepare my body, mind and spirit for the work I must undertake at night. This is a process I am still fine-tuning, with input from the gods and spirits, and as my own experience shapes my practice.

Do you have any sort of process that you do the same each time, or is it different each time?

There are certain things, both internal and external, that I do the same every single time – this is part of the beauty of ritual, in my opinion, the building up of personal tradition, repetitive experience, so that merely hearing a song or smelling an incense will immediately put you in the right frame of mind. But there are also variations in the actual method of trance and my personal objectives with it, depending on several factors.

During the day of the oracular session, I always abstain from sexual activity, and eat a vegetarian diet. I have certain clothes, colors, and jewelry I wear all day. I fast for seven hours prior to the session, and spend most of that time reading relevant books, listening to music I’ve selected for Apollon, setting up the adyton, collecting ritual objects. I buy a piece of amber as an offering to Apollon (and often other offerings as well) and buy fresh spring water to stand in for the traditional Castalian water.

About an hour before the session, I start true preparations. I take a special shower to purify myself, using bay laurel soap, and put on a dress, perfume and jewelry that I only use for this work. I sit at Apollon’s shrine (which stands just outside the adyton), make offerings, burn bay leaves and frankincense, sometimes read one of His hymns, and settle my mind.

When all is ready, I purify myself with the khernips I keep on His shrine (sprinkled with a branch of laurel) and enter the adyton. While the adyton is not entirely devoted to this practice (there are shrines in there for my personal spirits, for instance, and I do plenty of other types of trancework there), it has come to represent a sort of microcosm of Delphi for me. I have shrines for all of the important gods and spirits associated in some way with Delphi and its oracle: Apollon, Trophonios, the Pythiai (more on them later), the Korykian Nymphs, Hermes, Dionysos. To begin the oracular sessions, I light the candles on all of these shrines as I go through a series of actions that involve each of Them in turn (but the details of this are private). It helps align me with Delphi and its gods and spirits, give proper reverence to such, ask Them to assist me in my Work, and prepare my spirit. During this time, I begin falling into a receptive state. When I can feel that I am as ready as possible, I put on one of a few songs that help facilitate this type of trance (I never do it in silence simply because it would be too easy to be pulled out by the noises of my neighbors or the city outside), put on a special necklace, and climb onto the high seat.

If I have my partner there as a scribe (reading the questions and writing down the answers that come), I will keep at least a few candles burning so he can see. But if I am alone, I either have only Apollon’s candle burning, or I do it in darkness, depending on what I feel and how I am guided (which is, honestly, how I make all the myriad tiny decisions about how exactly to perform the work each time).

During the trance state itself, I have several methods of seeking answers to the questions being asked, but these are both hard to describe and very private. Some involve Apollon directly, but other times He simply oversees the process as He is its patron, but does not otherwise manifest. Some involve the Pythiai, the spirits of the women who were the Delphic oracle in ancient times. Visions may come, voices may speak, gods may appear. Sometimes I retain more of my self, other times I am completely absent and remember very little afterwards.

When all the questions have been answered, I descend and spend a little while sitting alone in the adyton, collecting myself, then eventually I exit, change clothes, and eat something solid to help bring me fully back to this world.

What methods do you personally use to access trance?

So much goes into triggering a trance state. All the preparations I describe are part of that, from the very beginning of the day; they set the tone. Physically, I feel it is important to be clean, purified (hence the fasting and bathing). Mentally, it is important to spend some time beforehand focused on the goal (generally speaking, communion with Apollon). But it is what happens in the last thirty minutes or so that really facilitates the trance, in my experience. There are a lot of sensory cues for me – visual (the shrines illuminated, the light in the darkness), auditory (music), olfactory (certain special incenses, the burning bay leaves), even taste (chewing a bay leaf) and touch (being anointed with oil, the weight of amber in my hand). These flow together and build up energy.

I also do a particular breathing exercise that I can’t discuss here, just before mounting the high seat. It is paired with certain movements of the spine that I feel open me up, which is the whole point with this work – being open enough to receive messages from the gods and spirits.

Prayer, and the corresponding blessings of the gods and spirits, cannot be overlooked here either. I have on more than one occasion been in a terrible state when nearing the oracular time – stress or illness has been overwhelming and I’ve felt that there was no way I could possibly perform my duties. And yet, when the time came, everything fell away and I was swept into trance. Some of that is due, I believe, to my training and practice, and some is the grace of the gods, who want this work done and help me accomplish it.

What have you tried that hasn’t worked?

I do not recall any methods I tried that didn’t work, though some perhaps worked too well, in a sense, where I couldn’t maintain the proper focus and went too far Out. Perhaps my memory is failing, perhaps I’m just very susceptible to trance. Mostly, the evolution of my practice has been one of adding new things, rather than discarding old ones.

How do you feel about using substances to induce trance?

Entheogens play a fairly large part in my trance practice overall, and are usually present to some degree in my oracular trance, although often only in token amounts as a nod to the spirits. Yet sometimes, they are a major factor in attaining trance. I only work with three entheogens regularly, and only two of these are ever applied to high seat oracular work – the other simply isn’t appropriate in its physical and spiritual effects. I look at entheogens like any other tool that assists trance – just like rhythm, breathwork, sensory deprivation, and many other things, they alter the brain chemistry in certain ways that (if used knowledgeably and purposefully) can open the mind to the divine. They do not do all the work for you – if you haven’t built up a substantive practice behind it, the most you will get is “high” which isn’t really useful for being an oracle. In fact, for many people, entheogens will be more of a hindrance than a help. I find that spending the time to get to know the spirits of the plants themselves goes a long way towards building a more meaningful experience. You can ask those spirits to assist you in your purpose.

Each time I prepare for the oracular session, I check both my gut feeling and ask the gods what would be the best trance-inducing methods to focus on that night, and that includes whether or not to use entheogens and which ones and how much - depending on my initial mental state, what I need to accomplish, and several other factors. 

For more on my thoughts regarding this subject, see my page on entheogens.

What disciplines do you see as most affecting oracular work, besides the practice itself (e.g. psychic hygiene, devotional, meditation, etc)?

I think establishing and maintaining a devotional relationship with the gods and spirits involved is the most important thing. I can open myself all I want, but if They refuse to speak, it won’t matter. Also, the more of my consciousness I devote to Them, the more I involve myself with things related to Them so that They are a constant presence in my mind, the easier it is to attain the proper state when it comes time for the oracles.

Memory is also a big issue for me. Not just something as simple as exercising one’s mnemonic skills, though that is useful. But having a relationship with memory, an understanding. This comes into play in particular when doing the oracles alone, without a scribe. For then I must be able to remember several questions and who asked them, as well as remember the answers that were given when I write them down afterwards, all while in a deep trance that usually shuts off my normal mind entirely (for it would be impossible to come out of trance between each question and look at a piece of paper and write stuff down). I have been playing with several different spiritual techniques to better accomplish this, and it is still something I struggle with.

Purification is very important when dealing with Apollon. Normally, I do not worry too much about spiritual or even physical cleanliness in my worship, outside of the basic level one would always maintain as a sign of respect. I do not use khernips regularly, even though many Hellenic polytheists believe it to be crucial. But for the oracular work with Him, it is a significant aspect. Purity in mind, body and spirit is expected. Sometimes Apollon will help with this Himself, of course, but I still wouldn’t even begin the preparations without already having done some purifications on my own.

Study of trance, oracles and related issues such as shamanism, on a cross-cultural basis, can be very useful. Especially when first establishing a practice. We know so little about any one specific ancient oracle, such as Delphi – certainly not the most important things, like how the experience affected the priestess, what mental exercises she may have employed beforehand, that sort of thing. Filling in the gaps with techniques that appear commonly across many cultures and times can be a legitimate way to build a modern practice – albeit best guided by the gods and spirits.

How big a role does the help of spirits play in your oracular work?

Huge. I deal with several types of spirits in my oracular work, each for very different reasons. The Korykian Nymphs, for instance, are always honored, because of their role in divination associated with Delphi, and because I met them personally when I was at their cave several years ago – but they do not play a major role at this time. Trophonios, who some may call a spirit rather than a god (I’d call him a daimon in Greek terms), is also important, again for his connection to Delphi and to oracular work. But mostly, I interact with him in the winter, during incubation and descent work.

The spirits I collectively call the Pythiai are probably the most important. In the early days of my oracles in the adyton, one of these dead prophetesses showed up, and it occurred to me that it would be both respectful to acknowledge their long history and role in the shaping of Delphi, and also helpful to my work now to learn from them directly. After all, who better to guide my practice that I was modeling on the Delphic oracle than the women who once held that position? So I began formal cultus to them. The Pythiai have taught me many invaluable techniques for oracular work and often come to me while in the trance itself. My relationship with them is getting deeper each year, although I feel that a lot of it is private, so I will not elaborate any further.

As mentioned above, I work with a couple entheogenic plant spirits in this work. This is not just as simple as ingesting the plant. Having a real relationship with the plant spirit, developed over time, means that a physical communion is not always necessary to utilize their assistance. I also work with several animal “totems” (I’m not sure if that’s the right word here, but they are more archetypal animal spirits rather than specific, individual ones) in my practice, each one suited to a particular form of oracular work. They mostly assist me in achieving the right trance state and getting where I need to be going.

Finally, I have two personal spirits, and while they don’t have an overt place in this work, they are never far from me, and they do offer me protection as I send myself Out, which can be a dangerous thing.

How do overcome the fear of 'letting go'?

This, fortunately, has never been a problem for me. Unfortunately, it means I have little advice to offer those who struggle with it, which is most people in my experience. Chalk it up to being a Dionysian, perhaps, or maybe I was just born this way and it’s why I ended up a Dionysian. But even as a child, I recognized, enjoyed and sometimes even craved altered states of consciousness.

That’s not to say it’s always easy for me. So many things can get in the way, hold you back, weigh you down, keep you mired in this world when you need to be setting your spirit free. But the prospect does not scare me, even when I have gone so far Out that I have experienced some truly terrifying things. It just feels like what I was meant to do.

How do you know you have truly reached the divine?

Well that’s the big question, isn’t it? One of the most gratifying aspects of oracular work are those times when the answer seems strange to you but the querent tells you how it made total sense to them, how it gave information only they could know, etc. Then you know you must have tapped into something real. (I encourage people who have asked questions to let me know how they feel about the responses, even if that is negative or  unsure. Feedback like that helps me refine my practice, identify those sessions which produced really good results and then figure out what was special about those so that I can try to repeat it deliberately.)

But those times are not frequent – most of the time, querents either don’t respond at all, are confused by the ambiguity or strangeness of the response, or just realize they will need more time to find out what it means. Perhaps later it makes sense and helps them, perhaps not – certainly sometimes the messages must be garbled, or even flat out wrong. Even a good oracle is not going to be perfect at filtering out their own thoughts or mental noise all the time, or at hearing the voice of the gods instead of the random chatter of the otherworlds.

Other than the confirmation that might come from a querent, there are sometimes undeniable experiences of contact with the divine during the oracular session that let me know I’m on the right track. There might also be a feeling of clarity to the visions or answers. But these things are intangible. They take practice and experience to judge and recognize. Which is true of all spiritual work like that.

Do you remain neutral when the question is emotionally charged for you?

Fortunately, this is usually not a problem, as I don’t often know the people who ask for oracles, or at least not well. It’s also why I encourage people to keep their questions brief and relatively general in tone, so that I know my own mind won’t interfere at all. However, for the times when I know the situation and person well and therefore have some kind of emotional involvement in the issue, or when it is even my own question (as I do ask for myself sometimes, though rarely), I rely on the depth of trance and connection with the gods and spirits to take over. If I am not there at all, then I am by default neutral.

Is cultural context and the support of a coherent belief system necessary for this to function correctly?

Yes and no. Yes, for my particular practice, cultural context is important. I am modeling my work after an oracle from a specific time and place, so I can’t escape that. While obviously I’m not replicating it exactly (even if I knew enough to do so, it probably would still need some changing just to account for the wide differences between now and then), the history is still important. Plus, I’m involving gods and spirits with connections to that ancient oracle, and They have Their own requirements and expectations, some of which are related to the traditions of the oracle (especially the Pythiai – the dead do tend to be more conservative).

As for the people who utilize the oracle, I do not feel they need to be Hellenic polytheists (as plenty of other gods from other pantheons have come through in the sessions, and it’s clear that the messages will come through if they’re meant to, regardless), but I do require them to be at least nominally polytheist in general. In other words, this is a religious service, not a parlor trick. I am here to help facilitate communication between the gods and Their worshippers. So a basic belief in said gods, including Apollon even if He isn’t part of the querent’s tradition, is important.

For another oracle, cultural context might not be so important. I could certainly envision a similar process of oracular trance that simply opened up a conduit to the divine without having any cultural trappings involved in the rituals to do so. Especially if the person doing it was eclectic in their worship and honored gods of various pantheons in their work. Assuming those gods didn’t object (which is an important consideration), and the spirits were willing, it could work. The mechanisms of trance don’t need to be culturally specific, necessarily. However, I do feel strongly that the belief is important. One must believe in and respect the gods and spirits involved, however that is expressed.

Why is this practice important? Why do we need it in the modern day?

As I said before, I do this work to facilitate communication between the gods and Their worshippers – which might otherwise be difficult for some people. Not everyone finds it easy to contact the gods directly, with enough strength and clarity to receive messages. Even those of us who do this work don’t have a 100% perfect connection at all times. Especially when the problem is personal and it’s hard to be objective. (Which is why often the people asking for oracles perform similar services themselves, for others.)

As long as the gods, any gods, are worshipped, and unless we all have our heads broken open someday and have clear and consistent contact with those gods at all times, there will be a need for this practice.