Dear Hungwe,
I was surprised to find that no one has responded to your post yet, as these are very relevant and important questions to be asking. I know its been awhile, but I would like to offer what I can to the discussion. I'd also like to thank you for your very kind compliment regarding my work with Zisi.
Contact is far easier to make than conversation. The spirits usually hear us before we hear them, at least until we really develop the fullness of our senses and get some experience working transdimensionally. A simple prayer, with pure motive and genuine faith, can often go right to the heart of an entity. You have to understand that in the astral worlds, symbols, emotions, and thoughts have more weight and reality than they do here in many respects. There are many angels and spirits whose entire functions are to mediate and communicate prayers through the aethyrs - from the Highest God to the lowest blade of grass.
Much of the process of learning to converse with spirits consists of recognizing your own strengths and weaknesses and learning to work within the modes and means that are effective for you personally. Everyone has the capacity, but we all tend to express it differently. You can experience the spirits through all 5 senses, the mysterious 6th sense, and all the "thousand secret senses" of subtle things that we as people are apt to forget about. I like to tell people to listen to the Animaniac's song about the senses, because its not only funny, but very true and wise. You can perceive a spirit through a sense of wonder or change just as much as through some stereotypical psychic channel.
We all make progress at different rates, and some us spend more time in certain gates than others. I think if you practice and observe and experiment over the course of a year, and then look back, you will notice significant progress and growth in your knowledge and abilities.
If you are just starting out, a good idea is to have a kind of "coming-out" party/ritual with and for the gods, angels, and spirits to announce and introduce yourself. A new moon, a major holiday, or a unique and appropriate astrological time is a great opportunity to open the doors. You can make up a little "feast" of delicious food, bright candles, and beautiful art and songs for the spirits, and then share the celebration with prayers for guidance, initiation, growth, and the blessings of the spiritual world. You'll be surprised with the positive results. Each spirit has their own particular preferences, likes and dislikes, but you will learn those as you go along.
Some spirits work within a very tight portfolio, others have more freedom. Some are aligned with God's Will, others not so much. Some love humans, others can't stand them. Most are somewhere in between. It really varies from entity to entity. Its good and profitable to spend some time studying daemonology so you know who to go to for what and where to find them.
The 91st Psalm is an excellent prayer and charm for protection of all kinds. If you memorize it, it makes it all the more powerful and permanent in your life.
There is no 100% safe way to do magic, just like working with chemistry, driving a car, or fixing electronics. You take the most reasonable precautions you can, and you expect the unexpected. If it was 100% safe, you would never be able to grow and progress out of your comfort zone and into the Greater Universe.
The [Greater] Key of Solomon is a good place to start. That explains ritual magic very thoroughly and provides you with many measures for cleansing and purification. It also has a number of planetary talismans that will take you through the first 7 celestial gates and provide you with a host of very useful powers and helpful allies.
Let us know if we can help you out more.
Blessings, David
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