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.