Finding your Calling

The other day, I was talking to a friend about our magical experiences, and she mentioned that she often has dreams of leading the dead to doors so they can pass over/through whatever.

Having this kind of experience all her life made her think she was crazy, dreaming of the dead all the time, and she spent a lot of her life dealing with everything we all deal with, plus weird visions of walking the dead on through to the next thing, like a psychopomp.

Now, it should be noted, I'm no expert on any of this stuff, and we're going to be talking about "finding your calling" in this occult world. It's a pretty big topic, so don't pretend I know everything about this one, it's bigger than I am.

A lot of my students over the years, and a ton of my friends into Thelema are often carrying on about the "True Will" or finding their "Genius" so they can find out what they want to do. I'm going to call this thing "your calling," the thing that you called yourself to do in this incarnation, the thing that you've been called on to do, by the fates, the gods, the stars, your higher self, whatever. The basic theory is that there's a thing you were born to do that fills you with an inner peace and contentment, a satiated sensation of being fulfilled when you're in the moment doing the thing. It can be yard maintenance, your patio, some flowers in the house, a curated bonsai garden, your heirloom tomatoes. It can be fixing all things mechanical, being born with hands that naturally know when a bolt is tight enough, or that the plug's fouled, or that the carb isn't getting enough oxygen.

It can be an inclination that you're called to all your life. Service to society, to our religious groups, to our gods and ancestors. It can be political, or academic. It can be the military life, or even excel spreadsheets that bring you to contentment. I once knew a completely at-peace-with-life office manager whose greatest pleasure was seeing someone go get a pen, and there being a pen in the office supply drawer because she made sure there was.

Your true calling can be anything. In the Hermetic approach I use, I went through the seven spheres, ascended through initiations and Work, and return in power, and determined that my purpose is to create the world as I see fit, a fully empowered creator-god. But then ... what do I create? Job house car? Wealth health prosperity? True Love?

Joy?

Then I started talking about this stuff, and then I started teaching about it, and I found that I am happiest in life when I am standing in front of a crowd talking about esoteric subjects. My true calling, it turns out, is to share what I know and encourage others to do the Great Work. Let dem magicians know they're magicians.

So back to my friend with the visions, see, we get massive hints and clues about who we are and what we want and what we're going to be happiest doing. She gets visions of walking the dead through doors. I'm betting that's a good indication that she's called to be a psychopomp, a Hekate-type, a Hermes Chthonios-type. Heck, Bune would work well with his link to the spirits. She's called to escort the dead, I think, so she'd likely do well in a profession that deals with the transitions between life and death. Morgue work, funeral planning, coffin design, crematorium consultant. Or grief counselor, someone who walks the still living through the letting go. Because I worked with Bune on necromancy, I kind of had a moment of "recognition" of that kind of psychopompery for the spirits of the humans.

We don't all get that kind of vision to hint at what we're supposed to be doing though, right? I mean, wouldn't it be great if I knew my whole life I'd be happiest teaching esoterica? I could have studied and practiced and gotten good at it, right? I personally think not, I was horrified to speak in public until I started teaching the occult stuff. It wasn't until I could fulfill my calling I figured it out.

But we might be getting these hints and clues the whole time, and just don't see them. She dreamed her whole life about escorting the dead, but never met anyone who recognized that as a psychopomp indicator.

So look for the things that you're actually interested in doing. The things that made you happier, if not happy. Look for recurring themes that travel through your life. Listen for the voice that's guided you, not where you wanted to go necessarily, but to where you are in your life now. It's telling you what you want to do, through your actions. It's telling you why you're here through your passions, your interests, your desires, the things you do that make you think deep thoughts, or feel great emotions, or pop endorphins at the gym until you can't see straight.

The things that you try to do and suck at? That's not your profession, or your genius. That's just you being stubborn.

Which could be your true calling.

Ultimately, your "true calling" is going to be "to create something." Something that is tangible or not, something that changes the world, or is just for you and you never show anyone. Situations, lifestyles, all that stuff. You'll find it when you least expect it, and you'll find it's something you are really comfortable doing, and you'll have the encouragement, approval, and acceptance of all those you help by making yourself happy.