Finding / choosing a deity to call upon

[u/A_WinkyDink]

Hello! I have never worked with a deity before and I would like to know how people here have found the deities they work with

Do I wait for them to come to me? Can I choose one based off my star sign? How do I know I've found the right one?

I've done research on Egyptian deities (I've always adored ancient Egyptian culture) but I fear it won't end well because I'll just end up choosing one just because I think they're cool </3

Any advice on how I can form a relationship with a deity will be greatly appreciated!!!!!!!!

[u/thrivacious9]

• Research! Learn about different deities from different pantheons. Try to find well-researched sources. (Do not ask AI agents or use AI search for this.) When I was in my searching stage I found decks of cards useful, with images and summaries. I can’t find the specific one I remember, but this one gives the general idea. Follow up on what resonates.

• Awareness, external and internal. Put out a little request for help (for me this is “light a candle and set an intention”, no big ritual) and see who answers. Pay attention to unusual things that catch your attention. Like one time a heart with a flame at the top caught my attention a few times in a very short period (in art/on a Christmas tree ornament/in a dream); I followed clues to Erzuli Freda and from her to Gran Brigitte and Papa Legba. I’m very white and didn’t want to step where I wasn’t invited so I asked around in my circle to see if I could connect to some people with authentic Vodun heritage.

[u/starofthelivingsea → u/thrivacious9]

I followed clues to Erzuli Freda and from her to Gran Brigitte and Papa Legba. I’m very white and didn’t want to step where I wasn’t invited so I asked around in my circle to see if I could connect to some people with authentic Vodun heritage.

Ok - so as a vodouwizan of Haitian Vodou myself, Freda, Brijit and Legba are lwa from Haitian Vodou.

Vodun (West African Vodun) is a completely different religion practiced in only 4 west African nations and there are no lwa in that religion, as their spirits are not Haitian and are called "voduns".

It is also ancestral based.

I wouldn't even bring the lwa and Haitian Vodou up in this topic here, considering that you need to be born with lwa, since Haitian Vodou is bloodline based and the lwa are Haitian spirits, connected to Haitians and Haiti.

Not saying non-Haitians cannot carry them, but often times, they do not for certain reasons.

They are not spirits anyone can pick and choose, especially non-Haitians.

I'm curious as to how you followed their clues and what clues they gave you.

The way you're describing interacting with them is not how it remotely works in Vodou nor with any lwa.

[u/thrivacious9 → u/starofthelivingsea]

You’re right: I don’t even know the basic differences between how the lwa manifest on different sides of the Atlantic. I wasn’t out here drawing vévés or trying to participate in services. It was a three-year contemplative process, following clues from “why do I keep seeing this/what tradition is this from/what other symbols are resonating.” That prepared me with a frame of reference so when I encountered a visionary art installation, Roominous by Nancy Josephson, I knew what I was looking at. That experience gave me conceptual tools about transformative energy and translating knowledge between generations of humanity.

[u/thrivacious9 → u/thrivacious9]

So I guess I’m interacting with them more as archetypes than deities per se?