Questioning Spirits: Is This Spirit My Guide?

When hedge riding, I often encounter any number of spirits. Honestly, I prefer to work alone or with a select few spirits when I am hedge riding, but there are times that spirits specifically seek me out. Sometimes these spirits have a message for me for someone else, although this is rare in my case. I've made it pretty well known to the spirits of the Otherworld that I have no desire to be their medium, at least not at this time in my life. Most of the time, however, the spirits are coming to work directly with me, some asking to stay in my life longer than one journey. It's important that we are critical of these interactions. Not every spirit we encounter is benevolent and not every spirit has your best interest in mind. For example, the spirit attached to my ex-husband. I made the mistake of trying to steal my heart piece back from this spirit instead of doing it the proper way and ended up being stalked by the creature every time I crossed the veil. It was terrifying and extremely dangerous and reckless of me, but I desperately wanted to feel better. Up until the beginning of this year, the creature had hung out just outside my Garden gate, waiting. However, with the help of three new spirits, I was able to banish this creature and have felt a huge weight lift from my shoulders. When I first met these new spirits, however, I was hesitant and skeptical. The only reason I even allowed myself to work with them is because Meka, my fox guide, trusted them. If Meka trusts you, I trust you. Despite her trust, I still sat down and recorded everything I could about these new spirits and how I felt working with them. Each time since that I have encountered them, I have expanded on my notes. I want to be sure these spirits are really there to help me and not trying to trick me. So far so good.

It's extremely important that we judge the spirits we work with in the same way we judge strangers. Always be cautious and wary, especially of eager spirits. Most spirits are not pushy and overbearing. A benevolent spirit will leave if you are uncomfortable and ask them too. If a spirit is too eager to hang around you, be mindful of their behavior and tread carefully. That isn't to say all eager spirits are out to get you! Child-like spirits and those who passed before their time tend to be immature and pushy, just like little kids. Just use your best judgment and always trust your gut. Keep a detailed record of your interactions with these spirits to help you decide if the spirit is really a guide or partner, or if they are just trying to use you.

Devin Hunter in his book The Witches Book of Spirits has a really great outline of questions you should consider and statements you can rank to help you determine whether or not the spirit is truly a spirit guide, familiar, helpful spirit, or something else. When you first meet a spirit you suspect may be a guide or otherwise helpful spirit, begin by asking the following questions:

What is your name?
Do you come to work with me?
Have we worked together before? When?
What are you capable of doing for me?
What do you want in return for your assistance?
What shape do you most often take?
How will you present yourself to me when you want to make yourself known?
What can I do to immediately feel connected to you?
What messages do you have for me? Where do you come from?
Were you once human?
What are your interests?
What are you here to teach me?

I've modified or left out some of his suggestions because I personally don't feel they are pertinent questions, but that's just me. And of course, these are just basic questions to get you started. When conversing with a spirit, you'll often know intuitively which questions to ask. Spend time getting to know them during your journey for as long as it takes. Once you have returned, Hunter suggests using his Spirit Guide Profiler to rate your interactions with the spirit. I absolutely love this idea and have started using it in my own practice. Each statement is ranked 1-5, 1 being strongly disagree and 5 strongly agree. Rate each statement below when you encounter a new spirit that may be a guide:

I feel a vibrational or energy change when actively communicated with this spirit.
I feel safe when this spirit is around.
I feel calm when this spirit is around.
This spirit is easy for me to communicate with.
I feel that the information exchanged between us betters me.
This spirit is direct when it communicates with me.
This information comes to me easily.
The information is easily integrated or used.
This spirit has accurately informed me of future trends in my life.
When I finish my work with this spirit, I am left feeling empowered.
This spirit assists me in my life.
This spirit and I have a deep connection.
The spirit feels like it might be a potential familiar spirit.
This spirit is will to journey through the Otherworld.

Again, I have modified several of these and excluded one statement: Since meeting this guide I have been able to help and encourage others. This isn't an important factor to me because I am selfish and journey for me alone, not others. However, you may feel the need to add it to your list. If your score is low (15-30) this spirit probably isn't a guide. Cleanse and release yourself from this spirit. If your score is between 31 and 45, this may be a spirit guide, but they are most definitely worth continuing to work with, even if they aren't a guide. They are at least helpful to you but take proper precautions. They could also be a spirit guide that is not yet ready to become a full guide as some of the pieces or connections between you two are missing. If the score is 46-60, the spirit is likely a guide and you should continue working with them until the day comes that the lesson they had for you is taught. Remember, guides come and go, so we open to change. No matter what, keep a record of these answers and ranked statements and revisit them as information changes. A spirit may make you feel comfortable one day and really uncomfortable the next. You will not always know after one meeting whether or not a spirit is helpful, but keeping detailed records will help you sort it out down the road.

When you encounter a new spirit, how do you determine if they are a guide, familiar, helpful spirit, or something else entirely?