I got my first two spirits within hours of hearing about spiritkeeping from a friend. She casually mentioned it in conversation and I said, "Wait. What?" She gave me a few links - CH, Bluejay, and a few others that I don't remember. I spent a while roaming the CH catalog and amazed at the selection, but not convinced it was "real" (for all I knew, it was LARPING gear or just a good story.) That was until... I hit upon the hellhound page. I was shocked and honestly, I didn't know what to think because I could feel something, as if it was ecstatic - "YOU FOUND ME!!!" I keep going back to the page and the feeling was there every time, but I still didn't get the hound at first. I still wasn't sure this feeling was about. I continued looking and decided to see who would choose me in a reverse adoption. That hellhound though...I couldn't let it go. So a little while later that night, I got it too - and got another feeling of ecstacy when I did. I also got strange urges while I waited for the vessel to arrive, like books that I ordinarily wouldn't have been interested in before - modern and Romantic Satanism, Lucifer, etc. (This is especially true considering my opinions on Satan and the like beforehand. Let's just say I was less than impressed. lol) So in true grey fashion, I ended up with a WA spirit (a gryphon) and my hellhound. lol I was ecstatic when their vessels arrived, although I will admit that I connected easier with my hellhound than my gryphon. My gryphon seemed the complete opposite of me at first - serene (most of the time,) maternal, etc. and it took time to figure out some common ground. It took a few months to hit on geocaching. A treasure hunt for a treasure loving gryphon and hellhound. lol My hellhound has proven to be as stubborn as me in some cases. There was the time she found some wandering spirits and thought I was ignoring her (I wasn't. We were two weeks into the bonding process and I was in the middle of a crowded hospital waiting room with my mom, so I couldn't do anything 'weird.') She gave me one hell of a headache that day, no pun intended. 😄 We also argued heavily over her name. She came to me without a name and I took my sweet time finding a good one. She heard me say something about a name I had given someone, but that relationship didn't end well. So my hellhound decided that was going to be her name now and I was equally determined to choose something else. That one went on for a few days, if I remember correctly. For a hound of few words, that was one arguement she did win and I'll admit, I have many, many good memories associated with that name now. January will be our one year anniversary and I am so glad my friend happened to mention spiritkeeping that night. Our keep now has seven bound spirits and a few unbound. We have meshed into an awesome family and work group - I would have never guessed such a thing would be possible otherwise.

Usually on Friday or Saturday, we may go to the park - hiking trails and/or geocaches are a plus! My keep love roaming the woods. I'll pick up some junk food (burgers and ice cream are favorites) and sometimes I'll download some movies and stuff from Amazon to watch as we have our own version of a "puppy pile." Sometimes we just watch movies on Comet TV or YouTube. lol

Oh, that sounds like it was an awesome experience! I would love to see the Whaley House sometime. Several of the privately held historical places near me in Gallatin TN have been acknowledging the haunted bits of their history in the last few years and holding ghost hunts or special tours. Rosemont is the newest one that I know about - although the house had been open to the public for many years, the last direct descendent still lived there until her death a few years ago and they kept the stories quiet out of respect to her. One place I reccomend if you're ever in the area is the Thomas House in Red Boiling Springs. It's been featured on a few TV shows like Ghost Hunters and Portals to Hell. I love that place, despite the TV attention. lol (It's also fun to get behind the baby ghosthunters on tours. They get so excited. "THE EMF IS OFF THE SCALE!!" they yell as they stand right under one of six old light sconces in an equally old hallway filled with who knows what kind of wiring and every light in the place is blazing bright. lol)

I've had this happen at times as well. I remember a long time ago when I had a brother and sister pair of kittens that I had to hand raise from a day old. The little girl got pneumonia a week later and didn't make it - but that didn't seem to stop her. lol There were nights for several months when I would be sitting on the side of the bed, getting ready to go to sleep and the remaining kitten would be near my pillow, where he slept. Suddenly, I would feel something on the mattress behind me, moving from head to foot and back - all over really - as if a young cat was going absolutely spastic while playing as hard as it could. It made for an interesting bedtime. lol

Have you tried divining who it was? For example, if you have a pendulum, you can ask yes/no questions, such as "Was it [spirit's name] that spoke to me?" or you can start with the alphabet. "Does the spirit who spoke to me name start with A?" and so on.

That was a cool dream! A past life reading may indeed be helpful. Many years ago, I had a past life reading where I was told I was not Pleiadian, but I came through there from somewhere else about 3000 years ago. She couldn't see past there, but I would love to discover where I did come from some day. It was also amazing how this woman had no clue about my childhood or family life, but during this same reading, she said there were quite a few lifetimes where my mom, dad and I repeated the same pattern over and over - and she nailed that scenario right on the head. I hope I've broken that particular chain this go around.

Well, I remember I saw colored orbs a day or two after I received the vessel of my first spirit. She was a reverse adoption from CH. My second was *ecstatic* that I found her before I even placed the order. I found myself ordering books that I wouldn't normally read,(but perfect for her DA alignment) before her vessel even arrived and another burst of ecstatic joy when it did. I also saw a few colored orbs with her too. lol My third spirit has been interesting, considering he is a stegosaur. lol We don't communicate like I do with my other spirits. As strange as it sounds, it's mostly feelings and sensations: calm/content/eating/curiosity/etc. and it took a little while - a few weeks - to get accustomed to that. No colorful fireworks with that guy. He seems to quite literally be what some people would call a "pasture pet" in spirit form. lol My current "last" spirit (I'm currently waiting to see if I will be chosen by two spirits whose last keeper died) was my most difficult. I had gotten a reaction even stronger than I did with my second spirit and put in the order. When the vessel arrived, though, another spirit had come instead. So, on top of feeling like I was starting from scratch, I had some complicated feelings about the substitution (Did I do something wrong? Was the first spirit offended by something? It was such a *strong* connection...) and they got a bit in the way of our communicating. In fact, it shut me down completely for several weeks. It took a while - well over a month - to straighten out. I probably went a little overboard in trying to show her that I was happy she had chosen to join me and mine - right down to buying scents I thought she may like and designating a tree in my yard that was said to be associated with her kind as hers. I guess the key here was that I kept trying. Even when things were bleak and I couldn't have sensed a herd of bison if they ran me down, I kept trying.

I hope the things I've done have made me a better keeper. I'm also a geocacher and some of my Keep are treasure hunters and guardians, so we get out and look for the 'treasures.' Sometimes there are things in the caches to collect (small, interesting toys, handmade jewelry like friendship bracelets, etc.) and sometimes there's just the log to sign. Sometimes we get carried away by the things we see, especially in the woods. "Oooo! What a cool tree!" "Look at these flowers!" "FISH!!!" lol

That's so awesome - I see the face too! I also see what could be a horse or dragon to the left of (as if it's throwing its head up, so we're seeing it from beneath.)

I'm not sure where you are, but if you're in the Northeast, then it could indeed be a pukwudgie (I'm not sure I spelled it correctly.) I'm not that all that familiar with them, beyond knowing that they love strawberries and there an episode of Paranormal State where it was determined they were what was causing trouble instead of ghosts.

I grew up on my grandparents' farm. I think my path started there when I was a kid. I would spend every afternoon after school taking three or four hour walks in the woods. There I learned that there were wonders to be found and sometimes, the trees will talk to you. When I was eighteen, I discovered Wicca. In some ways, it was like coming home, but it didn't quite fit. Granted, it's changed a lot from when I first found it. I've looked into and explored quite a few other paths and systems over the years - for example, druidry, chaos magick, kabbalah, astrology, satanism. I also have taken lessons in color and sound healing based on the teachings of Alice Bailey, as well as core shamanism from a direct student of Michael Harner. Some if it fit. A lot didn't. Quite a bit I couldn't make head or tails of - I still can't tell you anything about astrology beyond my birth, moon and rising signs. I guess I took the long way around to say that these days, my path is more Egyptian flavored eclectic/pagan/shamanic and "fly by the seat of my pants."

Hello! Good to meet everyone! I'm Kimberly from Tennessee, but you can call me by my forum name, Banapis, if you want (it is also my geocaching name, if anyone here is into that. Some of my spirits love looking for the 'treasures.') A friend mentioned Spiritkeeping about four months ago and I was fascinated. I was also one of those people who had concerns at first, such as 'are they kept against their will?' I learned otherwise and was soon hooked. My first spirit was a gryphon from a reverse adoption at CH. A hellhound, adhene and stegosaur (hee! I never thought I'd have a DINO!) have also been brought into our little group. I think there is one more out there waiting to join us. I can feel the call, but I don't know who or what it is yet.