I hope it is okay to publish this here. I didn't want to say anything in the YouTube comments, because I'm not sure if the person mentioned below can still see my stuff over there. I wanted to thank A&E for their time and sharing their knowledge on YouTube and the podcasts. The latest one on magical attacks was interesting, especially since I and my keep have been dealing with some crap in that department from an ex who is...eh, he's alright in the magic and spirit department. Still, we have been lucky although he has landed a few hits in the last few weeks, both psychological and magickal. It wasn't anything that couldn't be busted or countered, but if anything, it's shown me that we need to do better in the protection department - *I* need to do better for my keep. That is my own task right now. I really liked Elle's comparison of masking to the tint on our cars. While I am pretty familiar with shielding and a bit less so with camouflage and masking for myself, it never occurred to me that my spirits may need that too. I guess I figured their own abilities were enough. (I'm only six months into Spiritkeeping, so I'm still very much on a learning curve. Plus, Covid lockdowns have lulled me into a bit of complacency.) Is anyone else here magically inclined and done anything to help mask or camouflage your keep to keep any potential nonsense down? Do you rather rely on those in your keep with natural protective abilities? Have you thought about the idea of protecting your keep before? I have asked a few of my spirits to step up their "rounds," so to speak, and be extra vigilant for a little while. I thought briefly about adding a few spirits to our keep, just for protection, but I decided against it. One, We are good as we are right now. We don't need to grow. The second reason is the more important one, to me anyway. I am not a passive member of this spirit family. I have knowledge and skills to do what is needed to shield and camouflage right now. I have a few ideas - and if I can base them off pop culture and/or sci fi references, I will be one happy girl indeed. (Romulan warbird, anyone? lol) One or two of my spirits are magically inclined, so hopefully they will help too. I apologize for the length and rambling nature of this post. I guess I needed to talk myself into "tasking the spiritkeeper" more than "tasking the spirits." lol

Do you have a spirit or spirits in your keep that have surprised you? How did they do it? Obviously, you can give as much or as little info you and your spirits are willing to share. Sometimes, it's the little things. One night while I was sitting in a ridiculously long line at a fast food joint, I got a very clear impression of my hellhound hopping into the passenger seat, sticking her nose out the window and absolutely enjoying herself as she took in all the smells. It took me a few seconds to register what had just happened and it was such a, well, hound thing to do. 😄 Up until then, a lot of my interactions with my keep had been in my head as well as 'out there' on shamanic journeys. That night, it was like I could sense her in every way but see and smell her. lol The one who has truly surprised me has been my Adhene. I honestly didn't know what to expect since there is so little info about them. She has turned into one who does a lot of heavy lifting, so to speak. For example, I was doing some spirit work for a friend and I couldn't sense anything. It was like being stuck in a dark room. It happens sometimes. There are things you can do during a journey to 'fix' it if you have permission - borrow a helper spirit or ally's senses, for one. This time, it all worked except I couldn't hear a thing my friend's spirits said. I could tell there was conversation going on between her spirits and m, I just wasn't a part of it. My Adhene stepped up and would tell me what she could about what was going on, which wasn't much. (it's a strange situation. I was ready to write this one off as an unsuccessful journey until my friend told me she has had several people try to do their thing and get info on what is going on. So far, *everybody* has been blocked from doing so.) My Adhene also seems to have helped in a few spells I've done lately. I am I very visual person and usually can't write spells for anything, unless it's simply, "Okay, I need this done..." I credit her in one spell in particular - I was doing a candle spell and this incredible, beautiful paragraph seemed to write itself. It was very appropriate and exactly what the spell needed.

I thought you might like to hear about a geocache we went looking for yesterday. I had looked for this particular cache hidden in this huge concrete and wood "Welcome to Gallatin" sign before got into Spiritkeeping with 'no joy,' as the saying goes. I knew it was a type of cache called a nano - they're less than a half inch tall, usually black and magnetic. Very hard to find! I decided I'd see if my spirits would have any luck. I told them, "I'll stop and look for this cache on the way back. You can go ahead and start looking. Here's what it's supposed to look like..." Boy. lol When I stopped and got out of my car, I knew they had been successful. I kept getting the sense from my hound that I needed to climb a bit to get to it. So I did. There was this one spot in the middle that I was sure I couldn't reach, me being short and the actual Welcome sign being taller than I was. The spot I thought the cache may be was a metal support three or four inches down from the top on the other side. I admit it. I wussed on it because I was so sure I couldn't reach it and I got so much grief about that! LOL I swear I sensed so much laughter from them and I think if I could have heard them, I would have gotten an earful of ribbing! I think my Adhene would have laughingly called me a chicken (I certainly got the sense she called me something along those lines. lol) I told them (goodnaturedly, of course,) "Yeah, yeah...laugh it up, fuzzballs!" 😄 So now, of course, I'm going to have to go back and do better. I can't be a chicken. LOL