Do you want to practise witchcraft but don't know where to start? Do you find it all too confusing? Maybe you've been practising for a while and want to go back to basics. Or perhaps you're a seasoned witch and want to explore more ways of practisin...
Psychological Archetype - Using the idea/mythology of a deity as a source of inspiration, placebo device, or idol. Similar to idolising celebrities or family members, but using deities instead. Example: If you have a problem, think about how your chosen deity would solve the problem with their expertise.
Soul Puppetry - Coined by Durmak, host of the Placebo Magick podcast. Very similar to psychological archetypes but taken a step further. Essentially soul puppetry is like creating an imaginary friend and imagining conversations with them. You can use soul puppets for guidance & advice by pretending to know what they would say during a conversation with them.
Alief - Coined by professor of philosophy and cognitive science Tamar Gendler in 2008 (1). In the context of deity work, alief is essentially: not believing in deities on a conscious level but acting as if they are real within ritual contexts. Basically pretending that deities are real only during the throes of a spell or ritual. It's a technique employed in placebo magick as a kind of psychological brain hack, "I don't believe deities & spirits are real, but I alieve they are real during spellwork."
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Examples:
Here's some examples of how these terminologies typically fit together in specific religious contexts - note how different the worldviews are on the nature of divinity.
✝️ Christianity - Most Christians are taught classical theism. Their God is omnipotent, omnipresent, all-knowing, and wholly good. Christians are also monotheists and are usually taught that God created the universe (implied: He is not part of the universe, He's transcendent). Most Christians consider their God a Personal God; He is referred to like a person who can experience emotions like pride, anger, disappointment, compassion, etc.
🌕 Wicca - Wiccans are duotheists; they believe in two deities, the God and Goddess. Most Wiccans consider their deities to be anthropomorphised forms of nature; there is no separation between nature and the God & Goddess. They are both immanent and transcendent. They also believe their deities are dystheistic which means they are not wholly good. The God & Goddess have their light side and their shadow side, just like nature. The God & Goddess are also often treated as henotheistic; they have other personalities in the form of other deities like Gaia and Lugh. Some Wiccans & pagans treat their deities as Personal Gods who can express emotions, but others do not and instead treat them as forces of nature.
🎆 Pantheism - Pantheism can be slightly adapted to fit in with most religions. The Christian God is taught as separate from the universe but there is no real reason why He can't be. Pantheists are technically monotheists as they believe that God and the universe are identical. However, pantheists can also choose to be henotheists which means pantheism can fit with polytheist religions, e.g. Norse Paganism (i.e. the universe can have avatars that appear as Norse deities).
