#unrecorded gods

[stagkingswife]

The Returning: Who Are the Forgotten Ones?

The Returning revolves around a pantheon of 11 unrecorded entities that I collectively call the Forgotten Ones.  I believe that some, if not all of them, were once known to our Paleolithic era early hominid ancestors, as several of the Forgotten Ones have responded with recognition and familiarity to samples of art and artifacts from that era.  They also feel older than any other entity I’ve ever encountered - older than gods from other pantheons, older than the Fair Folk and dragons I work with, older than any entity I've encountered in the Otherworlds.  There’s something primordial about them for lack of a better word.  But old age and deep roots doesn’t necessarily equate to power, or more importantly for the purposes of this post immutability. 

Long time readers and friends of this blog are probably familiar with my “silly hat” theory of godhood.  That “god” is just a label that people put on the spirits that we worship. It doesn’t mean anything in terms of power, or importance, in my cosmology.  God is just a silly hat we put on the particular spirits who are special to us.  But there is a corollary to the “silly hat theory” that I don’t think I’ve talked about in a while - I think of it as the "aspect creation theory”. We all know that spirits can have different aspects, like facets of gem, and I believe that people can be responsible for creating those aspects. If enough people believe strongly enough that a spirit has a certain personality or behaves a certain way the spirit will start to be affected by that - an aspect of that entity will form that conforms with that belief. 

It was this human driven change that the Forgotten Ones sought to avoid by fragmenting themselves and going dormant.  They wanted to stay as they were, and in complete control of themselves.   The details of how they came up with this plan were shared to me in the form of a myth that maybe one day I’ll share here. But suffice to say, they knew there was a chance that someone would come along one day to fulfill the role I find myself in - a person who would want to worship them on their own terms, whether that meant preserving them as they are or letting the Forgotten Ones lead any growth or change that might happen.  And if no one ever came along to take up that mantle, they believed it was a better fate to die as themselves than to live to become someone unrecognizable.  So the Forgotten Ones broke themselves in tiny pieces and all but ceased to be, until I passed my initiation was tasked with putting them back together.  

This is my ultimate responsibility as their priestess - I’m the caretaker of their essences.  It is my responsibility to ensure that these entities remain in control of their own aspects, staying the same as they were millions of years ago if that’s what they want, or nurturing, but not forcing or dictating, their growth if that’s what they want. It’s an honor to have been trusted with this role, and I have dedicated my life to it.

It is in the interests of this role that I am sharing carefully curated details of The Returning. The deity profiles that I will be posting will not have all of the details about each of the Forgotten Ones, the posts about the Holy Days will not include step by step guides for how to perform the associated rituals for that day. I feel it is time to share more about The Returning than I have before, in the hopes of helping others who are building their practices around their own unrecorded entities. I'm not looking to recruit people practice my religion or worship the Forgotten Ones, in fact I'm actively asking people not to.

[fernthewhimsical]

Lady of Flowers Menu

In our discord group for constructed pantheons we had a little weekly challenge to think about which foods fit with one of your deities. I was reminded of a menu I once saw that someone made for their deity (I think Neptune?) and was inspired to make a little menu of my own.

This is for my Lady of Flowers, Venaris, Queen of Spring, Goddess of flowers, love, and joy

Entree: Bread with floral compound butter [X] Soup: Radish soup with yoghurt [X] Main: Edible flower spring rolls [X] Dessert: Pistacio rose panna cotta tart [X] Palette Cleanser/more dessert because you need it: Edible flower tea popsicles [X]

[hidden-grove-archives]

. : Introduction to the Hidden Grove : .

So I never really connected with any form of fair folk. However, we don’t know much about the nordic elves. This was how I created the idea of the hidden grove.

Most classifications of Fae are good and evil fae. However, since the fae are nature spirits, I never really understood that. So my classifications are the ‘Order Court’ and the ‘Wilderness Court’. They both represent the balance and chaos of nature.

Archelves are the ‘deities’ of this pantheon. They are rulers and have god-like powers. They have attendants who share some influence with them, and children that are heirs to their power.

The Order court represent the laws of nature. They are the balance keepers of the natural world, and are very formal.

The Wilderness court represent the wild sides of nature. They are the ups and downs of the natural world, and can be mischievous.

I’ll be making guides to the archelves, their children, and their attendants and how to work with them! As with many fae-like beings, be sure to use etiquette when interacting with them.

Thanks for reading!

xx

~ Sam

TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Basics

Archelf Classifications

General Etiquette

The Archelves of the Order Court

WIP!

The Archelves of the Wilderness Court

WIP!

[vacantwoodsenthusiast]

"God" for I have no other name to call them, is not like the Christian God of the Bible. They are not a man in the sky. My God who I am devoted to is the embodiment of the divine love. As in the love a tree has for the earth and the vultures love the carcass. Love that is dirty and messy and violent and voracious. This is not biblical sterile love. My God's goal is to devour and be devoured. Love as an act of violence. Love as consumption. Divine androgynous love. Creator of the King under the Hill and the venusian Lady of the Primordial Waters. The Bacchus/Christian like sacrificed God, consumed by their devotees to taste and worship divinity at its more primal and personal.

[sword-in-the-sea]

✷ some silly interactions i've had with local gods & spirits ✷

//blue texts in a conversation are their words

lighting incenses for them, or sharing my kretek cigarette when i smoke with them. the scent of burnt spices and herbs feels like home

an javanese god who looks like a 40-yrs-old javanese man with leathery skin and calloused working hands, responding "bapakmu, le." (it's like a your mom joke, but to express disbelief and irritation. literally translates to "your dad, son (derogatory)".) to a dumb rethoric i made

"what are you doing?" "hiding." "in my bathroom??"

in response to seeing an incorporeal lady dressed in all white while going to the bathroom, my first reflex is to grab the bug spray

seeing a pair of child's feet behind my own and having a momentary cardiac arrest before i realised what's happening. looking to the side to the incorporeal children with a frown as i said, "...can you not."

"(in distress) please give my ring back, i'm rather attached to it." (sudden silence before my ring fell out of thin air right beside my feet) "...thank you."

bodyslamming a monkey-like creature who was sent as a santet (curse) to my house at 1 am

"can someone please get that ghostly child away from the stairs, i nearly had a heart attack seeing him crawling up and down."

giving a non-human home intruder bombastic side eye until they left

additionally, staring contest with them until they left

"le (son), it's 3 am which is the time where humans go to sleep. some even call it the demon (witching) hour and would avoid being awake at this hour." "..your point?" "why are you awake cooking instant noodles?"

"le, that tree can't survive here. the sun doesn't hit it well."

the goddess lady whom guarded the forest where i had a summer camp in; who wore a kebaya and apologised to me because her children possessed a camp counselor out of fear and defense response. the strange feeling of acknowledgement as we both nodded to eachother before parting ways

the old gods in kerep, ambarawa who never failed to greet me whenever i made a trip back to ambarawa

the stoic silence of the jogjakartan court of old gods. yet even in their stillness, there's a comfortable acceptance of me amongst them whenever i visited

"you can return whenever you need to. this is your Home, you are Ours. no matter how far you've voyaged, you can always return. this is your Home and no one can take that away from you."

the two tigers who followed me all the way to dublin and back home as i studied abroad

✷✷✷

[godsoftheinbetween]

The Dying Days: Dec 24-30th, The Days of Unity

The week of heavy reflection and meditation is over, and now it is time to break out the word “celebrate” instead of just “observe”! The Days of Unity are meant to be celebrations of togetherness and the understanding achieved over the year’s time.

There are not strict guidelines on what to do like for some days. Group crafts (usually making decorations), decorating, cooking and baking (particularly bread), and playing games are all traditional, as well as giving gifts as appreciation to each other, usually once per day for a total of seven. However, as the Days of Unity overlap with Christmas, some choose to give all their gifts on the second day if they have Christian families or choose to observe both holidays for their own reasons.

This is one of, if not the most festive event of the holidays associated with The Keeper. Enjoy yourselves! Have fun!

[intothedarkwood]

Éala the Guiding Star, Keeper of the Dark Wood

bearer of fire, she lights the way to a place of strong pleasure and melody

Associations

death, dying, & the between; rebirth & renewal; transitions; crossroads; the shadows

Symbols

a lit torch; a warm cloak; skulls; black oak leaf; a triangle with curved legs

Correspondences

Planets: Neptune

Constellation: Ara & Triangulum

Tarot: Death

Elements: fire

Seasons: winter

Day & Time: Friday, night time

Trees & Flowers: oak trees & dahlias

Stones & Gems: aquamarine & lava rock

Colors: black, red, gold, & green

Animals: carrion crows & canines (hounds & wolves particularly)

[stagkingswife]

Brona, my death-decay-rebirth goddess is one the kindest and gentlest entities in the pantheon of The Returning. She’s there to welcome the dying home, give them rest, and then see them on to their next adventure - whether that’s an afterlife or a new life.

A deity having a domain over something commonly seen as bad or scary does not mean that deity is evil. Thanatos having a domain over peaceful death, for example, does not make him an evil, bad, or scary deity. Essentially, don't judge a book by its cover.

[stagkingswife]

This may sound a bit silly, and I apologize if you've gotten this kind of ask before (please feel free to tell me to look for it or link posts if you want; no need for any answer even, there's no pressure), but I think unrecorded deities have been reaching out to me. I'm a bit nervous to reach back because I'm not sure how to verify who they are effectively. I also typically ask the deities I worship for protection, but I feel like that wouldn't be very respectful if the unrecorded deities truly are reaching out, you know? I want to be considerate of the fact that they, themselves, are also deities. Do you have any advice on what I can do to verify them? Do you know of ways to protect myself that wouldn't be seen as disrespectful? If you're unsure, it's totally ok. I appreciate any and all advice you may have, as I've never really encountered this before.

Regardless if you choose to answer, thank you for being here! I love your blog, and whenever I see your posts on my dash, it brings me a smile. Thank you, and take care! c:

Vetting unrecorded entities is very different from vetting recorded ones in my experience, but you can still do it! I've found it to be a much slower, longer process, that you really have to be patient and dedicated for. It's much more about getting to know the entity for who they are as an individual than it is about checking them against known facts. So be prepared to be in for the long haul!

I've written about my methods of vetting entities, both unrecorded and recorded in a couple of places. I have sort of an intro to my process of vetting an unrecorded entity here, it lays out the idea of checking the entity against themselves and looking for internal consistency. I combine this method of getting to know you questions with my note taking methods: Part 1 and Part 2 respectively. By having good notes I can establish that consistency and look for contradictions. Does the entity say something in one visit, and then contradict it the next time I encounter them? To me that's not a reason to cut off contact, but it is something to ask them about. Maybe it's a complicated thing for that entity, maybe there's a story, maybe they're reveling truths bit by bit as they come to trust me. There's a chance they may have lied to me, and I can ask them why. I'm very willing to hear explanations when I'm getting to know a new spirit, and for things to change as I get to know them. Sometimes they are remembering things about themselves as they are telling it to me. This doesn't apply to an unrecorded entity who is a regular spirit who has just never been written down, like a local nature spirit, or an individual one of the Fair Folk, but I've found that working with the really truly ancient spirits that maybe haven't interacted with a human in very long time can be a bit like talking to someone with dementia. I was started working on returning the Forgotten Ones in the same year that I lost my Pop-Pop to Parkinsons, and communicating to them in the begin was a lot like talking to him at the end. They knew who they were, loosely, but the details were foggy and vague, and would sometimes change a bit from visit to visit, like my Pop-Pop remembering my Nona was the most beautiful girl in the world, but not what her name was.

As for asking for protection I'm going to ask you this. Do you think it's disrespectful to ask the recorded entities and deities that you have relationships with for protection? If asking for blessings and protection is part of your normal way of interacting with a recorded deity I think it would be more disrespectful to an unrecorded one if you treated them differently. I don't really have too much to do with recorded deities anymore, but when I did I always made a point to treat them and the Forgotten Ones the same. It was important to me to show both the Forgotten Ones and the recorded deities that they were equal to me, and that the Forgotten Ones weren't different, lesser, or other in any way because of their unrecorded-ness. They were all just spirits in silly hats.

Personally, to be perfectly frank, I don't like relying on outside forces for protection. I've never been one to ask a deity or spirit for protection, it's too reliant on the benevolence of an external being, which could be revoked if a relationship ever soured. So while I think you could ask an unrecorded deity for it, I wouldn't personally recommend it. I would instead recommend coming up with a self reliant method of protection. I prefer wards on my living space and personal shields built into enchanted jewelry for when I leave my warded space, but there are other methods of protection spells out there. You could probably tweak my "Retreat Into Your Shell" Spell to be more general protection, it's sort of geared at emotional protection as designed, if you wanted to! Would just need to swap the herbs and then design your sigil/symbol for what you want.

[fernthewhimsical]

hi there, im also worshipping an unrecorded deity and was wondering if u feel comfortable sharing how u got your gods' names, domains (for lack of a better word) and preferred offerings? i've been struggling to figure out the offerings with mine, and got a weirdly human name

she's definitely a goddess and not a spirit of the dead, though! i'm just wondering if it's possible i misheard her name, i guess? ||

---

Hi Anon!

So some came to me with their name, like in a dream. Others I gave names myself and figured if they did not like them, they would let me know, lmao. Now to expand a bit on that.

When my unrecorded gods came to me they first came as a concept. Let's take Lotweaver as an example. They came to me as a deity of fate, a *weaver* of fate. From there I started expanding and looking into what else would fit them. I highly recommend this discussion on spheres of influences for that, which will also help you with the "domains" and finding offerings.

From there I felt it out and experimented. Did this fit? How does it feel to me? Is this logical to be paired with Fate? Like Luck? Some things are a yes, some things are a maybe????? At which point I will use divination and/or work with that aspect for a while to see if it clicks.

For names I started looking into old Dutch for the unrecorded gods who did not already have names. So for Lotweaver, I looked at terms like "luck" "fate" but also parts of a loom, thread, tapestry, anything that could fit. And I waited for that spark that told me I was right. And it came with Lycke, which means luck.

And sometimes I'm wrong. For Venaris I went through many names before ending up with the name I first started with. It's a work in progress, it can always shift and change. Give yourself space to maneuver and be wrong. You'll work it out in the end.

[trainflyhigh]

sudden guardian tales hyperfixation reappears and bashes me on the head 10 times . replaying it has been so much fun though i love yuze as much as i have before if not more

[stagkingswife]

Mr Stag and I have been looking at engagement rings and there was one I saw on Etsy that was very night sky themed that Vega perked up at. It was actually pretty cheap for a semiprecious stone ring so I offered to get it for her as a devotional piece, and I got the impression of “But could you make it?”

No Vega, I can’t make you a devotional ring with blue sandstone and opals and moonstones. That is NOT a skill I have, nor is it one I will be able to develop any time soon!

Sick and tired of making devotional stuff. I wish my brain would just let me buy something

[dateaforestgod]

date a forest god whose name has never been definitively recorded, and even much later epithets are only rarely known

[godsoftheinbetween]

I likely will not have posts ready in time for the Welcoming Feast tomorrow either. So I will give you the fastest rundown now.

Opening ritual for the year

Set goals and hopes

Write prayer tag and hang it on your regular line

Feast!

Celebrate as you see fit.

There is also a ritual for beginnings that is done, but I am not able to explain that with my limited energy now.

I hope your years begin beautifully.

[intothedarkwood]

In a Time Before

To truly comprehend the origins of the Dark Wood one must first understand that everything is true: all of the gods are real, the mythical beings exist, their realms exist and are ruled and governed by their whims. But not everything is as it is written, and not everything has remained the same between the Old World and now. Much like humans have evolved with time so too have the deities and supernatural.

Eons ago, in a time before recorded history where myth and legend ruled the burgeoning planet we now know as Earth, the deities walked the lands and ruled the skies and waters, holding dominion over the earth and the other beings who inhabited it. They, like all things up to this point, were beings made of energy. But the deities and other beings were not made of only energy, for even it came from somewhere or something. In truth all things sprang from the Primordial Chaos like a snap of the fingers. It is strands of this chaos which bind the energy together to give the deities and other beings their existence. It is the ratio of these two things that determine what their roles on earth were, with those having higher concentration of energy being believed to be stronger and more pure.

Eternities came and went and these preternatural beings grew bored of their unending existence. From this came the first concept of humans, drafted together by a committee of deities and other beings selected by each pantheon to work in tandem to create something over which they could rule. The first humans featured a dual body with two heads, four arms and legs, and the working sexual parts akin to what modern humans are known to have. They could walk in tandem with both sides or choose one to be 'up front'. They, like the deities and other beings, were made of both energy and chaos though to a lesser degree as only the smallest amount of chaos was used to contain the energy which became their souls.

It is important to note that though the deities and supernatural wanted something they could hold dominion over they also wanted something that could entertain them and thus the concept of free will was made a key part of their souls, making it impossible for any one deity or being to hold power without the human willing it as such.

Millenia passed with the deities able to rule and be entertained by these proto-humans, though the passage of time caused some to accrue more energy and/or chaos than originally intended leading to skirmishes and the history of ancient heroes. It was the dawn of the spirit, which evolved in the proto-humans as a result of the fluctuating levels of creation within them and as way to make each lifecycle more unique, for these proto-humans were not immortal as their creators were. Trapped in an eternal cycle to die and return to earth to live again, the spirit developed to allow proto-humans to develop unique personalities that would lead to further legendary heroes and an eventual war with the deities to overthrow them.

The war was waged for centuries and though the proto-humans were not as powerful as the deities and supernatural they aimed to overthrow, they could reproduce faster and far more easily than the beings they warred against. Fearing being overthrown due to sheer numbers the leaders of each would-be pantheon united to split the proto-humans thus separating the whole and thus rendering them weak and disoriented. The earth was wiped, the beings choosing to largely step back into their own realms, and the now-separated humans were tossed into a bag, shaken up, and dispersed at random in an effort to make it virtually impossible for two true halves to find each other and unite.

Things began anew and with this reset from the primordial chaos was birthed the first of the beings known as Creators - entities born of the primordial chaos and energy lost after The Recycling and restart of time.

[knightofhylia]

oldest digital picture I drew of her is from 2010 but she probably came to be around 2004/5 after watching fullmetal alchemist. she doesn't have cat ears or tails in this picture but i deadass just forgot and didn't make a new version lol

Here you can see some physical drawings from that same era compare to a drawing done in 2015 and a painting ~2017. Bottom painting has a alt version of her sigil. I am super interested in why I always drew her in a puffy sleeved dress with a corset? I drew that blue and brown one of the most but yellow has been her colour for a while!

Kaleikvi: The Wheel Turns

This kvi I am honouring Kaleitti (nickname Kitti). I started honouring her twin sister in May under the tag 'dsukvi'.

History and Name: She is one of the first spirits that came to me, in the form of a Full Metal Alchemist OC. I was inspired by Alphonse being a soul bound to armor and made her like that as well (she was later confirmed to be a robot). While I was trying to figure out a name, I wanted her nickname to be Kitti but I didn't want her name to be Kathleen (which I think may have been when I first called her?). I messed around with letters and landed on 'Katleitti', which I liked, but when you said it out loud it just sounded like 'cat lady' which I thought was a little cheesy, so I switched it to Kaleitti (Kah-LAY-it-tee) and it's stuck. Years later, when doing some trancework, I learned that 'kale' meant 'river' (she moved her arms like water when she said kale) and 'itti' was an onomatopoeia for 'twinkle twinkle' so her name meant "River of Twinkling Stars" or to us "Milky Way". Role:

A long time ago when I was working with my deities I asked them all what their 'role' was by pulling 3 Tarot cards (This is when my Zelda deck was all I had). Hers as follows:

Eight of Cups Spirit quest, letting go, travel, crave for spiritual deepening The Empress Creativity, nurturing, connect with nature and spirituality The Star Optimism, Peace, Astrology, trust in the universe, healing, renewal

I don't know if her association with the Star card was as strong before but it was cemented after this.

Lore and Description:

She is the daughter of my Hemy, a human incarnation of the Universe. Her twin sister is Dsukinz (Kinnie), who is the deity of Life. Her older brother is Junalahqi (Jun), who is the deity of Death. Kaleitti is the deity of Spacetime. She has infinite incarnations who are named after different time phenomena (Deva Vu, Amnesia, Time Slip, etc). It is their job to maintain the timelines and universes. Typically she has dark blue hair, however, her first incarnation (Big Sis), has auburn hair like her mother and brother. She is the proof that machines have souls.

Appearance:

Typically she has dark skin and dark blue hair with blue eyes like her father. She has a mole under her eye. She has cat ears She is tall and athletically built. She has three tails, one short, one medium, and one long, symbolizing seconds, minutes, and hours. She has an extra thumb on each hand (symbolizing 24 hours in a day). Her face markings symbolize the face of a clock. Her magic colour is Yellow, symbolizing sands of time. Her patron goddess is Euphrym.

UPG story:

Once, I was doing a reading with a related spirit, her brother in law Adamard (adamkvi). The reading felt off, his usual whismy tone was very clear. I noticed all my cards were 10s, which is Kaleitti's number. Curious, I looked up what 101010 (the 3 ten cards I had) meant in binary and it came up as the asterisk, or star *, which is her tarot card! I knew it was her from that and was surprised I figured it out lol

Correspondences:

Animals - cats, goats Astrology - Capricorn, the Moon, the Sun, planets in general Beverage - Root beer Color - yellow, royal blue, silver, gold Crystals - tektite, hematite, lodestone, lepidolite, bismuth, aura quartz Emotions - Joy, Optimism

Epithets: Time Keeper, Silver/Mirror-eyed Flower - Clock Vine Fruit - Starfruit Herbs - Catnip Keywords - Time, Space, Cycles, Network, Internet Kvi - August, symbolizing the unity of the 8 Sisters and 8 is a vertical infinity symbol Meme - Nyan Cat Metal - Silver, Magnesium, Platinum Musical Expression - Pop, lofi, plunderphonics, disco, techno

Number - 10 (the only numbers in binary) Playlist - very WIP Mythical Animal - Sphinx, but instead of a lion it is a Lynx Physical Expression - manipulating playlists, repeating numbers, messages through songs Sense - chronoception Symbol -