Non established member here. (no hard feelings, I don't know your definition of established)
Are Gods actual people that ascended?
Not all. Study Iamblichus, which has been validated by Clergy, as well as other Ancient Greek authors for a better idea. In short:
What we call "Gods" can refer to Eternal Gods, which have always existed and are the fundamentals of existence, which "dwell" within "higher dimensions". It can refer to mortal beings that have achieved the Magnum Opus. After the Magnum Opus (which itself is in levels and in layers), further advancement exists and a hierarchy exists, which determines the "realm of existence" of the Divinized being.
They "divine equations duuude" or "magic all-loving energy beings maaan"? The term "divine intelligences" in the current schedule especially reeks of new age crap.
Yes, divine equations
with personhood and agency, that
can make choices. This was always the ancient view, and while certain language in JoS could be interpreted otherwise, it was only talking about an aspect.
The Gods can have avatars in the physical world, beings that fully embody them. Some avatars incarnated here on Earth, some incarnated on other planets and helped humanity. This fact, however, is just history and gossip that isn't relevant for a Zevist's advancement. When you connect to a God in Ritual, you connect to their higher essence, their energies that flow in reality, their intelligible principle, and so on. You aren't connecting to an alien body on some planet that has embodied that God.
If Balaam is a newer God/Hero/Daemon then what piece of that "godhead perception" or "geometric forms" or "mathematical ratios" does He get?
The one He built. Apotheosis is the building of new complexity, expansion.
Is contacting a God(dess) without introduction from Zeus/Satan or, even worse, without dedication being bad (I remember reading that Andras in particular has a short fuse) still a thing? I'm way past that but if someone random dropped by and tried to contact/invoke/pray to Andras, or better yet, Nemesis (that's a big fat warning that doesn't even mention not being dedicated so I assume it applies even to dedicated Zevists) how would that go? I keep Zevism to myself but could I in good faith tell someone to try to pray to the Gods without putting up guardrails like "except these ones" or "here's the dedication page, do that blood dedication first"?
Not as much as before, the RTRs did their job and influences opposed to the Gods are weaker.
The energies that Gods like Nemesis bring you when you summon them are volatile and can be dangerous, this is unrelated to Dedication.
Dedication is very important because, if you eventually become quite powerful, nature itself will push back if you don't have "allowance, adherence to an initiatory path". Sadhguru, to use an example, is likely a risen Serpent and has real power, and is making real changes in the world. He's constantly slandered, accused of killing his wife, girls at his temple are called up by press agencies and told to "just say something bad about him, we'll pay your family". Whether or not Sadhguru is actually powerful and whether or not the accusations are true, this is a real pattern.
It is, at this point, not dangerous to do some God Rituals and meditate, to see if Zevism is right. Once you have sufficient evidence that we are the real deal, no point in delaying the Dedication. You can be slightly less secretive as well, just be careful and make sure you are a good judge of character, don't showcase your Zevism to people you aren't sure will fully understand him, especially if you're not prepared to be really skillful at asking the 1000 questions that may or may not surface about this and that past thing, this and that belief, and so on. It is a delicate matter.
I know that this post (
https://ancient-forums.com/threads/what-now.307138/post-1192370) is not by clergy or even an established member but I wonder if it is even possible to accurately contact the Gods. If even HPS Maxine couldn't communicate accurately why someone like me (way less advanced and, if I didn't screw up the astrology thing, has quite the wall of delusion to scale in terms of astral perception) to even try? I think I'm net positive when it comes to results (communication from the Gods, including my Guardian, has been emotionally stabilizing for me) but I have no idea how much of that is genuine, maybe it is just me huffing copium in an industrial scale.
Where did the non-established member (I'm cheeky, sue me) say that HPS Maxine "couldn't communicate accurately"?
What I said is that messages from the Gods are understood through our mind. We are a subject with subjectivity. If a regular person speaks to you in a language you don't know, or with words you don't know, do you understand it? If I say "chair", you picture a certain chair and I picture a different chair, no? This is unavoidable, there is a subjective nature to messages from the Gods up to a certain, very advanced, level.
And yet, the way the Gods communicate and guide leads to net benefit, because they are aware of this limitation. Where is ToZ now? In a better position, having clarified things, right? The Gods knew this would happen, and were patient with us so that we learn and grow. This is the same in one's individual journey. Don't take what this and that God "told you" as perfect understanding, but do try to apply it, and trust that whatever is inaccurate will be made accurate as you advance.
As for gauging your advancement, this is a struggle for all of us. For the most part, is your life going better than a year ago? Have you gained wisdom about life, yourself, the Divine, and so on, which is actually useful in life? Are your workings giving bigger results than before? Has your awareness, focus, and so on, improved since last year? If so, you're growing. "How grown am I?", well, who knows, and who cares. You're better than some, worse than others, and undoubtedly worse than you could be in the future.
Is the "Gods are coming back in 20-30 years" (damn, that was long ago, is it more like 15-25 years now?) still a thing? I think that would require question one be answered with "yeah, they are actual physical people" but maybe I'm wrong? Let's be real, my life would not change one bit even if highest Gods materialized in my room right now (although having a reliable material way to communicate could be used to train astral communication so there's one change I guess) but the "I was right" feeling would be awesome. Although the malding, coping and seething from Gods coming back and saying "Hi, I'm Satan. Yes, that one. Also you remember my pal Adolf? He's immortal now because of how much of a good guy he is" would be sweet too. Although planetary scale meltdown could be more destructive than a nuclear war considering most of the world would have their religion and/or ideology irreversibly shattered. Basically 2016 US election but almost every person freaks out instead of handful of far-left activists.
Yes, but not in the way most understood. The Gods will be here, guiding humanity, on a grander scale than before, through Zevism. Gods in general will be here because we will have risen Gods among our own ranks, which to a certain degree embody their Guardians.
We do not speak on matters of leaders of political movements anymore. They are irrelevant in the present.
Let us also not get caught up in archetypes, because HPS Maxine said "our Antichrist" will come. Have you read Hindu myth? The Kali Yuga will end as Kalki, the avatar of Vishnu(Zeus) descends and leads humanity into the new Golden Age. This is the "antichrist" in the Biblical Revelation, the "false Jesus" that will perform miracles and teach a "false salvation", alongside the "mother of harlots" and the "beast". The church in christianity is female, the bride of christ. The mother of harlots is the pre-Israel priesthood, the priesthood and Temple of the Gods. The "beast" are the Gods themselves, or "Satan", the essence of Satya present in all Gods. The "Antichrist" is a type of person that leads and restores the spiritual order. High Priest Himself is an Antichrist already, He is already Kalki. No need for dwelling on past figures that have their own journey and their own accountability for what they did right or wrong, which got them to wherever they are.
