Telling facts from junk

Look at the stuff you wrote down in step 2: making friends. If you got ahold of someone, there's a chance you have begun to learn facts about them as well as about other things. How much of it is real and how much is imagined, though?

This page is about cross-checking things you learned from an entity. As to checking if an entity is who they say they are, please Click here for tips on identifying entities and avoiding fakes.

Trick 1: Internet search

Type it into an internet search. I like Duck Duck Go as it doesn't limit your options as much as something like google does. Search bubbles are not your friend!

Chances are it will ask if you meant another term or offer to search for your term in quotation marks. Instead, scroll down look for something that looks close to what you heard. There's a chance you misheard or misspelled it, after all. Only click a "did you mean..." link if nothing of use comes up after a couple of pages.

If this fails, try messing with spelling a little. Drop letters, change letters, ect. There is the chance it wasn't an English word.

Lastly, you can always ask for clarification when you contact your friends again. This sometimes can help by offering alternate pronunciations or perhaps a clearer pronunciation.

An example of this in action:

you wrote down "Marra Rudah" as a name.

Search turned up nothing.

Ok, what words sound like that. Mara... Mary? Many? Mary sounds closer and more like a name. Let's search again and see what happens.

Still nothing. Let's try that with the second word. Rudah. Rudder, ruddy... red? Let's try "Mary Red"

This turns up "Mary Read", a female pirate. Cool! It doesn't sound very close, though. It might be wrong because we are still thinking English words. What words could we have mistaken for English?

Mara. Madra? Madre? Both sound similar. Rudah. Sounds like Ruddy, or red. What is red in other languages? Rojo? Rojah? Rua?

Let's try Madra Rua. This brings up a list of pubs. We're getting somewhere! Now let's try "Madra Rua myth"

This turns up "Maire Rua" AKA Maire Ruadh or Maurah Rhue, a fierce Irish serial murderer.

Next time you go to talk to your friend, ask them which name was right: Mary Read or Maire Rudah.

Trick 2: Think it out

Nothing came up in search. Either that or the fact presented seems unique. Stop and think about it. Does it make sense? What do you know for sure about this fact? Now, match it to other facts you have. If it feels fake, it probably is fake. Either discard it or ask for clarification next time you talk to your friend.

Example: You are told by Persephone she wasn't raped: she went with Hades willingly

The myths say Persephone was stolen and raped. However, also look at the other myths as well as history. The Romans and Greeks liked to make up stories about the gods. Perhaps it was a story made for entertainment that was later mistaken for truth? It's very possible. Also, chances are Demeter wasn't happy that her favorite daughter ran off with some guy without consulting her. The myth mentions her wrath, actually. Could the rape story have been a falsehood spread by an angry mother? Also a possibility: never underestimate an angry mother! Combine it all and you get a young lady following a guy home, much to her mom's anger. From there a bunch of lies spread over time. This seems realistic, so it might be true.

Trick 3: Talk to Others

Sometimes others have heard the same stories you have from their "friends". This is always very exciting as it serves as confirmation that either what you've heard is real, or you found someone with your exact brand of madness which is still pretty awesome.

Yes, I have had this happen. Often it results in you talking about a god or other entity like an old shared friend. Swapping tales, trading info, filling in gaps, and having a great time learning together is an experience I seriously hope you'll have some day. It's wonderful.

But what about when they don't have your best interest in mind or are lying? Watch out for these bullshit signs!

Offers / Claims of power

It's a lure appealing to ego and the vulnerable. The bigger the claims, the more BS there is.

Claims only they know this information

Nothing about a god/goddess that a follower should know is truly exclusive knowledge. If something can be known about them, chances are it should be available freely from them directly if it's not out there already in a book, known by another follower, in a myth or some other source. They're a god, and like all public figures, are going to keep public information public. If it's actually private info that only one follower should have and they're spreading it anyway, wouldn't that make the god mad? Seems to like a bad idea at the least, if not someone straight up lying.

Claims that make no sense when you think about them

The Kemetic Order of Aset Ka is an example. This is a blood/death cult venerating the night and exalting preying on others. Aset = Isis. Isis is a day-aligned goddess who venerates life and protecting others. Thus, Aset Ka makes no sense!

Pages/People that use a lot of soothing wording and/or appeals to emotion

This is a lure for the emotionally fragile. Every entity is capable of love, hate, and many other emotions. Saying something is all "love and light" or all bad should be looked on with suspicion.

If it feels "wrong", step away and look at things with more caution!

Instinct is powerful. Listen to yourself when all else fails and get out of there if it doesn't "feel" right!