Okay, so over the past couple of weeks I have sort of been thinking of pursuing a path of Necromancy. My very rudimentary (and like Luke Skywalker said "Everything in that sentence is completely wrong") understanding of Necromancy is that it is summoning / conjuring / communicating with spirits to aid in tasks or magick, etc., for things that the practitioner cannot do themselves.

My question is, other than the obvious answer that our bound spirits are not summoned, how is this different than Spirit Keeping? What does pursuing this path involve that keeping spirits does not assist with? I'm of the impression there is something more "magick" about Necromancy than I'm understanding, but I can't piece it together.

Sorry for the bluntly noob question on this one, but I'm trying to decide if pursuing Necromancy would be a well-chosen path alongside Spirit Keeping. If there is any recommended reading that explains Necromancy better, I'd love to check it out.

I think this is a very good question.

What a lot of people fail to put together is that spirit keeping IS necromancy. You are working with the spirit of a dead being for whatever goal you desire. Spirit keeping is a good stepping stone in learning how to work with the dead. In working with bound spirits you learn how to commune with them, sense and interpret their energies, interpret messages and they can aid in other magickal practices.

If you'd like to advance your journey beyond that, you can learn how to summon and conjure spirits on your own, work with them unbound. There is a section here on CH with conjurations on it... uhh, I forget which one it is. I'll find it! If I remember to look.

LOL Thanks Zero. I felt this was close to the case and I'm looking ahead - far ahead - at my natural feelings, and working with the dead is something I may want to do. I feel a particular calling to remember spirits, give them a safe haven and a place to connect to the Earth. I would even like to do some discovery and exploration, eventually, alongside that. I feel called to work with spirits, and when I really think about it I feel a deep sense of completion and honor. I really do think this is my path, although I am quite aware it would alienate some people in my life if they discovered it.

Before I started Spirit Keeping in August of this year, I started a new job roughly two years ago this past October. You might say I was drawn to this path before I knew it existed. The company I work for is a conglomerate of funeral homes, crematories, and decedent care. I don't work on the family-facing side of the business (I'm in a corporate office) but the job makes me feel like I'm doing something important and meaningful by helping our associates help grieving families.

It's odd how things have developed lately. And fascinating.

I'd suggest starting with a strong Ancestor practice. My opinion and experience is that literally everyone should be doing this anyway, but if you are planning to delve more deeply into Necromancy than basic spirit keeping, keep an ancestor altar and look into basic ancestor veneration practices.