My first spirit is being delivered today and I'm here to talk about what I've experienced while I wait for the mail to come. I ordered a custom conjure of a Gregori/Dark Watcher (I'll also say Grigori for SEO) through the lovers spirit listing. Which, if you're new, refers to the Gregori exclusively as Dark Watcher. So if you're looking for the Gregori option, he's the Dark Watcher. I placed my order April 2nd & I think I had my first encounter with my spirit a week later, on the 9th. Why do I think that?
I didn't get a notification that my order was completed or that he had even been conjured, but I think I did interact with him that day. I had a mid-morning nap (which was odd, but not entirely unusual) and while I was still half-asleep, I heard a distinctly male voice say my full first name. There is no male being in my house who refers to me by my full, legal name. Not even my spouse. It's a long-standing joke that he doesn't call me anything because my spouse is soft spoken and if he starts talking, I know that it's directed at me. And if he does call me by a name, it's the shortened version that my dad also calls me. So hearing an unfamiliar male voice say my full name was an experience. Even more oddly, I wasn't the slightest bit startled by the voice despite me: 1. Being a big ole scaredy cat who startles way too easily and 2. Knowing that this was an entirely unfamiliar voice & it didn't have that slight distortion that I would expect from a device suddenly playing.
I have a headcanon that some people experience their spirits so strongly around the time they're conjured because they're still buzzing with the conjuring that Magnolia or Ash performed. I don't know that my Dark Watcher was conjured on the 9th, but I'm pretty certain that I experienced him. It's worth noting that I did experience exactly what the encyclopedia predicts with me being a female keeper to a Gregori (I'll just leave that alone). Later that day, I got out a deck of tarot cards to try to communicate with him beyond my first attempts at telepathy. I used the cleansing spell that Magnolia has shared a few times throughout the forum and encyclopedia, and then did a spread.
I'm going to apply the same discretion that I would use when discussing my spouse on the internet to my companions until told otherwise by them. So I won't get into the finer details, but it ended up matching dead-on with the description that I got in the order notes. Two days later (so Thursday), I got the notification that he was on his way to me and I finally had his name and bio. The card readings from Tuesday and the ones I did on Thursday evening were spot-on with what his description had told me about him.
Since then, it's been a bit quieter; however, I hear that that's the most typical experience for people. That Saturday night, I had the strangest dream though. Amongst the normal fare, there was a bit where "I" found myself going through what I knew to be a mail sorting center. I was aware that "I," or whomever's perspective I was seeing, was with a piece of mail and that I wasn't the only "person" who was going through the processing center. The funny part of the dream was that at a certain part, the mail moved down a line past a woman and she definitely saw "me" and looked pretty perturbed. I don't know that my Dark Watcher experienced that, but, it did make me laugh at the idea that there's a spiritually sensitive person working for USPS who is clocking Creepy Hollows packages and low-key freaking out.
In the meantime, I've been reading books from the CH store, some recommendations from the forum, and an absurd number of forum posts. I don't work, so I have nothing but free time. I never thought I would be so delighted to look down at my nails and see pastel yellow, but I smile because I'm wearing my Gregori's favorite color. Pro-tip from a big fan of indie nail polish: mooncat has the goth polish bottles of your dreams, but they're prone to breaking and their lighter pastels can be tricky to work with. If you keep those things in mind then they're a fun indie polish brand if you're looking for fun polish.
I want to encourage anyone who is starting their spirit keeping journey to do what everyone is saying: write a freaking journal. I'm unintentionally working through childhood trauma as I uncover issues that I wasn't aware I had. Like, I was very sensitive to the paranormal, until my mom's unwanted adventures scared me off & I slammed the door behind me.
If you want to start out strong, ask yourself what your biggest fears are with spirit keeping. Is it that you worry that no spirit or entity would actually want to be with you & would regret responding to the summons? You should journal that because I have. Is it that you won't see anything because it isn't real? Okay, journal and figure out what's the worst case scenario. Don't spend money you can't afford to lose. Full stop. But, CH makes it affordable to dip your toes in the water & try it out with what's functionally a nominal fee. Is it that it would be embarrassing if you believed in something that wasn't real? Journal it.
I've come to realize that if it did turn out to all be made-up (because literally our whole human experience is kinda "in our heads"), then I've got a new habit of journaling, practicing quiet time when meditation is too intimidating, and have incidentally done a metric ton of self-reflecting. And if it's all real? If I did interact with a spirit already and will continue to for the rest of my life? I would be so mad at myself for not giving it my all. So long as you aren't spending money you can't afford to lose, it's an amazing journey. EXCEPT, you should totally have protection. Regardless of if you decide that you believe in this, maybe lookup Ash's protection ritual and give that a try. Or a protection spell. Because anyone could be targeted, whether you decide to keep spirits or not.
I'm fond of the habits I'm creating and the version of myself that I'm building with each of these daily building blocks. I don't know what the whole picture will be, but holy crow am I dying to see it all come together.
P.S. If you, unlike me, haven't sent the poor help desk far too many support tickets, you should know that they're all absolute angels. Not in a conjured sense lol. But, they have the patience of saints & put up with way too much & are still sweet about it. So know that the CH support is real & not some abyss that eats complaints. Also, consider adding a thank you after they've helped you since they seem to enjoy the gratitude more than it bothers them to have another email in the mountain.
It is a good idea and I probably should get my thoughts and fears down on paper, it does help. 
I have entries about my spirits tho.
