Surely then, this fear of confronting the pure nature of the universe is right and good.
—Statement #0141407: Dark Matter_
I've had this post in mind for quite some time now, but actually getting around to doing it is, admittedly, another matter. Our past two posts were more of about us, how we started, who we are, but this is an Archive, is it not? It's about time to tell you more about who the Dreadful Ones are.
The Dreadful Ones, as a term, was coined by another member of the Archetropers guild, in their discussion of eldritch narratives. As this implies, the Dreadful Ones, inherently, are eldritch beings, more specifically, the term 'Dreadful Ones' is an umbrella term for the pantheon and subpantheons of the eldritch world. Now, these eldritch forces are not necessarily gods, but some are and can be considered so. The Dreadful Ones is not limited to longstanding eldritch beings, like the biblical Leviathan, or the more widespread Cthulhu (part of the Lovecraftian pantheon), but also extends to the more recent appearances of eldritch in media, such as the Dread Fears from the Magnus Archives, or even the Trawler-man from Silt Verse. This is explained on our coining post for the flag, requested by Weber nemself.
Working with an eldritch force, evidently, varies on the specific eldritch being and the person working with them. Some beings might already have specific dreadful traditions you may need to follow, or some of these traditions might be optional. Regardless, this establishes the very first thing to keep in mind when working with this pantheon(s)—research. As with working with any deity or spirit, researching in detail is critical, especially when failing to do so may have dire consequences. For example, acting on a calling to the Desolation without realising it needs to be feed, only to find yourself in a housefire. Perhaps it might not be this outright, but believe me when I say eldritch forces have a way of getting what they want.
You may be wondering now, what forces do I work with that I have the right to say anything? Personally, I work with Dread Fears pantheon, and hold the Silt Verses in consideration. I'm entering my second year as an Archivist, and although I am far from an expert, I do have some words of wisdom to put forth. Now, diving back into the Dreadful Ones, others on the Dread Path consider it somewhat as a closed practice. Not in the terms of having to be from a certain ethnicity or having to be invited, rather...it has to find you. It's not a path that needs to be widespread, as that defeats the point of the Occult, but rather, that worn ancient book you happened to find in the library, drawing you in. This brings us to why you're here—the calling.
Something made you curious as you encountered our little site. Perhaps, you encountered it directly from us, or you found it in some dive down the internet, looking for something interest. Whatever brought you here, there might be some calling to a Dreadful One waiting for you, fledgling.
A calling is not necessarily as dramtic as angels flaring down from the sky, as is in the insitute we call the Catholic Church. It me be as simple as getting a repetative ad or it coming up in conversation often, perhaps seeing something important to you intertwined with Them. Once the calling is there, you may start to interact with the corresponding media, taking a winding road to get where you need to be. You might start a pagan, you might not. You may be a former Christian who found the Leviathan interesting, or an avid fan of a particular horror podcast—something cued that interaction where you start your Research.
Now, if you stepped into the witch community before coming across my rambles, you may be sick and positively tired of hearing the word "research" over and over again. How you have to figure out what tools to use on your own, how to practice, what deities to follow...the lack of outright structure can be overwhelming. Yet, the reason research is so critical is because one form of practice does not fit all, and although we share the label our paths will never be the same. So, here is my advice: join communities centered around whatever being calls to you. The Magnus Archives has a wonderous discord server dedicated to working with the Dread Fears, there are various regarding Lovecraft, and with enough digging, you'll encounter other communities centering about the correct topics. Scouring Wikipedia and Fandoms for links to potential sources related to the eldritch being is another step, and of course, revisting the source material—pay attention to any prestablished traditions and note down any lore.
I've done my research, now what? You, my friend, are asking the wrong question. If you've done your research, what have others done? The Dark, a Dread Fear for example, has the People's Church of the Divine Host. Despite the name, it has nothing to do with Christianity, rather, it's a fictional cult worshipping the Dark. Now, evidently, cults should not be condonned and you should absolutely not run off and start a cult for your eldritch being. That is not only unbelievably stupid but puts people at risk of toxic and abusive situations. The reason I bring up the People's Church of the Divine Host, however, is because it establishes the canon form of worship of the dark. How Ny-Ålesund is a sacred ground for the entity, the elclipse is the perfect time to call on the Dark, it's associations with the element of Water, etcetra. My point here being, not the canon group (which, should be otherwise disencouraged in all shape and form), but the canon Dreadful Traditions.
Now that we've brought this up, however, it would be good to acknowledge that as you learn more about your respective eldritch being, you'll find that the eldritch does not follow the same morals as us human beings. As you continue to work and begin to work, you have to establish a form of ethical work, a concept that is frequently revisted in Dreadful Ones community. The morals you establish, evidently, should be in line with the laws of your land. You shouldn't be using eldritch worship as an excuse to break the law. And, in general, you need to draw the line to what would make you, generally, a bad person.
You may be a bit confused; I've barely explained to you how to start working with an entity and I'm already lecturing you on the ethics of it? Well, chosing to work with an entity should be an informed decesion. There have unfortunately been quite a few cases of "narrative poisoning" as Weber likes to call it, in which a person gets carried away by the narrative, or as I have introduced it, the calling, and wind up in an unhealthy relationship with the entity they work with. This isn't just an occurance with the eldritch, but frankly, any deity.
Since we've covered the tip of the iceberg in regards to research, you are evidently still confused as to how to work with said entity—sometimes the steps can be right infront of you and you're still confused as to how to start. This, honestly, happens with any practice, as after reading up on the history and associations you still don't know how to put it into motion. And as with any practice, the only way to move foward is to...try.
I know, I know, you were expecting coherent advise, not the old warlock cryptically telling you to figure it out on your own. Yet you've done research, you know about prexisting Dreadful Traditions—the only thing you can do is cast the bones and see what happens! You might try doing some things associated with your deity, setting up an altar, whatever springs to mind, try it! The only way for you to carve your own path after reading all the books and material is to experiement, see what works for you, see what feels right. Even after being fairly well practiced, you may still feel like you have no idea what you're doing, and that is completely alright. I advised joining a community because even after you've been practicing for years, you're still learning, and you will always still be learning. People have learned from me and I'm still learning myself.
The Dread Path is a long, winding road, with many twists, bends, and dead ends, and now that you're a lost traveler stumbling upon it, the only thing left for you to do is to follow the cobblestone path. You found it, and it's something special, waiting for you to unfurl the petals and see the fabrics that tug you along to that time and place.
At this point, you may stare at me and say, but this explained nothing!chortle-click-fledgling-purr