Day: August 6, 2011

Introduction To Scrying – Establish a body in the magickal space

Introduction To Scrying

 

Establish a body in the magickal space

The final step in the basic process of creating a magickal space is to create a body for yourself within that space. Up to this point in the exercises, you have been pretty much a naked viewpoint, seeing the world but not interacting with it to any great extent. Now you need to build up an image of your body within the space, and learn to use it. To do this, you need to develop a conscious awareness of the sensory surface of your body and of its kinesthetics, and duplicate these in an “astral” body. Judging from accounts by students at the Fellowship of the Inner Light, this part of the work gives people the most difficulty, and people will have widely varying degrees of success in it.

Before entering your magickal space, stand up and relax, preferably without any clothes or jewelry. Close your eyes and put your attention onto your skin. Even without anything touching you, you should be able to feel a sense of activity or sensitivity in your skin, a “readiness to feel”. Note the way your body’s shape is outlined by the skin sensations.

Next, plan out some series of movements that will move every part of your body in turn, through most of its range of movement. Tai Chi or Yoga exercises are good for this if you know them. Still keeping your eyes closed, go through the movements and note how each part of your body feels in different positions, and note what your kinesthetic sense tells you about the positioning of your limbs as you move.

Finally, do the same sequence again with your eyes open. This time pay attention to the way what you see of your body changes as you go through the movements. Pay particular attention to your hands and arms. Try to consciously associate the image of your body with the sensations you get as you move.

Each of these three steps focuses on one of the major aspects of your body image: your sense of the body’s boundaries, its internal sensations, and its appearance to your eyes as you interact with your surroundings. Under normal conditions, these sensations are half-unconscious, and are always secondary to whatever activity you are engaged in. You need to be aware of them consciously in order to build yourself a second body inside your magickal space. If you wish, you can do these exercises separately from your practice in your space, until you are ready to make your magickal body.

Once you are ready, sit down and go through the relaxation exercises, and enter your magickal space. Once there try to feel as if you have a body in the magickal space that feels exactly like your physical body, but is completely separate from the physical. Go through the three steps in your imagination, and try to duplicate all the sensations you had while doing them physically. By doing this you will, over time, gradually build up a perception of your “astral body” as a distinct entity, within and a part of your magickal space.

After finishing this exercise in each session in your magickal space, spend some time just moving around your world, touching and manipulating things as if they were physical objects. Things you touch should give sensations appropriate to their nature; bricks and stone should feel hard and rough; metals should feel cool, with textures appropriate to their shape; wood should feel warm and grainy, etc.

If you have rituals that you do on a daily basis (and haven’t already started doing them in your magickal space) create a dedicated place in your magickal space for ritual work and begin doing them there as part of this practice. The regular, repetitive movements of ritual work will serve to reinforce your body image, and doing the rituals will begin to turn your space from a mere refuge into something useful for your magickal work. In particular, I would recommend practicing the Golden Dawn’s pentagram and hexagram rituals; these will be important later, as a means of testing the visions you obtain when you start scrying.

Introduction To Scrying – A Magickal Space for Enochian Scrying

Introduction To Scrying

A Magickal Space for Enochian Scrying

Since the Enochian powers are so sensitive to the visual symbols in a magickal space, the general-purpose magickal space developed in the preceding sections of this paper is likely to be inappropriate for Enochian work. The profusion of objects with which you have populated the landscape would all tend to anchor the forces in unexpected or undesired forms. A space with a more neutral visual appearance needs to be used.

A woman I once met made a habit of surveying people about the appearance of their magickal spaces. Amusingly, nearly all the Enochian magicians she knew (most of whom did not know the others) had chosen to build essentially identical spaces for their work. This space might thus be considered an archetypal Enochian workplace. It consists of a broad, gray plain, surrounded at the horizon by low hills; both plain and hills are illuminated in a flat, sourceless light of relatively low intensity. Overhead, there is a night-sky filled with stars. The plain is large enough that the magician always has a previously-unused area available in which to perform a new series of invocations.

The remaining few magicians in her survey had chosen to go even further in the direction of minimalism than this Michael Moorcock landscape. Their workspaces consisted solely of a clear space within a gray mist, with a featureless gray floor underneath, created ab initio for every invocation.

My feeling is that the plain has a slight advantage as a workspace. It allows for the establishment of long-term or permanent structures, useful for advanced works in which the invocations must be done in section, or for building a temple appropriate to a range of Enochian works.

Scrying Techniques for Enochian Magick

Both the “magick mirror” technique and its extension as a “gate” work as well with Enochian powers as they will with other, more conventional magickal powers. I would recommend that you create a new mirror in your Enochian workplace for every series of invocations that you do, and destroy it after completing the series. Since the Enochian powers tend to accumulate over time, this prevents residual forces from previous works from interfering with a new work.

However, as mentioned above, it is often necessary to provide a firm visual anchor for Enochian powers; you may find that the mirror technique is insufficiently exact, and only gives you confused or contradictory results. If that is the case, one of the following methods will be more effective.

The Golden Dawn devised a technique for using visualizations of truncated pyramids as the starting point for visions of individual squares from the Tablets. This practical method has been proven by use to be very effective, precisely because it provides a well-defined symbolic “anchor” for the Enochian powers. I recommend this technique for beginners, both for this reason and because it tends to focus the powers into their most “earthly”, most readily-comprehensible form.

The basic technique is to build a truncated pyramid in your magickal space. The flat top has an area one-ninth the area of its base. The relative sizes of the top and bottom means the sides are tilted inwards at an angle of forty-five degrees. The letter of the square is visualized on the flat top. The sides of the pyramid are colored and labeled with symbols and images according to a complex system of attributes.

(The G.D. system of attributes is described in detail in book 4 of Regardie’s The Golden Dawn; my own alternate system (which I believe to be a substantial improvement over the G.D. system) is described in the papers titled “Godzilla Meets E.T.”, which can be found at: http://www.hermetic.com/browe/index.html. The pyramid method works very well with either system.)

The pyramid is visualized as being large enough to stand on the top. Having vibrated the appropriate Calls for the name in which the square lies, the magician then stands on top of the pyramid in his astral body, and vibrates the hierarchy of names. As he vibrates each name, the magician imagines the power of that name gathering around the pyramid.

When the last name is vibrated, the magician imagines that each side of the pyramid is gathering in the attracted energy, each taking the type appropriate to its attributes and symbols. This energy is seen moving upwards, being focused as it goes by the narrowing of the sides. The flows of energy from the sides reach the top simultaneously, run into each other, and form a beam of light shining up and outwards into the astral worlds, forming a path to a region of magickal space governed by the square. The magician then follows this beam in his astral body until a landscape or other scene forms around him. This scene should symbolize various aspects of the square invoked. From that point, the techniques describe earlier can be used to explore the region.

I prefer a variation of this method, in which the magician stands inside the pyramid. When the energies traveling up the sides reach the top, they come together on the letter and then shine downwards into the pyramid, illuminating the interior. The angel governing the square is invoked to visible appearance within the pyramid and is tested there. After testing, the angel conducts the magician to various scenes that illustrate the square’s nature.

Since a session using this technique only explores the power of one letter of an angel’s name, you only get a partial view of the angel’s nature. To fully understand an angel, all the letters of its name should be explored in sequence.

When you wish to invoke all of an angel’s powers at once rather than a single letter, it is more convenient to make your anchoring image something like a magickal circle, or a talisman sufficiently large that you can stand on it. A example design for such a circle would have the divine names superior to the given angel written around the rim of the circle. The name of the angel being invoked would be written within the circle, oriented so that it appears upright when you are facing in the direction in which you want the angel to appear. If the angel is associated with a particular magickal formula (e.g., Kerubic angels and the INRI formula) symbols appropriate to that formula might also be drawn within the circle.

Note that the intent of this figure is much closer in function to a talisman than to the traditional idea of a magickal circle. It is not intended to block off its interior from the exterior areas; you should feel free to move in and out of it at will. Nor is it intended to “contain” the invoked force. Rather, the idea is that the charged figure will serve to attract the attention of the appropriate being — like putting a big illuminated sign saying “Land Here!” next to a runway — and will also serve to condition the surrounding magickal space so that it reflects the nature of the invoked powers.

Vibrate the appropriate Calls several times; then enter the magickal space and create the circle. Vibrate the divine and angelic names, and as you feel the invoked power arrive, direct it into the lines and letters in the circle so that they glow and re-radiate the power to the surrounding environment. Keep vibrating the names until the intensity of invoked power seems to level off, then vibrate only the name of the being you wish to contact, asking it to appear before you. Vibrate the angel’s name until it does appear; then apply the tests, and ask the angel what you will.

Calling the angel to the circle is my personal preference; I would rather have the guide take me to the place I want to go than go there first and find a guide afterwards. The reverse may be more comfortable for you. If that is the case, you can vary the above method by concentrating the invoked force in the circle instead of allowing it to radiate. Then imagine that the force is creating a “gate” to the power’s magickal space; imagine the center of the circle opening up as the magick mirror did in the earlier exercises, so that you can step directly through it into that space. Or you can imagine that the powers form a beam of light shooting up from the circle, which you can ride to the powers’ space.

Introduction To Scrying – Scrying with the Enochian Magick

Introduction To Scrying

 

Scrying with the Enochian Magick

There are several considerations for Enochian magick work that do not apply to scrying using other systems.

The first of these is the unquestionable power of the Calls and the divine and angelic names. As Crowley once said, other systems require effort; Enochian magick requires caution. While the power built up in any one session is almost never of an unmanageable level, some effects of the magick tend to accumulate across sessions; it is easy for an overeager beginner to get in deeper than he expects. Added to this, the powers invoked through the Calls seem to enter into the magician’s field of awareness along some spiritual dimension that is outside those we consider “normal”; it seems to operate through some sort of meta-space with qualities different from those that compose the magickal worlds to which we are accustomed.

The consequence of these factors is that any work with the magick places a certain amount of stress on the magician’s mind and body, and over-use can lead to various stress-related forms of illness. Anyone working regularly with the magick should keep an eye out for signs of this stress in himself. The typical symptoms are similar to those that come from abusing methedrine or “speed”: nervous exhaustion, severely lowered immune response, inability to concentrate, hypersensitivity, hyper-reactivity, reduced judgment, flights of ideas, and paranoia.

One time in my own career, the stress of overusing this magick combined with an equally stressful mundane occupation to give me the worst of both the physical and mental consequences. On the physical side, I contracted mononucleosis, effectively stopping all my magickal work for six months or so. On the mental side, the changed viewpoint and loss of judgment caused me to make seditious remarks to a class of Federal employees I was training, resulting in the loss of my livelihood.

So caution is well-justified. But with a few easy, obvious precautions, these problems can be avoided.

  • Avoid using the magick at times when other parts of your life are unusually stressful. Try to arrange your affairs so as to reduce the social and economic pressures to the minimum level compatible with your needs.
  • Get regular exercise; a healthy body handles stress better.
  • Don’t use recreational drugs while working with the magick. Aside from being illegal (jail is a poor place for magickal work), all of them add to the stress on your body. Most stimulants and sedatives also reduce your magickal sensitivity and ability to focus in your magickal space. Hallucinogens make you _too_ sensitive, and reduce your level of control.
  • Learn to pace yourself. When first starting out, allow a day or two between Enochian invocations to absorb the results and “cool off”. Later, when you get to the point where you need to accumulate power over several day’s worth of invocations, allow at least as many days off after the series as you spent in doing the work. Take longer vacations from the work every few months to keep yourself grounded.

The importance of pacing yourself cannot be overemphasized. When you begin getting significant results from your Enochian work, it is very tempting to keep going; the anticipation of even more amazing results drives you on. But the extra-dimensional or meta-dimensional character of these forces allows them to influence all levels of your being simultaneously, including many levels of which you are not consciously aware. The cumulative effects of this influence can cascade into a dangerous level of stress before you become aware of it. Regular intervals of rest and relaxation, and of immersion in the everyday world, are the only sure way to avoid the problems.

Another difficulty, which bears more directly on scrying, is that the Calls allow you to invoke a force without having any knowledge of its nature. In normal methods of invocation, one begins with a symbol or set of symbols, and seeks by their use to bring about the manifestation of the corresponding powers. The symbols you use define the power to be invoked. In contrast, the Calls produce a manifestation of power regardless of whether you comprehend their symbolic content.

Adding to the confusion is the fact that, from a perspective accustomed to the traditional magickal powers (i.e., the elements, planets, and zodiac) the nature of the invoked powers seems to change depending on the depth of one’s penetration into their realms. Or from another angle, the Calls and Names open up different realms, depending on the level of existence at which you are operating. On the most superficial level, they appear to be more or less “elemental” in nature, with an overlay related to the functions of the angels’ specific offices; but at “deeper” or “higher” levels, this elemental aspect fades, to be replaced by a succession of increasingly complex and inclusive expressions that may bear little or no relation to the most superficial appearance.

Unless the magician supplies an explicit set of symbols to which the invoked powers can be anchored, the powers will tend to remain in an indeterminate state; a sort of “fuzzy cloud” of energy which contains all the power’s potential expressions, but which manifests none of them explicitly. A visual symbol used as an anchor causes this indeterminacy to “collapse” into that aspect of the power which is most nearly similar to the symbol’s innate associations. The congruency between the symbol and the invoked power does not have to be very great. It is sufficient that some small aspect of the symbol’s associations be similar to the power’s; the major associations of the symbol can be entirely inappropriate, and this collapse will still occur.

So the symbol the scryer uses will determine, in part, the initial manifestation of an invoked Enochian power; the scryer’s expectations or preconceptions of the power’s nature will also be partially determining. This accounts for the documented fact that different magicians have produced widely varying — sometimes even contradictory — results using the system. However, it is my observation that with repeated invocations and scryings, the true nature of the invoked power will break through these initial, superficial expressions. The longer you work with a particular Enochian power, the more closely your results will accord with that nature, and the deeper you will penetrate into the realms to which the power connects.

Since penetration past the sometimes-deceiving surface manifestations takes time, orderly, methodical work habits are necessary to get the most value of your Enochian work. The fact that invocations have a cumulative effect can be used to advantage if you plan out your course ahead of time, and stick to it. The following suggestions will all enhance the effectiveness of your Enochian scryings:

  • For every angel or other power that you invoke, do several scrying sessions. Allow time for a connection to be built up between you and the angel, and for your mind to become accustomed to its power.
  • Work for an extended period solely with powers from a single Tablet. Or if you are working with the Aethyrs or the 91 Parts of the Earth, pick a set of contiguous Aethyrs or Parts and do them sequentially.
  • If you are invoking single squares of some angelic or divine name, plan to do all the squares of that name in sequence.
  • Plan out a series of invocations to investigate all the angels of a given rank within one of the Tablets, in some logical sequence. Complete the series before working with any other rank or Tablet. Alternately, plan out a series to investigate all the powers within a given Lesser Angle, in order of rank.

 

Introduction To Scrying – Preliminary Considerations

Introduction To Scrying

Preliminary Considerations

To start with, the reader should understand that scrying is as much a learned skill as is reading or ice skating. Persistent practice is necessary to teach the nervous system how to do it, even where the person has some innate talent. And as with other learned skills, there is a “learning curve”. At first there will be a long period when you don’t seem to be making any significant progress. Then things will suddenly fall together and your practice will improve markedly in a short period before leveling off again at something close to your highest level of skill.

It is best to expect a learning period of at least several months; don’t expect quick results. It is likely that you will have occasional sessions where things work much better than usual. Don’t be too encouraged by these, as it is likely you will fall back to a lower level in the next session. When an improvement lasts for a week or more, you are justified in judging it a genuine advance.

Before getting to scrying techniques as such, I want to discuss the various kinds of distractions that can cause trouble for beginners, and suggest some solutions. Distractions can be generally classified in three types:

  • Physical distractions. E.g., itches, muscle aches and twitches, etc.
  • External distractions. House and street noises, other residents of your home, etc.
  • Mental distractions. The internal “chatter” that we are all prone to.

Four of the traditional practices of yoga are intended to reduce and eliminate such distractions. Asana and (to a small extent) pranayama deal with physical distractions; pratyahara with external distractions, and dharana with mental distractions. These high-discipline practices are more than most people will need for our current purposes; perfection isn’t necessary, just something “good enough”. But those who find they do need more than the simple techniques described here may wish to look into them.

Traditional asana practice seeks to eliminate physical distractions by training the body to remain in a single posture for long periods of time. The muscles are trained to maintain a state of tension such that the body remains locked into the chosen posture. The lack of movement reduces the intensity of the body’s sensory signals to the brain. That is to say, repetitive, unchanging signals are completely processed at the pre-conscious level and are never brought to the attention of the conscious mind. Unfortunately, the traditional practice usually produces extreme pain for a long period before the muscles are trained to a given posture.

The same effect can be produced without the painful intermediate stage by achieving a state of profound physical relaxation. The nervous system doesn’t care why it is getting repetitive signals from the body, but only that it is so. Lack of movement engendered by relaxation is just as good at producing such signals as is lack of movement produced by muscle locking.

The practitioner should begin by choosing a comfortable posture that can be maintained without muscular tension. A sitting posture is recommended over a supine position, since relaxing while lying down easily leads to sleep. I preferred to sit cross-legged on a bed, with my back supported by a pillow against the wall. A high-backed easy-chair is as good. All that matters is that you can be perfectly relaxed in the position without falling over.

A certain type of breathing can help promote relaxation. Take a deep gulp of air through your mouth, breathing from the belly; don’t strain to take in the maximum. Hold it as long as comfortable, and then release it, allowing the weight of your ribs and the natural tension of your diaphragm to push the air out of your lungs without forcing it. Relax for a moment at the end of the breath. Repeat for one minute, or until you start to feel dizzy. You will find that as you release the breath, all your muscles have a tendency to loosen. (This type of breathing is, perhaps not coincidentally, identical to the way one tokes a joint of marijuana.)

Once you are comfortable and have done the breathing, begin to work at relaxing each muscle in your body individually. Start with the scalp and face, and work your way down the body, working outwards from the spine at each level. Complete relaxation of any muscle will be accompanied by a pleasant “melting” sensation; try to make your whole body feel as if it has melted into a puddle of warm pudding.

By the time you have reached your feet, you will probably find that your face and scalp muscles have tensed up again, just from your concentration on the task. Start again at the top and work your way down, repeating as often as needed to get to a state of complete relaxation. When the physical relaxation is complete, try to extend it to the inside of your head as well, letting your awareness float in a warm internal glow.

While this exercise is simple and easily mastered, it is very important. Most of the other forms of distraction practitioners encounter are accompanied by tension reactions in some part of the body. An extreme example is the “startle” reaction, in which some small noise triggers a state of high alert in your body; your heart suddenly jumps and increases its rate of beating, and every muscle in the body suddenly tenses. The parts of the mind responsible for these reactions and distractions are often not directly accessible to consciousness; but since body and mind influence each other, you can begin to subvert and eliminate the reactions by eliminating their physical manifestations.

The other aspect of controlling distractions is to understand the nature of the human mind. Each of us is not a single being, but a multitude. Our minds are composed of many “sub-minds”, each with its own special functions. Some of these (the visual sub-minds, for instance) are so intimately connected with our consciousness that we never notice their functioning unless something goes seriously wrong. Others act with greater independence.

But while they are not accessible in the same way that, e.g., the language forming parts of the mind are, there is communication back and forth between them, and between them and the conscious mind. The conscious self, the part of the mind which calls itself “I”, is supposed to function as a mediator, arbiter, synthesizer and director between these other aspects of our being. Its function is to take the results of their work, compare and evaluate them, make use of them to act in the world, and direct their future work on the basis of the results obtained. When there are conflicts between different sub-minds, the conscious self is supposed to “keep the peace” by balancing their respective needs and viewpoints.

Unfortunately, human evolution is not yet at the point where the consciousness automatically functions in the best way possible. The capability for it to do so is there, but it requires training and experience to develop its proper relationship to the other sub-minds. Lacking that training, we too often end up acting as censors and tyrants rather than mediators, suppressing troublesome messages from these parts rather than dealing with them. And as often as they are suppressed, they leak up through some other channel, producing distractions and what Crowley called “breaks” in one’s practice.

The key to permanently relieving both physical and mental distractions is to deal with them in the right way, _immediately_ as you become aware that they are occurring. You have to re-condition yourself into the desired response while the distracting sensations or thoughts are still present in your mind, and the physical tensions are still in your body. The sub-minds aren’t particularly time-conscious; they understand what is happening “now” much better than events in the past or future.

Once you have achieved a state of physical relaxation, try just sitting in the relaxed state, with your mind not focused on any particular thing and with no intention of doing anything else for a while. It is a sure bet that after a few minutes, some part of your mind will take the opportunity to bring its own concerns to the surface, and you will start talking to yourself mentally about whatever it is concerned with.

As soon as you realize you are following some line of thought, stop and assess your body’s state. Do the relaxation exercises until you are back in a completely relaxed condition. Then imagine that you are extending that relaxation to the part of your mind that brought up the thoughts you were thinking; imagine that part enveloped and permeated by a warm, melting glow, while simultaneously you talk to it, telling it: “Relax, be still, there is nothing you need to do right now.” Successful relaxation of a sub-mind through this procedure will produce a sensation of a sudden, mildly pleasurable energy-release in some part of your brain, sometimes accompanied by a sensation of “clearness”.

It is likely that by the time you get one sub-mind quieted — or even while you are still working on it — another part will pop up with a different thought-train. Keep working on the first instance and ignore the new one. Don’t be concerned if you don’t get to everything that comes along during this practice; the things you miss are certain to show up again at a later time. Do one thing at a time and don’t jump around. If you forget what you are doing somewhere in the middle of things, just start over with the relaxation exercises, and unfocusing your attention.

This same technique can be applied to external disturbances. The only difference is that when telling the disturbed sub-mind to relax, you tell it that the noise or other distraction is unimportant and not worth attention.

The Fellowship of the Inner Light teaches a slight variation on this method, which some people may prefer. They use a particular biblical (?) phrase when speaking to the sub-minds; it is almost a mantra in their version of this practice. The phrase is: “Be still, and know that I Am god.” The intent of this usage is to consciously and deliberately assert the conscious self’s rightful place as director and decision-maker, while at the same time acknowledging the existence of the sub-minds as quasi-separate entities.

And rather than just sitting with one’s attention unfocused, they prefer that the practitioner use a mantra: “Eheieh”, meaning “I am”, the highest name of God in the Hebrew cabala. The mantra should be spoken internally, in a relaxed and casual manner; i.e., whenever the practitioner happens to think of it, rather than in steady repetition. I personally find that the use of a mantra tends to produce tensions rather than alleviate them, but this may not be the case for others.

Continued use of this simple practice will, over time, result in a profound reduction in the amount of verbal “noise” your mind produces, and make it substantially easier to concentrate on the visual images of the “magickal space” techniques to be described in the next section. You don’t have to be proficient at this before going on to create a magickal space; the two efforts can be done in parallel, with each reinforcing the other.

Introduction To Scrying – Putting your magickal space to work

Introduction To Scrying

Putting your magickal space to work

By the time you have worked the exercises in the previous sections for a few months, you will have established a solid foundation for all your future magickal work. Practically every magickal and meditation technique you will ever encounter is a variation or extension of the skills you have learned in building your magickal space.

Every person will have a different level of “peak performance” with these techniques. Only a rare few are able to enter wholly into the magickal space, and become entirely unconscious of their physical body; for these people, the end result of this work is indistinguishable from the classical descriptions of astral projection. Most people will find that a certain portion of their awareness remains “outside”, and that the intensity of the sensations they have never attains the brightness and clarity of normal perception. I fall at the low end of this latter category myself; in my visions, colors are more implied than they are perceived directly, and most of the time I need to focus intently to perceive fine details.

Being able to put all of your awareness into the magickal space is not necessarily an advantage. What matters more is that you make the best use of the level of skill you do have. It is the meaning you can extract from your experiences, the insights you gain into yourself and the world, and the uses to which you can put them, that count the most. Bright and glorious visions are nothing, if they have no useful content or if your awareness and understanding are not (gradually but permanently) expanded thereby.

Having established the basics, in the following sections we are going to look at various exercises, all of which are forms of “scrying”. Before going into the details, we need to consider — in a general way — the nature of the things a person experiences while scrying.

Dreams, it is often said, are the realm of symbols; the same is true of scrying. But while the symbols of dreams are usually expressions of processes happening below the conscious level of awareness, the symbols seen in scrying are often (in an ideal world, always) the expression of processes and events occurring _above_ the level at which consciousness resides. They are the lowest and most readily apprehended aspect of processes that the consciousness can not yet completely encompass. In a sense, the symbols you see are no more than anchor points; a convenient means by which your awareness is given a connection to something coming from outside its current scope.

The form of the symbol does not necessarily bear any direct relation to the nature of that to which you are being connected. Some symbols — such as the Greek gods or the cabalist’s Tree of Life — have forms that directly reflect some aspect of the inner reality. Others have connections that are largely a matter of convention; they relate to particular aspects of the inner reality only because we habitually use them in such a way. The cabalistic color attributes are in this category. And others yet are seized upon to serve the needs of the moment, and have no particular meaning outside the context of the vision in which they occur.

But in all these cases, when a symbol is seen in a vision it has a direct connection to some magickal power, archetype, thought-form or entity. In order to get the greatest benefit out of your scrying, you must continually attempt to sense _beyond_ the symbol, to extend your awareness along the path it provides and apprehend that which it embodies.

Accomplishing this is a delicate task. The relaxation exercises described previously again become important, this time the portion of them dealing with quieting the mind. This is important in two ways: first, because the mind’s internal chatter will tend to overshadow and conceal that which is being communicated through the symbol, and second, because active parts of the mind will attempt to twist the meaning of the symbol to fit with their own preconceptions.

This is especially the case where the practitioner has personal desires that relate to the information being conveyed, or where the person’s self-image feels threatened. If your conception of yourself is dependent on a particular world-view and the information does not accord with that view, it will be almost impossible for you to see it clearly.

To reduce the possibility of this happening, you should also work consciously to develop a mental state of unattachment towards the content of your visions, a deliberate disregard for any personal significance they contain, and a deliberate refusal to evaluate the contents for truth or falsity. Critical evaluation of the results of a scrying session is definitely necessary, but the time for that evaluation is _after_ the session is completed. While the work is proceeding, you should seek to be in a perfect state of suspended judgment; neither believing nor disbelieving anything that you see or sense, simply seeking to receive the symbols and their attached meanings precisely as they present themselves.

When using scrying techniques in magickal work, you are always trying to penetrate unknown “territory”. Any work that can result in a spiritual advance will be, by definition, at least partly outside the scope of your current perspective and understanding. Like anything truly new, it takes the mind a while to adjust and be able to see it clearly. Further, the meanings behind any symbol can have many different levels; it may take a long time for these to “soak in” to your awareness, and the final significance may be very different from the first, superficial appearances. In my own work, it has sometimes taken up to a year and a half, with repeated exposures, before I fully comprehended what I was being shown. Thus, no evaluation you make should ever be so definite that you cannot change it; all meanings should be tentative until they have been repeatedly reinforced by additional experiences.

I cannot give any assurance as to the manner in which the meanings attached to a symbol will appear to a particular person. I do not have enough information from other people to characterize any particular way as “typical”. In my own case, they come in two or three ways, depending on the amount of power I have managed to invoke and how high above my normal level of consciousness I have managed to raise my awareness.

Usually, they appear as groups of thoughts or associations that appear simultaneously in my mind with the words spoken by some entity, providing a detailed context for the words; it is as if the thoughts out of which the entity produced the words were being transmitted along with the words. If I am looking at a visual symbol rather than hearing words, then they appear as sudden detailed “realizations” of what the symbol is intended to represent, which appear instantly in my awareness.

Less frequently, the hidden meaning of symbols appears as an entire storyline, a long series of events that appear in the mind as if some part of myself had been taken away, taken on a long tour through magickal spaces, and was then returned to the exact moment in time from which it had left. The complete tour is instantly “remembered” as it happened, even though for my conscious awareness, no time at all has passed.

In the rarest case, the meaning appears to my awareness as a tightly-bound packet of mystical energy, which sits in my mind and gradually “unravels” itself into words, images, and meanings over a period ranging from minutes to weeks. These “packets” seem to be some magickal equivalent of books. Their content usually does not seem to be directed at the particular person receiving them, but rather at some general audience; and the content is often radically different from the perspectives and ideas the seer would normally be interested in.

You should not take these as being the only ways in which the meanings behind symbols can present themselves to you; you may find that some other means is more typical for you. But if you do happen to receive information in any of these ways, you can feel confident that you have had some success in this matter.

Introduction To Scrying – Creating a magickal space

Introduction To Scrying

 
 
Creating a magickal space

The foundation of all magickal work is the imagination. The part of the mind that creates images serves as a meeting ground between the conscious mind, the unconscious parts of our being, and the magickal universe at large. Visual symbols are the primary means by which meaning is communicated in the magickal worlds. The more flexible you make your imagination, the more effective your magickal work can be.

The best exercise I know of for developing the imagination is called “creating a refuge” or “creating a magickal space”. The Vietnam veteran from whom I first learned it said that the U.S. Army Special Forces taught it to him as a means of maintaining a sense of privacy, personal integrity, and personal space under conditions — as in Viet Cong POW camps — where these things would be deliberately denied to him by his enemies. When I encountered the Fellowship of the Inner Light a few years later, I found that they were teaching essentially the same technique for purposes of self-mastery and spiritual development.

Once you become practiced in the method it requires no special physical place; it is completely “portable” and can be done anywhere you can sit and relax for a moment. I have used it effectively in many “un-magickal” environments; e.g., a crowded government office, a busy commercial hotel, and in the middle of the Las Vegas COMDEX show.

The basic idea is very simple. You make up an imaginary world that you would enjoy being in, and then you imagine yourself walking around in this world. Not much different, in principle, than what people do in any ordinary daydream. But here the idea is to work for consistency, so that it appears the same every time you enter it, and to continually add details to it. With practice and familiarity, this imaginary world will begin to take on a sense of being a “real” place; not real in the same way as the physical world, but having a permanence about it nonetheless.

For purposes of illustration, I am going to describe one of my own magickal spaces, one which I no longer use. It is important to understand that at every step, the images you use should be those that feel right to _you_; this is to be your own private space and its contents should always come out of yourself and be meaningful to you. Your space may resemble mine in some aspects; if so, that is all right. More likely it will not, and that too is perfectly appropriate.

The steps described here should be done sequentially, but you do not have to be perfect at any step before going on to the next. Right from the beginning, you can work on several steps in a single session. However, in any given session most of your attention should be given to the earliest steps in whatever group you are working on. As each step becomes more familiar it will take less practice to reach a satisfactory level and you can naturally give more attention to the next.

Smoke Scrying

Smoke Scrying

Smoke scrying is best done while relaxing in front of a campfire. You should be in comfortable visual range of watching the smoke rise.

Do not follow the smoke up but rather allow the smoke to forms patterns within your spiritual gaze. In time you will see visions of many far off events.

I have generally found people who have natural artistic skill good at this form of scrying.

The American Indians practise a special type of smoke scrying. It’s called a sweat lodge.

Water is poured over hot rocks in a tent to create steam. The steam is inhaled by those who sit naked around the rocks.

The combination of temperature, humidity and elevated levels of carbon dioxide produce a state in which visions can arise. This form of scrying may be dangerous and should only be undertaken by experienced people.

Scrying

Scrying

 
Divination through scrying in to water has a long history. Water is used
in a variety of ways and one of my favourites is using it to pour melted
candle wax in to and use the shapes to tell what the upcoming year will be
like. Some water gazers prefer to have the light of a candle reflected on
the water surface. Others take the bowl outside on a cloudless night and,
capturing the moon’s reflection, divine by its appearance on the water.
Still others take crystals, place them in the bottom of the bowl, swish the
water a bit then divine the meaning from the shapes and patterns the
crystals make.The ancient Greeks believed that nature spirits dwelled in fresh water and
so I believe this is the best kind of water to use however any water will
do. More traditional people feel that you should not use water from a tap
and so if you do get the chance to visit a stream or sacred well, collect
some water for use in your scrying.

To divine the future with your scrying bowl, pour water into it then let it
settle and ask your question. Sit with your back to the light in a darkened
room and gaze into but not at the water. As with a crystal ball, the water
may cloud. Eventually you may begin to see symbols within its cool depths.
Make note of any such symbols. When no further symbols are seen, begin the
process of interpretation.

 

Author Unknown

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Scrying

Scrying is a facinating practice in that it enables you to literally “see” the future (or present or past). Almost any reflective surface can be used for scrying (pronounced to rhyme with “crying”). A crystal ball and gazing mirror are two of the best.

Another form of divination, sometimes used by Witches, is scrying into a fire, called fire scrying.

Author Unknown

Fire Scrying

Fire Scrying

Make a fire of driftwood, on the seashore, after sunset (if you are far from the seashore then you can use any old, weathered wood, such as from an old barn, or the like). When the wood has been well burned and is beginning to die down, lay on it a cedar log, a juniper log and three good handsful of sandlewood chips. Let these burn well. Then, as the fire again begins to die down, gaze deep into the dying embers. In these embers you will see scenes of the past, present and future. You may see the actual scenes, but it is more likely that you will see symbolic scenes that need interpreting. This scrying fire is sometimes referred to as the “Fire of Azrael”, and was described by Dion Fortune in her book The Sea Priestess.

Buckland’s Complete Book Of Witchcraft
Raymond Buckland

ISBN 0-87542-050-8

——————————————————–

 

Fire ScryingRosemary Kooiman

Fire has long been a standard ritual tool for the Nomadic Chantry of the Gramarye. We scry in the fireplace when the weather is cool enough for us to build a fire. Additionally, the Lady has charged us to ask at the time of the full moon for that which is our desire, so we burn our petitions to the Goddess and the God during our Full Moon Circle. It is the burning of petitions that I will address, as it is an excellent and magical way for the petitioner to clarify, in his own mind, his objective. I use the generic “he” and “his” as it is less cumbersome. If you feel the need, you may substitute “she” and “hers” where appropriate. The petition, ideally, is something that is lacking, or sorely needed, to fulfill the life of the petitioner.

Prior to gathering in Sacred Space to celebrate the Full Moon Circle, each participant is given a small sheet of parchment paper, which is available in most stationery stores, and is encouraged to write his petition on the parchment. The sheet must be small enough (one inch by two is sufficient) to burn thoroughly and quickly so the cauldron will not become clogged with paper and the burning delayed. Petitions should be stated in four or five words. This helps the petitioner to truly define his thoughts. “I want to be rich” does not qualify. We have found that if the petition is lengthy the true wish may be come ill-defined, and may reap less than the desired response. Petitions should be written in pencil. Not only does a pencil write better on the parchment, but it seems to bond the wish more firmly to the parchment, and produces a better result. I have no idea why this is so, but many years of petition burning has proven it to be true. The petitioner will carry the paper into Circle with him.

Supplies required:Sufficient pieces of parchment paper Sufficient pencils

A cauldron large enough to hold the petitions, but not so large that the supply of fuel required would cause a fire larger that anticipated or desired. My small cauldron is three inches high and five across, and will handle up to twenty petitions. For more than this I use my large cauldron which is six inches high by ten and a half inches across.

A supply of fuel. I use grain alcohol. Everclear is one of the names under which it is bottled, and it can be obtained in any liquor store. It seems to burn more evenly and cleaner than the Sterno type of solid fuel. The amount needed is surprisingly small; indoors never more than a shot, and usually much less. Outdoors the amount will vary depending on the depth of the cauldron, the strength of the wind and the ambient dew point and barometric presssure. I strongly advise that the practicioner experiment with the amount of fuel and the size of the cauldron required to burn a specific number of petitions. It could be disastrous to go it blind. The area where the burning is to take place, if in a home, should be magically fireproofed, and a container of water somewhere in the near vicinity is a wise idea. If the burning is to be done outside it is a really good idea to get permission for an open flame if the site is not in your own backyard. Our good name is precious, and we need not antagonize the owners of a property or the guards of a park.

A long taper or match with which to light the cauldron. The word “long” is not used lightly. The flame may jump higher than expected. It is beautiful, but dangerous to the unprotected hand.

During the Circle ceremony, after the cleansing and casting of the circle, and after reading the “Charge of the Goddess, the cauldron is placed in the center of the Circle or the Sacred Space. The HPS declares it is time to petition the Lady and invites the congregation to come forward and present their petitions to the flame while reminding them of their part in the procedure. One receives according to the effort one has put forward to obtain his desire for himself. Truly does the Lord (and Lady) help those who help themselves. While the petitions are being fed into the cauldron, and afterward while they are still burning, the Circle chants the following:

Fire, fire, burning higher, making music like a choir

Bring to me my heart’s desire.

When the fire has burned out the cauldron(s) should be removed from the center of the circle. Please remember the cauldron is HOT, and should be handled with a utensil or with gloves or a pot holder.

The Full Moon ceremony is expanded during the Sabats, each Solstice and Equinox. Since these are a time of transition, two pieces of parchment are prepared; one to rid oneself of a habit, trait or condition that has become unnecessary or honorous during the past year, and one to bring to ones life a new condition or dimension, much like the Full Moon petition. Two cauldrons are used. As one faces North their placement is thus; the one for riddance is in West where the waters may wash the slate clean, and the one for aquisition is in the East where we find beginnings. The procedure is the same, with the cleansing cauldron the one which is lighted first.

During the years we have been burning our petitions, the Goddess, the God and the gods, spirits and watchers have truly blessed us with riches. We have gained new jobs, new dwellings, mates and health. When you have completed your wishing and have received your blessings remember to thank Deity, who helped you get them.

Rosemary Kooiman, Reverend High Priestess Nomadic Chantry of the Gramarye

Saxon Wands

Saxon Wands

The Saxon Wands are very good for obtaining a direct, prompt answer to a question. In a way they are similiar to the Oriental I-Ching, though far less complicated.

Seven wands are needed. These are made from wood dowel. There should be three, each nine-inches in length; and four, each twelve-inches in length. One of the twelve-inch wands should be marked, or decorated in some way, as the WITAN wand. Actually, you can decorate all of the wands with runes and symbols, if you wish, but make sure the Witan wand stands out from the others.

Kneeling, lay the Witan wand on the ground before you; horizontally “across” you. Take the other six wands and hold them out over the Witan wand. Close your eyes, and holding them between you two hands, mix them together while concentrating on your question. Keeping the eyes closed, grip the wands in your right hand (left hand if left-handed); take hold of the tip of one wand with the fingers of the other hand; concentrate for a moment longer on your question, then open your right hand. All of the wands will fall to the ground except the one held now by the fingers of your left hand. Open your eyes.

i: If there should be more LONG wands that short
wands on the ground, then the answer to your
question is in the affirmative.
 
ii: If there are more SHORT wands than long wands
on the ground (excluding the Witan wand) then
the answer is in the negative.
 
iii: If any wand(s) touch the Witan wand, it means
the answer will be a very definite one, with strong
forces at work.
 
iv: If any wand(s) are off the ground (resting on
others), circumstances are such (forces still work-
ing) that no definite answer can yet be given-
regardless of (i) or (ii).
 
v: If all the wands point towards the Witan wand,
then you ( or the person for whom you are asking)
will have a definite role to play in the determina-
tion of the question.
 
vi: If none of the wands point towards the Witan
wand, then the matter will be determined without
your (the Querant’s) interference.
 
As with the crystal and the tarot cards, don’t let anyone else use your wands. They are your personal instruments. Keep them wrapped in a black cloth.
 
Buckland’s Complete Book Of Witchcraft
Raymond Buckland
ISBN 0-87542-050-8