Charging Tools

Charging Tools

What you will need:
The item in which you wish to charge, whether it be some jewelry, your pentacle or some crystals.
Salt for the Earth element
A candle for the Fire element
Water or rose oil for the Water element
Incense for the element of AirHow to do the ritual:
This is a really simple charging ritual.
You may wish to elaborate on it once you have created your own ritual style!

Start by taking your item that you want to charge and place it in front of you. Shake or sprinkle a little salt over your item and say the following:

“Earth spirits from the North/South I ask you to charge this …..with the power of Earth. By the Goddess and/or God so mote it be.”

Imagine a green light filling the item and empowering the item with the qualities of Earth.

Dip or trickle some water over your item and say this:

“Water spirits from the East/West I ask you to charge this ….. with the power of Water. By the Goddess and/or God so mote it be.”

Imagine a blue ocean like colored light filling the item and empowering the item with the qualities and power of Water.

Pass the item through the smoke of the incense and say:

“Air spirits from the West/East I ask you to charge this ….. with the power of Air. By the Goddess and/or God so mote it be.”

Imagine a pale light filling the item and surrounding it. Empowering it with the powers of Air.

Move the item through the heat above the candle flame and say the following:

“Fire spirits from the South/North I ask you to charge this ….. with the power of Fire. By the Goddess and/or God so mote it be.”

Imagine a red or orange light filling the item and empowering it with the power and energy of Fire.

Once you have done this imagine a bright white/blue light surrounding the item charging it with your own energy.
After this the item will be charged with the elemental powers and your own.You can now use the item for whatever purpose you needed it.You can perform this ritual as often as possible.

The Old WOTC

Air Wand

Air Wand

There is some controversy in both Ceremonial Magick and Wicca as to whether the Wand relates to the direction of the East or the South and whether it relates to fire or air as an element. I am going to share here what I use and what works for me. Others who work differently are more than welcome to share their usage.The way I use the wand in my Magickal working is as the tool for the EAST the element of air. I can’t PERSONALLY see the fire attribute, as I have problems with the idea of a tool relating to an element that can destroy it. Since some wands are made of wood and almost ALL of them were until the popularization of Crystal work with the adoption by some NeoPagans of Native American practises made the metal wand with a Crystal in it the latest thing. If I WERE to work with people who used the wand as fire, I would certainly used a metalic and stone wand of this type and NOT a wooden one. Again, this is personal taste.The air element relates to communication, intellectual ideas, Linear Logic, Clear and intelligent THINKING, and telepathy. It relates to the concept of unity too, in that ALL of us – and all species of life – breathe the same atmosphere. (note – I realize the plants use the Carbon Dioxide while we use the air, which is why I said ATMOSPHERE)

The wand relates to the suit of RODS in Tarot and vice versa.

The Wand is a MALE tool, like the Athame. The FEMALE tools are the Chalice and the Pentacle.

The wand is used to summon the Rulers of the 4 directions and to invoke the Deities in casting a circle. In CERTAIN types of Magick it is sometimes also used to cast the circle, but it is more common to use the athame for this. (or the sword if it is a coven and they have one)

The Wand can also be used when invoking the spirits.

It is particularly helpful at times when wisdom is needed and in invoking the spirits before tranceworking where specific information or guidance is desired. It is also good for doing this for VERY important divinations when they are done in a fully cast circle.

The wand is used in some traditions in a Spring Equinox celebration to create a hole in the soil in which seeds, symbolizing people’s hopes, are planted – obvious fertility symbolism.

The wand can hold a lot of power and be a very special and personal instrument.

There are some Witches/Pagans I know who use only the wand and the chalice as their tools. Their thoughts on this being that the Pentacle is drawn from ceremonial Magick – which is correct – so they want to eliminate it as they feel it is necessary FOR THEM to get back to the roots of Wicca/Paganism. These people also eliminated the knife/sword because they pointed out that in ancient times Wicca was the religion of the Masses and the Peasants – who were not allowed to carry weapons. These people use the wand to cast all their circles,replacing it for ALL the purposes for which the athame is used.

Their are other groups, most noticably the Community of ISIS and it’s inner circle the TEMPLE of ISIS in Salem MA., that use the wand for casting the circle although they retain the athame – which they seem to use only for blessing the chalice in the symbolic re-enactment of the fertility theme central to Wicca. (PLEASE NOTE I SAID SYMBOLIC)

These are the major uses of the wand.

The Old WOTC

CENSER

The censer, or incense burner, represents the element of Air. It can be a big,
swinging metal contraption like those used in churches or it can be as simple as
a small wooden one. You can use both the stick holders and the metal ones for
powdered incense. If you can’t find a suitable censer, a bowl filled with sand,
salt or kitty litter works fine. The sand or salt absorbs the heat from the
charcoal, or incense sticks or cones can be pushed into it. I find that incense
greatly increases my concentration and is especially useful in meditations

Witches & Broomsticks ñ Use & History

BROOMSTICKS & BESOMS

Witches & Broomsticks ñ Use & History

The BroomstickÖ

The traditional companion of the witches was the enchanted broomstick, used for
their wild and unholy flights through the night and probably to some distant
Witches’ Sabbat. This is one of the first images you get to see as a child and
this was doubtlessly believed by the prominent rulers of Europe. The number of
actual confessions of witches doing so is remarkably small. Usually confessions
state that they went to the Sabbat on foot or on horseback.

Legends of witches flying on brooms goes back as far as the beginning of the
Common Era. The earliest known confession of a Witch flying on a broom was in
1453, when Guillaume Edelin of St. Germain-en-Laye, near Paris, stated that he
had done so. In 1563, Martin Tulouff of Guernsey said to have seen his aged
mother straddle a broomstick and whisk up the chimney and out of the house on
it, saying “Go in the name of the Devil and Lucifer over rocks and thorns”. In
1598 Claudine Boban and her mother, witches of the province of Franche-Comt, in
eastern France, also spoke of flying up the chimney of a stick. The belief of
flying off though the chimney became firmly embedded in popular tradition,
although only a few people ever mentioned doing so. It has been suggested that
this idea was connected with the old custom of pushing a broom up the chimney to
indicate the absence of the housewife. The Germanic Goddess Holda or Holle is
also connected with the chimney.

Other indications that lead to the popular belief that witches actually flew on
broomsticks can be found in an old custom of dancing with a broom between the
legs, leaping high in the air. In Reginald Scot’s book, The Discoverie of
Witchcraft, published in 1584, we find a similar description:

“At these magical assemblies, the witches never failed to dance; and in their
dance they sing these words, ‘Har, har, divell divell, dance here dance here,
plaie here plaie here, Sabbath, Sabbath’. And whiles they sing and dance, ever
one hath a broom in her hand, and holdeth it up aloft.” Scot quoted these
descriptions of Witch rites from a French demonologist, Jean Bodin, who made
observations of a kind of jumping dance, riding on staffs. These customs might
have contributed to the popular picture of broomstick-riding witches through the
air.

In 1665, from the confession of Julian Cox, one of the Somerset coven, mentioned
“that one evening she walks out about a Mile from her own House and there came
riding towards her three persons upon three Broom-staves, born up about a years
and a half from the ground. Two of them she formerly knew, which was a Witch and
a Wizard”.

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Where do these beliefs come from?

Some authors claim that the oldest known source of witches flying on broomsticks
is a manuscript called Le Champion des Dames by Martin Lefranc, 1440. This might
be one of the oldest images representing a hag on a broomstick, but it is
certainly not the first. A wall painting from the 12th century in Schlesswig
Cathedral (Germany) shows the Norse deity Frigg riding her staff.

If we really dig a bit deeper into history, we’ll find that from the Roman world
there are reports that mention witches flying on broomsticks as well as having
used ointments, as early as the first century. They were called Straigae
(Barnowl) and the Lamiae from Greek culture had similar characteristics. Later
in Roman history, the goddess Diana was the leader of the Wild Hunt:

“It is also not to be omitted that some wicked women, perverted by the Devil,
seduced by illusions and phantasm of demons, believe and profess themselves in
the hours of the night to ride upon certain beasts with Diana, the goddess of
pagans, and an innumerable multitude of women, and in the silence of the dead of
the night to traverse great spaces of earth, and to obey her commands as of
their mistress, and to be summoned to her service on certain nights”. (See:
Canon Episcopi).

Similar beliefs existed in many parts of Europe. From Norse mythology, we know
that the army of women, lead by Odin (Wodan), called the Valkyries, was said to
ride through the skies on horses, collecting the souls of the dead. In
continental Germanic areas, the goddess Holda or Holle was also said to lead the
Wild Hunt and is connected to chimneys and witchcraft. Berchta or Perchta,
another Germanic goddess, which can be identified with Holda, has similar
characteristics.

Again in Celtic Traditions, the Horned God Cernunnos, and/or Herne the Hunter
was leader of the Wild Hunt and the Scottish Witch Goddess Nicneven was also
said to fly through the night with her followers. Eastern Europe sources also
have a wealth of folklore about witches flying through the air. So flying
through the air, evidently, was a deeply rooted mythological theme, associated
with the free roaming of the spirit, the separation of soul and body.

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Symbolism

The broomstick is a female and male symbol, “the rod which penetrated the bush”.
Its symbolism and interpretation is therefore purely sexual.

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Broomstick Weddings

“To marry over the broomstick,” “jump the besom”, was an old-time form of
marriage, in which both parties jumped over a broomstick to signify that they
were joined in common-law union. Also in the Netherlands, one can still find the
old saying “over de bezem trouwen” (marrying over the broomstick). At gypsy
wedding ceremonies, the bride and groom jump backwards and forwards over a
broomstick. A besom used to be placed before the doorway, the married couple
had to jump over it without dislodging the broom, from the street into their new
home. At any time within a year, this process could be reversed to dissolve the
marriage by jumping backwards. All this had to take place before several
witnesses.

In folk-belief, like that in Yorkshire, it was unlucky for an unmarried girl to
step over a broomstick because it meant that she would be a mother before she
was a wife. Light-hearted wags used to delight in putting broomsticks in the
path of unsuspecting virgins.

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RITUAL USE

Artificial Phallus

There are hints of its use as an artificial penis or dildo. In a curious old
book, A Dictionary of Slang, Jargon and Cant, by Albert BarrSre and Charles
Godfrey Leland (1897-1899), we are told that the slang term in those days for a
dildo or artificial penis was “a broom-handle”, and the female genitals were
known vulgarly as “the broom”. To “have a brush” was to have sexual
intercourse. Noteworthy is the evidence from Witch trials mentioning the “cold
hard member of the Devil himself”. In 1662, Isabel Gowdie, accused of
witchcraft, made a confession which could suggest that some sort of artificial
phallus of horn or leather may have been used:

“His members are exceeding great and long; no man’s members are so long and big
as they areÖ.(he is) a meikle, black, rough man, very cold, and I found his
nature as cold within me as spring-well waterÖHe is abler for us that way than
any man can be, only he is heavy like a malt-sack, a huge nature, very cold, as
ice.”

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Broomsticks and Ointments

That ointments used to induce astral projection has been known for a long time.
Therefore the belief of witches flying away on their brooms probably has its
true origin in this shamanic practice of applying narcotic herbs. There are
numerous paintings, engraving and woodcuts from witches, anointing themselves,
before flying off to the Sabbat. There are also quite a lot of confessions of
ointments being applied to leave the body and fly off. These confessions
sometimes show an unawareness that they were not actually flying, but often it
is obvious that the witches knew that the ointments they used had the effects
requited for leaving the body and making spiritual journeys. These practices we
now call astral projection, were obviously known throughout large parts of the
world, but especially worthy evidence comes from French and Italian records.

There is also a hint of use of besoms and sticks as a means to insert the
witches unguent into the vagina to potentate the aphrodisiac effects and for
optimal absorption and effect, while serving as an artificial penis.

The confessions of a woman named Antoine Rose, a Witch of Savoy (France) who was
tortured and tried in 1477, stated that “The first time she was taken to the
synagogue (Sabbat) she saw many men and women there, enjoying themselves and
dancing backwards. The Devil, whose name was Robinet, was a dark man who spoke
in a hoarse voice. Kissing Robinet’s foot in homage, she renounced God and the
Christian faith. He put his mark on her, on the little finger of her left hand,
and gave her a stick, 18 inches long, and a pot of ointment. She used to smear
the ointment on the stick, put it between her legs and say “Go, in the name of
the Devil, go!” At once she would be carried though the air to the synagogue.”

Alice Kyteler, a famous Irish Witch of the early 14th century, was supposed to
have owned a staff “on which she ambled and galloped through thick and thin,
when and in what manner she listed, after having greased it with the ointment
which was found in her possession.”

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Book and Article Resources:

An ABC of Witchcraft by Doreen Valiente, 1973. De Benedanti: Hekserij en
Vruchtbaarheidsriten in de 16e & 17e Eeuw by Carlo Ginzburg, 1966, 1986.
Encyclopedia of Witchcraft & Demonology, 1974. Europe’s Inner Demons: The
Demonization of Christians in Medieval Christendom by Norman Cohn, 1975, 1973.
Heksen, Ketters en Inquisiteurs by Arie Zwart en Karel Braun, 1981. Practical
Magic in the Northern Traditon by Nigel Pennick, 1989. The History of Witchcraft
by Montague Summers, London, 1927. Witchcraft, A Tradition Renewed by Doreen
Valiente and Evan Jones, Phoenix Publishing, 1990. Witchcraft & Demonology by
Francis X. King, 1987, and various online resources and articlesÖ

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The Book of Shadows

Most Wiccan traditions treasure a Book of Shadows. Such books are rarely
published or even shown to non-initiates. In them, the Tradition’s specific
beliefs and modes of worship are thoroughly or sketchily outlined. Though
contents and organization of these ritual manners vary, most Books of Shadows
include instructions for the circle casting and banishing; religious rituals;
the consecration of tools; laws; coven organizational notes magical rites;
prayers and perhaps herbal lore. Some contain lists of the Traditions
pantheon, training exercises for new students and, finally, initiation
ceremonies.

Such books are vitally important to the establishment and maintenance of all
Wiccan traditions, for without them, the tradition’s specific rites and other
lore must be carefully memorized and passed down by word of mouth. This always
leaves room for error, misinterpretation, and even loss of the material. Don’t
misunderstand this: no Wiccan tradition has been able to record every single bit
of information. Much is verbally passed from teacher to student. Still a
tradition’s Book of Shadows provides and unchanging guide and memory trigger for
the practitioner.

There are many different Books of Shadows today. Some are used by hundreds of
Thousands of Wiccans. Others are created by Solitary Wiccans and never shown to
others.

Information from Living Wicca: A Further Guide for the Solitary Practitioner by
Scott Cunningham

To me the Book of Shadows is a very special book. Mostly because it is innermost
thoughts that come from your heart and soul As you study and Learn you will fill
that book up with all kinds of things from Spells to Thoughts, To just writing
how you are feeling about things. And it doesn’t matter what kind of book of
shadows you have whether it is a three ringed binder to a home made book. How
you wish to organize your Book of shadows is up to you. Just make sure that you
put as much love and care into as you do yourself. Cause that will always be a
very special and important book in this Life’s Path. And May the Goddess Shine
Brightly in your Heart for Always.

The Old WOTC

THE CARE AND FEEDING OF THE WICCA BROOM

As Witches, we need to be aware of the Ancient Broom Lore that has been passed
down to us from those wonderful Crones of the past.

1- Never leave home for long periods of time without telling your broom.

2- Treat your broom as you would any other member of your family, with honor,
reverence and respect.

3- Magickal Brooms are not regular cleaning brooms and should not be used for
such mundane tasks.

4- Never leave your Magickal Broom outside your cast circle.

5- Speak with your broom as you would speak to other members of your family or
coven.

6- Never leave your Magickal Broom outside in the weather unless you ask the
Broom.

7- Oil your broomstick with every turn of the wheel.

Brooms have long been known for their magickal ways, probably due to it’s shape,
use in purification rites and kinship with magickal wands and staffs. The common
household tool has been known to be so sacred that in many parts of the world
there are Broom Deities.

Sao Ching Niang – The lady with the broom who lives in the Broom Star. When
there is too much rain and the crops are threatened, it is not uncommon in China
to see pictures of Brooms hanging on the front door or fences to bring clear and
sunny weather to the field.

As this is invoking the Great Earth Goddess herself, the Broom Star is the
fertile womb of our Great Goddess, and thus she gives us life of the fields that
are represented by the Corn Fields. Hence the broom is brought into our homes
from the womb of the Goddess.

In Mexico, the Witch Goddess Tlazoiteotl is depicted riding on a broom. This
symbolizes the coming of the night, the dark part of ourselves, the growing
darkness of the winter.

The priests in South America hve been known to burn offerings of owls and
snakes. These were offered at the dark moon. Through these offerings, the people
were calling upon the Broom Witch to sweep away their transgressions.

My grandmother was a Broom Witch. Here are some of the old magickal things that
can be done with a broom. On a hot summers day, I would watch her go out on the
front porch and swing the broom over her head. Grandma would just tell me to be
quiet, the rain was coming. And if fact she was right. A few hours later we
always had rain. So Granny would call the rain with her broom by swinging it
clockwise over her head.

In turn, if it was raining too much, she would go out and talk with her broom
for a while on the front porch. She would sing “Rain, rain, go away, come again
some other day”. Then she would raise her broom and swing it over her head
counter-clockwise to stop the rain, and again, a few hours later the rain would
stop.

With some practice, I know have mastered this little broomlore spell. I find it
handy to tell the broom what I want it to do before I do it, then I say my
incantation and swing the broom.

THE CARE AND FEEDING OF A MAGICKAL BROOM

When you first get your broom, always greet it by rubbing your hand over the
entire staff of the broom. Learn the body of your broom, inspect it’s divets and
curves. Use anointing oil to open and activate your broom. A good oil is made
from rosemary, thyme, myrrh and lavender in base oil. Make this oil by the full
moon and then open your broom on the first day of the new moon.

When getting a new broom, it’s always good to talk with it awhile. I usually
carry mine along with me in my car, and I sleep with it by my bed. Talk with
your broom, it’s amazing how much these magickal tools have to say to us and how
lonely they become when cast to the side. When shopping for a new broom, always
put out your intention on the day after the new moon, burn pink and white
candles, and ask for the right broom to be shown to you. My preference is a
broom made with natural corn, or harvested brambles. I like to find a natural
handle for the broom. Elm, birch, ash, oak, sassafras, those are all really good
magickal woods to use as broom handles. If you are lucky to live in a natural
area, you can make your own from the Divine Goddess Garden. If you are a
city dweller, local shops sometimes carry natural brooms that are hand-tied.
Usually they are found at local gift shops or craft fairs. Also go to the local
Antique mall. Sometimes you’ll find an interesting retired broom that would like
to be put back into service. Nothing is worse then to have a wise old broom and
not have it in use.

After your broom has been chosen and spoken to, then start using it to call in
your circle. I point the broom in the direction that I’m casting and use this to
focalize the energy.

Once the circle is cast, then I lay the broom across the east to guard the
entrance until my magickal work is done. I also sprinkle salt in the east over
the broom to strengthen the seal, especially if I find myself doing some intense
spell casting.

Once I’m done with casting my magickal work, I thank my broom and lift it from
east and dismiss the quarters. A broom can also be used to cast a circle in a
hurry, much the same way a staff can be used. If I know I need immediate
protection, I point my broom to east and cast a circle with my broom pointed to
the earth, moving in a clockwise direction. This really works if you are in a
hurry and need to have some sacred space like NOW.

I also oil my broom handle with my anointing oil 4 times a year during each turn
of the wheel. This helps recharge the broom and helps you reconnect with it. It
likes to be stroked and caressed. Your broom is a sensuous creature and like to
be part of the Divine Feminine.

BROOM SPELLS

The “Come to Me” Broom Spell

On a warm night (or turn the heater up), put on some Goddess clothing (loose and
feminine), put on some soothing music that makes you want to dance. Now take
your broom as if it were your beloved and dance with the broom until you are
flying into the arms of your beloved. Whisper this four times to yourself….

By night’s light we shine bright
By sun light we are right
By days end we are together by sacred rite.

Now cast your circle by laying your broom in each quarter. Lay the broom in the
east and jump clockwise over it. Lay the broom in the south and jump clockwise
over it. Lay the broom in the west and jump clockwise over it. Then lay it in
the north and jump over it. Once you have completed your circle, your beloved
will come to you within 24 hours. Use this spell to mend fights, or if you don’t
have a mate, use this to call a mate to you.

SWEEPING SPELLS AND LORE

If you feel your life is in chaos, take a look around at your front porch and
front walkway. If the front walk is cluttered with leaves and dirt, then sweep
your walkway and front porch clean with your magickal broom and envision that
your life is in order and that all that comes to your will be clean and cleared.

When you move from one house to another, it’s always good to change your
workaday broom. Either burn your old one, or make sure that it is buried with
honor. Always bring a new broom into the new house, but sweep some dirt from the
outside in before you sweep the dirt from the inside out. This is to bring in
good luck from the beginning and not push your luck out the door.

Always hang a broom by the front door for protection. Brooms will keep the bad
things out and the good things in. I have a broom at every door of my home. I
keep it in the corner. Always stand a broom on end with the brush facing up.
This helps the wear and tear on the brush and it’s also said to bring love from
the earth through the broomstick and given up to the heavens through the brush.

If your broom falls from your hand while you are sweeping or doing other work,
make a wish before you pick it up. It’s also said that if a broom falls from
it’s kept place, company is coming and it’s not good news. When you pick up your
broom after something like this happens, sweep the energy out the door and bid
it adue not to return again.

If you or your kin are having recurrent nightmares or night hauntings, sweep the
room clockwise while stating that all that lies between here and the other world
be gone and back whence you came.
Hither, hither, hither gone.
Hither, hither, hither gone
Hither, hither, thither gone
So Mote It Be.

Now stand the broom outside the bedroom door and place a piece of garlic under
the bed.

HANDFASTING AND MARRIAGE BROOM LORE

As a Priestess and Wiccan Minister, I perform several Handfasting Rites per
year. One of the main things I encourage Wiccan engaged couples to do is to find
a broom together. This is the symbol of hearth and home. Once the broom has been
found, then it is anointed as I stated above, then some of the broom brush is
pulled from the stem. That brush is then woven together and placed upon the
wedding altar. The broom is present during our counseling sessions and then the
wife-to-be is usually the keeper of the broom until the wedding. This represents
that she is the keeper of the home and keeps peace and harmony while the man
goes out to work. It also means that she is the keeper of the Magickal power of
the home. As it seems in these modern times that this is wrong to have such
sexed roles, this is celtic lore from more than 600 years ago.

The night before the wedding, the couple will dress the broom by weaving 3
strand of colored ribbon around the handle. What this represents is the inter-
twining of their lives and they themselves are no longer individuals but are
part of each other. The broom is then placed either standing by the altar or
placed lying under the altar during the ceremony as the vows are said, the
promises made, that hands fasted. They are pronounced husband and wife and the
broom is then put before them as the final test of love. The couple either
steps, or in old tradition, jumps, over the broom. This is the final end of the
ceremony. Then it is recommended that the couple takes the broom home and
makes love with the broom under the bed. This seals the marriage.

Your broom can be your best friend and your magickal ally. Treat your broom with
honor, reverence and respect and you will have a life-long companion and ritual
tool.

Old WOTC

Brooms or Besoms

A broom is used by many Witches to cleanse an area of baneful* energies
before a rite. They can represent the air or fire element, depending on
each practitioner’s tradition. The staff or handle is considered masculine,
while the brush or broom part is considered feminine. This uniting and
balancing of polarities makes the besom a natural choice for Handfasting
rites. Brooms also represent purification, protection, fertility and
prosperity.

The classic images of Witches riding broomsticks may have originated from
ancient fertility rites. People would jump high in the air on brooms to
‘show’ the crops how high to grow. This is a form of sympathetic magick.

There are many other myths and associations of Witches with brooms. In
Ireland, the besom was sometimes called a “Faery’s Horse”. In medieval
times, the besom was equated with marriages outside of the church. So much
so, that it was recorded that weddings ‘by the broom’ were to be considered
illegitimate.

The broom eventually became a symbol of antiestablishmentarianism and and
sensuality. This led at one time to the word ‘besom’ becoming a slang term
for an easy woman. These associations may have been promoted by the church
to discourage marriages outside of the church.

Chapter 13 of “The Magical Household” by Scott Cunningham and “An ABC of
Witchcraft” by Doreen Valiente have additional information and lore about
besoms.

*Baneful in this instance is defined as energies that are not conducive to
the working at hand, are harmful, or are considered negative.

Old WOTC

MAGICK 1 — WHY MAGICK (continued)

2) insight meditation (mindfullness).

Most kinds of meditation are the concentrative type. One simply

focuses his attention upon a single physical object (such as a

candle flame); upon a sensation (such as that felt while walking

or breathing); upon an emotion (such as reverence or love); upon

a mantra spoken aloud or even silently; or upon a visualization

(as in chakra meditation, see below)…Concentration meditation

is, simply put, a form of self-hypnosis.

A mantra (or mantrum) is one or more words or syllables

which are repeated — often chanted — aloud…A simple yet

powerful mantra is to vibrate the mystical word ‘OM’. This

mantra has long been associated in India with the godhead/unity.

Use it to aid in tuning into universal vibrations which promote

feelings of harmony, peace, and well-being. Use it before magick

ritual to ‘get into the mood’ and afterward to ‘dismiss the

forces’. You vibrate a mantra by saying it slowly aloud in a

lower-pitched voice than your normal speech, and a more or less

constant pitch as well. Let the sound fade at the end of the

mantra. A powerful one such as ‘OM’ will seem to vibrate the air

around you. It should be vocalized for 5-10 seconds and repeated

a number of times with a few seconds rest between each

vocalization. Chanting of mantras may cause slight dizziness

from hyperventilation.

The other main type of meditaiton — insight meditation

— is the analysis of thoughts and feelings in such a way as to

cause realization of the subjectivity and illusion of

experience. This is done in a effort to attain trancendental

awareness. Such statements as, ‘This body is not me’, fall under

this category. Buddhist meditations are usually of this type.

CHAKRA MEDITATION

There is a special type of concentrative meditation

which we will call ‘Chakra meditation’. This is basicly

Kundalini yoga — the practice of causing psychic energy

(kundalini) to flow up sushumna, energizing the various

chakras along the way. The practice, considered dangerous by

some, will produce deffinite physiological sensations and

psychological effects if continued long enough. It should not

be attempted by epileptics or persons with an unstable mental

or physical condition, or with heart disease. Certain drugs and

medications, such as those used to treat epilepsy may retard

progress. Although the technique is very simple, it may

eventually produce powerful results. Results may at first appear

hours after the practice during sleep. As each chakra is

energized by this practice, it is said to add occult powers

(sidhis), until at last the crown chakra is reached, and with

it, full enlightenment is attained. Sometimes kundalini awakens

all by itself.

To practice this chakra meditation, you simply

concentrate on the chakras, beginning with the root chakra, and

moving progressively up, as you visualize psychic energy from

the root chakra traveling up shushumna and vivifying each higher

chakra. As we mentioned the chakras have certain properties

associated with them, so that this type of visualization may

‘raise consciousness’, promote astral projection, and other

things — once you have reached ajna and eventually the crown

chakra. You might typically meditate in this fashion for 15

minutes to a half hour a day. It might help to practice some

hatha yoga or other physical exercise in an effort to make the

spinal cord ‘more flexible’. Diet may also affect the process.

The technique is also similar to the Tibetan ‘Tummo’ meditation.

The rise of kundalini is sometimes experienced as a ‘vibration’

or buzzing, as light, or as heat.

HEALTH AND DIET

Certainly the way you treat your physical body will

affect your mind. In magick you want an alert mind. Therefore,

your body must be as healthy as you can keep it. Take care of

your body. Exercise regularly. eat a good diet (with vitamin

supplements), and do not consume anything which will have a

negative effect upon the mind. Drugs, smoking,, and alcohol

should be restricted, or eliminated. (The mind can create any

condition which a drug can create.) A good rule here is

moderation in what and how much you consume. (Most of this stuff

is pretty obvious isn’t it.) You may also want to cut down on

sugar and processed foods. Many occultists advise dietary

changes, expecially the non-eating of meat. We cannot deny the

physical, psychological, and spiritual effect which all foods

have. This effect may be described as the ‘heaviness’ factor of

foods. Various foods are so ranked in the chart, lighter to

heavier…

1. lettuce and other greens.

2. fruits and most vegetables.

3. wheat, rice, and other grains.

4. nuts, beans, and other legumes.

5. cheese, dairy products, including eggs.

6. fish, seafood.

7. chicken, poultry.

8. beef, pork, other red meats.

Note that meats, especially red meats are the ‘heaviest’ foods.

Generally, foods which are harder to digest, or which are higher

in protein are ‘heavier’ than those which are not. Animal

products are heavier than plants. Foods high in carbohydrate

(candy, bread, starch) are heavy. However, the ‘heaviness’ of

foods is not directly related to the amount of caleries.

What this means is that for various reasons, the

heaviness of food in your diet will affect your magical

experiences. You may be able to increase your psychic

receptivity (‘energy level’) by eating lighter foods, or by

eating less. Conversely, emphasizing heavy foods in your diet,

or eating larger helpings, may help to ‘bring you down to earth’

should you ‘rent the veil’ too much. These are generalizations,

of course, and it may take a number of days of dietary change

before you notice much effect. I do not advocate radical dietary

changes, excessive fasting, or malnutrition. Your good health is

far more important in magick than any temporary effect you get

from prolonged starvation. A change in diet will sometimes only

produce a temporary effect, until the physical body adapts to

the change. Healthy natural foods and lifestyle make it easier

for us to be healthy, but ultimately, good health is a mentual

quality (attitude).

THE FOUR-FOLD BREATH

With physical exercise too, moderation is advised.

(You should be cautious, or not attempt it if you have a

respiratory or heart condition. Check with your physician if in

doubt, and don’t overdo.) One of the most useful physical

exercises is pranayama, or controlled breathing (actually a type

of hatha yoga exercise). For this and any other calesthentics or

hatha yoga which you might choose to do a ‘kitchen timer’ is

suggested (many of these aren’t accurate for under three

minutes, but are helpful for longer periods).

The main purpose of pranayama is to relax the body and

mind. There are many kinds of pranayama, but a simple one called

the ‘four-fold breath’ will suffice. This consists of four short

quick inhallations, then four short quick exhallations; then

repeat, continuing until the allotted time is used up. It will

take about 1 1/2 seconds for the four inhallations, and about

1 1/2 seconds for the four exhallations; or about 3 seconds for

the complete in-out cycle (‘rep’ for repetition). There should

be no strain of any kind during your pranayama. You will

probably notice a slight dizziness, particularly at first, since

the effect of pranayama is to hyperventilate. Try sitting back

in a chair with your eyes closed when you do your pranayama.

Begin a minute a day for the first week and gradually increase

up to about five minutes a day. If you do the pranayama befor

your magical activity, it will help you to get ‘into the mood’.

It is also an excellent aid to relaxation and tension release.

Pranayama should not be done during heavy air pollution. Other

exercises you might consider are hatha yoga, calesthentics,

walking or jogging.

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1) What is a chakra? List them.

2) Name the three major nadies. Which nadi is hot?

3) What is pranayama?

BOOK LIST

Arthur Diekman, The Observing Self.

W.Y. Evans-Wentz, Tibetan Yoga and Secret Doctrines.

Sandra Gibson, Beyond the Mind.

King and Skinner, Techniques of High Magic.

Swami Sivananda, Kundalini Yoga.

John Woodroffe (pseud. for Arthur Avalon), The Serpent Power.

** MAGICK 6 — THOUGHTFORMS AND SPIRITS **

Although there are hundreds of kinds of divination,

the principle ones are astrology, geomancy, the tarot, the

I Ching, and direct psychic means (especially clairvoyance).

True divination is more than a mechanical system, for it

implies true psychic interpretation (receiving). Some form of

divination is often used in magick ritual to communicate with

the entity invoked.

Since divination operates through the mind, it is

affected and biased by the mind. Our attitudes and fears may

alter it. Sometimes results are very detailed, and accurate

— but not always. Often the future is plastic and changeable

anyway, and the use of magick may alter the result. Thus

divination shows tendencies only, which may be helpful, but

must not rule us.

DEVELOPING CLAIRVOYANCE

It is possible to improve your natural ability with

clairvoyance through practice. A good start might be to look

around you, then close your eyes and try to picture your

surroundings. This is also good exercise for visualization. And

visualization is an essential talent in magick. Open your eyes

again and check your accuracy. Then close your eyes and try it

again. When you use your physical eyes, look at everything

like a child seeing it for the first time. Let the vividness

of color and form burn into you, until everything takes on a

veritable glow. Try to capture that glow when you close your

eyes now and picture your surroundings. It’s just a simple

step to extend what you see with your eyes closed into what

you remember seeing in the next room, or what you *imagine*

seeing in the next building, the next city, even the other

side of the world. Don’t expect perfect results, especially at

first. Just try to be even partly right. Another exercise is

to picture a clock face, and thereby tell the time

clairvoyantly.

THE AURA

Under the right conditions, it is possible to

clairvoyantly observe a colored light around other people.

This is known as the ‘aura’. Sometimes the aura is seen as

multi-colored emanations around the person, built up of

various differently colored layers and zones. Although many

occult dabblers claim to be able to see the aura easily and

under many varied conditions, I seriously doubt that they do.

There are optical illusions and qualities of sight which can

sometimes trick one into thinking he sees what he does not

see. In this area, the quality of sight known as after image

is especially pertinent. Do this: stare at any solidly colored

bright object for a few moments. Very intense red, green, or

blue are especially good for this. Now look away at a white

surface and you will see a phantom image of the object in its

complementary color (a red object will show green, a blue one

orange, etc.). If the bright object is in front of a light

surface, you may observe a fringe of complementary color

around the object after a few moments. This is all very

normal, and is used by some magical groups as an aid to

visualization sometimes called ‘flashing colors’. Some silly

people will stare at other people in the same way. And when

they see the after image of the person’s clothing, they think

they are seeing his aura. What is more, various meanings have

been attributed to the colors of the aura. A psychic who can

see the aura is supposed to be able to determine that persons

emotional state. Thus psychic frauds can have a marvelous

time with auras. One deluded psychic taught a class I

attended in which he performed instant psychoanalysis on the

basis of the supposed aura. It was obvious that he was

actually observing after images from the students clothes!

This brings us to the chart of aura colors on the next

page. It is a general guide, based mostly on Theosophical

material. Various groups may attribute different meanings to

the colors. The colors we show on the chart are emotional in

nature; useful if you plan to create an artificial elemental

or do healing. Surrounding yourself with a particular color

will tend to produce the specific psychological effect

described in the chart. That quality of color is useful in

magick ritual.

.pa (next page)

COLORS OF THE AURA

BLACK malice

dark gray depression

pale gray fear

BROWN materialism

muddy gray selfishness

dull rust

RED energy

bright red anger and force

dirty red passion and sensuality

dull red selfish love

rose unselfish love

ORANGE pride

orange cloud irritability

bright orange noble indignation

YELLOW intellect

yellow-green low intellect

earthy yellow selfish thought

lemmon high intellect

bright gold logical thinking

brt. red-yel. spiritual thought

GREEN empathy

gray-green deceit, jealously

greenish-brown jealousy

emerald green unselfish resourcefulness

foliage green sympathy & empathy

brt. apple-grn strong vitality

brt. turquoise deep sympathy & compassion

BLUE devotion (religious feeling)

gray-blue fetishism

light blue noble spiritual devotion

dark blue religious feeling

brt. lilac-blu lofty religious idealism

VIOLET spiritual psychic & spiritual

faculty

WHITE purity/protection

.pa

THOUGHTFORMS AND SPIRITS

Whenever we concentrate our thoughts, we draw psychic

energy together. This is called a thoughtform. Usually the

energy dissipates as soon as we break the concentration, but

it is possible to purposely concentrate energy in this way,

producing very strong thoughtforms. Such thoughtforms are

vortexes or centers of psychic energy. They can exist as

entities by themselves, at least for a while. They are

basically inanimate, non-thinking forces. Talking to one is

about as logical as talking to a chair. In this way,

thoughtforms are similar to elementals, ghosts, and spirits.

All of these psychic entities consist of a psychic energy

vortex which could be described as a localized field or as a

discontinuity of the physical world.

Psychic entities respond to certain electrostatic and

magnetic fields, and to other energy vortexes. That is why

they respond to magick ritual. Someday, we may accomplish the

same thing with electronic machines. Psychic entities are

sometimes able to affect our thought processes.

Thoughtforms, elementals, and ghosts are usually not

very smart. If they display any intelligence at all, it is

limited. They are the morons of the spirit world. Their

behavior is usually automatic, repetitive, robot-like (just

like some people). We see that artificial elementals

are little more than astral robots. Spirits and deities are

more intelligent and volitional.

DIRECTED ATTENTION

Your mind follows your attention. Wherever you direct

your attention, there will your thoughts go too. By directing

attention to a specific place or purpose you *focus* mental

energy upon it.

For example: you’re having lunch in a cafeteria

crowded with people. It is a large place, and everyone there

is talking at once, so that the room is a constant jumble of

noise. You happen to notice a man accross the room; he

reminds you of someone. All at once he drops his fork and you

hear it hit the table. But would you have noticed the sound

of his fork if you had not been looking? No. Only by focusing

your attention there were you able to pick out that

individual event and associated sound.

It is a dark night. You are walking and the only

light you have is from the flashlight you hold in your hand.

As you move the flashlight around, the beam of light from it

directs your attention first one way then another. Now, the

mind is something like that flashlight in the dark. And by

directed attention, you point the mind to one place or

another. As with that flashlight beam, you see where the mind

is pointed; nothing more. The rest is ‘noise’. And so we

could define mental noise as anything not focused upon. In

another way, noise could be considered as negative emotions,

attitudes, and thoughts which make it more difficult to

direct the attention.

Your emotions follow your thoughts quite easily. Your

emotions are not YOU, but are rather reactions prompted by

your model and ego — like a performance or an act, while

the real you watches. In a similar way, directing your

attention toward a specific emotion will cause you to

experience that emotion.

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1) What is the aura?

2) What is a thoughtform?

3) How can you develope clairvoyance?

BOOK LIST

Annie Bessant and Charles Leadbeater, Thought Forms.

W.E. Butler, How to Develop Clairvoyance.

J.H. Brennan, Astral Doorways.

Piero Ferrucci, What We May Be.

Kilner, The Human Aura.

Swami Panchadasi, The Human Aura.

A.E. Powell, The Etheric Double.

Harold Sherman, How to Make ESP Work for You.

** MAGICK 7 — BASIC RITUAL **

It may be said that ritual is the very heart of

magick. For it is through ritual that we acheive our magical

results. Ritual is a magical procedure or ceremony we perform

in order to change the environment. Usually we think of

ritual as bearing on active magick, although certainly, it

can also affect passive magick. Most often the change

achieved is subjective and in the physical world. Outsiders

may put them down to coincidence, but the effects are very

real. Magical goals for a ritual should not be taken lightly.

The successful practice of magick depends upon strong

belief. The simplest ritual of them all must be belief

itself. If you can believe in your desired results strongly

enough, that act is a magical ritual which will achieve your

results. Even a very complex ritual is no more effective than

strong belief. There are aids to concentration which may

help. Thus in *creative visualization*, imagination and

controlled breathing are brought into play.

CREATIVE VISUALIZATION

When you want to magically achieve something, first

picture it clearly in your mind. The more deffinite and

specific your idea of what it is the better. Picture yourself

having it or doing it. Visualize it as vividly and as

intensely as you can and hold it in your thoughts for a few

moments. Concentrate on it intensely (it may help to hold

your breath). Feel the energy of desire welling up inside

you. Then suddenly feel the image or desire released from

your mind. Feel the energy filtering through the image and

intensifying it, as if the image is a ‘stencil’. Imagine the

energy exploding out from you into the macrocosm in all

directions at once, and feel the universe ’tilt’ as it reacts

to the force. (At the same time it may help to release your

breath suddenly). Feel the energy draining from you. Finally,

*believe* that your purpose *has* been accomplished; that it

HAS HAPPENED, perhaps saying something such as “so mote it

be”, or “it is done”.

THE BASIC PARTS OF A RITUAL

Often rituals are more formal than the above, but any

full magick ritual must always reduce to these stages —

1) imaging; 2) building; 3) firing. Sometimes a ritual must

be repeated every day for a while to achieve difficult

results or to overcome weak belief.

THE MAGICK CIRCLE

Often an important part of formal ritual is the

magick circle. Medieval magicians considered the circle

essential, and placed great emphasis upon its exactness.

Elaborate designs were invented with many layers of complex

symbols and words. It was very important that the circle

be completely intact with no breaks in it. The magician

and any other participants stand in the circle during ritual.

Today, circles are made on the floor with chalk or paint,

rock salt, or a rope. Whatever its form, the circle is

still an important part of magical protection for the

magician. This is especially important for aversive entities

and purposes. The circle also helps in focusing the energy of

the ritual toward its purpose, that is, it keeps it contained

until the magician is ready to release it. Of course, the

magick circle is basicly only a symbol, but it may eventually

be possible to supplement the circle with electronic

equipment for a similar purpose. We are researching the

practicality of electrostaticly charged Faraday shields.

ARTIFICIAL ELEMENTALS

An artificial elemental is useful for certain

tasks: 1) invisible watcher and observer, telling you what

it sees; 2) psychic guard; 3) it can be used in healing; 4)

it is helpful in other ways. Ophiel calls the artificial

elemental a ‘familiar’. Producing your own artificial

elemental is fairly easy. YOU MUST ASSUME THAT THE ACT HAS

PRODUCED RESULTS, EVEN IF YOU DO NOT IMMEDIATELY OBSERVE

THEM. It is entirely possible to produce one of these little

beasties and not know it (not being clairvoyant enough to

observe it directly). Therefore, and this is a general

principle of any magick, never ignore forces you have set

into motion. Even though you may not see the elemental, you

may nevertheless ‘feel’ it.

WARNING — Do not use artificial elementals for any

kind of aversive magick at this point; they can be nasty

little critters to get rid of. Should you have to eliminate

one of them which you created in error, you must re-absorb

it back into yourself through your will; or in some cases

you can ‘exorcise’ it.

HOW TO CREATE AN ARTIFICIAL ELEMENTAL

You can create your own artificial elemental for

various purposes. An artificial elemental is basically a

thoughtform which has been strengthened with emotion. Refer

to the aura color chart in the previous lesson and decide

what color to make the elemental, based upon your intended

purpose. Apple green is a good choice for general purposes.

Then decide on a shape or outline. Do you want your elemental

to resemble some sort of animal? A simple circle or cloud is

a good place to start. With this in mind you can use ritual

to create your elemental. Creative visualization is good for

this. Visualize it glowing before you. A darkened room is

helpful for this.

Communicate with your elemental with telepathy, by

talking to it, or with creative visualization. Your

artificial elemental is closely linked to you and your

subconscious attitudes. It will generally not do things you

think it cannot do. As in any magick, results relate to

effort and belief. Another way of looking at an artificial

elemental is as an aspect of your personality (sub

personality) which has been detached from you.

INVOCATION

Formal ritual usually involves the invocation

(ritually calling up) of a god or goddess, spirit, or other

entity. In this sense, magick is somewhat similar to pagan

religion and witchcraft. However, we consider magick ritual

a technique, not a religion. Worship need not be involved.

Sometimes the invocation of an entity creates an artificial

elemental.

Crowley says there are three different kinds of

invocation —

1) Devotion to the entity (as in the Bhakti yoga of

the Hare Krishna sect; the Faustian devil pact).

2) Ceremonial invocation — usual method of the

middle ages.

3) Drama — usually needs more than one person (as in

a mass).

>>CAUTIONS<<

1. Often as not a ritual may produce side-effects,

usually something similar to, though not exactly the desired

goal. If the true goal is delayed (as sometimes happens) we

may see the side effects first. And if for some reason the

goal is not achieved at all (‘missing the target’) the side

effects may be pronounced. Examples: 1) You use magick ritual

to hurry shipment of an anticipated package in the mail. Side

effect — the next day an unexpected package (the

wrong one) arrives instead. 2) You use magick ritual to cause

a certain person to phone you. Side effect — for several

days all sorts of people phone you…The sides effects will

not affect you (or anyone else) adversely unless that is

what you inwardly want.

2. We may say with certainty that “something always

happens” when we perform a magick ritual. But like everything

else, magick follows the ‘law of results’. This means that

results require effort of some kind. And if you don’t work

hard enough at it you don’t get results. Difficult goals have

greater resistance (magical inertia) to overcome. If the

ritual doesn’t produce the desired results there is a good

chance that the reason for the failure is within oursleves.

Be certain there is no contradiction between your model

and your magical goals. Sometimes self doubt and mental

contradictions (wanting and not wanting at the same time) may

interfere. The first step in magick is to re-program your

model. And, of course you can help your magical results by

working on the physical level toward your goals. Don’t expect

them to fall into your lap by themselves.

3) A peculiar quality of magick is time displacement.

Results of a ritual are not usually instantaneous. There is

often a delay of 12 hours or more. Difficult tasks or weakly

performed ritual are more likely to be delayed. In most cases

a slight delay is alright, and it gives us time to get used

to the comming changes. And sometimes the effects of a ritual

appear to extend to before the ritual was performed!

4) Because of the way magick works, a ritual may

create an emphasis in what is sought, and a de-emphasis in

everything else. Balance is therefore important here. Once

the magical result is achieved it may be ‘bound’ to you and

difficult to get rid of should you later decide to do so.

Example: You use a magick ritual to help you find and buy a

new house. Years later when you decide to sell it, you are

unable to do so. Consider your magical goals wisely so you

dont get stuck with something you don’t really want. Note

that theory says you can always unbind through ritual what

was bound to you…theory says.

5) Sometimes the environment appears to react against

the magick after the results are achieved. This is

particularly noticeable in using magick to affect the weather

(and the main reason why you should NOT use magick to affect

the weather). For example…Your performance of a ritual to

produce a sunny day produces a sunny day. The next day is

sunny, alright, but the rest of the month is cold and

overcast. Here the weather seems to react to the magick in

the opposite way to re-establish its natural balance. It is

something like pushing a pendulum to one side and releasing

it — the pendulum swings to the other side. To quote

Emmerson — “For everything you gain you lose something…”.

I don’t know that this is always true in magick, but it does

illustrate the point. And another reason not to use magick to

affect the weather is that it might foul it up in other parts

of the country (world??).

6) Finally, magick ritual (or any magick or

occultism) is very dangerous for the mentally unstable. If

you should somehow ‘get out too far’, eat ‘heavy foods’ as

previously discussed (lesson on chakras) and use your

religious background or old belief system for support. But

remember too, that wierd experiences are not necessarily bad

experiences.

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1) What is creative visualization?

2) List the basic parts of a ritual.

3) What is invocation?

RESEARCH TOPICS (for independent study)

1) Examine the differences between western magick and oriental

magick.

2) How do medieval grimoirs follow the basic ritual pattern?

BOOK LIST

P.E.I. Bonewitz, Real Magic.

David Conway, Magic: an Occult Primer (or Ritual Magic).

Aleister Crowley, Magick in Theory and Practice.

Denning and Phillips, Creative Visualization.

Ophiel, Creative Visualization.

A.E. Powell, The Astral Body.

________, The Mental Body.

Joseph Weed, Wisdom of the Ancient Masters.

Julian Wilde, Grimoire of Chaos Magick.

** MAGICK 8 — HEALING AND BANISHING **

Psychic or spiritual healing is a human potential we

all possess. Some people are especially good at this. It is

probably easier to heal someone else by occult means than

yourself. In addition to healing in the presence of the

person, there is ‘absent healing’ in which the healing

occurs at a distance. Note that there are some who maintain

that influence on another person without his specific

knowledge and permission (yes, even in healing and helping)

is black magick. (After all, everybody is living according to

his own true will, so that healing or helping someone

without permission is affecting his will). This means it is

important to tell the person what you are planning to do and

to ask his permission. The theory of psychic healing is that

sickness is characterized (although not necessarily caused)

by a deficiency and imbalance of vital energy. Psychic

healing transfers energy from the healer to the sick to

repair and rebalance his energies. If an inept healer

overdoes the process, or if he doesn’t take the precaution

to ‘disconnect’ himself afterwards, he may find himself

becoming sick due to energy drain and a linkage to his

subject. Similarly, the healer should always be in a good

state of health or he could unintentionally transfer his

illness to the subject.

The basic methods of psychic healing are: 1) creative

visualization, 2) prayer, 3) ritual. Creative visualization

is one of the easiest techniques. Mild illness may yield to

only one or two treatments; serious ills will require

many treatments over time. Psychic healing should always be

combined with medical care and treatment. It does not replace

doctors, medicine, or hospitals, since different levels

(worlds) are involved. In creative visualization, we

visualize the person being well. It may be helpful to utilize

the appropriate color from the aura chart (such as bright

apple-green, rose pink, or white) sent as a beam to the

person or as a cloud surrounding him. This technique can be

extended to include a simple kind of yoga in which we feel

energy sent as we exhale explosively; the energy sent either

via the breath or from one of the chakras such as the solar

plexus. Sometimes in absent healing it is helpful to arrange

a time for treatment in advance, asking your subject to be in

a receptive state of mind and to sit back and close his eyes.

THE BANISHING RITUAL

One of the most basic and useful ceremonial rituals

of magick is called the *banishing ritual*, or lesser

ritual of the pentagram. A pentagram (or pentacle) is a

five-pointed star with the point up. The banishing ritual is

helpful in psychic protection and healing since it forms a

protective barrier against malevolent forces. The psychic

barrier it creates can be made to permit entry of desired

(constructive) forces and the exclusion of negative ones.

Thus, the banishing ritual is an essential first step in

almost any formal full magick ceremony. The ritual requires

that you use a magical implement or “weapon”, such as a

ceremonial knife, wand, or simply point your index finger, to

“draw” the pentagram in the air at each of the cardinal

points (four directions). Also, you will be chanting

(‘vibrating’) some Hebrew names of God.

Holding your magical weapon and facing east, extend

your arm out straight in front of you. In this ritual you

will use the full sweep of your arm to draw the pentagram in

the air. Follow the description below by beginning at the

lower left and sweeping your magical weapon up toward the

right, etc. as shown. Do not bend your arm at the wrist or

elbow. While you do this, visualize the lines and eventually

the star as vibrant white, floating in the space before you.

You are projecting energy to do this, and the result will be

a gleaming 5-pointed star floating in the east; visualize

this as vividly as you can. Now you will energize it further

by piercing the center of it with your magical weapon and

vibrating (speaking slowly in a slightly lower than normal

pitch, remember) “Yod-He-Vau-He”.

=============================================

— DESCRIPTION —

Approximate points on a round clock face —

1. Begin at 7:30 position.

2. Point to 12 oclock position.

3. Point to 4:30 position.

4. Point to 10:30 position.

5. Point to 2:30 position.

6. Return to 7:30 position.]

=============================================

Then turn slowly to the next cardinal point in

sequence, and as you do so, with your arm still extended in

front of you, visualize a white line connecting around to

the cardinal point. Trace a similar pentagram with the

appropriate words and following the same procedure:

South — Adonai Tzaboath

West — Eh-Ei-He

North — Agla.

Now complete the white line drawn back to the center of the

eastern pentagram. Note that the cardinal points must be

followed in a clockwise order, and the pentagram must be

drawn in the manner illustrated; to do otherwise would change

the function of the ritual. The result of all this should be

a large bright white pentagram visualized hanging in mid-air

at each of the four directions, all tied together by a bright

white line. You could now, for example, visualize the

pentagrams moving out to the circumference of your home,

thereby protecting all within.

There is also a somewaht simplified version of this

ritual in which the pentagram is traced only once overhead

and then is energized with one of the four names, such as

“Eh-Ei-He”. Oftentimes the simplified version is sufficient,

but naturally the effect of the full version is more

complete.

One of the primary uses of this ritual is to ward off

psychic attack — that is, when another is (consciously or

unconsciously) attempting to harm you, cause sickness,

accidents, bad dreams, emotional upset, or to force you to do

something against your will. Fortunately this doesn’t happen

very often. The world of the magician is fairly safe for the

pure of heart. Psychic attack usually depends upon

vulnerabilities. If you are not vulnerable you are safe. Thus

unificaition with the true will is the greatest protection

possible. And the use of the banishing ritual is never

hurtful. You can even use it to hold off negative aspects of

yourself.

Other forms of protection sometimes helpful

(depending upon one’s egregore/model) are recitation of the

‘Lord’s Prayer’, the 23rd, and 91st Psalms.

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1) What is a pentagram?

2) What is psychic healing? List the basic methods.

3) What is the banishing ritual? Why is it used?

BOOK LIST

Dion Fortune, Psychic Self-Defense.

________, Sane Occultism.

Adeliade Gardner, Vital Magnetic Healing.

Max Heindel, The Vital Body.

Ernest Holms, The Science of Mind.

Mouni Sadhu, Theurgy.

** MAGICK 9 — ASTRAL PROJECTION **

Astral projection (OOBE, out of the body experience)

is a popular area of occult literature; for traveling to see

other worlds and places while the physical body sleeps or is

entranced is an exciting notion. Astral projection is not

dangerous. It is as safe as sleeping. Most dreams are probably

unconscious astral projections, anyway. Although there has

been quite a bit written on the subject, astral projection

is difficult for many people. The main difficulty is the

tendency to forget dream consciousness upon awakening.

Accordingly, the successful practice of astral projection

requires work.

Modern psychology discounts the idea of actual OOBE

(that the spirit temporarily vacates the physical body).

However, the idea is very ancient. The Tibetans have an

entire system of yoga (dream yoga) based upon astral

projection. And here we have an important assumption: you are

involved in an OOBE (at least to a degree) whenever you

dream. What sets it apart from a full OOBE is your hazy

consciousness during the experience and poor recall

afterwards. Many people forget most of their dreams

completely. Learning astral projection requires a kind of

inner mental clarity and alertness.

Dreams are a door to the subconscious which can be

used for psychological and spiritual insight, and sometimes

for precognition. Dream content is influenced by external

sounds and sensations. For example, a loud external noise

(such as a train) will likely appear in your dream (if it

doesn’t wake you up!). Dreams are also influenced by events

of the previous day, by your moods, and by suggestion.

Everyone normally dreams 4 or 5 times a night (about every 2

hours). The longest dreams occur in the morning. Everyone

dreams. You are more likely to remember the details of your

dream when you first wake up. By keeping a dream diary you

will improve dream recall. Have writing equipment or a tape

recorder at your bedside for this purpose; also a light

which isn’t too bright. Suggest to yourself several times

before you go to sleep, “I will awaken with the knowledge of

a dream.” Then when you do awaken, move quietly (sometimes

just turning over drives the idea away). Remember first,

then write the dream down, and then add as many details as

possible. The next day check for objective facts and expand

if you can (by remembering ‘what happened before that’). Once

you start remembering your dreams in this way, it will

become easier to do so. (If you are unsuccessful at this,

and *really* want to remember your dreams, you could

arrange for someone to sit by your bedside all night long

with a dim light on. Then when he sees your eyes moving back

and forth — rapid eye movements, a sign you are dreaming —

he can wake you and ask for a dream report.)

FORMS OF ASTRAL PROJECTION

Astral projection may be subdivided into three basic

types: mental projection, astral projection (proper) and

etheric projection. And your OOBE may shift between them.

Mental projection is really simple clairvoyance (‘remote

viewing’), and ‘traveling in your mind’. Imagination plays

a key role. The experience of mental projection is not

particularly vivid, and you will more likely be an observer

than a participant. Nevertheless, mental projection is an

important ‘way in’ to astral projection proper.

During mental projection and astral projection you

are able to travel through solid objects, but are not able

to act directly upon them or to move them (if they are in

the physical world). This is not true during etheric

projection. Whether it is simply subconscious expectation,

or whether it is a true etheric projection which in theory

means that part of your physical body has been relocated

with your projection (the etheric or vital part) may be

difficult to determine. Etheric projections generally travel

at or very near the physical world. There are even cases

reported (very, very rare ones) in which the entire physical

body is transferred to another location (teleportation), or

cases in which the physical body exists and acts in two

separate places at once (bilocation)!

But our primary interest is astral projection

proper, and mental projection to a lesser extent. Astral and

mental projection are not confined to the physical world.

Travel in the mental and astral realms is feasible, and

often preferred. Nor are astral and mental projection

MAGICK 1 — WHY MAGICK

USED BY PERMISSION

** MAGICK 1 — WHY MAGICK **

The ability to think seems to set us apart from

other creatures. And although we are concerned with

living in the physical world, we are mental beings. The

fact is we are thinking all the time. We plan, we brood,

we get depressed or elated — all of it is thought. But

the universe is mental too, and if we could control our

thinking we would see magnificent results in the everyday

world.

Many systems have been developed over the ages to

help us control our thoughts. A great amound of dogma too

has been kicked around in an attempt to make us into better

people. Magick (the occult kind, spelled with a ‘k’) is one

of the oldest and most general of these systems. Magick is

the study and application of psychic forces. It uses mental

training, concentration, and a system of symbols to program

the mind. The purpose of magick is to alter the self and the

environment according to the will.

Most of the magick we see today comes to us from

ancient Egypt and Chaldea. The Chinese, Hindus, and Tibetans

developed their own unique types of magick. Western magick

was locked up by the Egyptian priests for thousands of years

and then supressed by the rise of Christianity. It was not

until medieval Europe that magical knowledge was rediscovered

by the alchemists and Cabalists. Only during the past hundred

years or so has western culture been open minded enough to

permit widespread investigation of the subject. Only since

the start of the twentieth century has science shown much

interest in it al all.

PARAPSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIC PHENOMENA

Through parapsychology, we are at last beginning to

gain insights into the hidden nature of man. Parapsychology

is a branch of psychology which studies psychic phenomena.

Remarkable evidence has been gathered on numerous cases of

psychic phenomena. Knowledge gained from parapsychology

studies can be applied, so far as it goes, to the much

broader based, much more theoretical study and practice of

magick.

Thus, the human mind and body appears to broadcast

psychic energy or force, much like a radio station. Kirlian

photography and cloud chamber tests tend to support this

theory. Although the exact nature of this psychic force is

subtle and unknown, it is undoubtedly the energy behind all

psychic phenomena and magick. However, it is *not* a radio

wave, since it behaves somewhat differently. The psychic

force is too weak to be measured directly (at least so far as

we know). Everyone has some psychic ability. There are

numerous types of psychic phenomena. Parapsychology separates

them into two groups: ESP and PK…

EXAMPLES OF ESP

ESP, the abreviation for extra sensory perception,

means the reception of information through paranormal means

(ie. not regular physical senses of sight, sound, touch,

smell, or taste). In theory, this is accomplished by

receiving psychic force from outside the body. Here are some

examples of ESP:

1) Clairvoyance, or Remote Viewing — the ability to

sense or ‘see’ (non-physically) distant objects, places, and

people. Individuals who see ghosts and spirits are probably

clairvoyant.

2) Astral Projection (OOBE) or Traveling Clairvoyance

— Full experience at a remote location while the physical

body sleeps.

3) Psychometry — the reading of information by the

touch of physical objects.

4) Telepathic receiver — the ability to directly

receive thought (communication) at a distance, with no

physical connection to the sender. There are many everyday

examples of this, in which we think something just as another

person is about to say it. This is an easy one to test for

through experiment. Very dramatic cases of telepathy have

been recorded; there is often an emotional element in such

cases.

5) A medium, as in a seance.

6) Experience with a Ouija board, pendulum, or

automatic writing.

7) Precognition — to forsee the future. Again,

highly emotional events are the ones most likely to be ‘tuned

in’.

EXAMPLES OF PK

PK, the abreviation for psychokinesis, is the active

or sending side of psychic phenomena. The theory here is that

psychic force is sent out from the individual. Examples of PK

include:

1) Telepathic sender — the transmitter in the

telepathy just discussed.

2) Psychokinesis (or telekinesis) proper — the

ability to move objects by means of psychic force.

3) Somewhat along the same lines are poltergeist

(noisy ghost) phenomena in which objects move of their own

accord or noises are heard. There is always a human agent

involved — frequently a teenage girl — who appears to be

the source of psychic energy.

4) Psychic healing — the ability to heal various

illnesses and infirmities. There are many documented cases of

this. Usually it involves a healer and a subject, although

there are recent cases invloving cancer patients learning to

heal themselves.

5) Teleportation, apportation, and levitation.

Some occultists feel a magician producing PK effects

is simply a channel for universal energy. Others think the

force originates some way directly within the magician.

THE SUBCONSCIOUS

Postulated by Freud and others, the concept of the

subconscious mind is an important one. Basicly, this is the

idea that part of the mind normally operates below or outside

of ordinary consciousness and awareness. Dreams and hypnosis

are examples of this. Also subconscious are the many

automatic functions of the physical body such as respiration

and digestion.

WHY DO MAGICK?

Magick encompasses many things — science and art,

philosophy and metaphysics, psychology and comparative

religion. Magick is an adventure at the borderlands of the

unknown. It can fit the pieces of the puzzel of life into a

meaningful whole.

_Magick is fun_ and interesting. Use magick to help

raise consciousness without drugs. Gain new experiences.

Fantacy can come alive through magick. Psychic phenomena can

be controlled and be fun and helpful.

_Magick is beneficial_. It can help you to have

excellent health, and bring you good luck. With magick life

runs smoothly; life is good. Also use magick for personality

improvement, to control bad habits and to develop new

motivations.

_Magick is powerful_. Never underestimate the

tremendous power of magick. Use magick to alter events and to

achieve your goals. Exert an influence over people and

phenomena. But power for its own sake is self defeating. The

power which magick can give you should not be your primary

reason for studying it.

MAGICK AND WITCHCRAFT

A number of other occult disciplines are prevalent

today besides magick. There are many cults and sects which

profess their own views, but there are really few differences

between them. One popular area in the occult today is

witchcraft. This is far removed from the cliche of devil

worship. Real witchcraft is a nature religion (pagan).

Witchcraft has much in common with magick.

Alchemy also has much in common with magick. It’s

heritage comes from the middle ages. Alchemy fathered

chemistry and the physical sciences. But the avowed purpose

of alchemy, turning lead into gold, is too limiting to be

called magick. Sometimes the goal of alchemy is interpreted

in another way, as the transformation of man into a spiritual

being.

Then there are the numerous modern day seers or

‘pychics’, as they like to be called, who operate within

their own somewhat unique systems. Although many of these

people are deluded frauds, some are very powerful occultists

indeed.

Of course, everything I have said here is a

generalization. Magick, witchcraft, alchemy, or any occult

field are complex subjects. Suffice it to say that magick

includes them all (it is eclectic). For magick is undoubtedly

a philosophy which has, as the late Aleister Crowley wrote,

“The method of science — the aim of religion.”

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1) Define magick.

2) Define ESP and PK. Give examples.

3) What is the subconsicous?

BOOK LIST

Hal N. Banks, An Introduction to Psychic Studies.

Annie Besant, Thought Power.

Michael H. Brown, PK, A Report on the Power of Psychokinesis.

Richard Cavendish, The Black Arts.

Alexandira David-Neel, Magic and Mystery in Tibet.

Raynor C. Johnson, The Imprisoned Splendour.

Ostrander and Shroeder, Psychic Discoveries Behind the

Iron Curtan.

** MAGICK 2 — THE SUBJECTIVITY OF EXPERIENCE — **

Your awareness of the physical world and of your

place within it is mostly based upon the physical senses

(hearing, sight, smell, touch, taste). These five senses

continually send information to the mind, and it is up to

the mind to select and interpret them. If you could not do

so, your senses would overwhelm you and be meaningless.

Selection and interpretation of your sensory inputs is

essentially an automatic, mostly subconscious function of

the mind. The program or map which the subconscious follows

as its reference point is called a _model_. The model is a

subconscious mental photograph of how you believe the world

looks (ie. worldview, mindset, egregore, or belief system).

It was built up from an early age by your religious and

cultural background through interaction with family and

others. It contains your experiences, attitudes, and

habits. And whether you realize it or not, most of your

behavior, thoughts, feelings, and habits are based upon and

conditioned by that model; even personality. The model is

one of the mind’s master programs. Change in behavior

generally requires a change in the model. These limitations

built into our way of thinking cause our perceptions to be

subjective. That is why Hindu philosophy looks upon the

world as illusory (maya); the world itself (object) is not

an illusion, however from our viewpoint through perception

(subject) it is.

Thus we are all conditioned by experience. Except

that our perceptions, hence our experiences, are first

conditioned and limited by the model. Our perceptions and

experiences tend to conform to what we expect. We tend to

misinterpret or ignore things which do not match our

preconcieved notions about them. This is automatic.

THE TRUE WILL

The forgoing demonstrates how it is that there are

so many different versions of ‘truth’. One’s particular

view is almost arbitrary. Although numerous religions,

philosophies, and occult systems abound, they do not

contradict one and other as much as it might appear.

Rather, they describe the same (universal) reality taken

from different perspectives. For there can be no ultimate

truth in the physical world. We can only base our actions

upon assumptions and agreements. All experience is

subjective.

Yet, there is a separate reality within each of us

which is often ignored unless we seek it. This inner self

is in magick called the ‘true will’. The true will is the

center of consciousness and identity. It is the ‘real you’.

Everything else is an interface or link to it from the

outer (illusory) world. Since that interface is based upon

our model, it is conditoned and may sometimes produce false

information. ‘Do what thou wilt’ (Crowley) is an axiom of

magick; for the true will expresses our exact desires. And

what we truly want (‘down deep’) we tend to automatically

get. This isn’t always in our best interests, since the

true will can be conditioned (tricked) by the illusion; and

then we might desire and obtain that which is not

ultimately good for us. (Karma strikes again!) The task of

the magician therefor is to awaken his awareneess of the

true will, to be free of conditioning, and thereby to

transcend maya. (‘My will unconditioned is magical’ —

Spare).

HAPPINESS IS BEING HAPPY

There is no great secret to changing behavior or

habits. It is largely a matter of determination. It

requires that you ignore the ‘pull’ of the model when you

strive for changes within yourself. The model is, after

all, a collection of ‘habits’, some of which must be

unlearned for permananent change to occur. There are two

ways to do this: direct, through will power and awareness

alone — observing and acting out in an unattached or

indifferent manner; and indirect — through conditioning

such as affirmation (explained later), self-hypnosis, and

magick. Meditation may help too, by relaxing tension and

conflict.

Emotions follow physical expression: smile and act

happy and you will tend to feel and be happy. The same is

also true for other emotions. Also, emotions can be

purposely used (or programed) to replace other emotions.

Using this technique, a magician is somewhat like an actor

in that he learns how to turn his emotions on and off at

will. Note that this is not ‘fakeing it’; the magician is

probably more in touch with his true feelings than most

people. And for these reasons we say that happiness is

being happy.

SYSTEMS OF MAGICK

Magick always involves self-hypnosis. However, it

is more than that too. For one thing, there are objective

forces involved (or so it would seem). Deities, spirits,

and cosmic force can have an independent existence. And the

repetitive physical movement sometimes involved in ritual

can itself generate PK force. On the other hand, it could

be argued that all of this is subjective to the magician.

Perhaps all magical effects could be produced through

hypnosis alone. But the effects are certainly real.

Great complexity is not necessary in magick.

Although basicly magick is a medieval system of symbolism

(in a modern context), any cosmological system will work

from Cabala to Star Wars. We usually use the medieval one

in magick because it is convenient and traditional, and

because it seems to fit our thought processes well. What

really matters is that the model of the magician be

understood and programmed, and thus that the model and the

cosmological system do correspond.

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1) Contrast subjective with objective.

2) What is a ‘model’?

3) Explain the task of the magician.

BOOK LIST

Eric Berne, Games People Play.

Fritjof Capra, The Tao of Physics.

Carlos Castaneda, The Fire From Within.

Arthur Koestler, The Roots of Coincidence.

John C. Lilly, Simulations of God.

Alan Watts, The Book (on the taboo against knowing who you are).

** MAGICK 3 — THE FOUR WORLDS **

The ancients described man as mind, body, and soul.

Psychologists of the twentieth century added the

subconscious to that deffinition. This produces a four-fold

classification. The universe is also divided into four

corresponding parts (‘worlds’), as shown below:

WORLD BODY QUALITY

===== ==== =======

spiritual world spiritual body (soul or kia) intuition

mental world mental body (conscious mind) rational

thought

astral world astral body (subconscious) emotions

physical world physical body physical senses

The astral body (subconscious) is the intermediary

for intuition, magical and psychic phenomena, and is the

‘psychic link’ to the physical world. Most occult and

magical phenomena originate in the invisible, non-sensate,

non-physical realm (ie. without physical senses). Each of

the four worlds interacts with the other worlds. Psychic

energy flows from the spiritual to mental to astral to

physical. The physical world is a projection (manifestation,

reflection, or shadow) of the higher worlds. Our center of

consciousness is generally within these higher worlds.

“We are”, to quote the rock music group the Police, “spirits

in the material world”.

There are many similar terms used by other occult

groups. For example, ‘astral light’ is another name for

astral world, although it may sometimes also refer to the

entire non-physical realm, as may ‘inner planes’ or ‘the

invisible world’. Planes are essentially the same as worlds.

Vehicles or sheaths are the same as bodies. Some groups

include an etheric or vital body between physical and

astral: it is mostly ‘physical’ with a little of the

lower ‘astral’ besides. And sometimes astral and mental

are each divided into two parts (upper and lower). The

‘causal body’ is the upper ‘mental’.

MICROCOSM AND MACROCOSM

We have been describing ‘traditonal’ occult

philosophy here, and certainly an important part of the

tradition is the idea (and terms) microcosm and macrocosm.

The greater universe, known as the *macrocosm*, includes

everything that exists. It corresponds with the *microcosm*,

or tiny universe, ie. man — who is thought of as a

miniature replica of the macrocosm (whole universe).

This basic magical relationship is demonstrated in the

Bible (Genesis 1.27), where God is the macrocosm; and in

the writing of Trismegistus (“As above so below”). Since

man is in the image of God (universe) it follows that God

is in the image of man (in other words, man and the

God/universe match each other). The magician, as a microcosm

is thus connected with the macrocosm. There is an intimate

relationship of energies between you and everything else.

The universe is reflected within us and we are projected

into the universe. This is an important theory behind magick

and astrology.

MAGICK WHITE AND BLACK

‘Personal magick’ is that magick used to affect the

self; often involving affirmation, self-suggestion, and

self-hypnosis. ‘Active magick’ is outer directed magick (as

in PK) used to affect someone or thing, or to bring about

an event. ‘Passive magick’ is to be affected (as in ESP)

by an outside non-physical cause. Everyone possesses some

magical (and psychic) potential. Some are especially

gifted. Usually people are better at one kind of magick

(ie. active or passive) than they are at the other kind;

only rarely does an individual excell at both. Traning

and practice will, of course, improve ability somewhat.

Although the forces of magick are neutral, various

systems may take on the qualities of good and evil. There

is so-called white magick or good magick, black magick or

evil magick, and gray magick between them. When many people

refer to white magick they mean magick for unselfish

purposes, also healing and mental influence with specific

permission. By black magick they refer to magick for

self-interest and healing *without* specific permission.

Using magick to forcefully control another’s will is, in a

sense, black magick too. There are also some people on the

occult fringe who claim to be, possibly even think they are,

‘Satanists’, devil worshipers, or black magicians. These

people are most likely charlatans, hoaxters, dablers, or

merely misinformed. They may be attracted by the ‘art’ of

black magick, or even by the ‘glamor’ of doing something

against the ‘rules’. But a real black magician is very

dangerous. Because he has dedicated his life to evil. We

usually think of ‘white magick’ as having *unselfish

intent*, and (in the extreme case) of ‘black magick’ as

being actual Satan worship, human or animal sacrifice,

dangerous unconventional magical practices, and other

bizarre stuff as makes a nightmare. It is all a matter of

degree. Most mild self-interest magick (one of the most

common kinds) would be called ‘gray’. Better terms may be

*constructive magick* as being beneficial; and *aversive

magick* as magick intended to work against the natural

order, and to tear down. There is also the *high magick* of

spiritual alchemy (ie. spiritual growth), also known as ‘the

Great Work’; and conversely there is ‘low magick’ which is

concerned with materiality.

Any magick act is likely to produce side effects

regardless of whether or not the desired result is achieved.

Such side effects are no problem for constructive magick,

since they are benificial as well. However, aversive magick

can produce aversive side effects which may even harm the

magician — aversive magick is dangerous!

MAGICK IS A CONTINUOUS PROCESS

What we have been calling ‘magick’ is actually a

continuous process. Since your subconscious never rests,

your environment is continually being shifted into line with

your model. This is true whether you study magick or not.

For most people, these effects are usually very subtle, and

they are probably not aware of them. However, as you work

with the occult, the flow of psychic energy and your

awareness of it increases. Your true will is more likely

to be strongly expressed. Your luck may be affected (either

in a positive or a negative way). Remember, our lives tend

to follow what we want down deep. That is why a positive

outlook is so very beneficial to us.

THE MAGICAL DIARY

Sometimes it is helpful to keep a diary of your

magical experiments and research. Such a diary should include

the date, perhaps even some astrological data (or anything

else you think may have a relationship to what you are doing).

This is also a good time to begin recording your dreams —

at least the important ones — in a dream diary. Your dreams

can tell you a great deal about yourself, and may sometimes

reveal premonitions. Dreams are personal. Don’t fall for the

commercial ‘dream book’ gimmick.

AFFIRMATIONS

The mind is always open to suggestion — especially the

subconscious. Most of the time we censor any suggestions

according to the model; but one way to break through the censor

is with repetition. An affirmation does this exactly. By

suggestion, we mean any statement which is capable of affecting

your model. Usually suggestion is in the form of a positive

statement (such as the hypnotist’s patter — ” You are

becomming sleepy”). An affirmation is the same kind of thing —

a positive suggestion, which you repeat (affirm) to yourself

aloud or silently (for example, “I remember my dreams”). If

there is some quality you wish to change or develope within

yourself, an affirmation is ideal. Repeat it several times

every day at several different times throughout the day,

expecially when you go to bed. Affirmations are subtle and may

require a few months to work. Use them for changes, not

miracles.

SIMPLE BANISHING TECHNIQUE

Visualization is another important method we use to

influence the subconscious. A good example of this is the

simple banishing technique which follows. Banishing is used in

magick to ‘clear the air’ of negative ‘vibes’ and

interference…

Visualize a strong white light flowing out the top of

your head, flowing down around you and covering you. At the

same time imagine you are throwing away any ‘problem’ vibes.

Maintain the visualization for a half a minute or longer.

Good way to help you handle your emotions, and to control

worry or anger.

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1) What is a microcosm?

2) List the four worlds. Explain.

3) What is an affirmation? Give an example.

BOOK LIST

Geoffry Hodson, Theosophy Answers Some Problems of Life.

Marc Edmund Jones, Key Truths of Occult Philosophy.

Marion Weinstein, Positive Magic.

Nelson & Ann White, The Wizard’s Apprentice.

Beatrice Bruteau, The Psychic Grid.

** MAGICK 4 — ELEMENTS AND FORCES **

The Ancients divided the world into four basic

principles or *elements* — earth, water, fire, and air.

That viewpoint has mostly changed with advances of science,

but the four elements are still accepted in magick, for they

are more closely linked with the emotions than modern

explanations of the world. Many occultists think of the magical

elements as forces, or as *qualities* of energy; especially

within the astral world. Each element has a symbol and color.

(Common symbols are — fire: a triangle pointing up; air:

a triangle pointing up and with a horizontal line through the

middle of it; water: a triangle pointing down; earth: a

triangle pointing down and with a horizontal line through the

middle of it.) Colors of the elements are — earth: brown and

green; water: blue; fire: red; air: yellow…The Eastern

tattvic system uses different symbols and colors. The elements

are often used in magick ritual.

Magick sees relationships between things. These

relationships are called ‘correspondences’. Although magical

correspondences are not literally equal to one another, you can

think of them that way (such as gold equals sun). Tables of

these relationships, called ‘Correspondence Tables’, are

available (an important one is Crowley’s ‘777’). Thus one thing

or symbol can be used to suggest another. This is important in

magick, for the magician may surround himself with as many

appropriate correspondences as he can to vividly affect the

senses; thus making his magical contact with the inner planes

more lucid.

The magical elements have correspondences with the

tarrot cards as the four suits. The four quarters (directions

of the universe as used in magick ritual) and the Archangels

also correspond with these same elements —

Element Suit Quarter Archangel

======= ==== ======= =========

earth pentacles north Uriel

water cups west Gabriel

fire wands south Michael

air swords east Raphael

ELEMENTALS

The magical elements are said to be peopled by spirits

and mythological entities called elementals or nature spirits.

These are grouped into four main categories —

Gnome (earth) Undine (water) Salamander (fire) Sylph (air)

============= ============== ================= ===========

dwarfs nymphs jin (genies) fairies

elves tritons storm angels

brownies mermaids

hobgoblins mermen

lepricauns sirens

harpies

Elementals are usually only visible to those with

clairvoyant sight and are more likely to be seen at night in

the mountains or country away from cities — especially if you

are tired or sleepy. Although elementals exist naturally, it is

also possible to create one which will exist for a limited time

— no elemental has immortality. A created elemental is called

an ‘artificial elemental’.

To the Ancients, elementals were the physical

explanation of the universe. However, some contemporary

occultists see them only as symbols for forces and otherwise

not ‘real’ at all. Another word sometimes used for elemental is

‘familiar’ (usually in medieval witchcraft); the term is

ambiguous, as it might merely be an ordinary household pet such

as a dog or cat.

YIN YANG

Chinese philosophy and acupuncture talk of yin yang.

This is the idea of polarity, or opposite pairs, as shown —

YIN YANG

=== ====

water fire

contraction expansion

cold hot

feminine masculine

moon sun

negative positive

passive active

ebb flow

wane wax

The list could go on. In Chinese literature it is quite long.

Some occultists suggest everything can be similarly arranged

into related opposite pairs.

SIMPLE MAGICK

Here is a simple magical technique you may wish to

try. It is a variation of affirmation, which was discussed

in an earlier lesson…To help to you achieve your goal

(magical or otherwise), find a word or short phase which sums

up what it is that you want to accomplish. Write the word (or

phrase) down 10 times each day until you achieve success.

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1) List the four elements.

2) What is an elemental?

3) What are correspondences?

BOOK LIST

William Britten, Art Magic (long out of print, but in some

libraries).

Pete Carrol, Liber Null.

Wing-Tsit Chan, A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy.

Manly Hall, Unseen Forces.

** MAGICK 5 — CHAKRAS AND MEDITATION **

According to East Indian philosophy, man possesses seven

major *chakras* or psychic centers on his body. Each of these

forms a bridge, link, or energy transformer; changing pure

(higher) energy into various forms, and connecting the four

bodies (ie. spiritual, mental, astral, and physical) together.

The chakras are located along the nadies (a network of psychic

nerves or channels) and follow the autonomic nervous system

along the spinal cord. Chakras correlate with major acupuncture

points along the ‘governing vessel meridian’ (acupuncture term).

The seven major chakras are connected together by three major

nadies which are parallel and near each other. The middle nadi

is called *sushumna* and it has neutral characteristics. The

nadi on the left (ie. nearest your left hand) is the *ida* nadi

which has yin characteristics. On the other side of sushumna

(nearest your right hand) is the *pingala* nadi, having yang

qualities.

Chakras are visible to clairvoyant sight as varously

colored rotating circles or funnels. In the East they are

described as petaled flowers or lotuses. Sources disagree on the

colors.

The first chakra, located at the base of the spine at

the perineum is the *root chakra*, muladhara. It primarily

relates to the element of earth and to psychic smell.

The second chakra, known as the *sacral center*,

svadhisthana, is located above and behind the genitals. Its

dominant element is water, and it is related to psychic taste.

Third of the chakras is the *solar plexus*, manipura,

located at the navel and corresponding with the emotions and

with the element of fire; also with psychic sight

(clairvoyance).

The *heart chakra*, anahata, is the fourth chakra,

located over the heart and corresponding with the element of

air, and also with psychic touch.

The fifth chakra is the *throat chakra*, vishuddha,

located at the base of the throat (thyroid) and corresponding

with psychic hearing (clairaudience).

The remaining two chakras are very important. They

relate mostly to elevated states of consciousness. The *frontal

chakra*, (or ‘third eye’) ajna, the sixth chakra, is located

between, and slightly above, the eyebrows. Ajna is the center of

psychic powers and can produce many psychic effects. Meditation

on ajna is said to cure nervousness.

Finally, the *crown chakra*, sahasrara, located atop the

head, (pineal gland) is the seventh chakra. It is referred to as

the thousand-petaled lotus and corresponds with astral

projection and enlightenment.

There are also many minor chakras throughout the body.

Each chakra has a sound (letter) and a pitch which is sometimes

used to invoke it.

THE TATTVAS

Some occultists prefer to describe the magical elements

as tattvas according to the Eastern system. Notice that these

symbols and colors are generally different than the western

symbols and colors for the elements.

element tattva tattvic symbol

======= ====== ==============

earth prithivi yellow square

water apas silver crescent

fire tejas red triangle

air vayu blue circle

(spirit) akasa black oval

YOGA

Yoga originated in India. It is a physical or mental

discipline designed to condition and invigorate the mind and

body. There are many kinds of yoga, but they may be generally

divided into three main types…

Hatha yoga — affect the mind through the body using

physical exercises; improve physical health and endurance.

Raja yoga — affect the mind through mental training;

improve concentration.

Mantra yoga — affect the mind through chanting and

affirmation; achieve relaxation.

MEDITATION

This is a much touted area of the occult. There are many

meditation techniques, and many claims made for the benefits of

meditation. Basicly, meditation has two functions — relaxation,

and perhaps, improved concentration. There are two main types…

1) concentration meditation (focusing),

THE BASICS OF MAGICK

I. Ethics

A. The Wiccan Rede

B. The Law or Return (sometimes called the “Threefold Law”)

C. Perfect Love and Perfect Trust (among partners in magick)

II. The Witches’ Pyramid

A. Faith in your abilities and powers.

B. Imagination to vividly create in your mind that which you desire to

manifest.

C. Will to achieve your goal despite all obstacles.

D. Secrecy to keep your magickal intention concentrated and pure.

III. The four Qualities of the Mage

A. To know

B. To will

C. To dare

D. To keep silence

IV. Preparatory Skills (hatha and raja yoga are good aids to developing

these)

A. Cleansing, clearing and stilling

B. Grounding

C. Centering

d. Concentrating ieving one-pointedness)

V. Defining the Goal: Form vs. Essence

VI. Working with the Power

A. Confining it (casting the Circle)

B. Raising it

C. Sending it (channeling it)… for imediate effect or into storage

D. Earthing the excess (grounding it)

VII. Systems and Techniques

A. Spellcraft

B. Words of Power and affirmations, charms and incantations

C. Dance, postures and mudras

D. Meditation, trancework and hypnosis, fascination

E. Stone magick

F. Candle magick

G. Amulets and talismans; power objects or “psychic batteries”

H. Healing

1. Psychic (visualization, laying on of hands)

2. Herbal

3. Energy channeling iwht auras and chakras

4. Color therapy

5. Other systems listed above

I. Divination

1. Scrying

2. Astrology

3. Tarot

4. Runesticks

5. Lithomancy (casting the stones)

6. I Ching

7. Other systems

8. Pendulum or radiesthesia

J. Astral travel

K. Thought forms; wraths, fetches, artificial elementals

L. Extra-sensory perception

1. Clairsentience

2. Clairvoyance

3. Clairaudience

4. Precognition

5. Telepathy

6. Telempathy

7. Psychometry

8. Telekinesis

9. Teleportation

M. Sympathetic magic (poppets and such)

N. Runes

O. Mediumship, necromancy, and spirit guides

P. Philtres and Poteins

Q. Cleansing, purification, protection and blessing; esxorcism;

ligature, binding

R. Power animals, totems and familiars; shapeshifting

S. Tree magick

T. Dreamcraft

U. Ritual tool magick

V. Invocation, evocation and going into aspect

W. Symbols, sigils and images; Tattvic symbols; numerology

X. Conjuration or summoning; banishing or exorcism

Y. Commemoration or linking

Z. Past life regression or recall

AA. Pathworking on the Tree of Life

BB. Ceremonial magic

VIII. Timing

A. The lunar cycle

B. The Wheel of the Year

C. Astrological conjunctions

D. Planetary hours and days

E. Individual biorhythms

IX. Creating your own reality, following your True Will

Prepared by: Amber K

Our Lady of the Woods

The Four Rules and The Law of White Witchcraft.

The Four Rules and The Law of White Witchcraft.
by Torin W. (e-mail: athame@flash.net)

**Notice**
This document may be distributed freely so long as it is not altered, edited, or changed in any way from its original form. A copy of this document in its true original form may be gotten from our home page.

In order to live a full and successful life as a ‘White Witch’, one must first understand what the rules of the game are. The princliples which are put forth below are intended to be a very simple, basic way to remember the way of the White Craft.

The total idea may be visualized as a four legged stool. Each of the Rules can be seen as a leg and The Law may be seen as the seat. The Rules without The Law are uncomfortable and nigh on to useless in their function. The Law without the Rules gives you a comfortable place to be, but it is rather impractical and again, nearly useless. However, when all of these are brought together they make a highly stable, functional, and enjoyable life.

The Four Rules:

1) Live – Live each day as if it were your last, for one day you will be right.

2) Love – Love yourself first and foremost. For when you truly love yourself, loving those around you will come as easily as breathing – and we all must breathe.

3) Learn – Learn your life’s lessons – each as it comes – for that is the reason we are here.

4) Enjoy – Enjoy your life, because if you do not most likely someone else will enjoy it for you… and then your time here will have been wasted.

The Law:

Harm None.

Explanations

**Live

The first Rule put forth sounds pretty straight forward at first. Then you actually try to live it! 🙂 Living each day as if it were your last means maximizing your potential for every moment that you have been given.

If you are let go from your job… that is an opportunity to face truth and see what you can do to make yourself more marketable and go get a BETTER job. Or, if you are highly motivated, dedicated, and a risk taker you can take that chance to start your own company.

When I first began to follow these principles, my business was not very successful, my marriage was only tolerable, and I often felt depressed about my situation as a whole. Then I began to live each moment.’Carpe Diem’ (Sieze the day) became my motto. I began to maximize every moment and live in the moment, not for the moment.

This does not mean that in order to be a good witch that you have to work like a rabid squirrel on ‘speed’… but it does mean that you have to be honest with yourself to see what your situation really is and to make the most of it.

I believe that if I can go to bed at night and think to myselfthat I had done the very best I could that day with the information I had at each moment of opportunity, then the day was a success. But if I go to bed thinking that I had let an opportunity slip away I do not beat myself up over it. I simply say to myself, “Gee Torin, that was one you missed. I’ll get it the next time it comes along.”

**Love

What is life without love? Honestly, I can’t imagine what that would be like. Yet many people live their lives without the most important form of love there is – the love of the self. If you truly understand yourself and are willing to take responsibility for your own actions you will suddenly find a great love for yourself.

In order to give free and unconditional love to another person you must first have that kind of feeling for yourself. This is all this means.

**Learn

One of the cornerstones of The Craft is the belief that our souls are here on this plane of existance at this point in time to learn lessons. Your lessons are different from (although probably quite similar to) my own. Learn what life teaches you. It is no more difficult than this.

**Enjoy

The life of the witch does not require you to live your life in suffering nor poverty. There are no mandates for pain, unhappiness, or unpleasantness. We do not see suffering as the ‘key’ to getting into Heaven (or the Summer- lands as some of us call it). Indeed, we see such things as exactly what they are… unpleasant! This does not mean that we never have unpleasant things happen to us, nor that we walk around in a constant state of denial.

We see suffering as either the result of an action we took (i.e. going to jail for robbing a bank) or the way that The Unknown (see “The Dieties of Witches” by Torin W.) has chosen to teach us a lesson which we need to learn but have not done anything consciously to bring about the circumstances (i.e. the totally unexpected death of a close friend).

Witch Craft allows you to reap all of the happiness and prosperity from your life that you can muster… so long as you stay within the accepted boundaries. For instance, if you work hard at an honest job you like to do then there is nothing which says you should feel badly for being more suc- cessful than others. But if you rob a bank, you may be happy with the things that the money can buy for a short period of time, but eventually you will suffer far greater than if you had simply worked for it. (I know this may sound some-what like a contradiction to what I said earlier, but I do not believe in keeping a job which does not give me enough pleasure, satisfac- tion, and money to make up for the difficulties I endure.)

**The Law: Harm None.

I have been asked to explain this statement more than all of the previous ideas combined. I often describe ‘Harm None’ as “the Law which must remain unbroken, but cannot remain whole at all times.” Think about it, you can’t do it as a human being.

In order to actually harm none you would have to be in total and complete harmony with all things int he Universe at exactly the same time. Your immune system would not kill bacteria and other infections (because that would be harming them). Nor would you allow the bacteria to infect you because that would cause harm to yourself. You would not eat meat, nor vegetables because it would cause the destruction of either. Neither would you not eat because that would harm you. Do you see how this is simply an impossiblilty?

What I teach my students is to take great pains to Harm None and to think out the results of any act as far as possible ahead of time. I also stress that whenever magics are being worked that the free will of any individual or group should never be infringed.

I have been asked specifically about the use of various types of drugs in witchcraft and their relationship to the ‘Harm None’ principle. I believe that The Bright Ones gave us a sober state of mind for a reason. They also gave our brains some of the most potent chemicals known to man for achieving altered states of consciousness. Therefore i see no reason to alter the chemistry of the brain in order to ‘gain enlightenment’. Ask any recovering drug addict… he/she will tell you that the drugs lie to you.

Because of part of the training I give, I require that no illegal drugs are used while under my tutilage. In fact, if a student becomes sick during training and requires a prescription strength pain reliever, the training schedule is re-worked to allow for the purging of the body before training resumes.

One of my students used to do a good deal of psychotropic drugs (i.e. LSD, mushrooms, etc.). Then he and I began to work together. After a few months of training, we worked a circle to allow him to develope his psychic senses (i.e. clairaudience, clairvoyance, etc.) When he left the circle he related to me a feeling such as none he had ever known. His words were, “It was a hundred thousand times better then the best acid trip I had ever taken.”

In short, I personally feel that drugs can be a great hinderance and only cause damage to your soul. But I also recognise the free will of the individual. I can only tell you that in my own perception, drugs do cause harm to you.

White Witchcraft Magic: What It Is and Isn’t

White Witchcraft Magic: What It Is and Isn’t
by Torin W.

Please e-mail any critique or questions to me if you cannot find me on the IRC at #Witchcraft_102… flames will be ignored.

It should be noted at the outset that Magic, like all forms energy, is morally neutral in its nature, i.e. neither good nor bad. The descriptive terms ‘White’ and ‘Black’ are used to decribe actions which work toward good or bad ends respectively. An example of White Magickal action is helping a sick person to become well again so that he may continue to provide love and sustenance to his family. An example of a Black Magickal action is helping a sick person so that he may continue to steal items for you to have. Magical power, regardless of what is done with it, all comes from the same source. The source of Magical power is Divinity – in its many forms. My hope is for everyone who reads this information to learn and to follow a life path of White Magic. If this is you, I want to say Merry Meet, congratulations, and I love you. For those who decide to go the route of Black Magic I want to say that I love you dearly. Without those who walk the path of Black Magic it would be far more difficult for me to see where I don’t want to be with my life.

Blessed Be!
T.W.

I. White Magic

I can best describe White magic like this:

-It is not a conduit for power over others, but rather a way to focus power for the benefit of all;

-It is not parlor tricks with which to amuse yourself or others, it does many amazing things every day – we merely have to become aware of them by not taking the ‘small’ miracles for granted;

-It is not necessarily full of pomp and ceremony with rhyming incantations, dancing, cauldrons, and bonfires but it can be if the time, people and place are right;

-It is a circular path of never-ending learning, teaching, and re-learning;

-It is not infinite power, but it is a way of tapping into that power;

-It requires a clear mind to learn the lessons;

-It requires a light heart to love those who do not seem to love themselves;

-Most of all, it requires an awakened developed soul which wants to strive forward.

The path of the White magician is extremely narrow, often tediously slow and painstaking. However the reward for taking the White path is always worth the effort.

Magic is a means of tapping into the infinite of The Deities and making a direct effect upon the physical and metaphysical worlds to make a change in one or both in accordance with The Way. When it comes right down to it, magic is nothing more than prayer. The differences between pagan prayer and non-pagan prayer are:

1) the prayer ritual is usually done outside in a natural setting rather than a building;
2) the worshipper uses many tools, often of his/her own making, to help concentrate the power of the prayer;
3) whle praying to pagan deities, the worshipper often has the physical presence of those deities with him/her as opposed to praying to a god in some far away place.

The solitary practioner (a.k.a. hedge witch) is often equally if not more ‘powerful’ than the practioner who looks to another for spiritual guidance (i.e. a coven). This is because no other person knows what you find to be true better than you. This means that in order to work the highest of magics one must look inward.

The Price of the White Path vs. the Black Path

Like all things worth while in life, there is a price to be paid for living the White magic path. However instead of paying with money, we pay with time, care, loving, and hard work. The greater the personal gain, the greater the price we pay. The difference between the White path and the Black path is when the debt is paid. The debts of White magic are paid up front… C.O.D. if you will. We may labor for months or even years to develop our talents to their maximum potential in those areas where we as individuals desire to excel. The White magician may work hard to achieve great monetary wealth, happiness and tranquility at home, advanced scholastic degrees, etc. So long as The Law is not broken, there can be nearly boundless prosperity. The White magic way to these things is through fair play, honesty, and hard work. The Black path offers pretty much the same benefits, the difference is that the karmic price may be put off until a later date. As with any other installment plan – there is interest to be paid in addition to the principle. One of my closest friends is now a traveler of the White path who spent a full 10 years paying the karmic debts he had accumulated during his sojourn down the Black path. At one point my friend had wealth, women, and all the drugs he could pump into his system. He also had more magical power than anyone else he knew. All of this had been gained through a voluntary participation in Black magic. After years of living this way his eyes were opened to what he had done. He finally realized all of the harm which he had brought into his life and the lives of those around him through lying, cheating, and hurting whenever possible. Fortunately for my friend (and me!) he took responsibility for his debt and labored a full decade to return to the White path. He is now honest, clean, and much wiser for his mistake.

Merry Part and Blessed Be!

Torin W. athame@flash.net
What you do today may come back to haunt you many many years from now.Merry Part and Blessed Be!

Today’s Runes for August 14th is Thurisaz

Today’s Runes

Ice Runes are most commonly used for questions about struggle, conflict, and achievement. Thurisaz represents a thorn, the most basic of barriers to our boon or our bane. In the case of hedges, thorns protect our encampments from that which skulks towards us from the outlands. In the case of rosebushes, thorns keep us from beauty. Though thorns are passive and have no thoughts, they puncture, tear, and may even be poisonous. Hence, this rune may also represent irrational violence and anger.

Your Daily Influences for August 14th

Your Daily Influences August 14, 2011
Tarot Influence	Rune Influence	Charm Influence
Ten of Pentacles Reversed You and your family may suffer through some misfortune. Be wary of high risk ventures.
Ansuz Ansuz reversed denotes failed communications and missed opportunities to become more in harmony with the universe. Your path may be unclear at this time. False advice and malicious rumors may be afoot.
The Buckle of Isis Someone who will, or has told a lie about you regarding this aspect will be discovered and the truth will come out. They will suffer for their injustice and you shall prevail.
Your Daily Influences represent events and challenges the current day will present for you. They may represent opportunities you should be ready to seize. Or they may forewarn you of problems you may be able to avoid or lessen. Generally it is best to use them as tips to help you manage your day and nothing more.

Feng Shui Tip of the Day for August 14th

If a room feels like it is stuffy and stagnant, add a large, circular mirror and shiny metallic ornaments. Add splashes of white.

Psychic Tip of the Day for August 14th

TAKE IT ALL IN

Embrace the things you most enjoy; worry about limiting your intake another day. Can your motto be, “Get it while you can” for a little while longer?

Today’s I Ching Hexagram for August 14th is 7:Discipline

7: Discipline

Hexagram 7

General Meaning: The most successful general is not the one that triumphs in battle, but the one who is able, through strength of a resolute discipline and the personal power that results from that, to achieve victory without spilling blood. This is why for the effective leadership of any organization the key virtues are clarity, decisiveness and conscientiousness. The most effective team or partnership marches with a single purpose — a dedication to a common goal that is held dear by all. Otherwise, even with an excess of external discipline, unpopular wars are seldom winnable.

Let power be held in check by the acceptance of a common discipline, and submission to a higher authority. Look to the common good. When life is in balance, evil impulses are checked by human decency; parents die before their children; leaders lead and followers follow. If you hold or aspire to a position of leadership, remember that the true leader speaks to and captures the hearts of the people and articulates a clear, simple vision that unites them as a team.

In the realm of government, the relationship between the army and state is critical. Only when the state is economically prosperous can the army be strong. Only when the army is disciplined can the state be protected from disruptive outside forces. For this balance to be preserved, government must be steady, and mild toward its own people. When balancing strong complementary forces, modesty and generosity at the center can be a magnetic force that keeps relationships intact. Coordination of all elements is essential for success at this time.

Today’s Tarot Card for August 14th is The Hierophant

The Hierophant

This Tarot Deck: Ukiyoe

General Meaning: Traditionally known as the Hierophant, this card refers to a Master and the learning of practical lessons from the study of Natural Law. This energy of this card points to some agent or resource that can reveal the secrets of life, the cycles of the moon and tides, the links between human beings and the heavens.

Because monasteries were the only places a person could learn to read and write in the middle ages, a Hierophant was one to whom a student would petition for entry. He was the one to set the curriculum for the neophyte’s course of study.

Often pictured with the right hand raised in blessing, the Hierophant is linked with the ancient lineage of Melchezidek, initiator of the Hebrew priestly tradition, the one who passes on the teachings. All shamans of any tradition draw upon this archetype.

Your Daily Horoscopes for Saturday, August 14th

The intellectual Aquarius Moon joins fuzzy Neptune this morning, fogging perceptions and tempting us to make up the facts as we go along. The Moon drifts into dreamy Pisces at 8:54 am EDT, softening the edges of reality and further coaxing us to fill in missing details with our overactive imaginations. Instead of seeing things objectively now, we see the world through the filters of familiar fantasies and fears, making it tough to find the truth.

Aries Horoscope (Mar 21 – Apr 19)

It’s challenging to stay within your own limits today, especially if someone sends you mixed messages. It may seem as if a friend is flirting with you one minute and ignoring you the next. Don’t be afraid to ask for what you really want, but be prepared to receive a cool reality check if you need it. There may be more going on within your imagination than you realize.

Taurus Horoscope (Apr 20 – May 20)

You may be confused about what you’re supposed to be doing today because you don’t know whether to help out at home or volunteer at a community event. Either way, your highest ideals are stimulated, but you might think that you’ve failed before you start because it’s impossible for you to live up to your expectations now. Additionally, Mercury’s retrograde could enable you to rush and miss the meaning, so slow down and be gentle with yourself.

Gemini Horoscope (May 21 – Jun 20)

It’s difficult for you to concentrate today because the Moon opposes your key planet Mercury and then slips into otherworldly Pisces. You may feel as if you’re being pulled in opposite directions as you try to tell others about your cool, new idea. The more you try to narrow your focus, the further off track you go. But don’t totally surrender to your fantasies, either. Your best strategy is to go with the flow for a short while before returning to your work in the real world.

Cancer Horoscope (June 21 – Jul 22)

Your dreams may be so big now that they don’t go away when you wake up and start your day. Don’t try to be overly concrete since you could be riding a creative high. Do your best to capture this magical buzz to make something beautiful. So if you must be accurate in your reporting of details, tell others that it may take you a few days before you have all your facts in order.

Leo Horoscope (Jul 23 – Aug 22)

You may not be ready to express your desires today, but your caution doesn’t mean that you are uncertain. You just want more time for everything to settle down so you can decide how much to say. Until your mental clarity returns, it’s best now to err on the side of sharing less. You can always tell the rest of the story later when the moment is right.

Virgo Horoscope (Aug 23 – Sep 22)

It appears that your friends and coworkers have grown wishy-washy, resisting your requests to be more specific about their feelings. It seems as if everyone stops just short of what needs to be said. You’re stymied and may not even be able to respond to what’s happening. Instead of making someone angry by asking more questions, wait a couple of days before searching for answers again.

Libra Horoscope (Sep 23 – Oct 22)

You may be enchanted by your dreams of fame and love, yet these wishes appear to disintegrate like a mirage when you reach out to touch them. Although your most unrealistic hopes can crumble before your eyes, don’t buy into the dissolution of your fantasies. Continue to hold on to your vision of the ideal future. The current uncertainty will pass and you’ll be able to regain your creative edge.

Scorpio Horoscope (Oct 23 – Nov 21)

Your soft and gentle approach might seem a bit out of character, but a deep desire to connect now flows from your newfound sense of vulnerability. Fortunately, you don’t mind being seen in this state, yet self-protective fears still encourage you to maintain an emotional wall between you and others. Keep in mind that you might be misunderstood today, so remember to take extra time to explain yourself as clearly as possible.

Sagittarius Horoscope (Nov 22 – Dec 21)

You aren’t expressing yourself openly these days, but this isn’t about intentionally withholding information from those who should have it. Your motives are likely quite simple now, yet language can get in the way to complicate matters. Instead of trying to explain everything you want to do, just tell everyone that you need a couple of days to sort yourself out. If at all possible, don’t get into it with anybody until after tomorrow.

Capricorn Horoscope (Dec 22 – Jan 19)

You won’t be able to avoid the drama today as your practical outlook helps you make it through the bumpy roads of interaction, only to run into an abrupt ending of the highway. You have no choice but to continue on your path, even if there are blocks in the road. Don’t worry; you won’t have to turn back around. For now, just do the best you can to keep inching forward.

Aquarius Horoscope (Jan 20 – Feb 18)

You could run into an unexpected situation today that stems from your current financial condition. Even if you believe that you’re in good fiscal shape, it might become apparent that you overlooked a small detail that now could become problematic. Unfortunately, no outside help will arrive to magically bail you out in the nick of time. Even if you must dig yourself out of trouble on your own, take heart because you’re not alone.

Pisces Horoscope (Feb 19 – Mar 20)

The Moon’s move into your sign this morning allows you to share your feelings without becoming overly emotional. You don’t have to say a lot now and that’s okay because your inner world is in such turmoil. Fortunately, others know what you’re feeling before you even open your mouth. And when you start talking, your poetic speech can mesmerize everyone before they even know what hit them. Use your intuition wisely; don’t squander your gift on meaningless chatter.

the daily humorscope for August 14th

the daily humorscope

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Aries (March 21 – April 19)

You will have a nightmare tonight, in which you find yourself dangling from the ceiling, while brightly colored paper maché animals with glowing eyes file into the room. One of them will be carrying a stick. Perhaps you shouldn’t eat so much candy before going to bed?

Taurus (April 20 – May 20)

You will discover you have a certain flair for copywriting, and will pick up a little extra spending money by doing window signs for stores, such as “Going Out Of Business. Waaaah!”

Gemini (May 21 – June 20)

Due to a bump on the head today, you will lose all memory of what you did with your keys. Or at least, that always makes a dandy excuse.

Cancer (June 21 – July 22)

Today you’ll idly wonder what ever happened to Alan Alda, since his MASH days. Believe me, you don’t want to know. Neither do I (and I don’t). I just know that neither of us wants to.

Leo (July 23 – August 22)

Today you will find that you can make an incredibly silly sound, and will spend the entire day making it, and then laughing.

Virgo (August 23 – September 22)

More trouble with that annoying “bluebird of happiness” today. With any luck, the cat will get it.

Libra (September 23 – October 22)

You will develop a passion for Cajun cuisine, and will refuse to eat anything that hasn’t been “blackened”. Your family will draw the line at blackened corn flakes, however.

Scorpio (October 23 – November 21)

Today will be Mexican Food day, for you. In fact, chances are better than 1 in 3 that someone will refer to you as “Frijole-breath” before the day is through.

Sagittarius (November 22 – December 21)

Today you’ll try the old “goat in a box” trick, on your new boss. It’ll backfire, though, and you’ll be the one with the clown shoes.

Capricorn (December 22 – January 20)

You will be able to get out of doing an unpleasant task today, by pretending you are a chicken.

Aquarius (January 21 – February 18)

A haunting melody will float through the air this evening, with no apparent source. It will turn out that a renegade oboe player is hiding in the shrubbery.

Pisces (February 19 – March 20)

You’ll need to sign some important papers soon. Remember the words of Tom Waitts in this case “The big print giveth and the small print taketh away

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Day: August 14, 2011

Charging Tools

Air Wand

CENSER

Witches & Broomsticks ñ Use & History

The Book of Shadows

THE CARE AND FEEDING OF THE WICCA BROOM

Brooms or Besoms

MAGICK 1 — WHY MAGICK (continued)

MAGICK 1 — WHY MAGICK

THE BASICS OF MAGICK

The Four Rules and The Law of White Witchcraft.

The Four Rules and The Law of White Witchcraft.
by Torin W. (e-mail: athame@flash.net)

copywrite 1996 White Circle Enterprises
All rights reserved.

White Witchcraft Magic: What It Is and Isn’t