Iam creating this thread to help others who may have real questions concering how to do things.

if you have a questions on for exsample: spells, ritual, alters, foci, centering/grounding, inner balance. ect... things that pertain to the study of magic.

religeon should not matter. most all have the same basic principles concering this subject.

I know we have quite a few members who are experienced in this area of study.
there are many here who are also just begining there walk down this path of enlightenment.

this is not a science discution please do not bring that to this thread.

first and formost the warning:

once you step onto this path and experience your second awakening. there is no turning back. this road is for self empowerment and healing.

every tool used for healing can also be used to harm some one. remeber the balance. walk softly but in truth.

to some this law is important yet to others it is not. "do what thou wilt but let it harm none"

walk in the knowing
walk in truth
walk in self founded faith
do not doubt


I know myself and others will do our best to answer your questions fully and completely. though some times a pm may be in order.

I hope this thread is helpful to many

I think this is a wonderful idea...and I'll help out if I can. :)

I use science in my occult experiments...you really are afraid of it aren't you? I do wonder why that is...

Magic is a personal journey...it is all about discovery..it is a science but a science of the self not grounded in empirical data but set free on wings of imagination.

Start from a focus...this is the hardest part of all magic in a world so full of negative pressures and opinions exerting power over you. You must be able to free yourself from preconceptions and things trying to control you against your wil even those things you are so used to being there to comfort you with their solidity....the arcane world need not be dark...but it is full of things that you and I or anyone has never before seen...and you must be the discoverer who reveals the way as much as you are led by those who claim to already know it.

Magic is not something that need be done alone...but it is something that is deeply personal because as a great woman once said "Nothing that God ever made is the same thing to more than one person. That is natural. There is no single face in nature, because every eye that looks upon it, sees it from its own angle. So every man's spice-box seasons his own food."-Zora Hurston
Whether God is part of your view or not these words remain true.

I have a question,

do I have to make that circle thing each time I want to do a spell?
or is there a way for "instant spells"?

Ask yourself or a spirit guide...

There are as many ways of doing magic as there are ways of dancing...not all of them involve circles, skulls, candles or even clothes...find one that suits you.

ok, I'll skip the one that doesn't require clothes thank you :D

and damm this is all so confusing, I can make stuff up but I find it easier to believe if I don't make it up, but if I don't make it up than it will probably work worse than if I made it up
oh I need a personal trainer :D
the internet is too confusing :D

What are you looking to do escoban? Perhaps I can help.

I'm not trying to do anything yet, I was just asking for future reference :)
I intend to start practicing magick soon and am trying zo get as much information as I can:)

That's quite a job then. I would make a suggestion first. Learn how to get into a meditative state, and then learn how to do it in a busy place without anyone else noticing.

That will give you a huge head start when you wish to start applying magic in your life.

you nead to focus you mind first let go of the confuson belive in what you do and the way will open it self.

but be warnd dont open a door you are not ready to open it can not be shut.

As I said...focus is the starting point...how you choose to progress is up to you...magic supposedly is a latant gift..it is part of us...so it is possible to divine how to do things by simply trying to do them...but if you are frustrated in this...the internet can be a source for your big choice...there are many methods...don't be hesitant in trying ones that call to you.

uhm,
is it ok if I can focus so hard that I forget to breathe?
and I can slow my heart rate form 80 downto 55 in about 20seconds? (tested with the heart rate measuring thingy)
or that I can meditate whenever wherever I wish, not even need to lcose my eyes?
or should I be able to focus more?
:D

That is a form of focus...but the object you are focusing on is your own biofeedback...which is one method of meditating (often breath is used to create a simple focus to clear the mind)

In truth if these things clear your mind then that's fine...but you should not have to be expending much effort to become relaxed...biofeedback is actualy quite mentaly strenuose...but impressive I might add.

tnx,
those were jsut examples not usualy my point of focus
I mostly focus on those psi stuff I need to do daily :)

oh I remembered of a qustion I wanted to ask for a long time,
how can I maintain my meditation for more than 3 or 4 minutes,
usualy after that time I jsut stop meditating coz I start to fall into a strange trance which I don't really like (I don't like the idea of completely "switching off" coz It has come to the point where my body twitches trying to gain control over the muscles so I don't fall of the chair)

concerning the circle. the circle is quite useful in self protection as you open yourself up to the influence of the spirit world. until you have gotten better I would suggest doing it each time.

grounding is a key element for practitioners we each should learn how to ground oneself out. you A) ground out into a crystal. B) a meditative grounding to the earth. c) food. are all ways one can ground themselves out.

mental focus. build within your mind working pictures. like start with a flame and work your way up to the whole candle. these are mental excersizes.

self belief. one must believe in ones own abilities to truely do anything. once there is doubt you will weeken and destroy anything you are attempting to do. release and will it to be. then forget about it, for it is done and it has and will happen. leave no room for doubt.

the next time you enter that trance attempt to travel from your body to a room near by. or will your mind into the spirit realm to a place you feel safe at. then call a gaurdian or teacher to you. if they approach you friendly and from four directions. they are yours. if they do not and show malice in there approach send them away. remeber to cast the circle first before doing this and cleanse yourself with insence or sage first by smudging(wafing smoke over yourself and the area including the circle you are about to create) yourself and the area you are doing this in first. it will make things easyer.

any more questions?

so I should embrace the trance not fear it?
interesting, I'll try :)

ther is some risk in calling blindly. your gardien is wid you call for it before you do anyting more.

This is a wonderful thread.....very enjoyable. I love hearing how others practice their art.
I began with the full circle casting every time I did ritual.....eventually I became comfortable 'drawing' it informaly when I felt the need, or to begin My work......Now I don't know if I'm just getting old, but I'm really enjoying going back to the official 'calling the quarters' and full formal casting.



ALL-What books would you recomend for a beginner to study?

I will always dig Ray Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft.....very modern explanation of the old ways.....

Looking forward to your replies...

what books would I recomend for a beginner to study?

inner temple of witchcraft. - very nuetral yet enlightening. this a must for any beginner or even old practitioner.
warrior wicca. - gives a new insight into wiccan pratices from a police officers points of view. - with good guiding advice.
darm moon mysteries. - eccelant at assisting in finding balance.(becomeing one with yourself)
Self Love. - another eccelant book for finding balance. (becoming one with yourself)

there are a few others but I can not remember there names off the top of my head. and my books are in storage.


calling and casting will create a more powerful and relaxing safe enviorment for casting, and the older you get safty will find its way into your rituals; more so then quick casting. quick casting is good for emergencies but lack at times the focus and protection needed. your return to the calling and casting is just the natural self preservation instincs experienced people have. its like a teen vs an adult. who will take time get get something done and who will try the short cut. getting old as you put it, is not a bad thing. ;-)

I thank everyone for there interest and resonces to this thread. please continue asking questions. I enjoy taking a moment to remember. as you get more versed in the practice there are something you end up doing by instinct, through these questions being asked its a good refresher for some of us. angain thanks for posting questions. it is as much a help to us as we hope we are for you.

enjoy and good luck. yes listen to myths advice.
discover is always quite enoyable. I hope you enjoy this personal discover as much as I did.

I've only drawn an actual circle twice...I find that simply creating a sheild is more effective for me (like imagining a bubble in which you float both physicaly and mentaly)....

The thing about spheres is that they contain within them the very geomentry of infinity...Pi= 3.141592654 etc etc (off the top of my head) it is a number that defies scrutiny because it contains infinite diversity and cannot be simplified into easily understood terms......accept for those who can imagine a perfect circle....the perfect circle is the symbol of the infinite contained within a simple symbol....the nature of reality itself.

The mobius loop is also a powerful symbol but has other uses...it can be seen as two coinciding circles...two parallel worlds...seperate infinities becoming one overlapping principle...

The snake swallowing it's own tail known as Ouroboros.... http://abacus.best.vwh.net/oro/oro25.html

occurs in so many religions and cultures in all sorts of places... http://abacus.best.vwh.net/oro/oro7.html
http://abacus.best.vwh.net/oro/oro47.html
http://abacus.best.vwh.net/oro/oro3a.jpg
http://abacus.best.vwh.net/oro/oro16.jpg

Infinity is part of magic...I long ago accepted infinity....it is seen as a snake I believe because it is a frightening concept...yet is rendered less frightening in image in that it is both pray and preadator of itself. You can use magic and be used by it in this way...all things are a continueum.

I want to PM you but I don't have the ability. I want to ask you a question or two without the distraction of others.......Can you PM Me with an email addy? I'm just coming from the thread about Spirit, bullshit or no and I don't understand where you're coming from. I want to though.....

true that is can use you or you can use it.

the infinate is quite enjoyable to mediate upon. to take a moment within the infinate and feel /see/understand in the spiritual sence can be quite enlightening and mind boggling all at the same time.
a friend of mine challanged me to understand the infinate once. it was the most ( I am not sure how to define it) "wow" kind of experience I have ever had the honor to comprehend. it is something I can not truely explain in words or numbers the emotional and spiritual responce I felt to that moment within my place, within the infinate.

I don't know why people have been worried about us disagreeing...when we agree it more than makes up for the rest it seems ;).

The pretention of alchemists, scientists, magicians, sourcerers, dreamers, writers and on some level all of us...come down to holding an image of the infinite within our limited mortal grasp.

Only through attempting something can it be achieved...but with the cycle of infinity...something can be achieved before it is attempted.

To me the only way to comprehend something like infinity is not by saying 'I am part of it' but instead 'It is part of me'....there is nothing else large or small that fits wholly into a mortal mind. (or soul if you like)...To know infinity is to lose all fear.

See, even having had worked in a bell, book and candle type place I've not heard of a couple of those......PS-Are you sure Self Love is about balance...or is that Tantra!!!

Grinz

I tease.....I tease.....

I just posted in another thread about the power of being one with yourself....In terms of occult practice I don't think me and Eagle would dissagree on much.

lol funny
but honestly self love is about balance and self care.
I met the author he was a professor of religeons the man was awesome.
good book.

most books we read will have something about balance, walk in the knowing, ect... (but few tell you how to.)
the object for this inner balance and knowing is simple to understand yet hard to accomplish.
for a spell to be cast one must have faith in there own abilities.
for one to do things with no ill ment for another they must care for the other.
for one to walk in truth they must know who they are in truth.

trust in self
faith in self
care for others

to accomplish these things one must love them selves in the platonic way. to hold nothing against themselves. to have no malice towards things of there past that they feel is partial there fault. as one learns to care for themselves. they also in turn learn to trust in themselves. when there is trust; faith is the what you will have in yourself. making it simple to care for others. meaning no harm towards any.

simple yet hard to accomplish.


here are some words of wisdom that a mentor said to me once and you can find in many teachings of enlightenment.

to quote him after I said to him in the nievety of youth. (I said ):"what level are you, you know how good are you" he chuckled and said with a shake of his head. " I am but a beginner always learning never mastering."

that was so humbling for me yet it ment so much to me. it is so true, we are never a master only a student of the universe. the moment we die is the moment we become masters.

another quote from I believe bushido.

" the young say they are masters with power yet are nothing. the elders say are nothing yet are masters with power" for through knowing we are nothing we gain everthing. yet when we feel we are everything we gain nothing. for it is this pride that blinds us to knew discoveries.

you are proably correct.
were we disagree is our approach to the subjects. I have no argument with you nor do I hold anything against you.
we just look as the same pictures through different shades.

*puts on his designer shades*...I certainly hope we have different shades...these cost me a packet.

When it comes to contemplating the infinite...what walls can exist?..The construction of spells and rituals is a process of self instruction..removing all barriers but those that protect us from coming too much into contact with the 'arcane' world...which is around us everywhere but is outside the barriers of thought and reality we define.

ok back to the subject at hand
Myself and vore and continue discussing things VIA PM.

anyone have any more questions they may wish to pose?

I look forward to reading them and responding.