Magic

How to work with a memory box

Picture copyright Taylor Ellwood 2023

I was recently asked a question about the memory box tool, which I’ve shared in my book Magical Identity, and how it’s created and can be worked with. I’m also going to describe how it can be worked with below.

I created the memory box to be a physical representation and aide for working with the web of space and time. The web of space and time is an intersection of nodal space points and trajectories of time which bring possibilities through those nodal space points. The memory box serves as an interface for accessing the web of space and time, but it also has a few other functions that may be of interest to someone who wants to work space/time magic with it.

To access the web of space and time, place your hands on the sides of the box, with the thumbs touching the interior of the box. The lid needs to be open. You can stare at the web glyph I’ve created on the lid or in the box itself and use it as a visual guide to access the web. You may also wish to call on whatever spirits you work with that are space/time spirits to help you navigate the web of space and time.

Nodal space points are people, places, things, events…nouns. The trajectories of time are the lines of time that go through the nodal space points. When you work with the web you occupy a given nodal space point and if you want to change your identity or move to another nodal space point you use the lines of time to move you to a different nodal point.

I’ve used the web of space and time to help me shift my identity from one point of identity to another identity. This has been a helpful practice at different moments of my life, where I really wanted to shift to a new point of space and time and leave the one that was no longer working for me behind. For example I used the web of space/time to help me with the process of moving to a new city. More recently, in conjunction with my self-love practice I’ve been using the web of space and time to help me manifest opportunities that move me toward creating the life I truly want to live. This is helping me making changes in my career, life, relationships, etc.

One of the other ways I use the memory box is to store physical items to saturate them with chronal energy. I place the items in the memory box and allow it to take in the energies of the web of space and time. These items could be photographs, or small jewelry or whatever else and you can then use them in your space/time magic workings.

I also have stored memories in the box, like in Harry Potter, the Pensieve, using the memory box as a battery for those memories, but also as a way to clear out whatever I don’t need or to store raw information away for when I want to draw on it. In one sense the memory box can become a physical representation of your mansion of memory.

I’ve also used the memory box to cultivate closer relationships with spirits by storing their sigils in the box. You can use the memory box for a variety of different purposes. It’s only limitation is your imagination and what purpose you apply it for.

How to Rewrite and Re-wire memories

Recently I went to a restaurant and took myself on a dinner date. I don't normally eat out alone, but I wanted to re-write and re-wire a memory and I've found that sometimes the best way to do that is to revisit a site and make a new memory that overwrites the old memory.

But what if we can't do that? What if we're too far away or if the memory is simply too triggering?

We may still want to change the memory, but we may need to take a magical approach to doing that work that liberates us from the trauma and tyranny of the past, while also enabling us to transform our present and presence.

Scrying for changing behavior

Picture copyright Taylor Ellwood 2023

Sometimes the reason you want to scry is because you want to change a specific behavior. 

For example, you become aware of a behavior you do that sabotages your interactions with other people. You aren't sure how to change it. 

Scrying may be just the right tool you could use for the purpose of behavior alteration. 

Why?

The act of scrying opens us to the experience of using fascination to draw us into the underlying narrative that informs the behavior and it provides us a ways of changing that behavior, because we use scrying to change the narrative. 

The key though is to create the experience of fascination via the scrying tools you are working with. And there's a hidden component to this as well.

Scrying for spirit Communication

Picture copyright Taylor Ellwood 2023

One of the ways I like to work with scrying is with spirit communication.

I already have a strong connection to spirits, having always had a natural proclivity toward communicating with them, but what I'm finding with scrying is that this proclivity is further enhanced when working with the right tools.

In my case, the right tools are a combination of candles and black mirror, along with sometimes using additional tools including a pendulum, Tarot, or cowrie shells for divinatory purposes.

I'll also work with specific spirits around specific themes or areas of interest. In the picture above I have a sigil for the goetic spirit Camio that I'm working with for the purposes of enhancing my skills with candle magic and scrying through flame work.

How to create and activate collage sigils

For new years I decided to revive an old art magical practice that I haven't done for a few years. I decided to create a collage sigil.

First I needed to decide on the theme. I chose the theme of YES, specifically saying yes to myself.

The theme is what ties a given collage together. It informs what images you use, what words you'll be drawn to, and what it is that you're ultimately calling into your life.

It's not all that different from any other themed work I've done in my life, and what I find with themed magical work in general is that the theme WILL show up in your life, but often in ways you don't expect. This is because when you utilize magic to call a theme into your life, you are calling in that theme but in a way that is needed.

Journey to Sacred Masculinity Part 1

I discuss my journey to sacred masculinity and share why I’ve started exploring it and how it is helping me with my overall spiritual path as well as healing the wounds I’ve experienced around being male. I also discuss the epic of Gilgamesh and my relationship with Inanna/Ishtar/Aphrodite and why that relationship is central to the sacred masculinity work I am doing…as well as a discussion of Saturn’s role in all of this work.

The relationship between sacred kingship and the land

One of the books I’m reading lately is King, Warrior, Magician, Lover by Robert Moore and Doug Gillette. It’s a fascinating book that explores the archetypes of the mature and sacred masculine. This is currently part of the spiritual work that I’m engaged in as I explore my own relationship with masculinity and heal the ancestoral and contemporary wounds that I’m becoming aware of as it relates to how masculinity is treated and perceived in modern times.

One of the aspects I’m exploring in particular is related to sacred kingship and the land. I am in the process of exploring the new city and surrounding areas that I live in. While I’ve lived here for a year, I didn’t have much opportunity until recently to really begin exploring the area and developing a relationship with the land. I find it fitting and useful that part of the process has also involved cultivating a relationship with the land, particularly on the basis of the relationship has with their home and how that relationship plays out in sacromagical work one does in connecting with the land.

How to Apply Awareness to Magic

I discuss how to apply awareness to your magical practice in order to get better results, but also put together better magical workings. I discuss why awareness can help us with the process of letting go of the lust for results so that we can focus on the magical work we need to do.

Ritual magic and walking the land

For Fall Equinox, I decided to visit the Sandy Delta Park, near Portland. I’ve been there before, but it had been a while and I wanted to honor the spirit of the Columbia, while also doing my ritual for the equinox. However I was prompted to get creative with my approach to doing the ritual and thought I would share what I came up with. I ultimately decided to do a walking ritual, where I called in the sphere and the circle while walking the park.

Researching Mythology to create magical workings

One of the projects I’ve lately been working on has involved doing research into the Mesopotamian mythos of Ishtar and Gilgamesh. I’m currently reading the Penguin Version of the Epic of Gilgamesh. I’m not just reading the myths, but also the notes and information that the translator has shared because it can be equally valuable in terms of informing the translation but also the work around finding this information. The history is often quite fascinating and provides valuable context. I’m doing all this research because I want to create magical workings around tis mythos, but even though I already have a general knowledge of the mythos, I find it useful to do a deep dive to establish a strong foundation from which to build magical workings off of.