Magic as a technology

I tend to approach aspects of magic as a technology and/or a process. I don't think magic as a whole can be boiled down to a set of tools or processes, but I think the actions can be examined as a process and form of technology, and that there is benefit in doing this. The benefit is the ability to personalize your approach to magic, based off understanding it as a process, and knowing what can be manipulated in that process. It interests me that I find what I consider to be a willful ignorance on the part of some occultists. There's this tendency to argue that you don't need to know how magic works and that examining magic as a technology debases the practice...as if somehow it's better to not really know or ask how it works. I think such ignorance is wasteful, and of no real value to someone practicing magic.

I don't think of magic as a science, but I do find value in the process and in understanding what factors will lead to a consistent result. And not surprisingly this has resulted in what I'd consider to be consistent results. Viewing magic as a process and technology doesn't necessarily take the magic out of magic or the mystical experiences away from it. But what it does do is provide structure for your experiences, as well as a way of recording them. And it is odd that the same proponents that argue that you don't need to know how magic works, also argue that you need to keep a journal in order to review the magical work you've done. If that isn't examining how magic works, I'm not sure what is, but I will say that knowing how magic works makes your practice a lot more focused.

New books from Immanion Press - May 2011

We have 3 news books out From Megalithica Books, which is the Non-Fiction imprint of Immanion Press. Fulltrui: Patrons in Asatru

Throughout history, the ancient Northern people claimed themselves devoted to their gods. In many of the sagas and folklore, the ancients even trace back lineage directly to the divine. Today, in modern heathenry close personal relationships with deities have returned with full force. FULLTRÚI examines this phenomenon by showing real life examples of people living with patron gods.

The Inner Guide to the Megaliths by Alan Richardson

Megalithic remains are still scattered across the countryside thousands of years after being built, and their meaning – like dreams – are often the subject of intense and varying interpretation. Ordinary folk have been unexpectedly touched by these ancient sites, had the most inexplicable experiences, and have felt their own lives enlarged.

Advancing the Witches Craft by Marcus Griffin

What would you do if one of the most powerful magical forces imaginable were within your grasp? There is an entity that exists on the spirit plane that, in its purist form, is an astral projection of your magical self. And the only boundary it knows is you. This unknown entity is your shadow spirit, your “other”. Through as series of exercises, guided meditations and realignment, you will discover how to contact and join with this entity to obtain a flow of magical power and balance you never thought possible. Advancing the Witches’ Craft delves deeply into this greatly untapped resource of power that has always been available to every Witch.

The Adjustment Bureau

I recently watched the Adjustment Bureau, an intriguing movie that looked at predestiny, free will, and chance, from a perspective where human beings lived fairly pre-destined lives, lived according to a plan, and were monitored by "angels" who would insure they didn't deviate from the plan. The angels monitored the time line of the person by checking a tablet and seeing if the actions of the person deviated from the plan, and if they did, the angels, would make adjustments, either to the choices the person could make, or to his/her thought processes. Pretty interesting concept... I tend to approach possibilities in a similar kind of way. I'll use tarot cards, sigil webs, or other such representations to manipulate possibilities, aligning specific ones with my time line, in order to make adjustments that bring the right possibility into reality. I don't even always rely on tools. Tools, such as Tarot, make it easier to conceptualize space/time possibilities, because they act as representations of what you're trying to manipulate. But it is also possible to interact with the possibility field directly. It involves entering an altered state of mind, where you are receptive to those possibilities and can understand how they can fit into your space and time , as well as being able to keep up with the changes that occur to the possibility field, if you align possibilities into your space and time.

The ability to interact with time non-linearly, whether through tools, or through an altered state of mind, is a lot like the concept of the adjustment bureau. You aren't necessarily making a lot of big changes, so much as you are making adjustments with possibilities. Some possibilities are easier to bring into alignment, while others will require more effort. It depends on how likely the possibility will turn into reality, as well as what other possibilities you'll need to bring into alignment to make it happen. They key is to remember to be flexible in your work...don't push it too hard. Let the possibilities flow over you, and open yourself to the expression of them in your life, but only bring them into alignment when you are ready to handle the consequences.

Book Review: A Cognitive Theory of Magic (Affiliate Link) by Jesper Sorenson

This is a dense read with a lot of academic jargon. If you aren't familiar with conceptual blending or cognitive theory, I recommend reading up on those before reading this work. The other area where this book suffers is the lack of examples. The author does draw on some anthropological examples, but for the most part he obsfucates what he is trying to explain. It doesn't help that he is relying on the anthropological work of other academics, as opposed to doing some of that work himself. With that said, a careful reading of the material will provide you with an explanation of how magic seems to work, from a cognitive perspective. It's an interesting reading and the author has some intriguing ideas about how magic works from a temporal/spatial perspective, but I'd recommend reading this book carefully and in short doses, to really get where he's coming from.

3 out 5

A dance of possibilities

To enter into imaginary timefeeling the flow of possibilities as they merge with your linear position of reality shaping and shaped by you it all becomes one infinite, unto everything We're dancing here on the edge of time a quick slip into non-linear reality I could be everywhere, anywhere, all things and none The flow of words that come out, doesn't come close to expressing where I really am, what it is I'm becoming We are that we are, but you see we exclude all these possibilities by adhering to this space/time reality we are in. The song and dance of probability on possibility draws me in. I could stay here forever, infinite dreams flowing through me but would I ever really bring these possibilities into reality?

I am that I am back to linear reality I come with possibilities born out of imaginary time I am here with reality born anew.

My books are available as e-books

I'm pleased to announce that my books are available as e-books. Immanion Press has also made some of our other occult books into e-books as well. You can purchase my books as e-books if you visit Smashwords and search for them, or if you visit the book page and click on the link that directs you to the e-book page. Smashwords publishes the books in a variety of e-book formats. I'm really pleased to have them available as e-books and hope you will enjoy them in that format as well as the print format.

How to use distraction to improve focus

Sometimes when I do my daily meditation, I turn on the TV or music and play it in the background where I can see or hear it. And then I do my meditation, using the distractions as a way to focus my mind. You wouldn't think it would work, because it is a distraction, but it does work, because I use the distraction as a focusing tool to help my improve my discipline. Anyone can meditate in a quiet room with nothing going on around them. Admittedly, the distraction then might be the monkey mind chattering away, and it is a potent distraction, but sometimes I find that external distractions are even harder to silence, as it were, because they grab the monkey mind's attention and get it chattering about the distraction.

That's the whole point of having active distractions going on. It forces you to focus or get lost in the distraction. I see meditation as not just a practice to calm my mind, or even focus it, but also as a discipline tool for any kind of magical work I do, and since magic doesn't always occur in the confines of a quiet room, it can be very useful to create an environment where you might need to do some magic.

Its the same reason I'll sometimes meditate near a busy street or in a park where people are playing. Learning how to tune out the distractions is an important skill all occultists to cultivate. When your dealing with the chaos of people around you, or a TV or video game playing it forces you to sharpen your mind, to pay more attention to what you are doing. And that's something we need to do. When we start to take what we're doing for granted, we get sloppy. But if you have to focus all of your attention on what you are doing because of a distraction, it causes you to appreciate anew what it is you are doing and why you're doing it.

So next time you do your daily ritual, do it with a television on, or an obnoxious song playing. Do it where other people are doing things. Use it to focus you on what you are doing. Everything else is just an illusion in the background. All that really exists is you and the magic.

Upcoming Neurotransmitter Entity Class

On May11th I'll be teaching the Neurotransmitter Entity class, and we'll be meeting for 3 weeks via a teleclass to learn about how to work with Neurotransmitters and other aspects of the human body. It should be an exciting class and if you haven't signed up yet, I invite you to, as it's an opportunity to explore your relationship with your body from a different angle. I find the body to be a universe all its own, complete with mysteries. This class provides techniques that can help you start to unravel the mysteries of that universe and develop an entirely new relationship with your body. Most importantly it's an opportunity to have some experimenting with magic and seeing what you can learn about yourself in the process. If you haven't signed up already, click on the link above, or this one here and RSVP for the class. The cost is $60, and what you'll get is a free chapter of Inner Alchemy and a free chapter of my upcoming book Neuro-Space/Time Magic, as well as recordings of our class and access to a members only site.

Further thoughts on theme music and magic

When I think about theme music, I think of how I can graft a particular song to an emotional mood and then use that song to inspire emotional energy I can use for my magical or business work. Not just any song will do. For instance, I'm listening to DJ Soulslinger while I write this. It's good music, but it doesn't pitch an emotional response in me, so while I enjoy listening to it, I wouldn't use it as a theme. The song has to be something that resonates on an emotional level, something that gets you to feel something, and something that you can sing within your own head, when you can't listen to it. And the emotional response needs to be something you can actually use. If a song makes you feel depressed and you can't find a magical use for it, then it's not a theme song. It might be a song you listen to when you feel down, but a theme song is a call to action, a call to make a change. Now if you can use that song as a way to channel your feelings of depression then it could be a theme song.

Your song doesn't need to have words either. I love the score to Dynasty Tactics 2 and can hum it and find inspiration from it. I've used that score in magical work, as a way to charge my energy. There's no words, but the sounds are enough to invoke an emotional response and that's enough to make it work.

It really comes down to finding music that makes your soul sing and consequently stirs the very power within you necessary to make magic happen. Different music can and does embody different themes. What I would use for a wealth magic working would differ from what I'd use for a love magic working. So long s you can identify a theme that a song fits...use it. You don't need to listen to it to invoke the theme. Just sing it and let it carry your emotions into the magical work you'll be doing.

Religion and Business part 2

I recently attended a business luncheon where the keynote speaker spoke about his business. Among other things he talked at some length about how he dedicated his business to God and trusted in the vision and path God revealed to him. Before every major business decision, he'd pray to God for guidance. It was interesting to note that many people in the room seemed quite comfortable with his god talk and seemed to agree with what he did. I'll admit I had my own knee jerk reaction, but I got over it fairly quick and then I really paid attention to what he was discussing, because I realized I could take what he was discussing and apply it with a magical focus. Instead of working with a god (though one could be useful), I could work with a wealth or business entity who's sole purpose was to focus on growing the business. I could even work with the business itself as an entity, consulting with it about major decisions and using its advice. Maybe it sounds a little farfetched, but is it really?

The keynote speaker's business is doing really well and what's most fascinating is how many times they've gotten really good business deals because they brought it to God and let him does his work. As a magician, it's clear to me that this person has gotten a direct tap to the field of probabilities and gotten some useful results. And you don't need to be a Christian to make that happen, because it's not so much about the religion as it's about the process.

This business owner prays to God each time a decision comes up and is specific in his prayers. Then he lets go and lets it happen. Sounds similar to sigil and spell work.

The magician can take a similar approach. I've actually done that in corporate world, by creating an entity out of the project I was working on and having the entity guide me in my work and interactions with co-workers. Applying it to your own business works in a similar manner, with the added benefit of already having a logo and name for the business, which can house the entity. Before you make any major decisions, do a consult with your entity, explaining what you want to accomplish and directing it's focus toward helping to manifest the desired result. Then let it work and do your part and watch what happens: Manifested reality.

As simple as that.

Definitions and Personalizing Magic

One of my passions, when it comes to magic, is really about personalizing it to fit the circumstances of your life and what you draw inspiration from. When I learned ceremonial magic, I realized that to make it really effective, I had to personalize it, fit it to my style and understanding of the world. Thus Pop Culture Magic came about, a direct answer to how I could personalize magic to fit my cultural background and interests. Recently on the Magical Experiments page on Facebook, I asked what pop culture others drew inspiration from. One person found the Justice League to be an effective pantheon, while another person drew on the Circle of Magi  series. Another mentioned the Dune series, and another mentioned the Invisibles series. All of these people found inspiration from non-traditional sources and yet clearly those examples worked for them.

Magic really needs to be about personalization, which is why I always urge that people develop their own definitions, while also learning from other people's definitions and explanations about magic. The ability to draw on your own understanding of magic and to personalize what you do magically is what makes magic work so effectively. Learn the foundations of magic...learn how others do what they do, but then challenge that in your own work and don't let others gainsay you from doing so. You can only know your limits, if you are truly willing to experiment and test what you've learned by personalizing to fit your understanding of your place in the world and universe and how you move that place, and move all else to create perfect alignment with your desired change. That truly only happens when you challenge what you've learned with experiences and make the knowledge your own through experiental doing!

How to get out of the Funk

I've been feeling a bit funky, a bit depressed lately. Nothing I can't handle, but sometimes circumstances will get you down, and of course, in the end you need to pick yourself up. I found my answer for getting out of the funk from a somewhat unlikely but rather useful source. I've been watching episodes of Ally McBeal on Netflix (It was a lawyer dramedy from 1997 to 2002). It's a quirky, funny show, for the most part, but there was something I found relevant for getting out of my funk. The main character Ally is told she needs a musical theme, something she can draw inspiration from when she's feeling unhappy. And you know...that's actually a useful idea to play with. She certainly did, dancing to it, singing it, etc. She used a song to set the tone of her emotions.

I've actually used music quite a bit, both for setting up the mood in magical rituals, but also for inspiring emotions. The right song, the right words, can do a lot to get you out of a funk or put you into a particular mood. So when I watched the show, it didn't surprise me, so much as it reminded me of how I can use music to get out of a funk. I think it's a kind of magic (pun intended).

Seriously, though, I have used music to to create specific moods and used that to charge sigils, or used it to create a persona for a situation. Music moves us, and so its wise to use it as a magical tool to move us to the spaces we want to embody in our lives.

Banishing people

Over time, I have found it occasionally necessary to do a banishment working to banish people from my life. I've found that continuing to tolerate their influence, energy, or presence in my life makes me unhappy and so instead of continuing to compromise the overall value and happiness in my life, it's easier to just banish the people. When I talk about banishing someone, I'm not talking about harming the person. While I may not like the person and may not want him/her in my life, I also don't want the person harmed. I just want him/her gone. For me, its not a matter of harming, so much as removing something that no longer belongs in my life. I wish them the best (even the people I don't like), but I don't need to continue to put up with them.

There are several techniques I've developed for this purpose. One is to create a sigil web and include in it all the people, experiences, events, etc that I currently have in my life. The ones I want to keep, I strengthen and the ones I want to banish, I cut out of the web. I then burn their symbols and put the ash on the road. I don't want it on the ground I live, since that would invite them back into my life.

The other technique is somewhat similar, but also different Instead of creating a web, I create a sigil for the person I no longer want in my life. I put in that sigil all the feelings I have about the person. Then I burn the sigil take it off property. By putting the emotions I feel toward the person into the sigil, I'm able to free myself of an feelings I have toward that person. This is a good technique to use for someone you don't like.

I think its healthy to banish people from your life. You can't and won't necessarily be friends with everyone and it's important to maintain your boundaries and protect yourself from undesirable influences. Banishing allows you to do that and also allows you to ground yourself.

Evocation and the process of magic

Want to actually do this, not just read about it?

Advanced Spirit Communication is where I teach how to build a working relationship with a spirit instead of a one-off summoning. Start the class →

Not ready to buy anything? Why Your Spells Don't Stick is a free guide to the most common reasons a working stalls, and where to start fixing it.

If you want help with a specific situation, work with me one to one.

Evocation is the practice of summoning an entity into the space around you and giving it a specific task. Where invocation draws the entity into the magician, evocation keeps it outside and sets it to work. Done well, it is a working relationship rather than a one-off order: you name the task, agree the terms, and honour them.

What evocation is, and how it differs from invocation

Traditional evocation is a technique magicians use to work with entities. It differs from invocation in that the magician is summoning the entity into the environment around him/her. Evocation is typically used to summon an entity so that it can perform a specific task that the magician requests of it. Some forms of evocation involve summoning an entity and then compelling it to aid you by invoking other entities that are opposite of it. This essentially amounts to threatening or compelling the entity into doing the task for you. I recommend against it, and would suggest bargaining with entity, and honoring your end of the bargain. When doing evocation, it's a good idea to consider why you are doing the evocation, and if the task you want the entity to perform can be accomplished another way. There will be certain types of tasks that are better suited to entities and certain ones that you can resolve yourself. I use evocation when I want the entity to perform that involves influencing a specific behavior or activity in my favor, but still leaves me with the actual decision. For example, one entity I work with is focused on making me aware of potential opportunities. I still have to choose to follow through on those opportunities, but the entity takes care of an essential task that I simply couldn't do. Its focus is on scanning space/time for the opportunities and than making me aware of them. It's not a skill I have, but it's a skill that entity has.

Deciding what to hand to an entity

On the other hand, evoking an entity to do something you could handle yourself is wasteful and also keeps you from sharpening your own skills. It's important to recognize this distinction so that you can improve your skills. For example, I once wanted to buy a car. Instead of creating an entity, I did an enchantment to obtain the money I needed to purchase the card. I already had a job, but I knew I needed more money than I'd have available at short notice. By doing the enchantment, I was able to focus on very specific details the entity might not have considered. I realized I needed to attend to the task, instead of assigning it to an entity. It's a case of picking the right tool for the right job, and with evocation, it's better to have an entity do something you can't do, then have it do something you could've easily handled yourself.

Tools, props, and evocation without ceremony

In ceremonial magic, evocation is done with specific tools, incenses, and other props that are used to create a specific atmosphere that accommodates the entity as well as the altered state of mind the practitioner needs to be in to work with the entity. However, evocation can also be done with collages , paintings, and other techniques that are non-traditional but still enable the magician to make a connection with the entity. Although some magicians will claim that traditional approaches are more powerful, I've found that using more artistic approaches to evocation has been successful. I think it comes down to understanding that evocation, much like any other magical technique, is really based on your understanding of the fundamental principles at work. If you understand those principles, you can make evocation regardless of what tools you use.

Evoking more than entities

Evocation isn't limited to evoking entities. The magician can evoke specific behaviors or emotions, or even do an evocation of another person or a past/future version of him/herself. Just as with invocation, it ultimately comes down to connection, and understanding how to use evocation to create and embody a connection you want to manifest in the environment around you. I have successfully evoked people into my life, by using specific attributes as a way to create a connection with people who had those attributes. Evocation operates on the principle of connection and names. The name of an entity, or an attribute, or a person is a powerful tool that allows the magician to create a connection to the manifestation of the entity, attribute, or person. That connection is used to pull the entity or person into his/her life and to embody the attribute from within him/herself in the external environment.

Before you evoke: a short checklist

Most evocations that go nowhere are already broken before anything is summoned. Work through the following first, and be willing to postpone the working if one of the answers is vague.

• Name the task in one sentence. If you can't, you don't yet know what you're asking for, and neither will the entity. "Bring me an opportunity I can act on this month" is a task. "Bring me success" is a mood.
• Ask whether you could do it yourself. As above, if the answer is yes, do the enchantment instead and keep the entity for work you can't reach.
• Decide whether there is a connection. A spirit you already have a working relationship with is easier to evoke than a name lifted out of a grimoire. Where a connection needs building first, a chant or enn is one way to establish it before you ever set the space.
• Choose a method that actually shifts your state. Tools, incense and a circle work for some practitioners. A sigil used as a summoning gate, a painting, a black mirror, or a collage work for others. The method matters less than whether you can hold the connection with it.
• Set the bargain before anything arrives. Decide what you are offering and how you will recognise the entity has done its part. Then honour it.
• Plan the close. Decide in advance how the working ends, and leave time for it rather than stopping mid-stream because you are tired.

Ending an evocation cleanly

Closing is part of the technique, not an afterthought. When the task is stated and the exchange is made, thank the entity, tell it the working is finished, and release the connection. If the result depends on later action, name the point at which you will report back, and then actually do it: a bargain that is never acknowledged stops being a bargain.

Write down what happened while it is fresh. The date, the task, the method, anything the entity did or said, and the result you are waiting on. Evocation is a skill you improve by keeping a record, because the record is the only way to tell a working method from a lucky one. Where a spirit becomes a recurring presence rather than a one-off, the project sigil entity approach is a way to hold a task-focused relationship open across several workings instead of starting from nothing each time.

Why evocations fail

The failures repeat, and they are dull rather than dramatic:

• A task you cannot check. If there's no observable result, you can't tell whether anything happened.
• No reciprocity. Compelling and threatening gets compliance in the short term and a relationship you have to keep re-forcing.
• Mistaking the props for the mechanism. A correctly drawn circle with no connection behind it is furniture.
• No follow-through. An evocation that isn't backed by ordinary action on the opportunity it produces usually closes on nothing.
• Evoking what you should be learning. Every task handed over is a skill you don't sharpen.

The point of evocation is a working relationship with something that can do what you can't. Treat it as one, and the technique stays useful for years rather than being something you try once and abandon.

Explore related entries in the Library

• Spirit Conjuring for Witches: Magical Evocation Simplified
• Psychological Evocation
• Evocation of Entities

Invocation and the process of magic

Want to actually do this, not just read about it?

Advanced Spirit Communication is where I teach how to build a working relationship with a spirit instead of a one-off summoning. Start the class →

Not ready to buy anything? Why Your Spells Don't Stick is a free guide to the most common reasons a working stalls, and where to start fixing it.

If you want help with a specific situation, work with me one to one.

Traditional invocation is a technique magicians use to connect with entities. Invocation involves allowing the entity to access your consciousness and take partial or full control of your body.  Invocation is done for a variety of reasons, as follows: Information: Invoking an entity can give a person access to the entity's knowledge, though usually the entity will want something in return. Since invocation is the easiest way to pass information along, what the entity usually wants is the opportunity to enjoy some time in the person's body, having experiences it might not normally have. The magician will share consciousness with the entity, allowing it a taste ofh is/her experiences. It will provide the information in return, so that the magician has access to it when needed. This type of invocation could be considered a form of divination, though usually it's for very specific information the magician wants.

Possession: Sometimes an entity will be invoked in order to give it possession of the invoker's body. For example, in voudon, the invoker will allow the loa to fully take over his/her body. This type of possession isn't limited to just voudoun, but you are less likely to encounter in other traditions. With this type of invocation, it is very important that the magician has other people on hand, both to keep his/her body safe, and to keep an eye on what the entity is doing, while also recording any information it offers.  When the person is possessed s/he will move differently than normal, may talk in a different language, and otherwise will act like the entity. The entity will use the possession to express itself, not just in language, but in movement, and in whatever other ways it can, in order to convey its message to other people.

Healing: An entity can be invoked to help in a healing ritual. The magician will invoke such an entity when s/he wants to heal someone and wants to draw on resources the entity can offer to help with the healing. The benefit of invoking an entity is that it can help guide you as you're doing your healing work on the person. You can also invoke an entity when you want to ask it to heal you. This can be useful, because the entity is drawing on its own energy, as opposed to drawing on the impaired resources of the body.

Worship: In a religious context, an entity is invoked as a way to worship it. The person who invokes it doesn't allow it full possession, but will channel it, so that the worshippers can interact with the entity. The ritual that's performed to invoke the entity is part of the worship process.

Non-Traditional Invocation

I mentioned traditional invocation, which implies that there is non-traditional invocation, and in fact there is. I developed non-traditional techniques, which I've discussed in full in Multi-Media Magic, when I realized that invocation is a two way street. In other words, if I can invoke an entity into me, it stands to reason that I can also invoke myself into the entity. Pathworking, which is a type of meditation, where a person creates a virtual reality, can actually be used for that purpose if you're working with an entity. Invocation works on a principle of identification. In order to successfully invoke an entity, the magician needs to identify with the entity, and through that identification provide a pathway that it can use to access the body, mind, and spirit of the magician. But this same pathway and identification can also be used to invoke yourself into the entity. It's a matter of being able to understand it enough to access its consciousness. I've found this type of invocation most useful for obtaining information from the entity, but it can also be useful in a situation where you want to do an exchange of essence with the entity. By being able to access the entity in its native environment, you can get a better handle on the essence it provides you, in return for what you give to it.

You can also invoke yourself into a person. Since invocation is based on connection, if you can connect with the person, you can invoke yourself into him/her. I've invoked myself into people to help them unblock or heal themselves. I've also this practice as a way of aligning with other people when we do long distance rituals. This kind of invocation should only be done with the permission of the person you are invoking yourself into. It's important to remember that you will be getting access to that person's emotions, memories, etc., but that person will also be getting access to you and could just as easily invoke him/herself into you. I think it's ideal to use this kind of working to help someone work through an issue or to synchronize people before doing a major magical working.

Am I missing anything? Would you add anything else about invocation?

Explore related entries in the Library

• Storm Writing Invocation
• Salt and Earth Grounding After Tower Invocation
• Lightning Rod Invocation
• Daemonic Tower Invocation of Rebirth

A Space and Time poem

The aligning of space and timeinto each other as separate elements yet conjoined by human perception as one element

In sacred space I move to the mysteries of time that show me paths to navigate from one space to the next

Each space is a node that represents person, place, or event Each strand of time is a movement a tempo, a change to the status quo

Time is the change of movements Space is the grounding of place The perception of time is the awareness of movement in your life taking you somewhen and somewhere

Sacred space is dilation of time to a slow crawl that space my be savored that energy is raised that specific change is programmed into the pacing of time that then moves back to its usual speed moving us to our next space.

Book Review: The Anthropology of Magic (Affiliate Link) by Susan Greenwood

This is one of the better academic texts on magic out there. The author draws both on academic texts and her own experiences as a magic practitioner to knowledgeably discuss magic and how it is treated in the Anthropological field, while successfully arguing that magic represents a different, but equally valid way of understanding the world. If I have one complaint its that the author doesn't draw on actual occult texts. However she does interview magic practitioners and shares her own experiences as well. This is a good book to have, whether you're an academic or an occultist.

4.5 out of 5

Some observations about on Religion and business

In my other business I go to a lot of networking meetings and it's always interesting to observe the intersection between religion and business. At a recent meeting, a person brought up that he was making Christian movies, which most everyone there seemed fine with, and in other meetings I've heard other people mention the intersection of business and Christianity as a matter of fact kind of reality for them. At the same time, I've also seen the intersection of new age beliefs in business as well, with people talking about mindful awareness and conscious intent or discussing their healing practice and how they use energy work. It seems to me that there is this interesting place where business and spirituality or religion come in side by side. At the same time, I'd have to admit that unless people asked I never volunteer information about my own beliefs or spiritual practices. It's not really anyone else's business and more importantly it's not relevant to my other business. I favor a partitioned existence when it comes to my different businesses. What I do with one business has little to do with what I do for another business, so it isn't important overall. But I also realize that because my beliefs aren't necessarily accepted by the mainstream that I also don't have the same comfort or freedom to express my beliefs that a Christian has. I could couch my phrases in new age terminology, which is a bit more acceptable, or I could use NLP as a descriptor of techniques, but being able to mention my beliefs, or spiritual practices at a business networking event is just asking for problems. Christians, on the other, can discuss their religion with impunity at such meetings. They are the dominant religion, so its perfectly acceptable for them to speak up and while it might make a few people uncomfortable, it won't be something people comment on, unless it gets excessive.

Personally, I don't think religion and business should mix anymore than government and religion should mix. It's best to just keep it separate...so that's what I do. It works overall, and I've never had anyone ask about my beliefs. And if they do ask, I'll be honest, because it's not like they couldn't find out anyway...all they have to do is a google search and there my beliefs are. But I never volunteer, and so it never comes up.

Another application on Space/Time Tarot work

At the Magical Experiments potluck, I shared the dual deck system with the other people, and did several readings. One reading was a birthday reading and it showed some influences the person needed to be aware of that could be problematic. Since I mentioned that these readings can be enchantments, one suggestion was made by Jaymi Elford that the actual direction that nodes faced in could be manipulated in a divination reading, making it into an enchantment, to help a person make changes in his/her life. Good idea. The elemental hexagon deck has six points and the way it's set up is that you have two sides that face to the left and right. Those side are open currents, that allow the influence of that node to flow into a person's life. If a person wants to change the flow of that influence, they change the direction the node faces, so that a point faces the connector. This shuts off the flow of influence that's going toward the person. Obviously, with such a reading a person will need to make changes in his/her life, but this act can start the necessary impetus in the subconscious of the person, planting that seed for change that removes the negative influence from your life. It's another way to use the dual deck system, and what makes it so effective is that by having one set represent connectors and one set represent influences, places, people, etc., you can effectively use the system to change those influences in your life.

The six core techniques of magic

There are six essential techniques that a magician utilizes when doing magic. Although we might come up with a variety of derivatives of these techniques, from my own observations it seems that all derivations ultimately boil down to these six essential techniques. Here is an overview of each technique: Invocation: This is an act that involves drawing an entity or person's consciousness into your own for either partial or full possession. The benefit of doing this can be to obtain information, achieve union with an entity, or as part of an offering ritual to the entity. I've experimented with the process of invoking one's self into an entity or person, because I've found that invocation is a two-way street. Invoking yourself into someone else can used to help that person work through a trauma, though it can also be used for less ethical purposes[1].

Evocation: This is an act which involves evoking the entity (or person) into the environment around you. Evocation can also be used to evoke emotional forces or behaviors so that you can work with them in an external environment. Evocation is typically used when you want to manifest a specific possibility and need help from an entity to accomplish the task.

Divination: If you want to obtain information, divination is technique that can be used. It typically involves using Tarot, runes, ogam, or some other kind of symbol set that is randomly shuffled or mixed before he person draws and then places the cards, runes, ogam, etc into specific patterns. The cards, runes, ogam are read in order to obtain the information that is desired. There are also other techniques of divination, that rely on entheogens or other forms of hyper stimulation in order to create visions the person can then interpret.

Enchantment: An enchantment is an act of magic that is directly done by the magician to bring a specific possibility into reality. The magician directly applies magical force in order to make the possibility into a reality.

Banishing: Banishing is used by the magician to ground and center him/herself, while cleaning the space of any lingering magical energies. Banishing can also be used as part of daily practices to help focus the mind and will of the magician.

Astral projection: Astral projection is where the magician projects his/her spirit or mind into the astral planes. The magician will do this in order to do a magical working on those planes or to access resources that wouldn't be found here. My personal take on the astral planes is that it's partially derived from our imagination and is where we can directly interact with imaginary time in order to find possibilities that we'd like to bring back with us to reality.

Are there any other core techniques you would and if so what?

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[1] See Inner Alchemy and Multi-Media Magic for more information on invoking yourself into an entity or person.

Using the dual Deck system for enchantments

While I find using Tarot for divination useful, I typically use it for enchantment purposes. My latest experiment with the dual deck system involved doing an enchantment for a specific situation. If you go to the Facebook page for magical experiments, you can see a picture of the latest dual deck working, which is the enchantment I did. Here's a link to a close up of the photo as well. The core issue of the reading is at the bottom of the picture. There are two arms to the reading as well. The left hand arm represents the enchantment to control and mitigate negative influences that would effect the enchantment adversely. The right arm represents the desired outcome as well as specific node points and influence factors that will be drawn on in order to make the desired result manifest into reality. The three nodal points that spread out from the right arm, are the specific spheres of influence to be drawn on, with the connectors representing the best possible avenues to manifest those influences into the actual desired result.

Not all enchantments would need to be conducted this way, but for this instance it has been useful to approach it with an eye toward mitigating undesired influences. The dual deck system is useful because it provides visual symbols that can be manipulated physically, which the person can use to also manipulate possibilities in imaginary time. The cards provide an interface for the possibilities to manifest from, while making sense to the person doing the action, because the conceptualization of the possibilities is mediated through the cards and the maneuvering of them into specific spaces.

Intuition is also a useful component for this process, as a way of accessing imaginary time. Intuition is used in the placement of each nodal point as well as in the placement of the best connector for each nodal point. On the imaginary time level, intuition is used to match the possibilities to the nodal points and connectors, and help the person establish a meaningful connection between the reading and the events the person is influencing via the enchantment of the reading.

It's useful, with enchantment, to recognize that what is being worked with is the placement of a specific possibility into an existing system, in order to turn that possibility into reality and make it an inherent part of the system. Each nodal point represents a specific conceptual space within the system. The connectors (in this case) represent emotional states of being that are key influences for realizing the impact of the conceptual spaces on the desired result. Since we want the positive conceptual spaces to have maximum impact, in order to ensure that the desired result becomes reality, we need to use connectors that will embody the path of least resistance and maximum empowerment of the desired result.

Further experimentation to come...as a note this is a system partially derived from Calyxa Omphalos's work with dual deck tarot readings, and partially derived from ongoing work with using Tarot for enchantment purposes.

Further experimentation with two tarot decks

I've been continuing to experiment with two tarot decks and have found each reading to be useful. The primary deck is what I would call node cards. They represent specific people, events, issues, etc. The secondary deck is the connector cards and represent what connects the node cards to each as well as influences acting on the nodes. In cases where a connector card only connects to one node, it indicates either there isn't enough information or that the person hasn't done enough to get information.

From an enchantment perspective, I think the dual deck has potential as well. I'd use the connectors as specific influences to make a desired outcome for a specific node come into reality, while also using all of the nodes to support the outcome that was being created through the dual deck reading. That's the next experiment I'll be working on.

I find that using two decks in synch with each other is an interesting exercise because of the information that can be derived from using two sets of cards. It's an interesting approach to making meaning of the reading, because both sets of cards need to have some relevance to each other, but a lot of that relevance is derived from the reader or other people involved. What makes a connector have the influence it has, and why is that particular outcome shown? It's a system I recommend experimenting with for the sake of seeing what it'll show you. then compare to a reading done with just one deck and see if there's a difference. I've noticed more information with a dual deck reading than just a one deck reading, but your results may vary.