LOW MAGICK
Excerpts from the Book of Shadows
Dream Journal Often your dreams will give an indication of where you are in the course of the Work, and the Work will stimulate your dreaming. Keeping a dream journal will improve your memory of your dreams. You should keep a pen and your journal next to your sleeping area so you can write down the details of your dreams as soon as you awaken and before they slip away. The last dream you have is usually the most important. Write something every day, even if only to note that you don't remember anything. ALWAYS write the full date. If you sleep somewhere other than your regular location, don't forget to take your dream journal with you. By reading your journal at a later date and remembering your dreams, you are pushing your consciousness to return to its focus in the spiritual world. This may be the most important reason for keeping a dream journal.
Nine Paths of Union 1.Trance - a small movement of the consciousness which may result in projection of consciousness or psychic events
2.Witches' Cradle - consciousness is turned within and becomes aware of spiritual energies not normally noticed
3.Fire - flame has a beneficial effect on the body, and when light from the flame is slowed down with your mind, it aids transformation of the physical body
4.Ritual - uses spiritual tides to accumulate power, and frees consciousness to focus on other realms
5.Music - chanting in rhyme, and the repetition of sounds opens doors to other worlds
6.Sex - an exchange of energies, it imitates the Great Work and accelerates the Work
7.Dance - the deprivation of oxygen causes the brain to use unused systems
8.Drugs - allow new or unusual patterns of thought, belief and feeling to emerge
9.Meditation - meditation is a method of directing your consciousness by crossing the bridge of inner silence
Solar Holidays Samhain (October 31) - the Veil between the worlds opens; step through
Candlemas ( January 31) - the Rite of Purification
Beltaine (April 30) - the Marriage of the Forces
Lammas (July 31) - harvest the Fruit of the Work
Winter Solstice (December 21) - the Sun at Midnight; shed old ways
Spring Equinox (March 21) - begin anew to develop your power
Summer Solstice (June 21) - sublimate the power
Fall Equinox (September 21) - manifestation of the Stars
Full Moon Energies 1. Sun (Aries) - renewed life
Moon (Libra) - precipitates decision
2. Sun (Taurus) - raising of desire
Moon (Scorpio) - increases the testing fires
3. Sun (Gemini) - weaving the web of partnership
Moon (Sagittarius) - marshals companions for the long journey
4. Sun (Cancer) - invoking the power of the uninitiated
Moon (Capricorn) - obliges initiates' response
5. Sun (Leo) - integrated individuals
Moon (Aquarius) - integrate the world
6. Sun (Virgo) - nurturing the power within
Moon (Pisces) - guarantees eventual seership
7. Sun (Libra) - pausing to weigh, choose, decide
Moon (Aries) - benefits next beginning
8. Sun (Scorpio) - purificatory tests
Moon (Taurus) - illumination via speech
9. Sun (Sagittarius) - exerting toward goal after goal
Moon (Gemini) - stimulates companion's evolution
10. Sun (Capricorn) - mountaintop experience of the few
Moon (Cancer) - gives direction to the uninitiated
11. Sun (Aquarius) - sense of universality
Moon (Leo) - expands selfhood into grouphood
12. Sun (Pisces) - total commitment to Spirit
Moon (Virgo) - fulfills service intent
The Magick Circle The Circle is the meeting place of the Spirit and the Children of the Spirit, and is located between the worlds of the visible and the invisible. The magick Circle binds and subdues the power of the higher realms, and contains the power raised within it. The power raised within the Circle has a life and form of its own, and when it is released from the circle it builds its form and manifests in the various realms according to its power and instructions. In essence, the Circle is a tool by the use of which the order of things can be changed, healing can be performed, and spiritual wholeness and growth may be brought about. Ever do we aspire to greater heights, but being earthbound still, we must invoke the Spirit from its realm that we may commune with it between the worlds.
Generally a nine foot circle is used, cast thrice about, but the Circle may be any size that is convenient to the working of Magick. The Circle is cast counterclockwise from the north (for Witches) or east (for Magicians), and at the end of ALL Work it is banished clockwise from the north or east, respectively. Candles are placed at the cardinal points for the Watchtowers. The four Watchtowers are symbolic of the four elements which combine to form the various realms. The elemental powers are summoned to the Circle to aid in protecting the Temple of the Spirit and in working Magick. This summoning is accomplished by drawing an invoking pentagram at each quarter with a magickal tool. The Watchtower Guardians are invoked before working Magick, and banished when all Magick has been worked and the Circle is closed. The Gateway is located in the true North. None may enter or leave the Circle save by the northern Gate, for this is the Way Between The Worlds. Those who are wise in the Mystery of the Circle know that there are two Gates which must be passed through in order to truly enter the Circle. Thus, we must purify ourselves before entering the Circle. The Outer Gate may be dispensed with altogether.
The Circle may be cast and used by a single individual or by a group. Several participants lend extra energy to the Work, but their energies must be brought into harmony for the working. The Circle is normally cast according to solar and lunar holidays to tap the 'seasonal' flux of energies, or as needed for a purpose.
Magickal Rules Sympathy - like produces like
Contagion - once together (connected), always together
Doctrine of Signatures - attributes without mirror attributes within
Maxim of Persistence - perfection is eternal
Rule of Three - thrice spoken, once fulfilled
Law of Ubiquity - flame permeates all
Law of Dichotomy - dominance or submission
Elementals These are localized aspects of the four types of energy which flow through all realities we experience and give form to our manifested universes: solids, liquids, gases and radiant or plasmic energy (earth, water, air, fire):
Earth--Space--Gnomes/Trolls--Gob
Water--Time--Nymphs/Undines--Neckna
Air--Sound--Sylphs/Zephyrs--Paralda
Fire--Light--Salamanders--DjinnEarth--Salts and Powders--Riches and Treasure--Happy spirits
Water--Washes and Solutions--Plants and Healing--Will aid gnomes for prosperity
Air--Oils and Incense--Knowledge & Inspiration--Attracted by incantations
Fire--Fire and Incense--Freedom and Change--Least interested in humans
The Cardinal Four The explanation of the "cardinal" four or "turning" points of human experience, with their hierarchies of correspondence including the Watchtowers and elements, comes to us through Mathematics, the Divine Science (Science of the Divine). Our basic premise is that the structure and characteristic behavior of all of manifestation is explainable as an act of sex, which is magickally defined as the exchange of energy between male and female forces. The beginning of sex, and therefore of creation and destruction, can be said to have developed in the following order:
1. Differentiated Father-Mother, God-Goddess, Yin-Yang existing in one, with perfect balance of forces and no motion.
2. Separation of male and female forces; the beginning of duality, life (motion) and sex (exchange of energy).
3. The interaction of Father and Mother in division results in the creation of a Magickal Child, a Son-Daughter, male and female in one. It is necessary for one polarity of this Magickal Child to be active and the other dormant in order for the Son-Daughter to have life (motion).
4. This fourfold Trinity constitutes the Godhead, the primal Father-Mother and their agent of expression, the Son-Daughter (Logos and Eros, or Will and Love). Thus the triangle (male, female and their relationship) constitutes the basic structure of reality, but the Mystery of the four-sided triangle (as embodied in the Tetragrammaton, where two letters representing the Son-Daughter are the same except for gender) constitutes the Higher Knowledge of reality. The exchange of energy between these aspects of the Godhead give us the primary patterns or archetypes of manifestation. This trinity of forces can exchange energy in only four different combinations, thus: A,B,C = A-B, B-C, A-C, A-B-C.
5. Thus the fourfold structure of all energy patterns, including the four elements and Watchtowers and magickal seasons and tides of power. These four combinations plus each of the three aspects of the Godhead individually give us the archetypical sevenfold process. Thus the directions of the Circle are:
(1) the four cardinal points (Watchtowers)
(2) the three points of Spirit (the Abyss above, the Abyss below and the seed-center where all forces are balanced).
Elemental Attributions: Hermetic Axiom - "As above, so below, but after a different manner."
Father - Fire / Mother - Water / Son - Air / Daughter - Earth
Above (archetypical level) - Fire/East -- Air/South-- Water/West -- Earth/North
Below (realm of Becoming ruled by Son/Sun) - Air/East -- Fire/South -- Water/West -- Earth/North
The four elements are used in the ancient philosophical manner, wherein they describe four archetypical modes in which energy expresses itself; more limited, but analogous modern scientific terms are earths/solids, water/liquids, air/gases and fire/radiant or plasmic energy.
The Lord of the Four Directions has been worshipped throughout history in what is sometimes called the Cult of John (cf - Jnana - Higher Knowledge - that which is gained through evolution of seed-consciousness into perfect mastery of itself and surrounding phenomena - in other words, the Magickal Adept. Tibetan - DYZAN, Chinese - D'Chan, Latin - Juno, Janus, Djana [Diana], Italian - Janara [witch], Basque - Dxana, Basa Jaun, Janicot, English - Little John, Spanish - Don Juan, etc. )
Elemental Workings The four elements are represented and manipulated in the Circle by four magickal tools: Fire - Wand or Staff, Air - Knife or Sword, Water - Cup or Cauldron, Earth - Pantacle or Altar. Practioners of Magick use these tools to manipulate energy in many ways. To prepare yourself for these energy manipulations, here are four preliminary workings:
Work of the Wand 1. Perform Tree of Knowledge meditation
Spiritual Will
2. Centering
Close your eyes and look up through the top of your head to test your alignment. You should see so much light that you feel like you have to open your eyes to let it out. If you see little light, visualize yourself descending the spheres of the Tree from the top sphere to the bottom sphere three times and try again. Use this regularly until the light gets bright. Visualize your spiritual self above your head and bathed in white light. Then feel your astral/emotional body move into place beneath the spiritual body, filling happily with light because your emotions are relaxed and happy. The mental body moves into place beneath the astral, completing the circuit as white light flows through it into the physical. Maintaining a good alignment of the bodies will allow your spiritual will to guide you in your actions.
Work of the Cup 1. Perform Tree of Knowledge meditation
Emotional Beliefs
2. Altering the past
Lie down, relax and collect your consciousness as a bright point of light at your brow center. Visualize and will your consciousness to expand, first to room size, then the block, then ocean to ocean, finally off the earth to view it as a disc. Descend into past event and recall and relive the event up to the point you want to change, and will and visualize a new ending to the event. Then rise off of the earth again and descend back into your body in the present. Repeat this as often as your feel it is necessary; a successful change of the past will result in an alteration of your feelings and beliefs in the present.
Work of the Sword 1. Perform Tree of Knowledge meditation
Intellectual Concepts
2. Karmic thoughtform
Hold your hands palms inward about three inches apart, hold your breath, and visualize and will energy to flow between your palms. Feel a ball of energy forming between your hands and feel it breathing. Send red light for vitality, blue light to burn up negative energy, and indigo light for psychic control. In your thoughtform build the image of a black sword, point down; this is the Runesword, which gets its energy from absorbing negative energies. Program the thoughtform with a chant to seek out and destroy any negative karmic energy binding you. Release it when it feels ready to go. Repeat nightly during the waning moon.
Work of the Pantacle 1. Perform Tree of Knowledge meditation
Physical Mastery
2. Point of power
Meditate on the present being your point of power, from which you can control your future. Hold your left nostril closed, breath into your right nostril and out of your mouth, while visualizing and feeling strength coming in. Hold your right nostril closed and breath in your left nostril, then hold your left nostril closed and breath out of your right nostril. Repeat several times while visualizing the image of your desire. Visualize solutions to your problems for five minutes a day, and replace any negative ideas of the future with the visualization of a positive solution.
Work of the Spirit The Look of Strange Affinity - Study your face in a mirror and project a pentagram onto your image. The points should touch the cheeks, the temples and the forehead. Then look for a focal point on the face, which will be its asymmetrical center. This could be a mole or a point just above the eyebrows; every face has a different 'point of departure'. Then find the point on the face diametrically opposite from the point of departure. Let your gaze move from one to another of the seven points, enveloping the face with your gaze without moving your eyes. The image will become passive and can be instructed to invoke the aid of your prime conscious self to aid your transformation.
The Fifth Element
The Aura The aura is a subtly self-luminous energy field that completely surrounds any physical object, but is much brighter and larger around living organisms. The aura's functions are: protection, communication and connection. The inner layer extends from the skin outwards from 1/8 inch to about an inch and a half, and is white or pale blue. This duplicate of the physical body grows to maturity with the physical body and deteriorates with it after death. It is constantly being left on everything we touch and extended to everything and everyone we think about. The bonds which are formed thus hold us firmly in our consensus reality and must be overcome before transformation can occur. The second layer of your aura extends from the inner layer to three to eight inches all around the body, and is more misty in nature. This layer is rich in pastel colors. Any potential disorder will show up beforehand in the aura, and can be effectively dispelled with aura cleaning before they show up in the physical body. Any muddiness or brownish cast to the aura is a sign of an impending trouble and should be eliminated. Holes in the aura mean you are wounded by negativity and must seek healing; no aura means you are preparing to die soon; and a rapidly whirling aura signifies a practioner of meditation. Negativity or low energy can rob us of effectiveness and leave us wide open to any vibrations that come our way, resulting in tension, depression, sudden pains, unpleasant odors, accidents or sickness. The primary source of this negativity is other people. You can raise your vibrations by listening to music you like, reading something that inspires you, asking for spiritual guidance, taking a shower or rinsing your hands in water, sleeping with your head to the north, or leaning against trees.
Building the Aura The key to control of the aura is rhythmic breathing. Inhale through the mouth to the count of eight, and expel through both nostrils for eight; repeat several minutes at a time, and each day gradually increase the count. Then add the visualization of a sphere of white light with you in the center. As you master the visualization, increase the diameter of the sphere to a comfortable size. When you are ready, move the white light from the sphere over your head down your front and up your back, then reverse. These exercises should be done each morning. Normally, aura size is determined by vitality, brilliance by spirituality.Seeing the Aura Look at your reflection in a mirror, with a clear background and subdued light. Stare at a spot about six inches above your head and two feet behind you, while watching your head and shoulders with your peripheral vision. In a few minutes you should see at least a thin line of white or pale blue outlining your head. This is the inner layer of your aura. With a week's practice of ten minutes twice a day, you should easily be seeing subtler layers of light extending from one to several feet in a egg shape around your body. Regular practice will add color to your aura vision. As your aura vision improves, you will notice the radiation from the shoulders linked with the heart, balanced by the siphoning effect of the sea of fire in the solar plexus, which reaches down into the base of the spine. Light gushes up from the crown of the head, to fall back again in a fountain of color; this becomes red-violet with spiritual enlightenment.Aura Color Chart RED: bright red = force and energy; dark red = domineering; light red = self-centered; scarlet = egotistical; pink = immaturity.
ORANGE:orange = thoughtfulness; golden orange = self-control; brownish orange = a lack of ambition.
YELLOW:golden yellow = good health, learning ability and a lack of worry.
GREEN:emerald green with a dash of blue = healing, helpful, and friendly; green with yellow = deceitful.
BLUE:blue = contemplation; pale blue = little depth and many personal problems; deep blue = one has found his work in life,sometimes moody and unusual.
INDIGO & VIOLET:indigo and violet = seekers of all types; purple = inclined to be overbearing.
WHITE:white is the perfect color, a harmonious blend of all the other colors. If you see it in another, follow it as if it were a star; it is.
Basic Aura Work Visualize a sphere of white light above your head while standing facing your direction (otherwise, north). Visualize and feel a stream of white light move downward through your crown to blossom as a sphere of white light, first at your throat, then your solar plexus, then at your genitals. Finally, visualize the stream of white light move downward to your feet and blossom as a sphere of white light beneath your feet.
Lesser Circulation of the Light
Now draw the white light out of the sphere above your head and down your left side to merge with the sphere at your feet. Then visualize stream of white light moving up right side to the sphere above your head. Now reverse directions and see the white light moving down your right side, across the soles of your feet and up your left side. Now visualize the stream of white light moving out of sphere above your head and down your front to your feet. Then see the stream of white light moving up your back to merge with the sphere over your head; then reverse directions, and finally, do all directions at once.
Gemstones Gemstones act in unison with the life force of man, aiding the organism to sustain health, stimulating the perceptions and intuition. Gemstones should be chosen according to the colors of the aura, the stones working best when they are in accord with the colors. Gems that have been worn by others should be cleansed in running water before use. They should be worn about the neck for the individual's relationships with self and spiritual forces, and on the extremities for relationships with others; always they should be worn next to the skin.
AGATE(bands of colors) - attracts peace, victory in games, happiness & good luck
AMBER(a bridge of light between heaven and earth) - held in hands reduces fevers, most efficacious near throat, protects against evil eye, charged with electricity which attracts light particles
AMETHYST - attracts love and good luck and is a protector against sorcery, helps control an undisciplined temperament, on the brow it relieves a headache, opens the psychic centers (seeing the light)
AQUAMARINE - spiritual awakening, mental protection
AZURITE - induces influences from without that aid in contact with higher sources of activity, good for meditation
BERYL - for deep romance and love, brings hope and protects against the fascinations and spells of witchcraft (mysteries of the sea)
BLOODSTONE - brings friendship, calms people, soothes flaring tempers, protection against the evil eye and depression, checks hemorrhages, relieves pain, attunes to forces of healing and decision
CARBUNCLE - mental conditioning (to flash)
CHRYSOLITE(PERIDOT - precious) - attunes to healing, visions and psychic phenomena, set in gold it dispels terrors of the night
CINNABAR - risen kundalini, path of initiate
CORAL - protects against the evil eye and all spells, natural disasters & unfortunate occurrences, brings sensitivity to intuitive forces, associated with the planet Venus, one should never wear dirty or discolored coral
DIAMOND(Adamas Stone - all virtue) - attracts power, riches and friends, reconciles differences between, friends who have quarreled, symbolizes peace, fidelity and opulence, selfish in its very nature, it will bring either irritation or peace to the wearer, spiritual attunement, binds in wedlock
EMERALD - a stone of precognition, it nurtures love and beauty, turns negative spells back upon the sender, banishes fear, quickens intellect, cures laziness
FIRE OPAL - gem of the gods, a stone of hope and achievement, held on the brow it gives proper direction to the thoughts, held in left hand and gazed upon it favors desires, above all a stone of love (but if the lover is false its influence is reversed), purification of the Self
GARNET - attracts purity, sincerity and understanding, tends to be a bit stuffy and Victorian, loyalty
JADE - brings good luck, protection from disease and evil spirits, enhances occult powers, symbol of serenity and immortality, aids kidney functions
JASPER - protects from pain, guards independence brings good fortune and protection from the controlling influence of others, courage, healing
JET(black amber) - protects against thunderstorms and evil magic
LAPIS LAZULI - an attractor of powerful and highly evolved spirits, builds health and strength, assurance in self, mount between layers of glass to limit radiation
LAPIS LINGUA (Caeruleum, Tuaoi)(azurite in combination with malachite resulting in a transparent bluish-green stone)- held in hands a few minutes then set aside it enables you to hear the vibrations given off by Self, light appears within as a means of communication with spiritual forces and energy radiates from it as a beam for various activities, should be mounted in white gold or silver
MALACHITE - protection of transmission of energy in the physical body and of material benefits
MOONSTONE(travelers' stone) - protects love and inspires the tender passions, a guardian and stimulator of the mind, aid to accomplishment of affections, held in mouth for visions, worn with a pearl or opal for maximum effectiveness, surface appearance changes with light and phases of the Moon
ONYX - guards independence, brings strange dreams, heals the eyes
OPAL - a mystical stone, calms anger, brings good luck and extra mental powers, brings bad luck to selfish people, opens Third Eye, water is bad for it
PEARL - indicates in its formation and beauty the hardships overcome by creative sources, healing and creative because of the very irritation that produced it, watery influence, keeping an even temperament, emblem of peace, purity and innocence
QUARTZ - purity, patience, perseverance, attraction of vital elemental influences, attunes to helpful higher forces, neutralizes negative energies, double terminated crystals aid in dreaming
RUBY - a stone of power, loyalty and courage, focus of occult energies, protects from trouble, aids in love and passion, stimulates spiritual regeneration
SAPPHIRE - a stone of occult power, radiates gentleness and peace, brings justice and truth to light, wisdom (to bend from a straight course)
SARDONYX - a protector against spells and incantations, sharpens wits, imparts warmth and precision, influences choices made by mental forces, combines powers of Sun and Moon
SARDESTONE (CARNELIAN) - protector of the dead
TOPAZ(stone of strength, the burning one) - a protector of warriors, it puts women to flight and vanquishes the spells of sorcerors, used for divining water and treasure, general strengthening of the physical body, helps receive astral vibes, soothes wild passions, strengthens intellect, should be set in gold, its powers increase with the Moon, exhibits strong electrical phenomena, occurs in granite
TURQUOISE - brings love and courage, protects against violence of thought or deed, reduces tensions, an eye stone, brings good luck
ZIRCON - attracts fame and fortune, protects against accidents, a wishing stone, prophecy
Metals Gold (Sun) - attracts financial success, leadership, strength, regeneration
Silver (Moon) - dreams and intuitiveness, protects secrets, projecting energies, increase and decrease, psychic abilities
Aluminum (mercury) - attracts mental alertness, invention and the art of making money, aids in travel
Iron/Steel (Mars) - attack and defense, courage and aggressiveness, ionizes body to resist disease
Copper (Venus) - guards health (esp. against arthritis & rheumatism), protective against depression and negative energies, brings passion and intenseness, success in love,
Tin (Jupiter) - the metal of luck and good fortune, generosity and expansion, mercy
Lead (Saturn) - heavy and serious but mystical, the teacher and taskmaster, breaking spells, protection against flamboyant people, justice, stability, patience
Electrum (Earth)from 'ulka' (beaming sun) - the magickal metal, a natural alloy of gold and silver, an armlet promotes general well being,
To Enter the Underworld After mastering astral projection, you are ready to begin the process of attainment called Walking the Worlds. The first place to visit is the classic Underworld of shamans and the Realm of the Dead of the ancient Mysteries, called Hades or Hel. Typically, the astral tunnel which leads to the Underworld opens to a realm of red mist. Here one must pass the Guardian of the Dread Gate. This Guardian may take many forms; here, we will speak of Cerberus, the classical three-headed dog of the Greco-Roman Mysteries who guards the Gate against the unworthy. The successful outcome of this ritual requires that one first become 'worthy' to enter the Underworld while still living by sacrifice in the physical world to indicate one has overcome the hold of the world on oneself. In ancient times, this was often accomplished by giving one's things to the poor to feed the hungry. For your purposes, you must make a gesture in a similar vein.To pass the Guardian Cerberus and enter the Underworld, one must win the ritual combat: 1. Approach Cerberus from the front with weapons down and halt when you can see its eyes. Now enter the first stage of the ritual by staring Cerberus down, until it looks away. 2. Now you must quickly leap upon the beast and expend all your strength to wrestle it to the ground and place your neck over the neck(s) of Cerberus; at this point, it will cease to struggle momentarily. 3. Complete the ritual by blowing your breath into its ears; Cerberus will now cease to struggle altogether and passively allow you to pass the Dread Door.
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