Lesson 1
The Magickal Mind
Witches do magick, plain and simple. But defining what magick is can be much more difficult. One of the reasons why the words witch and witchcraft have such a stigma attached to them is because of people’s inability to understand magick. Even practitioners disagree on the definition of magick because it is such a personal art. Some outside of the tradition think magick and spells are a way of claiming power over someone else, of controlling or harming. This misunderstanding leads to defining witchcraft as some form of evil. Although magick has been used with such intents, this is not the true purpose of magick. If anything, magick is learning to flow with the soul of nature.
One of the best definitions of magick I’ve learned is from the works of Aleister Crowley. Crowley defined magick as “the science and art of causing change in conformity with will.” Witches define magick as both an art and a science. Magick has basic rules and structure, like science. They are not moral codes, but conditions that allow magick to occur. As an art, magick also has a creative, individual component. As long as it conforms in some way to the “scientific” laws of magick, you can vary it to your own individual tastes. “Causing change” are the important words here. Magick is not speculation; it is actually making something occur. Lastly, “in conformity with will” means that the change you are creating matches your intention. Magick is learning to work with change, with the forces that create change, and to shape the outcome to match your intention. One definition of Wicca that we already discussed is “to bend and shape.” You are bending and shaping natural occurrences to fit your will.
A spell is a specific act of magick to cause a specific change. You can have one magickal ceremony, and in it do several spells for different results. To my friends and family not involved in witchcraft, I describe a spell like a prayer. In many mainstream traditions, one prays to God for help, support, healing, or manifestation; in essence, to create change. A spell is a similar petition to the powers of the universe, but uses a different method to send the petition out into the universe. The principle and basic mechanics are the same, like the science part of our definition of magick, but the execution is different. To further the analogy between prayer and spells, I come from an old European Catholic family. My ancestors prayed to various saints to fulfill an intention. Each saint has a different province or specialty. In witchcraft, different goddesses and gods are petitioned, each having a different realm of rulership in life. The choice of patron and the symbolism used in the ceremony make up the “art” of spell casting.
Once people outside of paganism can relate spells and magick to something they may have done personally, the concept is no longer as scary. Once something as arcane and secretive as a spell is defined as “my tradition’s way of saying a prayer,” much of the unknown is dispelled, and we can build a dialogue with those who have difficulty accepting nature-based paths as valid religions.
Though you don’t have to do magick to follow this spiritual path, such training is part and parcel of becoming a witch. You do not have to actively cast spells to make the concepts behind their working a part of your everyday life. One part of magick that is not usually focused on in many books and classes is that magick is any change caused by your will, including internal changes. We tend to focus on external changes, manifestation in the physical world, as “proof” that magick really works. We all need to see the results of our actions, but some of the most important, profound, and healing magick comes though an internal change, a shift in perspective or consciousness. In that sense, if you choose this path of the witch, you may not necessarily be doing spells and rituals all the time, but you will undeniably be doing magick. Magick is a part of each breath we take and every action we make.
The Three Minds
Making magick means understanding the parts of yourself involved in the process. We tend to focus on our conscious mind as the director of our will, but in truth, we have at least three minds. Understanding and accessing the three minds is the key to magick.
The first is the conscious mind (figure 5). That is the mind most familiar to us. The conscious mind contains the personality and the ego identity. The part of us that is conscious, awake, and handling the details of day-to-day life is our conscious mind. The tools of the conscious mind are reason and logic, and its qualities are analysis and alertness. It perceives life in a linear, three-dimensional fashion. One event follows another. Events are chained together in a line moving through time. Those behind us are the past, those occurring now are the present, and those to occur are the future. This mind can spend a lot of time reflecting on the past and planning for the future while handling the present. Here is where you formulate your needs and desires for your life and for your magick. The drawback of the conscious mind is its perception. Though a linear perception is necessary for our day-to-day life, it limits our ability to process large amounts of information or energy, the very stuff of magick. The conscious mind is also called the middle self.
Our second mind, the psychic mind, is both the key and doorway to our magickal talents. This part of you has a greater natural ability to process energy and information. Unlike the conscious mind, the psychic mind is not necessarily bound by the limits of linear perception. Great leaps of intuition can be made, skipping over the logical chain of thoughts to reach a conclusion much faster. Intuition is opening up to the information available in the universe by accessing psychic ability. Psychic ability is not necessarily “movie magic,” using your mind to bend spoons and move objects across the room, but rather processing information you would not logically have. Knowing who is on the phone before you pick it up is as psychic as acts of mind over matter. We all have an intuitive ability. We are all psychic. Some learn to use their abilities to a greater degree.
The psychic mind is also called the lower self, but not in the sense of lower as bad, evil, or even lesser. Many religions that have demonized personal power and psychic ability might believe so, but the concept of the lower self actually comes from what psychologists call the unconscious and subconscious. By relaxing our conscious mind, we can move through the doorway of our personal subconscious and into the great unconscious, a realm of greater awareness and insight. Unfortunately, we are not often aware of it, hence the term unconscious. After hearing this, many desire to erase their conscious, ego self to instead live in this world of intuitive knowing, but each balances the other, serving an important need. If we did not have a linear perception, we would not know to eat and sleep and generally take care of our physical self. For this, the conscious self is necessary. Many desires that fuel magick and spells come from the conscious. The psychic self is also called the lower self because it is seen as more primal and instinctual, acting before reasoning things out. Animal instincts and the lessons the natural world brings to us are often said to be connected with our lower psychic self; accordingly, many nature-based spiritual paths encourage the use of psychic and magickal abilities. Other mystical traditions call the lower self the younger self.
The greatest job of the psychic mind is playing the role of intermediary between the conscious mind and the divine mind, the third mind. The divine mind is the aspect of the creative spirit within us, connecting us to the greater whole. You could call this God. Many witches call this Goddess. I call this the Great Spirit since I come from a tradition that honors both Goddess and God as part of the greater whole. Their love and interaction create all life. Our personal divine mind is the level of the super consciousness or what is called the higher self, or older self. It has a greater view from its position, spiritually speaking, than the ego self. The higher self can see where we’ve been and where we are headed. Like the lower self, it is not bound by linear time. In fact, it is simultaneously aware of all things and times. Because the conscious mind would have difficulty processing so much information, our divine self gives us information in small bursts of insight, epiphanies, and revelations. Or the higher self can use the lower self, the psychic mind, to relay a message, which takes shape as a dream, symbol, or flash of intuition. However, such messages need to be decoded through our cultural and personal symbol systems in the collective unconscious and personal subconscious.
In Hawaiian shamanic traditions, the lower self is believed to take the raw material it is given from the thoughts, words, and actions of the conscious self. When we sleep, the lower self brings these raw building blocks to the higher self, which then creates our life. We do this continuously throughout our life. Similarly, magick is consciously building a relationship with the lower and higher selves, to form a co-creative partnership. A spell is like giving a very specific request to our higher self, along with all the necessary building blocks to bring the change into our life. The higher self, connected to all higher selves everywhere, to the entire spectrum of life in the universe, can coordinate and help fulfill our spell.
Movie Magic versus Real Magick
Many people get involved in witchcraft because of what I like to call “movie magic,” and have difficulty understanding what the essence of magick is all about. They expect special effects: lightning bolts out of the sky and rolling mists over the hills. I am lucky to have been privy to many a magickal night outside where unusual things have occurred, but they are added benefits, not the goal of magick.
Magick is all about manifesting change, in our inner or outer life, in compliance with our will. The channels that bring us this change can seem very mundane, but to line up many seeming “coincidences” is the art of magick. Let’s say you want a new job. You know what kind of job you want. You do your magickal spell and the next day you go to a party. You didn’t want to go to the party, but felt you should be there. There you meet someone who mentions that his company is hiring. After talking a bit, this person gives you the name and number of who you should call. That person has a job opening that is perfect for you, and by the end of the week you have a new job. Coincidence, or magick? At first you are inclined to think coincidence, but if you live the life of a witch, you find more and more of these coincidences happening in response to the intentions you have voiced to the universe. Intuition is the guide to such fortunate “coincidences.”
While I was being interviewed as a subject for a college student’s term paper, the subject of magick came up. She was studying the social groups, customs, and beliefs of those in the pagan subculture and wanted to ask me a few questions. After talking through a pleasant dinner, she looked at me a bit like I was crazy and said, “I have good things happen to me, too, but I don’t think I’m doing magick.” She couldn’t quite understand why I did. Over the course of the evening I came to see her as a very powerful person, both working full-time and going to school, making her way in the world. She was very intelligent and organized, yet open and intuitive while she guided the interview. I have no doubt that she practiced her own brand of magick. You don’t need candles, robes, spells, and herbs. You don’t need to know the definition of magick. She didn’t. You do need to access the other facets of yourself, your psychic, intuitive mind, and your divine self, to manifest with your willpower. I believe she did. I think many people who would never call themselves witches still do magick. People are magickal by nature. I tried explaining that to her, but she had difficulty with the concept that she created these coincidences, that they were not just the result of good luck. The difference for witches is to actively and consciously pursue this relationship with the universe and ourselves.
Three Requirements
The goal of the practitioner is to bring the three minds into harmony, into alignment. Once you have a good relationship with them, magick is much easier. Regardless of the form of magick you practice, from pagan rituals to creative visualization, there are some common steps to follow to align the three minds. Along with the three minds, or aspects of self, there are three other requirements.
First, you must have strength of will. Do you desire the outcome? If you don’t care what happens, then why should the universe? Your desire, your willpower, sparks the process. Any strong emotion can start it. Usually need and desire, self-love, or better yet, unconditional love can be the fuel. Part of magickal training is to be able to access these feelings, to muster the energy whenever you need it, yet remain calm and centered.
Second, you must have a clear intention. It doesn’t matter if you have the willpower to succeed. If you don’t know what to apply your willpower toward, nothing will occur. You must have a specific idea of the desired result. You can form the idea through visualization in your mind’s eye, through the power of the word, either spoken or written, or through knowing what you want.
It is at this step where we can qualify our intentions. In magick, we tend to focus on the result, and not necessarily on how it manifests. In the intention for the new job, the goal was to get a new job in the field desired, not to meet someone at a party who would give you a lead for a new job. The goal of employment was more important than how it happened. This leaves the way in which the spell can manifest open to the universe. If you do a spell for money, it doesn’t matter where the money comes from. It could be the lottery, returned taxes, a prize, or a gift. We do not want to limit where the money originates from. But we do want to protect ourselves from channels of manifestation that might not be for our overall benefit. The money could also as easily come from insurance for an accident in which you are injured, but no one wants to get injured. In many witchcraft traditions, all spells and intentions are qualified using the words “for my highest good, harming none.” For the example regarding money, think about why you need the money. Is it to pay for something specific? If so, make that your goal, your end result. Always focus on the ultimate goal rather than the means of getting it. You give yourself more opportunities that way. The divine is infinitely wiser and knows far more options than our middle self can perceive.
Lastly, you need a method to direct your energy, your willpower and intention. Usually methods of energy direction involve some form of altered consciousness, resulting from either a meditative practice or ritual. The reason why rituals and tools are so common in the magickal traditions is because they serve the greater purpose of helping us direct our energy and intent. If they didn’t work, they would be discarded for something that did.
Energy
If we are going to talk about directing energy, you must have some awareness of what energy is. The word energy evokes images of power lines and outlets, or more personally your metabolism, but there is invisible energy all around us. This energy is part of us and our environment, as is the energy we direct when we do any magickal work.
Many forms of energy exist. Most that we know of fall into a range, a spectrum of frequencies, that can be detected via scientific means. The most common is the visible light spectrum, the rainbow, but there are many forms of invisible energy above and below physical light, such as radio and television waves and radiation. These energies are all part of the electromagnetic spectrum. We are also aware of a range of energies that are physical vibrations, or sounds. Although scientists have agreed on the characteristics and ranges of these quantifiable energies, metaphysicians have known about a whole other range of energies.
Currently, most of our “evidence” of spiritual energies comes from personal accounts rather than objective, scientific data. Every individual describes the experience in a unique way, so we sometimes have diverging opinions on the spiritual energies. Different spiritual traditions call these forces by different names, and each name has a specific cultural connotation.
Let’s start with personal energy (figure 6). Personal energy is the energy within and emanating from your own being. It is the energy of your body and all its systems, and it includes such things as metabolism, body heat, and nerve impulses. It is also the energy from your nonphysical systems, your energy bodies and chakras. We shall delve deeper into the anatomy of the energy body later, but for now, understand that you have a nonphysical component to your body, your spirit, so to speak. The interaction of your spirit and body creates a field of energy around your body. Modern practitioners call this the aura. The energy flowing into these energy systems, like blood flowing through the physical body, is called ki, or chi, in the Eastern traditions. It can be absorbed from the environment and processed by the body. We replenish our store of vital personal energy through sleep, though some people are naturally more energetic than others. Ki and chi can also refer to other forms of energy we will be discussing. Kundalini, a word from the Hindu traditions, is another form of personal energy, but more specifically refers to the energy found at the base of the spine that can rise through the spine, activating the spiritual centers known as chakras.
To witches, the most important energies to connect to are those below our feet, the Earth energies. This is the energy of the planet and the Goddess, the consciousness of the world that sustains us. It has been called mana or shakti kundalini. Most perceive this energy as feminine. Earth energy is not only the energy inside the planet, but also the energy around the planet, such as the magnetic field, and grids of energy, called ley lines or Earth grid lines. Sacred sites, such as Giza in Egypt and Stonehenge in England, are renowned for being focal points in the grid system of Mother Earth. Think of the grids like acupuncture meridians in our bodies. They let invisible energies flow to promote health and life.
Above the Earth is the energy of the sky. Cosmic energy is also a fitting description for this energy because it encompasses the energy of the Sun and stars, in fact the energy of the entire universe, raining down upon the Earth. As many pagan traditions associate the Earth with mother and Goddess, the sky is usually linked to the masculine deities. Sky gods are prominent in many mythologies as father figures, protectors and providers. In the Hindu traditions, the invisible life force riding on the breath, absorbed by us through the food and water we consume and the breath we take in, is called prana. It is interesting how this Hindu energy called prana is very similar phonetically to the Hawaiian name of life force, mana. Prana, mana, ki, and chi, along with a whole host of other names, such as orgone, od, odic force, pneuma, numen, telesma, and ruach, describe a basic life energy found in all things.
Divine energy is a catchall category for energies not included in the masculine/ feminine or above/below polarity. There are many other kinds of spiritual energies and beings, with many different flavors and descriptions. Witches work with divine energy through the ritual of the magick circle, creating what is traditionally called “perfect love and perfect trust.” In other words, pure divine energy, what we could call unconditional love, is used to create sacred space for our rituals. This energy is all loving and all knowing, beyond all polarities, yet encompassing them all.
Feeling Energy
The purpose of this exercise is to physically feel some of this spiritual energy that you personally generate. Many students find this easy with a little practice, but others have difficulty because they do not know what to look for. I feel this energy like very weak, very subtle magnetic repulsion. If you were to take two positive ends of a magnet and try to put them together, you would have some difficulty. The fields of energy offer resistance. Take that feeling and expect something a bit less dramatic or concrete, and you can feel the resistance offered between the fields of your hands. They are not exactly opposing charges, so they do not offer the same kind of resistance as two magnets.
Magnets are the way I would describe the feeling. Since this is individual and subjective, others perceive it as a temperature shift. You could also feel a slight tingle or “pins and needles” sensation, as if your hands are “asleep.” Others feel a pressure or even texture. Everyone feels it differently.
Once you feel it, you will be able to manipulate this energy through your will and intent. This is a fundamental building block for magick and psychic development.
1. Hold your hands about three feet apart, palms facing each other. Close your eyes if you would like. You are aware of any new information you receive from your hands, but you are not judging the experience or trying to create it. Allow it to happen naturally.
2. Bring you hands closer together, slowly. Be aware of the sensation. Notice any feelings that come in waves or layers. These are the levels of your aura, your energy body. Some layers offer more “resistance” than others. Try it several times, with eyes closed and then open. If you have difficulty, start over, but begin by rubbing your hands together vigorously, as if you were trying to warm them up. This will increase your hands’ sensitivity.
3. When you are done, wipe your hands together as if you were wiping excess water off them. This removes any other energies you might have picked up along the way. End all of these energy exercises with such a wiping motion.
Ball of Energy
1. Start as you did with exercise 2, but when your hands are six inches apart, imagine that you are holding a ball of energy. At first this ball is like an empty bowl, a shell, but you are filling it with the energy between your hands.
2. As you breathe out, imagine that you are blowing out energy, exhaling from your mouth, and also “exhaling” from your palms. This energy helps fill the ball. Feel it fill up. Intend to make the ball thicker and more solid. At first this will feel like you are playing pretend and making it up, but such play-acting is the way energy responds to our thoughts. By acting as if the energy is changing, it does.
3. Once you have a “solid” ball of energy floating between your hands, you can literally play with it. You can make it smaller and more dense. You can stretch it out like taffy. Discover how mutable energy can be, responding to your intent and commands.
4. When done, bring your hands together and imagine you are absorbing the energy. Then wipe off your hands to remove any excess.
Later, as you learn to work more with energy, you can draw more energy from your environment, and not necessarily your own personal energy, to create energy balls. They can then be “charged” with an intention, such as healing, and given to other people, animals, plants, and places to make your magick. You will not be limited to balls of energy, but any shape and size you can imagine. I like to weave energy “webs” of protection around myself and my home.
Now that you have a feel for the power of your own personal energy, if you have a partner in this work, or a willing friend or family member, you can discover how your energy interacts with others.
Feeling the Aura
1. As in exercise 2, sensitize your hands by rubbing them together, but instead of placing the palms facing together, put your arms out with palms facing out, as if you were gesturing to stop.
2. Stand at one end of the room while your partner is at the other. Close your eyes and slowly walk toward your partner, having your partner guide you if you get off course. As you could feel the energy between your palms, you are looking for a similar feeling when you reach the edge of your partner’s energy field.
3. Keep your eyes closed, but take note of the various levels of energy you feel. Move back and forth to explore the sensations.
4. Repeat the exercise, this time with your eyes open. Stop where you feel the first layer of resistance. Have your partner raise his or her arms straight out in front. Usually the perimeter of the aura is a hand’s length beyond the reach of a person’s arms. I’ve found that depending on an individual’s boundaries and current emotions, it can be larger or smaller, but in general, it is around an arm’s length. Where did you feel it? Most feel it near this perimeter, though you can also feel other “layers” closer to the body. Reverse roles and try the experiment again.
Pushing and Pulling Energy
Like your ball of energy was an exercise in control, with this next experience, you will learn how your energy can affect and influence other people in very subtle ways. Again you will need a partner.
1. Stand facing each other, with only a few feet between you. The receptive partner should have his or her eyes closed. Make sure this person is standing up straight, but is not braced against any structure.
2. You then try to use your willpower, breath, and intent to “push” your personal energy out and influence your partner. Use a gathering motion in the space around you to gather your personal energy as you inhale. Use pushing motions as you gently exhale, sending the energy toward your partner.
3. Take notice of your partner. If there is a third person in the room, this person might notice the action more than either of the exercise partners. Usually the receptive partner looks like he or she is slightly swaying back, even if he or she did not consciously feel it.
4. Reverse the process by gathering the energy between you both, and pull the energy forward with your intention. Inhale and sweep your arms toward your body as you bring the energy closer. You may notice your partner pulling forward a bit. Repeat these steps several times until you feel comfortable with them. Then ask your partner, still with eyes closed, what he or she is feeling.
Earth Walking
This exercise expands your experience beyond the realm of personal energy and into the feelings of Earth energy. Our ancestors slept on the Earth and exchanged energy with it every day. Most people barely touch the Earth now, with the ubiquity of shoes and floors. Earth walking, along with other exercises in this book, helps us come back into balance with the energy field of the Earth. Earth walking is a simple meditative walk outside. Start in some natural setting, on grass, in a field or park, on the beach, or in the woods, rather than on concrete or asphalt. If you feel comfortable enough to do this barefoot, so much the better, but with practice, you will feel this experience through your shoes.
Walk slowly and meditatively. Be aware of the Earth below your feet. Be aware of your personal energy, the auric field around you, touching the land, where your energy mingles. As you inhale, imagine that you are not only breathing in through your mouth, but breathing in through your feet. My yoga teacher tells me that a wise man breathes through the soles of his feet. I think that applies to a wise witch, too. Imagine drawing in life force, Earth energy, through your feet as you walk. This energy grounds and centers you. It bolsters your metabolism and energy level, creating health and joy in the moment. For now, don’t worry about doing anything special while exhaling. Breathe normally. The excess energy will be released naturally through your daily activity. We release energy all the time. Focus on the connection you make to the Earth.
When on these walks, look for a quiet place that could serve as a meditation spot for later exercises.
When you feel you are done with this experience, walk and breathe normally and resume your day-to-day activities. If you feel too energized, too charged, get on your hands and knees, placing your palms on the ground. Imagine the excess energy flowing out of your palms and even pouring out of your head. You release only the excess energy to the Earth, grounding yourself. As you release this energy, you can place the intent that such energy be used for healing the planet. This is a basic method of grounding yourself if you are not releasing excess energy. There are other ways to ground yourself. If you can’t reach down, you can imagine the energy flowing out of your hands and feet into the ground. You can hug a tree. Imagine the tree taking the excess energy for its own healing, and grounding it through the roots. You can even imagine yourself as a tree, and let the energy drain through your own “roots.”
When you feel comfortable with the Earth energy, you can include breathing through the crown of your head, to connect with sky energy. Try the sky energy alone to get a feel for that particular vibration. Then try both Earth and sky energies together. Ground yourself as I just described if you need to bring yourself back to normal perception. Sky energy can make you more lightheaded, open, and aware than Earth energy, so be sure to take care. Simple walking meditations can be as powerful and enlightening as any other exercise in this book. Do not underestimate them.
The greatest lesson to learn about working with these energies is that all energies and powers are fundamentally neutral, meaning they are not good or evil. At times we can pick up on the energy of a place or person and feel it is “bad” energy, but it is only energy being used for a less than good intention. Intention rules everything. Electricity is electricity; it can be used to power a light bulb, a life-support machine, or an electric chair. The energy itself does not judge its use, so people who use the energy must take responsibility. Personal, Earth, sky, and divine energies can be used to heal or harm, depending on the intention behind the action.
Levels of Consciousness
While practicing all the previous exercises, you probably noticed that you felt a little different. Your perceptions were different because you were using other senses, other parts of your consciousness. Shifting consciousness is the key to magick. If magick is aligning our three minds, our conscious and psychic minds with the divine, you need an easy method to quickly align these three separate energies. The more self-aware you become, the more the three minds come into alignment, but for now we need techniques to help that process.
By voluntarily changing your state of consciousness, you do not lose consciousness or identity. You can still hold your intent, but such a change brings a greater awareness of your own energy, abilities, and power. The ancient Greeks called this state of greater awareness gnosis. Gnosis literally means “knowledge,” and it referred to the mystical, divine knowledge available to those who enter this state. Personal revelations and psychic experiences occur during gnosis.
Everyone’s brain functions through waves of activity. These patterns of waves, measured in cycles per second, or hertz, each contain very specific characteristics. Individuals may express different abilities at each of these levels, but anyone can physically enter these levels. We do it all the time. The trick is to do so voluntarily.
Normally the brain functions at beta level, our normally waking consciousness. It is the time when we are generally awake and alert, doing our jobs and interacting with people. This electrical rhythm’s frequency is normally thirteen to sixteen cycles per second.
The level that most people in the magickal world refer to when talking about meditation, magick, and spells is alpha. Alpha state is right below beta. Alpha is described as being relaxed, yet aware, but I imagine you are most familiar with alpha when you are probably not all that aware. When you daydream or otherwise “zone out” of conscious beta level, you have entered alpha, which is measured at eight to thirteen cycles per second. If you learn to purposely enter this state, you can stay aware. The advantage of alpha is greater contact with your psychic mind. Accelerated learning and increased memory occur at this level. Intuition and psychic abilities are accessed. Think of alpha as a meditative state. You can meditate at this level and go deeper into your inner experience, or you can enter a higher alpha state, or what I call ritual consciousness, remaining calm, relaxed, and aware, yet still being able to walk around, light candles, speak, and so forth. People often worry about getting into alpha because at times it does not feel that much different from beta, particularly when you get used to it. Students often worry if they can reach alpha at all, but everyone passes through it as they go to sleep each night.
Theta brain waves take you into a deeper meditative state. You could call it a trance state. At this level, you can pay more attention to the inner reality and make a stronger connection to the divine. You also enter it during sleep. Theta is measured at four to nine hertz.
The lowest level of brain functioning is the delta wave. Delta is the state of deep sleep, deep trance, and coma. The brain functions on four or less cycles per second. Those who acquire more advanced and conditioned nervous systems through training, like yogis and other mystics, can bring the body to this level while keeping the mind conscious.
There are several states above the normal beta level that prove interesting. First is high beta, clocking in at sixteen to thirty hertz. This is an extreme state of alertness, what is called “battlefield conditions.” When you are in a more aware mode of perception due to life-and-death situations, fear, and adrenaline, you are in high beta. Above high beta the brain waves spike into K complex, measured at thirty to thirty-five hertz. This is the experience of divine inspiration, where things become clear for one brief moment. K complex is also called “the eureka experience.” Superhigh beta is above them all, falling in the range of thirty-five to 150 hertz. Expansive and somewhat uncontrollable spiritual experiences occur here, raising consciousness. Extreme out-of-body experiences, kundalini risings, and crown-chakra activation occur at this level.
Notice how both lowering and raising the brain waves can lead to mystical experiences. In this practice we will be focusing on techniques to lower your brain-wave level and heighten your awareness, but spirituality can be found in many different places. As you have a spiritual experience, your brain waves could jump up, but you remain peaceful. It is also important to remember that these brain-wave measurements are averages. Different parts of the brain can be associated with different brain waves, so you are not necessarily in any one state with 100 percent of your brain. The brain is a mysterious organ that we still know little about, but it appears that these brain waves hold a key, like a gatekeeper, to our mystical experiences.
Shifting Consciousness
Voluntarily changing from one state of mind to another is not as difficult as it seems, but it does take practice and training. The techniques take one of two paths. They can be inhibitory, slowing down the body and gently entering an altered state, or exhibitory, raising energy and the body’s awareness through stimulation to bring on an altered state. Neither is better than the other; they take different paths to the same place. As you practice, one approach or specific technique might suit your personality or tradition more, but it is good to be well versed in multiple techniques.
Gerald Gardner taught eight ways to raise power and enter a gnosis state for magick. The use of Eastern practices probably influenced his tradition of witchcraft since he worked in the East for many years as a civil servant. Modern witches use a modified version of this Eightfold Path.
Meditation—(inhibitory)—The main inhibitory technique is meditation. Meditation is clearing your mind and entering a relaxed state. Eastern forms of meditation focus on completely clearing the mind and being one with the moment. Often a chant (mantra), hand gesture (mudra), or posture (asana) is used in various combinations to help the practitioner stay focused. Sometimes a visual focus or a special symbol, called a yantra or mandala, is used. Western forms of meditation tend to be more task oriented and linked with the powers of creative visualization, but practitioners often use variations of the Eastern technique, such as prayers and affirmations for mantras.
Breath Control—(usually inhibitory)—Regulated breathing is called pranayama in the East. It relaxes and lowers body systems by focusing on the movement of the breath. The breath is related to the element of air, and air is linked with the mind. By calming the breath, you calm the mind. Some types of breath can excite the body and build energy, while others cool and relax. Breath work is usually used in conjunction with meditation. Some practitioners count their breaths to keep clarity and focus.
Isolation—(inhibitory)—Aboriginal traditions have a rite of passage where one spends time in isolation on a mountaintop, cave, or forest to induce a mystical experience, such as the Native American vision quest. Several religious orders impose isolation and silence on members to facilitate contemplation. Fasting is often incorporated into the process, directly altering the brain chemistry through lack of food. Use this method with caution and guidance.
Intoxication—(depends on substance)—Intoxication is the use of various natural materials to induce an altered state, including wine, hallucinogenics, herbal mixtures, and incense. The difficulty with intoxication is moderation. Just enough can open a doorway, but too much can make you lose control. Although we have a history of using these substances recreationally, spiritual traditions use them with great care and reverence, providing specific training and knowledge to function under these influences. With the possible exception of incense, I humbly suggest saving this path for a time when you have more guidance and training.
Sound—(depends on the music)—Singing, chanting, instruments, drumming, and other percussion can lead you into an altered state as you get swept up with the tone and beat. Some will be more relaxing, such as gentle music. Others will be more exciting, like tribal drums.
Body Movement—(exhibitory)—Movement induces an altered view of reality, and can include exercise, dance, asana (yogic body posture), shaking, shivering, spinning, hand movements, and mudras. Many tribal societies and covens use large circular dances as part of ritual. Yoga and martial arts also induce trance states through body forms. The movements do not necessarily have to be graceful to be effective. The Teutonic shamans, those of the German and Norse people, practiced something called Seith magick, basically using the cold to shiver and shake, entering a magickal state through such movements. In the past, some have used binding to slow the flow of blood and enter an induced altered state. I do not personally recommend binding, though I have experienced wonderful meditation in a ritual that lightly tied strips of fabric around energy centers in the body. No blood was constricted, but the light pressure did help induce a deep meditation.
Sex—(exhibitory)—The most exciting path to gnosis, quite literally, is using sexual energy. Masturbation and intercourse are great ways to raise a lot of energy and enter an altered consciousness. Before sexuality came under the taboos of the dominant religions, sex was a much more integral part of magick, and all acts of love were considered worship to the Goddess. The major drawback to this technique is if you are entering an altered state to perform an act of magick, it is very easy to get lost in your own or your partner’s pleasure. Ritual sex between a consenting couple in the context of Wiccan ceremonies is called the Great Rite, re-creating the divine union between the Goddess and the God, but it is more often enacted symbolically, through the use of rituals tools like the blade and chalice, rather than physically.
Pain—(exhibitory)—This method includes scourging (light ritual whipping), piercing, branding, and tattooing. Such practices are a part of initiation rituals and rites of passage all over the world. Pain is my least favorite method of altering consciousness, although it definitely alters your consciousness from the normal waking state. Scourging is a practice in both ancient and modern witchcraft, though most shy away from it. A scourge is a whip made of many cords, akin to the cat-o’-nine tails. Modern witches do not seek to break the skin, but to draw blood to that area to induce a trance state. Though this might seem distasteful, flagellation has been used in mystical traditions for centuries. Another aspect of pain is the practice of ritual piercing, tattooing, and branding. These acts mark rites of passage and possibly even initiation. Many involved in these contemporary industries are a part of, or influenced by, pagan and tribal cultures and see the spiritual connotations of these acts.
The Eightfold Path offers many roads to deeper awareness, and some may be more suitable for you than others. This book focuses on applying the more inhibitory techniques, because in my own experience I have found them easiest to teach and reproduce. You need very little in the way of tools or setting. Once you master the basics safely, you can explore the other techniques.
New Assignments
• Exercises 2 through 6—Complete and record your experiences in your Book of Shadows. Continue with exercise 6: Earth Walking as often as you like.
Continuing Assignments
• Daily journal—Write three pages a day.
Tips
• Be conscious and aware of your psychic mind, as manifested as your own inner voice and sense of intuition. Be open to it. Invite it into your life. Expect it. Realize that you are psychic. Psychic means “listening to the voice of your soul.” We all can do that. Ask your intuitive, psychic voice for advice, from important life questions to silly inconsequential ones, such as “Who is on the phone?” when it rings. Listen to it. Follow it. Record your experiences. The more you do this and feel vindicated that your psychic voice was right, the stronger it will get.