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Astral Projection, Bi-location, and Power Animals

This chapter is considered an intermediate one. It is assumed that you have already mastered creative visualization and often practice a satisfactory meditation process.

Astral projection has been scientifically categorized as an OBE (out-of-body experience). Astral projection is the practice of actually projecting your energy body away from your physical one. This “body of light” is connected to the physical body by a silver cord that does not detach until the death of the physical form.

An OBE most commonly occurs during the sleep cycle, but can happen during meditation. Daydreaming provides an additional vehicle for astral projection.

How Do You Know If You Have Experienced an OBE?

The following sensations can be credited to OBEs.

1. The sensation of floating above your body, seeing the actual physical form below you, and either actually “seeing” or being aware of the silver cord. This usually occurs in that twilight time we associate between full wakefulness and the actual sleep cycle.

2. Experiencing a “whooshing” sensation as you awaken from sleep. Sights flash by swiftly as you resurface into the body.

3. The inability to move limbs—a type of temporary paralysis when you are barely awake. This passes quickly, but can produce a disconcerting type of inner hysteria if you are not expecting it.

4. An especially vivid dream where people, places, and things appear larger than life or extremely colorful. Often you will be unfamiliar with both the places and the people involved.

OBEs are a natural but not always remembered occurrence. Everyone travels at some time in their life in the astral plane. People who ordinarily feel that they must be consciously in control of every aspect of their lives, however, have difficulty going into an OBE state without the dream as a vehicle. This is not a terrible thing. It just means that they have to release their fears of not being in control.

Many psychiatrists and other therapeutic counselors now use the OBE in moving an individual toward total mental health. Those difficulties worked out in the OBE state tend to cut normal counseling time by months, sometimes even years. The counselor, by allowing the “higher self” of the individual to take over much of the process, is able to retain an uninvolved status, thereby becoming more effective in treating the client/patient.

Sleeping Like the Dead

Ever hear the expression “sleeping like the dead”? When one is in such a deep state that they cannot be roused easily, or at all, they are most likely on an astral journey. Therefore, this statement is aptly used. The body is physically in the bed but the body of light, with the conscious mind contained in it, is on vacation. This is why it is so difficult to awaken an individual in this state. They are unconsciously quite comfortable with astral projection, and do not see the immediate need to return to consciousness just because you want them to.

Although I mentioned that this is not a lesson in theory, one should be introduced for your consideration. Those individuals that remain in a comatose state for any period of time may be purposefully there to work out specific karmic structures in this physical lifetime. “Pulling the plug” then, would have even deeper impacts on the “puller” and the “pullee.”

There are three ways to approach astral projection and reap its benefits: the dream state, the meditation state, and bi-location (which includes the Watcher and body-double).

The Dream State

Before you go to sleep each night, program your mind by telling yourself that you will recall your astral travels. It may take two or three weeks before you are able to have very good recall, but don’t rush it. The remembrances will come.

If it takes longer, try writing some affirmations each day to reinforce your nighttime message. Nightly meditation will also be of great assistance. Don’t forget to keep that notepad and pen by the bed to record your travels.

The better your recall, the more control you will have over the experiences that occur in the dream state. Eventually, you can plan where you wish to go, what you wish to accomplish, and who you would like to meet.

The Meditation State

Experiencing astral projection in the state of meditation leaves you with more conscious control of the OBE. You can choose any body position you desire; however, more success may be achieved through the prone position (as this is what both your body and unconscious mind are used to when OBEs are accomplished in the dream state). If you feel you would be more comfortable sitting up, however, by all means, do it!

As mentioned earlier, you should have a good meditation system that you are familiar with. If you have difficulty with either the meditation or the ascent to astral travel, you may wish to purchase CDs currently on the market that assist in this procedure, or are straight, soft music.

Everyone is capable of conscious astral travel, just as everyone is capable of performing magick. The only barrier erected is the individual’s personal fear of the unknown and the false assumption that they will not be in control.

Procedures for Conscious Astral Travel

First, ensure that you will not be disturbed. This is a definite prerequisite for any type of magickal or astral activity. Take several deep breaths and relax your body. Open each of the seven chakra vortexes, then the vortexes in the hands and feet. Surround the body with the blue light of protection. Imagine a golden light pulsating within your body. This is your light body. Let it rise from your physical body, retaining your physical structure. (Later, you will learn to shape this light body at will.) Move your consciousness into the light body and imagine that your physical body is safe and will remain that way, fully functioning, until your return. Since you think it—it is so.

At this point, you may proceed in one of two ways. You can travel around the room and become comfortable with being in the astral, or you can go directly into either the astral or physical plane.

Some individuals prefer not to look at their physical bodies because they fear that the body has ceased to function, which is not the case—but the sight can immediately pull you right back into that body in the bat of the physical eyelash, with your heart beating like crazy.

This brings up a very important point. Individuals with heart trouble should not consciously attempt an OBE as it alters respiration and heartbeat. If you are terrorized by the thought of astral projection, do not force yourself to practice it. Perhaps your fear will lessen at a later date and you will be more comfortable with the skill. If you have a history of heart trouble or respiratory disease, I do not suggest consciously attempting an OBE.

I mentioned earlier that you can travel in two dimensions, the earth one and the astral (there are others, but let’s stick to these two for now). You may be comfortable working more in the one than the other. Working in the astral is called vision questing and is the route that many shamans follow.

What Purpose Can Astral Travel Serve?

Like any skill, it will provide what you allow it to provide. Some seek only a vacation experience to visit places where the body cannot either afford or physically go. Others seek knowledge that cannot be found elsewhere. There are people who arrange meetings in the astral or on the physical plane while in the OBE state. Later, they compare notes. Some individuals merely use it for experimental purposes.

When you return from your excursions in the astral, you may wish to hover first around your body, or join it immediately. If the physical body is disturbed during an OBE, you will return to the body with that “whoosh” sensation. Sometimes the environment will speed past you in a blur. Don’t worry about it—it is a fantastic experience.

I would also like to mention that you have what is called an “ocular voice” when in the astral. It is a strong, piercing vibration that you can use to protect yourself if you feel threatened. On this plane it comes out like a silly croak, but on the astral it can cut an unwanted entity to pieces.

Practice Makes Perfect

Once you have learned the skill of conscious astral projection, choose some places in the physical plane that you can visit that are easily accessible to you in the waking state. Make it a public place, unless you have arranged with a friend to visit them. Time your astral travels so that you can visit the site in the next twenty-four hours. Keep a record of your astral visit. Write down the things you remember, such as the varieties of plants in the flower bed, broken pavements, or window panes. Perhaps you have noticed a traffic light that was out of order, an unusual billboard, a new store, etc.

The following day, visit the site and check off all the things on your list. Don’t have heart failure if something is incorrect. Traffic lights can be fixed, flower beds replanted, side walks repaired, and billboards changed. Practice until you are confident enough to try the next exercise.

This exercise requires a trusted friend. Set a prearranged time where you will be going into an OBE situation. During this time, your friend should be monitoring what they are doing and their surroundings, and monitoring whether or not they are aware of your presence. Later, meet and compare notes. Keep practicing until you are both proficient. Keep accurate records of your experiments.

Bi-location

If you are having trouble obtaining a decent OBE through either the dream state or meditation state, you should try bi-location. Also, what if you desperately need to know something, but can’t lie prone in your office or dining room to enter the astral? The answer then, would be bi-location.

Bi-location is basically the same procedure as that used in the meditation state, save for one basic twist—you are more “in control.” A sitting position is best for this procedure.

During bi-location you are vaguely aware of what is happening around your physical body. You never entirely lose control (conscious recognition) of the television behind your closed door, the sound of the dishwasher out in the kitchen, or the furnace kicking on in the basement.

Go into your normal meditation structure. This time, however, form in your mind a body that much resembles yourself—not a light body, but a ghostly one. Think of him or her as a type of drone where all things experienced by the entity are fed directly to you—much like a computer link-up. Guide him or her out of the door, out of the house, and into the world. When you have finished, bring the entity back, and have its body melt into yours. This “being” can also function as the Watcher.

The Watcher

The Watcher is a replica, just as in the process of bi-location. In this instance, it is not necessary to travel with the Watcher. If you wish, you can instruct it as it stands before you. Tell it what specific information you desire and what time to come back. Now, go about your normal business.

At the specified time, take your seat again and greet the Watcher. Ask it to impart all the information it has gathered. If you cannot understand the information, don’t worry. Let it merge with yourself, knowing that all the knowledge you seek will be imparted to you in a manner that you can understand subconsciously. Later, the knowledge may surface as a memory, or your subconscious may sort things out faster and you will find that you are suddenly aware of the answers to your questions now that all the data has been assimilated.

The practice of the Watcher is not a new one. People involved with the occult have been using this technique for a long time.

Remember that the Watcher is part of you, not a discarnate entity. If you wish to call such an entity, that is another ballgame entirely. So, if you are squeamish about ghosties and things that mysteriously go bumpity-bump, you are not dealing with that kind of manifestation in the Watcher. You are only working with yourself.

Extended Bi-location

A body form to guide is not always needed in bi-location. Recently, someone’s work I read used the term “over-looking,” which is exactly what you can do. Your mind can over-look an event or place. It is possible for you to sit in your chair, go into meditation, and go directly where you wish (sort of like looking over someone’s shoulder) and not experience any “going to” or “coming back” processes as you do in standard astral projection techniques. One second you are here, the next you are there, with no travel time involved. One can also merge with another human being—thought I don’t really recommend this for a variety of reasons, including ethics.

If you should fall asleep during conscious astral travel, don’t worry about it. Your mind is familiar with astral travel in the dream cycle and will bring you back safely, as it has always done before.

Body-double

The ability to make the astral body appear to others as a solid, physical object is called body-double. This is an advanced technique, one that takes a great deal of skill and concentration; though the less you consciously try, the better you will get at it.

The trick is to learn to mentally solidify and make apparent the alternate form. Occasionally, your use of bi-location and the Watcher will automatically become body-double if you have practiced either technique a great deal. In attempting the body-double technique, you will have to work with a trusted partner who can monitor your success.

Power Animals

Power animals are and are not a part of the Wiccan or Witchcraft traditions. They are used by Native Americans, shamans, and other tribal organizations and traditions. Covens usually have a totem animal that is only known to those within the group.

Why are we discussing totem animals in a lesson on astral projection? Because in the astral, you can merge with your totem and become the animal with your own intelligence intact. This is called shapeshifting.

Witches are said to have “familiars,” animals who live with them and assist them in their magickal endeavors. Cats are high on the list, but dogs, snakes, ferrets, and other small animals have been known to serve that function in physical form. Familiars are not just any animal. They are a special psychic derivative of a particular species of animal who complements your spiritual self.

Just because a person has a cat that lives with them does not indicate that that person is involved with the Craft. Not all Witches work with physical familiars due to space limitations, rental rules, family allergies, and schedules. A familiar actually represents all the good qualities of that species. It provides the Witch with a link to the power of the animal kingdom—the essence of that power. Hence, the term “power animal.”

Power animals do not have to be physically domesticated and living in our homes to assist us. They function quite well in the astral; in fact, perhaps even better, as we cannot keep a wolf or a panther in our apartment on the seventeenth floor, or in a home that also houses many young children.

Not all small animals normally kept as pets carry the essence we may need. If panther medicine is needed, a rabbit is not going to do any damn good.

Many Witches choose one power animal that closely represents to them their function in this lifetime, or provides the medicine (energy) that they must be equipped with to practice a particular type of magick. There are Witches who work with a variety of animals but keep one or two—even three—in particular esteem.

Your main power animals come to you either by an affinity for the animal itself, or through astral travel and meditation. There are cards on the market today that can assist you in choosing your animals as well as provide a divination tool. These are called medicine cards. If you feel the selection is too limited, you should use other methods in conjunction with the cards when studying each animal’s medicine.

Each animal has a particular function or essence that is attributed to it. There are books that can tell you what the Native Americans felt about each animal and its power, but you should not rely on these interpretations alone, either. I suggest that you study the different animals firsthand, read about them, how they function in the wild, how they relate to humans, and finally, what their magickal attributes are.

Meeting Your Power Animal in the Astral

There are two ways you can meet your power animal in the astral plane and discover which animal medicine is right for you. First, you can write and perform your own ritual to call the essence of the animal that would suit you best and assist you in your present magickal workings. If you are not comfortable with the ritual format, you can go into a familiar meditative state, walk through the astral forest, and meet the animal.

When the first technique is used, that of the ritual, you will most likely see a picture of the animal in an unlikely place, or even see the animal in its natural form. There may be a synchronistic conversation where the topic is of the animal, or you find a book about the animal, etc. When you catch that first glimpse of that particular medicine, you will know it in your heart.

If you meet the animal in the meditation, converse with it. Anything is possible in the astral, right? So, ask questions and get to know your new partner.

If you have seen the animal after a ritual, plan some time to go into the meditative state to cement your relationship and get to know the animal and the essence it represents.

What Do You Do with a Power Animal?

Now that you’ve got the animal, what do you do with it? Power animals are great advice givers, often representing our higher selves that, perhaps, we haven’t been paying attention to. In a meditative state you can ask for their assistance on problems that have been nagging at you. At times, two power animals can work in conjunction with each other, as long as they want to. I have had some truly interesting and fruitful conversations with my power animal.

Power animals can assist you in the waking state as well. Perhaps you are trying to teach someone a particular theme and they are having difficulty understanding it. Ask wolf for assistance; she is the great teacher.

Remember the old adages: clever as a fox, strong as an ox, etc? Perhaps you need camouflage—then ask brother fox for assistance. If you seek wisdom, ask the eagle. The lynx knows the art of keeping secrets, and the swan guides one into dreamtime. The panther is a good protective animal, though she does have a sarcastic, laid-back nature.

Power animals are not limited to mammals. The reptilian and insect kingdoms can be just as helpful. Children can also be taught to work with animals and have a great deal of success with them. My youngest daughter can still relate her experience with sister dragonfly! It was the biggest one I have ever seen. Dragonfly tells us how to break through illusion and how to gain power through our dreams and goals. She teaches higher aspiration.

Honoring the Power Animal

The act of honoring an animal is not an act of worship, but is the acknowledgment of their power and their being as brothers and sisters of the entire Universe. The energy of the animals, birds, and other creatures that assist us should be honored. For too long we have subjugated these creatures who are our equals in the system of the Universe. The Native Americans leave tobacco as a gift, scattered on the ground. You can also burn incense in honor of the animal. When I do a full ritual, I always remember my power animal and honor it with a gift of some sort. A crystal or gem on your altar is also a lovely gift.

Shapeshifting

There are two types of shapeshifting: changing your light body in the astral to a power animal, and changing your physical form on the earth plane into an animal. Perhaps this is where the lycanthropy legend actually began. Very adept shamans are said to be able to change their physical human forms into that of animals.

There is also a middle ground we should not forget. During certain ritual dances, humans can be possessed by the animal spirit. Although they outwardly do not become the animal, their bodies may contort or move in the fashion of the animal. Vocalizations are also heard, such as the cry of the eagle, scream of the falcon, etc. These power dances are not harmful, as long as they are done within some type of magick circle. Inwardly, the individual melds with the animal. The human’s sense of smell or sight may be heightened, there can be increased dexterity in the limbs, or a feeling of savage power that the animal may represent. It is exhilarating and enlightening.

In the astral, taking on the shape of the animal is not particularly dangerous. I have had only one glitch, and that was in the form of a panther, where I had to learn to control the beast and not let it run away with my (or its) strength.

In order to keep accurate track of your astral studies, you should use your notebook. Be sure to write the date, time, moon phase, weather conditions, and your own health at the time of the travel. Also indicate the reason for the exercise.

Physical Familiars

If it is possible for you to have a physical familiar, by all means, do so. Just make your choice very carefully. Sometimes though, they choose you.

We had a very interesting experience when choosing our family familiar. My husband is allergic to cats; therefore, my favorite choice was out. I performed a ritual asking for the familiar that was suitable to our family. In my mind I pictured a German shepherd, because I felt it would be best with the children. For two weeks, I worked on a visualization of seeing us with the dog working well both in mundane and magickal matters, and it had to be a male. Female dogs and I have a history of not hitting it off.

One afternoon, I stopped in at the newspaper where I worked to submit a story. They also run an advertisement sheet for yard sales and other things. Somehow, the conversation turned to the fact that I was looking for a nice animal for our family. They told me a gentleman was advertising to sell a sheltie.

My question was, “So, what’s a sheltie?” I didn’t want a small excitable dog, nor did I want a monster, either. “It’s sort of like a collie,” they said, “except a bit smaller.”

I took the number and called him later that day. I told him I had several children and was looking for a good companion for them.

“Well, I’ve been getting two hundred dollars a piece for these pups,” he said. My heart sunk. I hadn’t seen the ad and knew I could not pay that much money for a dog, even the one of my dreams.

“This is our last one,” he continued. “My wife says he’s got to go. It’s just a pup, about four months old. He’s trained and just been to the vet’s.”

I apologized for bothering him and told him I hoped he found a buyer soon.

“You mean you’re not interested?”

“It’s not that,” I explained, “it’s just that two hundred dollars is a little out of my price range, not that the dog is not worth that kind of money.”

There was a pause on the line, and then he said, “Be at my house at 4:30 this afternoon.” He gave me the directions. I was totally confused; I had just told the man I couldn’t afford the dog.

I started repeating myself, and he said, “You got four kids, right?”

“Well, yes.”

“And you need a dog, right?”

“Yes.”

“Well then, come get him. He’s yours . . . for nothing!”

Needless to say, the spirit of our dog chose us. It was later, I realized, that he matched many of the country-type pictures I have around the house. In fact, I didn’t notice it—someone else pointed it out. Even though shelties are small, this one is about the size of a collie. Beats me, folks!

Summary

The skills in this chapter will give you a great deal of mobility, both in the physical and nonphysical planes. They take practice and focus to achieve. Use the skills with a strong ethical conscience. Snooping in other people’s business is not the Witch’s style.

If you plan to work with another individual, be sure they are aware of your planned visits. If you have not warned them you are coming, they can give you a terrible headache. It is not that they will strike out to purposefully harm you, but they may have protective magick that will turn you away quite neatly.

Never be afraid of the astral, but never assume that all things in the astral are only of a positive design. Remember that you have no barriers in that plane, and that your personal magick will respond faster than in the physical plane. Happy trails!