Thursday, December 29, 2016

Take a Long Moment to Change Your Life Magically

One of the many tools available to shamans is the manipulation of time. A shaman is skilled in being able to go forward or backwards in time to add to their research or for healing purposes. For example, a shaman my need to go back to a past life event to help someone understand what happened in that past life that is contributing to an issue the person is experiencing in this lifetime. You, too can start learning to manipulate time magically by experimenting with the "long moment".

What is the Long Moment?
The long moment is an art which utilizes the ability to slow one's perception of certain events in order to see what really is happening in present time. Another name for this long moment is the Cortothalamic Pause. This is a useful tool to slow life down and be able to form an appropriate response instead of giving a mechanical response or more likely reaction to a situation. For most people there is a 3 step process they go through that leads to responding to events and situations with a mechanical reaction. They are:

1. We receive an incoming perception: ie. - A person speaks loudly to us
2. The perception is immediately routed by our flow of associations to a certain place in our memory: ie. - In this or a past life, we have memories of loud voices and anger.
3. The perception is assigned a meaning: ie. - The person is angry with us.

These steps happen very quickly, less than a second usually and lead to a reaction of however each of us responds to an angry person. We don't take the time usually to consider that there may be other feelings involved and that we are assigning our own interpretation to another's actions. This leads often to overreactions at the moment and causes more problems. If you had a Cortothalamic Pause, you would not react out of your own memory, but rather be able to slow the event down, be totally present in the "now", and form a more appropriate response.


The Magic of the Cortothalamic Pause
Using the Cortothalamic Pause to slow yourself at the moment you receive an incoming piece of data allows you to stretch time. In this long moment you give yourself the power to evaluate the information you have received and give a true response. You may think this sounds difficult, but all it really takes to master this art is practice. Start out twice a day practicing this skill. When someone asks you a question or asks you to do something, stop everything inside yourself for 2 seconds. Stop all thought and consideration. Get quiet. Then respond to the person. For a while you won't actually be able to stop your internal thoughts, but you will be able to see all the mechanical reactions and thoughts that immediately spring up. You may be surprised at the massive and often chaotic activity that happens inside yourself. It will give you true insight into the way you interact with life.

Flower Essences To Help with the Cortothalamic Pause
You can increase the likelihood of being able to take a Cortothalamic Pause by using these flower essences daily:

  • Lavender and Chamomile for calming
  • White Chestnut for reducing repetitive thoughts
  • Thyme for helping to manipulate Time

To learn more about flower essence remedies and other techniques for self-healing and self-exploration, see our ebook Energy Healing for Self and Others.

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Tuesday, December 27, 2016

Magic That Works: How to Study Magic

When people first discover magic it can often be confusing in terms of which magical path is the right one for them and how to study magic. Many are often skeptical and want to know if there is really magic that works and what can it do for them. It's good to be skeptical and to do some exploring into different traditions to see which resonates with you. You're probably familiar with the saying that when the student is ready the teacher will appear. That is very true when it comes to how to study magic and finding magic that works for you. To help you decide if the type of magical studies we offer at the Esoteric School are right for you, we have a section on How To Study Magic as well as plenty of free resources to let you explore our magic that works. Here are a few suggestions on things to do when deciding how to study magic.

What Is Magic?
Before we begin the actual hands-on study of magic, we believe it is important for people to understand what magic that works really is and what it can do for you. Magic is a precision science, the science of deliberate creation, a system of creation and study of intention. Every intentional act is an act of magic. Magic allows us to communicate with higher powers and beings and co-create with the Universe. It is also a path of spiritual growth. The practice of magic is governed under Universal Laws and a set of ethics that need to be adhered to for a safe and effective magical practice. We call these The Rules of the Road. When beginning on a magical path, students need to understand these rules and the implications they can have.

How To Study Magic: Start With the 4 Elements
We believe in starting the actual study of magic with learning the fundamentals of the 4 elements – Air, Fire, Water, and Earth. Everything in the Universe is made up of these 4 elements. The safest element to begin practice with is Air. The Air element corresponds to anything having to do with seeing, breathing, speaking, hearing, planning, thinking, believing, memorizing, communicating, learning, teaching, information, ideas, wisdom, understanding, worry, sensation, awareness, opinions, data, memory, mind. Once you learn the characteristics and correspondences that are associated with the Air Element and how to handle and flow this element, you can move on to the other elements.

How To Study Magic: Learn To Use Magical Tools
Once you have a good working knowledge of all of the elements you can then move on to learning how to study magic with the use of magical tools. The Air element tool is the Wand. We encourage students to make their own wands rather than buy one and you can see how to do that HERE. Magical tools associated with the other elements are the Fire tool – the athame, the Water tool – the chalice and the Earth tool – the plate or pentacle. Some of the other magical tools you may find useful include the pendulum, Tarot deck, the firebowl, the black mirror, candles, sun crystal and simulacra. Each of these can be used for various techniques such as healing, exploring other realms, divination, psychic communication, finding lost objects, gathering information and spellwork.

Now that you have some information on what magic is and how to study magic, time to get started. Take a look at our How To Study Magic section on our website and explore all our free resources to see what magical offerings peak your interest. Magic that works is your birthright as a planetary citizen, so exercise your right to a fulfilling magical life!

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Thursday, December 22, 2016

Voodoo Dolls: How Do They Work?

There is much that you can do with Voodoo magic, but what most people associate with it are voodoo dolls. Yes, voodoo dolls are real, not just something made up in fictional stories. The practice of Voodoo is much more than just using voodoo dolls. It also involves circle rituals, dancing, singing, drumming and ancestor worship, but since the use of voodoo dolls are the most familiar, let's start there and see how they work.

What Is a Voodoo Doll?
A voodoo doll is simply a simulacrum. A simulacrum is an object that is the likeness of something. So the voodoo doll is a likeness of a person and is used to represent that person. Once a psychic connection is made between the voodoo doll and that person, whatever you do to the doll affects the person. This is useful when you want to perform a magical operation on someone who is far away from you. Making the psychic connection between the voodoo doll and the person is also called "keying" the doll. This is basically done by holding the voodoo doll in your dominant hand and flowing energy into it by thinking of all you know about the person. This is a simplified explanation of the process involved and more information is available in our How to Do Voodoo ebook if this is something you are interested in pursuing. This type of magic is also referred to as simulacra magic and the ebook goes into much more depth as to the uses and techniques of this fascinating branch of magical study.

How Voodoo Dolls Work
Once the voodoo doll is keyed, it is connected to the person. The Law of Similarity tells us that the greater a likeness of a simulacrum is the greater the psychic connection will be. For this reason many magical practitioners use actual photos of a person instead of a voodoo doll. Others get more creative and create a doll so that they have an entire body and use a picture face of the person in the doll. The more the voodoo doll resembles the person it is being keyed to, the greater the connection will be between the doll and the actual person. Now whatever magical operation you use on the doll will benefit the person it is keyed to. So for example, one of our advanced students recently took on a project of ridding a friend that lived 800 miles away from her of a long-time scar. Using the voodoo doll she created of her friend and keyed to the friend, she was able to use her athame with various beams of fire colors, sweeping and pulling methods to reduce the scar. That is just one example of the many, many magical things that can be done with a voodoo doll. Pretty much any magical operation that can be performed on a person can be performed on the voodoo doll instead with the results affecting the person keyed to the doll.

Rules of the Road
Usually when voodoo dolls are portrayed in works of fiction, it is to harm someone else or bind them in some way such as falling in love with you. This is not the intended safe use of a voodoo doll however. Remember the Universal Laws that govern magical practice and only use the voodoo doll in ways that are in accordance with these rules. Using magical practice that goes against these rules can result in backlash for the practitioner and is not using safe magic. Used correctly, a voodoo doll is a great magical tool for healing, balancing energies, and helping others in a multitude of ways. Just make sure you are on the right side of the Rules of the Road and as with all magical procedures, think it through and enjoy the magic!

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Thursday, December 1, 2016

About Magical Tools

Firebowl: 2 Element Cleansing Tool

The Firebowl is an essential altar item and magical tool for any magician or shaman. Used primarily to cleanse people, areas, sacred space and tools, the Firebowl can also be used for divination, finding lost people or objects, and meditation.

Although almost any bowl will do for a Firebowl, most traditional Firebowls are made of brass, ceramic, cast-iron or hardwood. Except for special bowls used for specific rituals, the bowl should be light enough and small enough that you can carry it in your hand.

To make a working Firebowl, put about two inches of fire clay (unscented cat litter will do), rice or beans in the bottom of the Firebowl to prevent the bowl from getting to hot. Put self-lighting mini-charcoal tablets on top of the fireclay, then add any resins or botanicals you want to burn.

Choose your resins and botanicals based on what you want to do with your Firebowl. For instance, if you want to meditate, use a Water element botanical to help you get in touch with Spirit. If you want to "see" a lost object, you might use an Air element botanical. Here's a short list of resins and botanicals, listed by element, to get you started:

All Purpose: Sage, juniper, copal and frankincense.
Air: Sandalwood, sage, mint and sweetgrass.
Fire: Pine, juniper and frankincense.
Water: Gardenia, lotus and rose.
Earth: Musk, mosses and myrrh

If you have difficulty quieting your mind during meditation, you can use the Firebowl. Simply light the charcoal tablet with paper or wooden matches until it starts to spark, then put a Water element botanical on top. When the combination begins to smoke, focus on the column of smoke. Having a visual focus that is irregular and difficult for your mind to follow will occupy your mind while you meditate. Good luck!

Wand: Magical Air Tool

The Wand is an essential magical tool and a crucial part of any magical altar. Like most magical tools, the Wand is an extension of our own energies, amplifying and extending those energies for psychic communication, healing, protection and energy balancing.

The most common misconception about the Wand is that it is a Fire tool. The Wand is actually an Air tool for the simple reason that it is made out of wood, which burns easily when in contact with Fire energies. While popular movies, such as Harry Potter, often portray the Wand as a multi-purpose tool that can handle Air and Fire energies, it is actually the Athame, or magical knife, that can handle multiple types of energy.

Wands should be made from the limb of a live tree (with proper permission from and thanks to the tree) or recently fallen from a live tree, preferably of a light-colored wood, since Air colors are clear, white and sky blue. The limb should be between ¼ and 3/8 inch, and be no longer than from the bend of your elbow to the tip of your middle finger.

While some Wands are carved with various patterns and designs, we find that a smooth surface with no carving produces the greatest and most effective flow of Air energies. The Wand should be pointed at one end and notched at the other.

Like most magical tools, your Wand should be "keyed" or personalized to your own energies. Keying aligns the flow of the Wand from base (notched end) to tip, and ensures that only you will be able to use it. If you're a beginning practitioner, the Wand is an excellent first tool, allowing you to practice the major techniques of sweeping, pulling, flowing and flaring without endangering yourself or others.

Athame: Magical Fire Tool

The Athame, or magical knife, is one of the most powerful of the magician's tools. As a Fire tool, it has the characteristics that are most often attributed to the Wand in popular movies and TV shows, including blasting, fireballs, lightning bolts and shields. Just as the Wand could not possibly be a Fire tool since it is made of wood, the Athame must be a Fire tool since it's forged in Fire. In addition to Fire energy, the Athame can also handle some Water and Earth energies. That makes it one of the most versatile of the magician's tools.

Most often used for self defense and shielding, the Athame is also a powerful healing tool. For instance, a skilled magician can use a beam of Fire energy from the Athame to seal or cauterize a wound that won't stop bleeding. This tool is also used to create full-cast circles, invoke deity beings during ritual and release psychic "ties" to other people.

Athames should be made of high carbon, nickel alloy, or chrome alloy steel. In addition, it should have a full tang, which means that the steel goes all the way through handle, and not be a folding knife. Finally, beginners should start with a single-edged blade with a straight edge (it's harder to control Fire energy through a double-edged or curved blade).

Like the Wand and other magical tools, the Athame should be "keyed" before use. Keying clears the tool of junky energies, aligns the energy to flow from handle to tip, and personalizes the Athame so that it is in tune with your own energies. Finally, you should store your Athame in a sheath or wrap it in a natural material such as cotton, wool, leather or silk.

Chalice: Magical Water Tool

The Chalice is often called the magical tool of the Spirit, since the Chalice is the magical Water tool and Water is the language of the Spirit. Most often used for divination, psychic communication and blessings, the Chalice is also used for protection of sacred objects, self-defense and healing.

The Chalice is associated with the West, and is the tool of feeling, emotion and connection. Goblet-shaped chalices work best, and should have a bowl that is large enough to store small magical objects (storing objects in your keyed chalice keeps them clear of unwanted energies). Chalices should be made of a single material, such as glass, ceramic, silver, pewter or copper. With the Chalice, as with all magical tools, you need to consider the characteristics of the element you're working with to determine what materials will work. Wood chalices, for instance, don't work well because wood doesn't flow Water energies well.

To work with your Chalice, you'll need some additional items, such as spring water (don't use chlorinated water, which has some unhealthy energies), rock or sea salt (don't use iodized salts) and an all natural material in which you can wrap your Chalice. For the most effective use, you'll also want to "key" your Chalice to personalize it to your own energies and set the Chalice energies rotating in the correct clockwise direction.

Plate: Magical Earth Tool

The Plate, also known in magical circles as the Shield or Pantacle, is the magical tool of the element Earth. Associated with the direction North, the plate is primarily a tool of protection and healing. Magicians and shamans often use the Plate to protect magical operations, such as divination or spellwork, from outside interference. Plates are also useful for storing magical objects you want to protect, similar to the chalice, and for self protection.

Ideally, Plates should be round in shape to produce the strongest energy vortex and beam, and should be of earth-colored material, which include greens, browns and blacks, or have plant-based designs on them. Ceramic, wood or porcelain Plates work well, as do metal and glass Plates. Avoid Plates that are too heavily carved with designs or patterns, since this can interfere with the Plate's energy flow and pattern.

To key or personalize your Plate for magical use, you'll need rock salt, non-chlorinated water and a pure cotton cloth. You'll also need a Firebowl and a spare Chalice. Keying ensures that the energy in your Plate flows in the appropriate direction for protection, healing and spellwork.

A little known fact about the Plate is that it is an important tool for simulacra or "voodoo" type magic. In addition, the Plate is also a "broadcaster," meaning that you can use it to broadcast certain energies into your environment.

If you are interested in expanding your magical "reach", then using magical tools will help you do that. You can find ebooks for each tool separately on our website, or just get some specific ways to use magical tools with our Kindle book, Learn How to Do Witchcraft Rituals and Spells with Magical Tools.


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Tuesday, November 29, 2016

The Magical World of Ostriches

We've all heard about ostriches, those silly creatures that stick their heads in the sand and believe that if they can't see a predator, the predator can't see them. We giggle at them and make fun of them. Actually, ostriches don't put their heads in the sand, but if they did, it would make a lot of sense magically.

Why? Why does ignoring something that's clearly "there" make sense magically? Because a large part of magic is about the Art of Ignorance. There are a lot of definitions for magic, and one of the clearest definitions of magic is "The art of selective perception." In other words, focusing on only what we want to create with a spell or magical technique, and ignoring the rest. Magicians know that humans are energy beings, or to be more precise, energy vortexes. We constantly go around sucking people and events in our live with our focus and attention. What we focus on comes to us. It's the Law of Attraction.

In magic, when you're working on a spell, you start out with a really large focus and then you narrow it down. First you look at what you want to achieve and assess all the factors that might help or hinder that by doing tarot readings (wide focus). Tarot readings narrow the list down to a few key factors. Next, you design your spell, using candles, invocations, chants, litanies, simulacra or anything else that's pertinent. What you're doing with your spell is formalizing your intention (narrowing your focus) and calling on powers and beings to assist you. Finally, you launch your spell. So what happens when you launch your spell? Your spell goes out into the world as an energy matrix, powered by your intention and the help of the powers and beings you've called in to assist you. The first thing it does is hit resistance because of those factors that you discovered in the tarot reading. Now here's the key. If you were a novice magician and you looked at the situation when your spell hit resistance, you'd panic, right? You'd think to yourself, "The spell isn't working! I've got to do something!" Wrong. A seasoned magician is already prepared for the spell to hit resistance-after all, the tarot reading told you it would. If the spell didn't hit any resistance, you wouldn't need a spell. The experienced magician has designed the spell specifically to handle all the negative factors (resistance) that came up in the tarot reading.

So what does the seasoned magician do at this point? Practice the Art of Ignoring. She sticks her head in the sand and waits until it's all over. She allows the spell to work its miracles by not interfering, and not putting her attention on all the things that could go wrong or thinking negative thoughts about her spell.

All of this, of course, is a long-winded explanation about why ostriches are magically intelligent beings. They have learned the Art of Ignoring. So if you want something in your life to "miraculously" manifest, tell the Universe what you want (you can use plain English) then make like an ostrich and ignore everything until the miracle happens. Miracles are really just processes beyond our understanding. Magicians understand how miracles work (it doesn't mean they aren't impressed anyway) and intentionally create them in their lives. So ostriches aren't so dumb after all; maybe they were human magicians in another lifetime!

You can be a human magician in this lifetime by studying a variety of magical topics through our ebooks. Check them out and see which topics call to you.

Image courtesy of  anankkml  / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Thursday, November 24, 2016

The Power of Paper in Creating What You Want

Many of you probably had a lot of experience with journaling or writing your goals down on paper. But have you ever thought about why writing is such an effective activity? Why it seems to help you manifest your dreams or get rid of negative thoughts and emotions?

The power of paper lies in the fact that once we write something down, it has moved from our minds onto paper. This is a transition from the non-physical to the physical. Once something is in the physical, it's more tangible and real, and we have an easier time working with it. That's why it's great for either manifestation or releasing negative energies.

Writing something down on paper works for manifestation because it makes your thoughts more real and solid--one step closer to manifestation. Magically speaking, the more physical something is, the closer it is to becoming real in your world. For instance, in the earliest stage of manifestation, there might just be emotion and some vague, subliminal thoughts. Or there might be a single flash of inspiration, which is quickly forgotten.

Next, if the dream or idea takes hold, there will be active thought in conscious mind. This is more solid than the ephemeral dream state. After that, most people talk about the idea to others. This step moves the dream from inside you to the outside world. The idea has been expressed and now moves around in the outer world. Finally, the most permanent step before actual action happens is writing the idea down on paper. What is the power of paper in this process? It creates a physical anchor in the world for your idea. Something written down on paper can last a long time in the physical world, longer than a spoken word. It becomes like an anchor point for the actual manifestation (whether it be a car, relationship, or new job). So if you want to create something in your world, take it through these steps, and finish by writing what you want down on paper. The power of paper will surprise you!

How Paper Can Help Release Negativity
You can also use this same process to dump negative thoughts, emotions, and patterns. It works on the same principle. If something is really bothering you, get it out of mind and Spirit by putting it down on paper. This creates a physical anchor outside of you that those thoughts and emotions can latch onto. Once you're done writing, burn the paper in a fire proof location (like a kitchen sink or in a firebowl). This process gets everything out of you and connects it to a new physical anchor. Burning the paper releases those thoughts and emotions back into the universe, away from you.

Writing things down on paper works because thoughts and emotions are attracted to physical anchors. Normally, our bodies act as a sort of physical anchor for our thoughts and emotions. If we want to move those thoughts and emotions out into the world, for manifestation or release, we have to create another anchor, which is the written word. You'll find lots of other magical solutions to release negativity and manifest what you desire in life in our Witchcraft Spell Book Series.



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Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Using Astrology in Daily Life

Even if you know absolutely nothing about astrology, you've probably been influenced by it-whether you're reading your horoscope in the supermarket checkout line or listening to people talk about Mercury retrograde. While astrology can seem like a complex subject, the good news is that you can get a lot of wonderful guidance from astrology just by studying your daily transits.

Daily transits are the parts of astrology that show us opportunities for growth and change in our everyday lives based on the patterns in our birth charts. If we study the transits that are coming up in our lives, we stand a much better chance of learning valuable life lessons without all the pain.

Years ago I ran a number of experiments concerning the nature of these transits and how they operate in our lives. I discovered that every transit has a lesson to help us with our interrelation with other people and our goals in life. When I studied these lessons and took appropriate action ahead of time, the transit passed without pain or chaos and I was "off the hook." If I didn't study the transit ahead of time, my life became quite chaotic and I had to learn the lesson the hard way.

There are many good books that can teach you the significance of the different transits in your chart. For instance, a square aspect (90 degree angle) represents difficulty or challenge. If you know that such a situation is coming up soon, you can review the different areas of your life and see what might be affected. You can then take appropriate steps and save yourself a lot of heartache.

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Thursday, November 17, 2016

The Manifestation Delay

One of the crucial points that people often overlook is the delay between thoughts/feelings and actual manifestation. There is a period of delay between what you are thinking and feeling, and what is manifesting. The life you are living today is actually the result of thoughts and feelings that you had yesterday, last week, last month, last year or even last lifetime. Your physical reality is always one step behind your mental and emotional processes.

So what implications does this have for your manifestation? It means that if you're working on manifesting something in your life, you shouldn't look to your current physical reality as an accurate gauge of how well you are doing. Your current reality can only show you how well you have done in the past.

If you look at your current reality and find it displeasing, don't try to do anything to change it. It's just the end result of your earlier manifestation efforts. When you take steps to physically change your reality, you're not really affecting your future – only your past.

While traditional wisdom says that we should "be responsible" and take steps to change our reality, ancient esoteric wisdom says that putting our attention only on what we want (not on what already is) is our true responsibility. It's much more responsible to take control of your thoughts and feelings in the moment than it is to try to change what has already manifested.

If you truly want to learn to manifest in a consistent fashion, from today forth, when you look at the messes and disasters in your life, don't try to change it all. Instead, ask yourself what you want, and then focus all of your attention there. This will produce a better tomorrow, which, in turn, will produce a better next day. Always, always ask yourself, "What do I want?" Putting your attention on what you want, rather than focusing on the disasters that you don't want, will create a better reality than you could ever imagine.

Ready to start living a magical life? Our Witchcraft Spell Books series can help you get started.



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Thursday, November 10, 2016

The Four Elements of Magickal Powers

Each week we receive many emails from people wanting to know about magickal powers such as clairvoyance, levitation, telekinesis and telepathy. They want to know whether this kind of magick is real and, more importantly, how to do it!

Since it's become such a popular topic, inspired by movies like Harry Potter and shows like Charmed, we thought it might be time to shed some light on this topic. To answer the first question, are such magickal powers and abilities real? In other words, is it possible to do these types of things in this world at this time? The answer is yes! Absolutely. In fact, you'll find that the masters of many different traditions, such as Aikido or Buddhism, can and do levitate. There are also many popular clairvoyants and telepaths, such as the well-known medical intuitive Louise Hay. And, many Tai Chi masters have telekinetic abilities (meaning they can move objects without touching them).

The second question, of course, is how you can develop these abilities for yourself. There are, of course, many paths to mastering these abilities. At the foundation of all these paths, though, is an understanding of the four elements of magick: air, fire, water and earth. One of the basic tenets of magickal studies is that everything in this Universe is made up of some combination of these four elements, and if you understand and know how to work with these elements, you can understand (and create) anything you desire.

That's why four element magick is the first area of study for our students – it is at the heart of everything in the Universe, including magickal powers and abilities. For instance, you can develop clairvoyance and telepathy, which is access to knowledge not available to the five senses, by developing and working with your water element. Water, being the language of Spirit, allows you to access almost any information (or emotions) at a Spiritual level. Another ability, levitation, is the result of increasing your air element and decreasing your earth element. And telekinesis is the ability to channel your fire energy toward a specific object. For instance, we teach our students to begin using their telekinetic ability by throwing firebolts at a candle flame. They know they have begun to develop that ability when they can make the flame jump and split by pointing their finger at it.

Beyond the development of these psychic or magickal abilities, however, the four elements help us develop and follow our birth visions, listen to our Spirit guidance, and generally live more creative and peaceful lives. By understanding the basic "makeup" and laws that drive our Universe, we can learn to go with the flow rather than swim upstream. This is the true benefit of four element magick. Is the development of magickal abilities great fun? Absolutely! It's useful, too, for self-defense, personal power and more. But it's also the beginning of a deep understanding of the driving forces of life. It's a strong first step onto the path of direct knowledge and spiritual scientism. When the shamans were kicked out of the tribe centuries ago, the world lost access to such direct knowledge. Now we need the shamans more than ever, and we invite you to step on this path by studying the four elements of magick with our online classes. We have a free offer that will give you access to the first 10 classes of our Basic Magic Course which covers each of the 4 elements in depth. If you are interested, just email us at info@shamanschool.com and ask about the Free Offer for Basic Magic classes.




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Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Waiting For Synchronicity

Do you remember the scene in the movie "The Minority Report" where Tom Cruise is escaping with the psychic or "precognitive" and they are being pursued in the mall? In that scene, the psychic keeps telling Tom Cruise to "Wait! Wait...wait...wait." She's telling him to wait for the moment of perfect synchrony, when a man with a huge bunch of balloons will stand in just the right place and hide them from their pursuers. The whole time she's telling him to wait, though, Tom Cruise is anxious and ready to run.

Now doesn't that sound like scenes from our own lives? At least, that's how the Universe would see us as we go about our daily activities. Here's what it sees: we ask the Universe to bring us something and the Universe immediately leaps into action to bring it to us. But rather than simply waiting for that moment of synchrony, when all the factors come together in perfect order, we leap into action and try to "make everything work." If we would just wait for the moment of perfect synchrony, as Tom Cruise did in the movie, we would find that it would come to us – easily, peacefully and without fuss.

In this society, we have an extreme bias for action, productivity and achievement. We believe that we must "do" everything in our lives, so we're always in motion. In fact, it's worse than that. Not only are we in motion almost every waking moment of every day, but we've also planned out our active motion for the coming days, weeks and months. Whether it's work, PTA meetings, hobby-type activities or sports, we are completely booked. Or even if we aren't physically booked at every moment, we're so mentally busy trying to "figure it out" that we might as well be doing something physical!

The result of all of this scheduling and mental gyration is that we don't have any room in our lives for synchronicity. We have literally left not even the smallest crack through which the Universe can squeeze through that which we've asked for – and we wonder why the Universe doesn't deliver!!

Manifestation, contrary to popular belief, is neither a totally active sort of thing nor a totally passive waiting. It is an active anticipation of what's to come, a joyful expectation accompanied by inspired activity. In manifestation, you get a boost of anticipation followed by inspired ideas, followed by joyful activity, followed by yet more anticipation.

It's like walking a winding, hilly trail. When you're at the bottom of a hill, all you can see is the top of the next hill or curve – and you anticipate what you might see at the top. You're so excited by what you might see, that you take action and walk up there. Once there, you see a magnificent view, and also the next phase of the trail. This leads to more anticipation drawing you forward, more action and more pleasure. You see, it is an active participation in life of all your senses – physical, emotional, mental and spiritual – with appreciation and pause regularly interspersed.

If it seems like the Universe isn't delivering what you've asked for, you might not be leaving enough room in your life to let it in. To create some room, take one day a week, if possible, and schedule nothing. Let that day be a blank canvas on which the Universe can paint its perfect synchrony. If you can't take a full day, take at least a few hours for yourself every week and see what magic unfolds! You can learn other magical ways to work with the Universe to co-create and draw your manifestations to you in our Daily Rituals for Attracting What You Want in Life ebook.




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Thursday, November 3, 2016

Using Water to Increase Your Psychic Gifts

There are lots of ways to enhance and increase your psychic abilities, and one of the easiest ways is to increase the quantity and quality of water energy in your life. In magical terms, the element water is associated with Spirit, emotions, and feelings--and emotions are known as the "language of Spirit." So increasing the element water in your life will also increase and enhance your Spirit or psychic abilities.

Increasing Your Water Element
How do you increase the water in your life? Any way you can. Here's a few suggestions to get you started:

  • Drink more water
  • Take long and luxurious baths
  • Wear water blue clothes
  • Paint your walls water blue

You can also buy a fountain for your room, walk by running water, or walk in the rain. Physical water is the lower octave of psychic water, and when you immerse yourself regularly in physical water, you'll begin to awaken your psychic water. You can also burn water-element incenses, such as rose, lotus, or hibiscus, while you meditate.

On another level, the best way to increase your psychic water is to live in the feeling of the water element. Since water is the element of feeling and not thinking, the more time you spend in feeling the more psychic you will become. As a society, we tend to over think. We start our sentences with, "I think," and answer questions with, "I'll think about it." Magically, thinking precludes psychic powers. The more you think, the less psychic you'll be. So, practice feeling more and thinking less. Meditate, hum, sing, feel, or move your body-all these things help you think less and feel more.

If you are interested in more ways to open your psychic abilities, take a look at our Psychic Development ebook.




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Thursday, October 27, 2016

How to Use Magic to Get the Information You Need

When learning how to use magic, one of the first things you need to know is that as a planetary citizen you have a right to any and all information in the Universe. What you do with that information, especially if it concerns other people then falls under the Rules of the Road, but you are entitled to have the information whether you choose to use it or not and however you choose to use it. There are many ways of gathering the information you need or want and you will find specific directions for these techniques in some of our other blog articles (see below) and in our Daily Rituals for Attracting What You Want in Life ebook. Deciding how to use magic to gain the knowledge you seek can be through one or many of these techniques. You can use magic rituals to consult spirit guides, higher powers and beings, and/or get information from yourself.

Some Guidelines
Whichever method you use to gain knowledge and information, there are a few guidelines that will be helpful to keep in mind for how to use magic information gathering techniques. First of all, don't be afraid to ask for information. You have the right to access any information. Second, show gratitude. When you are working with your own Spirit, spirit guides or higher powers and beings, remember to express thanks for the information before you get it and after you get it. Also, don't be afraid to ask that the information be given to you in a way that you can understand it easily. If you don't get answers that you can understand, ask again and keep asking until you do get answers in a way you can understand. The more you practice this process the easier it will become.

Magical Ways to Get Information
This list of techniques and magical rituals will get you started learning how to use magic to get the information you need or want.


Getting Answers from Yourself
Above are some ways of how to use magic to get information from spirit guides, higher powers and beings and the Universe. Esoteric teachings however tell us that we create all the problems we have so that we can discover the answers. Our life experiences are like a school in which we have set up a number of problems so that as we go through our lives we discover ourselves by discovering the answers. For example, if you find that you keep encountering the same kind of problems over and over again in just different situations or with different people, then that should give you a clue that there is a lesson there for you to learn. Here is a way to get answers from your own Spirit.


  • Write the question that you would like to have answered on a sheet of paper using your dominant hand to write with. For example you might ask what lesson you are to learn from your current situation. 
  • Now switch your pen or pencil to your other hand (non-dominant hand) and write the first thing that comes to you. Do not stop to ponder the question or think about the answer, just write.
  • If the answer does not make sense right away, don't worry about it. Just carry it with you for the next several days and see if anything comes to you that clarifies it. Information often comes in small pieces at a time so that we can digest it better. It may be only a partial answer at this point and more will come as you are ready for it. 

Real Magic Example
Here is an example of one way that one of our students got information for a situation that she felt guilt over after asking the question, "What else do I need to do for self-forgiveness?" First it might be helpful to have a brief background of what she was dealing with. She had been involved in a situation in which Spirit was telling her not to be in a certain place at a certain time. She ignored this and an event occurred which left her feeling guilty. She had dealt with these guilt issues in many magical ways over time, had moved forward to some extent, but there was still something lacking. Thus the question she posed and here is an account of her experience.

"I was doing my morning sitting outside, facing the pasture behind our house with the woods beyond. This was several days after posing the question of what else I needed to do for self-forgiveness. During this sitting I had what I can only describe as a vision. Everything around me became very quiet and still. I saw the trees as taking on an almost human form and the thought of them as "Standing People" came to me. I suddenly became very aware of all the shadows. I didn't see the Standing People (as I will continue to call them as that's how they seemed in this vision), but rather saw their shadows. As I looked into the pasture the Standing People all moved closer towards me from the woods and moved closer to each other. It became very dark and the spaces in between them were filled with dense, dark undergrowth. I saw something dark moving in the shadows there and I asked it what it was. The answer came back very clearly. "I am Stupid". So there was Stupid in the shadows. I got it, sat stunned for a minute, then started to chuckle. Just as rapidly as the shadowland appeared it disappeared. All the Standing People moved away from each other, the undergrowth was gone, light filtered in the spaces between and it became the normal serene scene I am used to seeing every day; pasture in front and trees beyond.

This explained the part that I had been missing in my search for self-forgiveness. Just dealing with the guilt wasn't enough. There was a much deeper issue to deal with – the one of feeling stupid that I was there in the first place and then didn't leave when "Spirit" was telling me too. This issue of feeling stupid has very deep roots in my past and gave me a lot of situations, encounters, misunderstoods, and relationship issues to explore. The answer seemed so simple and was inside me all the time, but lay there unrecognized until I was ready to deal with it." 

Trust in the process that what you seek will present itself to you at the perfect time. It will come when you are ready to understand, appreciate, and learn from it. Remember that the destination is not always as important as the journey. In other words, you will learn more about yourself and why you attract the situations you do by looking at the process by which you arrive there.

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Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Shamanic Secret: You Have the Right to Any Information You Want

Here's a little shamanic secret for you. You are entitled to any information you want in the entire Universe. Why is this an important shamanic secret to know? In any situation you are dealing with or anytime you need spiritual guidance you have the right to get any information you need to help you make decisions, make choices, or better understand a situation. You absolutely have the right to get this information, but the second part of this shamanic secret is that what you do with the information falls under the Rules of the Road. Especially in cases where the information concerns other people, these Universal laws that govern magical practice need to be considered so that you stay on the right side of karma and don't get any unwanted backlash.

Putting this shamanic secret to work for you by asking for help and information from Spirit and spiritual beings enhances your relationship with these beings, puts you in touch with your own Spirit which increases the joy and peace in your life. There are a few things to know when working to access this type of spiritual information besides the Rules of the Road. Some of them are:


  • Don't be afraid to ask. You have the right to any information in the Universe. 
  • Be sure to show gratitude to your spirit or guides by thanking them for the assistance before you get the information. 
  • Ask that the information you seek be given to you in a way you will understand easily. 
  • If you don't get the information the first time you ask, thank the source and ask again. It may be that the answer is just in a form you are not understanding. Keep asking until you get the information. 
  • Accept the information you get with gratitude and don't second guess it. 


Over time and with more practice this process will become easier and easier. Knowing this shamanic secret can make life fuller, less difficult and more enjoyable. Find out more ways to access information from the Universe in our Daily Rituals for Attracting What You Want in Life ebook.

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Thursday, October 20, 2016

Tarot Meanings: Why Keying Your Deck is Important

In studying tarot meanings it is helpful to know that the Tarot is in a sense a simulacrum of the Universe. The word Tarot is a disguised word. It was originally spelled Rota which means "wheel". The Tarot deck represents all phenomenal experience, the wheel of life. By keying a tarot deck, it becomes a living form tied into the existing Universe. In keying a deck, you become connected to the cards, are able to access information from the Universe through them and make a connection with tarot meanings.

When you begin to study the Tarot, it is best to not try to memorize the meanings of the cards. Originally the Tarot was an oral tradition so writing down the tarot meanings in some ways defies the tradition. Written tarot meanings can be used as a guide to get started but you should also strive to see the tarot meanings as they pertain to specific readings.

Keying your deck helps you get a sense of each card and begin establishing a relationship with it. You have the opportunity to take each card one at a time and really look at it, make it come alive for you and see various meanings it can relate to.

The easiest deck to begin with is the Waite-Rider Tarot deck. Your Tarot deck is like any other magical tool in that keying it personalizes it to you. Keying your deck connects it to your own energies and also to the Universe itself.

Keying the Tarot Deck
First put your deck in natural order which is:

  • 2-10, Page, Knight, Queen, King, Ace of Wands
  • 2-10, Page, Knight, Queen, King, Ace of Swords
  • 2-10, Page, Knight, Queen, King, Ace of Cups
  • 2-10, Page, Knight, Queen, King, Ace of Discs
  • 1-21 of the Major Arcana with the Fool being the last card

The first card above should be facing down on the top of the deck and other cards listed in order go below it.

To key the Tarot cards:
1. Sit in South facing North.

2. Place your keyed Plate (Earth tool) and Tarot deck put in natural order in front of you.

3. Set up matching candles of Sun Yellow, White or Sky Blue on either side of the Plate.

4. Light the candle on the right (Wisdom candle) with a wooden match.

5. Keep the match lit and sweep it down in an arc over the Plate to light the candle on the left (Protection candle).

6. Again keeping the match lit, sweep it up in an arc over the plate to the flame of the right candle again. This creates a connection between the two candles.

7. Take the first card from the deck (2 of Wands), place it face up and upright to you on the Plate.

8. Look at the card. Notice the overall color of the card, the flatness of it and its dimensions. Don't focus on any particular detail. Keep your gaze soft and look into the scene.

9. Then begin to ask questions about the card like "What time of day is it?" or "Is that a town in the background?" You are not trying to get answers to these questions, just creating curiosity.

10. Keep asking questions until you see the card "window". It will feel like you are looking into the scene through a window The card will look like it is becoming clearer, more alive, 3 dimensional, more colorful or brighter. You get a sense of real understanding or relationship with the card. This can help you when you begin doing readings as you develop a connection with all the tarot meanings of the card.

11. Once the card windows, take it off the Plate and lay it face down next to the Plate.

Continue this process with each card in the deck. You do not have to do them all at one time if you become tired. You can mark your place and return later. If you have a card that will not window, you may have issues about that card. Put it aside and try again later.

Can you see now why keying your deck is so important in understanding tarot meanings? A book or other written meanings can give you a jump start to understanding each of the cards, but keying your deck helps you become intimately involved and connected to the cards and tarot meanings. Once you have keyed your deck you are ready to begin doing divination and tarot readings. Learn more about the Tarot, tarot meanings and how to do Tarot readings in our Tarot Homestudy Course.

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Thursday, October 13, 2016

Spells and Magic for Everyday Use: Why You Need to be Precise!

When performing spells and magic it is very important to be precise. I can cite many examples of spells and magic procedures that either "backfired" or that were perceived as failed all because the practitioner was not precise in executing the procedure. We've said it before and will continue to repeat – Magic is a precision science. The Universe can always deliver what we ask for, but sometimes it doesn't seem that way because we either are not ready to receive and our level of being is not a match for what we are asking to manifest or because sometimes we just aren't asking the right questions or are not being specific enough in our request.

Let's say for example that you want extra money. You are ready to receive this money, and you have asked the Universe to deliver. As you are walking down the street, you look down and find a penny. There you go, the Universe delivered just what you asked for, extra money. What you didn't do was specify how much money or when you needed it by or that you don't want anyone else to come to harm in order for you to attain it. This is where in spells and magic, Directors and Limiters come in and can help us get more precise in letting the Universe know exactly what we want.

Directors
Writing down your Directors and Limiters for a spell and magic procedure can help you in manifesting what you want and help you get very precise. Directors are a list of everything that you want in your manifestation. In this list include specifically what it is that you want. How much money, date you want it by, etc... It is often better to define ranges rather than absolutes to give the Universe room to work. So for example, it is often better to say "delivered in six to ten weeks" rather than saying "must come at 4:00 pm on October 2". Also, do NOT specify, HOW it will come to you. That is not your job; that is the Universe's job to determine the delivery system.

Limiters
Limiters are a list of what you don't want to happen in your manifestation. It is a way to safeguard yourself and others. Remember by Rules of the Road that causing harm to others will provide a backlash to you, whether in this lifetime or a future one and whether you did it with intention or not. Use your limiters in your spells and magic procedures to define things such as wanting your money to come to you without causing the death or loss of property to anyone. You might also want to specify in the Limiters that there not be any negative financial surprises to pop up around the money, for example some type of large tax or investment of capital on your part. As always in spells and magic, think it through completely. Then build in your safeguards.

Tip For Getting Help From the Universe
Here's a tip that is one of many you'll find in our Daily Rituals for Attracting What You Want in Life ebook that can help you in asking the Universe for help. Now that you have your Directors and Limiters defined and written down, make several copies of them. Take one copy and meditate or pray over it, then place it in a sacred place. This might be your altar, a Universe box, or a Bible or other sacred book to you. Then put other copies around places that you will see them. On the wall above your desk, on the refrigerator, your car dashboard, etc... This will keep your aim in your consciousness. You may not stop and read it every time you see the list, but your subconscious mind will absorb the information every time you see these lists and this will cause your belief to grow.

Real Life Example
Here is an example of how being precise enough to define what you want can deliver surprising results. This also shows why you do not want to get wrapped up in how the results come to you. The Universe is able to see the bigger picture and can find ways to make things happen that we could never have imagined.

One of our advanced students had accrued quite a bit of debt and wanted very much for that debt to be paid off. She specified in her Directors several things including the amount of money needed to pay off all her debts and a range of time. In her Limiters she specified that no one would be harmed by her receiving this money, that there would be no death involved in this receiving and no loss of property to anyone. This was especially important to her because she wanted to make sure she did not inherit the money as the result of a family member dying. She really couldn't see any other way the money would come, but put it out to the Universe, put herself in the receiving mode and being a true believer in spells and magic, trusted the Universe would deliver. And the money did come. It came in a way that she would never had been able to make happen herself without the divine intervention and that was a total surprise. Within the specified period of time, her sister came to her reporting that she received an unusually large one time Christmas bonus at her job. She said one of her first thoughts on hearing about the amount of the bonus was that she wanted to use a portion of that money to pay off her sister's debts and ease her money worries. Being a believer herself, the sister saw the large bonus she received as being tied to her sister's manifestation and that now they could both benefit from it. Coincidence or magic? I know what I believe; what do you believe?

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Tuesday, October 11, 2016

The Tarot: Judgment

In this new era, the world of the 6th Sun, we are being asked to use our own spiritual judgment more than ever. We can no longer rely on authority figures or gurus. We have to look back at our own history and ask ourselves if we are manifesting what we want. If not, what errors are we making over and over again? In what ways are we NOT using our spiritual experience and wisdom? One way to find out how we are doing in this aspect is to use the Tarot and in particular the Judgment card in a Tarot spread or reading. Here's why.

Judgment
The Judgment card is all about the spirit or you as a spiritual being. It is not about being judged from outside sources. If you wanted to look at that aspect then Justice or in the Crowley deck, Adjustment, would be the cards to use. Judgment relates to the spirit's own judgment as a spiritual being. Think of it as your spirit raising the ghosts of your past and passing judgment on them. In a reading of this type, spirit is accessing its entire life path and judging itself according to its own experiences. It is how you are dealing with your specific conditions as a spiritual being based on your past. This would be the card to use for questions such as:

  • What kind of judgments have I passed on my own past experience?
  • How good is my judgment as a spirit?
  • How much am I paying attention to what I know as a spirit from the past?


If the Judgment card is upright in your reading, it tells you that you are doing well as a spiritual being in integrating past experiences and using good judgment as a spirit. This is not what is according to what outside sources such as man's laws, cultures or social systems say, but rather how your own spirit judges you and your past experiences. When Judgment is being used properly, it is compassion that you can shift, choose, and change. An upright card in your reading can imply that you have a spiritual balance going on and your ability to manifest is very high.

Of course, if you have a reverse Judgment card show up in your reading, then you get good information on what you need to consider changing. The experience of all our lifetimes is there for us to have and use if we ask for it. The Tarot and in particular the Judgment card can help in checking how we are doing in this role and give ideas of how we can do better. If you are interested in learning more about how to do Tarot card readings and what the cards mean then our online Basic Tarot Course can help you get started in this fascinating magical study.

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Thursday, October 6, 2016

Magically Throw a Fit To Enhance Manifestation

Today I would like to share an experience with you all that arose from our advanced student class concerning how to magically throw a fit enhanced their manifestations. Consider that these are magical practitioners who have been consistently living a life of magic and communicating with higher powers and beings anywhere from 10 to 15 years. This group of individuals is adept at spellwork, working with the four elements and any number of magical techniques. Recently however, one student in the class was experiencing difficulties in achieving a certain manifestation she desired. She had done spellwork around the issue, sought guidance from higher powers and beings and engaged in a variety of other magical procedures. She had seen progress towards her manifestation, but it was falling short of what she truly desired. She then asked the question in class of how she could tell the Universe that she has continually honored them and now needed them to perform something for her.

The answer to this question was surprising. When asking for answers from Higher Powers and Beings on what else could be done to resolve a certain problem, the Winds and Old Ones responded that to yell and scream, be violently angry, and make demands would be appropriate. The answer received said, “We are not like you humans, it’s all acceptable energy and equally honorable to us as praise – adulation means nothing to us – all human expression is a joyous note to Creator’s ear as long as it’s honest”. In a nutshell the answer was for her to throw a fit. And so she did. She discovered through this process that a more personal relationship was created with the Old Ones, thus enhancing communication with them and a knowing that they “have my back”. She found that using this new working relationship allowed her to make use of Abraham-like techniques, telling the story of her life as she wants to live it and having the Old Ones there to back her up whatever yarn she chooses to spin. To quote this student, “I’ve tried out wilder and wilder yarns and they are all coming true”.

This led to a discussion in class and to other students trying out the magical throw a fit technique to see the results. The consensus was that as long as all other methods have been tried, yelling and demanding is quite OK with the Old Ones and other higher powers. In fact, our students found out that they not only see it as creating a joyful noise to Creator’s ear, but that they find it down right funny and consider it a form of praise. If you consider that from an energetic point of view, this makes sense. You are creating a high intensity, high energy condition which interprets very much like a crowd cheering at a concert or sports event. This intense energy is then interpreted as a high form of praise; again much like the musician or sports team would interpret it. So in some cases to magically throw a fit is considered as extending a large intense amount of energy towards higher powers and beings which they consider as a method of honoring them. It is also an expression of real and honest emotion and in a true relationship we are allowed to express our more “human” qualities, warts and all so to speak, and are given acceptance for it. Students found that putting out this type of energy came back to them as seeing their desires manifesting with less work on their parts and quicker.  

So the next time you are communicating with higher powers and beings, consider enhancing your relationship with some real honest emotion, give them a chuckle, let loose and go magically throw a fit. See what your results are and how they compare with our advanced students’ results. And if you are ready to get more serious about your magical studies check out all our free resources, online courses, ebooks and Kindle books and pick the format that works for you to dive into the wonderful world of magic.

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