Thursday, November 30, 2017

Being in Silence to Receive

We often teach students how to dowse, do divination, and gain information through non-physical means--in other words, receive information from the Universe. If you have practiced any of these arts, or simply ever asked for information from the Universe, you know that you need to be in a receiving mode before you can hear what the Universe has to say.

The Universe always delivers what we ask for, but we sometimes forget to listen. In fact, in the midst of our busy noisy lives, it's amazing that we're able to hear anything at all! Between cell phones, pagers, television, and radio, we're buried in a cacophony of physical sounds, which tends to shut down our ability to hear our inner voices of guidance.

How You Can Hear Universal Messages?
So how can you increase and develop your ability to hear the Universe and its messages? Practice inner and outer silence. Outer silence is perhaps the easier of the two to achieve. Just pick a segment of the day, say 2 hours, and choose to be silent during that period. It's best if you can choose an active part of the day, such as mid-morning or mid-afternoon. You might have to do this exercise on a weekend or during a holiday, when you won't be forced to interact with anyone at work or school. Maintain outer silence by not speaking. It's also best if you avoid taking in too much noise from other sources, such as radio or television. You can sit quietly, meditate, read something uplifting, or even do chores. The goal here is to actively listen or watch for messages from the Universe.

Outer versus Inner Silence
If you can't maintain outer silence during your day, you can work on inner silence instead. Inner silence means quieting the internal mind chatter that is with us almost all the time. As you're walking around, for instance, notice how many thoughts cross your mind, triggered by the things you see and hear. Then, start quieting that stream of thought by putting your attention on your breathing or some physical sensation, such as the sensation of your feet striking the ground. Whenever a thought comes up, just return your attention to the physical sensation. If you work consistently with this exercise, you'll soon be able quiet your internal chatter quickly and listen to your inner voice of guidance.

As you work on both inner and outer silence, you'll notice that one begins to affect the other. As you get more and more silent outside, you'll become more silent inside, and vice versa. Enjoy!

Learn more about how to use magic for a happier life in our Kindle books series.

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Tuesday, November 28, 2017

Finding East to Get Back on Track, Magically

If you ever feel like you've strayed from your path and you're not quite sure which way to go, just find east! While most compasses want to find north, for shamans and magicians east is the more powerful cardinal direction for finding knowledge and guidance.

East is the direction of knowledge, understanding and enlightenment; it's the direction of the Sun and the place where all life begins. When you're feeling lost, you can ask the Winds of the East for guidance, pray to the east, or just meditate facing east.

One of our favorite exercises is to practice finding east psychically:
  1. Find some open space outside and stand quietly for a few moments.
  2. Close your eyes and slowly spin around a few times.
  3. Raise your arm parallel with the ground and point the index finger of your dominant hand (the hand with which you normally point).
  4. Keeping your arm raised, slowly spin around until you feel yourself facing east. Some people feel "locked in" when they face east and others just feel a desire to stop turning.
  5. Open your eyes to verify whether you are facing east.

Don't worry about whether you actually find east on your first few tries. Your sense of east will develop with practice. It's often the practice of finding east that yields more benefit than actually pointing to it.

We've also found that when we're "locked on" to our path in life, finding east is easier, and when we're lost it's harder. This simple exercise can be an internal compass that tells you how closely you've stuck to your path. Enjoy!

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Thursday, November 23, 2017

To Cast Stronger Magic Spells Never Complain and Never Explain

Winston Churchill was well known for saying "Never complain, never explain," and when it comes to building force and strength in your magical practice, Churchill had the right equation.

People contact us all the time asking about how they can cast stronger magic spells. Sometimes they complain that their spells had no effect.

Sometimes the effect was less than expected. And sometimes a spell that didn't work so well for one person worked great for another.

So what's the difference?

Sources of Force in Casting Stronger Magic Spells
When you get right down to it, a spell is nothing more than a formalized intention supported by any powers and beings you might invite to help. A spell is the formalization of your own intention ... your desire to create a specific effect in the world.

Does a spell have power in and of itself? Yes. A spell has many sources of power outside of your own desire and force, including:

- higher powers and beings that respond to magic
- the force of magical practitioners who have used the spell before
- the power sound, as found in litanies, chants, and drumming
- the strength of any keyed magical tools used during the spell
- the force of symbols, which are doorways to actual sources of power
- and so forth ...

But, having said all of that, to cast stronger magic spells you always have to examine yourself. You are the most powerful driving force of any magical spell. So then the question becomes, how can you increase your own force so that you can cast stronger magic spells?

Building Your Own Force to Cast Strong Magic Spells
There are many magic rituals that can help you build force, and almost any positive magic ritual done on a CONSISTENT basis will increase your force. But going back to Winston Churchill's quote of "never complain, never explain," I have to say that this is one of my favorite ways to increase inner force. Magically, it makes sense. Here's why.

Never Complain
Complaining, as you have probably already experienced, puts you in a negative state of being. While you may feel better in the moment, as you complain, what you are actually doing is spending focused time manifesting what you don't want (i.e., whatever you are complaining about). So stop complaining already.

Actually, quitting the habit of complaining can be almost as difficult as kicking a smoking habit or any other addiction. So here are three tips that might help:

1. Even if you are complaining and nattering to yourself inside, do everything in your power not to express the complaint outwardly. Outer silence comes before inner silence.

2. If you really need to vent, give yourself five minutes a day and let it all hang out. Write it down in a journal or call a good friend. Then, let 'er rip. The rest of the day, don't complain.

3. To quiet either inner or outer complaint, when you feel the urge, tell yourself, "I'll let myself complain in five minutes." Five minutes later, tell yourself the same thing. This technique is known to work well for both smokers and complainers.

If you limit complaining for 40 days, you'll be amazed at how much your inner force increases, which will have a positive effect not just in terms of casting magic spells, but also in terms of improving your life overall. Well, duh, right? But it had to be said.

Never Explain
This is the part where most magical practitioners lose the most force. There is always the temptation to "explain" what we are doing and why to other people, for a variety of reasons.

Many of us just like to feel like we are not alone on the journey, so there's the temptation to explain our magic to friends who are not magical practitioners. Other times, we might feel the need to show off or demonstrate our powers, especially when challenged by non-believers.

Whatever the reason, explaining the use of magic goes against one of the primary Rules of the Road (the universal laws that govern magical practice). Created by George Dew, these rules hold true whether you believe them or not. The one that specifically applies to the "never explain" clause is this one:

"Never use magic for show, pride, or vainglory. Using magic to show off, to prove a point, or from a place of injured pride usually results in side-bands (undesirable side effects) to the operation that will bring very undesirable backlash from the Universe."

So even if you feel sorely tempted, never explain your magic, don't. In esoteric practice, there is something called the "hermetic seal." This seal refers to the practice of keeping certain aspects of your magical practice compartmentalized, away from public view.

While we definitely believe that certain magic rituals should be integrated into daily life, such as the Navajo Beauty Way, if you want to increase your force as a magical practitioner, keep a hermetic seal around most of your magical practice, especially spell work. In other words, if you want to cast stronger magic spells, keep your mouth shut about it.

I have no idea whether Winston Churchill practiced any form of magic or not, but the guy hit the nail on the head when he said "Never complain, never explain." To increase the force of your magic spells, try following this dictum for 40 days or so. If you manage it, even partly, you'll be both pleased and surprised by the result!

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Thursday, November 16, 2017

Maximizing the Power of Your Magic Spell: Choosing the Right Format

There are lots of people out there casting all kinds of magic spells, and experiencing various levels of success. Obviously, if you're going to cast a spell you want to maximize the power of the spell so you can achieve your goal as quickly and easily as possible. One thing many spell-casters don't consider when they choose a spell is the format of the spell, but the format of a spell has a lot to do with its power. The format of the spell should match the goal you are trying to achieve with your spell.

For instance, suppose the neighbors in the apartment next door are extremely annoying and you want to replace them with better neighbors. This is a fairly simple and direct objective so you don't want to use an overly complicated or powerful spell otherwise you might create too much effect, too quickly. If you use a powerful multi-candle spell for this situation, you might create a constant stream of people moving in and out of the apartment, with none of them staying long and all of them causing a lot of disruption with the constant moving.

On the other hand, if you used a fairly simple simulacra spell, using figurines to represent neighbors (similar to voodoo dolls), you could easily move your current neighbors to a different zip code with a map-moving spell. Then you could use a simple come-along, which features a detailed description of the neighbors you do want placed on a keyed plate under a magnet, to bring new desirable neighbors in. By using a simple and direct spell to achieve a simple objective, you would focus all of the spell's power toward a single aim (getting new neighbors) yet not overpower the situation.

If you're not sure which magic spell format to use for which situations, here's a short list of spell formats you can use as a guide.

1. Come Along
This is the most basic kind of magic spell. Write a list of what you do and don't want the spell to do (also called directors and limiters). Put it on a keyed plate under a magnet. Allow the magnet to bring the desired outcome.

2. Simulacra Magic
Use a figurine or other object (a simulacrum) to represent a person or thing. Key the simulacrum by holding the object in your dominant hand and flowing energy and thoughts about the person or object into the simulacrum. Do to the simulacrum what you want done to the person or thing. For instance, you can key an apple to a tumor and then allow the apple to rot and disintegrate so that the tumor shrinks and disintegrates, too.

3. Single Candle Spell
These magic spells involve a single carved candle, directors and limiters, and a chant. After doing divinations to ensure that all the aspects of the spell will achieve the desired effect, you carve symbols representing the desired outcome of your spell on a candle, and place the directors and limiters plus candle on a keyed plate. You launch the spell by lighting the candle and saying the chant. You may want to repeat the lighting of the candle and chanting to increase the power of the spell. Use this kind of magic spell to handle situations that have some complexity and need quite a bit of force.

4. Multiple Candle Spells
These magic spells are similar to single candle spells but involve multiple candles. Each candle is carved and is used to tackle a different aspect of the spell. Use these spells for situations that are complex and deal with multiple issues. For instance, this kind of spell is appropriate if you want to buy a piece of property. The spell can address multiple issues such as attracting the money for a down-payment, getting your loan approved, finding the right piece of property, and having your offer accepted on the property.

5. Tarot Spells
These are among the most complex magic spells and take an enormous amount of effort to construct. These spells involve the use of multiple candles and a Tarot layout. Use these spells to tackle changes at a state, national, or world level. For instance, Tarot spells have been used to stop pieces of legislation from passing or to affect global weather patterns.

Want to learn how to create and cast magic spells?
You can learn how to write and implement your own spells in our online Basic Magic classes. As an extra bonus, email info@shamanschool.com and ask about the free offer on the Level 1 Basic Magic classes.



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Tuesday, November 14, 2017

The Risk of Being Happy and Magic That Can Help

Read any self-help book or sit at the feet of any magic guru and you will pretty much end up with the same message:

"Get happy and then life will work out for you."

Sounds like a great idea, right? Here's a quote that I like even better. It's from Abraham and it makes it crystal clear where happiness ranks on the list: at the top!

"You just cannot burn the candle at both ends, so that you are physically tired, and then expect yourself to have a cheerful attitude. So the rule of thumb has to be: 'I'm going to be very, very, very happy and then do everything I have time to do after that."

Capische? Can't get clearer than that. So why doesn't that happen? Ah, therein lies the rub. The rub is the risk involved in happiness.

The Risk of Happiness
That sounds kind of stupid right? After all, how can there be risk associated with happiness? Happiness is a good thing. And yet, in most people's minds there is a huge risk in happiness: it's the risk of trusting the process, of trusting that everything will turn out all right in the end.

If you put your faith in the process and then the whole thing goes wonky, then you've risked your happiness and your faith. Right?

In other words, if you put happiness at the top of your list, as the quote above suggests, and then do everything you have time to do after that, there is the risk that you might not get to all the tasks that pay the bills ... you know, like your day job. There's also the risk that what makes you happy is going to make some other people unhappy. Or how about the risk that you chase after something that you think is going to make you happy, only to discover that it doesn't make you happy after all? Now you are disenchanted, you've lost your job, and you have made tons of people unhappy.

You never knew happiness was such a minefield, did you?

That's an exaggeration, of course, but it does highlight the fact that most people associate risk with happiness, even if it's at a subconscious level. The bottom line is that the process of learning to be happy is an experiment. It's a work in progress. It's a juggling act and one has to face the risk of dropping a few balls here and there ... or even a lot of balls.

How to Decrease the Risk Associated with Being Happy
At the end of the day, though, happiness is still the main thing. According to the Hopi, our purpose here on Earth is to "sound a joyous note to Creator's ear." We sound that joyous note by being happy. So how can you be happy without all the risk? Here are three ideas to get you started.

Happiness Idea #1: Accept that Being Happy is an Experiment
Not all experiments turn out with the expected results, but that's the nature of an experiment. You can't know the result of an experiment (otherwise why bother?), which means that any result is acceptable. ANY result will do. That's the beauty of an experiment. This takes the burden off of you to "get it right." Suppose you make a decision to be happy by doing something that pleases you. Perhaps you end up with a mixed result; you've made yourself very happy but made your spouse very unhappy. Consider the result as "data" from your experiment.

The next time you embark on a happiness experiment, modify it a little bit to see if you can achieve happier overall results. You can modify it all kinds of ways. Maybe you find a way to get happy that doesn't affect your spouse. Maybe you find a way to mollify your spouse. Maybe you decide to care a little less about your spouse being angry. Get the picture?

Happiness Idea #2: Get Some Help
High unemployment isn't just a problem among ordinary people right now ... angels are experiencing the same problem. There are literally thousands of angels standing in the unemployment line, just waiting for assignments where they can help people like you. Why are there so many unemployed angels? Because we live in a Type-A society where we think we have to do it all ourselves. The adage, "If you want something done right, do it yourself" was coined just for our society.

So as you try various experiments to get happy, hire some angels to help your experiments turn out better. Ask angels to soften the blow for any unexpected consequences. Hire other angels to give you more foresight so you can plan better. Hire yet more angels to help you get happy faster and more smoothly. Get it?

Also, check out our "10 Magic Quick Fixes for Your Life" Ebook for more simple ways to get magical help. Even better... it's FREE! That should make you happy!

Happiness Idea #3: Own a Day of Happiness
If your life is so full of responsibility that you can't just "chuck it all" and go on a happy-fest, then pick one day out of a week (or a month) that will be your day of happiness. Choose to "own" this day. Make it your very own. On this one day, tell everyone else in your life to bugger off. Dump your responsibilities. Go a little nuts ... or go a lot nuts. Whatever. Sometimes, when we feel "owned" by our lives, we have to break out of that mold. We have to own our lives rather than being owned by life. It's only one single day and the world won't end just because you're not there tending to all your responsibilities. As one of my magical teachers used to say to me when I thought the world couldn't live without me, "Oh honey, you're not that powerful!"

Onwards, upwards, outwards ... towards happiness we go!



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Thursday, November 9, 2017

Magic Should Be Practical

The practice of magic is and should be practical. It should be a part of daily life: practical, prosaic, pragmatic, and all but unnoticeable to the untrained eye if you do it right. Don't get me wrong--I love all the pomp and circumstance of big magic rituals as much as the next practitioner, but as a daily affair magic should be practical enough to fit between going to work and running errands.

Magic should be small enough to be done on the way to a big meeting with your boss at work without anyone looking at you funny, yet powerful enough to create the effect you want at the big meeting.

After all, what's the use of magic if you have to have a cloak and dagger, not to mention a literal bag of magical tools, before you can do any magic?

Practical Magic Can Be Done
Magic is made practical by daily practice. Practical and practice, now those two words are related! Practical magic can be divided into two categories: private and public. Private magic rituals are the ones that you do at home, before you set off to work or after your kids have gone to bed. They are the rituals that you don't want observed or disturbed by others. Public rituals are the ones that you integrate into the parts of your day that you spend around other people. Some practitioners do public rituals with panache, while others integrate public rituals subtly and beneath the notice of others.

Regardless of if they are public or private, one thing is definite: daily rituals have to be kept simple or you won't have the time or perseverance to practice them daily. Simplicity is the key to successful practical magic.

Some Private Daily Magic Rituals
Private magic rituals are the acts of power you do to start your day, reaffirm your personal power, recap your day, or pay into your magical bank account. Here's a list of some simple rituals you can do in private that can have a powerful effect:

- meditation (even a 5 minute sit has magical properties)
- burn a Sun Candle (to brighten energy or call something to you)
- Navajo Beauty Way (a way to connect wit higher beings)
- a "card of the day" (pull a Tarot or Medicine Card to give your day a magical theme)
- ask for a sign from the Universe (practice in calling for and seeing signs makes perfect)

The list of daily magic rituals you could do is endless (learn more rituals and how to create your own in our Daily Rituals ebook), but the goal is to select one or two that you do every single blessed day as a way to keep your feet firmly planted on the magical path. Even 5 minutes a day of ritual practice can greatly increase your magical force over the course of a year.

Public Daily Magic Rituals
Private magic rituals are in some ways easier, since you don't have to deal with the prying eyes of curious coworkers or friends. Of course, if you don't mind practicing magic in public (I don't) then public displays of magic are really no big deal. But if you prefer a more subtle route, there are plenty of ways to do magic in public without anyone noticing.

One of my favorite magic rituals that you can do in public without anyone noticing is the consistency exercise. As the name implies, the aim of this ritual is to help you develop inner force through consistency.

The Consistency Exercise
For this exercise, pick a very simple act to perform at the same time every day. The act could be scratching your nose, touching your thumb and forefinger together, making a mark on a sheet of paper, or rolling your eyes in a clockwise direction. It doesn't matter what the act is, so long as it is simple and you can perform it in public.

Next, choose the time at which you will perform your act every day. Since this is to be a public magic ritual, pick a time during the day when you are likely to be around other people, such as during working hours.

Finally, commence to do your daily ritual act every day at the appointed time. You are definitely encouraged to use cell phones, pagers, or sticky notes to remind yourself to do your magical act. This isn't a memory test ... it's a reminder to come back to present time and remember that you are a magical practitioner. Do your act every day at the appointed time for 40 days straight. If you miss a day, start over again with day one. Forty days of doing the consistency exercise does two things: it helps you build enormous inner force and it helps you learn to practice magic in public.

Sounds like fun, doesn't it? What kinds of magical acts do you know of that are practical, prosaic, pragmatic, and can be done in public? Do share!



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Thursday, November 2, 2017

Personality and the Dark Side of the Moon

Most people are pretty familiar with the zodiac sun signs. When someone says they are a Sagittarius, it's a pretty good bet that they love to travel and they have enough curiosity for ten cats. The sun sign part of a person's personality is the easy part.

The part that's harder to fathom is the hidden side of the personality, the darker side, the side that is defined by a person's moon phase.

Moon Phases and the People Who Wrote About Them
William Butler Yeats wrote a lot about moon phases, as did Richard Elizabeth. It is said by both that people who are in harmony with their moon phase are happy and well-adjusted people. People out of harmony with their moon phases are neurotic, aggressive, depressed, or variously unhappy with their lives.

The problem is that most people are unaware of their moon phase, which makes them unable to determine whether they are "in-phase" (in harmony with their moon phase) or "out of phase," meaning not fulfilling the destiny of their moon phase.

Luckily, it is possible to calculate your own moon phase. The best resource for that is the book "Phases of the Moon" by Richard Elizabeth. In his book he gives a formula for calculating your own moon phase. Yeats' work on moon phases is far more esoteric, and less likely to be understood by the modern generation.

What Your Moon Phase Will Tell You about You
Your moon phase explains all those things that you can't explain about yourself. It often brings to light the reason for inexplicable desires, afflictions, fears, habits, and behaviors. One's moon phase can also explain the role one plays in one's family or in relationships.

For instance, my wife's sun sign is Aquarius. The obvious qualities of Aquarians are loyalty, humanitarianism, free-thinking, intelligence, and highly inventive. They can also be rebellious, changeable, and possessed of extraordinarily long memories. No problems there. She fits all of those characteristics.

Moon Phases Explain Extremes of Personality
However, she can also take rebelliousness to an art form at times. She has been known to go where angels fear to tread when it comes to cultural and family issues, and her personality goes far beyond changeable. It's very often downright turbulent. And she's got ambition to spare. That's where her moon phase comes in.

She is Phase 10, also known as "the image breaker." This phase is one of the most turbulent of all 28 phases of the moon, so it's no surprise that my wife has a turbulent personality. She has been known to scare people even when she's smiling cheerfully.

In addition, Phase 10 is one of the most ambitious phases when it comes to self-growth and spiritual evolution. Finally, Phase 10 is all about being "a purging force to destroy and replace obsolete forms of every conceivable variety-from outdated laws to old buildings to antiquated traditions," to quote Richard Elizabeth. No wonder she charges in to break up old cultural archetypes when others would run.

My own moon phase, the Fool, is equally enlightening. You will probably find yours to be as well. Note that your moon phase, as referred to in this article, is different from that calculated by most "moon phase calculators" online. I wish I could find an accurate online resource for this, but Richard Elizabeth's book or "A Vision" by William Butler Yeats are the best sources I have found for this.

If you're interested in discovering more about the darker, less rational, yet no less powerful side of your personality, it might be time to explore your moon phase.

Enjoy!




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