Magick Spells Part 1: When To Use a "Canned" Spell

Life like magick is an art as well as a science. To practice magick most effectively, you have to include both creativity and technical "know how" in every magickal act.  But (there's always a "but" right?) not everyone wants to practice magick at the highest level... the level that we call the practice of magick for the sake of magick. Most people can do and want to practice magick either to improve their own lives or to help another person. Using personal magick--for yourself or those close to you--is a great reason to develop a magickal practice, and does not take months or years to perfect. There are thousands of perfectly safe magickal rituals, litanies, chants, spells, and techniques that anyone with the proper intent can use to transform their lives.

And then there are spells...
 
The "Thing" About Magickal Spells
If you have spent any time browsing our site, you have probably discovered a wealth of no-cost magickal resources for the taking, including:

• library of articles 
• blog 
• Magickal Quick Fixes ebook
• tutorial on how to study magick 
• the first third of our comprehensive 30 week Basic Magick Course (email info@shamanschool.com with subject line FREE COURSE for details)

Within all of these gratis resources, you can learn to use magick to fluff your aura, communicate psychically with others, do some basic weather working, and much more. And you will probably also discover some very basic spellwork, with the Sun Candle blessing being the most often mentioned.

But spellwork is a category of magick unto itself, and that means that you won't find complex spells listed amongst all the no-cost resources on our site. Why? Many reasons:

• Spellwork is a complicated branch of magick that requires a great deal of dedication and time to perform safely and effectively
• The number of people willing to dedicate a significant "chunk" of their resources to learn the art of spellwork is small, so we teach only the most advanced of our students how work with spells
• When spellwork is not done carefully, with all safeguards in place, the practitioner had better be ready for weeks or months or even years of bad luck, calamity, and other mishaps (at least until the spell is properly taken down)
• Spells are energy matrices that take on lives of their own once launched, growing ever more powerful with each passing day. Turning loose a spell of uncertain pedigree can spell disaster for anyone unlucky enough to be caught in its path.

We could list many more reasons, but you get the picture... spells are complicated energy forms that can transform lives for better or worse. The more powerful the spell, the stronger the transformation (in either direction).

So What Should You Do If You Need Spellwork?
Although this may sound like the $64,000 question, the answer is really quite simple.

1. If you want to learn or use magickal spells to address small uncomplicated issues in your life (such as increasing your chances of a job promotion), then use a "canned" or pre-written spell that has proven to be reliable or has been created by a reliable practitioner.

2. If you want to address a more complicated issue in your life (such as dealing with legal issues that are a tangled jumbled mess), you can still use spellwork, but you probably want to hire a reliable practitioner to design and cast a custom spell for you. The more complex the issues (and the more unintended side effects might be produced) the more you will need a custom spell. The best way to find a reliable practitioner is via word of mouth. Honest magickal practitioners will charge about the same as any professional, such as an accountant or architect.

3. If you have a complicated issue you wish to resolve AND you want to use a spell that you have created yourself, consider taking the online 30-week Basic Magic Course. In this course you will learn the ingredients of a good spell, how to do readings to determine whether a spell is the best magickal technique to use on your problem, and finally how to build and launch a spell matrix from the ground up. This option is not for the faint of heart. On the other hand, once you have mastered this magickal technique the sky is literally the limit. You can easily add new spellwork techniques to your knowledge base, and you can even begin to affect issues outside your own life or your social community. Some of our more advanced students have created, tested, and then launched spell matrices that have effectively blocked the passage of bills through Congress.

Up Next: Spellwork Part II -- Creating Your Own Spell
Want to know more about the process of learning to write, test, and launch your own spells? Keep an eye out for the second part of this series, which will cover the steps most commonly taken to create and launch a spell. Then, armed with this information, you can decide whether you want to use a "canned" spell, hire a reliable practitioner to write a custom spell for you (and most likely launch and track the progress of the spell), or if you want to learn the art of spellwork so you can work your own spells. All three are valid options. Your choice depends on the complexity of the issue at hand as well as the amount of time and resources you want to devote to this craft.

Learn more about how you can create your own magickal spellwork in an upcoming article...


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Do You Know Your Magickal ABC's?

In most school systems, children are taught the most basic ideas first, followed perhaps by more complex ideas, and finishing with learning how to string all of these ideas together.

For instance, consider how most students are taught to read and write in grade school. First the child is introduced to the alphabet. Teachers spend time helping students learn how to recognize the 26 letters of the English alphabet (as an example), plus the name of that letter. Next the student might learn how to make the sounds associated with that letter, as in the letter "A" could be pronounced "ay" or "ah."  Helpful tools such as the alphabet song remind students about the name and order of the letters. Next letters are put together to form words, and then words are put in order to create sentences. From there, paragraphs can be written, followed by articles and essays.

This all seems very logical, and many people find this learning process satisfying--learning one aspect of a subject really well before moving onto the next subject. This logical progression means that each new step is built on the knowledge learned in the previous step.

How Most People Approach Magick
Although many people might agree that the act of learning to read or write is best done using a logical method, when magick is the subject at hand then huge numbers of people want to skip the beginning ABC's and jump right into producing term papers... in the case of magick, a complex multi-candle spell would be the equivalent of a term paper.

Somehow the word "magick" causes people to think that the process of learning magick should be just as seemingly non-logical as the effect that magick produces. On a regular basis we receive emails from people all over the world. These emails correspond roughly to this format:

+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=

Dear Esoteric School:
     My name is Bob. I have this huge complicated problem in my life [the problem is described here but often with very few details], and I can't seem to solve it through the usual methods or channels. Magick is just the thing I need to fix this problem. I have no experience with magick but I am desperate for help. Please send a spell that will fix this problem right away. Tomorrow will do, but yesterday would be better.
Sincerely,
Bob
P.S. -- I have no money, I am very poor, so please do not ask for money. I am begging you for your merciful help.

+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=

How We Respond to These Types of Requests
As you can imagine, in the early days of the school, we received fewer of these requests as we were a relatively new entity. We did try to help people in the best way possible. In case you're wondering, the "best way possible" did not include doing all the legwork for and launching spells in response to every request. Instead, being of the "teach a man to fish" school of thought, we gave people free ebooks, we created article libraries, we addressed common problems with using magick, we taught teleconference classes, and we offered online classes. We offered deeply discounted rates for our online courses and other materials.

We were shocked to discover that less than 7% of people to whom we offered free ebooks or courses ever bothered to read through the material, work through the exercises, and get back to us with results so that we could help them with the next steps.

We used to think that people would say to themselves, "I wish I could wave a magick wand in my life and all of my troubles would disappear."

Now we know that most people say, " I wish that someone ELSE would wave a magick wand in my life and all of my troubles would disappear."

Almost 20 years later, we are no longer shocked when people not only want high level spellwork applied to their lives, but that they want US to create, test, and launch the spell for them, and for no reciprocal payment of course! These days we are older and wiser (we hope) and we simply write back with an email full of links to no-cost resources in our blog, article library, YouTube Channel, "How to Study Magick" tutorial, and even no-cost access to one-third of our 30 week comprehensive Basic Magic course. We then add that we are happy to answer questions about magickal topics covered in these resources.

All of these resources are the ABC's of magick. In fact, a resourceful person willing to dedicate some time and elbow grease into learning from these online resources could learn almost as much as most students in our beginner classes.

Sadly, in response to our email filled-to-the-brim with links, most people write, "Yes thank you for the links but could you do this spell for me?" Nope. Not gonna happen. However, we remain hopeful that there is a group of people out there who really want what magick has to offer, and will follow through in learning their magickal ABCs.

Magick is a spiritual road that can be walked with others and guided by more experienced practitioners... but at the end of the day it is your own desire and motivation that will gain you the necessary magickal knowledge to create the effects you want in your life!

If you are one of those creative people, check out the no-cost access to the first 10 weeks of or 30 week Basic Magic Course. The knowledge is golden and you can start using it right away. Get more details by emailing info@shamanschool.com with the subject line FREE COURSE and we'll send you the details.


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Have Doubts About Magick? Practice on Animals First

If you would love to believe in magick, love to use magick, and love to live a magickal life... but you have doubts, what are you to do? Simple. Learn about and practice magick on animals first. While our friends with fur, fins, and feathers may not be able to speak to us directly using our native tongue, such as English, they also don't second-guess results and will easily "show" you whether a magickal ritual or spell was effective, or not.

Protective of Your Animals? No Worries
If you are worried about harming your animals by experimenting on them with healing or other rituals, don't worry. Most animals are way ahead of us on the curve when it comes to magick. They already instinctively understand how magick works in the body (for instance, animals know how to ground excess energies into the Earth without a second thought) and how to avoid harm.

If you're not sure whether Rex or Sassy can handle your magickal experimentation, maybe this story will help you out. One day our magick teacher taught us how to throw bolts of fire energy. When I got home I still had firebolts on the mind. Without a second thought, I looked at a flame colored source (bright orange), pulled it into my body, and then threw a bolt at Tether, our dog. Tether found this highly amusing (she smiles widely with her tongue lolling out when amused) and simply looked at the same color source and sent the fire bolt right back at me! Needless to say, while Tether was able to ground the energy without having to think about it, I was new to this kind of magick and did not have the same responses. I was flaming hot for the rest of the day, and it took several rounds of "grounding" to get rid of the fire energy.

Animals Don't Lie
One of the best aspects about animals is that they usually can't and don't lie about the results of any healing or corrective magick that you practice on them. I use the word "usually" because we have known dogs, cats, and other critters to exhibit high intelligence and be able to "fake" injuries to gain sympathy. But for the most part animals don't waste their time on such endeavors.

Animals are also very quick in their response to magickal energies. For instance, suppose you pull fire from an inflamed foot on your dog. The dog will "show" you after the session whether your magickal healing efforts worked or not. They may cease to limp on that foot, stop chewing and licking that foot, or just return to their natural happy selves.

Don't be discouraged if your dog or cat initially responds well to your magickal healing treatment, only to display the same previous symptoms later in the day or the week. If you have not located the actual cause of the problem (say, the source of heat in your dog's leg), then the inflammation will reappear sometime after the magickal treatment.

To find the source of the problem, you can ask your dog or cat to show you what hurts or what part of the body is injured. Then begin lightly using your hands to palpate your dog or cat's body, keeping in mind that you wish to discover the source of the health problem. Use your hands in this manner all over your dog or cat's body. At some point your animal may yelp or try to get out of the way. This is your animal's way of showing you the source of the problem. You can then use the Yes or No kinesiology approach with your fingers to determine whether the problem is infection, injury, lack of function in a particular organ, or something else. You can also use this approach to determine whether you have the magickal skills to heal the problem, or whether you need to seek a more conventional source, such as a veterinarian.

In most case you will find animals open to magickal healing. To learn more about magickal healing techniques, check out our Basic Magic Level I online course... currently available at such a deep discount as to cost no money whatsoever! Just email us (info@shamanschool.com) to find out more about the free offer. In this course you will find all kinds of healing techniques associated with each of the four magickal elements: Air, Fire, Water, and Earth. With this knowledge, not only will you be able to heal some illness or health issues, but you will also develop the tools to deal with everything from cranky bosses to the "Monday Morning Blues." Go HERE to check out the course and its simple requirements.

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The Magick of Laziness

You have probably heard of the old joke in which a British diplomat is sent to India. Upon arriving in India, this diplomat observes men just "lying about," sunning themselves, and generally being lazy. Shocked at this display of sheer laziness, the diplomat approaches one of the men lying in the sun. The diplomat asks, "Why are you wasting your life away just lazing in the sun?"

The Indian man, having been asked this question many times before, replies, "And how do you choose to spend your life?"

The diplomat bristles and says, "I intend to work very hard, accumulate a vast fortune so that I am independently wealthy."

"Once you have achieved your wealth, what will you do with your life?" asks the Indian.

The diplomat replies, "I will buy some sea side property and lie in the sun and relax, knowing that I have worked hard all my life and can rest easy."

The Indian man laughs so hard he can hardly gasp out his answer: "Silly man, why bother? I have not worked a single day in my life and am living your dream of lying about in the sun, resting easy with no regrets. Laziness has its benefits, no?"

So who is right: the British diplomat or the Indian man? The answer depends on how you view the world, and how you see your place in the world. If you require a lifetime of hard work before you feel that you "deserve" to rest easy, then pursuing a life of hard work (like the British diplomat) is the life for you.

But if you want to achieve your life goals with as little effort as possible, then studying the use of magick and the power of laziness in everyday life is the way to go.

What is the Magick of Laziness?
If you are at all plugged into the digital age, then you know that our phones, tablets, beepers, and TV programs engage us endlessly. We never get to "unplug and turn off" unless we do so on purpose. In fact, most of us are trained to check email endlessly and chat at will. This is certainly not a magickal lifestyle, nor does it take advantage of the power of laziness.

But don't worry, even if you start living a magickal life of laziness, you don't have to ditch your digitals. You just have to adapt your relationship to those machines to make room for magick... and, of course, laziness.

So how do magick and laziness go together? Simple. Magick is the art of calling upon various beings in the Universal Hierarchy to do the heavy lifting in our lives. With a magickal practice, you cultivate and enhance relationships with these beings. The more you work with magickal beings, the more willing they are to help you. This all sounds pretty good, but a few people may wonder what all this "heavy lifting" by magickal beings will cost at the end of the day. This is a great question. Any interaction with magickal beings requires an even exchange of energy... so working with magickal beings will have an energetic cost.

The good news is that most universal beings who do the kind of work we seek need only appreciation and some recognition of the work being done. That is literally all they require in the energy exchange. For instance, there are many angels hanging around waiting for humans to ask them for their help. The energy exchange required by angels is simple: the expression of appreciation before and after the work is done, as well as a positive attitude. Angels can and do work with people who have a negative or "Doubting Thomas" attitude, but the results are rarely happy. Thanking angelic beings plus being open to the belief that magick and universal beings exist to help seems pretty simple, right? And yet these two simple factors (appreciation and faith) are like manna to angels. This type of energy feeds their souls, and also helps advance them to the next level of their spiritual path. The same simplicity applies when angels perform actions that seem like miracles in our eyes. What would take us days and weeks of work is nothing to an angel. An angel can do some pretty heavy lifting in the blink of an eye. This is because angels exist at a different level than we do (here on planet Earth), and manifesting what we desire is much simpler at the angelic level.

The Laziness Factor
Now that you understand the relationship between angels and humans (and this is just one of many possible relationships humans can have with magickal universal beings), you can probably see how the laziness factor fits in. If you have an impossible situation or task, don't try to do it by yourself. Hire an angel to help (learn how to work with angels by reading the article on working with Unemployed Angels) do all the work. You just specify the job at hand as accurately as possible.

After you have solicited the help of an angel, the next part is truly about the laziness factor. Once you have hired one or more angels, and have sent them on their merry way to work for you, your job becomes very simple. Your job is to be as lazy as the Indian man lying on the beach. With regard to the tasks you have assigned to the angels, you just have to keep your head down and stay out of the angels' way. Do not start "doing" anything that you have asked angels to do. This kind of interference creates double work for the angels. If you have other work to do, go do it. In other words, do whatever it takes to keep your grubby little hands out of the angelic pie. Read a book, lie in the sun, go do other work unrelated to the angelic tasks you have assigned. Be lazy. Really lazy. And have faith that angels will deliver what you have hired them to do.

Start Small
When you first begin working with angelic and other magickal beings, it's best to start small. Tasking angels with small assignments makes it easy to have faith that angels with deliver. Also small tasks matter less, so you will be less likely to want to interfere by "doing" what you have asked the angels to do (because you don't yet have enough faith that angels will deliver). For all of these reasons, we start most students with hiring parking angels. Parking angels are dedicated to reserving the best parking spots for you, whether at a crowded mall or at the county fair. Read up on Parking Angels to learn more, and start working with angels at this level. As you see angels performing miracle after miracle, feel free to ask for ever bigger favors. Just remember that the more heavy lifting you do, the lazier you have to be. Once you have hired an angel your job is to be lazy, to have faith, and to express your appreciation before, during, and after the work has been done. Simple and lazy, right? That's the way to leverage magickal laziness in your life!


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Magickal Healing: Fact or Fiction?

If you have ever performed or experienced or watched some kind of magickal healing, then you likely wondered whether you could do magickal healing at all or on a higher level. I share the story below about my grandmother being healed magickally as an example that magickal healing powers are around us all the time, and we need only know how to access it to perform healing on ourselves and others.

My Grandmother's Magickal Healing
My paternal grandmother had always been as healthy as a horse. She walked miles every day well into her late 80s, and she was constantly showing people how she remained flexible enough to bend over and touch her toes without bending her knees.

But one winter my grandmother developed a rather serious case of pneumonia. The doctors kept her in the hospital for weeks before finally allowing her to go home, despite the fact that she still had a severe cough, difficulty breathing, and a mild allergic reaction to the medications they prescribed for her. Once settled back into her own home, my grandmother failed to recover from pneumonia. The antibiotics only seemed to make her nauseous without diminishing any of her actual symptoms. This situation went on for several weeks before a Chinese healer, traveling from California, came to visit my grandmother in Texas.

The Healer's Magick
This healer (Master Wei) had some drastic experiences in his life that gave him a unique view of the existence and accessibility of healing magick. When he was 17, this healer was riding his bike down one of the main thoroughfares of Taipei. A car swerved into him with such force that he was thrown upwards from his bicycle and flew upwards until he was level with the second floor of a nearby building. When he landed, he was in bad shape. Although the ambulance and other rescue services were prompt, there was little they could do for him. The crash had caused a break in his spinal cord, and his doctors told him he would never be able to walk again or sire any children.

Luckily, Master Wei's mother was also a healer; a healer who worked with energy, Chinese herbs, acupuncture, and a particular form of Chinese bodywork. Using every health technique at her disposal, she worked with him daily until he could stand by leaning on crutches or canes. His mother then sought the help of a qi gong master, Master Bai. Master Bai helped the 17 year old to feel the energy in different parts of the body, and find areas of blockage. Master Bai then taught Master Wei various qi gong techniques to be practiced daily until Wei could stand straight and still on his own. From this experience, Master Wei developed a healing technique that allowed him to pull whatever energetic "medicine" he needed from the ethers or the air.

The Magickal Healing
Once Master Wei arrived at my grandmother's house, he immediately walked to her bedside and told her, "I will help you clear out all the negative energies from past events that are causing your illness. You are literally choking on the effects of events in your past which have been very difficult to bear. However if you do not release these negative energies you will remain ill. I will also give you fresh and reviving energy to help you recover your strength and vitality."

What happened next was quite amazing to see. To begin with, my grandmother lay propped up by pillows, with long coughing spells that were extremely painful. The Master began to run his hands up and down the length of Grandmother's body, always keeping his hands about six to eight inches above her body. As he scanned her body energetically, he would stop whenever he felt an energetic "blockage." Then he would close his fingers (or sometimes his entire fist) around the energy, yank the energy away from my grandmother's body with some force, and put it in his pocket.

Once he had finished removing all the major negative energy blockages, he began grabbing various energetic medicines from the air. He then pushed these "handfuls" of energy into various parts of my grandmother's body, explaining the purpose of each fistful of medicinal energy. Some were for strengthening her lungs while others supported her heart, calmed her liver, re-activated her digestion, and eased her mind so she could sleep peacefully.

Once the master was done with his treatment, he left the room and went outside. He seemed to commune with certain beings, and then transfer the bunches of negative energy that he had pulled from my grandmother to these spirits. He explained that these particular spirits were responsible for safely recycling negative energy on the planet into more useful and positive forces.

Magickal Healing for the Rest of Us
Although my grandmother has passed on, I still have contact with Master Wei from time to time. For instance, when my mother broke almost all of the bones in her foot, she wanted to travel to Taiwan to receive certain types of healing not available in the U.S. She consulted with Master Wei who strongly advised against a plaster cast, as this would inhibit energy flow. Instead, he grabbed some energy from the air and fashioned an energetic cast around my mother's broken foot. She said that it felt like her foot and lower leg were supported by a warm and fuzzy pillow. With the aid of a crutch she was able to make the plane trip to Taiwan, where she promptly received six months of healing--all varieties of energetic healing. To this day, my mother has never had a problem with her foot. Although the doctors in the Emergency Room warned her that her foot would be useless and paralyzed without surgery, she was able to use universal healing energy to heal her foot without surgery.

The good news for the rest of us, most of whom probably are not qi gong masters, is that energetic healing can be done by every single person on the planet. Check out our article library for many posts on healing or take a look at our Energy Healing for Self and Others ebook. In addition, look for more articles on energetic healing techniques that anyone can use. That means you!


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Magically Tame Your Temper

Even if you have a long fuse and are known for being level-headed, you most likely have fits of temper. It's rare to find a person who doesn't get frustrated or angry enough to lose their temper from time to time, and in fact blowing off a little steam (safely) is actually rather healthy in many respects.

But if you have a hot temper (and that explosive nature gets you in trouble more often than you would like), you can try these three magickal fixes for reducing your rage before it explodes. These three simple methods can be done as a part of your everyday life, and most people won't even realize you're doing magick. People may simply notice that you are more even-tempered with each passing day.

Magick Tip #1 Start Your Day or End Your Day Cool and Collected
Whether you tend to shower or bathe at the beginning or end of your day, water is a great way to reduce your temper. Magickally speaking, the element Water can be an effective method for dumping Fire energy (Fire energy is the fuel behind anger and hot tempers). If you take showers, stand so that the shower water hits you right at the base of your neck and flows down to cover most of your body. Then say the litany below, out loud and in a voice of command. If you take baths, wait until you are done with your bath and use the same litany as the bath water drains from the tub (remaining seated and allowing the water to swirl around you). With either method, envision the colors yellow orange and red orange flowing out of your body and being carried down the drain by the water. Below is the litany to use:

"All the tension and all the pain
All the anger and all the flame
Now flow with water down the drain!"

If the first round of the litany does not seem to rid you all your tension, pain, or anger, feel free to repeat litany as many times as you like. This litany works even better if you stand or sit in cool or cold water as you say the litany.

Magick Tip #2 Avoid Fire Color Clothing
Another simple magickal way to avoid heating up your temper is to dress cool... that is, avoid Fire colors. Magically speaking, the Fire colors to avoid are yellow-orange, red-orange, bright red, deep red, and purple. Sun Yellow (a bright yellow with no orange or red undertones) is the only "safe" Fire color that will not heat up your temper. However, note that some people tend to absorb and downgrade Sun Yellow to red or yellow orange, which can worsen one's temper. Experiment with Sun Yellow clothing and take note of the level of your temper.

Great colors to wear to reduce and cool a bad temper include sky blue, white, light water blue, and grass green. Avoid deep blues as this is the magickal color of deep-seated often negative issues. Stay with light water blue colors to be safe.


Magick Tip #3 Dump the Fire
If you find yourself about to lose your temper, despite using the two magickal tips above, try this simple magickal technique. Find an electrical outlet or light switch or large appliance (such as a refrigerator in the break room at work) and place your dominant hand (the one with which you point) on any of these objects. Then simply flow all the unwanted Fire energy (most likely yellow orange or red orange... think construction colors) into the outlet, switch or large appliance. Do not flow this type of energy into small electronic devices or surge protectors, as this could result in an electrical short.

If you have difficulty envisioning the Fire colors flowing down your arm and into the outlet or switch or appliance, simply think of all the things that make you angry, and push that energy down your arm. You may be surprised to feel the outlet or appliance or switch actually "pulling" the energy through your arm. In fact, Fire energy is easy to push, and is easily pulled into electrical grounds such as outlets and appliances.

When you feel the flow of Fire energy stop, or if you start to get tired or feel cold, stop flowing the energy first. Then remove your hand. Flowing too much Fire energy can result in tiredness, hunger, or chills later. When in doubt, stop flowing and remove your hand from the electrical ground. You can always try again later if you find you still have an excess of Fire energy.

For lots of other great magickal solutions to your everyday problems get our Witchcraft Spellbook series of Kindle books. A fantastic and easy way to bring more magic to your life!

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Life Magic is Simple (and Secret)!

There's definitely magic in the beauty and pageantry of ritual. I love the rhythmic chant and flow of putting up a full-cast circle. But not all life magic has to be so complicated, nor is it practical to do a full-cast circle for everyone or at any time. And most of us don't have the time to commit to performing a formal ritual for every little thing.

That's where life magic comes in. Life magic is magic for life. It is magic that can be done during the flow of life, without anyone actually noticing. There is, indeed, magic in secrecy.

Life magic is the practice of conducting magic while appearing to do everyday activities. You get the effect of the magic without the weird stares from other people!

Life Magic--Some Definitions
Before we dive into how you can create life magic rituals that fit perfectly into your life, we first need to discuss a couple of definitions, or magical principles.

1. All magical acts are intentional acts, and all intentional acts are magical acts.

2. Any magical ritual you create has the significance that you empower it with.

3. Secrecy, or the shielding of your magical ritual from others, has its own magical power.

So now you know the three principles necessary for you to create your own life magic rituals.

Life Magic--Some Examples
As you think about what might make a good life magic ritual for your life, let's work our way through the three principles discussed above.

The first one says that all magical acts are intentional acts, and vice versa. This means that each time you perform your life magic ritual, you need to pause (at least internally) and put the majority of your intention and attention on your ritual. For instance, if your life magic ritual is clasp your hands together, with your right thumb crossed over your left thumb, you need to put your attention on your hands. You may still be walking or talking or do other activities, but your attention and intention need to be focused on your hands. It's kind of like walking and chewing gum.

Next, your magical ritual has the significance you assign it. Suppose you tell yourself and the Universe that when you clasp your hands in this particular way that you are connecting with your guides and angels. This then becomes the magical power of this ritual. You may want to make this significance more clear by writing down the meaning of this gesture, or doing some ritual in which you communicate the significance of this life ritual. You may also want to have a word of power you think or say when you clasp your hands, such as "Connect" or "Guide Me." Choose what works for you.

Finally, secrecy can add an element of magical power to your ritual. It is tempting to get all excited about your life magic ritual and want to tell everyone about it. Don't. Be silent. Be secret. Be magical. If you are able to practice your life magic ritual for at least 40 days in a row without talking about or having it noticed by others, you will feel an extra burst of magical force with your ritual. Try it and see. Chefs like to say that the secret is in the sauce, but magical practitioners like to say that the secret is in the secrecy! For more simple daily rituals you can add to your magical repertoire get our Daily Rituals for Attracting What You Want in Life ebook.


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Magically Getting Rid of Body Pain

Having physical pain in the body can be one of the most draining experiences we face, and when we do experience physical pain our most prominent thought is about how to get rid of it! Magically speaking, there are multiple ways to handle physical pain. Most of the aches and pains that we commonly experience in the body are the result of accumulated stress, injury or trauma, trapped psychic energy, or energy blocks. To clear these aches and pains on an energetic or magical level, try this technique:

Flow Sun Yellow
Sun Yellow energy can be a universal healer, especially when flowed through the body to clear energy blocks. To prepare for this exercise, find a source of Sun Yellow (a bright yellow with no orange tones) that you can easily hold in 2 hands. Next, lay down on the floor with the Sun Yellow color source in easy reach and place your bare feet against your refrigerator or stove range as these large appliances can easily ground fire energies like yellow, red, and orange.

Now hold the Sun Yellow color source and pull that energy up your arms and into your body. Push the Sun Yellow down your body, focusing on areas where the energy seems to get stuck. Keep flowing the Sun Yellow until it breaks through those areas of blockage, and until the energy reaches your feet. Push the Sun Yellow into the refrigerator and stove while continuously pulling it from your color source. If you have headaches or head pain, hold the Sun Yellow color source on top of your head and pull the energy through the top of your head and down to your feet, again flowing it into the appliance. Keep the flow going for one to five minutes, or until you feel your body has "cleared."

You may need to flow Sun Yellow energy this way for several days in row before you experience significant relief from the pain. This exercise can "teach" your body not to hold onto or accumulate excess energy. You can also use this technique to burn off excess negative or anxious energy.

Read about how one of our students used this same technique to "cool off" after a serious argument (as well as other ways students have used magic) and to learn more about magical healing techniques see our Energy Healing for Self and Others ebook.


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The Magic of the Long Moment

Time travel, or the manipulation of time, has long been a shaman's tool for healing or research. For instance, a shaman might take a person back into a past life event so that person can understand what happened, or a shaman might travel into the future to explore possible what-ifs. For shamans and magicians time is elastic: it can be stretched like taffy, compressed like cotton or frozen like ice.

One of the simplest ways to begin playing with time magically is to practice the art of the long moment. The art of the long moment is simply the ability to slow our perception of certain events so that we can really see what is happening in present time. It's called the Cortothalamic Pause. Why do we need such a pause? Because we normally rush headlong through life events at the speed of sound, which doesn't give us optimum time to respond appropriately.

Here's the 3 step process that normally happens in any life event:

1. We receive an incoming perception: A person speaks loudly to us

2. The perception is immediately routed by our flow of associations to a certain place in our memory: In this or a past life, we have memories of loud voices and anger.

3. The perception is assigned a meaning: The person is angry with us.

These three steps happen in less than a second. Less than one second after we receive an incoming impression, we have assigned a meaning to the perception and are already beginning to react. We will assume that the person is angry with us regardless of what the person is actually feeling.

In the regular course of things, our time is compressed in this way. There's no time to really evaluate the incoming perception and respond appropriately. Do you ever overreact in the heat of the moment and wonder why? It's because you had no Cortothalamic Pause. You reacted based on memory. In other words, most of us are interacting with life using mechanical reactions from memory - we are hardly ever in the "now."

That's where the long moment comes in. If you can slow yourself at the moment you receive an incoming piece of data then you can stretch time. In this long moment you give yourself the power to evaluate the information you have received and give a true response.

How can you practice the art of the long moment? It's not hard. Twice a day practice the Cortothalamic Pause. 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 long time 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'll be truly 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.

To enhance the probability of having a long moment, you can include these flower essences as part of your daily regimen:

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

For more study on living consciously with magic and escaping your mechanical reactions to life, check out our Witchcraft Spell Book: The Complete Guide of Witchcraft Rituals & Spells for Beginners Kindle book.

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How Do We Download Psychic Information?

We begin to notice in many of our experiments with "extra-sensory perception" that our data emerges through our bodily senses or our mind. In the case of dowsing, either with "L-rods" or with the pendulum, our bodies become part of the tool for scrying, or finding the answer to our questions. When we use astral temple techniques or thought-form transmissions, also known as mental telepathy, it is our minds that provide us with the link. Considering that our Spirit, with its 35 plus perceptics, is the originating information gatherer, we cannot help but wonder how the "download" of information occurs, even speculating that discovering the process could help us improve our use of these techniques.

Let's examine one possibility of "download." This is a Spirit-to-body-to-mind transmission. When Spirit has extended its perceptic apparatus into the outside world psychically, it enters the "zone" of heightened awareness and begins sending messages to body. Correspondently, there is a similar state which body goes into as our nerve cells begin to utilize a much higher degree of their "receptors," which habitually are dormant. This we can verify by noticing such physical stimulus as "hairs standing up on the backs of our necks" or even a slight internal quivering, as though a state of excitation has been reached. Now through the use of neuro-peptides, the nervous system sends it messages into the brain, but how is this done, and how is it then translated into coherent messages for the mind?

To answer these perplexing questions we turn to the science of holography as laid out in "The Holographic Universe" by Michael Talbot. On page 27 we find information about "Fourier Transforms." Fourier developed a mathematical way of converting any pattern, no matter how complex, into a language of wave forms, and conversely back into their original patterns. Just as television images in a camera are converted into electromagnetic frequencies that are sent out through the air or along a cable to be reassembled into pictures by our TV set, this is much the same process utilized by our nervous system in relaying information to our minds.

In this analogy, the brain is only serving the function of a TV tower - broadcasting the signals. Mind then receives these images and we, as Spirit, can ask mind to give us a "print out" in a form that can be recognized and understood by our various personalities that we use to deal with our life situations.

This, of course, is the one point where problems arise. Mind, for most of us, is not trained to provide an accurate "print out" unaltered by past history or beliefs. So this is where special training comes in. You can practice exercises such as the ones found in our Psychic Development ebook to fine tune your psychic abilities and enhance your psychic skills.


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Truth, Justice, and the Magical Way

Jesus called it the Golden Rule and shamans says "As above, so below." More commonly, this ancient truth has been expressed as "What goes around comes around." Heard any of these before?

If you've ever fought against injustice or untruths in your life, here's something for you to chew on: We create the truth and justice in our lives (or lack of them) in the way that we treat others. In other words, what goes around really does come around.

Now if you've ever thought about this little truth, you can probably come up with several examples of how it has worked in your own life. For instance, if you mistreated a friend in a fit of anger chances are that you got mistreated the same way a little later. If you lie, cheat or steal, then expect other people to lie, cheat, and steal from you. If you are kind, sweet and gentle in your actions and in your heart, then others will do the same for you.

But let's get a little deeper here. Let's dig down to the level of our beliefs and see what's really there. Instead of looking at single instances let's look at the overall pattern of how we perceive the world. In general, do we expect an eye for an eye? Do we feel that people owe us something? Do we expect others to be perfect? If we do, then we'd better be ready to give up an eye for an eye, be indebted to others, and live the perfect life.

This isn't a judgment or moral issue at all - it's simply the manifestation of the "As above, so below" law, which can also be stated as "As within, so without." So think about it this way. Living in an "eye for an eye" world can be very tedious. You have to keep track of who owes what to whom. You have to work very hard to make sure you get paid every last penny of what is owed to you. You have to chase people down all the time to make sure they appreciate and thank you. It's a lot of internal bookkeeping. From a magical standpoint, this is living in a very heavy, physical reality that has little opportunity for magic to do its work.

On the other hand, if you relaxed your grip on life a little and allowed more slack to enter your interpretation of other people's actions, then the Universe gives you the same benefits. Here's the perfect example. Say you observe a rebellious child who is flunking out of school. If you judge this child harshly and say, "You'll never amount to anything unless you straighten up and fly right. You are no good," you are judging that child according to a very conventional view of the world - a view in which no magic can happen. It's all about hard work and elbow grease. There's no magic. And no magic in his world equals no magic in your world.

But if you can find something, anything, to appreciate in that child then you're home free. If you can even imagine a story in which he magically blooms into the person he wants to be then you've seen the magic. If you can see a possible transformation for that child that has nothing to do with logic or reasoning, then you see the magic. And then you've opened the door to magic in your own life. How you see him (and anyone else) is how the Universe sees you. It always comes back around.

When you hold people to a very strict moral or behavioral code then you have to follow that same code. When you appreciate something in everyone you meet and when you can see the magic in their lives, then you have magic in your life too. Allowing the rebellious child his rebellion and not forcing him (in your mind) to "straighten up and fly right" means that you don't have to pay so much for your own "mistakes" as you experiment with spiritual growth. In fact, it gives you the freedom to experiment with less pain and more magical joy.

When you can, take a light touch in dealing with the world and the Universe will always return the favor!

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Ten Magical Ways to Get a Grip!

We get lots of requests from people asking for magical ways to "get a grip" in life. Whether it's a traumatic weather event wreaking havoc, unexpected deaths in the family, or just general chaos, we thought this would be a good time to put out some quickie magical "fixes" that you can use any time you need to bail yourself out of a tricky situation. Here's our Top 10 List:

#1: Stay in Present Time
There's no time like the present. To drag yourself out of either the past or the future, look at yourself in the mirror and give yourself this command in a powerful voice:
"Come to present time!"
This snaps you back into the present moment, where you can exercise the most power.

#2: Stop Obsessing
If your mind has jumped on the hamster wheel and is going around in circles, a few drops of White Chestnut flower essence will work wonders. White Chestnut calms the mind and quiets repetitive thoughts. Add 4 drops to spring water and sip continuously for an all-day effect.

#3: Bring in Sun Energy
The light of the sun nourishes your Spirit. To bring the sunlight into a focused presence indoors, burn a sun candle (either a bright yellow candle or a candle with a sun image on it). Or try out this more detailed ritual.

#4: Switch Hands
Sometimes you need to switch hands to switch your focus. Choose something you normally do with your dominant hand and do it with your other hand for the day. For instance, if you normally open doors with your right hand, start using your left hand. This forces you to be present to yourself and causes you to have an interval of consciousness in an otherwise mechanical day.

#5: Swing Your Worries Away
Sometimes a little action is called for. If you're in a sticky situation and you can't find an exit, use your pendulum to clear the air. Find a quiet place and sit in the south facing north. Begin swinging your pendulum in a clockwise direction. Allow the pendulum to continue swinging until it stops naturally - it will stop swinging when your situation has cleared. Then wait patiently for a door to open.

#6: Ask and Ye Shall Receive
If you're not sure what forces are behind your sticky situation, do a question circle to find out. A question circle gives you answers from four different perspectives - thought, action, feeling, and manifestation. Check this article for how to do a question circle.

#7: Don't Forget to Breathe
Your body will keep breathing regardless of whether you are paying attention or not, but taking the time to do some conscious breathing will open up a space in your life where the Universe can assist you. It's impossible for you to get "caught up" in a situation when you breathe consciously. Take a few minutes to find a quiet place and do some deep breathing. It will oxygenate your body, occupy your mind, and free your Spirit to clearly communicate with the Universe.

#8: Rescue Yourself
One of our all-time favorites is the Bach Flower Remedy called Rescue Remedy. It's a unique combination of five flower essences that will restore a sense of peace and stability in any situation. It works for mental, spiritual, and physical trauma. Rescue Remedy is also called Five Flower Essence and is available in most health food stores.

#9: Feel Your Body
No matter where your mind travels, your body stays in present time. If you're having trouble staying in the now, anchor yourself by becoming aware of a specific part of your body. For instance, notice the back of your left hand - feel a slight warmth or tingling or weight there. Now stay in touch with that sensation as you do other activities. You'll stay in your body and in the now, which will go a long way toward clearing up any messy life situation.

#10: Be Powerful
There's nothing like an act of power to get you back on track. How do you do an act of power? Simple. Decide what you're going to do and when. When the time arrives, do it! For instance, you might decide to get up out of your chair in 2 minutes and do a yoga stretch. When the time arrives, get up and just do it. It's the quickest way we know to restore personal power.

#11: Bonus Tip - Hire an Angel
There are hundreds of thousands of unemployed angels just waiting to help you - just ask. Request an angel that specializes in what you need (like a parking angel), ask for what you want (be specific about time, place, amount, etc.) and thank your angel in advance. Then, when you get what you want, thank them again. It's as simple as that!

Got some great magical tips and tricks for getting out sticky situations quick? We'd love to hear them. Please email them to us at info@shamanschool.com or leave a comment below. And if you don't have any of your own, get our free 10 Magical Quick Fixes ebook for more quickie magic.

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Magic Powers: Are Yours Stuck in Park?

One of the most frequent complaints we hear from new students in our online magic school is that they don't feel that their magic powers are increasing fast enough. They definitely see some magical results, but they want to see much more magic, much faster!

Isn't that just human nature? It's never fast enough?

But that's OK. We get it. We, too, have been impatient with the expansion of our own magic powers. We understand the desire for results. So we have 3 simple tips for you if you feel your own magic powers are "stuck in park," so to speak.

Magic Powers: 3 Tips for Getting Up to Speed
Magic is all around us in the Universe, and whenever we ask for the magic to appear in our lives, it rushes to us, regardless of whether we witness the occurrence or not. Believe it or not, there are so few people who actually ask and expect to receive magic, that magical beings are literally thrilled when we ask for their assistance. So magic does happen in our lives, as fast and furious as we could ever expect (but never faster than we can handle).

So how can we see the magic happening in our lives? How do we get out of that metaphysical feeling of being "stuck in park"? Here are three very simple techniques that have worked for hundreds of our students. Try them and see what effect they have on your own magic powers.

Tip #1: Journal about Your Magic Powers
There is magic just in the act of committing thoughts, feelings, emotions, sensations, and experiences to paper. When a non-visible "thing" like a thought is made visible by being written on paper, it becomes more real, more concrete, more manifest. Have you heard the expression, "Thoughts are things, and words have wings"? Well, it's true. A thought is already a thing that exists in the magical world, as are spoken words. And when you put a thought about magic onto paper, it becomes a more real magical item. So there's definitely magic in writing about your experiences with your magical powers ... even the most minor of experiences.

But there's more magic to writing than simply making your thoughts and experiences more real. Journaling is a way to chronicle your magical journey so that you won't forget where you started, and you can re-experience the wonder of any magical doorway or threshold you have crossed simply by reading your journal. For instance, consider the magical path our students normally experience with the Navajo Beauty Way. Here's what usually happens ... Students will:

1. Notice external events, such as a bird flying by or the sun becoming brighter
2. Feel internal shifts, such as mood changes or a new perspective
3. See changes in their lives over time, such as others responding differently
4. Receive the magical gifts they have requested
5. Begin to live a magical life, 24/7, and not simply when practicing a magical ritual

If you don't write your experiences with your magic powers in a journal or Book of Shadows, you may never notice these five transitions, from newbie to naturally magical. You won't notice that problems that have bugged you in the past no longer appear in your journal entries. You may not be aware that magical rituals that used to have "no effect" are now taken for granted as an effective and necessary part of your life.

If you DO journal, you will notice how the practice of magic moves from the awkwardness of learning new dance steps to a way of life. Magic is no longer something you do, it becomes part of who you are. Journaling is important for awareness. Just ask any healer. Almost any healer will tell you that many patients fail to notice when negative symptoms fall away. Until the healer questions the patient about some negative symptom, such as headaches, the patient may not even notice that she has not experienced any headaches since the last visit. She may simply be focused on the next "problem." The same is true with your magic powers. If you journal, and then re-read your journal on a regular basis, you will realize that your magic powers are always growing and are never stuck in park. It's just a matter of awareness.

Tip #2: Practical Daily Magical Rituals
Of course, for your magic powers to grow you need to keep magic in your life as much as possible. Daily magical rituals are a wonderful way to "walk in magic" throughout your day. Whether your daily dose of magic takes the form of a morning meditation, Day Greetings/Endings to the Winds of the Four Directions, or healing work for yourself and others, the practice of daily rituals keeps you immersed in magic. Need some tips? Check out our free ebook "10 Magical Quick Fixes". You can also check out our Daily Rituals ebook.

Tip #3: Ask for a Sign
Asking for a sign is an old standby whenever we feel a little "lost" in our magical world. Any time you need to make a decision and haven't a clue which way to go, ask for a sign. Any time you need guidance for a tricky situation, ask for a sign. And, of course, if you feel your magic powers are stagnant, ask for the Universe to show you that they are not. Use a daily ritual to ask or simply step outside and address any powers and beings with whom you have formed a relationship.

Talk to the Winds of the Four Directions. Hire an angel to bring you a sign (they work for appreciation!). Ask the Universe at large. Write your request and burn it in your Firebowl, letting the smoke carry your request to the Universe. Holding the request in mind at regular points in the day will also do the trick.

And finally, stay open. When you ask for signs and guidance, stay open to messages from the Universe. These messages come in all shapes and sizes. Random bits of conversation, a phrase in a book, a sudden insight, or simply an inner knowing. Be open to the unexpected and you will be pleasantly surprised!

Enjoy the upcoming moment of surprise and the Universe won't disappoint you!


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What to Do About Spiritual Hangovers

Do you ever wake up in the morning feeling dull, tired, depressed, or just plain blue? Guess what? You might have a spiritual hangover. You can get a hangover from turbulent emotions and events that is similar to the hangover you get from drinking too much.

If you find yourself blue and depressed in the morning, track back a day or two and see if you can locate an event or situation-or even a memory that got triggered-that caused you to feel anxious or upset. If you can locate such an event, you've probably found the source of your hangover.

Another cause of spiritual hangovers, believe it or not, is experiencing a moment of spiritual enlightenment. Occasionally heavy spiritual work can bring on experiences that are truly transformative, but too much for Spirit to handle in the moment. The after effect of such a moment is a feeling of listlessness or depression.

One other prominent cause of these kinds of low states is a Spirit to mind conflict. If you've got a mental belief about something that conflicts with what your Spirit knows, that clash can produce a feeling of sadness or depression. For instance, you may mentally believe that you are locked into a particular life situation (think money problems, health issues, family disputes) while Spirit knows different. The resulting emotions tend to be sluggish and murky, and can even produce migraines and other similar physical manifestations.

So what do you do? What's the tonic for a spiritual hangover? There are several:

1. Sun Candle
As soon as you start to feel turbulent emotions or depression, stop and get away by yourself. Meditate with a sun yellow candle. You can charge the candle by sitting in the South facing North with the candle in front of you. Light the candle with wooden or paper matches (no lighters) and cup your hands around the flame. Say aloud,
"Child of wonder, Child of flame, Nourish my Spirit, and protect my aim."
Let the candle burn for at least 30 minutes to recharge your Spirit.

2. Shield Yourself Energetically
Most people imagine a nimbus of white light around themselves, but the actual energy that deflects negativity is electric blue. Electric blue is the color that you see at the base of a gas flame-deep, rich, exotic, inviting, and very powerful! See yourself surrounded by an electric blue bubble with all the low tone energies swirling around outside, unable to reach you. Alternatively, you can wear a Psychic Shield, which can also defend against negative energies without requiring much concentration from you.

3. Wash the Blues Away
Water is the energy of emotions. To clear negative emotions, take a shower. See the negative energy being attracted to and carried away by the water, then washed down the drain. The more romantic (and sometimes more effective) version of this exercise is to walk in the rain by running water. The running water carries away the old emotions while the rain brings fresh energies.

Regardless of what you choose to do about your spiritual hangover, the key is to do something! Staying in the muck and mire of low tone energies makes you increasingly unavailable to help. Taking any action toward alleviating your blues is positive, even if that action is just breathing consciously for 60 seconds. You can learn more simple rituals to deal with life's problems magically in our Kindle books and Daily Rituals ebook.

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You Can’t Make Up for the Sins of Yesterday

For those of us who have had a lot of practice making resolutions or goals, the "manana plan" is quite familiar. How many times have we said to ourselves, "Oh, I won't make the goal I set for myself today because I want to do [fill in the blank] instead, but I'll make up for it tomorrow by doing twice as much"?

If you've tried making up for yesterday's sins, which means "missing the mark," by working doubly hard today, you know that it doesn't work for very long. Inevitably, we get caught up in juggling the debts of many yesterdays past and get lost in the mix. Or sometimes we accumulate so many debts from yesterday that it will take all of today plus a million tomorrows to make up the difference. At that point, most of us give up on our aims and goals. Ultimately, we are faced with such an impossible load of "makeup" work that we lack the will power to get it done.

Many religious and metaphysical practices talk about this phenomenon. For example, the Bible talks about "our daily bread." What does our daily bread mean? It means that we must take each day as its own day, with its own realizations, achievements and inspirations. We can't live on yesterday's bread, but must create today's bread afresh each day. It is said that every single day is a microcosm of our lives. In each day, we can choose to move toward our aim or to be distracted by outside influences and people. When we are busy, it seems like all the days flow together and a single day doesn't seem all that important. But when we consider that each day is a miniature model of our entire lives, we can begin to see the importance of each day. The decisions we make today can drastically shape the direction and force of our lives.

There's another factor that is important to consider here. If we agree that the each day must be lived as an independent unit, then we realize that guilt, revenge, regret and like feelings have no place in our lives. Sure, someone may have wronged us yesterday, but will we use that as an excuse to distract us from our aim today? Or perhaps we didn't achieve all we set out to do today -- will we allow ourselves to lose force over that tomorrow and further deter us from our aims?

When we think about the progression of days in this way, we begin to see that nothing that happened yesterday is reason enough to distract us from today. And should we miss the mark today, tomorrow is always a brand new microcosm of our lives to be explored, lived, and loved! If you’ve been putting off inviting magic into your life, waiting until tomorrow, make the leap now. Join us for the free 4 Element classes being offered right now. Just email info@shamanschool.com to find out how to start with the free Basic Magic Air Element classes and we’ll email you back the info. Then look ahead and have fun in your today!

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Stretch Just a Little to Get a Lot

If you're ready to have a lot more of what you want in life, here's a nifty little surprise for you: you don't have to sell your soul or sit at the feet of a guru for the next 20 years - you just have to stretch a little more. Most of us think that doing more, working harder, or having a stronger will can get us what we want. Maybe, and maybe not.

There's an esoteric principle that says when we really want something and we throw the entire might of our will behind that desire, we run into a brick wall. We arrive at resistance rather than paradise. It's called second force. We've all felt the frustration of running into second force.

So how do you get around second force? By being crafty. Instead of going full tilt at what you want, reserve a certain small part of yourself for doing another exercise. This exercise should be very simple in concept, but require you to stretch and be conscious throughout the day.

For instance, if you normally open doors with your right hand, start opening doors with your left hand. If you usually look straight ahead or down as you walk, start looking left and right as well as forward. If you resist exercise, take a 5 minute walk twice a day. Do something simple that is the opposite of what you normally do.

This exercise asks you to stretch just a little - how hard can it be to open a door with your opposite hand? But it gives you a lot of mileage toward your goals. The exercise does two things: it forces you to be conscious, which increases your ability to manifest, and it diverts some of your attention away from what you want, avoiding the second force.

Most importantly, though, this exercise is simple. With life getting more and more complex every day, wouldn't be nice to do something simple that really works? For more simple magic that works check out our Daily Rituals for Attracting What You Want in Life ebook and be sure to get our free Magical Quick Fixes ebook.


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Four Ways to Get Unstuck

Ever feel stuck? If so, you can use the law of "as above, so below" to restart the flow in your life! What does "as above, so below" mean? It means that the different levels of our lives - mind, body, spirit - are all connected, so if you're stuck on one level, you can create flow on another level, which creates flow throughout your life. What does this look like on a daily basis? Here are four examples of how you might change various "stuck" situations.

Stop Obsessing About Something
This usually occurs on a mental level, so you want to create flow on the physical or spiritual levels. On the physical level, sit in a relaxed position, and take quick darting glances around you - never let your eyes linger on anything for more than 2 seconds, and vary your gaze so that you look at things both close to and far from you. Do this for 3 to 5 minutes. You can also do any kind of physical exercise to get things moving. On a spiritual level, prayer, meditation, reading spiritual material, or any activity that raises your vibration from the mundane to the spiritual, will create flow.

Increase Your Psychic Ability to "See"
The ability to see psychically is a spirit perceptic, and can be improved by working with your physical vision. Notice in your daily life how far out from your body your eyes tend to rest. Do you generally look far or near? Do you ever look to the sides, up or down? Wherever you fail to look, begin practicing putting your eyes there. When you drive, practice looking far out ahead of you while maintaining contact with what's right in front of you. The more you practice the physical perception of seeing, the more you will be able to see psychically. For more exercises on increasing your psychic abilities, see our Psychic Development ebook.

Create a More Flexible Body
The body registers all that happens in mind and spirit. Certainly physical stretching and practices such as yoga are beneficial. To enhance these practices, start noticing areas of resistance in your life created by conflicts between mind and spirit (what you think and what you inherently know) or conflicting beliefs. Simply stated, look for any situation in which you feel irritated, angry, nervous, anxious, depressed or moody. Then, either by yourself or working with spirit guides, begin to work on acceptance. In the moment, this means noticing the negative emotion and being passive to it for a moment or two. Whenever we feel negative emotion, we tend to express it physically - we pace, jig, make faces, tense parts of our bodies, or twitch. If you can still these physical responses and make your internal reaction passive for a moment or two, you'll go a long way toward making your body more flexible.

Create a Stronger Spiritual Connection to Allies
If you ever feel cut off from your spiritual connection, it's likely that you are dwelling too much in mind. The easiest solution is to get back into physical sensation. Do something that produces a lot of physical sensation - exercise, massage, roller coaster ride, eating strongly flavored food, or just moving sensation around your body. The more you stay in connection with physical sensation, the less you will be in mind, and the more you will be spiritually connected.

These are but four of the millions of ways you can use "as above, so below" to move yourself out of any stuck area of your life. Get creative and come up with more ways yourself to magically break out of the stuck place you're in.


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Finding East

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.

Ready to get moving on down your magical path? Join us for our free beginning magic classes learning about the 4 Elements in-depth. Just email us at info@shamanschool.com and we'll email you back how to get going on the free classes.

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Neutralize That Negativity!

If you've got something that's really been bothering you and you can't quite seem to let go of it, just relax! You can use this simple neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) technique to neutralize your negativity. It's so simple that you can do it during a fifteen minute break at work! Here's what you do:

STEP 1
Focus on the negative event that's really bothering you. Keep your attention on this event until you can feel the feelings, think the thoughts, and almost taste everything associated with this event. Now touch the tips of your thumb and index finger on your left hand together for a few moments. Then move your fingers apart.

STEP 2
Now focus your attention on a truly happy event from any time in your life. Again hold your focus until the event becomes very clear in your mind and then touch the tips of your right index finger and thumb together. Hold the contact for a few moments, and then move your fingers apart.

STEP 3
Finally, think about the negative event again. Focus on it until you can hold it clearly in your attention. Now touch the thumb and index finger of your left hand together at the same time as you touch the thumb and index finger of your right hand together. Check in with how you feel. The sensation of negativity is instantly neutralized. Now that's magic!

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A Magical Ritual to Help You See Your Financial Blind Spots

We've been talking about how to attract money and establish a good relationship with money and your thoughts about it in order to pre-pave the way for the Universe to deliver it to you lately in some of  our blog articles. What if you really have no idea though about why the money you desire is just not coming to you? It may be that when it comes to financial issues, you have a blind spot and aren't able to see what issues are affecting you. This is when it is helpful to get some help from higher powers and beings and using rituals are a great way to do this. One of the rituals you'll discover in our Daily Rituals to Attract What You Want in Life ebook is the Question Circle. This ritual helps you address the beings of the four directions for help and guidance. To do this ritual you will need to gather a Sun Yellow Candle that can easily be carried from place to place, wooden or paper matches to light the candle, a pen, and notebook or paper. After you gather your materials, here's how to do the Question Circle ritual:

1. Locate the directions north, south, east and west. Use a compass if you need to in order to assure you have the directions correct.

2. Create a circle of space about 5-10 feet in diameter.

3. Sit in the South side of your circle facing to the North with your Sun candle in front of you.

4. Light your candle with the wooden or paper matches, hold your hands above and around the flame of the candle and charge the candle by saying:
"Child of wonder, child of flame, nourish my spirit and protect my aim."

5. Now take your candle, pen and paper with you and go sit in the center of your circle facing to the East.

6. Write down your question which in this case might be "what blind spots do I have in regards to finances" or "what is blocking the flow of money from coming to me" or "what's the best way to get a job".

7. Take the next 3-5 minutes to let the question just sit in your mind. Don't try to answer it, just sit with it.

8. Next, take your sun candle, paper and pencil with you and move to the East perimeter of your circle. Set your candle down in front of you and ask the question you wrote down out loud to the East. Be prepared for a flurry of information to come at you usually faster than you can write it all down.

9. Start writing everything you get until no more information is coming. Thank the direction of the East and move in a clockwise direction to the next direction which would be the South.

10. Repeat steps 8 and 9 in each direction, moving clockwise to each direction when finished with the previous one. In other words you will start with East as we have outlined, then proceed to repeat the process with South, then West, then North.

11. After you finish the process with North, go back and sit in the center of the circle facing the East and send thanks out all the way around the circle and blow out your candle.

Doing this ritual, you will find that you receive different types of information from the various directions. This is because the beings in the different directions all specialize in certain areas. For example, the East will give you information about communication, planning and ideas. South will give you guidance on steps of action to take, will-power energy and desire. From the West you will get feelings and spirit guidance and the North will give you more practical steps to take. Some of our advanced students recently did Question Circles and even we were amazed at the clear and specific information they received from each of the quarters on their given questions.

Like the Beatles song says, sometimes we need a little help from our friends. Daily rituals can help you make friends and allies of higher powers and beings which can bring truly magical things to your life.

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