Calling All Angels

Jayne Sieberry created this gradient song whose refrain is "Don't leave me alone!"  Yet we walk with angels, talk with angels, live with angels, but most of the time we are woefully unaware!

Conditions useful to know about angels:
1. There is an angelic code: One of the principle responsibilities that angels live by is to be of service to we humans, usually having been invoked, although there are times when angels apply their trade unannounced.

2. Angels have the ability to shape-shift, even appear as one of us, much like in the movie: "It's a Wonderful Life".

Working With Angels
Years ago I attended a workshop featuring working with angels.  For us disbelievers we were instructed to start simply by "hiring" parking place angels, as follows:
"I wish to summon a parking place angel who is stable, enthusiastic, powerful, clear, and swift--I need a shaded parking place close to the theater and I will be there in ten minutes--and I THANK YOU!" 

As I drive up to the theater, a car just backs out of my shaded spot--it's totally Magical!  I pull in and again give thanks to my angel!

Over the last thirty years I have been successfully using angels, Totem spirits, and Guides to handle all kinds of living situations.  It's fun, easy, and reliable.  Anyone can do this--all that is required is that we suspend disbelief! Acknowledging they exist is after all the first step in working with angels or any spirit being. Then it is a simple matter of letting them know specifically what you need and thanking them before their help and after. Gratitude is the "payment" we offer them for services rendered. It is important to give thanks just after voicing your request as well as after the task is accomplished. This sets up the energy of belief by showing you know the help will be given as well as creates a reciprocal exchange of energy.

Of course with any type of magical practice, the more you put into it, the more you will get back. Start being aware of anything you could ask for that would make your day go smoother and make the commitment to ask for help from an angel at least once a day. Then work your way up to more and more requests. The more you use angels, the more you will start to see all sorts of ways they can help you. Don't think any task is too small or unimportant to "bother" an angel with. I've seen people ask for angelic help with everything from being on time to an important meeting, to helping catch a runaway dog, to how much salt to put on their food. You can learn more about working with angels and other spirit beings in our Learn How to Do Witchcraft Rituals and Spells with Your Bare Hands Kindle book.

I will be doing a series of articles: "Touched by an angel"--"The value of a Magical Practice"--"Spellwork, simple, effective and fun"--"The ancient art of Witchcraft in modern times". So stay tuned for those.

Magically Yours:  G. Alan Joel

P.S.:  Should there be interest, another topic for investigation will be the Urban Shaman's abilities to make a difference in a troublesome world!

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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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