Magic: Why Bad Effects Are Almost as Good as Good Effects

Why Bad is Sometimes Good

Sometimes the people who "have the worst luck" are in the best place to use magic to the greatest effect. It's odd, but people who always seem to have a black cloud hanging over their heads are more magically powerful than the people who have smooth-running lives with very few problems.

The reason people who appear to have "bad luck" are inherently more powerful magicians than people with average luck is because the bad luck people already know how to create an effect in the world.

Think about it. There are many ways to measure a person's magical ability, and one measure of magical power is how strong an effect the person creates in the world. People with bad luck often wreak a path of destruction wherever they go. They create a lot of effect. Their effect isn't, per se, "good," but it is strong.

Having said that, people who create a strong negative effect in the world also tend to have trouble using their magical abilities. In other words, if they had learned to channel their abilities they wouldn't be living under such a black cloud. But, when and if they ever do learn to channel their abilities to create effects they actually wanted, they are fairly unstoppable.

Good News About Bad Magical Effects

1. If you are a person chronically living under a black cloud, you have powerful magic. You just haven't learned how to use it.

2. If you are living a good life with no black cloud, it doesn't mean you can't develop your magical abilities, but you may not need them if life is good.

Powerful magical practitioners tend to be fairly extreme in some ways. You will rarely find a practicing magician, good at the craft, who has a milk toast personality.

The $64,000 Question
Now for the $64,000 question. If you are one of those black cloud people, how do you channel your power so that it produces useful rather than chaotic effects in your life? The answer is that you have to start small. If you are one of these people, you probably have a strong will and a strong personality. Going head-to-head against that personality won't do anything but you give a flatter head.

Instead, start using your abilities in areas where you don't have a lot of significance, where things don't matter so much. Start attracting little things into your life. For instance, every morning when you wake up, think of something insignificant you want to bring into your life. Pick anything that doesn't matter, ranging from jello to the color green to a poker chip. Spend a minute or two calling that item to you, whether you speak a little prayer out loud or you envision it showing up. Then, during your day, look for it to come to you. Wait for it. Expect it. When you get it, celebrate. If it doesn't show up, either you didn't recognize it or it didn't happen to come. No big deal. That's why you pick something that doesn't matter to you.

As your ability to bring small items into your life improves, your ability to channel your magical power will, too. As long as you stick with things that don't matter to you, you'll keep the energy light and joyful. If you find yourself "caring" too much about whether you succeed with this exercise, move on to a different exercise, like some baby steps.

Baby Steps
Cloud Magic: Just send an email to info@shamanschool.com with CLOUDS in the subject line and we’ll reply with instructions on how to move clouds. Yup, it’s baby steps for weather working and more!
Daily Rituals Ebook
Over 40 beginner level rituals to help you start game playing with magic.

Energy Healing for Self and Others
Basic magical healing techniques that are safe and effective for anyone.
Four Element Courses
The four elements of air, fire, water and earth are the building blocks of our universe. Learning to work with these elements allows you to work with anything in the universe. Look for the Basic Magic Home Study Course in our store.

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Awaken Your Native Wisdom by Hiring an Angel

What do you get when you cross an obsession with self-improvement with an expert culture? People obsessed with expert opinions - and people who have lost their native wisdom! As a society we have become so accustomed to seeking expert opinions that we no longer know how to access our own intuition and knowing.

In ancient tribal times people didn't run to the medicine man or shaman for every ailment or life problem - they had spiritual tools for solving their own problems. They knew how to handle elemental energies of air, fire, water and earth to create healing, abundance, harmony in relationships and much more. They knew how to work with weather spirits, devas and other beings in the hierarchy. And they used their inner wisdom and guidance to make both everyday and major decisions.

The good news is that you have that very same wisdom and connection to higher powers and beings - all you have to do is awaken it. How? With practice, of course! No, we can't tell you how to do the equivalent of spiritual jumping jacks but we can give you exercises that will help you develop and exercise your spirit abilities.

Hire a Parking Angel
Ready to stop snoozing and start using your native wisdom? Try this little exercise of hiring a Parking Angel to help you find a parking spot in a busy lot.

1. Say out loud or in your mind, "I would like to a request a parking angel of sun yellow, grass green, and powder blue."

2. Wait a few moments until you feel a presence, or, if just wait a few moments. They don't take long to get there.

3. Say, "Parking angel of sun yellow, grass green, and powder blue, I would like to request your help in getting me a parking spot [specify where and when]. Thank you in advance for your help." When you receive that which you have asked for, then thank the angel again. It is VERY IMPORTANT to thank angels so they will be willing to help you later.

There are angels for EVERYTHING, from dealing with particular people to telling you how much salt to put on your food. You can ask their help in absolutely anything. Part of their job is to help us - they can't move on to the next level of their evolution unless they help us, and they can't help us unless we ask for help. So there are groups of angels just waiting, begging, for us to ask

Fun, right? Also, check out Everyday Magic, a weekly email course that offers you simple ways to awaken all of your magical, psychic and shamanic abilities!

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Protection Symbols in Magic

Acorns, Elk, Earth Squares, and More
When it comes to magical protection symbols the variety is endless, depending on the magical or shamanic tradition with which you work. For instance, according to the Druids, the symbol of an acorn is said to bring protection into a Druidic symbol. Certain Native American tribes use the symbol of the Elk as protection against psychic spirits. Earth religionists often reply upon the Earth Square (a cross within a square) to draw on protection energies from the four directions of the earth. Needless to say, when it comes to picking protection symbols the variety can seem overwhelming.

Guidelines for Choosing Symbols
It's not possible to review every magical symbol out there but here are a few guidelines you can follow when choosing protection symbols to use in your magical practice.

1. The protection symbols should come from a fully-working and complete system that has a history of success, such as the Tarot deck (we use the Waite-Rider deck), the Futhark Runes, or a specific tribal tradition.

2. Your chosen protection symbols should relate to the areas you want to protect. For instance, if you want to protect something large and physical, such as your property, you would want to choose a protection symbol like the Disc (a star surrounded by a circle) or the symbol of three mountains. Both of these symbols relate to anything on the physical plane. If you wanted to protect and nourish your Spirit, you would want to choose a symbol like the Sun from the Tarot. In the Tarot the Sun card nourishes and protects the Spirit.

3. Put your protection symbols where they can do their job. For personal protection, many people wear their protection symbols as amulets, rings, or earrings. For protecting your property, your can put the symbol up around your property or just at the entry points, such as over the doors. For protecting people far away, you can put the person's picture on a keyed plate and put the protection symbol on the plate with the picture.

Choosing protection symbols to use for various magical purposes can take some real thought and research. If you are not sure whether a protection symbol is right for your needs you can always use your pendulum to test it. If you are trying to choose between different protection symbols, you can lay them all out in front of you on a keyed plate and let your pendulum show you which ones will be the best for your needs. Last, but not least, if you start using some protection symbols and they don't seem to be working, go back and do some research and choose some different ones to try. Remember, magic is always an experiment in progress. While you may not get everything right the first time around, remember that you can always go back and fix something that is not working.

See talismans and amulets we have in our online store.


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Daily Magic for Everyday People

Can everyday people do magic or do you have to be descended from some line of witches and wizards to do magic? Balderdash! Anyone who wants can do magic. Magic is, in fact, the birthright of every planetary citizen, and that means you! If you're new to magic or you want to learn more about the magical arts, one of the best ways to get started is to do daily magic. Daily magic is the practice of simple rituals everyday to enhance your life. It can easily become a part of your daily routine, like doing yoga or drinking coffee.

Here are three simple rituals to get you started on your daily magic practice.

** 1. Need Some Info? Ask Owl! **
If you need some information in your life that you can't find on Google, such as some spiritual insight, you might check in with the Spirit of Owl. The Owl totem has all of the best qualities of physical owls: they can see extremely well, can hear extremely well, can turn their heads 180 (eyes in the back of their heads), are wise and are excellent hunters. If you need someone to hunt down some information for you, Owl is the one to turn to. Here's how you work with Owl in doing daily magic.

- Say aloud or in your mind, "Spirit of Owl, I request your help."

- Wait a few moments until you feel the presence of Owl (no more than a few seconds).

- State your request. For instance, if you need help seeing what's causing the relationship issues in your life, you might say, "Owl, please come with me today and show me what is causing these accidents in my life. Please show me in a way that I can clearly understand. Thank you in advance for your help." As always, when you ask for spiritual help appreciation is important.

- Stay open to what Owl will show you. Owl may bring up old memories, send you a phrase from the mouth of a stranger, or bring a chance meeting with another person. Owl will use any and every device to help you see. The more you contact Owl in your daily magic practice the faster these insights will come.

** 2. Need Energy? Burn a Sun Candle. **
One of the easiest daily magic techniques is the use of the Sun Candle. Create your own energy source by burning Sun Candles as often as you can. Carve a sun face into a candle and burn it, or just buy a bright sun yellow candle. Did you know that the color sun yellow (bright yellow with no orange) actually nourishes and refreshes your Spirit? If you're feeling groggy, grumpy or grouchy, sit in front of a lit sun yellow candle for a few minutes. It will refresh you and give you happy, joyful energy. Be sure to light the candle with paper or wooden matches since cigarette lighters have butane, which causes unwanted side effects.

** 3. Swing Your Worries Away **
Sometimes a little action is called for in your daily magic practice. 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. Focus on the situation you want to clear and begin swinging your pendulum in a clockwise direction. Allow the pendulum to continue swinging until it stops naturally - it will stop swinging your situation has cleared. Then see what changes now that the situation has been cleared by your pendulum.

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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 also 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.

3 Steps to Instant Reaction
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."

The Magic of the Long Moment
This is 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.

Flower Essences for the Long Moment
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

Explore the Long Moment and More
Want to explore more flower essence remedies and other techniques for self-healing and self-exploration? Check this out:

Energy Healing for Self and Others (ebook)

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