Chop Wood, Carry Water
It’s amazing how the mind (and the rest of ourselves) falls into routines and patterns and learns to prefer certain methods over others. I am truly a creature of habit.
The majority of my adult life has been spent living on acreages of one sort or another, having access to large tracks of land, privacy and all that comes with it. As such my most effective methods for inducing trance states, (and any or all altered states of consciousness) which would be the step towards Crossing or full on ecstatic work, are built around a rural life. Or at the very least, having a yard or garden.
I am a repetitive motion Witch. Raking leaves, shovelling manure or snow, washing the floor, chopping firewood, pulling weeds, and other similar tasks have been my main methods of entering into trance states for much of my time as a Witch. I can quite easily gradually slip deeper and deeper into an altered state as I dig rocks out of the earth with my hoe until the task is completed and then leaving my tool in the shed, wander off to a pre-prepared ritual spot waiting for my arrival.
This style of trancing… Continue reading
Are You Scared Yet?
I was wandering around the bloggo-sphere the other day when I came across a blog by someone discussing their frustration with ritual (I honestly forget which blog it was which is too bad or I’d be replying to them!).
They just haven’t gotten “it” … they aren’t feeling “it”. “It” is out of their grasp. They aren’t sure anything is happening. You know what I mean, I don’t have to articulate it anymore than that.
The blogger in question spoke of feeling like they should fake it until they made it, just keep plugging away and going through the motions on the hope that they will have a break through.
On account of my suffering from a mild fever all I have in response mostly comes in the form of questions and ranting. (Read: I am slightly out of my mind right now)
First of all I am no longer a big fan of the fake until you make it system. I worry that by doing so we are training our selves to play pretend. Brains especially like routine, not just in actions but in thought and feeling, so I wonder at the possibility of training the brain to fake… Continue reading
The Flu and Divination
Some awesome questions were posted over at the Wild Geek Hang (the forum) about using pendulums, Ouija boards and what-not and I gave a rather long answers. Since I have the flu they were slightly fevered answers though! Enjoy:
- First and foremost, is Ouija as dangerous as common opinion would have me believe? What are the risks involved in using a Ouija board?
- Are there any similarities between what I’m looking to do and Ouija in terms of risk?
- Are there any specific precautions I need to take when using a board? How different is it from yes/no questions?
- Can the pendulum be influenced by other, less benign, spirits?
- I’ve heard talk of ‘opening doorways’ – what is it, and is it necessary? I’ve been doing simple yes/no questions without any ritual or faff so far
- Is doing this sort of thing without ritual or faff a good idea? Do I need to lay out some sort of protection?
- If opening doorways is necessary, how do you do it properly and how do you close it afterwards?
- Is there any chance I could get in over my head by doing this? (I accept the possibly, but how severe are we… Continue reading
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