Planeswalking - Updated!

[Pelta]

Planeswalking

Index
Introduction
Wandering
Magic
Gods
Holidays
Music
Animism
Conclusion

 

[Pelta]

Introduction

My path revolves around two things: Journeying and Practise. I remember reading that tools are just crutches. So instead of confining myself to a magical limp, I got rid of them. I figured things out on my own through trial and error and learned from my mentor, who I could not have done without.  

[Pelta]

Wandering

In my path there are two kinds of journeys – Internal and External. Both require an immense amount of self control and focus or things could go horribly wrong. It is most important to be always in complete control. I refuse to journey on any sort of drug, including alcohol and cannabis and I don’t like journeying when tired or sick either.

Internal– Internal wanderings are similar to soul searching. You journey into yourself to find out things that you didn’t know, to study your path and potential and to deal with inner demons. These journeys are very carefully planned and executed. I don’t leave my body to do these, but I’m also going to ignore all disturbances until I’m done.

External – External wanderings are when I leave my body. I usually do this in my room, which is heavily warded. Usually I’ll wander up to the dreamier places of the astral. Here I have a home base that is mine and always has been. I usually start there. Once in the astral plane I may seek lessons, visit the Akashic Records, speak with spirits, contact power animals and basically do whatever I need to do. Usually the journeys are not planned. They are entirely spontaneous. The only thing set is the beginning and after that I just go with the flow.

These journeys are rather important because this is how I learn much of what I do. Through interaction with the astral plane and some of the denizens of it I learn more that can be applied to my workings in this plane. There was a series of increasingly useful lessons involving the shadowier parts of the the plane that were actually quite terrifying in a lot of ways, and in overcoming such things in the astral they become much easier to deal with in the physical.  

[Pelta]

Magic

The more you wander about the ether the more you realise how easy it is to manipulate it. Control is most important. Headology, as Granny Weatherwax put it. Having your mind in order so you know how to use it.

Because the astral world is so easy to manipulate, when you apply the same sort of thinking to the physical world you can make things happen. If you’ve dealt with epidemics astrally is it that hard to heal a blister? If you’ve defeated inner demons in single combat it’s easy to hex-slap that little s**t who gropes you on the dance floor. It’s a matter of effort, concentration, and knowing what you can do with it. Ok, I have a confession to make. That actually isn't how I practise at all.

The fact is, what I actually do is a lot harder to put into words. Instead of using tools or physical objects, I impose form on etherial energy to create a working. This is entirely mental.

Part of this mentality can be described through an analogy. You want to move a chair. You could use prongs to move it, ask someone else to move it, shout at it until it explodes, tilt the room or whatever will make it move. But by far the most efficient way of moving the chair is to get up and do it yourself, hands on. So the way I practise is somewhat similar. I don't use tools or ask gods to do it - I do it myself. The tools were a way of learning.

When I practised Ceremonial Magic (briefly) I became accustomed to how the pomp and circumstance manipulated the energy involved and directed it. Once I was familiar with that I cut out the tools and began to practise hands on, directing the energy and forming it entirely with Will. It becomes quite easy with time, and this is partially where the astral practise comes in. When you're used to willing the astral plane to bend to your will it becomes easier to get the spiritual energy in this plane to do it. Travelling also teaches you an intense amount of mental control, which is absolutely crucial to this kind of working.

So that's a bit closer to what I actually do. Sorry for the previous misleading... I just wasn't quite ready to fully explain.

Magic is a very everyday thing for me. I use shields nearly every day in public. I touch up the wards on my room roughly once a week. Whenever I feel like using it I will. It’s a practical tool, and what’s the point of having a tool if you’re not going to use it?  

[Pelta]

Gods

I believe in many gods. However, I only belong to one. I am also fiercely independent. This means I only ever call on him for help when I’m REALLY screwed. For me, calling on a deity for simple spellwork is like asking your parents to tie your shoes. If you can do it yourself it’s not worth their time and effort. If you can’t, you should be learning how so you can stop bothering them with trivialities. If you still can’t tie your own shoes then you shouldn’t be walking.

Just to add to that, my fierce independence has gotten me in trouble sometimes. It can be very difficult for me to actually ask for help, so when I do it's usually quite important. There have also been a few situations in which I trusted myself entirely into the care of my deity. This really doesn't happen often, but when it does it is an immensely spiritual, comforting experience.

I still have never called on him for help in spellwork. Situations that require his guidance are a lot more personal.  

[Pelta]

Holidays

My path doesn’t have many holidays. Because it’s so ethereal and fluid, single calendar days don’t hold much weight. However, sometimes I wake up in the morning and know that this day is a holy day and know exactly why and how to celebrate it. That doesn’t mean it’ll be in the same place next year. So I take it as it comes and worry about that when it happens.

Four dates that I do acknowledge are the solstices and equinoxes. I acknowledge their passing as opposed to celebrating them, so it’s usually just a simple thing of sitting down and thinking about it for a while. My god is a solar deity so the quarters are important for me.

The solstices are the most important spiritual dates for me. Even before I was pagan I used to celebrate them. Because my path includes only me, they tend to be quite solitary celebrations. This usually includes sitting somewhere private, in the sun around noontime on the summer solstice and somewhere dark before dawn in the winter. Circle is created, honorings are made, offerings are given and usually an almost trance state is reached. Often candles are burned for the winter solstice and flowers offered for the summer. In the summer, any nearby guardian plants are watered in thanks. This whole process usually takes about a half hour. Sometimes ten minutes. I'm not too big on massive ceremonies, though I'm looking forward to the summer solstice in Tara next year.  

[Pelta]

Music

It is important to make the distinction that no matter how devoted I may be to my magic, music came first. I have been trying to use it more in my workings but have had difficulty finding many practical applications. For example, I sing in my head to keep people out. I walk to dance beats to get places faster. I play flute to release emotion. I think the latter has the most potential if I could only figure out how to harness it properly.

I should also point out that I never have music playing when I travel. I find it far too distracting.

Music is a discipline, just like magic. It’s a mental exercise and training regime. Most people can’t pick up an instrument for the first time and perform beautifully, just like most people can’t pick up magic and get everything right all at once. You need to work at it, play your scales, do your exercises and give yourself slaps on the wrist when you get it wrong. The rigorous work and unfailing devotion gets you where you want to be. It isn’t easy, but it’s very rewarding.  

[Pelta]

Animism

This is a new part that gets its own post because I somehow left it out last time.

I am an animist. I believe spirits inhabit all sorts of things, from trees to bus stops to whole nations. I'll interact with them much in the same way you interact with people. There are some you don't really want to talk to. Others are friendly strangers. Others end up being your friends. But on the whole they are very different to the conventional thoughts of what 'spirits' are.

If you've ever read The Famished Road you'll know sort of what I'm talking about. They are often concentrated in some places rather than others, but many tend to wander through everything. They are, in general, practically impossible to define.

Some are rather obvious. Trees, for example. And the Sidhe. Others are a little more ambiguous, like the little flitty things that sometimes come to play with shiny magical objects. I actually thought of them a bit like mosquitoes but less destructive. Unless they actually do start stealing. There are theives too. Some who come up to you only to try to get a go at what you've got in your pocket. Some are parasites going about trying to steal your energy. There are just about as many kinds of spirits as there are people. How can you possibly classify them? They don't necessarily look conventional either. Some are downright weird.

I tend to make the distinction between thoughtforms and spirits. One is something that has been created by human thought. Like the stupid little thing in my pc which was created by me. It doesn't quite qualify as a spirit and doesn't act like one. It doesn't have will.  

[Pelta]

Conclusion

This isn’t a 101. I don’t expect anyone else to be able to practise the way I do because, quite simply, you’re not me. My path is not separated from my life; it is my life. Everything about what I do is uniquely mine. There are also certain aspects which I am not at liberty to divulge. I hope this has at least made an entertaining read for a good few minutes.

Open for questions.  

[TeaDidikai]

Quote:

It is important to make the distinction that no matter how devoted I may be to my magic, music came first. I have been trying to use it more in my workings but have had difficulty finding many practical applications. For example, I sing in my head to keep people out. I walk to dance beats to get places faster. I play flute to release emotion. I think the latter has the most potential if I could only figure out how to harness it properly.

Do you consider this an aspect of psychodrama or mysticism?  

[Pelta]

TeaDidikai

Do you consider this an aspect of psychodrama or mysticism?

I would consider the first two uses to be psychodrama. The last has the feel of mysticism to it, partially because I don't understand it. There is something ~else~ that goes on when I release emotion with music and the prospect of using that fascinates me.

I've never been much of a mystic though and therein lies the difficulty. I've been working on it (thus the music and magic thread) but I don't really know where to start. sweatdrop  

[TeaDidikai]

missmagpie

TeaDidikai

Do you consider this an aspect of psychodrama or mysticism?

I would consider the first two uses to be psychodrama. The last has the feel of mysticism to it, partially because I don't understand it. There is something ~else~ that goes on when I release emotion with music and the prospect of using that fascinates me.

I've never been much of a mystic though and therein lies the difficulty. I've been working on it (thus the music and magic thread) but I don't really know where to start. sweatdrop

Without stepping on your toes... (ie- tell me to delete this post if it offends or annoys), might I suggest you look into a couple different culture's take on the Magic of Words (thus perhaps lyrics) and the Eastern Mysticism found in toning (which seems to have also influenced some of the Modern Norse Futhark traditions)?  

[Pelta]

TeaDidikai

Without stepping on your toes... (ie- tell me to delete this post if it offends or annoys), might I suggest you look into a couple different culture's take on the Magic of Words (thus perhaps lyrics) and the Eastern Mysticism found in toning (which seems to have also influenced some of the Modern Norse Futhark traditions)?

Hrm. Thank you for your advice. A point in any direction is really what I needed. I'm always happy to hear helpful suggestions. biggrin

Do you know of any good sources I could look into? Books or websites would be great. wink  

[TeaDidikai]

missmagpie

TeaDidikai

Without stepping on your toes... (ie- tell me to delete this post if it offends or annoys), might I suggest you look into a couple different culture's take on the Magic of Words (thus perhaps lyrics) and the Eastern Mysticism found in toning (which seems to have also influenced some of the Modern Norse Futhark traditions)?

Hrm. Thank you for your advice. A point in any direction is really what I needed. I'm always happy to hear helpful suggestions. biggrin

Do you know of any good sources I could look into? Books or websites would be great. wink

From a secular framework by which you can understand the mystical applications of what is discussed, I recommend Futhark and Northern Mysteries.

From a more pop-theological perspective, I suggest you look at some of the knock-off Hinduism sites that list corraspondences between the energy centers and the notes of the musical scale.  

[Pelta]

TeaDidikai

missmagpie

TeaDidikai

Without stepping on your toes... (ie- tell me to delete this post if it offends or annoys), might I suggest you look into a couple different culture's take on the Magic of Words (thus perhaps lyrics) and the Eastern Mysticism found in toning (which seems to have also influenced some of the Modern Norse Futhark traditions)?

Hrm. Thank you for your advice. A point in any direction is really what I needed. I'm always happy to hear helpful suggestions. biggrin

Do you know of any good sources I could look into? Books or websites would be great. wink

From a secular framework by which you can understand the mystical applications of what is discussed, I recommend Futhark and Northern Mysteries.

From a more pop-theological perspective, I suggest you look at some of the knock-off Hinduism sites that list corraspondences between the energy centers and the notes of the musical scale.

Thank you for the tips! smile