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Re: "Unnatural" materials in Witchcraft

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2017 6:29 pm
by nightshroud
I use figures and statues in my circle to substitute for candles.
Because I'm clumsy and my hands shake.

Re: "Unnatural" materials in Witchcraft

Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2017 1:34 pm
by SpiritTalker
I have a battery powered lantern I use during power failures and also use for out door rites when it's dangerously dry for open flame, too wet or windy...any one of which is most of the time. I have no issues with using what we have in modern times as the natural elements are always present. A battery's electrical current is a natural expression of elemental fire, just not the familiar flame form. In magical thinking, the symbol of a thing is the "thing" itself.

To me, there's no sense in being locked into one mindset when skill level, exterior conditions and resources of materials force options to change. Just go with the flow and the ritual or spell will also flow. Not everyone gets the same thrill from Nature. Results will differ. Confirmed mid-city urban dwellers like myself predictably fall in the fire pit, making a BBQ grill much safer if flame is desired. Ive discovered that battery powered lighting can be visually satisfying...but hold the marshmallows.

Re: "Unnatural" materials in Witchcraft

Posted: Thu Jun 08, 2017 8:56 am
by Shekinah
Yep, I've been know to use LED tea lamps in Circle when the wind is kicking up and candles are out of the question. Technology is our future more so then most care to believe. How many have been watching the TV show "Year Million"? It details step by step how humans will be using technology to augment our metaphysical nature morphing into an extra-corporal web of an entangled conscious singularity. Ancient philosophers have for centuries been telling us we are ONE.

We Witches have been for eons exploring the frontiers of telepathy, merging of consciousness, out of body bilocation and tapping into Akashic records of Cosmic Consciousness. Of note the Year Million recently addressed the problem of "first contact" communication with alien other worldly beings. How will we establish a universal language intelligible to all species everywhere across space/time? (how do we talk to a dolphin)

This elucidates my much ignored posts about why language is useless in attempting communication with the Spirit realm. Prayers whether verbal or silent employing language goes nowhere as we know in simple telepathy experiences. Communication with other worldly entities must be via mental imagery, We can transfer a mental image that will convey our message everywhere to the mind of any living being regardless of what language they speak. Along with mathematical equations mental imagery is the universal language used across the cosmos. What you were taught in Church about how to pray is foolishness. Speech devoid of emotional content does not waft into the heavens. The Gods are not our Gods exclusively they preside across the multiverse on countless worlds. Do we suppose they are fluent in all languages? And by what laws of physics can verbal vibrations in the air on planet earth propagate across light years of space and dimension? In Witchcraft one of the first things we practice is the formation of mental imagery because we understand this is the key to our Magick. We use speech in ritual only as a tool to facilitate our imagery. When we speak "circle of mystery, world between worlds I construct thee" we create an appropriate mental image of a sphere of energy forming around and defining your sacred space. Our spoken words are irrelevant to the formation of the circle.

Re: "Unnatural" materials in Witchcraft

Posted: Thu Jun 08, 2017 1:11 pm
by SpiritTalker
I agree with the gist of what you've written, Shekinah, that we need to put our back into the effort, so to speak; but it seems to me that verbal prayer serves the same function as ritual serves in circle casting. It's like a skeletel framework that the image in the heart hangs on. I guess i had a knee jerk reaction to a broad statement, that appears to assume that prayer is empty words.

Even the Recitation of repetative prayer by wrote opens the mental channels to the inner network, or at least I've found it to be so with the Rosary, and have had some profound moments, which is not uncommon amongst regular participants. I've taken part in a small rosary prayer group that met weekly, and some times the intensity that the group experienced rendered us totally silent in awe. This would seem to be the very sort of thing you might communicate with. And I do realize this wasn't the sort of thing you probably had in mind in your post. I just needed to say it.

And contemplative prayer, which is what I was taught, in the pew so to speak, focused on communing with the All One, in silence. So, I don't know what your own experience may have been that you need to say everybody was taught foolishness. Yes, some make foolishness of it.

Re: "Unnatural" materials in Witchcraft

Posted: Thu Jun 08, 2017 8:57 pm
by Shekinah
SpiritTalker wrote:I agree with the gist of what you've written, Shekinah, that we need to put our back into the effort, so to speak; but it seems to me that verbal prayer serves the same function as ritual serves in circle casting. It's like a skeletel framework that the image in the heart hangs on. I guess i had a knee jerk reaction to a broad statement, that appears to assume that prayer is empty words.

Even the Recitation of repetative prayer by wrote opens the mental channels to the inner network, or at least I've found it to be so with the Rosary, and have had some profound moments, which is not uncommon amongst regular participants. I've taken part in a small rosary prayer group that met weekly, and some times the intensity that the group experienced rendered us totally silent in awe. This would seem to be the very sort of thing you might communicate with. And I do realize this wasn't the sort of thing you probably had in mind in your post. I just needed to say it.

And contemplative prayer, which is what I was taught, in the pew so to speak, focused on communing with the All One, in silence. So, I don't know what your own experience may have been that you need to say everybody was taught foolishness. Yes, some make foolishness of it.
If your verbal prayer, chant or silent use of language elicits sufficient emotional content to translate into imagery, perhaps not recognized by you but imagery non the less, I concede that it might waft into the Aether. But why would we employ only the chicanery of language and not create in our mind a relative image ? If whatever you are doing works by all means have at it. Statistically very few prayers are ever answered and to most it remains a mystery why.
In Witchcraft we go to great lengths to develop visualization skills (imaging candles and flowers and landscapes) Why would we do this if words alone influenced probabilities? You want to get a message through the portal reliably it is ancient knowledge that you create an image. Our Intelligence Community has explored telepathy, remote viewing , remote influencing and bi-location extensively and have developed an operational protocol employing visualization alone. (with technical augmentation such as hemi-sync and the disc). Our operatives in training spend many hours in guided meditation visualizing landscapes and buildings before attempting remote viewing. Some of our lecture assemblies are held in a between world location and language is not used.

Re: "Unnatural" materials in Witchcraft

Posted: Fri Jun 09, 2017 9:56 am
by SpiritTalker
If telepathy is so efficient, why did humans develop speech? Picture-language is pretty old, going by the cave paintings. Why weren't pictures enough? I've wondered this for years. I'd be delighted to hear some ideas. But probably need a new topic.

Edit: My guide has taken me to many lectures. How would I recognize one of yours - pass word? Bull's head on the 3rd eye? Colorful auraS? Ok stop snort-giggling. You'll spray coffee. But It might happen. By accident. Edit the edit: my guide says "not gonna happen".

Why do we write spells? Why repeat in threes? It's just to get the brain to pay attention, as I see it. So I basically agree with you. The words don't make the deed happen. The words build the images. Emotional words are energy. What happens then, I dunno.