*~* Witchcraft and Wicca Forum *~* EUTM

[valerian moon]

I'm going to a residential treatment center soon and will only be able to have (possibly) a small Buddha statue, and books.
How can I practice without using any tools? What are some meditations or devotions I can do daily?

[Mashiigwe]

Hang in there, pal, your greatest tool is a clean mind. Practice getting better, that's your priority, and when you nail it, you'll have the rest of your precious life to practice with tools. Be patient, and work towards your goal of being healthy. Be brave. A person can only be brave when they are frightened. Be brave.

[valerian moon]

Be brave. A person can only be brave when they are frightened. Be brave

That actually helped a lot, thanks.

[Mashiigwe]

I hope so. Man, life can be tough. I thought when I was your age, once I graduated from high school, things would be easy. Then came college and I thought the same thing. But.. The secret is, my young friend, life never gets easier for most folks, we get tougher and smarter after we get kicked, and then hopefully we can cope better and find ways around things. Then we have kids and go through stuff all over again. We should wear our scars like medals. We either hit an obstacle and conquered it, or we got our butt kicked, crawled away and healed and stood up tall. That's life. You can be ok as long as you keep on, keeping on. bwaaahaahaa. Just though I'd add that.

[SpiritTalker]

I know this is an old post and want to add a few thoughts for anyone in a similar situation. There are lots of times when no tools are available and we have to improvise and use whatever we have on hand. Any cup or saucer holds water or an offering. Use your index & middle fingers as a duo-sided athame ; project through the palms of your hands. Cafeteria salt and pepper can be used for blessings and banishings. Don't snitch the silverware. It just isn't needed and will probably make trouble. Use a pocket flash light for a candle or battery tea lights. Use sigil magic & draw signs or stick figures on paper if you have any, or sprinkle a bit of dirt or sand on a flat surface and draw in it with a finger. Breathe on a mirror or window and draw sigils in the mist. Use your breath to transfer the firey will. Do arm swings fore & aft to raise energy & pat your belly to center.

Daily or routine meditation, slow and rhthmic breath-work, grounding, centering, shielding are basics. No tools needed.

Use your hands to mime summoning. The god hand signal is a closed fist with pinkie & index fingers extended like horns, the thumb holding down the middle & ring fingers. The goddess sign is the fig, a closed fist with the thumb inserted between index & middle finger. A flat open, extended palm signals pause/stop but reversed and motioning toward us is an invitation the come forth. A closed fist can rep Earth element. Palm of hand cupped & turned upward is a cup & reps Water. A triangle made with touching index to index fingers & thumb to thumb makes an upward triangle sign of Fire that also makes a window for looking through to intensely focus one's magical gaze. Spread open fingers reps Air. Extended index & middle fingers together is the blade, where as the extended index finger alone is the wand. A hand-to-heart gesture is a sign to honor the elements and add a bow from the waist for deity. Hands over eyes-ears-mouth indicates that you see/hear/speak no evil and purifies personal space.

[Chalice]

Tools are an extension of your mind and will. The wand itself is not the source of the witchcraft, your mind/spirit is.

So when you are without tools, focus on meditation/trance/visualisation and casting magick in your mind.

Close you mind and imagine you are there, doing the magick stuff in the dreamland.

Then when you are re-united with the tools, you will be stronger.

[nightshroud]

um hello *walks in* I-I-I-I'm Nightshroud*hides face behind wand*
um if *nervous twitch* I-I-I-I don't have access to candles am ............ I-I-I-I'm .............
d-d-doing anything wrong?
I-I-I-i'm sorry for stuttering I'm new so I'm s-s-s-shy.........
a-a-and I'm not sure if what I-I-I-I use is correct.

I-I-I k-k-k-know its all bout visualization but there are still doubts.............

s-s-s-sorry I'm spacing out on everybody I guess I'm just nervous I'm normally a funny outgoing dude.

[The Judge]

It's going to take some time for me to remember all the information on it and I can't seem to find the original thread (From 5 years ago >.< ) so I'll put what I remember of it here.

If you are in a situation where a personal altar is impossible (Such as parents, location or simply can't afford one (there are some other answers to not being able to afford one but we'll leave that for another thread)) you can create an entire altar and work space in your mind.

In this method of the craft you meditate to focus your mind as you would before any ritual. Then you create a clean area in your mind, sometimes referred to as clearing your mind of all thought. Once this is completed you can then begin to put the tools and objects necessary for your desired ritual in this empty space.

Remember, that using a ritual space, even one created in your mind's eye still needs to be cleansed, grounded and cleaned up before and after as the energies will stay with you if you don't. In your "Altar of the Mind" you can do anything you can do in physical form.

Even if you don't use it for ritual purposes a good way to practice your concentration is to focus on it during meditation and essentially visit your alter. It helps solidify your image of it and keeps things from moving around on you.

This takes a great deal of practice and mental discipline but is a great way to avoid undesired situations.

---

As for the candles question. You don't need them, or much of anything really (Not going into depth here). Candles and incense are good for helping you focus inward and cleanse the immediate area of unwanted energies, but if you do a manual cleansing without them it should be fine, unless ambient energies are creeping in during ritual (But that would take a great deal of energy and if you cleanse the entire room it shouldn't happen).

[nightshroud]

okay thanks

[SpiritTalker]

The things we use represent, or stand-in for, the things they symbolize. That is the whole concept of magic in a nut shell.

Substitute something to simulate whatever item you desire. You could use a photo or drawing, a small flashlight or battery powered flameless candle. It might help to hold your hands over it and name the thing "henceforth you are a candle", then treat it like a candle so your mind is synchronized with the idea. Be respectful of the substitution process and take it seriously. In magical working, the symbol is as real as the thing itself. That's the principle of sympathetic magic, very much like an herb-stuffed doll stands for the person being healed, or a statue, stone or photo represents the presence of a saint or the deity. Their spirit may even indwell the statue if the right formulas are performed. It's an accepted idea in most religious practices all over the world but we never even think about it.

[Xiao Rong]

Judge, the Astral Altar is a great idea. So is cultivating an Astral Temple. Your skills are also your tools -- music, dance, artwork, poetry, visualization, meditation, etc.

[The Judge]

Astral altar, that's the one I was looking for... still dusting off some cobwebs here lol.

[smogie_michele]

Wow... haven't seen The Judge on here in FOREVER.

[The Judge]

A couple years but hey, I"M BACK Now what are you going to do about it? lol (I'm having a party )