High Magick
Simple Exercises I use to prepare for magickal work.
Many people ask me about high magick and usually the first question/comment is about 'sex magick' , yes there are sex magick exercises involved in some higher magick work but those are no different from tantric yoga or many other disciplines and are not involved in the lower order exercises of new initiates.
Normally any 'sex magick' is only ever performed by life or married partners, some are solitary exercises and rarely may be performed, by some groups, in private ceremony under very strict routines of ritual.
Exercise 1
Some of the simple exercise I have used over the years are very easy and quite simple, one of the continuous routines I use is to, every morning and night, get comfortable in bed, close my eyes and cover them with my hands to block any residual light, take a series of deep breaths. I favor drawing in a breath over 7 seconds, holding that for 7 seconds and then expelling it for 7 seconds. When drawing breath I like to gulp the air like blowing up a balloon one gulp for each second. after a series of such breaths I let my mind drift into a waking dream but you can equally just let images form in your mind, take hold of the image without trying to control it, this is a very difficult stage to explain but when you try to 'hold on to' an image it seems to take on an independent life and writhe out of your control! When you gain more control you will find you can hold the image in your mind like taking the wings of a butterfly without damaging them. Study the image, look at its outline, if it is a person study the face area see the shape of the nose, the shadows on the face, if you see in color look into the eyes and see what color they are. The more detail you study the more you will be able to retain and the better control you will have in your waking and sleeping dream states.
Don't try to go to fast this takes time and you shouldn't get discouraged about the amount of time it takes, you can't become a champion tennis star over night it takes innate capability, long practice and belief in your ability. Believe me YOU can do this if I can ;)
One thing I tell any enquiring minds is to keep a dairy (you can call it a book of shadows/ ritual record book/ dream diary or whatever rocks your boat) keep it close to hand and write down your observations and progress. At night you may find yourself recalling dream details as you gain control and awaken in the middle of the night. Don't wait till morning when all the details will fade with your untrained memory skills take your diary and write down as many of the details as you were able to recall, over time you will be able to remember every detail and return to the point you left on your last visit.
Become aware
Take time in your day and become aware of this physical realm.
Many paths, mine included, regard the physical realm we live in as an illusion and our dream realm as the true image of the divine (or whatever label you might wish to assign to the oneness or god/goddess or creation/spiritual link) as we cannot comprehend the point of creation that is this and the other realms, you may have noticed that, unlike this realm, time has little significance in the other realm as it does here in the physical? The reason I mention this is that time is an invention, many paths believe that there is no such thing as time and we only view it due to not being able to grasp Keter, which in the kabbalah means 'Crown' (in hebrew) and is placed at the top of the tree of life. It is all that exists and was a creation that is complete. All that comes after the point of existence comes of and from Keter but that means that the parts that make up Keter can never know that completeness because Keter is all yet all remains part of it so that when we transcend through Malkuth, which means 'Kingdom' (in hebrew), which is the tenth and last point on the tree of life, we must become one with Keter and many believe that at this point we may either have a choice (if we are sufficiently advanced in our path journey) to remain as part of that whole and thus become it or return to this realm to aid others in reaching their journeys end. To that end there are a number of exercises you can try to prepare you:
Exercise 2
I love to look, when I say look it is more a case of observation, I am able to watch the bird feeder from my window and just watch the Cardinals eat, I can tell which pairs are which and, by their color pattern, who they are. I can tell which of the new fledglings belong to which pair. This might not sound very useful but in ritual work things can quickly become confusing and for serious ritual you need to be able to remember which tools to use when, where and how. What chants to make and how they should sound, isn't much chance to use latin or greek words in the local supermarket (often used in ritual due to the power you can empower the intent with). If you don't practice them then what use are they or any other method you use if you can't remember how they should sound???
A useful starter and continuing exercise is to sit in the yard or take a walk, don't have a purpose such as going shopping or exercising, just let the world around you come into to you without focusing upon it, just like the earlier dream technique? Just take a note of things you see on your walk or that happen as you sit. Don't focus on the what and where of things just write down the things you saw: "cat sitting under feeder", "dog in yard at 228 that barked".
Do that for one week then on the following week pick one thing you took note of and focus on that. Take in all its details, write in your diary everything you can recall, return on each other day make notes on that same object, how the light effects it, if it was wet, what effects the week had on it. This will allow you to come to the realization that what we think we see, in this realm, is only an interpretation of 'true seeing'.
On the following week try this exercise, look for one particular color each day, decide at the beginning of the day and, perhaps, write it into your diary. Perhaps a yellow Marigold on Monday or a Green car on Thursday? Make sure to note everything you observed about that object and maybe draw it if you wish?
This week listen to the sounds you hear, close your eyes, make notes on what the sounds were but not a descriptive story of what you think they were doing!
The next week close your eye's and 'listen', I advise not to do this whilst either walking or driving your car ;) Listen to a particular bird on your walk or to the cicada's as you sit in the early evening? Remember this is not a narrative but a memory exercise so just write out your observations of what it is you see, hear, smell and so on not your interpretation of them!
In the succeeding weeks do a similar exercise using your tactile sensations, stop and feel the leaves on a tree, with your eyes closed, or stroke that neighbors dog and write the sensation of its fur against your skin. Do the same using your sense of smell, the scent of a flower or the garbage truck as it passes ;)
All these are seemingly simple exercises to do but in magick they will give you a powerful base from which to work, after a while you will find them second nature and your lower mind will take them on as it does breathing ;) Later they will be the foundation to your magickal strength.
Love and light
