Six Ways: Approaches and Entries for Practical Magic by Aidan Wachter

This book offers a grounded, usable introductions to animistic sorcery available. Aidan Wachter’s Six Ways doesn’t just describe magical ideas, it focuses on what to do, how to do it, and how to think about magic as a lived, practical art. The tone is informal but serious, focused on real-world application rather than abstract metaphysics or traditional ceremonial trappings.

Please support the writer. Buy the full text on Amazon (not an affiliate link, I’m simply recommending it).

Magic as Daily Practice, Not Belief

Wachter treats magic as a personal, action-based art. It’s not about belief systems or dogma. His goal is to increase our ability to act, communicate, and change, internally and externally, by developing what he calls “special skills.” He defines magic as a relationship with the living world (what he calls “the Field”) and positions the practitioner not as a controller but as a participant in a larger ecosystem of spirits and powers.

His approach is practical: do what works, drop what doesn’t. He doesn’t demand that you adopt his worldview wholesale. Instead, he shows you how his thinking evolved, encourages you to reflect on your own reasoning, and then gives tools to try for yourself. This is especially helpful if you’ve read magical books that feel divorced from experience.

The Animist Worldview: You Live in a Crowd

At the core of the book is a modern animism: the idea that everything, stones, rivers, ancestors, deities, spirits, has agency. Magic happens by interacting with these beings, forming reciprocal relationships, and living symbiotically. It’s not metaphorical. Wachter talks about real interactions with spirits and expects you to do the same.

The goal is to create a “healthy ship,” where all parts of your life are aligned and working together. Tools for this include integrity, devotion, discretion, and consistent action.

Mapping Reality: The Six Ways

The title refers to a conceptual map of reality drawn from traditional witchcraft and shamanic sources. Wachter describes three layers:

  • Middle World: Ordinary reality, structured around four elemental directions.
  • Underworld: Realm of ancestors, daemons, and deep transformation.
  • World Above: Celestial and star-related powers.

In between are liminal spaces, the thresholds where change happens. Magic occurs when consciousness shifts from ordinary to non-ordinary reality, and Wachter provides the tools to make that shift intentionally.

Core Techniques You Can Use

Wachter outlines essential practices that build a foundation for practical magic. These include:

  • Breath work: Calm the nervous system, support trance, and build energy.
  • Meditation: Simple but focused, observe thoughts without engagement.
  • Trance: Enter altered states intentionally; light to deep levels, depending on the task.
  • Energy work: Use excitatory (movement, sound, sex) or inhibitory (stillness, breath) methods to raise power.
  • Microcosmic Orbit and Fire Snakes: Advanced techniques for circulating energy and cleansing the system.

Magical Methods for Real Change

The book also gives tools for focused magical work. These are action-based and aimed at clear results:

  • Intention and Decision: Define clearly what you want. Wachter emphasises the power of committing to a decision and following through.
  • Weeding out: Remove what no longer serves—just as important as adding new things.
  • Sigils: Encode desire into symbolic form to bypass resistance.
  • Servitors: Functional spirits given a task and a structure. Wachter treats them as entities attracted to a role, not artificial constructs.
  • Talismans and Vessels: Physical objects charged to anchor power and intention.
  • Offerings and Petitions: Regular acts of respect and communication to keep relationships with spirits alive.
  • Dreaming: Treating dreams as another field of magical work with its own rules and potentials.

Ethics, Responsibility, and Personal Power

One of the most useful sections covers ethics, not abstract morality, but practical responsibility. You are what you do, Wachter says, and magic magnifies that. He encourages clear boundaries (warding, cleansing, discernment), long-term commitment, and an understanding of magical contagion—how ideas, habits, and energies spread through contact.

This is not a book about quick fixes or secret shortcuts. It’s about building a meaningful practice that works because it’s rooted in who you are and how you live. “Play the long game,” he writes. Magic is slow, cumulative, and relational. If you work with attention and integrity, it works back.

Six Ways stands out because it teaches magic as something you do, not something you just read about. It’s ideal for people who are serious about integrating magical practice into daily life, especially if you’re drawn to animism, spirit work, or trance-based methods.

You’ll finish this book with concrete skills you can apply right away, and a clearer sense of how to grow into deeper levels of magical responsibility and power. Wachter doesn’t offer you a system to follow; he offers a way to live in a magical world and build your own way of working inside it.

 

Core Practices and Ritual Instructions from Six Ways

 

These instructions outline the practical exercises and rites described by Aidan Wachter, focusing on breathwork, meditation, trance, energy circulation, and key rituals such as the Stars of the Six Ways and the Re/Claiming Rite. These practices are designed to build foundational skills and create deep engagement with magical work.

1. Breathwork (Entering into Silence)

This foundational practice prepares you for meditation and trance by calming the body and mind:

  • Posture: Sit comfortably with a straight spine. Hands on knees, thighs, or in your lap.
  • Breathing: Inhale and exhale through the nose.
  • Equalize Breath: Match inhalations and exhalations. Use a count (e.g., four in, four out).
  • Extend Breath: Increase to five-five count gradually.
  • Deepen Breath: Move breathing into the lower lungs; belly should relax and expand.
  • Add Pauses: Insert a gentle pause at the end of inhale and exhale without strain.
  • Practice: Start with five minutes twice daily, increase over time.

2. Meditation (Entering into Silence)

Meditation centers on observing the mind and quieting internal chatter:

  • Focus on Breath: Use breath sensations as an anchor.
  • Observe Thoughts: Label them without engagement:
    • Remembering: Past events.
    • Fantasizing: Future scenarios.
    • Feeling: Physical or emotional sensations.
  • Concentration Meditation: Choose a focus object (candle, stone). Gaze softly while repeating: “I breathe in and relax. I breathe out, becoming calm.”

3. Trance Induction (Entering into Trance)

This process uses breath and guided internal dialogue to reach altered states:

  • Setup: Sit upright or lie down. Begin with slow, deep breathing.
  • First Stage: Repeat internally: “My [body part] is warm and heavy, sinking into the ground.”
  • Second Stage: If agitated, use: “My [body part] is dissolving into darkness.”
  • Third Stage: Deepen: “My [body part] is floating in silence.”
  • Alternative (Jan Fries): Use flowing internal phrases tied to breathing: “I breathe deeply – and relax completely…”

4. Microcosmic Orbit (Entering into Power)

A Taoist-inspired circulation of energy through internal and cosmic channels:

  • Awareness Points: Focus on perineum (root) and crown of head.
  • Orbit Path: Inhale, energy rises up the back; exhale, energy falls down the front.
  • Complete the Circuit: Tongue touches the roof of the mouth.
  • Add Earth and Stellar Currents: Visualize energy rising from Earth and descending from the Stars.
  • Hand Work: Feel energy between palms as a ball. Use for healing, empowering, or projecting intention.

5. Fire Snakes (Advanced Energy Work)

An intense method for calling Earth-fire and Star-fire into the body:

  • Begin in Trance: Visualize yourself as the World Tree.
  • Earth-Fire Serpent: Call power from below; feel heat rise into your body.
  • Star-Fire Serpent: Draw stellar light down through the crown.
  • Integration: Twin snakes spiral, purifying and energizing.
  • Contain and Close: Draw them into a fiery ball in the belly, thank and release.

6. Moving the Self (Trance and Traveling)

Practice shifting consciousness and exploring non-ordinary spaces:

  • Shift Awareness: Move consciousness to different body points.
  • Second Self: Engage the subtle body, separate gently, and explore.
  • Crossroads Work: From a central point, travel into elemental landscapes to meet allies.
  • Otherworld Navigation: Use directional language, maintain focus, and expect dream crossover.

7. Stars of the Six Ways (Directional Ritual)

This rite aligns you with cosmic and elemental forces:

  • Centering: Face North, breathe deeply, ground and root like the World Tree.
  • Reach Above: Visualize branches stretching to the stars.
  • Call Directions: Speak aloud to North (Earth), East (Air), South (Fire), West (Water), then Above and Below.
  • Work and Petition: State needs clearly, listen for responses.
  • Closing: Thank powers: “By the Stars in the North… Above… Below… I thank you for your aid.”

8. Re/Claiming Rite (Personal Sovereignty)

A daily ritual to reclaim lost power and affirm self-blessing:

  • Setup: Photo of yourself, bowl of water, candle, and incense.
  • Steps:
    1. Forgive: “I forgive myself my failures, past, present, and future.”
    2. Call Power Back: “I call back all my power, as it was, as it is, and as it shall be.”
    3. Bless: “Here and now, as an Avatar of the Ineffable, I bless myself…”
  • Water Consecration: Anoint key areas of the body during the rite.
  • Frequency: Once or twice daily for a lunar month.

Clarifying and Working with Intention

  • To start, take a piece of paper and a pen and write out why you are reading the book. The goal is to narrow it down to a single, clear sentence.
  • Ask yourself helper questions to refine your intention: “What are you seeking in your life generally? What are you seeking to learn or gain from the practice of magic? What blocks your motion in the directions you desire to move? What aids you? What hinders you right now, at this very moment? What do you love in this very moment?”
  • Once clarified, write your intention again on a small square of paper, about three inches across.
  • Read your intention aloud three times.
  • Kiss the paper three times.
  • Breathe onto it three times.
  • Say: “As it was, As it is, As it shall be”.
  • Fold the paper in half, folding it towards you, and place it in the back of this book.

Deciding to Decide (Clarifying Focus)

This practice helps you make decisions once and stick to them, freeing up mental bandwidth.

  • Start with “nonsense things” that have limited emotional or psychic significance.
    • Eliminate a habit and replace it with another. For example, decide to stir your coffee counter-clockwise, or decide that nickels are “evil” and dimes are “sacred”.
    • When your mind tries to make you revert, firmly reply: “I decided [the new rule]. It is done.”
    • Immediately correct any “slip-ups” (e.g., drop a nickel if you find one, or take off your shoe and put the correct one on first if you put the wrong one on).
  • Once you’ve mastered this with trivial things, move onto more significant subjects. Apply the same conviction: “You do it because you decided to, and it’s just fucking done.

Re/Claiming: Self, Power, and Position

This is a foundational practice to cut unhelpful ties, recall lost personal power, and consecrate yourself as a sovereign being.

  • Schedule: Perform once or twice a day for a full lunar month when starting.
  • Setup:
    • Get a printed photo of yourself.
    • Set it on your altar (any flat surface can serve as an altar).
    • Include a bowl of fresh water, a candle, and some incense.
    • (Optional) Add crushed dried rose petals, essential oil, or perfume to the water.
    • Light the candle and the incense.
  • Centering: Take a few minutes to calm and center yourself, breathing deeply.
  • The Rite:
    1. Forgive yourself your failures, out loud:I forgive myself my failures, each and every one of them, past, present, and future.Repeat this section three times.
    2. Call back all your power:I call back all of my power. All that was taken from me, all that I gave away, all that I lost. I call it all back to me. As it was, as it is, and as it shall be.Repeat this section three times.
    3. Bless yourself and give thanks:Here and now, ever and always, as an Avatar of the Ineffable, I bless myself. I give thanks to the powers that aid and guard me, I thank them for their help, their protection, and their infinite blessings. As was, as is, as is to come.Repeat this section three times.
  • Consecration: Throughout the work, bless yourself with the water as inspired. Pay special attention to your head (brow, crown, back, nape of neck), throat, hands, feet, and any areas holding pain.
  • Adaptation: You can rewrite the exact words, but do not deviate from the core intention and always include a phrase like “past, present, future” or “As it was, as it is, and as it shall be”.

The Watchtower (Visionary Space):

  • After trance induction, imagine standing before a door in a curving stone tower wall. Visualize its details (square/rounded top, handle location, swing direction).
  • Decide to open the door and grasp the handle. Notice the cool metal.
  • Enter the entry hall. Notice the floor and walls, describing them internally if you don’t “see” them.
  • Step forward fully inside.
  • Notice doorways to stairs (right/left, leading up/down). Choose one.
  • Ascend/descend nine steps to another door, leading to a plain working room.
  • Upper room (if ascended): Greet the room, make an offering by lighting the candle with matches, then the incense from the candle.
  • Lower room (if descended): Greet the room, make an offering by lighting the candle with matches, then the incense from the candle.
  • Re-visit and furnish these rooms as desired (e.g., add windows, tunnels, an altar).

Moving the Self (Consciousness Shift):

  • (Perform trance induction first).
  • Notice where your consciousness is “seated” in your body. Experiment with moving it to another point (e.g., from head downwards).
  • Once moved, spend time noticing the differences in perception (quieter, more/less stable, emotional, etc.).
  • Notice your “second self” (a less physical body) inside or overlaying your physical body. Feel its connection and move your consciousness into it.
  • Gently raise this second self (e.g., an inch per breath) or move it forward a few inches to sense its differences from your physical body.
  • “Flip” your perception so your second self is looking down on your physical body. From this perspective, scan your body for energy leaks (places where energy drifts away). Close these leaks by gently touching them with your “hands”.

Crossroads Work:

  • When deep in trance, notice what exists in the four directions (e.g., mountain North, plains East, desert South, misty land West).
  • Walk into these elemental/mythic “lands” to explore, learn, and make allies.
  • Set the intention to meet an ally when entering a new zone. Spend time communing; allies may speak, show things, or act as guides.
  • Be aware that work in these realms can affect your physical world. Only make agreements that make sense to you.
  • If not visually oriented, rely on other senses (hearing, smell, taste, touch) and gently describe your experience internally.
  • Ask allies to guide you, as they may travel in ways other spirits cannot.
  • Develop a “moving” language (e.g., “walk forward,” “return to the Crossroads/Tree”) to navigate.
  • Pay attention to sensory details (e.g., water droplets, grass movement) to deepen immersion.
  • Expect dream states to be influenced by your trance travels.
  • You can perform ritual work in these realms as a helpful complement to physical work.
  • Expect to be asked to help spirits (e.g., cleaning up things, helping stuck entities).
  • Be prepared for experiences to be “weird” and radical.

Simple Divination: The Pendulum

The pendulum is a quick and effective tool for getting yes/no answers and clarifying information.

  • Tool: Anything with some weight attached to a single string or thread (e.g., a ring on a thread).
  • Method: Primarily a yes/no question-and-answer process.
  • Question Formulation:
    • Be specific and rigorous. Questions must be answerable with a yes or no.
    • Example: Asking “Will I get what I am asking for if I do X ritual?” is effective, whereas “Should I do X ritual?” is not.
    • Be willing to ask many questions to narrow down information.
  • Calibration:
    • You can draw a simple pendulum map (Yes, No, Unclear, Maybe directions) or learn the swings implicitly over time.
    • Hold the pendulum so it hangs freely over the center of your diagram (or your perceived center).
    • Ask the pendulum: “Can you show me a yes to calibrate?” Then ask for a “no.” Repeat this before each reading.
    • Do not help the pendulum. Allow it to sit still, spin, or change directions on its own.
    • If you don’t understand its movement, talk to it (e.g., “I have no idea what you are doing! Can you give me a yes again?”).
    • You can ask for “clearer” swings.
  • During a Reading:
    • Keep questions simple (yes or no).
    • Feel free to rephrase, circle back, and take your time.
    • Avoid asking two questions at the same time.
    • Recalibrate anytime you feel the need or ask for stronger swings.

Raising Power and Finding a Magical Voice

These practices help generate and direct magical energy through the body and voice, and clear energy channels.

  • Vowel Toning (Inhibitory Method):
    • Sit, relax, and breathe.
    • Begin “vibrating” the seven vowels, focusing your attention on each of the seven chakra points along the centerline of the body.
    • The sounds rise in pitch as you move up from root to crown:
    • Root (perineum): UUH (as in “up”), low and guttural.
    • Sacrum (base of spine, below navel): OOO (as in “too”).
    • Third chakra (solar plexus): OH (as in “no”).
    • Heart: AH (as in “saw”).
    • Throat: EYE (as in “sky”).
    • Third eye (between brows): AY (as in “say”).
    • Crown (top of head): EEE (as in “see”), as high as comfortably possible.
    • Work your way up and back down a few times.
    • When ready to stop, bring your attention to your belly and consciously store any excess energy there.
    • Uses: Set consciousness in a particular location/vibration (e.g., clear your head by singing into higher points), or generate energy and root to the ground (low and guttural tones). Bring these tones into evocations/invocations to draw particular powers.
    • Experiment: Play with your own name, or names of deities/spirits/angels, speaking them from different points to feel their resonance. Pick a word of Power (e.g., a rune like “Algiz”) and speak it from each point to find its “happy place” where it resonates most.
    • Vary volume and voice: Tone quietly or loudly. Pretend to be a monster, Tuvan throat singer, or Tibetan monk to find which voices work for you.
  • Last Exercise on Voice (Manifestation Practice):
    • One morning, decide on a word of power you want to manifest, but do not say it aloud.
    • Carry it inside you all day, close to your center. Bring your attention to it dozens of times throughout the day.
    • In the evening, when alone and uninterrupted, take your word (still held quietly) to your altar.
    • Sit and light a candle.
    • Vibrate the vowel tones (up, down, back up a few times).
    • Once you feel strong and open, notice the word in your center again.
    • Quietly hum the vowel tones with your mouth closed. Let the word feel its desire to be birthed into the Field.
    • Let the word rise from root to crown with your humming. After the last, highest “EEE” (or another point that feels right), open your mouth and speak the word. Choose your word well as this is a very potent practice.

Offerings

Offerings are a way to build symbiotic relationships with spirits and influence the Field.

  • Go-to Offerings: Cool water, candles, incense, and various kinds of food.
  • Cool water: The most basic. Can be “fixed up” with rose petals, perfumes, tinctures, or oils depending on the spirit’s preference.
  • Candles: Use tea lights or Shabbat candles. They are considered “food” for spirits as they transform solid energy into heat, smoke, ash, and carbon when burned.
  • Incense: Resin incense on an incense heater is recommended for controlled release.
  • Food: Common offerings include unbroken eggs, tortillas, chili sauce, fruit, and flowers. You can bake for spirits.
  • Identify preferences: You can use a pendulum or cards to ask what spirits might like.
  • Dressing a Candle: This is like making a meal more interesting for spirits.
    • Inscribe a petition or sigil on the candle’s wax using a scribe.
    • Anoint it with an oil.
    • Rub or roll it in powders and herbs (homemade are best).
    • For candles in glass (tea lights, novenas), sprinkle these things on top.
    • Be smart about fire safety when adding materia to a candle.
    • Go with your gut on how to dress it, unless otherwise indicated.
    • For close connections, you can lick or spit on the rune/candle to link it directly to yourself, creating a strong protective bond.
  • Making Offerings (General Practice, influenced by Jason Miller):
    • Be polite: Light a candle, a stick of incense, and offer a cup or bowl of cool water.
    • Quiet your mind.
    • Speak (example): “Spirits who aid and guard me, be with me now and always. Please feed on this light, smoke, and water. Be nourished and strengthened. Spirits who obstruct my path, spirits that I have offended by ignorance or transgression, please feed on this light, smoke, and water. Be nourished and strengthened. Let there be peace between us for all of our days.”
    • Sit quietly for a while.
    • Talk about your goals and what you wish to achieve. Ask for help without demanding or begging, bringing a spirit of joyful giving.
    • Example request: “Spirits who watch over me, aid and guide me on my path. Open the roads that I travel so that they may be free of obstacles. Grant me clear vision so that I can see the ways forward. Protect me from all harm and from all wrathful beings who would do me harm.”
    • Regular practice cultivates strong relationships with spirits aligned to you.
  • Heating and Cooling (Offerings): This concept helps influence spirit activity.
    • To make a spirit more active/excitatory: Offer hot things like peppers, coffee, ginger, tobacco, hard alcohol, or red/black items.
    • To calm a spirit/quiet things down: Offer cool water, cool fruit, flowers, or cool colors.
    • The consistent giving of offerings is highly effective for smoothing the path of fate.

Petitions

Petitions are a simple way to ask for help from spirits or focus magical intentions.

  • Paper: Use a small square of paper.
  • Step 1: Write your petition.
    • Write out what you are asking for over and over from top to bottom. (It’s okay to lift your pen from the page).
  • Step 2: Layer the petition.
    • Turn the paper a quarter turn.
    • Write your petition again over the top of what you just wrote.
    • Repeat this process four times in total. The text should become mostly unreadable.
  • Step 3: Add your name (or the recipient’s name).
    • Start writing again over the top, writing your name (or the name of the person you’re doing the petition for) over and over.
    • Fill the entire sheet, then turn the page a quarter turn, and repeat this four times in total. It will become even more unreadable.
  • Consecration:
    • Make it special: Sit on it (to link it to you), add appropriate oils, herbs, powders, or perfumes, or pray over it.
  • Folding/Rolling:
    • Fold or roll the paper towards you for things you want to bring into your life.
    • Fold or roll it away from you for things you are sending away.
  • Placement: You can stop here, or place the petition on an altar, in a vessel/container, or in your wallet (e.g., for money attraction).

Sigils

Sigil magic is an efficient and effective foundational practice for coding information into the deep mind, bypassing conscious censors.

  • Choose Your Change/Desire: If it’s complex, break it down into discrete pieces.
  • Write Your Intention (Guidelines):
    • Use positive language only. Avoid negatives.
    • Focus on the completed desired outcome.
  • Letter Removal:
    • Remove all repeated letters.
    • (Optional) Remove vowels.
    • (Optional) Remove mirrored/inverted/contained letters.
  • Create the Sigil Image:
    • Use remaining letters to form a monogram or symbol.
    • (Optional) Make it visually appealing.
  • Activation/Charging:
    • Draw sigils on 3-inch squares.
    • Focus on the image under low light.
    • Try to disconnect it from its meaning.
  • Shoaling (Batch Activation):
    • Activate multiple sigils (3–12) at once.
    • Shuffle, then gaze at each until it “shifts.”
    • Burn completed sigils when done.
  • Steering (Adjusting Course): Create new sigils to shift direction.

Servitors

Servitors are a form of spirit (either created thought-forms or attracted spirits) tasked with specific functions to aid your magical work.

  • Function-Based Sigil: Make the intention task-focused.
  • Create a Material Base (“House”):
    • Paint the sigil on a chosen object.
  • Feed and Bring into Being:
    • Use energy work and offerings.
    • Evocation is optional.
  • Name It and Give It a Job:
    • Idle servitors may cause issues.
  • Reward Good Work: Give offerings when it performs well.
  • Adjustment:
    • Clarify instructions if it’s underperforming.
    • Listen or divine for feedback.
  • Releasing a Servitor:
    • Politely thank and dismantle its base.
    • Consider reassigning if still useful.

Warding Your Home

This practice protects your space from unhelpful spirits and energies.

  • Thorough Cleaning:
    • Clean floors, open windows, take trash out through back door if possible.
  • Prepare Cleaning Solution:
    • Water + vinegar + salt (+ optional herbs or scents).
    • Charge it with verbal intent.
  • Application:
    • Wash windows and doors with intent.
    • Renew work periodically.
  • Awareness and Gratitude:
    • Interact consciously with your home’s entry points.
  • Clarity:
    • Don’t invite disruptive entities (or people).
    • Align your habits with your stated intentions.

Playing the Long Game (Self-Transformation)

Consciously working magic for long-term self-improvement and aligning your path with your true desires.

  • Honest Assessment:
    • Reflect on your life via meditation, divination, or therapy.
    • Identify limiting beliefs or events.
  • Changing Perceptions and Behaviors:
    • Use ritual and mundane effort in tandem.
    • Ritualize practice, use verbal cues, and celebrate progress.
  • Consciously Choose Your Path:
    • Write a declaration of intent and responsibility.
    • Read it aloud daily at altar or in nature.
  • Weeding Out Hindrances:
    • Burn written blocks ritually.
  • Gaining Skills:
    • Write desired skills, enchant, and do the mundane work.
  • Cultivating Desires (“Engine of Desires”):
    • Feed real desires, release false ones, boost clarity.
  • Working with the Lunar Cycle:
    • New Moon (waxing): Increase-focused work.
    • Full Moon (waning): Decrease-focused work.
    • The waxing crescent to full moon is noted as ideal for increase work.

On Consecration, a Candle Spell, and Falling in Love

Consecration makes an object special and potent for magical work.

  • General Consecration:
    • To consecrate is to make something special.
    • Use a scribe (iron needle) to carve sigils or runes into wax. (e.g., Algiz rune for protection).
    • (Optional, for direct link to you) Lick or spit on the rune to moisten it and link it to you.
    • Anoint it with an oil.
    • Add powdered herbs or dusts. (Redden with red sandalwood powder or other pigments).
  • Example Protection Candle Spell (for someone else, Julia):
    • Gather materials: Candle, protection powder, red sandalwood powder, lighter, oil, needle-scribe.
    • Pick up the candle and say aloud: “Creature of wax and wick, I ask that you work with me to aid and guard Julia.”
    • Take up the scribe and say: “Creature of iron, I ask that you work with me to aid and guard Julia.”
    • Etch the rune into the wax, saying: “Beautiful Algiz, bright and sharp, I ask that you work with me to aid and guard Julia.”
    • (Optional, for strong personal link) Lick or spit on the rune: “By the water of my life do I give life to you that you may aid and guard Julia.” (Only for very close connections).
    • Place a drop of oil on the rune and rub it in, saying: “Creature of oil, bless this creature of wax, and join with it to aid and guard Julia.”
    • Sprinkle protection herbs on the rune and rub them in, saying: “Creature of the fertile Earth, join with your brethren to aid and guard Julia.”
    • Add red sandalwood powder and say: “I redden this rune, I consecrate this creature of wax with spit, with oil, with herbs, with iron, and with the breath of my body (breathe upon the rune). Creature of wax, I give you life that you may aid and guard Julia.”
    • Mount the candle in a holder and light it, saying: “Creature of fire, kindle the flame, awaken this creature of power to aid and guard Julia.”
  • Carving an Ally (Falling in Love Approach):
    • Get a piece of wood and a small pocket knife. Sit by a fire or in the sun.
    • Think about a desire you wish to manifest. Sharpen the knife, thinking about all possible (and impossible/unknown) ways it could come to pass.
    • Address the wood, asking if it would like to help. (If it “says no,” use a different piece of wood).
    • Tell it your desire. Ask if it has a form it wants to take (e.g., circle, bear, fish, moon). If it suggests one, go with it; otherwise, choose a simple shape (sphere, egg, cylinder).
    • Begin carving away the excess. Focus on capturing an essence, not high art.
    • Talk to the wood as you carve, reiterating your desire and acknowledging openness to unknown paths for manifestation.
    • Ask your wood-friend to find a good way to bring your desire about.
    • Pay attention to subtle feedback while carving (e.g., explicit voice, vision, or a sense of “all will be well”).
    • When the piece feels “done,” spit on your hands and rub it into the wood.
    • Breathe onto (into) your ally to give it life.
    • (Optional) Pass it through smoke for warmth, or give it a particular oil or perfume if it comes to mind.
    • Continue conversing while leaving quiet spaces to listen.
    • Carry the finished object, place it in a special visible place, or hide it away for secret time.
    • This approach can be adapted to fabric, yarn, clay, metal, painting, story, or even a book.

Vessels

Vessels are containers used to store, transport, contain, and focus magical energy and intentions.

  • Honey/Sugar Jar:
    • Make a petition for something you want to draw to you.
    • Place the completed petition into a jar.
    • Add other relevant items.
    • Fill the jar with sugar (leaving room to shake it up).
    • Use mason jars with metal lids (for burning candles on top) or other tight-lidded containers.
    • “Shake it up” to put motion into the jar when things slow or stagnate.
  • Bag Spell:
    • Place a collection of objects related to your work into a small bag.
    • (Optional) Use a bag of a particular color or pattern.
    • Consecrate everything as usual.
    • Tie or sew it shut.
    • Carry in a pocket, stitch into clothing, or tuck into a pillow (for dream work).
  • Drawing Box:
    • Create a box that incorporates a master sigil (e.g., for business success, learning a skill, increasing something).
    • Consecrate and embellish the box, adding sigils.
    • As the project proceeds, add helpful elements (more sigils, petitions, stones, herbs, curios, images).
    • Combine techniques: A master sigil box can house a sugar jar, with specific sigils for smaller goals.
    • Feed the vessel by burning candles on it, shaking it, or heating/cooling it as needed (can be metaphorical or literal).
  • Self-Made Clay Vessel:
    • Dig your own clay or use store-bought.
    • Build a clay jar, continuously sigilizing and forming your intentions into the material.
    • Have your cork or stopper ready when forming.
    • Fire your vessel to harden it and bring it to life.
    • If made with full intentionality and consecrated, it should emerge “lively.”
    • Finish with appropriate paints, stains, and sigils.
    • Place in a wooden box for protection, and bury it for a specific time (e.g., a lunar cycle, or specific number of days/months).
    • When unearthed, view it as being born. Welcome it.
    • “Feed” it with dry materia as “food” (avoiding rotting items).
    • Bring it into your home or working space and introduce it to your “family.”
    • Approach with forethought, as these vessels are intended to be “alive” and have active sentience; do not forget about them.

Talismanic Magic

Talismans are powerful objects that serve as meeting points of power, will, desire, intention, and action, guiding you towards desired outcomes.

  • Building a Talisman (Beaded Cord Example):
    • Get tough cord (e.g., Chinese nylon bead stringing cord) and a selection of beads that resonate with your intentions (stone, metal, wood, bone; avoid plastic).
    • (Optional) Add a charm or symbol.
    • Arrange the beads in order, one bead for each word of a prayer, phrase, or mantra directly related to your work.
    • Create a “verbal sigil” as your mantra: Write out a petition, then re-assemble the letters into new “nonsense words” that sound good and strong, focusing on tone and vibration rather than simplification (e.g., “ROAS FORBN KOUR PRBTO CBWAK” for “A power source for trance work”).
    • Decide on the number of bead sets (e.g., nine sets of five beads for a five-word mantra).
    • Use “odd” beads or knots at the beginning/end of each pass of the mantra to help you track during trance.
    • Consecrate as you build: With each bead added and each knot tied, speak your intention, ask for its assistance, and thank it.
    • Use it towards its purpose: Chant the mantra and count the beads as part of trance induction. If you start to slip from trance, use the chant to bring yourself back in.
  • Working with Found Objects as Talismans:
    • Ask found objects for their “words of power.” Sit with them, vocalize vowels, and find tones that make the talisman “speak” to you.
    • Ask for its aid.
    • Ask what it likes, but discern wisely if its suggestions are truly helpful or necessary.
    • Cultivate a working relationship. If your ways clash, be polite: Thank it, give a small offering, and move on.
    • Accept enchantment at face value. If a found object (e.g., a “lucky” pistol cartridge) “speaks” to you, ask yourself if it connects to a current you seek.
    • Be wise: Investigate if its intentions are congruent with your own. Ulterior motives can exist in magic.
    • Common sense applies: If something claims to bring luck but your life collapses, it wasn’t being honest, or meant a different kind of luck. Your work should move you closer to your goals. If not, change course.

Behind the Wall of Sleep (Dreaming and Dream Work)

The Dreaming is another world linked to waking reality, which can be engaged for magical purposes.

  • Foundational Practice: Dream Journaling:
    • Write down your dreams. Keep a book or digital recorder by your bed.
    • Write everything you remember, even if it’s minimal (e.g., “Can’t remember last night’s dream, but I know I dreamt” or “I dreamt that it was cold”).
    • Before bed each night, write: “I remember my dreams.”
    • Record your dreams immediately upon waking. If using a digital recorder, babble it out without opening your eyes, then transcribe to a physical dream journal later.
  • Applying Magic: The Dreaming Bed:
    • Create a small bed that can reside beneath your sleeping bed. This can be a doll’s bed, a box with miniature linens, or a simple paper/cloth bed.
    • If a 3D doll’s bed, fashion a poppet of your dreaming self to place inside, or use a small “link” to yourself (e.g., hair, old jewelry, photo).
    • Consecrate every piece as you build it: “This that I build is my dreaming bed, an aid to slip into that world, to move freely with no obstructions, and to be protected there from all harm.”
    • Incorporate any protective elements you require (e.g., angelic links, guardian spirit links) into the framework.
    • Place the dreaming bed beneath your main bed. If sleeping with others, keep it to your side, or keep it on an altar and take a link to it to bed.
    • Create a dream petition or sigil for your dream-work. (e.g., for better dream recall, to learn about a Six Ways direction, or to meet a specific ally).
    • Tuck the consecrated and charged petition or sigil into the dream-bed.
    • (Example) Draw a “Gate of Dreams” sigil on the dream bed’s “bedspread” and wear the corresponding talisman to bed.
  • General Dream Work Tips:
    • Do not expect particular results to come in a specific way. Enchant towards the desired outcome rather than dictating the means.
    • Optimize sleep conditions: Sleep in a very dark, cool, pitch-black room. Use earplugs if viable.
    • Consider herbal sleep aids: Passion flower, valerian root, skullcap, or catnip tea.
    • Mugwort sachets under the pillow or essential oils can increase dream activity. Datura flowers in a sachet can also be used.
    • Use the relaxation parts of the trance induction as a sleep induction.
    • Treat your dreams and the Dreaming with attention, communication, and integrity. They will respond in kind.

The Process of Weeding Out (Inner Work for Change)

This involves inner clean-up to remove blockages and improve magical effectiveness.

  • Feeding Your Demons Practice (Tsultrim Allione):
    • Set up two seats for meditation, facing each other.
    • Choose a “demon” (a problem, difficulty, or blockage like anxiety or fear that drains you).
    • Locate where you feel the demon residing in your body.
    • Externalize the demon to the second seat.
    • Switch seats, taking turns being “yourself” and being “the demon.”
    • Discover the demon’s needs and desires.
    • Feed it the feeling that results from the satisfaction of its needs.
    • Integrate it.
  • Meditation:
    • Regular meditation helps you notice the “loops” your mind runs (nonsense, distraction, self-hater thoughts).
    • The “goal” is simply to sit and try to still the discursive mind by noticing its chatter. Even if it chatters constantly, being aware of it is a source of power.
  • Deep Relaxation:
    • Regular trance inductions lead to deep relaxation, which is critical self-care in a high-stress world.
  • Cleaning Up Your Mundane Act:
    • Honestly identify what you do that you don’t want to be doing (not because it’s hard, but because it’s “shitty” to yourself or others).
    • Make the decision to stop these behaviors.
    • Create a list of things you will no longer do, and a list of things you will do instead.
    • Seek better results. Expect success, understand you will make mistakes, but keep trying. Incremental improvements lead to radical change.
  • Clarify What’s Important/Unimportant:
    • Take your desires (e.g., fame, house, family, travel, service, sex) into meditation and divination. Find their core and what blocks them. Use the Feeding Your Demons practice.
    • Identify areas of life that hold no interest for you, and minimize your involvement there. (Note: “unimportant” is not the same as “difficult” or “boring”).
  • Commit to Practice:
    • Consistent, careful repetition with intention to improve over time is key.
    • Even small practices can be powerful: regularly lighting a candle and making offerings to helper spirits, consistently using the Re/Claiming rite, or performing the Six Ways ritual will deepen your connection and navigate your life more effectively.
    • We are what we do: We get good at what we strive to be good at.
  • Clean Up Physical Life:
    • Get your finances in order to see clearly and take intelligent action, magically or mundanely.
    • Clean your physical space. Applying concepts from Marie Kondo can help purge physical baggage and is a magical act itself.
  • Manage Energy Placement:
    • Take the question “where do I place my energy?” into meditation or trance. If the answer doesn’t suit you, make a different choice.
  • Taming the Self-Hater/Discursive Mind:
    • Recognize the self-hater and looping mind as noise, not valuable truth.
    • Firmly disregard their fearful lies.
    • Respond to self-sabotaging thoughts (e.g., “You can’t do that!”) with: “but you are boring and entirely ruled by fear. I am not. I will do what seems good to me.”
    • Turn down the volume on their whining by boosting the “Signal” of what you truly aspire to, through words and actions, magically and mundanely.
    • Achieve clarity of purpose (“I am here, and I am doing this, and I am going there”) and back it up consistently on all levels.

The Ship in Practice (Financial Example)

This example illustrates how to integrate mundane and magical practices synergistically for a specific goal.

  • Goal: Improve a financial scenario.
    • Mundane Side:
      • Identify and stop “money leaks.”
      • Begin to get control of spending and debt. These mundane actions fuel your magical work.
    • Magical Side (at the altar):
      • Run anything related to finances, job, savings, or prosperity through the Feeding Your Demons process.
      • Perform a Road Opening ritual for the “Money Roads” to clear obstacles. (Develop a simple, brief rite for Open Roads).
      • Perform divination (or have it done) to identify financial blockages.
      • Make a petition for what you need financially.
      • Use that petition as the basis for a sugar or honey jar.
      • Create a money drawing box-vessel to house the jar.
      • Compile intentions for a shoal of sigils for discrete aspects of the work (e.g., sigil for skills for lucrative work, clearing debts, understanding money “bleeds,” calling helper spirits for money).
      • Create and charge all these sigils, then place them into the vessel or jar.
      • Timing: Start this work on the first sliver of the New Moon and continue through to the Full Moon.
      • Make offerings to your Spirits:
        • Offer water, food, candles, incense.
        • Speak to aiding spirits (example): “Spirits and Powers who aid and guard me, please accept these offerings I give. May they nourish you and fulfill you, and may there be peace between us for all of our days.”
        • Speak to obstructing spirits (example): “Spirits who stand between me and prosperity, those who block the flow of money into my house, please accept these offerings I give. May you be nourished and fulfilled, and may there be peace between us for all of our days. I ask that you accept these offerings, and remove the blockages you have set that hinder the flow of money and prosperity into my house and life.”
        • Ask for what you desire (while touching the sugar jar or box): “Powers and Spirits of Prosperity, come into this place. Slip inside this house as you pass by, and bless it with your presence. Open the doors for wealth to flow to me. I am working to acquire a better job that brings in more money and gives me better health insurance. It would be awesome if I really liked it. Please guide me to what I can do to help myself in acquiring this employment. Keep me from straying down roads that are unhelpful. Bless me and my home with Prosperity. May there be peace between us always.”
      • Understand that this is an ongoing practice of many small pieces, potentially for weeks or years.

Stay Clean (Psychic Hygiene)

This section provides methods for maintaining spiritual and psychic cleanliness, which is crucial for effective magical practice.

  • Regular Practices for Cleanliness:
    • Calming, centering, and grounding work.
    • Regularly call out to or call down the powers you work with.
    • Regular use of the Stars of the Six Ways ritual.
    • Perform inner alchemical work (Microcosmic Orbits and Vowel Toning).
    • Consistent offering work, especially to spirits who might otherwise hinder you.
  • Spiritual Cleansing (When Things Are “Out of Whack”):
    • Salt: Add to a bath, or wash your hands with salt and water for quick clearing.
    • Purifying Herbs (Rue, Hyssop, Rosemary):
      • Make a tea from these herbs (remembering to consecrate the tea).
      • Add the tea to a bath.
      • If no bathtub, add tea to a basin of water and wash with it, focusing on hands, feet, and head.
    • Vinegar (Harsh Method): Add a spoonful of vinegar to the water. This is powerful but can also remove positive influences.
    • Always consecrate yourself after cleansing, especially after using vinegar. The Re/Claiming rite is effective for this.
    • Consecration during cleansing: At every step, ask the component parts to help you: “Creature of water, I ask you to cleanse me of all impurities, all harmful energies, and to leave me clean.”
    • Regular spiritual bathing is a good idea (weekly, or daily if needed).
    • Known prayers (e.g., The Lord’s Prayer, Psalm 23) can be useful if you are comfortable with them.
  • Working with Archangel Michael (Protection Example):
    • Acquire or create an image/symbol of Michael (e.g., Catholic card/medal, his Angelic seal, a custom talisman like the provided example).
    • Choose one day a week (Sunday is good, but consistency is most important).
    • Offer cool water, flowers (optional), and incense.
    • Dress a candle for him.
    • Ask for his help using the provided text: “By the Stars in the East and the Stars in the West, By the Stars in the North and the Stars in the South, By the Stars Above and the Stars Below, Michael, Archangel, Flaming Sword, Divine Messenger, Come to me, Aid me, Guard me, Cover me with your wings, Protect me with your flaming sword, Wrap me in your fury at evil, Repel all that would harm me or mine, Drive them from me, Drive them from this place, Drive them from this time, Burn them with the light of the Maker, Burn them with the Fire from Heaven, Come unto me, Michael Archangel, Aid and guard me in this work, Aid and guard me in the here and now, Aid and guard me in the past and future, As it was, as it is, and as it shall be, Flaming Sword, Fire from Heaven, Be with me now and always, As it was, as it is, as it shall be.”
    • Regular practice builds a solid bond with Michael.
  • Scraping (Removing Luminous Fibers/Attachments): This practice removes psychic “sticky” attachments from others.
    • Physical warm-up: Stand up. Run your left hand all over your body (everywhere reachable) as if wiping away water. Repeat with your right hand. (30 seconds to a minute).
    • Magical practice:
      • Get an iron or steel tool (dull knife, screwdriver).
      • Repeat the physical movement, “scraping” an inch or so above your body (arms, head, legs, feet, hands) with the tool.
      • Say out loud: “I scrape myself clean of the luminous fibers and unhelpful attachments that cling to me, leaving myself clean, clear, and whole.”
      • (If you don’t immediately feel “clean and clear”) Trust that it’s working. The sensation will likely come with time and practice.
    • Anoint your hands, feet, and head with oil (scented, magical, or simple olive oil) to “seal” the consecration. Tell the oil its purpose.
    • When in the difficult place or near the person, consciously deny them the right of influence (under your breath or internally): “I refuse to be touched by you, to provide energy to you, or be unduly influenced by you without my explicit statement of consent.” Repeat as necessary.
    • If things get “wonky,” perform the three orbits or “Stars of the Six Ways” rite (even in a bathroom if needed) to recenter and energize yourself.
    • Be consistent!
    • Be gentle but firm in your interactions. In situations involving potential violence, use intelligence and discretion, as this process can be a trigger.

Dirt Sorcery

This term describes working with raw, foundational elements like soil and bones, recognizing the inherent magic embedded in physical reality and human existence.

  • The Dirt Box (Example for Land Connection):
    • Acquire finely sifted and heat-treated dirt (e.g., from rabbit warrens). Sterilize it in an oven (180 degrees Fahrenheit for a few hours) to remove any contaminants.
    • Store it in a container like a wooden cigar box.
    • Uses:
      • Draw sigils directly in the dirt.
      • More often: When you feel drawn to the box, open it and enter into trance.
      • Hold your intention strongly.
      • Sink your fingers into the dirt and make patterns without concern for artistry or logic.
      • Stop when you feel “done,” when the magic has merged with the dirt.
      • Pinch out a bit of the soil and use it to dress candles or petitions, or add it to a vessel or charm bag.
    • General Principle: Embrace the belief that magic is inherent in humans and deeply connected to the Earth and Field. Recognize that your body is born of the dirt and that magic is in your blood, bones, and breath.

These instructions cover a broad range of practical magical techniques for real change, from setting intentions and working with spirits to personal hygiene and long-term self-transformation.

The Miracle of New Avatar Power by Geof Gray-Cobb

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This book, published in 1974, outlines a method called New Avatar Power (NAP). It claims to offer a practical, stripped-down system for achieving concrete results—money, love, health, influence—using spoken rituals, chants, and what it calls “Words of Power.”

The method is presented as an accessible alternative to traditional occult systems. It avoids symbolic tools, complex visualisations, or formal initiation. Instead, it focuses on repeated use of set phrases designed to bypass the conscious mind and activate what the author refers to as the “Inner Mind.” This inner faculty is said to house the latent force—“Avatar Power”—which the system aims to awaken and direct.

Much of it is a simplification of Golden Dawn techniques, but the use of the term ‘avatar’ certainly piques my interest.

Core Method

The practice involves speaking short invocations aloud, usually once per day, or recording them and listening back. A typical session might last ten minutes. The phrasing is fixed and given in plain English (or close to it), with pauses and repetitions built in. The idea is to speak or hear the words with attention but without analysing or interpreting them. There is no requirement for belief or background knowledge.

Users are advised to keep a personal notebook—referred to as a “Book of Shadows”—to record results. The system assumes that results will follow consistent use, and that the method itself will produce psychological or external effects whether or not the user understands the mechanism.

Claims and Applications

The book outlines a large number of rituals targeting specific goals. These include:

  • Attracting money
  • Winning contests
  • Securing love or rekindling interest
  • Gaining protection from enemies
  • Influencing others
  • Astral travel and future knowledge

The tone throughout is direct and result-driven. Each use-case is tied to a specific invocation, often using simplified language and bold statements. The book does not offer background explanations, ethical considerations, or symbolic meanings. Its focus remains on use and outcome.

Structure and Tools

The final sections introduce additional tools such as the pendulum for yes/no divination, and a “Cosmic Chart” linking desires to planetary influences, colours, and attributes. These additions are optional, presented as aids rather than requirements.

The book repeatedly emphasises ease of use, safety, and independence from traditional religion or magical systems. It positions itself as a manual of action, not study. The tone is promotional but the structure is practical: instructions, usage, results.

Conclusion

Whether the effects are psychological, symbolic, or otherwise, The Miracle of New Avatar Power presents a complete method of applied ritual work. Its appeal lies in its simplicity: fixed-language rituals, daily use, and a focus on real-world outcomes. There are no initiations, no theory to master, and no prerequisites. It is a modernised spellbook for users interested in direct application rather than occult tradition.

An Overview of Practices and Techniques

The Miracle of New Avatar Power presents a comprehensive system of metaphysical techniques designed to help individuals influence their circumstances and fulfill personal desires through rituals, chants, and visualizations. The book’s core idea is that these practices tap into an esoteric force called “New Avatar Power” (NAP), which the author links to ancient magical traditions.

General New Avatar Power (NAP) Practice

  • General NAP Ritual: Establishes the foundation for all practices, incorporating physical relaxation, posture, ritual reading, visualization, and daily repetition.
  • Initiation Statement: Begins with a formal declaration and invocation.
  • Book of Shadows: Practitioners are encouraged to maintain a journal to record experiences and insights.
  • Closure Technique: A gradual reorientation to the physical world after ritual work.

Chants, Invocations, and Incantations

These targeted verbal practices aim to bring specific results in areas such as:

  • Wealth (e.g., “Invocation for Money” using symbolic colors and names)
  • Success (e.g., “Chant to Bring Success” invoking Elubatel)
  • Love (e.g., “Excite Love” and “Rekindle a Mate’s Interest”)
  • Health (e.g., chants invoking Zoroel and Sabriel)
  • Protection, legal success, influence over others, and knowledge

Practices often require visualization and use of specific phonetic chants or divine names.

Calling a Magic Mentor

  • Magic Mentor Invocation: Calls on an inner-plane guide using a modified NAP Ritual and phrases such as “Enter, Magic Mentor…”
  • Word of Power “AUM”: Used for invocation and vibrational alignment.
  • Ongoing Work: Encourages developing a relationship with the mentor to access guidance and insight.

Knowing the Future and Getting Ahead

  • Foreseeing Ritual: Uses visualization and communication with the Magic Mentor to glimpse future events.
  • Timing Prediction: Techniques to estimate when predicted events will occur using mental imagery or numerical flow.

Testing Your New Avatar Power

Structured exercises designed to test the efficacy of NAP include:

  • Predictive tasks (e.g., contents of mail, phone calls, newspaper headlines)
  • Perception-based tasks (e.g., card guessing, tuning into thoughts)
  • Tests to detect future circumstances or read other people

Using a Pendulum for Guidance

  • Basic Use: Yes/no communication using pendulum swing patterns
  • Advanced Techniques: Alphabetic semicircle for spelling answers
  • Applications: Locating lost objects, general decision-making, life guidance

Titanic Rituals for Energy and Transformation

These NAP rituals are designed to enhance well-being and influence life conditions (they’re adaptations/bastardisations of Golden Dawn rituals):

  • Five Gates Ritual: Focuses on the body’s elemental centers (Spirit, Air, Fire, Water, Earth)
  • Circulation and Fountain Rituals: Visualize and direct energy throughout the body
  • Central Pillar Ritual: A core technique invoking planetary intelligences for specific outcomes
  • Attracting and Banishing Rituals: Use light, colors, and names of power to invoke or repel forces

Attacking and Defending Against Enemies

The book includes numerous rituals aimed at spiritual protection and counteraction:

  • Defensive Armor Ritual: Shields against negative influences
  • Rituals for Retaliation: Includes “Astral Bomb Attack,” “Psychic Guided Missile,” “Occult Judo,” and others
  • Exorcism and Banishing: Removes malign spirits or influences
  • Booby-Trap and Spirit Sentry: Rituals designed to deter or punish adversaries

Astral Travel

  • General Method: Enables spiritual projection to distant places
  • Etheric Light: A technique to aid vision during astral travel
  • Formal Ritual: Combines visual anchors, affirmations, and NAP to achieve astral movement

Revitalization and Influence

  • Dee-Hay-Thooth Evocation: Ritual to establish success in all NAP efforts
  • Cosmic Chart: A method of planning and manifesting goals with aid from your Magic Mentor or pendulum
  • Custom Combination: Encourages blending chants, invocations, and rituals for tailored outcomes

The book positions these techniques as harmless, adaptable, and focused on enhancing one’s control over personal destiny. Whether approached symbolically or esoterically, the NAP system provides a structured framework for disciplined spiritual experimentation and intention-setting.

The Titanic New Avatar Power Rituals That Bring Health, Wealth and Happiness to You

These rituals expand upon the foundational New Avatar Power (NAP) practice, guiding practitioners through a structured sequence designed to activate, circulate, and direct mystical energy toward specific goals.

1. General NAP Ritual (Foundational Step)

  • Quietly read the specified words aloud—slowly and carefully—with ~3-second pauses after every “…”. The reading should take about four full minutes.
  • Formal Declaration: “I am beginning the New Avatar Power Ritual. I call on the Inner Planes to witness. I state my purpose thus: ANKAR YOD HAY VAW HAY.”
  • Follow with tension-release phrases like “I begin to wind down… let my muscles relax… enter peace and serenity…”
  • Initial Invocation: “I call on Thee, Mighty Arzel, who stands in the East… I know my New Avatar Power is flooding to the surface…”
  • Stop here—this is “Point A.” Most advanced rituals begin from this point.

2. Opening the New Avatar Power Gates

Performed after reaching Point A:

  • Preparation: Lie or sit comfortably; NAP energy helps maintain awareness.
  • Spirit Gate: Visualize a white balloon or orb above your head, switch it on with light, chant EH‑HEH‑YEH three times slowly.
  • Air Gate: Visualize light descending to your throat, expanding into a neck/head light-sphere, chant YEH‑HO‑VO‑EL‑OH‑HEM three times.
  • Fire Gate: Light descends to your heart—chant YEH‑HO‑VO‑EL‑OH‑VE‑DAH‑AS three times.
  • Water Gate: Light moves to genitals—chant SHAD‑AI‑EL‑KAI three times.
  • Earth Gate: Light reaches your feet—chant AH‑DOH‑NAI‑HA‑AH‑RETZ three times.

After this stage, your body is fully charged with NAP energy.

3. Circulation Ritual

  • Lie or sit, remain charged.
  • Visualize liquid white light flowing down the left side of your body—exhale slowly.
  • When reaching the feet, inhale; light rises up the right side.
  • Repeat left-down/right-up flow for five breaths.
  • Then imagine a front-down/back-up flow for another five breaths.

4. Fountain Ritual

  • Focus on the Earth Gate light and envision it rising up through the central shaft.
  • On inhale, draw light up; on exhale, let it cascade down like a fountain over your body.
  • Repeat five deep breaths, watching a waterfall of energy envelop you.

This ritual brings calm, pricking warmth, and a strong sensation of vitality.

5. Invocation to Strengthen the Fountain

Speak slowly with presence:

Thee I invoke, The Bornless One. Thou art Man made perfect, whom no man has seen at any time…
I am He, the Bornless Spirit, strong and of immortal fire…
I am He the begetter and manifester unto the Light.

This invocation connects you to hidden adept powers and enhances the fountain effect.

6. Central Pillar Ritual

This is the full NAP sequence (initial reading, gates, circulation, fountain, invocation), serving as the foundation before directing energy toward specific goals.

7. Shattering Ritual (Attracting & Banishing)

  • Following the Central Pillar Ritual, visualize your light shifting to a planet-specific color.
  • Speak the Mystic Being’s name three times.
  • Focus on your written intention.
  • Repeat daily until the intention manifests—results often appear within seven days.

Planetary correspondences:

Planet Attract Color Mystic Name
Saturn Dark Blue Jehovah Elohim
Jupiter Blue El
Mars Red Elohiim Gibor
Sun Gold Jehovah Eloah Ve-Daas
Venus Emerald Green Jehovah Tzavoos
Mercury Orange Elohiim Tzavoos
Moon Puce Sinai El Chai

8. Returning from the Ritual

  • Mentally declare the end: “Coming back… I count from one to five… fully awake…”
  • Count slowly 1–5; at “five,” open your eyes.
  • Note any experiences in your Book of Shadows.
  • Optionally set internal timer (e.g., 15 minutes) for the session.

Your Book of Shadows entry helps track progress and insights.

New Avatar Power Rituals for Defense and Attack

This section covers the use of New Avatar Power (NAP) rituals to deal with enemies. The system assumes that everyone has at least one antagonist, and it positions jealousy as the root of most enmity. The methods described aim to defend against interference and retaliate when necessary. Each ritual is built on the foundational Central Pillar Ritual, with targeted additions depending on the desired outcome.

Defensive Rituals

1. Defensive Armor Ritual

Before using offensive magic, perform this protective ritual to establish energetic shielding.

  • Start with the Central Pillar Ritual.
  • Visualize a solid green energy screen forming around you.
  • Repeat the following invocation three times:
    “Thou Beings of vast strength and ultimate power, Mahashiah and Lelahel, I command Thee to surround me. Place Thyselves by me such that nothing can reach me, nothing can touch me, and nothing can harm me. I command this with the Word of Power: NET-ZAHK-EE-ODE. So mote it be.”

2. Uncrossing Ritual

Used to remove any lingering harmful influence.

  1. Stand with feet together and eyes closed.
  2. Raise right hand overhead, first two fingers extended.
  3. Say: AH-TAY.
  4. Lower hand to point between feet. Say: MALL-COOT.
  5. Point at right shoulder: VAY-GAY-VOO-RAH.
  6. Point at left shoulder: VAY-GAY-DOO-LAH.
  7. Clasp hands: LAY-OH-LAHM-AMEN.
  8. State: “In the Name that is above every other Name…” (full statement as given in the text).
  9. Repeat gestures and sit down to continue your work.

Offensive Rituals

1. Astral Bomb Attack

  • Perform the Central Pillar Ritual.
  • Invoke:
    “Know this, Yechoel and Lehabiah… I seal this command with the Word of Power: BEEN-AH-HEH. So mote it be.”

2. Psychic Guided Missile

  • Perform the Central Pillar Ritual.
  • Invoke:
    “My enemy is hidden. Seek him out, Keveqiah and Mendial… KESS-SED-HEH. So mote it be.”

3. Etheric Shrapnel

Targeted against gossip, slander, or personal attacks.

  • Perform the Central Pillar Ritual.
  • Invoke:
    “By the Power invested in me… Aniel and Chaamiah… GAY-BOO-RAH-VAHV. So mote it be.”

4. Spirit Sentry

Used to repel intruders and mentally deter would-be attackers.

  • Perform the Central Pillar Ritual.
  • Repeat three times:
    “Mibahia and Pooyal… GAY-BOO-RAH-HEH. So mote it be.”

5. Occult Judo

Returns curses and negative energy back to their origin.

  • Perform the Defensive Armor Ritual.
  • Invoke:
    “Go forth Dambayah and Menqal… MAL-COOT-VAHV. So mote it be.”

6. Theurgic Booby-Trap

Causes internal unrest in your enemies, deterring future harassment.

  • Invoke:
    “Thou Saitel and Olmia… TEE-FAR-ATE-YOD. So mote it be.”

7. Exorcism to Repel Evil Spirits

Used when dealing with intense malice or psychic attack.

  • Perform the Defensive Armor Ritual.
  • Invoke:
    “I banish from me all influences of wickedness… YOD-HAY-VAW-HAY, AH-DOH-NIGH, EH-HEH-YEH and AH-GAH-LAH. So mote it be.”

8. Attack Cancellation Ritual

Used to deactivate or withdraw prior NAP attacks.

  • Perform the Central Pillar Ritual.
  • Invoke:
    “These forces whom I command, Withdraw… NEAT-SAHK-HEH. So mote it be.”

These rituals form a complete method for defending against and neutralizing adversaries using NAP practices. Each is structured, specific, and meant to be used with discipline and clarity of intent.

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New Avatar Power: Astral Travel

This section of the New Avatar Power (NAP) system describes how to use Astral Travel as a practical, repeatable method for gaining information, insight, and advantage. The process is framed as entirely safe and beneficial, provided preparatory protections are in place.

Overview of Astral Travel

  • Invisible Movement: The astral body is described as weightless, invisible, and unhindered by physical barriers. It can travel anywhere instantly.
  • Sensory Awareness: While traveling, the practitioner can see, hear, and feel surroundings, regardless of lighting or access.
  • Memory Retention: The experience is fully remembered after returning to the physical body.
  • Use Cases: Examples include remote observation for personal or professional gain, such as eavesdropping or gathering competitive intelligence.
  • Stated Benefits: Described as restoring, enjoyable, and one of the most fulfilling applications of NAP.

Preparation

Before attempting any Astral Travel, practitioners are instructed to perform the New Avatar Power Defensive Armor Ritual. This is meant to ensure spiritual protection during separation from the physical body.

Practice 1: Seeing by the Etheric Light

This preliminary technique is used to enhance visual sensitivity and develop the ability to perceive Etheric Light, which supposedly supports astral perception.

  1. Darken the room until it’s too dark to read or recognize objects.
  2. Sit in a chair and breathe deeply.
  3. Extend your arms forward and align the fingers of both hands as described.
  4. Look between your fingers toward a dark wall, gradually separating them slightly.
  5. A bluish haze (the “Etheric Light”) is expected to appear. This is considered a sign of sensitivity developing.

Mastery of this is presented as helpful for visibility and clarity during actual Astral Travel.

Practice 2: The Astral Travel Ritual

This structured sequence is intended to gradually train the practitioner to leave their body and navigate the astral environment.

Step-by-step process:

  1. Select and place a colorful, appealing image on a wall. Sit about six feet away.
  2. Stare at the image for five minutes, noting every detail.
  3. Move to your ritual space and perform the NAP ritual up to the point called “Point A.”
  4. Make the following declaration: “In the Names of those who control the Astral Planes, I intend to enter Your domain. I come with this Word of Power: SHEM-HAM-FOR-ASS. Thou shalt permit me free entry and access. So mote it be.”
  5. Go to your bed and lie flat on your back. Close your eyes and recall the picture vividly.
  6. Begin a sequence of imagined actions: pretend to sit up, stand, walk across the room, and study the picture again.
  7. With regular practice, this imagined sequence is said to trigger actual astral separation. The moment of success is marked by the realization that the experience feels real rather than imagined.
  8. Upon this first successful attempt, look back at your physical body. This is described as a key sign of astral detachment.

Further Experiences and Expansion

Initial experiences are said to be short and local. With time and familiarity, travel distances can increase. The astral body can be used for observation, surveillance, or exploration, all without being noticed or limited by physical constraints.

The technique does not include complex philosophical frameworks or theoretical discussion. Instead, it emphasizes repeated practice, visualization, and use of key rituals and invocations. The final goal is personal utility and mastery through consistent application.

Revitalization and Influence Practices

 

Revitalization in the New Avatar Power (NAP) system is centred on a core evocation, while influence methods include techniques for interpersonal control, situational outcomes, and prediction work.

Revitalization Practice

The Dee-Hay-Thooth Evocation is presented as the main tool for revitalising the practitioner and sealing success in all NAP operations. It’s described as linking directly to “the most awesome Power in the Universe.”

How to Perform the Dee-Hay-Thooth Evocation

  1. Preparation: Stand with feet together, arms limp at your sides, and eyes closed.
  2. First Gesture – “DEE-HAY”: Raise arms vertically until hands touch, then swing down and across your body in a sweeping motion while breathing out and saying “DEE-HAY.”
  3. Second Gesture – “THOO”: Raise your right hand again to the start position, then sweep diagonally upward under your chin while breathing in and saying “THOO.”
  4. Third Gesture – “O-O-O-O-TH”: Point your fingers between your visitor’s eyes, swing downward to waist level while breathing out, and say the “OO” of “THOO.” End with a small leftward circle and say “TH.”
  5. Effect: The full pronunciation is “DEE-HAY-THOO-O-O-O-O-OTH.” Return your hand to your side. It’s expected you’ll feel tingling in your hands and legs and warmth in your stomach.

This exercise is intended to boost energy and confidence. It can be done anywhere and is suggested for repeated practice with vocalisation and full visualisation of the movements.

Influence Practices

1. Mental Influence for Self-Preservation

A user reportedly avoided a car accident by projecting a thought (“That driver will swing to his right”) into another person’s mind during the Dee-Hay-Thooth Evocation. This is cited as an example of influencing the actions of others through focused mental effort.

2. Emotional Influence and Relationship Control

One practitioner used the Psychic Guided Missile Ritual and the Incantation to Rekindle a Mate’s Interest to influence a partner’s perceptions. These methods aimed to make a rival appear unattractive and to restore affection from a drifting spouse.

3. Outcome Influence – Competitive and Financial Success

A retired fighter reportedly used the Chant to Bring Success to win a match and secure a large financial prize. The chant was used before and during the event, directing mental force to shape the outcome.

4. The Cosmic Chart – Broad Influence and Prediction Tool

The Cosmic Chart is described as a foundational NAP method for influencing events, manifesting desires, and obtaining guidance. It can be used to influence material outcomes or generate predictions.

How to Use the Cosmic Chart
  1. Reflect: Consider areas of your life needing improvement.
  2. Consult: Ask your Magic Mentor or use a Pendulum for input.
  3. Visualise: Think of yourself as already having what you need, while undervaluing your current limitations.
  4. Apply: Use for specific goals (e.g. acquiring a car, resolving technical issues, predicting election results). Relax your mind into a neutral state to receive answers.
  5. Record: Write outcomes in your Book of Shadows and keep them private.

The Cosmic Chart is presented as a multi-purpose method for intention setting, foresight, and practical influence. World event predictions are recommended as training for improving accuracy and confidence in the system.

Together, these methods are framed as practical tools for gaining control over personal circumstances, increasing success, and eliminating unwanted obstacles.

Review – The Practical Art of Divine Magic: Contemporary & Ancient Techniques of Theurgy by Patrick Dunn, published by Llewellyn Publications.

This is my review of The Practical Art of Divine Magic which essentially covers what could be described as theurgy, essentially magickal practices that contact, petition or influence divine energy/energies. The model of reality is described as being four key levels: the realm of matter (hyle), the soul (psyche), the intellect or mind (Nous), and the ultimate source, the One. The One represents the highest reality and the goal of henosis—a state of union with divine truth. The divine is depicted as existing beyond the material world, consisting of eternal ideas within the Nous. The gods remain unchanging, while daimones act as intermediaries, influencing and being influenced by human perception and activity.

Theurgy as Collaboration with the Divine

Theurgy is framed not as an act of servitude or bribery but as a cooperative effort with the gods to achieve henosis. The practitioner does not “work on” a god but works with one, aligning their intentions with divine reality. This shift in perspective transforms theurgic practice from mere ritual into an active partnership with higher powers.

The Importance of Inner Work and Virtue

Throughout the book, Dunn emphasizes the necessity of self-awareness, self-control, and cultivating virtue. The tripartite soul—logos (reason), eros (desire), and thymos (willpower/emotion)—must be harmonized, with logos guiding the other two. Virtues such as prudence, temperance, and justice are not mere moral ideals but practical methods for aligning the mind with the divine. Mastering these virtues fosters wisdom and strengthens the soul’s connection to higher reality.

The Role of Phantasms and Imagination

The concept of phantasms—mental images formed by the senses or the Nous—is central to understanding and interacting with reality. The book provides exercises to develop visualization skills, encouraging practitioners to create, manipulate, and perceive phantasms with greater clarity. This includes experiencing the concept of hyle (matter in its raw state) and using imagination as a bridge to deeper metaphysical truths. This is essentially what draws me to this work, if you look at my writing and practice elsewhere, especially my take on (magickal) nembutsu, then you’ll see that, although it’s from an entirely differernt system (and world in a way) the essential practice has a lot in common, the the theories described here, I feel, much more deeply explain the system of magick that I have personally developed over my lifetime.

Synthemata and Recognizing the Divine in the Mundane

The text introduces synthemata—symbols and correspondences that reveal divine presence in everyday life. It suggests that all aspects of existence are manifestations of the Logos, and recognizing these connections transforms mundane activities into sacred acts. Writing a memo can be aligned with Zeus (authority and structure), while caring for a child invokes Hera (protection and nurturing). By consciously associating tasks with divine principles, the practitioner integrates spirituality into daily life.

Practical Theurgical Techniques

  • Contemplations – Meditations on the One, reflections on the soul’s aspects (eros, thymos, logos), and exercises to inventory virtues.
  • Libations – Ritual offerings of liquid to the gods, often accompanied by verbal prayers.
  • Fire and Water Ritual – A symbolic act representing the mingling of mind and soul.
  • Divination – Methods include kledonomancy (interpreting overheard words), bibliomancy (divination through books), and automatic writing. Haruspicy (reading animal entrails) is acknowledged but deemed impractical today. Astrology is presented not as a deterministic system but as a means of meditating on cosmic influences.
  • Working with Daimones – Understanding daimones as intermediaries and employing prayers and offerings to establish contact.
  • Talismans and Defixiones – Talismans function as long-term magickal tools, while defixiones (binding spells or written petitions) are examined beyond their historical use in cursing, suggesting a broader role in spiritual requests.
  • Creating a Mental Temple (Method of Loci) – A memory technique that organizes symbolic information into a structured, mental sacred space. This brings to mind the concept of creating an astral temple described in The Magician’s Workbook, which I have reviewed elsewhere on the site.

The Concepts of Genos (Race/Species) and Axia (Worth/Value)

The book explains that humans share a genos (spiritual lineage) with the gods through the logos—the universal rational principle. This connection enables discipline, self-denial, and personal refinement. Axia, or one’s true worth, is presented as an individual’s guiding principle—an inherently creative and active force that aligns with divine will. Recognizing and pursuing one’s axia leads to a meaningful and spiritually fulfilling life.

The Importance of Reason and Sanity

A recurring theme is the importance of maintaining rationality. The book addresses the stereotype of the theurgist as “crazy,” asserting that a firm grounding in reason is essential for effective practice. It distinguishes between destructive mental instability and the kind of radical, transformative thinking that leads to spiritual insight and happiness. The Pythagorean principle of hygieia (health or wholeness) is highlighted as an ideal state of being.

Harmony and Entrainment

The book explores entrainment, the phenomenon where vibrations synchronize with harmonious frequencies. This concept applies to theurgists, who influence their minds, environments, and even the Nous through symbolic actions, phantasms, and synthemata. By attuning themselves to divine principles, they cultivate spiritual resonance.

Goal Setting as a Primary Magical Act

Setting clear, objective, and time-bound goals is framed as a fundamental magickal practice. The book argues that defining a goal with precision and intent transforms it from an abstract wish into a structured plan, increasing the likelihood of success. This structured approach to goal-setting is presented as a form of practical theurgy, aligning personal will with cosmic order. This idea has blown my mind so much, I’m rereading the book now and intend to write my own experiences with this idea in the future.

Working with Cosmic Cycles

The book emphasizes the importance of timing magickal work with natural cycles. The waxing and waning phases of the moon, along with the influences of lunar mansions, are presented as crucial factors in determining the optimal moments for spiritual and practical endeavors. Aligning personal actions with these cosmic rhythms enhances effectiveness and deepens one’s connection to the greater whole.

 

 

Most Important Ideas and Facts (with Quotes):

  • Henosis: “In theurgy, you are not serving god, nor are you bribing god to serve you. Instead, you are collaborating together to achieve a joint goal: henosis.” Henosis is further defined as “union of perspective with the highest reality in the universe, the one thing from which everything else proceeds.”
  • Theurgy as Work With, Not For or On, the Divine: “It’s not work on a god, or even work for a god—it’s work with a god.”
  • The Dualistic Nature of Language and the Difficulty of Describing Oneness: “Attempts to describe it fall short, because language is inherently dualistic.”
  • Matter as Quality-less Potential (Hyle): “Try to imagine matter without any qualities: an object with no adjectives to describe it, no nouns to classify it. What you end up with is a concept the philosophers sometimes called hyle, a Greek word meaning “forest” or “timber.” We might say “clay.” Consider this clay of no qualities.” ((this is my (alwaysjay) aside)… and perhaps you could consider unmanifest matter as astral light (just my thought, which I will develop and write up in the future)).
  • The Nous as the Realm of Timeless Ideas: “We think, and we think timeless thoughts. We can recognize the timeless truth of these thoughts, without ourselves being fully timeless.”
  • “As Above, So Below”: This Hermetic maxim is referenced in the context of the human mind reflecting the universe and the correspondence between macrocosm and microcosm.
  • Phantasms from the Nous: The ability to visualize a hypercube demonstrates that “This image does not exist in physical matter, but it exists in the Nous as an idea, and we have access to it through our minds, and then can build phantasms of it.”
  • The Eros and Training Desire: “The eros never really wants an object in the physical world. The eros is driven toward or away from phantasms of things, coming either from our senses or our memories… And the eros can be trained to be satisfied with the phantasm itself, at least some of the time.” (See the book Open to Desire by Mark Epstein (Buddhism) or the writings of Neville Goddard (Christian Mysticism)).
  • Phronēsis (Prudence/Discernment): Described as “identifying and separating good from bad, true from false, and right from wrong.”
  • Gods as “Athanatoi” (Undying) and Non-Material Ideas: The dialogue between Philanike and Euthymios establishes that gods are “athanatoi,” not subject to death, and therefore not material, existing as “mental—ideas, in other words, in the cosmic sense.”
  • Daimones as Intermediaries: Daimones are presented as spirits that interact with reality, acting as intermediaries between the gods and the world, and influenced by human minds. “The daimones are like slices across the multidimensional forms of the gods.”
  • Syncretism as Recognition of a Central Truth: The ancient practice of equating gods from different cultures (e.g., Odhinn as “the Germanic Mercury”) is interpreted not just as cultural leveling but as a “recognition of a central truth: that Odhinn is a slice across the same vast divine Idea that Mercurius is.”
  • Synthema: “Every act, every area and domain of life, is a temenos, a sacred precinct of one or more gods. When we overtly recognize this fact, we begin to make our lives a synthema.” This highlights the symbolic connection between the mundane and the divine.
  • Virtue as Power: ““Virtue” comes from root words meaning “power,” ultimately. It’s the capability to do something, and later, the capacity to do something good.” Objects possess “virtues,” not “magical energy.”
  • Entrainment in Magical Practice: “An analogous process takes place when we construct a phantasm (nembutsu?) or work with a synthema. It begins to pluck the relevant strings in our minds, in the minds of others around us, and in the Nous itself.”
  • Goal Setting as a Powerful Magical Act: “This in itself is the single most powerful magical act one can do, because it can literally begin to change your life.”
  • Genos and Axia: “For truly, the Good Daimon called the gods immortal humans; and humans, mortal gods.” This speaks to the shared “genos” or nature between gods and humans. “What we do is our name, our true name. This name is our true will, the reason we came. And that is our axia, our worth or value.”
  • Hygieia (Health/Wholeness) as a Pythagorean Watchword: “Rendered as hygieia in the Latin alphabet, this word means “health” or “wholeness,” and the Pythagoreans took it as their watchword and greeting.”

Further Exploring the Practical Art of Divine Magic

Theurgy is often misunderstood as a form of servitude to the gods, but in the context of this text, it’s more about collaboration. The goal isn’t to serve the divine but to work with the gods to achieve henosis. Henosis, in simple terms, means a union of perspectives with the highest reality—the ultimate source from which everything arises. It’s not about dissolving into the divine or losing your individuality, but about aligning your view with the One, the source of all existence.

Now, let’s talk about the nature of matter. The text describes matter as hyle—a base substance, formless and devoid of inherent qualities. Our minds are the ones that impose qualities on this raw matter, shaping it into everything we perceive, from a mug to water vapor. Even science does this by breaking down matter through conceptual frameworks. What’s important here is that our thoughts—particularly timeless truths, like mathematical ideas—are non-material and reside in the Nous, the universal mind. These truths exist independently of our awareness of them and show us that the material world is not all there is.

The Nous is key in the theurgic process. It’s the cosmic Mind, holding eternal ideas and universal truths. Our minds, though not fully timeless, have the potential to access and understand these truths. Hermetic philosophy teaches that “As above, so below,” meaning our consciousness mirrors the universe itself, giving us the ability to comprehend its principles. Through imagination and visualization, we can even create mental constructs of things that don’t exist materially. This ability links us directly to the Nous, allowing us to shape reality through our minds.

Eros and logos, two central concepts in this text, relate to our desires and our reason. Eros, representing our desires, is often driven by mental images, or phantasms, that come from our sensory experiences or memories, rather than from the things themselves. Logos, on the other hand, represents reason. It’s what helps us set limits on these desires, guiding them with wisdom and discernment. The text advises us to be conscious of our desires, to sit with them, and to negotiate with our “inner child” to avoid impulsive actions. This practice helps us develop self-control and cultivate virtues that align us with the divine.

The virtues discussed in the text are key for anyone on the theurgic path. Prudence, temperance, and justice are highlighted as essential virtues for achieving alignment with the divine. Prudence allows us to discern things as they truly are. Temperance helps us find the right balance between extremes, while justice ensures fairness to ourselves and others. These virtues, however, aren’t just ideals; they’re practical tools that cultivate wisdom. For theurgists, developing these virtues is necessary for creating a mind that resonates with the divine mind, enabling deeper connection and more effective practice.

Gods and daimones are seen through a unique lens in this framework. Gods are undying and unchanging cosmic principles, existing beyond time and space. They impose form on matter, shaping it according to their eternal truths. Daimones, on the other hand, are intermediaries. They act as bridges between the gods, the material world, and humanity, often taking on different forms depending on human perception. While the distinction between gods and daimones can be fuzzy, they are both agents of the divine, working through the ideas contained in the Nous.

Practical theurgic practices are an essential part of this system. One of the main practices is to expand your consciousness and experience the One, which is the ultimate source of reality. Contemplating the parts of the soul—eros, thymos (spirit), and logos—helps align your inner world. The text also suggests taking an inventory of your virtues to cultivate self-awareness. It encourages you to see the divine in everyday life by recognizing “synthemata,” or symbolic connections between the material and the divine. Offering libations, using fire and water to symbolize the mingling of mind and soul, and engaging in divination (like bibliomancy and kledonomancy) are all practical ways to establish a conscious relationship with the divine.

Finally, understanding your “genos” and “axia” is crucial in the theurgic path. Your genos, or race/species, refers to your shared nature with the gods—the capacity for reason and the drive for wholeness. Your axia is your individual true will, your unique purpose. Recognizing your genos connects you to the divine intellect, while understanding your axia guides you toward fulfilling your potential in a way that aligns with the greater cosmic order.


In The Practical Art of Divine Magic, the text begins with Plato’s allegory of the cave, where the Chthonians, bound to face a wall, see only shadows cast by objects moved by the Aions. The Chthonians take these shadows as reality, while the Aions, through the fire and forms, point to a truer existence beyond mere perception. The book uses this to explore the distinction between appearance and reality, urging the reader to consider how sensory experience shapes understanding. Exercises follow, prompting one to examine personal perceptions in light of these ideas.

Theurgy is then defined as “work with a god,” aimed at henosis—union with the highest reality. The text distinguishes it clearly: it is neither bribery of divine forces nor an act of submission or willpower, but a collaboration toward oneness. The reader is guided to reflect on this practice and its goal through questions that clarify its nature. Next, a dialogue between Eu and Ph addresses matter. Eu posits matter as anything describable, but Ph counters that thoughts lack extension in space, unlike matter. This leads to hyle, matter without qualities, a formless base shaped into distinct things. The text invites the reader to apply this to the separation of thought and the material.

The Nous emerges as the Mind of the universe, holding eternal truths such as mathematical principles. The Hermetic idea, “As above, so below; so below, as above,” ties human thought to this cosmic intelligence, suggesting a reflection of the greater reality within us. Exercises involve phantasms, mental images from sensory experience or the Nous itself. The text describes visualizing a hypercube—an object not present in the physical world—as an example, showing how such images, though immaterial, affect us as real.

The soul is divided into eros, thymos, and logos—desire, emotion, and reason. The text proposes a “rational bargaining” process: one may address these parts as separate entities, understanding their aims and negotiating with them to resolve conflict. Phronēsis, practical wisdom, is presented as discernment of good from evil, true from false. Related to virtue, it allows clear perception. An exercise applies it to a flaw, such as lying, distinguishing the act (“I have lied”) from the self (“I am a liar”), thus enabling change.

The Neoplatonic view of deity includes the transcendent—perfect and unchanging—and the immanent, through daimones, spirits that act in the world. The text explains this apparent contradiction by noting humanity’s dual nature, eternal and temporal. A creation myth of Atum from the Heliopolitan tradition follows: Atum rises from Nun, creating Shu and Tefnut, who beget Geb and Nut, then Osiris, Isis, Seth, and Nephthys. This ordered emergence frames the divine’s role in existence. Finally, synthemata are signs of the divine in the world. The text offers examples: drafting a memo as an act of Zeus’s order, or caring for a child as Hera’s work. Exercises encourage recognizing these in daily life.

The Practical Art of Divine Magic presents these concepts—Plato’s allegory, theurgy, the Nous, and more—alongside practices to engage them. For a reader seeking to understand and apply such ideas, the text provides both explanation and means to do so, drawing one toward a deeper grasp of reality and the divine.

 

Some practical exercises

CONTEMPLATION OF MATTER

  1. STEP 1: Begin by finding a small object. It literally does not matter what it is, and you don’t need to strive for the mystical and poetic. An empty soda can will work as well as a seashell. As you repeat this exercise, you can choose different objects and objects of greater size and complexity, but for now aim for something you can hold in your hand.
  2. STEP 2: Analyze out from that object all of its qualities. These are descriptors, usually either adjectives or nouns, that you might use to describe the object to someone else. List them out, a word or a phrase at a time, on a piece of paper. The first few times you do this exercise, it’s important to do this in writing so you can keep track. As you get better at it, you can forego the writing and hold these qualities in your mind. You can categorize those qualities by the kinds of phantasms they invoke: for example, visual, tactile, and so on.
  3. EXAMPLE: Taking away the concept of color and texture, material phase (solid or liquid), and finally shape itself, I’m left with …
  4. STEP 5: It’s easy to say at this point that you’re left with nothing, but do not succumb to that notion. Try to hold the pen in your mind without having any concept of its qualities for as long as you can. Perhaps you’ll feel a curious mental blankness or fog. You will almost certainly experience the pen trying to take shape again, but whenever it does gently deny it qualities so it returns back to the formless chaos to which you have reduced it. You will not be able to articulate your experience of what remains, because to do so will be to apply qualities to it, but what remains is pure hyle, without any impression from the Nous at all: it’s matter, receptive and malleable. It’s substance, sub-stance, that which stands underneath.
  5. If you do this exercise you may well have a sense that something remains—something tenuous, barely existent, but there. Notice that all the things we regard as existing are phantasms we create in regard to the object. Kicking a stone doesn’t prove that the stone is hard: it creates a phantasm of the stone’s hardness. The stone, we might say, is liable to create phantasms of hardness, but the stone itself is not hard outside of conceptions of its hardness.

EXPERIENCING THE ONE

  1. STEP 1: When first beginning this exercise, it helps to get as comfortable as you can. As you become familiar with it, you can do it while doing other things (although I wouldn’t recommend doing it while driving!) [3].
  2. STEP 2: Focus on your breath. Aim for a four-fold breath, where you inhale for a count of four, hold for a count of four, exhale for a count of four, and hold for a count of four. If you’re sitting still, with some practice you should be able to do this, but if you’re moving about you may find it easier to aim for a count of two rather than four or otherwise modify the time.
  3. STEP 3: Imagine yourself from outside yourself, as if you have a floating-eye perspective of the scene. It is as if you are standing behind yourself and can see yourself breathing.
  4. STEP 4: Expand that sense of yourself outward. Take in the room you’re in, the building, the neighborhood, the city.
  5. STEP 5: Eventually, you will take in the whole world, then the solar system, then the galaxy, then the whole universe as a whole. If you don’t manage this the first few times, don’t worry. You are gaining benefit just by seeing the big picture as high as you can.
  6. STEP 6: When you can hold the universe in your imagination, contemplate the totality of it without focusing in or catching on any one thing for a few breaths.
  7. STEP 7: Now, holding it all in your mind at once, let the boundaries between all its parts dissolve: the galaxy is the same as the people, and all perspectives collapse. If you can do this, you may glimpse a moment of unity.
  8. STEP 8: If you can achieve step 7, which may take some time, try now to abolish even the boundary around the universe. The experience of this is hard to describe, but you will probably find your discursive, binary mind stopping in a sudden awareness of unity. This is a glimpse of henosis.
  9. STEP 9: Whether you got to step 7 or not, after holding the image of the entire universe, or the oneness behind it, for a while start to move back inwards to the galaxy, solar system, planet, continent, and location. This helps ground the experience; in theurgy the return is as important as the journey.

MEETING YOUR CHARIOT HORSES

  1. STEP 1: Find a comfortable place where you won’t be interrupted for a little while. Sit or lie down and begin to breathe evenly and deeply.
  2. STEP 2: Relax your body from head to toe. If you have a method of progressive relaxation that you prefer, by all means use it.
  3. STEP 3: Feel whatever desires you are currently experiencing. These may be small—a desire to shift to a more comfortable position or eat something—or they may be much larger. Perhaps your eros is calm and satisfied right now or a raging storm of lust. Either way, feel it where it is in your body without responding to it.
  4. STEP 4: When you have a strong sense of that desire, let it take form in front of you. Perhaps it will look like a child, an animal, a double of yourself—it doesn’t matter. Just let it take form and hold the visualization of it in this mental space.
  5. STEP 5: Now, determine which emotions you are feeling. What are your physiological responses to events, and how are you interpreting them? Are you feeling sad, happy, content, nervous—or some combination? Don’t worry about listing the emotions by name: just feel them.
  6. STEP 6: Once you have a strong sense of those emotions, again, let them take form outside of you in that mental space.
  7. STEP 7: You’ve now got your eros and your thymos separated from you, and what remains is the logos. Now you can communicate with them directly, asking them questions and listening to their responses, as well as the reactions of your body. For example, if you wish to overeat, you could ask your thymos why your appetite exists from its perspective, what emotional needs it fulfills. Then you could turn to your eros and ask why it desires this, and would it settle for some other desire instead? Eventually, you can begin to negotiate.

THE DAILY ASSESSMENT OF VIRTUE

  1. STEP 1: The daily inventory: retroactive writing. At the end of your day, take a few moments to sit down with a notebook or your computer and think about the day you’ve just experienced. Try to bring to mind specific events, even small ones, and ask yourself these questions about each event:
    • Was my action in this circumstance prudent?
    • Was it courageous?
    • Was it temperate?
    • Was it just?

    Write down your answers. Don’t judge yourself or try to excuse your behavior: just answer honestly. If you find yourself constantly falling short in one area, take some time to think about why that might be. What value might you be prioritizing over these classical virtues?

  2. STEP 2: The daily assessment: retroactive contemplation. For this step, you will do a similar activity but rather than write it down you’ll run through it in your head. I like to do it before bed, but some people do it while brushing their teeth or waiting for the bus [9].
  3. STEP 3: Prospective contemplation. In the morning, before beginning your day (perhaps in the shower) take a few moments to think about what you might face. For example, if you have a project that needs to be done, ask yourself “what will be a prudent action to take? What would be the courageous, temperate, just course of action?” Do this for each of your day’s planned activities, and you will find quickly that you have developed a habit of virtue that kicks in even when unexpected events surprise you.

CONTEMPLATING BEAUTY

  1. STEP 1: Go somewhere beautiful. This might be a museum to look at a painting or a sculpture, or it might be out into nature to look at a landscape. Sit and contemplate this beauty.
  2. STEP 2: You will begin to see that this beauty exists elsewhere in other things as well: the fall of a waterfall, the movements of a cat, and so on. Recognize and contemplate the nature of these beauties, all of a kind together with each other, each representing some instantiation of the same ultimate beauty.
  3. STEP 3: As you continue with this contemplation, you will begin to see the beauty of virtue superseding that of the body itself. Contemplate those virtues that are beautiful, leaving behind physical form. Muscles are beautiful because they are power in control: the control of power is a virtue separate from any physicality, so contemplate the virtue of self-control or balance and harmony.
  4. STEP 4: As you do so, you will begin to see the beauty of systems of knowledge, ideas, and laws. Contemplate the beauty of these until you begin to recognize that what is beautiful in a society or a system of knowledge is the same thing, no matter how it is instantiated. Recognize that cultural customs may change but they reflect ultimately the same underlying values of the family that is humanity.
  5. STEP 5: Ultimately, you will begin to move up to realize that all beauties, all virtues, all beautiful customs and systems of knowledge partake of a single ineffable beauty, the Good. This experience is henosis, and achieving it, even for a moment, makes your mind the same as the Good, which is the One.

INCENSE OFFERING

  1. STEP 1: Light some incense. You can use charcoal tablets in a censer for loose incense or simply light a stick of stick incense. As the smoke rises, imagine your thoughts and prayers rising with it.
  2. STEP 2: Imagine a small blue light in your solar plexus. As you inhale, imagine it getting brighter.
  3. STEP 3: Visualize a golden light that surrounds this blue speck in a sphere. As you inhale, let it spin clockwise, stopping while you hold your inhalation for a second, then reversing when you exhale. As it spins clockwise, let it expand outward. As it spins counterclockwise, let it concentrate and shrink. It helps to work with an actual strophalos beforehand to get that physical sense of expansion and contraction.
  4. STEP 4: As the golden light expands, imagine your prayers and intentions being carried outward with it, mixed with the fragrant smoke of the incense. Visualize these intentions reaching the divine beings you wish to contact.
  5. STEP 5: When you are finished with your prayer, let the golden light contract back to the blue light in your solar plexus. Sit quietly for a few moments, feeling a sense of connection and peace.

ENLIVENING A STATUE

  1. STEP 1: Obtain a statue or image of the deity with whom you wish to work. It doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive, but it should be something that resonates with you and that you feel drawn to.
  2. STEP 2: Kindle a fire on charcoal or a simple lamp for less elaborate rites. Make sure you know what you’re doing—keep the room ventilated if using charcoal and don’t burn anything on it you wouldn’t want to inhale. (A single pinch of hot pepper might be very symbolically appropriate to Mars, but it’s hard to complete a ritual when suffering the results of being pepper-sprayed. Trust my hard-won experience on this, and accept my plea of youthful ignorance.) Probably you’re lighting this with a match or lighter. So it goes. But it might be worthwhile to sanctify this fire with an incantation. Even if such actions were not done traditionally in sacrificial rituals, they were done in theurgist rituals. You can use the following, which I’ve stitched together from various bits of the Chaldean Oracles, or you can devise your own formula of sanctification. The goal is to identify the fire itself with the Nous so we can use it as a gateway:“I call upon the living fire, the pure fire, the fire that knows no decline. May this material fire become a gateway to the divine fire, the fire of the Nous, the fire that illuminates all things. By this fire, may my prayers be heard and my offerings accepted.”
  3. STEP 3: Walk about clockwise, holding the water and—if using it—a sacred knife. If not, the water will suffice. When you return to the altar, sprinkle the altar and the ground within the circle with the water. If you like, you can say something signifying that the water is purificatory, such as this verse from the Chaldean Oracles: “Foremost, let the priest undertaking the work of fire himself be sprinkled with the icy waves of the deeply roaring sea.” (If that sounds familiar to those inclined to ceremonial magic, it should: the same verse was cribbed for the same purpose by the Golden Dawn although with a different translation.) Pour some water on your hands to clean them.
  4. STEP 4: Circumambulate the altar, holding the statue in your right hand and the water in your left. When you return to the center, put down the statue and dip the three fingers of your right hand into the water, sprinkling it over the altar and then in the four directions. You can say something like: “Inflame the water of the soul with the light of Mind, to purify matter and drive out all the profane”. Pour some of the water over your hands and dry them on a clean cloth.
  5. STEP 5: Perform the contemplation of matter from exercise 1.1 on the statue until it is reduced to formlessness in your mind.
  6. STEP 6: Recite the following from the Hermetica while looking upward and aspiring as much as possible to the Nous:“Holy is God, and the parent of everything. Holy is God, whose will is done by his own powers. Holy is God, who wants to be known and is known by his own. Holy are you, having coalesced existence in a word. Holy are you, from whom all nature takes form. Holy are you, whom nature did not shape. Holy are you, the strongest of all powers. Holy are you, better than all goodness. Holy are you, too great for praise.”
  7. STEP 7: Now, touch the statue and say:“Come into this image, O [Name of the deity], you who are everywhere and nowhere. Manifest your presence here, that I may know you and serve you.”
  8. STEP 8: Offer incense to the statue, saying something like:“Accept this fragrant offering as a sign of my devotion.”
  9. STEP 9: Pour a libation of water or wine into a bowl or onto the ground before the statue, saying:“Accept this pure libation, a gift from my hands.”
  10. STEP 10: Kneel or stand before the statue and recite a prayer of your own devising to the deity, or use a traditional hymn or prayer if you know one. You can include a petition for knowledge or empowerment:“Accept pure spoken offerings from a soul and a heart stretching out to you who are ineffable, inexpressible, named in silence. Give a sign to me that you will not reject my petition for the knowledge of our being. Empower me, and with this grace I will enlighten those of my kind who dwell in ignorance— my siblings, your children. Therefore, I believe and I witness: I progress to life and light. You are the basis of rationality, and your people want to join with you in the sacred work, as you provided them with the power to do so.”
  11. STEP 11: Light more incense.
  12. STEP 12: Place your hands on the statue and visualize the divine presence filling it. Feel a connection between yourself and the deity through the image.
  13. STEP 13: Contemplate the god as long as you wish. This can be a few minutes or quite a long time, depending on your personal desire. There’s no extra credit for taking longer, but also don’t rush through it.
  14. STEP 14: When finished, offer a short prayer of thanksgiving such as the following:“I give thanks to the gods, the daimones, and the ancestors who have led me to this place and who support an aid me in the great work of creation. May there be friendship between us.”
  15. STEP 15: Close the ritual by placing the statue in an appropriate place (some statues you may wish to cover from prying eyes). When done, kiss your hand to it, turn around and leave the room in silence. Make sure you can easily clean and care for the statue as well as burn incense to it periodically. Pour out the libation outdoors, and let the incense burn down and cool before putting it away.
  16. STEP 16: Eat and do something mundane after a ritual like this one. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that this statue itself is a god; it is the dwelling of a god, and the god is not bound to it and can and will come and go as it pleases [20].

SCRYING WITH WATER

  1. STEP 1: Obtain a bowl of dark-colored liquid. Water with a few drops of black ink or dark food coloring works well. You can also use a commercially produced scrying mirror or a bowl of polished obsidian.
  2. STEP 2: Sit comfortably in a dimly lit room. Place the bowl or mirror in front of you on a table at a comfortable viewing distance.
  3. STEP 3: Relax your gaze and look into the surface of the liquid or mirror. Don’t try to focus on any particular point, but let your eyes go slightly out of focus, as if you are looking through the surface rather than at it.
  4. STEP 4: Clear your mind of any specific thoughts or expectations. Simply observe any images or sensations that arise in your mind or on the surface of the scrying tool.
  5. STEP 5: Ask your question silently or aloud. Keep your focus soft and receptive.
  6. STEP 6: At first, you may experience visions in your imagination, and have a sense that they are internal. The more you work with scrying, the more these visions will externalize, but do not worry about whether or not the vision is in your mind or outside it. If the vision provides you useful information, it really doesn’t matter.
  7. STEP 7: Also be prepared to receive perceptions with your other senses, including hearing, smell, and even your kinesthetic sense.
  8. STEP 8: When finished, offer your gratitude to the god you have called, then end the ceremony as you would any other ritual. It’s useful to ground yourself in some mundane activity immediately afterwards.

AUTOMATIC WRITING WITH THOTH

  1. STEP 1: Choose a specific question you wish to ask.
  2. STEP 2: Prepare the place of working by having an image of the god, water for purification, and an incense offering. Also have some paper and a good reliable pen. We learn that Thoth is the Greek version of his name, which was something like Djehauti, give or take some vowels.
  3. STEP 3: Purify the area by carrying around the image and the water, then sprinkling as usual.
  4. STEP 4: Perform an offering, praying that Thoth will come and guide your hand in writing.
  5. STEP 5: Sit in the god-posture—essentially, sitting upright in a chair with your hands on your knees. Have the pad and paper handy.
  6. STEP 6: Relax and close your eyes. Visualize a phantasm of your dominant hand (the one you write with) lifting off your physical hand [23].
  7. STEP 7: Project that phantasm out in front of you, hovering over the paper.
  8. STEP 8: Now, visualize the image of Thoth standing behind your phantasmal hand, gently guiding it.
  9. STEP 9: Offer another short prayer to Thoth, asking for his guidance in answering your question.
  10. STEP 10: Ask your question, and let—but do not force—the hand to move. This is sometimes called automatic writing. Some people remain unconscious of what the hands write. I, however, become aware of it a word or two at a time, as if transcribing rather than writing it.
  11. STEP 11: You’ll probably find this a bit tiring, so when the hand stops or you become exhausted, move the phantasm of your hand back to overlap your physical hand and return the physical hand to the god-posture.
  12. STEP 12: Project the phantasm of the god standing up and stepping away from you. Salute it by kissing your hand and then reassert your body once again, limb by limb. It’s important to check each limb, making sure you have control over it and that it is where you think it is. It’s a way of regrounding into your body.
  13. STEP 13: Offer a prayer of gratitude and add more incense to the fire, then close the ritual as usual.
  14. STEP 14: Interpret the writing on the pad. Those things you don’t remember writing are often the most important and significant.

INVOKING YOUR GENIUS

  1. STEP 1: Prepare a small shrine. This can be as simple as a clean shelf or tabletop. Place an unlit candle, a bowl for libations, and a censer for incense on it.
  2. STEP 2: Gather your materials for an offering. This should be something personal and meaningful to you. It could be a piece of art you created, a poem you wrote, a song you composed, or even a physical object that represents your aspirations.
  3. STEP 3: Purify yourself and the space as you normally would. Synthemata, names, and so on for your genius will come later. Your previous work in developing relationships with deities, animating statues, making offerings, divination, and so on can all be used to help you in connecting to the genius.
  4. STEP 4: Raising your arms, say a prayer to the genius like this one, substituting the name of your genius for N., or leaving that part out if you don’t know it yet:“Hear me, Agathodaimon, called N., or by whatever name you may be called and whether god or goddess, and come from your abodes in the empyrean to receive my praise. If ever I have burned sweet scents to you, spoken words of praise, or made offering in your name, come and hear me, as you have done before. Give me guidance to the One, true knowledge of the hidden things, and authority over the lesser daimones of the world, so I may fulfill my purpose which is to join the gods in the great work of creation. Accept this offering, and by it may you be propitiated and increased, and may it turn your face toward me.”
  5. STEP 5: Light the candle and the incense. Place your offering on the shrine and pour a small libation of water or wine into the bowl.
  6. STEP 6: Spend some time in the contemplation of the genius, remaining receptive to any answer it may offer you.
  7. STEP 7: Thank the genius for its presence and guidance. Close the ritual by extinguishing the candle and the incense. Leave the offering on the shrine for a period of time before disposing of it respectfully.

MAKING FRIENDS WITH A LOCUS GENIUS

  1. STEP 1: Find a place that you find beautiful or interesting. This could be a park, a grove of trees, a riverbank, an old building, or any location that has a certain feeling or energy to it.
  2. STEP 2: Gather a small offering. This could be a natural object you found in the place itself (a leaf, a stone), a bit of food or drink, or a small, inexpensive gift.
  3. STEP 3: Say something like the following:“Spirit of this place, whether god or goddess, by whatever name it pleases you to be called, hear my prayer. I come in humility and friendship. Accept this offering of friendship, and may you be increased by it, strengthened, cleansed, healed, and made strong. Accept also this speech offering, and be praised.”
  4. STEP 4: You may wish to speak extemporaneously about what feature particularly attracts you.
  5. STEP 5: Lay the offering on the altar or pour out the libation. Imagine the form of the offering expanding out, multiplying, and filling the space with abundance.
  6. STEP 6: Say something like “May our friendship grow” to end. Only when you and the location have made a strong relationship should you try to ask for favors.

PROPITIATING A KAKODAIMON

  1. STEP 1: Purity is always important, but here it is doubly important. In addition to purifying yourself with water and natron, or chernips, you may also wish to fast for a day beforehand.
  2. STEP 2: Prepare your ritual space. This should be a place where you will not be disturbed. Have your wand, iunx (a spinning wheel or similar device), incense (lunar incense is appropriate here), a libation offering (water or wine), and a libation dish ready. Begin by picking up your wand as a symbol of authority and stating, in a loud voice, “Hekas, hekas, este bebeloi,” which simply means “begone, begone, profane things.” It’s a traditional signal that a ritual is about to begin.
  3. STEP 3: Light incense or add it to the censer and say something like:“May my Genius hear my prayer and stand beside me in this working. If ever I make an error, by omission or commission, leave out a word or speak awry, or in any way fail in my ritual obligations, let it be as if I had performed the ritual correctly. Accept this offering, Agathodaimon, and deliver me from any evil.”
  4. STEP 4: Circumambulate your ritual space clockwise, reciting a prayer to Hekate, asking for her protection and guidance. You can use a traditional Orphic hymn to Hekate or one of your own devising.
  5. STEP 5: Recite the following words of power, a phylactery against daimones:“ACHTHIŌPHIPH ERESCHIGAL NEBOUTOSOUALĒTH SATHŌTH SABAŌTH SABRŌTH”
  6. STEP 6: Imagine a phantasm of the daimon standing just outside of the circle around which you circumambulated, while you spin your iunx and repeat this phrase every time it changes direction: “Magic wheel, bring N. to me,” N. being the name of the daimon. Spin the iunx and repeat the formula until it becomes clear. If the phantasm attempts to become grotesque, point your wand at it until it assumes a more pleasing form. Try not to allow it to become zoomorphic or monstrous, even if you’re a fan of Dürer.
  7. STEP 7: Address it thus:“Hear me, N., daimon of [Superior god], by whatever name you are called in the heavens or under the earth, and from whatever abode you come, for I am [your name] whom [your mother’s name] bore, and I stand in the presence of Hekate your Queen, to whom you must bow.”
  8. STEP 8: The phantasm should bow. If it does not do so without you forcing it, again point your wand at it and place the fingertips of your other hand on the altar until it does.
  9. STEP 9: Continue:“Accept this drink offering, and let it mark friendship between us, that you work for my good and under the instructions of the goddess Hekate and my genius, for I know the secret words of Ephesus which are ASKION KATASKION LIX TETRAX DAMNAMENEUS AISIA to which your kind is bound to answer. Let therefore enmity be done, friendship begun, and may you submit to the authority of the gods.”
  10. STEP 10: Pour the libation completely into the libation dish. Kiss your fingers in friendship to the phantasm, then to the phantasm of Hekate.
  11. STEP 11: Say the following:“I offer you, Hekate, this speech offering in gratitude for your aid. Continue, O Goddess of the Ways, to keep and guide me, and protect me from evil. Accept these sweet scents, and may it be acceptable unto you.”
  12. STEP 12: Add more lunar incense.
  13. STEP 13: Step away from the altar, kiss your hand, turn around, and leave the room in silence to end the ritual. You can of course come right back again if you do most of your magic in the living room. But don’t put things away until the incense has all burned down and cooled. Then, dispose of the ashes of the incense and the wine outside, ideally at a crossroad or junction or, failing that, a liminal space like the side of a road. Don’t put it in your own yard or near your own house. At least cross a street to dispose of it.

SET GOALS

  1. Using your magical diary if you keep one (I recommend it for this kind of work) or just a notebook or computer file you can find easily, write out a set of goals. If you’re having a hard time finding inspiration, you can organize goals in three general areas:
    • Personal: These are goals for yourself, such as health, fitness, skills you want to learn, or personal qualities you want to develop.
    • Professional: These are goals related to your work or career, such as getting a promotion, starting a new business, or improving your performance.
    • Spiritual: These are goals related to your theurgic practice, such as deepening your connection to a particular deity, achieving a greater understanding of the Nous, or developing your magical abilities.
  2. For each goal, write down one or two simple, objective, and time-bound steps you can take towards achieving it.
  3. For each goal, brainstorm at least four or five material (non-magical) methods you could use to help you achieve it.
  4. Start working on the easiest goals first to build momentum and confidence. If you encounter a goal that feels too difficult, break it down into smaller, more manageable steps.
  5. Regularly review your goals and track your progress. Adjust your methods and steps as needed. Don’t be afraid to revise or even abandon a goal if it no longer aligns with your values or desires.

MAKING A TALISMAN

  1. STEP 1: Determine your goal. What do you want this talisman to help you achieve? Be specific.
  2. STEP 2: Identify the planetary ruler of your goal. Research the correspondences of the planets to various aspects of life.
  3. STEP 3: Choose an appropriate time for the ritual. Consult astrological resources to find a time when the ruling planet is in a strong and well-aspected position. The planetary hour is much, much less important than the planet’s dignity.
  4. STEP 4: Select a material for your talisman that corresponds to the planet. Metals, stones, colors, and scents all have planetary associations.
  5. STEP 5: Prepare your ritual space as usual. Include an image or symbol of the planetary ruler, incense corresponding to the planet, and a libation offering (wine is often appropriate for planetary work).
  6. STEP 6: Purify yourself and the space.
  7. STEP 7: Hold the raw material of the talisman in your hands and visualize your goal being imbued into it by the power of the planet.
  8. STEP 8: Pour a libation into your libation dish and touch the talisman with a bit of the remaining wine, then drink. By all three sharing the same drink offering, you have linked yourself, the talisman, and the god. Immediately thereafter, pass the talisman through the incense offering so the smoke fumigates it.
    STEP 9: Thank the god for aiding you.
    STEP 10: Close the rite as usual.
    After completing the ritual, carry the talisman with you or set it in a place that makes sense. For example, if you created a talisman to aid in learning the piano, you might place it on or near the piano. The sources state that you do not have to recharge a talisman, but it can help to renew the contract whenever the relevant planet is in a good position or well-aspected.
    It’s important to remember that a theurgic talisman is seen as a physical manifestation of a union between your individual nous and the cosmic celestial Nous, a “meeting of minds”. It’s a contract with divine forces, and the act of bringing down the god through the offering rite is essential to finalize this agreement.

     

    Following the detailed instructions for Exercise 7.2: MAKING A TALISMAN, the text discusses defixiones as another practical magical technique. While the book describes defixiones and their historical use, it does not present a numbered, step-by-step “exercise” for creating and using them in the same format as the talisman exercise. Instead, it outlines a general approach:
    The process is described as similar to making a talisman, involving writing out a petition, sometimes with voces magicae and charactres, along with a drawing of the relevant deity.
    This written petition is then fixed together, potentially tied in a scroll or bundle instead of using a nail (as was common in historical defixiones intended for more aggressive purposes).
    Finally, the petition is deposited in a sacred area such as a grove, spring, or temple space, or burned on a sacrificial fire for noetic gods
    After the discussion of defixiones, the book transitions to Chapter 8: Know Thyself. This chapter emphasizes the importance of understanding one’s own nature as fundamental to theurgy. While the initial part of the chapter is a philosophical dialogue, it leads to the exploration of practical methods for self-knowledge, drawing on concepts introduced earlier in the book.
    The chapter mentions two ways back to the One according to Plotinus:
    1.
    Declaring the dishonour of the objects which the Soul holds here in honour: The text notes that this method is “amply exhibited elsewhere”. This likely refers to exercises and contemplations presented in earlier chapters that encourage detachment from material concerns and a shift in focus towards the divine. For instance, Exercise 1.1: CONTEMPLATION OF MATTER could be relevant here, as it encourages understanding the formlessness of matter apart from our perceptions. Similarly, Exercise 3.2: CONTEMPLATION OF BEAUTY guides the practitioner towards abstract and ultimately divine beauty, away from purely physical appreciation.
    2.
    Teaching or recalling to the soul its race and worth: This involves recognizing our inherent connection to the divine. While not presented as a numbered exercise with specific steps in this chapter, the underlying principle suggests practices that foster a sense of our divine origin and potential. This could involve:
    Contemplation on the nature of the Nous and our mind’s ability to access it, as discussed in relation to phantasms and the hypercube
    Practices aimed at achieving henosis (union with the One), such as Exercise 1.2: EXPERIENCING THE ONE, which is presented as an ongoing practice.
    Cultivation of virtues, as detailed in Exercise 1.4: INVENTORY OF VIRTUES, as virtue is linked to building a mind that resembles the divine.

    Cultivation of the genius (personal daimon), as described in Exercise 6.1: CULTIVATION OF THE GENIUS, which acts as a guide for spiritual development and a conduit to the Nous

    #Theurgy, #Neoplatonism, #Henosis, #Nous, #Phantasms, #Synthemata, #DivineCollaboration, #Virtue, #Logos, #CosmicOrder

You Don’t Need to Forgive: Trauma Recovery on Your Own Terms by Amanda Ann Gregory

You Don’t Need to Forgive by Amanda Gregory offers a grounded, practical approach to trauma recovery, challenging the assumption that forgiveness is essential for healing. This book reframes trauma as more than just events—it’s about the lasting psychological and physical wounds they leave behind. It provides tools to process trauma on your terms, whether forgiveness fits or not. Below I’ll cover some of the concepts in the book to give you an idea of how it could help you on your journey, and I do recommend it. See the link above (non-affiliate).

Understanding Trauma’s Lasting Impact

Gregory defines trauma by its enduring effects, not just the incidents themselves. She distinguishes “Big-T” traumas (e.g., accidents, assaults) from “little-t” traumas (e.g., chronic neglect), emphasizing that both can wound deeply. “Trauma consists not simply in the event but in the persistent psychological and physiological wounds that result,” she explains. To grasp this, take five minutes with a notebook: write down one event that lingers in your mind, then list its ongoing signs—like a racing heart or sudden shame. This reveals how trauma differs from fleeting stress.

Forgiveness as a Choice, Not a Requirement

The book rejects the notion that forgiveness is mandatory for recovery. Gregory introduces “elective forgiveness,” where you decide if it serves your healing, free from external pressure. “Only one person can decide if forgiveness will be a part of your recovery… It’s you,” she asserts. To explore this, spend ten minutes reflecting: write, “Do I feel I should forgive? Is that my voice or someone else’s?” This exercise clarifies whether forgiveness aligns with your needs or stems from guilt.

Shame’s Role in Blocking Recovery

Shame—“I’m bad”—undermines self-worth, which Gregory sees as critical for healing, unlike guilt’s focus on actions (“I did something bad”). To address it, try this: point your finger at your chest (shame), then outward (guilt) for a minute, noting how each feels physically. Next, write a supportive sentence you’d tell a friend—“You’re not broken”—and read it aloud to yourself. This practice, done regularly, begins to loosen shame’s grip and rebuilds self-value.

Anger as a Healthy Signal

Gregory validates anger as a natural response to harm, tied to self-respect, not a flaw to suppress. “Anger tells you that you were harmed,” she notes. To process it safely, take fifteen minutes to write a detailed revenge fantasy—every word and action against the person who hurt you. Alternatively, punch a pillow while imagining them, keeping it controlled. If it overwhelms, stop, breathe deeply, and reach out to a trusted friend. This releases anger without real-world consequences.

Building a Trauma-Informed Foundation

Recovery requires safety and support. List three people you rely on, then assess: “Do they listen without judgment? Can they handle my story?” If answers fall short, consider others—like a therapist or pet. Next, set a boundary: choose someone who’s overstepped and write a rule, e.g., “I’ll only engage if they respect my ‘no.’” Practice saying it aloud several times to prepare for enforcing it. This strengthens your safety net.

Cultural and Religious Influences

Gregory examines how faith and society shape forgiveness expectations. Religions like Christianity may push it, while others don’t; men often face extra pressure to comply, never allowed to be in the right or in a victim role while women are often not called on to forgive as they are automatically seen as right (my insight, not from the book). Reflect for ten minutes: “Does my faith demand forgiveness? How does that affect me?” If religion has caused pain, ask, “Has it made forgiveness harder?” Journal your responses to untangle these influences, and consider how your community’s norms play a role.

Avoiding the “Doormat Effect”

Forgiving someone who keeps harming you without change—the “Doormat Effect”—erodes self-worth. Evaluate this: pick someone you’ve forgiven and write for ten minutes, “What did they do after? Did I feel safer?” If the answers point to “no,” it’s a sign forgiveness may have cost you. Gregory stresses it works best when the other party shows they’ll value you moving forward.

Alternative Paths to Healing

Beyond forgiveness, Gregory lists trauma-informed options like EMDR, somatic experiencing, and mindfulness. Try this now: sit quietly for ten minutes, focus on your breath, and note physical sensations—tightness or tingling. This tunes you into trauma’s bodily echoes. For self-forgiveness, draw two images: yourself during the trauma and a random kid the same age. Compare them over fifteen minutes to see if you’re judging your past self too harshly.

Social Justice and Survivor Voice

Gender, religion, and location shape forgiveness pressures, often silencing survivors. To reclaim your narrative, spend ten minutes telling your story aloud—alone or to someone safe—noticing how it feels to be heard. Gregory redefines forgiveness as a process, not erasure: less hate, perhaps more peace, but never forgetting. It’s a spectrum you navigate at your pace.

Practical Strategies for Recovery

Challenge shame by questioning “I’m worthless” thoughts. Set boundaries by saying “no” firmly. Embrace unforgiveness: write “I don’t forgive them, and that’s okay” five times, then sit with the feeling for a few minutes. This permission is central to Gregory’s survivor-focused lens, prioritizing your needs over the offender’s.

Putting It Into Practice

The book equips survivors, therapists, and skeptics with tools to rethink forgiveness. Exercises—like journaling trauma’s effects, distinguishing shame from guilt, or safely venting anger—offer hands-on ways to test its ideas. Pick one, such as boundary-setting, and commit to it for a week. Recovery isn’t about quick fixes; it’s about finding what fits you. That’s Gregory’s core message: you shape your healing.

Practical Exercises

1. Embracing Anger in Recovery

  • Establish Safety: Ensure you feel secure before starting. If it feels unsafe, pause and reestablish calm.
  • Express Curiosity and Validation: Welcome anger without judgment. Ask yourself what it’s signaling and let it linger for processing.
  • Explore Revenge Fantasies:
    • Write a detailed revenge fantasy for fifteen minutes, outlining every step.
    • Or, hit a soft surface (e.g., pillow) while imagining your offender, keeping control.
    • Alternatively, create art (song, drawing) to express it.
    • If unsafe, stop, breathe, and seek a safe person.

2. Processing Emotions Through Physical Sensations

Choose methods to notice bodily feelings:

  • Share your trauma story with a safe person or aloud alone (ten minutes).
  • Write your story and keep it private or share it.
  • Write an unsent letter to your offender.
  • Use music, movies, or images to connect with past emotions.
  • Create art reflecting those feelings.
  • Explore revenge fantasies (see above).
  • Try guided meditations on body sensations.
  • Move via trauma-informed yoga, dance, or self-tapping.
  • Engage in safe touch (hugs, hand-holding) with yourself or a trusted person.
  • Pursue trauma-focused therapy with these methods.

3. Assessing Self-Forgiveness

  • Identify Responsibility: Reflect on whether you blame yourself unfairly.
  • Draw Your Past Self: Use paper and pencils to draw yourself at the trauma’s time, then a typical child that age. Compare over fifteen minutes to gauge your capability then.
  • Practice Self-Compassion: Write what a loved one would say about your past mistakes, then say it to yourself.

4. Shame vs. Guilt Exercise

  • Point your finger at your chest (shame) for thirty seconds, then outward (guilt) for thirty more. Note the physical difference. Write a kind sentence—“You’re not broken”—and read it aloud.

5. Religious Perspective Questions

Journal for ten minutes on:

  • Do your beliefs shape forgiveness?
  • Did past religious experiences influence this?
  • Can you correct others’ assumptions about your faith?
  • Has religious trauma affected forgiveness?
  • Have you faced pressure to forgive from a faith community?
  • Do you interpret your religion uniquely?
  • Has Christian privilege in the U.S. impacted you?
  • Have you faced religious stigma?
  • Does your clinician respect your beliefs?
  • Do you need more religious resources for recovery?
  • Are you part of a faith community, or do you need one?

 

A Counterpoint: Gender Pressures on Men and Forgiveness

Gregory argues that women face greater societal pressure to forgive, often tied to norms of nurturing and compliance. However, an alternative view suggests men might bear a heavier burden in trauma recovery due to cultural expectations. Society frequently denies men the role of victim—masculinity demands stoicism, not vulnerability. Men are rarely permitted to acknowledge harm without risking judgment as weak, which can suppress their ability to even consider forgiveness as an option. Women, by contrast, are often validated as victims, especially in cases of abuse, and thus may face less insistence on forgiveness when they resist it. For example, a woman refusing to forgive an abuser might be praised for strength, while a man in the same position could be dismissed as petty or unmanly for not “moving on.” This double standard implies men are pushed to silently endure rather than process trauma, sidelining forgiveness not out of choice but obligation. Reflect on this: spend ten minutes writing, “Am I allowed to feel harmed? Who decides that for me?” Your answers might reveal how gender shapes your recovery path more than Gregory’s framework suggests.

You Are a Medium by Sherrie Dillard

The following is my review of Unveiling the Spirit World: “You Are a Medium” by Sherrie Dillard available on Amazon.

 

Book Review: You Are a Medium by Sherrie Dillard

 

You Are a Medium is a book about developing mediumistic abilities, but its central message is that everyone has the potential to connect with the spirit world. Dillard presents mediumship as a natural ability rather than a rare gift, and she offers a structured approach to understanding and developing this skill. The book is practical, with exercises and meditations designed to help readers recognize their own connection to the other side.

One of the key ideas in the book is that mediumship manifests in different ways. Dillard categorizes mediums into four types: Emotional, Mental, Physical, and Spiritual. Emotional mediums connect through feelings and empathy. Mental mediums receive impressions as thoughts, ideas, or voices in their mind. Physical mediums experience sensations in their body, such as gut feelings or chills. Spiritual mediums have a deep sense of oneness with the universe and may receive insights in a more abstract way. She includes a quiz to help readers identify their dominant type.

The book also covers the role of spirit guides, angels, and deceased loved ones. Dillard describes these entities as sources of guidance, protection, and comfort. She emphasizes that everyone has a guardian angel who has been with them since birth, watching over them and offering support. Spirits, she explains, continue to evolve and learn after death. Some may even seek to assist the living, particularly if they have unresolved matters from their earthly life.

Dillard also addresses earthbound spirits—ghosts that remain attached to the physical realm due to unfinished business or emotional attachment. She suggests that such spirits often gain power by provoking fear, but their influence weakens once they are recognized as powerless. The book provides advice on how to help these spirits move on, rather than simply fearing or avoiding them.

Throughout the book, there are practical exercises for developing mediumship, including meditations, telepathic practice, and techniques for sensing energy in objects. She also describes signs that spirits use to communicate with the living, such as dreams, flickering lights, or certain animals appearing at meaningful moments.

You Are a Medium is written for those who want to explore their own abilities, connect with loved ones on the other side, or gain a deeper understanding of the spirit world. Dillard presents mediumship in a way that is both accessible and encouraging, making it clear that this is something anyone can develop with practice and awareness.

After reading Discover Your Psychic Type, I found that it really helped demystify the process of developing mediumship abilities and deepening one’s connection with the spirit world. It’s not just about understanding what mediumship is or how to get started—it’s about recognizing how different people connect with the other side in different ways. The book makes it clear that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to mediumship. It doesn’t matter if you’re new to the idea or have been practicing for a while; knowing your “psychic type” can help you understand your strengths and areas of growth in this field.

One of the things that stood out to me was the idea that mediumship isn’t just about hearing or seeing spirits. Some people connect through feelings or emotions. The book divides people into several types of mediums, each defined by the way they receive information. For example, emotional mediums are more likely to pick up on the feelings of spirits and relay them. They might feel sadness, joy, or peace—these emotions can act as the message. Mental mediums, on the other hand, may experience clairaudience or claircognizance. That means they hear voices or suddenly know things without any logical explanation. I found it fascinating that these types of mediumship aren’t all the same, and that’s why it’s so important to recognize how you personally experience spirit communication.

This leads to a key idea: the book encourages people to pay attention to the subtle ways spirit might try to get through. Sometimes it’s as simple as a fleeting thought or a sudden sense of knowing. One of the examples given in the book was when someone experiences the scent of a loved one who has passed, even though no one else can smell it. That’s just one of the many ways that spirits try to communicate. It’s not always about loud signs or dramatic experiences—it’s often the quiet moments that matter the most.

Another aspect that really resonated with me was the discussion about spirit guides and how they assist us. Spirit guides, according to Dillard, are beings who watch over us and help steer us in the right direction. These guides can be family members who’ve passed or other spirits who’ve been assigned to us. They help us avoid pitfalls, make decisions, and stay aligned with our true purpose. The concept of spirit guides has always been something I’ve found interesting, but this book gave me a deeper understanding of their role in our lives, especially in the context of mediumship. Spirit guides aren’t just there to provide comfort; they also help us discover our natural abilities and grow into our fullest potential.

I also appreciated how the book addresses the challenges people might face when exploring mediumship. One part of the book talks about addiction and how it affects our connection with the spiritual realm. Addiction, as it’s described, is not just a physical or mental struggle—it’s also a spiritual one. It disconnects people from their inner power and subdues the voice of the spirit. I thought it was powerful that the book framed addiction not only as something to overcome but also as something that can be healed through spiritual surrender and connection to a higher power.

The concept of individuality is another theme that stood out to me. The book highlights how important it is to embrace who we truly are, rather than conforming to societal expectations or trying to fit into a mold. This resonated with me deeply. The idea that we are meant to bring our unique energy into the world and that our personal growth relies on this authenticity really struck a chord with me. It’s easy to forget that when we suppress parts of ourselves, we miss out on the growth and lessons that those parts could bring.

Finally, the book touches on the idea of helping lost souls and wandering spirits. I’ve always found the idea of spirit release intriguing, but Dillard’s approach felt especially compassionate. She suggests that it’s not only about freeing these souls but also about understanding the reasons why they’re stuck in the first place. Whether it’s fear, guilt, or unfinished business, helping spirits move on requires sending them love and light. It’s a reminder that healing is a two-way process: both for the spirit and for ourselves. In a way, the book almost presents a way of life; I’m thinking of the Japanese Shinto beliefs and Kami ect. where we are surrounded by spirits and energies that we are constantly interacting with.

Overall, Discover Your Psychic Type offers a blend of practical advice and spiritual wisdom. It helped me better understand how I connect with the spirit world, how I can nurture and refine those connections, and how my experiences with mediumship are influenced by who I am. Whether you’re just starting out or have been exploring this path for some time, this book is a valuable resource for anyone looking to deepen their understanding of mediumship and psychic development.

Some practical exercises in the book

The book provides several exercises to develop mediumship abilities, such as:

  • Level One: Discern Energy Vibrations These exercises are designed to help you differentiate your own thoughts and feelings from those you receive intuitively.
    • Emotional Mediums The goal is to differentiate your emotions from the emotional energy you’re receiving.
      1. Write down or record a list of your current feelings without analyzing them.
      2. Close your eyes, breathe deeply, and visualize white light.
      3. Focus on a deceased loved one, repeating their name.
      4. Invite and receive your loved one’s emotional energy, naming the emotions and feelings that surface.
      5. Thank your loved one for their presence.
    • Physical Mediums The objective is to become aware of subtle vibrations emanating from a photograph or personal object.
      1. Write down or record your expectations for this exercise.
      2. Close your eyes and breathe deeply, visualizing white light.
      3. Hold a picture, object, or the written name of the person you wish to connect with.
      4. Imagine receiving energy from the item, noting sensations in your body.
      5. Put words to the vibrations you receive.
      6. Thank your loved one for their presence.
    • Mental Mediums The challenge is to differentiate personal thoughts from thoughts and impressions intuited from the other side.
      1. Write down or tape record your thoughts without judgment.
      2. Close your eyes, breathe deeply, and visualize white light filling your mind.
      3. Speak the name of the loved one you wish to connect with, clearing your mind and noting any thoughts and impressions.
      4. Thank your loved one for their presence.
    • Spiritual Mediums The aim is to become aware of energy in the cosmos and stay focused on communicating with a loved one.
      1. Write down what you would like to experience in this exercise.
      2. Close your eyes and breathe deeply, visualizing white light.
      3. Visualize a clear and open space above your head, like an energy funnel.
      4. Focus on a loved one, repeating their name and intending to communicate.
      5. Allow images, thoughts, and feelings to surface, and record whatever you become aware of.
      6. Thank your loved one.
  • Level Two: Convert Energy into Useable Form These exercises focus on learning how to discern, understand, and put into words the energy information that you receive.
    • This level involves developing clairvoyance, the ability to perceive energy information in the form of an image. If an image doesn’t automatically surface, consciously use your imagination to create one.
    • After performing the “Beginning Meditation for All Types”, perform the meditation specific to your medium type:
      • Emotional Mediums Imagine an image that represents the emotional energy that you are receiving from the other side.
      • Physical Mediums Imagine an image that represents the energy that you are receiving from a picture or personal object of your loved one.
      • Mental Mediums Imagine an image that represents the thought energy that you are receiving from the other side.
      • Spiritual Mediums Imagine an image that represents the energy vibrations that you are receiving.
  • Level Three: Communicate and Dialogue This exercise helps you begin to communicate and dialogue with the other side. Do not do this exercise until you have practiced all four medium type exercises for levels one and two.
    • After performing the “Medium Opening Meditation”, perform the meditation specific to your medium type:
      • Emotional Mediums Imagine an image of your loved one and perceive it in as much detail as possible. What are they wearing? What is the expression on their face? Send feelings of love to your loved one. Listen and ask him or her if they have a message for you.
      • Physical Mediums Imagine the picture or object in as much detail as possible. Send feelings of love to your loved one. Listen and ask him or her if they have a message for you.
      • Mental Mediums Imagine an image of your loved one in as much detail as possible. What are they wearing? What is the expression on their face? Send feelings of love to your loved one. Listen and ask him or her if they have a message for you.
      • Spiritual Mediums Imagine an image of your loved one in as much detail as possible. What are they wearing? What is the expression on their face? Send feelings of love to your loved one. Listen and ask him or her if they have a message for you.

In addition to these exercises, there is a meditation to become more familiar with spirit guides and angels:

  1. Breathe in and out slowly and deeply, relaxing the body.
  2. Imagine a tranquil place in nature with warm sunshine.
  3. Ask your guide or angel to draw close.
  4. Express gratitude for their help. Open your eyes and write down any thoughts, feelings, images, or messages that you experienced.

As a last thought, I’ll add that (in addition to my earlier thoughts about Shintoism) is that these abilities can also be woven into other occult practices for people living a magickal life, for example during oracle readings, but also during ritual invocations, for example, they could also involve a two-way communication with a diety (involving a magic mirror if this is a part of your technique) and so on. As I said, to me the whole practice comes across as a way of life/being that will incorporate itself into a spiritual life as a part of your being. The possibilities this work present are really endless.

Western Mandalas of Transformation

Available on Amazon

Western Mandalas of Transformation by Soror A.L., with illustrations by Lloyd Nygaard, focuses on magical squares, Qabalistic talismans, and the use of tattwas—providing a hands-on guide for anyone wanting to work directly with these forms. This isn’t a theoretical overview; it’s a practical manual designed to help you craft and charge physical objects that can support spiritual development and focus magickal intent.

The central message is clear: talismans aren’t just tools for wish fulfillment. Instead, they act as keys to unlocking deeper mysteries of nature and divinity while strengthening the will and fostering self-awareness. Soror A.L. grounds the work within the Hermetic Qabalah and Golden Dawn framework, providing the historical background but focusing heavily on practical application. This emphasis on “doing the work” makes the book especially useful for practicing occultists who want to integrate these techniques into their daily magickal routines.

The Power of Talismans and Magical Squares

 

The book highlights the idea that a talisman’s real power lies in its effect on the magician. By creating and consecrating a talisman, you engage deeply with planetary and elemental forces, reinforcing your intention. This resonates with the concept found in other manifestation practices—like writing checks to yourself or crafting gratitude letters. The physical act of creation focuses the mind over time, anchoring intention in the material world. Incorporating traditional correspondences—colors, metals, scents, and planetary hours—further amplifies this process.

At the core of talismanic creation are the planetary kameas, or magical squares. Each planet corresponds to a unique numeric grid where every row and column sums to the same value. These grids are used to trace sigils—symbols that embody the planetary essence. For example, a Mars talisman would be based on the Mars kamea and could be used to amplify qualities like courage or decisive action. The text also points out that mistakes in the Venus and Mercury kameas are common, even in private Golden Dawn teachings, and provides guidance for correcting these errors.

Correspondences and Timing

 

A recurring theme is the importance of correspondences. Effective talismans integrate a wide range of symbolic associations—everything from planetary metals and colors to scents and body parts. The book encourages practitioners to work with these layers deliberately. This is not just about aesthetics—it’s about building a multidimensional structure where every element reinforces the talisman’s purpose.

Timing also matters. Crafting a talisman during the correct planetary hour aligns it with the most potent expression of that planetary force. For instance, a Venus talisman for love is most effective when created during Venus’s hour on a Friday, the day traditionally associated with Venus. This timing acts like a current, allowing the magician to ride the planet’s energy rather than working against it.

Ethics and the Holy Guardian Angel

 

The book doesn’t shy away from ethical concerns. Soror A.L. warns against using talismans for manipulation or harm, emphasizing that any attempt to bend others to your will can backfire. This echoes a broader magickal principle: the will must be developed responsibly and in harmony with natural law.

A significant section is devoted to developing a relationship with the Holy Guardian Angel (HGA)—a central goal in Hermetic Qabalah. The author recommends establishing this connection before engaging in serious talismanic work. This involves learning the divine names, colors, and other attributes associated with your HGA, reinforcing the idea that magickal work is not just about external results but about inner transformation.

Integrating Subjective and Objective Realities

 

The book takes a nuanced view of whether talismans have independent power. Some schools of thought suggest that a consecrated talisman functions autonomously, while others—like Paracelsus—argue that its true power lies in the effect on the magician’s mind. Soror A.L. adopts a middle ground, treating talismans as both psychological tools and conduits for external forces. This balanced approach allows for practical experimentation without getting lost in metaphysical debates.

There’s also a fascinating exploration of Daath—the hidden sphere on the Tree of Life. Positioned at the threshold between the divine and manifest worlds, Daath represents a point of transition and is attributed to Pluto. It’s rarely addressed in mainstream Qabalistic texts, but here it’s treated as a key to deeper esoteric understanding.

Practical Techniques

 

The book offers clear, actionable steps for creating and consecrating talismans:

1. **Designing the Talisman:** Identify the appropriate planetary energy, select relevant symbols and correspondences, and choose the correct magical square.

2. **Timing:** Work during the proper astrological conditions and planetary hours to enhance effectiveness.

3. **Consecration:** Use visualization and breathwork to charge the talisman. Imagine the desired color filling both your aura and the talisman itself, infusing it with intent.

The use of tattwas—geometric symbols representing the elements—is another practical technique covered in detail. These are used to channel elemental forces into the talisman, adding another layer of meaning and energy.

Using This Work in Modern Practice

 

One intriguing takeaway is how these techniques can integrate with modern manifestation practices. Crafting a talisman isn’t that different from creating other physical props used in manifestation—such as vision boards or writing affirmations. Both involve focused intent sustained over time. The added complexity of correspondences in talisman-making deepens this process, giving the practitioner more tools to shape and direct energy.

For example, combining the creation of a talisman with planetary timing mirrors practices like writing abundance checks during a new moon. The work itself becomes a meditation, reinforcing intention while the physical object serves as a touchstone for continued focus.

Final Thoughts

 

Western Mandalas of Transformation is more than just a guide to making pretty objects. It’s a practical workbook for anyone serious about integrating Qabalistic principles into their magickal practice. By emphasizing hands-on techniques while acknowledging the ethical and spiritual dimensions, Soror A.L. provides a roadmap for personal transformation rooted in Western esoteric tradition.

Whether you’re new to talismanic magick or refining an existing practice, the book offers a grounded, thorough approach. The emphasis on planetary squares, correspondences, and the Holy Guardian Angel makes it especially valuable for those working within the Hermetic framework. At its core, it reinforces a fundamental truth of magick—real change requires both external work and internal transformation, and the act of creation itself can be a vehicle for spiritual growth.

Trāṭak by Yogi Anand Ji

Tratak and its Significance in Yogic Practice

Document Overview:

This book focuses on the practice of Tratak, a yogic technique involving focused gazing. The text, attributed to Yogi Anand Ji, explores the practical application, underlying philosophy, and profound effects of Tratak, particularly in relation to mind control, spiritual development, and the nature of reality itself. The author integrates personal experiences, spiritual insights, and traditional yogic principles to provide a comprehensive understanding of this practice.

Main Themes & Key Ideas:

  1. The Nature and Purpose of Tratak:
  • Definition: Tratak is defined as “keeping staring at any substance without blinking the eyes.” It is contrasted with ‘Dwatak’, the normal state of vision where the eyes blink and shift focus. The goal is to “fix or bind the vision on any substance.”
  • Goal: The primary purpose of Tratak is to control and stabilize the mind by making it introverted. It is seen as a tool to overcome the “fickleness of mind,” which is constantly drawn outward by desires and the senses. “The fickleness of mind can be made introverted by stabilizing it through trāṭak.”
  • Mind Control: Tratak is viewed as a crucial step in yoga because the mind needs to be controlled and focused before higher practices like Dharana (concentration), Dhyana (meditation), and Samadhi (superconscious state) can be achieved. “So long as the mind will not become introverted being stable at one place, till then the practice of Dhārana, dhyāna and samādhi can’t be practised.”
  • Enhanced Determination: Regular Tratak practice leads to “strength of determination in the seeker gets enhanced very much.”
  1. The Role of Chitta, Vrittis, and Karmashayas:
  • Chitta:** The chitta is presented as the storehouse of impressions (samskaras) and karmic accumulations (karmashayas). It’s the foundation of mental activity and is described as having a vibratory nature.
  • Vrittis: Vrittis are described as the mental fluctuations or “rings” formed on the chitta due to accumulated karmas (actions). They manifest as outward projections of energy (tejas) through the eyes, shaping our perceptions of the world. “Due to vibrations on the chitta, the karmashayas emerge out in the form of annular vrittis.” These vrittis are comprised of the five elements (Tattvas) and three gunas.
  • Karmashayas: The text distinguishes between Prarabdha Karmashayas (past karmas to be experienced in this life) and Sanchit Karmashayas (past karmas to be experienced in future lives), explaining the seemingly random nature of experiences. It is stated that “the karmāśhayas which remain mainly on the upper surface of the chitta, they are called Prārabdha karmāśhaya.”
  • Mind Wandering: The restless nature of the mind is explained as being due to the constant vibrations and outward projection of vrittis from the chitta. The mind is seen as being pushed by Rajoguna and Prana
  1. The Five Tattvas and Three Gunas:
  • Five Elements: The five tattvas (elements) – Akasha (sky/ether), Vayu (air), Agni (fire), Jala (water), and Prithvi (earth) – are foundational to the material world and are also present in the vrittis, with each element having a specific color: yellow (earth), green (water), red (fire), smoky/gray (air), and blue (ether).
  • Three Gunas: The three gunas (Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas) are the modes of nature. These influence mental and physical states, with Sattva associated with purity, Rajas with activity, and Tamas with inertia. The text explains that the proportions of gunas within the karmas and vrittis influence one’s actions and perceptions. “If someone has committed violence, miscreants, criminal acts, then Tamoguna will be in much amount in his karmāśhayas, and the amount of Satvaguna remains minimal.”
  • Interrelation of elements: It is also described the subtle and pervasive relationship of these elements to each other: “The Vayu Tattva within the Ākāśha Tattva, the Agni Tattva within the Vayu Tattva, the Jala Tattva within the Agni Tattva, and the Prithvi Tattva inside the Jala Tattva remain present respectively.” The text goes on to note that “Each Tattva is denser compared to the one from which it manifests.”
  1. Tratak and the Purification Process:
  • Purification: Tratak, along with other yogic practices like Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama etc. is seen as a process for purifying the body, prana, mind (man), ego (ahamkara), and chitta. “With practice, the body, prāṇa, Man (mind), Ahaṃkāra (subtle ego) and chitta gradually start to get purified.”
  • Visual Phenomena: As a seeker progresses in Tratak, they may see colored spots or rings (yellow, green, red, smoky/grey, and blue) around the object of focus. These colors represent the different tattvas and reflect the changes happening in the practitioner’s own energy and vrittis. “The yellow, green, red, smoky and blue colours are seen respectively while doing practise on the dot respectively. These colours are of five elements.”
  • Mind as a Blue Tejas: With practice, the mind begins to appear as blue-colored rays emanating from the eyes.
  1. Shaktipata and Kundalini:
  • Shaktipata: The concept of shaktipata (spiritual transmission) is central, where a guru imparts energy to a disciple. Tratak is presented as a tool for giving shaktipata, and it is stated that “shaktipāta on disciples is necessary because the spiritual path of the seeker gets accelerated by it“. It is believed to accelerate spiritual progress and remove obstacles.
  • Kundalini: The text touches upon the Kundalini energy, emphasizing the importance of its proper understanding and guidance. It also acknowledges the potentially transformative power of a “fierce” kundalini.
  1. Tratak and Hypnotism:
  • Potential for Misuse: The text highlights that Tratak can be used for both spiritual and negative purposes, including hypnotism, which the author experienced. “That person robbed 70 rupees from me using hypnotism.”
  • Hypnotism Explained: The document explains that hypnotism is possible by harnessing the power of Tratak and is more easily applied to someone who has a weaker mind. The text explains: “The hypnotist is a person of strong mind. The person on whom hypnotism is to be applied is of weaker mind.”
  • Countering Hypnotism: The text suggests techniques for counteracting hypnotism. “After some time, assert in mind, ―I am completely free, my mind cannot be under anybody‘s authority‖. You will start to feel lightness on doing so repeatedly.”
  1. Tratak and the Control of Lust:
  • Lust as a Dominant Samskara: The text identifies the samskara of sexual desire as particularly powerful and difficult to overcome. “When the saṃskāras of such type come out of the chitta to be enjoyed, then the other three types of saṃskāras become inconsequential.”
  • Control through Tratak and Other Practices: Tratak, alongside pranayama, vegetarian diet, and Uddiyana Bandha, is recommended for mitigating lustful thoughts.
  • Shaktipata and Lust: It’s suggested that advanced practitioners can use shaktipata to temporarily suppress lustful thoughts in others.
  1. Importance of Celibacy:
  • Brahmacharya: Brahmacharya (celibacy) is presented as crucial for developing a strong will, and a strong will enhances any yoga practice, including tratak. “The seeker is required to observe brahmacharya (celibacy), because the determination of the celibate is very powerful.”
  • Inner Eye: It is mentioned that in the subtle body there exists a “third eye,” the divya drishti, which is a “single straight vertical eye.” Celibacy is implied as a means to activate this vision.
  1. The Path to Samadhi and Liberation
  • Importance of Samadhi: The document states that samadhi is the highest state attainable by the practitioner of yoga, and is a way to achieve yogabala (yogic power). The text notes: “The seeker should practise samādhi to attain yogabala.”
  • Types of Samadhi: It describes two types of samadhi: Sabija Samadhi (with a seed) and Nirbija Samadhi (seedless), highlighting the process of deepening meditation.
  • Liberation: Through the path of yoga, including practices such as Tratak, it is possible to be freed of the bondage of ignorance and be liberated, even while alive.
  • Importance of Yoga: The document notes that, unlike Tratak on its own, it is the practice of all yoga that truly develops the practitioner from the grossest elements to the subtlest, up to the chitta itself. “The purity from gross to chitta can‘t be achieved only through the practice of trāṭak, rather practice of yoga is essential for this.”

Key Takeaways:

  • Tratak is not merely an eye exercise but a profound practice for mind control and spiritual growth.
  • Understanding the chitta, vrittis, karmashayas, and the interplay of the five elements and three gunas is crucial for grasping the true potential of Tratak.
  • Tratak can be a powerful tool for purification, self-discovery, and spiritual advancement, but it requires proper guidance, discipline, and ethical practice.
  • The practice of Tratak should ideally be done in conjunction with other practices of yoga, with the ultimate goal of Samadhi and liberation.
  • The author cautions that even with proficiency in tratak, siddhis (powers) may not manifest without appropriate karmic alignment.

Conclusion:

“Tratak_English.pdf” presents Tratak as an integral part of the yogic path, offering a framework to understand the mind’s workings and achieve a higher state of awareness. The document emphasizes the need for dedication, ethical conduct, and a holistic approach to yoga to realize the true benefits of this potent practice. The document also stresses that Tratak can be misused, especially for purposes such as hypnotism, so proper understanding of these implications is necessary.

The source provides practical instructions and exercises for practicing Trāṭak, and they are summarized below:

Trāṭak on Dot

  • Practice should be followed on the dot first.
  • Practice in the morning, afternoon, evening or at night, but not immediately after having a meal.
  • Ensure there is no disease in the eyes.
  • Use a white chart paper, blue sketch pen, transparent tape and a scissor.
  • The room where practice is done should be clean and quiet with proper lighting.
  • Paste the chart paper on the wall, just two feet above the floor.
  • Make a dot of diameter two millimetres in the middle part of the chart paper with the blue sketch pen.
  • The distance of the Asana from the chart should be one or one and a quarter meters.
  • The dot and your eyes should be in the parallel direction so that the practitioner need not look either upward or downwards to see the dot.
  • Sit in Sahajāsana (comfortable posture) to do practise.
  • Keep the eyes closed and wipe the tears of your eyes slowly with that soft cloth which you have kept aside.
  • The practice of trāṭak should be done twice a day in the beginning.
  • While doing practice of trāṭak, no thoughts of any kind should be brought into your mind and even no mantras should be chanted.

Trāṭak on Portrait of Deity

  • Those practitioners who are the followers of devotional path may practise trāṭak on their tutelary deity, if they wish to do so.
  • When you will practise on the image of a deity, the effect of different types of colours present on that image is there.
  • Wipe the tears of the eyes slowly with soft thickened folded cloth which you have kept aside.
  • When the practitioner is sitting with his eyes closed, he should try to mentally visualize the face of god.

Trāṭak on Flame

  • When the practitioner has mastered the practise on dot for an hour, start practising trāṭak on the lamp’s flame.
  • While practising on the flame, keep it in mind that practise should be followed on such type of flame that it is not emitting smoke.
  • Practice of trāṭak on the flame should always be done in a closed room, so that there is no effect of gust of wind at the time of practise.
  • The height of the lamp’s flame should be parallel to the eyes, just same as was at the time of practising on the dot.
  • While doing practise on the flame, the important thing is that the seeker should stare at the tip of the flame or the upper end of the flame.
  • After a while, the seeker will begin to feel slight heat in his eyes.
  • Now he should close his eyes and sit quietly, do not try to open eyes immediately.

Trāṭak on Mirror

  • The practice of trāṭak on the mirror is very necessary for the seeker.
  • Practise on the mirror is followed in a closed room.
  • Take a big mirror, hang it on the wall.
  • Hang it so high on the wall that when you sit on the asana, his face should be seen in the centre of the mirror.
  • The light inside the room should be such that it should not be thrown directly on the mirror.
  • While doing trāṭak on the mirror, do not be afraid and do not even panic.
  • Stare at it neutral.

Trāṭak on Tree

  • After practising trāṭak on the mirror, the seeker should practise it on the tree.
  • To practise trāṭak on the tree, he will have to go out of the village or of the city, only then practise can be done.
  • While doing practise, he does not have to run his vision on any other part of the tree.

Trāṭak on the Moon and Stars

  • The seekers should also practise on the moon.
  • It is necessary to have dark night to practise trāṭak on the stars.
  • Practise on the moon can only be followed when more than half of the Moon is visible in the sky.
  • The seeker can practise trāṭak on the moon according to his will either by sitting on the roof of his house or by sitting in the room.

Trāṭak on the Sun

  • Even the evening time (slight before the sun sets) is also appropriate for the practice of trāṭak on the sun, because the brighter light is not emanated at the time of rising of the sun in the morning.
  • Practise should be followed only in a lower light.
  • Practise should never be followed in the brighter light of the sun, because there is a risk of getting the eyesight weakened in such a state.
  • When the sun is rising above up and its light gets brighter, it is good to practise trāṭak through the light coming from the window of the room of the seeker.
  • As the sun begins to rise, the seeker should concentrate his vision on the sun at that very moment.
  • You should definitely keep a soft folded cloth beside you, as earlier, at the time of practising trāṭak on the sun.
  • When you start to practise trāṭak on the sun, practise it only for about 15-20 minutes.

Theurgy by Mouni Sadhu: Review and Overview

The following text is based on the book TheurgyThe Art of Effective Worship, written by Mouni Sadhu, and published by Aeon Books

 

Overall Theme:

The book explores the principles and practices of Theurgy, presented as a method of connecting with the divine and influencing the world through worship, meditation, prayer, and ritual. It emphasizes personal transformation as a prerequisite for effective theurgy, and provides a wide range of prayers and blessings for various purposes. The text frequently reiterates the omnipotence and all-encompassing nature of God, as well as humanity’s potential for spiritual growth and connection with the divine.

Key Ideas and Facts:

  • The Nature of God: God is portrayed as immense, all-penetrating, omniscient, omnipotent, perfectly just, good, and love.
  • “From this attribute of immenseness about which you will meditate, it is easy to derive ALL the others which are usually ascribed to the divinity.”
  • “Omnipotent God, good God, Who fills and governs the immensity of worlds created by Thee…”
  • The Importance of Inner Transformation: The document emphasizes that changing the world begins with changing oneself. The realization of God’s will starts within each individual.
  • “The mystery arising from the problem as to why His will is not realized here and now, is not as unanswerable as it seems. However, the answer lies inside and not outside us and this is the cardinal thing which you have to recognize, if you really want to ‘know’.”
  • “You are in the world-you are the world.’ Now, why does not everyone of us, who are the components of the world, arrange the kingdom of God within him-or herself? Why are we not absolutely good, wise, just, and so on? That is WHY the world is also not perfect. The true answer lies within you, and nothing will change this fact.”
  • The Role of Meditation: Meditation is presented as a crucial tool for understanding the nature of God and one’s relationship to the divine. It involves contemplating God’s attributes and recognizing the presence of divine consciousness within oneself.
  • “Meditate about the idea of Him being all-penetrating. Also turn your attention to yourself, your mind, feelings and finally, your body. See that all of these are penetrated by the conscious­ ness of the ONE.”
  • The Power of Prayer: The document includes numerous prayers for different needs, including protection, healing, forgiveness, and guidance. The prayers often invoke God’s power and mercy, and seek assistance from saints and angels.
  • “0 Lord, grant me the power of resistance, patience in suffer­ ing, firmness in endurance, ardour for Thy spirit and love for Thy name.”
  • “Omnipotent God, good God, Who fills and governs the immensity of worlds created by Thee, may Thy Holy Name be glorified and Thy will fulfilled, so that everything which has received Thy immortal breath of life, will respect and follow Thy Holy Law.”
  • Blessings and Exorcisms: A significant portion of the text provides detailed instructions for blessing various objects (water, salt, oil, bread, etc.) and spaces. These blessings are intended to purify and protect against evil influences. The act of blessing often involves exorcising the object or space in the name of God.
  • “I exorcise thee, creature of water, + in the name of God the Father, omnipotent, in the name of Jesus Christ + Thy Son and our Lord, and through the virtue of the + Holy Ghost, in order that thou become exorcised and blessed water…”
  • Invocation of Spirits: The document includes invocations to the spirits of fire (Salamanders), water (Ondines), earth (Gnomes), and air (Sylphs). These invocations are presented as a way to seek assistance from these entities in specific situations.
  • “0 immortal, eternal, uncreated, father of everything, who flies in the ever-rolling chariot of worlds, which always revolve! Dominator of ethereal immensities… hear thy children, whom thou hast loved since the birth of the ages!” (Invocation of the Spirits of Fire)
  • Combating Evil and Temptation: The text acknowledges the existence of evil forces and provides guidance on how to resist temptation and protect oneself from demonic influence.
  • “Therefore first carefully meditate on all parts of the Psalm that follows, for the purpose of self-examination, and then decide whether or not you can beseech the highest power to protect you”
  • “And these signs shall follow them that believe: In my name they shall cast out devils: they shall speak with new tongues.” (Referencing St. Mark)
  • Personal Responsibility and Free Will: The document implicitly asserts the importance of personal accountability and exercising free will in aligning oneself with divine principles.
  • “What chance have you of improving others while you your­ self are merged in iniquities? Every vice is nonsensical when seen through the eyes of truth.”
  • Mystical Practices: It alludes to the presence of “mystical attitude[s]” that should be adopted, as these “invariably bring peace and protection from the Highest”. These include blessing and thanking God during both favorable and unfavorable situations.
  • “When anything favourable, pleasant, or good happens to them, they invariably say from the depths of their souls: ‘It was only because of God’s grace: blessed be His name for­ ever I ‘ When they experience the reverse, that is, bad luck, or a loss, they say: ‘God gave, God took away. Blessed be the Lord’s name forever.'”

Target Audience:

The text appears to be aimed at individuals interested in exploring Theurgy as a practical spiritual path. It assumes a belief in God and the potential for human connection with the divine, while also providing detailed instructions for those seeking to incorporate theurgic practices into their lives.

FAQ on Theurgy

  • What is the core principle of Theurgy, and how does it relate to the concept of God? The core principle of Theurgy is realizing God’s will both on Earth and within oneself. The text emphasizes that God is omnipotent, and nothing can resist His will. The mystery lies not in God’s ability to enact His will but in humanity’s failure to align with it. The key to resolving this issue lies within each individual, striving for goodness, wisdom, and justice to mirror God’s qualities, emphasizing the idea that “You are in the world – you are the world”. Regarding the concept of God, Theurgy views God as immense, all-penetrating consciousness that includes all virtues. This being is omniscient, omnipotent, perfectly just, good, and is love.
  • How does the text describe the practice of meditation in Theurgy, and what benefits are expected from it? Meditation is a key practice. It involves contemplating God’s immenseness and all-penetrating nature. Practitioners should turn attention to themselves, and see that their minds, feelings, and bodies are all penetrated by God’s consciousness. Benefits include developing faith and hope, realizing the connection between the individual and the divine, and ultimately, enlightenment. It also describes a process of repeating “Oh Lord, Lord, Lord…” until one merges into the very word itself. In this merging, automatic, rhythmical breathing will take hold and the practitioner will feel a deep blissful peace.
  • What is the significance of prayer in Theurgy, and what are some examples of prayers provided in the text? Prayer is a critical component for direct engagement with the Divine. It serves as a means to petition for assistance, protection, forgiveness, and spiritual growth. Prayers in the text include requests for resistance, patience, love for God, enlightenment, and the ability to resist evil influences. There are prayers for use before any activity or enterprise. There are also prayers asking for consolation, wisdom, relief from poverty, and various other blessings, depending on the situation one finds themself in.
  • How does the text address the problem of evil and suffering in the world, and what role does forgiveness play? The text connects evil and suffering to the imperfections within individuals, who, being components of the world, prevent it from achieving perfection. It also suggests that suffering can be a result of destiny created over aeons of existence. Forgiveness is essential, both seeking it from God for one’s own debts and extending it to others. This forgiveness is a pre-requisite for receiving God’s forgiveness.
  • What are the roles of the Spirits of Nature (Salamanders, Ondines, Gnomes, and Sylphs) in Theurgy, and how are they invoked? The Spirits of Nature are non-human beings associated with the elements of fire, water, earth, and air, respectively. Invocations are prayers dedicated to them, seeking their assistance under appropriate circumstances. For example, the invocation to the sylphs can be used for safety when flying, while the invocation to the salamanders can be used in danger from fire. Invoking them involves reciting specific prayers that acknowledge their dominion over their respective elements and request their aid.
  • The text details numerous blessings for various objects and situations. What is the purpose of these blessings, and what elements are common in their structure? These blessings seek divine intervention to protect, purify, and sanctify objects, people, and places. They aim to safeguard against evil influences, promote physical and spiritual well-being, and invoke God’s grace. Common elements include an invocation to God, an exorcism to remove evil influences, a prayer for specific benefits, and the sign of the cross.
  • How does the text present the concept of overcoming personal vices and temptations? The text identifies various vices, such as lust and excessive talking (“prating”), as obstacles to spiritual advancement. It emphasizes the importance of resisting these vices through self-awareness, prayer, and focusing on higher spiritual goals. Overcoming lust involves recognizing the impermanence of the physical body and focusing on the higher self. Overcoming excessive talking involves cultivating inner depth and guarding one’s thoughts.
  • What is the significance of “surrender” in Theurgy, particularly as one approaches the end of life? Surrender to God’s will is presented as the ultimate act of faith and acceptance, especially in the face of death. It involves relinquishing control and trusting in God’s justice and mercy. The text provides specific formulas for surrendering, including “Thy justice is done, O Lord, Hallowed be Thy Name forever!” and “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.” This surrender is portrayed as the best possible action in the last seconds of life, bringing peace and spiritual alignment.

Theurgic Practices

 

Concentration exercises: To improve concentration, the author suggests focusing on an empty matchbox, memorizing its form and details, and then trying to recreate a mental picture of it. This exercise involves visualizing the outside and inside of the box, and later, including matches inside the box.

Breathing exercises (Pranayama): The text references Chapter XV of Concentration for a full description of pranayama.

Eye position during meditation/prayer: When meditating or praying with closed eyes, turn the eyeballs upwards as high as possible and keep them in that position. Some theurgic groups find this indispensable for their work.

Using Formula I: Every operation must start with a turning to the Supreme Lord, followed by the basic request. Formula I is: “BLESSED BE THOU, O LORD, ENLIGHTEN ME THROUGH THY INITIATION”. Beginners should repeat it many times beforehand and learn to feel its meaning deeply.

Studying the prayer of St. Ephraem the Syrian (Formula II): The operator should choose a suitable time when they won’t be disturbed and study the prayer of St. Ephraem the Syrian (see Formula II in Chapter XV–Action for Liberation from Inner Troubles) so that when they have occasion to use it, no uncertainty or forgetfulness will stand in their way. Items in Chapter XV must be worked right through and the formula written down on a separate piece of paper if it is not convenient to use the book during an operation.

Additional Guidelines for Theurgic Activities

 

Timing: Never act immediately after meals.

Hygiene: Observe standard rules of hygiene before every theurgic invocation or prayer.

Clothing: Before every major operation, the leader should don fresh clothing and avoid wearing metal or money.

Fasting: Tradition recommends at least six hours of absolute fasting beforehand for a major personal or group invocation.

Forgiveness: Mentally and emotionally forgive all ‘real’ and supposed enemies before you engage yourself in prayer for yourself or others.

Texts: The texts for every operation and worship may be copied from the book in writing or typed on separate pieces of paper.

Emergency Prayers: The book provides various emergency prayers, emphasizing the need for utmost concentration and solemnity while repeating them until the emergency passes or until a more suitable formula is identified.