Most people confuse the astral body with the magickal personality, like an alter ego or superhero, which is a higher construct, and more solar. The sun sign in pop astrology is associated with the outward projection of personality. Which I will not focus on at this time.
The astral body is associated with a lower self, this does not mean inferior, but closer to earth as lunar, the unconscious or subconscious, emotions, passion, sexuality, nature, and physicality. The back of the head which touches the pillow in sleep.
I have an open mind but I am over 90 percent sure that shapeshifting is done astrally, in the magick moon realm closely overlaid on earth, and not into a physical animal body by a human. It can be used,"sent" for spying or attack such as with the secret societies. It can be a very useful tool of defense or offense in dream warfare. People who live in areas where they grew up and the concept is socially acceptable are more aware of this and may see them (animals or animal people and spirits) with second sight (called ve or vision) when awake. The loup garou, loupgarou or rougarou was taken from european lycanthropy werewolf lore. But there was similar practices with other animals in africa such as with the Abakua leopard society, which followed to Cuba.
In tribes, they usually focused on one or a few local symbiotic animals for this purpose, and were emotionally linked, such as a cultural/racial or part of ancestral oversoul. Bear cults have localized differences such as native american medicine versus celtic or norse shamanistic based societies. Fetish could be made, as well as other links to our energy matrix to a specific animal, whether it be a wolf, bear or bird. Ingestion of the animal parts in different ways into our body, and the wearing of skins/fur, hat, or mask. So much so that a person begins to transform: self identify, sympathize, with the chosen animal. An initiation into the specified mysteries would take place to fortify this link.
In the african diasporic, and espiritismo practices, water is kept in a clear glass near the head of the bed, and/or under prepared to refresh the consciousness, and filter negative energies for the dream journey. A spiritual and mundane bath is usually done before bed in preparation. Other preparations are done to prepare oneself to have the spiritual sight, vision quest, and dreaming. Some of this is detailed by a Haitian Mambo in the book "Nan Domi", translated as under sleep. In Tata Oriate's book he details some of the methods that can also be used such as training the eyes and eye washes.
There are warded "real"astral places such as temples, aeries, dens or caves where like peoples congregate, and visited in ritual as well as the dreamtime.
Birds are associated with spirit in terms of soul flight and the parts of the soul in egyptian terms of the ka and ba. As well as with mercurial magic, winged feet and Hermes/Mercury/Thoth messengers, with both parts of the brain it is metaphoric. But we need not to be part of a bird cult to travel spiritually. The ideas of winged angels images and flowing cloth came from greek art and gods such as Eros who mated with Psyche.
Animal shapeshifting, and those with magic power were feared, and then demonized. Vampires and skin walkers became associated as to drain a persons energy, cannibalism, and to cause illness. A nocturnal bat is a vampire by some species, associated with caves, and is night flying. The more modern witches familiar such as a cat are domesticated, sensitive, intelligent, and can see into the dark, see spirits and into the other worlds.
In makaya and Haitian secret sosyetes and related to the congo Simbis magician snake Lwa and petro Lwa, shape shifting is their domain. There are tales of conjure horses and werebears, related to the cymbees in South Carolina and Lousiana. Some say the Taino, first people of Puerto Rico and Hispanola, as well as perhaps parts of Florida, as Arawak speaking indians, had this related to their animistic spirits the Z/Cemis.
Highly eclectic author and olorisha Luisah Teish states that there is a 9 part soul system to the egyptians and ?pan/africans in her book: carnival seasonal celebration of the spirit. I do know 9 is associated with not only the dead and ancestors, but the moon, as well as the 8 "gods" neter or ogdoad personalities of the occultist and psychologist Jung and .....god makes the 9th.The norse have 9 realms to their world tree. The hebrews world tree has 9 realms, earth, and the non-realm shadow, umbra of pluto/daath.
The Cherokee have a 3 world system of the upper world of higher spirits, middle world of our earth and tricksters, and lower realm of ancestors and the dead. I am not very familiar with their culture, but have journeyed this way. An animal guide is different for each realm, who you follow one place to the next. The animal for the middle realm is the spirit guide or totem that most refer to. They must be retrieved and then given in a certain way to a person by another to create the link.
There is a need to remember in your dream that you can be an animal.This may seem simple, but means you must have some lucidity, or reflex. Again this link is also reinforced.
Can an astral body have physical effects in this world?, most certainly as magick can and is not all in the mind, and in rare cases ghosts have left scratch marks.
It just will in most cases when effective, have the desired effect, but be more subtle.
What we need is to will it to be so, but not to strain or concentrate, but to believe it to be so. Put the idea out there that your lucid dream or projection will happen later this week. Astral travel or projection can be spontaneous, or even assisted by higher spirits, and conscious, but more so when our brain is at rest and when we are not resisting nor forcing. Becoming ridden by the spirits or coming out of our body requires a sort of obliteration or detachment from the physical, which happens in death or loosened in dreaming. In physical mediumship when ridden, our Ti Bon Ange wanders and the Lwa takes the drivers seat. But to clarify I do not believe in killing the ego, that it is possible or beneficial for most or needed even, but a temporary ego death of letting go. To be other or outside our normal self and body. When we are conscious of projection, over-excitement or fear can send us right back into our physical body.
In the beginning there are entities who have vested interest in poaching or keeping you ignorant and scaring you back into reality. Eventually this will not happen for the most part as you become less afraid of your mortality and more proficient in warfare (it helps to have a proficient teacher) and existing in this dream realm. You won't be an easy target or worth it as much to trifle with later. Black lodges would teach projection before defense or when the initiate was not ready to discourage them, keep dependency or predatorily suck their energy.
As you increase your light, you will invite curiosity and the desperate. I cannot teach warfare here, but play with the idea of meditations of armor and swords etc upon yourself before sleep. Pray to your higher spirits, god, ancestors and spirit guides to visit you (reunion) and protect you in your sleep. Allan Kardec has a spiritualist prayer for reunion before sleep in his book of collected prayers. Keep yourself, behavior, and your environment clean.
To get rest, you can wrap your head in white and take a peaceful spiritual bath before bed. You can put camphor in your waterglass under the bed, and use cascarilla upon the clean bed sheets. A sword or machete can be properly consecrated in the home to a certain Lwa or spirit for protection, that object has an energetic or astral existence.
I have tried many dreaming techniques, and one of my strongest abilities is lucid dreaming. This has much worth as spirits teach, as well as can meet you and confirm information. A lucid dream can spark a projection, is close, but is not the same thing.
I have always had psychic dreams, vivd, and shared dreams. I wonder if I am this way due to my small percentage of australian aboriginal genetics. They would see a specific type of animal medicine as dream path in an unmanifest creative thought zone, the dreamtime, in which a person exists before, during life, and after death.The patterns then can manifest in the earth world. A place where you can meet the dead, and spirits, but not usually deities.
I certainly have developed the talent besides. And I have tried many unsuccessful techniques which may work for someone else such as rocking, rope pulling, ladder, dream pillows, etc
1. What I will say is that you do need an energy source to fuel the vehicle. (related to the tarot card, the chariot). Enough physical vitality and cultivated life force energy for the practice when awake, which there are many ways to do this, to store it in the body, and associated with the sun. The astral body is passive in the energy consumption, but will prolong the awareness and the seeming distance, as well as effectiveness of your actions in this state. We don't actually go anywhere, but breach time and space limitations of this earth realm via conciousness. You can get energy by many methods as said such as chi in qigong, solar breathing, sun salutations, etc.
2. Secondly ye olde dream journal. Spirits won't give you more info if you do not act on it or at least record it. It is a waste of their effort, time and energy for your curiosity. This will also assist you with recall and assessing what this means in your life in terms of prophecy and spirituality. Write it on waking or you will forget later. I actually remember 95% of all my dreams.
It might help to record information like a ritual journal, look for patterns, for the conditions to be right, such as moon phase (affecting women especially), astrology if known, time, day/date, anything out of the ordinary in emotional or physical state.
Do post "dream" research on the information given to provide logical foundation to what can be illusion. You may be given words in other languages, information on places, or mathematics that you would have not otherwise known. Many priests specialize in dream interpretation. Dream dictionaries and books are worthless pretty much, but learning about certain cultures around, and aspects of an animal and animal is worthwhile. For example a wolf might have big eyes and ears for sight and hearing. Big teeth and claws as weapons. Different cultures may have different meanings to an animal.
3. Back to bed method as called W.I.L.D or wake induced lucid dreaming. When you have the luxury of going back to sleep in the morning is the optimal condition. Your mind is rested and processed daily junk, your body is relaxed, yet your mind is somewhat alert. Some people set an alarm, turn it off then go back to sleep.
4. meditation induced lucid dreaming or M.I.L.D. I have found pathworking, or meditation with a scenario or script with desired, and like energetic correspondences and elements such as archetypes, symbols, colors, smells and place. Meditation is not the zen of nothingness, that was taught for focus and discipline. And all the better if you fall asleep into this script where the mind keeps journeying. There are many tapes and books for this, my favorite are tarot based by Doloros Nowicki such as the inner landscape and the shining paths. You will be able to memorize the script, but I can read and journey at the same time. Later these motifs may show up during your regular sleeping.
Many create an "imaginary" sacred space and travel using the world tree glyph in tree meditations. Through the darkness a darker place is found, sometimes at the base of a tree, other times a door. This leads down to a "cave" then usually up to a place of nature, where you can create what you may. In time this place may change or expand. This is an important spiritual meeting place for your guides. Although others that I have guided have ended up on a rainbow bridge which is a bit higher up. I do not want to describe more to unintentionally form your space and journey for you.
5 changing spatial awareness or focus away from the body. There are many techniques to do this such as moving your mind around to different parts of the body, to moving the awareness to a corner of your room then back. Picture yourself walking to the door out of your body around your living space to outside. The closer you stand to your body or look back you will tend to get sucked back to your body and normal awareness.
6 Imagination and creativity
The problem of movies and tv and not reading enough fiction, is that your mind is unable to create visual images. Imagining an object with all our senses and turn it over. Read a fiction book and imagine a character as they are described, the sensations, the surroundings, and our minds are built to want to fill in the blanks. The filling in the blanks can be spiritually inspired information. The filling in the blanks is what happens during pathworking. Having a creative hobby such as art or writing, even culinary arts, can help with the transmission of inspiration, or subtle spiritual communication. As adults we have lost our childlike sense of play, which is magickal. Playing out a situation of scenarios or possibilities, and our reactions, or play acting can find solutions, even if not immediately apparent, can play out in the dream realm and decrease fear. We can then manifest the outcome we desire.
7. Supplements
Some people report they have funky dreams when they eat certain foods late at night such as certain cheeses. Food is medicine and can affect our brain waves, REM, and sleep cycle, such as neurotransmitters from amino acids like serotonin from amino acids like the turkey protein tryptophan. Tryptophan is a tryptomine like DMT, the psychedelic spirit molecule of ayahuasca. I take tryptophan as a mood enhancer and sleep aide before bedtime. Some report a mixture also with GABA and melatonin helps. I do not take melatonin because it is ineffective for insomnia for me. This should not be a crutch but an aide. I have tried other herbs such as calea mexican dream herb, very mild, and african dream root, deliriant, both legal, but not very effective for me.
In time after the foundation is built, you will naturally sleep, journey and have regular spiritual dreamtime experiences, and not need to do these techniques, except pathworking, it is so fun and illuminating for me.
Row, row, row your boat, (vehicle upon the astral waters)
gently down the stream
merrily merrily merrily, merrily, (Mary, the star of the sea)(row, row, Yemoja)
life is but a dream.
(or the world a stage where we are merely players)
S7X
No comments:
Post a Comment