Artwork by Peter Pracownik Techniques for Meditation General Techniques Crystal Countdown The Apple Meditation High Ceremonial Magick General Techniques This is good general information if you are just starting to learn how to relax into a meditative state: 1) Lie comfortably. but not as for ordinary sleep. 2) Select a spot or crack on the ceiling, a little above your normal level of sight. Stare at the spot, without blinking. Focus and make this the visible world, let your attention flow between you and this spot. But at the same time śremind you body what it feels like to go to sleep. Allow your eyes to feel this wish for sleepy closing, but do not allow them to close. 3) Continue to remind your body of how it feels to sleep and let the feeling to increase until they cannot remain open any longer. 4) Now attend to you big toe on the left foot. Do not move it, just know that it is there. Then turn your attention to the other big toe. Allow the this gently focused awareness to spread to your other toes,etc... Be aware of warmth and the heaviness, too. 5) Allow the warmth and heaviness to spread inward, feel the bones, relaxing and melting to the touch. Let the warmth and relaxation move to your ankles, the shins, the calves, to the knees, etc... Keep going until you reach your head. Let the soothing warmth drain away all the tension to the Earth. 6) Now focus on your breathing. Watch it come and go slowly of its own accord. 7) Only pay more attention to the outward breaths. The relaxation deepens more with each one. Now imagine that you are breathing out an inch or two below your navel. You may feel warmth or tingling there as you do so. Allow any thoughts or dreams to come, look at them, let them go, and return to your breath. Let your outbreath go further each time you exhale. Stay in this pleasant place for as long as you want. 8) When you are ready, imagine you are a diver, ready to return by your own buoyancy from a great depth to the light above. Count backwards from twenty as you come up from those depths, pausing to occasionally to remember, and think that your eyes will open as you reach the number one. 9) Open your eyes, and move very gently, carefully at first. Think about what has happened. Take notes very gently. Keep a journal of both waking and sleeping events, Day One is the first day of your moon. In addition to the written record devote one page to be a monthly calender. Mark the dates in a circle, like a clock, with Day One in the 12 o'clock position. Write in the phases of the moon, temperature and types of dreams: violent, passive, mysterious, sexy, etc... If you do not like the clock method you can make a flat chart and do the same things. Simple relaxation is the key. The best time to start the relaxation exercise is during the first quarter of your cycle, after your moon is over. Crystal Countdown 1. Find a quiet place, cast a magick circle, put on your talisman of protection, sit down and get comfortable. Close your eyes and spend a few minute or two breathing deeply and relaxing. 2. When you feel centered, keep your eyes close and use your third eye to visualize an empty screen about one foot in front of you and just above your eyelids. The screen actually encases your head like a helmet, but most folks can only see the images on the front portion. You may notice your eyes fluttering bit, they may even roll upwards, to help you better see the screen. Take this time to learn to stop this reflex and train yourself to use your mind's eye, not your physical ones. 3. Next see a red number 7 on the screen. If this is too difficult try just seeing a red screen. If you you are having a hard time seeing color on the screen, think of an object that is the same color as that which you are trying to see. Practice this until you are able to color the screen. In time you will also be able to see a number 7, and eventually a red number 7. 4. When you see the red 7, hold it there for a moment and, then, release it. Next, work you way downward through the full spectrum of colors: an orange 6, yellow 5, green 4, blue 3, indigo 2, and violet 1. Because the indigo 2 is actually a color that resonates at a lower level than you need, you will probably feel your awareness shift slightly when the violet 1 appears. 5. Orchid should naturally follow the violet 1. Once you have settled into this color, count down from 10 to 1, without colors, to deepen the alpha state. Then mentally say to yourself, with conviction, "I am now in alpha and everything that I do will be accurate and correct, and this is so." 6. Proceed with whatever it is you wish to do in this state: meditate, astral travel, etc. When you are ready to leave alpha, erase what is on the screen with your hads. Then, while still in alpha, give yourself total health clearance in this manner: place you hand about 6 inches above your head, palm down. Then, in one smooth and continuous motion, bring your hand down in front of your face, chest, and stomach while turning your palm outward and pushing away from your body. Say to yourself, "I am helaing myself and giving myself total health clearance." This must be done evertime you prepare to come out of alpha. By doing this you clear away any harmful energies that may be present, and you will project an image of yourself that is healthy and strong. Next, count slowly from 1 to 10 and then from 1 to 7, without colors. As you count, slowly open your eyes and gradually realize your presence in the room. Top of page The Apple Meditation To help you practice the Crystal Countdown: Countdown into alpha. When you’re firmly grounded see the screen and bring up onto it an apple. Bring the apple clearly into view, look at it carefully, notice its shape, size, color, the stem, the leaves, smudges, bruises, wormholes. Then reach up with your hands (slightly above your eyebrows in front of you) and feel the apple with your index and middle fingers. These fingertips contain acupressure points that activate the 3rd Eye. The tip of the index finger is for “seeing” and “reading.” The middle finger is for memorization and recall. So feel the apple’s shape, note its temperature, texture, and degree of firmness. Next, visualize the apple cut in ˝. Examine it closer. See the pentacle of seeds. When you’ve finished keep your eyes closed and with your hands erase the apple from the screen. Then count yourself up, give yourself total health clearance, and open your eyes. Top of page High Ceremonial Magick Step One: Perform The Relaxation Ritual and the LBRP. Step Two: Shuffle the Major Arcana (excluding numbers VI, VII, X, XIII, and XV, if you are still within your first 6 wks of performing The Tarot Contemplation Ritual) and select one at random. Step Three: If needed, repeat The Relaxation Ritual. Step Four – Scanning: Begin by looking at the upper right hand corner of the card you drew and move your vision from right to left across the top half of the card. Once you feel you have the image in your mind, scan the lower half of the card in the same manner. Step Five – Contemplation: Place the card face down in front of you. Pulling from memory, go through and scan the card, one strip at a time, onto the screen of your 3rd Eye. Don’t worry about perfection, you’ll remember more with practice. Do be sure to do the very best you can, however. This should take about 3 to 4 minutes, or longer, if you wish. Step Six – Negation: Again, beginning in the upper right corner of the card, erase the image one half at a time, in the same manner in which you scanned it onto your screen. This should only take about 1 ˝ to 3 minutes, max. Step Seven – The State of True Meditation: At this point your consciousness, which has been caught up in the act of negation, will also be “gone” by the time that the card has disappeared. At first this silence may last only an instant, however, practice will make it last for longer periods of time. When your Inner Voice interrupts, it’s over. Top of page Angels The Land of Fae