Visualization Exercise: Memory Sprints (long version)

[read the tl;dr version here]

“Memory sprints” is the term I use to describe this exercise which involves intense focus for short periods of time. It is used for increasing detail and focus in the astral and during spirit communication. This exercise involves no actual magic and therefore does not require protection.

1. Identify some objects around you to practice on.

To begin with choose very simple objects like an apple, cigarette, or empty jar. Later on choose more and more complex objects such as bicycles, computers, an unlocked cellphone, animals, and humans.

2. Try to clearly remember one of the objects. Spend as much time as you like filling in your memory with details. Sketching an object in detail is a great way to do this.

Try to remember all aspects of the object, such as detail, texture, size, and shape. Sketching is a useful tool because then you can literally just compare your version to reality.

For a challenge later on, begin limiting this remembering time. First start timing how long this usually takes, then taking 5 or 10 seconds off that time.

If you choose not to sketch, try remembering all details of the object including if applicable taste, scent, what it feels like to touch, etc.

3. When you are ready, look at the real object and fill in all the gaps in your memory. Focus intensely on the object and memorize every detail.

At this stage, to make your exercise the most efficient learning exercise possible, analyze what went down. What parts of objects do you usually forget? Detail? Form? Do you struggle more with mechanical objects or organic objects? Paying attention to your own memories will help you learn what areas to focus in.

A very common inclusion in this exercise is to limit the viewing portion to a set amount of time, such as 30, 15, or 10 seconds. I have much more fun spending 1-3 minutes focusing on an object and studying it, so do not feel the need to limit yourself to short periods of time. However if you are looking for something more advanced you might like it!

4. Set the object aside and once again try to clearly remember/sketch it. See how much more accurately your drawing/memory has improved.

This is the main portion of the exercise, and the one where you can gauge your improvement. It doesn’t matter how clearly you remember an object the first time you drew it – what matters is how much you improved after a possibly limited viewing of an object.

Try this exercise with one or two objects around you, whenever you are bored. You can do this exercise any time you like! If you do not have a sketchpad ready, just try to use pure visualization and focus in detail.

Questions to ask your spirit friends

This post was written by Thicket, Rosemary, Tom, and Alexandria.

Questions for all spirits

How are you?

By what name may I call you, if you wish to give me one?

What offerings do you enjoy? How often do you need them? (This does not mean you must give offerings as often as a spirit requests. Do things on your own terms)

What is your true nature?

What laws do you obey?

Do you live near me?

Why did you answer my call today? (alternatively: Why are you here?)

How do you manifest to me? (Visions, sensations, light orbs, etc)

What do you like to do for fun? What are your pastimes?

What is your preferred method of communication? (Psychic, tarot, runes, other systems)

Is your spirit home comfortable?

Questions for guardians

Is there any danger to me at this time?

What is your normal method of protecting me? (Magic, brute force, cunning)

Are you able to do your job alone? (Be careful, some spirits may find this question to be insulting)

How may I assist you in keeping me safe?

Would you like a thoughtform to aid you in your task?

How are my wards and shields?

In what area are my defenses lacking?

Is there any pitfall or dangerous situation I am getting close to?

Who do I need to be careful of at this time?

Do you require any healing?

What problems can we take care of together?

Alexandria says: “What attacks are necessary at this time?”

Tom says: “Do not listen to Alexandria, be careful when engaging the enemy directly.”

Questions for guides

What form are you most comfortable in?

Tom and Alexandria say: “This is mostly for human curiosity and does not really matter.” Thicket disagrees; the form a creature can take can communicate very valuable information to the practitioner.

What do you think about the direction I am going in?

What paths are available to me right now?

Tom says: “Do not agonize over the future.” I think this is personal advice and not really a question.

What am I doing right now that could be dangeous?

What advice do you have for me? (Tom and Alexandria feel this is an excellent question)

What do you feel the outcomes are for this situation? Tom and Alexandria warn you to not be constrained by the limited futures a guide can show you.

How can I improve my life right now?

How can I aid you in your goals of guiding and directing me to a more secure life?

What is your goal for my life?

How long have you been with me? (Tom and Alexandria doubt the usefulness of this question, especially Tom. They communicate that this has no real bearing on a spirit’s ability to do it’s job – Thicket again disagrees)

What situations should I contact you about? (Serious, casual, everyday, rare)

Questions for helpers and servants

How are you able to assist me?

How am I able to assist you?

Are you able to carry out the tasks I have given you?

What is preventing you from carrying out these tasks, if anything?

What is your favorite task to complete?

What do you get out of helping me?

Do you require energy or recharging at this time?

What do you need in order to carry out your tasks?

Do you need a period of rest? Is it regularly required?

Have you discovered anything important that you need to share with me?

Questions for companions and friends

How are you feeling today?

Is everything comfortable for you?

Do you feel you are receiving enough attention from me lately?

Is there anything you would like to talk about?

Tell me about your day. (Tom especially likes this question; Alexandria is fond of it).

What can I get for you right now?

Are you pleased with your spirit home? Does it require upkeep?

What have you been up to lately?

Have any of your preferences changed? (Alexandria likes this question a lot)

What can I bring you as a special gift some time soon?

Is there any place you would like to travel to soon?

Am I doing anything lately that is bothering you?

How are you getting along with my spirit family?

Do you still enjoy the offerings you are receiving?

Other Notes

Some spirits appreciate being chattered to all day long, just like a close friend. Other spirits prefer to be contacted only when a serious matter arises, or even not at all. When greeting a new spirit, ask them how much they would like to communicate in general.

Do not directly ask for names. Names are serious business in the spirit world! Instead ask, “by what name may I call you,” indicating you are not searching for a true name. Tom feels that even these given names should be kept somewhat secret, and another nickname used to communicate about this spirit to humans. Alexandria somewhat agrees. Do not be offended or worried if a spirit refuses to give you any sort of name at all.

Do not confuse offerings with worship. Offerings are more like gifts – literally, you are just “offering” something to a spirit. A cup of coffee, a shot of liquor, some food, or even a nice glass of water makes a good gift. Just as you would offer snacks and beverages to any guest in your home, politely offer spirits something just to be a gracious host.

Avoid asking questions that give spirits leverage over you. “How do you feel about me?” is a question asked primarily by insecure people. Tom thinks this is harsh. Alexandria thinks this is correct. Some of these questions you may feel are somewhat unavoidable in companionship relationships. Let me encourage you to just be careful.

Tom wishes to leave a final note: “Always be careful. Spirits are not always what they seem.”

Double Entry Magic

This is a little joke about ‘double entry accounting’. In accounting, every transaction is recorded at least twice. I’m an accounting major, so sue me.

Just like double entry accounting, I believe every spell affects at least two things. Let me explain:

Every spell which is a conjuration also banishes something; every spell which is a banishment also conjures something. When you banish class, you conjure free time. When you conjure love, you banish loneliness. When you conjure wealth, you simultaneously banish poverty.

I think it is fitting that the proper part of the spell pays attention to that second effect, whether it be conjuration or banishing.

Suppose you have a candle that is meant to conjure money. Precede it with a candle that banishes poverty, leaving room for that wealth to grow. For a jar spell that conjures self-love, include a knot spell to bind self-loathing.

For every spell there is an equal and opposite reaction. As one thing grows, another shrinks. Anticipate what the opposite reaction will be, and include that in your workings.

Create a happy guardian friend to watch over you at night and shield you from nightmares. This is a fire-free spell but it requires a moderate amount of botanicals. During this process you may create a thought-form. If you don’t want that to happen, avoid personifying your guardian and just make a regular charm bag. Create a sigil that represents the bag and use it to control or destroy the thought-form.

Ingredients:

Prepare your charm bag. You can decorate it like a little person to watch over you if you want to. Consider adding sigils related to protection of sleep, or drawing/embroidering a sword and shield on to your bag. As you create the bag, give it instructions on how it should behave and what it is meant to do. The bag may be as large or small as you wish. If it is large enough it can function as a pillow. If it is small enough you can wear it as a pendant at night. Otherwise you can place it close by where it watches over you.

As you create the charm bag, be aware that you are creating an empty vessel which will be filled with the energy of herbs. The energy of the herbs will be blocked or focused depending on how you construct the magical bag.

When you are ready, gather your herbs. If you desire, take them under the moon. You must fill them with your personal energy and request assistance in guarding against nightmares. 

Fill the charm bag with your herbs. The amount of herbs you use, and in what combination, is up to you. Research the herbs and use your intuition; they will have different effects. 

Tie the charm bag tightly closed with final instructions. 

Gently holding the bag, sit quietly until you are aware that you are a part of nature. As a witch, you are a powerful force, both ruler and servant of the forest, and within you is the sacred breath of life. Breathe deeply, feeling the life-force of Nature fill your lungs. Then, gently exhale on your guardian, giving it life.

Place the guardian in it’s designated area. Recharge it often using personal energies, lest it become overwhelmed by nightmares and turn against you. 

If the guardian feels “bad” or “wrong” or “creepy” after you create it, untie the top of the bag and announce the guardian is destroyed. Separate the bag from the herbs. Throw the herbs away and destroy the bag (burn it or cut it in to tiny pieces). Throw it all away outside your home.

Miscellanea: Making charm bags

If you like, create a second guardian who’s job it is to draw in pleasant dreams.

Match Magic

Match magic is a versatile and easy sort of spellcrafting. Unfortunately, fire is a necessity so this is not for people who can’t light matches.

The basic concept of match magic is that the matchstick is charged with intent. Then, the match is burned to release the intent so the magic can go do its work. As the match burns, watch the flame to divine the success or manifestation of the spell.

1. Getting prepared

The only thing you really need are wooden matches. Lighters do not work for this particular kind of thing because the main focus is on charging and burning the wood, not the fire itself. I can find a box of 250 large wooden matches for a dollar here.

When you hold a lit match, the match cannot burn all the way down (or you will really burn your fingers!) This may lead you to feel like the entire spell has not been released. There are three solutions I have found and perhaps one will resonate with you depending on your beliefs:

If you choose, you may watch the match burn down in order to divine the success of the spell, or the path it will take during manifestation. The shape of the charcoal may also give you a clue as to the success of the magic. However, in order to read the omens in the flame, you should have a good understanding of what a regular, mundane match looks like when it burns. Get your box of matches and decide on a few things:

Ensure that you are wherever you are likely to do your match spells most often (it may be over an altar, or for me, my desk). Turn off any fans in the area, close windows, and generally reduce any drafts as much as possible.

When you have an idea of how you want the little ritual to go, light about ten uncharged matches in your working area and carefully observe how they burn. Note how high the flames tend to go, how quickly the flames move along the match, in what way the wood curls when it is burned, et cetera. Carefully save these burned matches (you could also take a photo) and use them as a control group to compare against your magical matches. You may or may not notice a distinct difference between how your plain matches compare with your magical ones; my magical matches tend to burn in a corkscrew shape and the flames often reach much higher.

2. Understanding the nature of match magic

Match magic is not a big kickass sort of spell. It can be powerful and forceful, but it is more like a paintball gun than a cannon. The wood itself can only hold so much energy, and the energy is released quickly instead of through a long, steady burn. This is really more like quick fix-it Band-aid magic than anything else. Here is what I have found match magic to be appropriate for:

Because the matches burn so quickly, they are also appropriate for on-the-go devotionals or to add quick power to an existing spell. Many of us will leave tea lights on an altar to empower something; if you cannot leave a tea light burning, charging and burning a match may be a sufficient substitution.

The fire in this spell is transformative; full of changes. It transforms our intent in to reality; it releases contained energy in to flowing energy; it converts one situation in to another.

3. Charging the matches

Do not bother using your own energy for this kind of spell; you can actually get the energy within the match quite dense, and you may end up draining yourself. Instead, call upon an external energy. If you ground with a root system, you can call upon the powers of the earth to work for you. If you can gather energy from the space around you, do that - you can also use energy stored in crystals, or whatever other method you typically use for raising spell-energy.

In this spell, your energy is the wheel, not the clay - call upon energy from something else and use your magical reservoir to shape it.

Before you begin, ensure you have a simple statement of intent. The statement is probably better off being positive instead of negative. Here are some examples:

POSITIVE:

NEGATIVE:

Hold a single match in your hand (marked with a pencil if that is how you prefer to do it). Call energy to you and direct it in to the match. At first the energy may be very thin and in a cloud around the matchstick. Compress the energy down until it is all contained within the wood. Draw up and compress more and more energy until you feel you have gotten enough. The matchstick may seem to be glowing very brightly, if you can ‘see’ energy, and if you can feel energy the matchstick may make your skin feel quite weird. Using your magical will, keep the energy within the matchstick contained. Simultaneously use your will to stamp your statement of intent in to the energy, forming it and molding it so it is programmed to your will. If you don’t get what I mean, just imagine that the matchstick is full of all this raw, smooth energy. Then mentally shout at it until you intuit that the energy is programmed.

After this, you may wish to do a sealing action (“so mote it be”). Then immediately light the match and hold it in the same way you did during your practice runs. Watch the match burn and see if you can determine how the spell will go. Blow the match out when it is time and keep or discard the charcoal and leftover wood however it feels right to you.

If you wish, call appropriate and relevant energies instead of just using whatever. Air energy is appropriate for focus and mindfulness, while Mars energy is appropriate for acts of aggression.

Because the spell is released with fire it will by nature be quick to take effect and quick to burn out. Keep that in mind while writing up your spells.

Basic Binding

Magical Spells & Exercises Masterpost

If you have ever seen The Craft, then you are already familiar with a good binding spell.

Ingredients:

Take a representation of the person you want to bind. This could be a photo of them, or a poppet with their hair. Or, it could be a card with their identifying information written down on it (use as much information as you have, such as full name, phone number, home address, work address, and so on. The more, the better).

Take some thread or ribbon. Black is good for bindings, but red is extra protective. Whatever color you have on hand will be just fine. Wrap the thread or ribbon around your representation of the person you wish to bind. Say or think a chant while you do this.

One chant could be,

Repeat this over and over until you have thoroughly wrapped the representation up in thread or ribbon. Then make a big, strong knot. As you tie the knot, say or think this:

Finish the spell with your normal seal.

Keep the spell until you want to end it. Or, throw it away in an outside trash can.

Hypothetical routine(s) and stuff for a baby witch to do

So a lot of people I think are feeling that once you become a witch you need to do lots of things, but they aren’t terribly sure what it is they are ‘supposed’ to do. Here are just a few little ideas for things you could do, if you wanted to.

During creative free time:

During research time:

During practice time:

During upkeep time:

After waking up for the day:

During snacks and meals:

Before going to bed for the day:

That was all I could think of. Add more if you think of some!

Collection of windvexer's old posts - pt.4

This is my attempt to recreate a somewhat complete collection of @oldwindvexer 's posts. All credits go to her.

Informative

Thank you <3

Collection of spiritvexer's answered asks

As the title says. All credits to @oldwindvexer.

General

Witch storage essentials → (how to use them)

Advice for spoonies

On guided meditation.

On skincare

On initiation

How spirituality can be abused

A good general protection

Astral travel

Astral travel vs simple imagination

Astral travel vs intense daydream

How to communicate with dragons

On bilocation

Spirit work

How medication may affect spirit work

On plant spirits

Spiritvexer's Faq project

This is an attempt to reconstruct @oldwindvexer 's original masterpost with existing reblog links. All credits go to her. 【This post is subject to edits as I find new questions】

Spell work

Spirit work

Precautions

Thoughforms

Basics

Astral travel

General spiritvexer's asks

General windvexer's asks

Windvexer's Masterpost for Protection

An attempt to reconstruct the original @oldwindvexer masterpost with existing reblogs. All credits go to her. 【Post subject to edits as I find new working links】

This is an attempt to reconstruct @windvexer's original masterpost with existing reblogs. All credits go to her.

Spells

Exercises

Thank you kindly, @thefool-on-thehill :) You're doing great work as a Tumblr historian.

(These were all written five or six years ago; some of my beliefs have changed since then, but I'm glad they are saved somewhere)

Limit your third eye

Magical Spells & Exercises Masterpost

It is not always desirable to have your third eye open. Try these 3 simple methods to close your magical eye.

String method: Take some black or white thread. Imagine the violet glow of your magical eye on your forehead. Tie a simple knot in the string. As you draw the knot closed, imagine the violet light dies down.

Try tying three, six, or nine knots in a row to fully close your third eye.

Hand method: Imagine the swirling purple vortex of light at your forehead. Think about how easy this eye would be to close, if only it had a little help. Place your palm on the top of your forehead and slide it downwards so it covers the vortex and ‘closes’ the magical eyelid. Say or think, “magical eye, be closed. Let me see no more.”

Try repeating this several times.

Binding water method: Create a special binding water and anoint yourself with it on your forehead. Take a container of purified water under the waning or dark moon. Pray over the water and ask the moon to help you bind psychic sight. If you wish, include a stone like jet or onyx in the water to amplify its powers. Leave the water under moonlight all night, and in the morning repeat your prayer before sealing the water with “so mote it be.” Make a cross of water over your forehead every day with a wish to limit your psychic vision.

I no longer support calling the psychic center the 'third eye' ^-^

Sealing

Magical Spells & Exercises Masterpost

Sealing spells is how you signify you are ‘done’. It is an important way to say, “we’re done with this, time to finish up.”

When you seal a spell, you ‘close up’ the energies. It is analogous to singing a piece of art, firing some clay in a kiln, or casting off your knitting. It ends the working you are doing and allows the spell or energies to begin doing their job.

A popular method of sealing a spell is to say, “so mote it be” over your spell. Other methods include clapping your hands, snapping your fingers, ringing a bell, using hand gestures, or saying your personal seal.

Some examples of personal seals could be,

Whatever it is, your seal should be accompanied by the knowledge that your spell or working is totally complete and can now function on its own.

The exercises on this page will help with the technique needed to properly seal a spell and ensure it is tightly closed off.

Grounding or ‘Earthing’

Magical Spells & Exercises Masterpost

Grounding or ‘earthing’ is the act of sending excess magical energy to the earth. This excess energy is often acquired during spellwork or other magical exercises.

Grounding is important for several reasons.

Humans have a level of energy we are generally comfortable staying at. If you don’t do anything for five days, you will probably feel an itch to get up and move. Likewise, if you are extremely busy for five days, you will probably really want to slow down and rest!

When we practice magic, such as casting spells, there is a good chance that our astral energy levels will fluctuate, bringing us ‘up’ or 'down’, and out of our natural comfort zones. Even if this doesn’t feel unpleasant, it is not particularly healthy. There are different ways to think about this issue to understand why being out of your 'zone’ is not good for you.

Imagine an old dog being taken for a run at the dog park. He may try to play for hours, even though his body can’t physically handle that kind of strain. The dog may end up exhausting himself and end up crashing for days, feeling unwell and unable to normally function. First, the dog is totally overloaded with energy. Then he crashes and is unable to maintain his regular energy levels until his body has time to heal.

Or consider a small, cheap car being driven down the freeway. It can’t handle much, but its driver is forcing it to go twice the speed limit. The car is straining and the engine is overheating. Although the car can be forced to go very fast, the driver needs to slow down or the car will break down. While the driver is going to arrive at his destination twice as fast, he risks breaking his car altogether.

Think about a very high achieving student during Finals week. They are probably stressed out of their minds, studying 15 hours a day and running on caffeine and sugar. While the student may be able to keep up this high energy to make it through finals, intuitively we know that they are going to 'crash’ or even have a breakdown once finals are over. Ultimately both of these states are uncomfortable for the student.

When we do physical activities, all we need to do to 'slow down’ is physically slow down. But when we do magical activities, it is like we are water balloons being filled up. It is not enough to stop the faucet; we also have to pour water out until we reach our natural 'happy zone’ levels again. Or, if we have poured too much of our water out, grounding can help fill us up again. Ultimately, grounding is an act of balance.

Being ‘up’ or ‘down’ energetically is not bad. But your energy levels should be under your control.

'Grounding’ is a term to describe any number of magical exercises which are designed to level you out after magic and return to a state of energetic normalcy, so you don’t run 'too hot’ and burn out, or 'too cold’ and crash.

Get the fuck out!

Magical Spells & Exercises Masterpost

Stand where you think the spirit is. Open a door or window so it may leave the house. If you have protections trapping the spirit inside, temporarily lower them.

Think about how much this stupid spirit has screwed you over. Get angry about it. Think about how it has scared you, or scared your pets, or other people. That fucking spirit, man. And you’ve put up with it for so long! All this spirit has done has take advantage of you.

So tell it what you think. Tell it to get the fuck out.

If possible, yell out loud. If this is not possible, yell inside of your head and whisper your words aloud.

“GET THE FUCK OUT!”

You need to identify the specific spirit you want gone. So say what it has done.

“YOU SCARED MY PETS. YOU BOTHERED MY FAMILY. YOU IRRITATE ME.”

You need to correct the natural order of things in your home. You are the boss of the house (yes, you are – as head magical practitioner, this makes you head magical boss of the spirits) and it is time to lay down the law. So say it:

“THIS IS MY HOUSE! GET OUT. YOU ARE NOT WELCOME HERE. ANY INVINTATION YOU MAY HAVE HAD IS REVOKED. GET OUT OR I WILL FUCK YOU UP I SWEAR TO GOD. GET OUT.”

(If you have no intentions of fucking anything up, don’t say that part. Just reiterate that the spirit is not welcome and it needs to leave, immediately.)

Forcefully, with the full strength of your anger, imagine the spirit is caught up by your powerful words and is forcefully thrown out of the window or door, and flung far, far away.

When the spirit is gone, immediately re-up your protections. Ground your angry feelings and conjure good, happy emotions. If you have them, placing house plants or flowers in a room can immediately calm angry emotions. Consider burning lavender incense or making a big pot of chamomile tea and letting the steam fill the room. Do whatever you can to calm the passions in the room once the spirit has left.

Banishing

Magical Spells & Exercises Masterpost

To banish something means to forcibly remove it from its current resting place. This can be a process which is as gentle as possible, or it can be quite mean and forceful. A banishment does not necessarily mean the entity or force or whatever it is cannot come back. That must be accomplished with a binding.

Banishing can be performed on people, entities, or even situations or emotions. “Make this thing go away” is the basic command of any banishing. If you can make it go away, you can banish it. Please let me give a word of caution on banishing things in your own mind. That is dangerous magic to mess around with.

If you banish something, a hole, void, or empty space is left behind. This hole has a certain shape and depth to it. Nature (which abhors a vacuum), will immediately try to fill this hole with something else. The object with the perfect size and shape to fit back in that hole is the very thing you have just banished. This is why banishings can seem so ineffective – you do correctly banish the thing, but then it just floats right back and resumes its former life. In order to fill this gap, you have to conjure something else – I recommend good feelings and positive emotions.

I believe the first step to any banishing is to ask yourself whether or not something actually needs to be banished. Just because something scares us or is new to us doesn’t make it bad. Spirits need homes, too. When a spirit creeps in to your home looking for shelter, you need to decide whether or not it is actually a threat, and whether or not you will allow it to live with you. I liken this to the puppies or kittens that show up on your doorstep, looking for protection. A full Saturnine banishing is not necessary to scare them away. Telling them to leave will often suffice.

Even if you do not want to banish spirits, they can still act up. Simply ask them to stop. For example, there was a house wight that kept bothering my dog, by making its presence known. I firmly asked the spirit to leave my dog alone, and immediately my dog’s behavior became more relaxed and returned to normal. No banishing necessary.

If a true banishing is necessary, begin with cleansing. No matter where the spirit is attached – to you, or to your home, or an object, or anything – this will shake its hold somewhat. A good personal cleansing is about half a cup of salt and half a cup of vinegar in a full bathtub. Scrub yourself all over with the bathwater, repeating chants of purification, if you know any. To cleanse your home, put salt and vinegar in the mop water. Mop all your hard floor surfaces. If you have carpeted areas, sprinkle or spray the water over the carpet and then vacuum.

The next step is personal protection. Wear your amulets, bolster your shields, or cast protective spells upon yourself. The spirit will know who is trying to roust it. Ensure that it cannot bother you.

Then, f you have deemed it necessary, cast the full banishing spell. Afterwords, perform bindings and conjurings to protect and ‘refill’ the empty niche left by the thing that was banished.

I speak about banishing spirits from homes because this is what I get the most messages about, so this is what my posts will focus on. If I have time (or if I remember) I will also post spells about banishings in other areas, such as banishing people or situations.