#astral dynamics

—–Where?—–

This is a complicated section, and it is not expected of you to fully understand the location of astral planes on first-read. Thus, practices are provided. The location of astral planes is unlike anything in the mundane, but it is key to the functionality of the astral and understanding what the astral actually is. 

Collectively, the astral works as another dimension. You are familiar with the three dimensions of the physical world, up and down, left and right, and forward and back. The astral planes can be seen as an addition to this. Three-dimensionally, these planes may overlap with the physical, yet they differ in location by realms of existence comparable to layers on photoshop or pages in a journal.

Some astral planes will vary slightly or largely in “vibrations” (defined/explained in the next paragraph), which is in part due to the proximity of these planes. Heaven(s) and hell(s), for example, are significantly distant from each other, as their vibrations are polar. Heaven(s) have high vibrations, while hell(s) have low vibrations.

If you are unfamiliar with “vibrations”, these are the sensations given off by different energy, which I will further explain by using attunement as an example in the following paragraph. Attunement is the act of directly changing vibrations.  Attunement is not the same thing as astral travel. Different vibrations exist on a single plane. The overall vibrational level of an astral plane determines its location. By using attunement, a practitioner is not necessarily traveling between astral planes, if anything, it can be compared to origami, with the paper as the astral plane.

To help understand, vibrational levels are changed when practitioners attune themselves to the energy of crystals. They will hold a crystal in hand and adjust their mind and spirit to match the energy of the crystal. This energy will be in the form of feelings, emotions. When vibrations are said to be raised, this refers to the full body sensation received when speaking in a high-pitched voice or when happy. When vibrations are said to be lowered, this refers to the sensations received when speaking in a low voice or when sad. The “vibrations” are not the emotions themselves, but the sensations. These vibrations, sensations, can be changed directly through attunement.

Vibrations are the “up and down” of the astral dimension, while astral planes are realms of existence. “Vibrations” determine the location of an astral plane.

Practice

These practices should help you better understand how location works in terms of astral planes if needed.

1. Practice attunement as I explained with crystals. Instead of crystals, you can also attune to different areas, like a school or your home, which each have their own unique energies, as well. Meditate in these areas and adjust your mind and spirit to match their energy. I recommend attunement so that you are able to better understand “vibrations”, which allow you to spatially interact with the astral dimension. 

2. Practice aura viewing. Without astral projecting, this psychic ability will allow you to see astral realms closely tied to the physical. You will be able to see your spirit. Recognize these metaphysical worlds as separate but connected to the physical world.

—–How—–

Your soul is already in an astral plane, as it is metaphysical. But in order to fully immerse oneself in the astral so they may travel, a practitioner typically uses astral projection. This can be done by a number of methods, however, the following preparation can be done before each of these.

First off, you will want to be in a comfortable position. You will be in this position for a while, and you’ll want to avoid getting distracted during your work. It is recommended you do this with closed eyes. Commonly, practitioners will be lying down, however, some people choose to sit.

You are able to feel the location of your different body parts without looking at them. Focus on this. Meditate and become aware of your body. Shift your awareness around, focus more on your hands or your feet. Move your awareness up and down your arm. Become familiar with it.

Take the time to feel and energize this awareness. Differentiate between what is your awareness and what is your physical body. Look at them as separate and distinct bodies. Become comfortable with this, and clearly understand and feel the difference before moving on to the next step.

The next step would be one of the following from the list below of astral projection methods. This list is not exhaustive but covers some common ground. Do not follow along by moving any physical body parts during this. Small movements and twitches are okay.

The Rope Technique: Visualize a strong, sturdy rope above you. Feel the awareness of your arms, and visualize yourself moving your arms. Lift up your arms, reach for the rope, and pull yourself up. When your feet are hanging, you are free from your body. Move as you please. The farther away from your body, the less tension you will feel and the easier it will be to move.

The Ladder Technique: This method is essentially the same as the rope technique, but with a ladder, instead. This is an alternative to the rope because some beginner projectors have difficulty with the idea of pulling themselves up when it comes to arm strength. Arm strength does not actually affect the capability to use the technique, but it is the lack of faith and confidence that does. Instead, climb up a ladder.

The Hammock: Imagine yourself rocking left to right like a ship on water or a cradle. Gradually increase the intensity of the movements. At a high point, roll off to break the cycle. Stabilize yourself if needed, and you are free to move. 

The Sinking Method: Imagine your body sinking downward, past your physical body. When your two bodies are completely separate, slowly move your arms, then your legs, and walk away.

A commonly asked question is “How can I tell it worked?” or “How do I know I’m in the astral?”. My next astral lesson is over something called the real-time zone. In this astral plane, you can check yourself by walking around and noting what you find. When you get back into your body, you can walk over to what you found and see if it matches up with what you saw in the astral. I once found a candle misplaced while I was in the real-time zone, so I went back to my body, went to check it out, and it was exactly where I had seen it in the astral. 

A good astral journey will be very vivid. This is not always the case for all journeys, however, the stronger ones will seem very clear and feel very real. The astral from my experience is relatively surreal, but it feels real. And besides that, sometimes you just know when you were/are astral traveling. 

Some people will start to be able to see and sense their surroundings during projection (clairvoyance). When you return to your body, you may feel a large energy take hold of you or even gasp. These may not happen when you travel, but if you HAVE experienced those then it’s likely to have been an astral journey. 

Possible symptoms include a change in heart rate, buzzing or static (I have not personally experienced this, but have heard accounts of it), actual vibrations or buzzing feelings, and clear sounds of entities that aren’t from the physical realm (clairaudience). Also, if you truly feel your physical body and your astral body as two distinct, separate bodies during the travel, then almost certainly you have astral traveled. 

Nothing works!

For some people, astral projection comes naturally, and their first time projecting only takes a few minutes. For some, it takes hours. If you are not a natural, then it will most likely take many attempts and a series of trial and error. If you haven’t successfully projected, that doesn’t mean you can’t. Once you start successfully projecting and traveling, it will all become easier.

Possibly you are looking for a physical sensation when feeling your astral body that you just won’t get from the astral. In which case, focus less on feeling your astral body to move it, and instead focus more on visualizing your movements.

Do not try and force yourself to be unaware in your physical body. To some extent, you will be aware of both your physical and astral body while projecting and traveling. If you focus too much on completely eliminating your awareness of your physical body, you will be too distracted to separate and focus on your astral body. 

Make sure to drink plenty of water, meditate outside of astral projection, eat fruits and veggies, and practice energy manipulation. For some people, it helps to be slightly tired, but not so much that you’re going to fall asleep to get the right mindset for projection.

Alongside this, there are aids to astral projection. Many crystals and herbs are available, as well as spells you can perform, enchantments you can undertake, and spirits that can help (be wary with spirits).

Crystals that aid in astral projection/travel include moonstone, howlite, aqua aura quartz, labradorite, jet, opal, fluorite, tourmalated quartz, malachite, calcite, staurolite, and ametrine.

Herbs that aid in astral projection/travel include mugwort, poppy, rowan (wood), frankincense, ginger, comfrey, and jasmine. 

Herbs that are medically dangerous and not recommended for beginners include mandrake, monkshood (wolf’s bane), and belladonna.

Spirits that could help you must be completely trusted. Don’t let just anyone do this for you. If you are just starting out in spirit work or witchcraft/magick and think you know what you’re doing, I wouldn’t recommend this. Someone else might say otherwise, but this is because I’m playing it safe here and don’t want to be responsible for anyone getting hurt. That being said, strong spirit companions are able to assist you. It is said, though this part I cannot verify, that this is especially true for dryads. Working with spirit companions requires other knowledge and lessons than this one.

In the real-time zone, there is a cause and effect between spirits and their environment. This is one way a practitioner can spot the difference between our physical world and its astral copy, the real-time zone. The astral copy of our world will react instantaneously and fluidly with the creatures of that realm. An astral sheep could chew astral grass, an astral bug could burrow a hole in your bedroom walls, and all of this would happen in the real-time zone without largely affecting the physical plane. The grass would not actually be chewed and a hole would not actually appear on your wall in the physical. 

However, with enough energy and will, actions on the real-time zone can affect the physical plane, as seen in psychokinesis, weather magick, and poltergeists. This is due to a process called manifestation, which is necessary for interaction between the metaphysical and the physical. 

For the most part, the real-time zone is the plane a traveler is on when they detach from their body. This plane is the middleman between our world and the spirit realm. Energy enters our spirits through the real-time zone, then transmits into the mental plane so that we can use psychic abilities such as clairvoyance, clairalience, and so forth.

You are able to see what is known as a silver cord while astral traveling, which connects your spirit and body so that you cannot get lost. You may follow the cord so that it may guide you back when you wish to return to your body or you may simply use the cord as an express quickly back. The cord may snap you back to your body if your physical or mental state is disturbed.

On the note of surrealism I had mentioned in my previous lesson, it is in the real-time plane that you may well see the first signs of “reality fluctuations,” as many would call it. Reality fluctuations include illusions within the real-time zone, seeing something that is not actually there, such as the world being processed through a cartoon filter for a moment or seeing your hands melt. Personally, from my own travels, there haven’t been too many reality fluctuations to get in the way of my experience, most are very minor. If “reality fluctuations” seem to encompass the whole plane, and the replica of our world is not quite visible, one might not be in the real-time zone at all.

It is generally agreed upon that these reality fluctuations are caused by the mind, be it the mind translating the energy around it as interpretation, the mind simply distracted and processing a little out of tune, or collective interpretations of mind gathered from various entities in an area. 

Safety

Traveling to the real-time zone has risks, just like traveling in the real world. The more you travel, the more likely you are to encounter astral bugs (which I may occasionally refer to as “parasites”). These critters can feed off your energy or even put energy into you, similar to bacteria and viruses.

Signs of parasites include visions of silhouetted figures, fatigue, animals acting strange or negatively in your presence, an inability to focus, and the smell of iron or rot (sulfur applies to more dangerous entities, not simple astral bugs). The most common silhouette seen is a spider.

Not all entities are out to harm you, and not all creatures that take on the form of bugs will hurt you. 

To prevent an attack, you can shield yourself and/or place protection at your body, such as a satchel of comfrey and tiger’s eye, so that the energy can travel from your body through the silver cord to your astral self. Which translates to: Protection of your body and soul means protection for your astral body, too. 

Crystals for psychic protection include rutilated quartz, silver, angelite, apache tear, black tourmaline, salt, and amethyst.

Crystals for overall protection include tiger’s eye, jet, cat’s eye, staurolite, angelite, black tourmaline, and black obsidian.

Comfrey is known as a protection herb for travel, while blackberry, clove, angelica, lavender, rosemary, coriander (not burned), and myrrh are good for protection, as well.

Meditation, regular grounding, and raising energy should help keep your astral body strong.

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