#greysorcery

Correspondences, Tools, & External resources:

When looking through the internet or other informational resources and/or guides on witchcraft, you’ll probably notice that a few things tend to be regularly occurring:

1. That though a lot of practitioners may say that tools and correspondences aren’t necessary, a vast majority of sources and guides include and/or require correspondences and/or physical tools.

2. The correspondences used in each source are only as common as the dominant source for those correspondences within that specific tradition. For some, those sources are books, and for others they are the first result on a Google search.

When it comes to Tools used to perform magic, there are a few things that must be kept in mind. Some tools are culture/tradition specific and it would be disrespectful for you to use them, which may or may not have spiritual consequences. Many tools are used to accomplish the same ends. For example, wands and athames are used for very similar purposes, the casting and/or projection of energies within a specific space- typically when sanctifying an object or opening/closing a space for a working. If you decide to use a tool for your practice, please be sure that you understand the cultural ramifications of doing so within a spiritual space.

When it comes to Correspondences, there are a plethora of sources that may appear to have contradicting data. This is because they stem from various traditions and sources. This occurs because correspondences are 100% subjective. However, if you practice within a specific tradition or culture, then you are expected to follow the correspondences of that practice. This can be incredibly powerful because people have been building on those ideas and connections for lifetimes.

IF you aren’t a part of a preexisting tradition ask yourself what you feel you should use. Magic can be a very personal and intimate experience. Don’t be afraid to create your own correspondences. Furthermore, don’t be afraid to invent your own tools- but be sure to do so as if it were a sacred act. Magical tools aren’t something that should be thrown together thoughtlessly and then treated like pencils or hair ties, they should be created and treated as what they are: a medium for your magic. They should be planned and made with materials that you deem appropriate. The should be stored as if they were fragile or put on display on an altar. If you’re not open about your practice, this aspect may be challenging to hide.

Types of spells:

In my experience, there are seven types of spells. Please bear in mind that these are by no means finite boundaries for spellwork to exist within, just an acknowledgement of trends.

Altar Spells: Spells that require not only tools and correspondences, but also require a ritual or ceremony in order to cast it. Often, these spells utilize candles and crystals, prayers and symbology, and may even go as far to actually require an altar.

Glamours: These spells more often than not, require only symbols and energy. They are use to altar the perceptions of whatever they’re placed on, whether targeting other or yourself.

Divination: Spells used to heighten your intuition. A lot of practitioners don’t view divinations as being spellwork, but a good diviner uses all three of the basic components of spellwork for their readings.

Psychological Spells: These are spells put on yourself to altar your own mind by manipulating your own subconscious. These spells are performed often through repetitive action and subliminal messaging through turn of phrase of symbology.

Energetic Spells: These spells require only the energies of yourself and/or beings and objects around you. Most energetic spells that are easy to find on the internet are very small spells, typically aimed at small scale manifestation. However, with enough practice and intuition, Energetic Spells can do anything that any other spell type can achieve.

Astral Spells: These are spells that require being in an Astral form or even on the Astral Plane. They are very similar to Energetic spells but they require even less. However, due to the nature of the Astral, maintaining the basic components of spellwork while in this form can be very challenging.

Spirit Spells: These are spells that either use spirits as the medium for the spell to travel through, or employ a spirit to do the spell work for you entirely. Like energetic spells, this type of spell can achieve anything that all the others can if given enough experience and practice.

Spell dictation: Whether it be for recording a spell that you have already cast or recording how to perform a spell you have only just thought of, the way you choose to record your spellwork with have a massive impact on your craft as a whole.

The importance of record keeping:

When performing spells, it is imperative to keep a record of the exact spell process and results. By doing this you’ll be able to keep track of successful spells and those that aren’t. Then it becomes easy to home in on effective spell processes.keeping a record also makes it a lot easier to undo spells that take an undesired turn. I recommend having a dedicated book or Google drive folder to record your spells.

Spell Design Process:

All spells can be thought of as a combination of Thresholds, Nodes, Intent, Focus, and Passion. (And an action)

Without any of these a spell will not function as intended or would not work at all.

Nodes are things like correspondences. They are individual concepts that are connected to form a complete web, or Threshold, for the spell to travel through. Correspondences need not be only for the physical objects involved. They can be as simple as word association or a memory.

Start creating a spell:

1: Decide on a goal, what you wish the spell to accomplish. It is important that your spell takes the path of least resistance in order to have the highest chance at success

2: Create or find correspondences and concepts to create your nodes from and then find how they can be connected. This can be done mentally or by using nodes that are associated with each other.

3: Get all your tools and sympathetic representations together, if you decide to use them. If not, skip to 4.

4: Decide what is the best headspace to be in for casting the spell. It is important to record this as well.

5: Find what is the best emotion to fuel the spell and record that as well.

6: Figure out what energetic programming you wish to use and record that. Do this as best you can, I do realize that the current energetic model definitely leaves a ton to be desired.

7: If you wish to involve spirits, be sure to commune with them beforehand if necessary. And be sure to keep record of the conditions that are reached and which entities you involve.

8: Compile your spell into a single process.

9: Cast and record results.

Be sure to do as much research into your target as possible. Like if you’re casting a spell onto the brain of another person, it would be wise to know their medical history or there could be unwanted side effects.

Discrete Spells and Practices:

The best way to keep your spell work private is to forgo your physical tools and sympathetic representations. This can be achieved by relying on spirit work or energy work.

If you wish to keep the physical aspects of the craft and the way you keep records, I recommend having a small discrete bag to hold your tools and such and coming up with a transcription orthography to write with. This can be either a personal alphabet or a simple encryption like a caesar cipher. A lot of discrete practitioners cannot use candles or burn, in order to get around this you can have ashes as your fire representation and draw things you would burn in water soluble inks. You can also draw Sigils using invisible inks as well.

Networking and How to Talk About Spells:

When discussing witchcraft, it is of the utmost importance to first establish personal semantic meaning. Since witchcraft is a multicultural and multilingual phenomenon, the words used to discuss it vary wildly. This is why I take the time to define my terms.

Once the baseline of semantics has been discussed, it is safe to proceed with discussions about magic. It would be easier to start with practitioners who have a similar practice. But I recommend connecting with anyone who is willing to have fair, free and, open discussions. Remain aware of the nuances of culture as to avoid taking and using what is not meant for you.

Validating Spells:

when recording spells, be sure to note the date and time of casting and have a timeframe in which you would expect a given result. Once the timeline runs its course take any notes of what might be pertinent.

If the spell is continuous, be sure to make note of the situation beforehand so that as time passes you can make notes of relative change.

Sometimes spells don’t work and that’s okay. That just means you need to reassess the working and try again.

Troubleshooting Spells:

If a spell effects more than what was desired, you likely weren’t focused enough or your nodes weren’t connected thoroughly.

If a spell worked but wasn’t to the desired intensity, you likely didn’t fuel it with enough passion during the casting.

If a spell didn’t work at all, it could be that it didn’t take the path of least resistance or you were missing a crucial element. As an example, it is more effective to cast a spell for your employer/client to notice your hard work than it would be to cast one to get a raise.

As you adjust aspects of your working, you’ll be honing it to perfection. Keep track of your changes and overall processes.

Energetic Fields are the result of mystical and physical phenomena. The human body contains two predominant fields. The first and largest is produced by the human heart because of iron-rich hemoglobin being bumped through ventricles. The complexity of this field is due to the neurological processes that occur in the intracardiac nervous system, or the neurons in the heart; which are responsible for the majority of the heart’s functionality. The second field is produced by the brain. This field is the result of a conglomeration of millions of neurons firing, which individually release minute pulses of electro-magnetic radiation. These fields can be programmed and manipulated through energy work and states of gnosis for use in esoteric and magical practices.

The Astral Plane is infinite, and yet is inherently part of the reality that we occupy. Think of it as a three dimensional film that exists in the space between everything.

This place lays between our cognitive reality and the world of dreams. Which is why you can access both aspects of our dimension via the astral. The natural laws of physics are only partially apparent in this realm. Whereas in the dream world they break down completely- if desired.

In the Astral Plane, the Conscious mind holds all the power of manifestation. Whatever you create becomes a finite aspect of that reality; However, due to the expansive nature of this place it is unlikely to come across or find anyone else or their creations. The astral is desolate in appearance, this is due to its quasi reflection of our reality. Furthermore, this plane, even with thoroughly developed astral senses, has no light, darkness, air/wind, plants/biological-life, or most things we might expect when entering.

Spirits exist in all of three aspects of our dimension simultaneously. In cognitive reality, their forms are not corporeal, rather they are more vibe-like. In the Astral, their forms are more likely to appear tangible. If you come across a spirit in our cognitive reality and wish to see that spirit in a more corporeal form, astral travel to where they are and then enter the Astral Plane in that corresponding location.

Spirits and other entities do not typically show any tendencies towards social organization or community within the Astral Plane. They are commonly seen in isolation or, rather infrequently, with one or two other spirits. Gatherings of many spirits or the forming of townships of any kind never happens. Spirits aren’t always trustworthy and can be hostile and/or violent, both towards us and each other. Thus, we have Astral Weapons. Be sure you create Astral Weapons before exploring too deeply in the Astral Plane. You have to be able to protect your Well-Source. Otherwise you could easily bring something into your body when you return.

Dreamwalking chemical assistance (drugs, alcohol, herbal remedies, etc)

is a common practice in several different cultures and practices. The term comes from the aborigines, but the Mexica, Toltec, and Maya had their own term for it- which translates to mean Sun-kissed in English. The Cherokee also had Dreamwalkers- often, they were considered people with two spirits/souls and are considered with revenance, as they are often healers and medicine people. This practice is not one culturally protected, but is a matter of energetic anatomy.

Dreamwalking is similar to vivid dreaming. On the surface, it’s a practice of sharing a dream with one or more other people. Either entering their dreams or pulling them into your own while remaining completely lucid. Some people Dreamwalk without even much effort, and some have to try very hard and must practice for years before being able to do it. Some may only be able to do it unintentionally. Those who can dreamwalk generally have an easier time with Astral Projection, since one is essentially Astral Traveling when Dreamwalking. The main difference is that Dreamwalkers cross through the Astral Plane into the dream world. This act is not easily accomplished, but for Dreamwalkers an instinct. The other key difference is that when Dreamwalking, the walker’s astral form is non-corporeal unless the dream, and/or the walker, demands it. There is a downside to Dreamwalking, however; If you choose to dreamwalk rather than dream regularly, you will likely awaken feeling as though you didn’t sleep. You may be tired, unrested, irritable. You may even become more susceptible to illness over time if not practiced in moderation.

Dreamwalking is extremely difficult to start doing but, like most things, it becomes easier the more you succeed in doing it. The process of Dreamwalking starts out very similar to that of lucid dreaming.

Before you lie down to sleep, do a meditation on what your dream will be like. Create a sight or a sound of it in your mind. Be sure to choose something that is important to your core-being, something that you’re not likely to forget. The experience of the sight or sounds should be either something to do with your body or something that regularly occurs within your dreams. Then make that idea so powerful that it seeps into your dreaming mind. The idea of this practice is to create an alert to your dreaming mind that signals to itself that it is dreaming, thus causing a lucid dream. There are several ways one can lucid dream- do some research and find one that works for you. If you find one you like- feel free to reblog this and share it in your comment, link or otherwise. Once you can lucid dream, having conscious control over your own dream state, you’re ready to begin trying to move into another person’s dream. There are some social and ethical boundaries to doing so, and you may cross a few lines. Remain weary, you could learn some things about people that you would have never wanted to know.

Dreams take place in a realm that is just past the plane of the astral. There is a slight difference in resonance; though, because of this it is best to try to enter the dreams of someone who you know very well. I’d both recommend asking permission beforehand or not asking permission at all. Both have their benefits and risks. Not asking permission will help get a stronger sense of success. (I.E. having them tell you about their dream to see if they noticed you in their dreams. But they may also feel exposed or violated.) However, telling them may create a false negative when it comes to comparing dreams because of confirmation bias.

To enter another’s dream, you must first be lucid dreaming within your own, or Dreamwalking in the corporeal/astral planes. Then, create a finite barrier that separates this space from the expanse of the astral plane. Approach this barrier and slowly phase yourself through it.

Once in the astral realm, time is far more fluid so take your time. Once you’re ready, begin thinking of the person who’s dream you’d like to enter. Think of their aura, vibe, way of thinking, their favorite things; any and all things that help you create an exact idea of them. Then, imagine the setting that their dream would likely take place in. Try to phase yourself into that place. If the person can also lucid dream, this process would be much easier.

Dreamwalkers are also prone to possessing or easily obtaining certain psychic abilities. Those who are born with Dreamwalking instincts will likely possess more than half of these abilities and realize those before they realize they’re a Dreamwalker. Abilities that Dreamwalkers either have or can easily develop include:

• Clairvoyance

• Clairaudience

• Extreme empathy (Psychic)

• Possession (entering the minds of animals, or other people, even spirits.)

• Day-Dreamwalking (Dreamwalking while daydreaming)

• Telepathy

• Waking astral-travel (being able to astral travel without being in a relaxed state.)

• Divination prowess

• The sight (being able to see spirits and even communicate with them)

• Enhanced energy-work.

Further signs of a Natural Dreamwalker include:

• Existential dread experienced at a very young age (having thoughts of being unable to prove your own existence around the age of 3-5 years old)

• One or multiple extremely heightened psychic abilities.

• Persistent prophetic dreams

• Regularly occurring lucid dreams

• Accidental Dreamwalking.

• An affinity for multi-conscious astral projection (splitting your awareness into several independent bodies simultaneously)

• Powerful manifestation abilities

• Accidental possession.

• Being able to program your aura

Crossing Dimensions is not easy, even for natural born Dreamwalkers. It is also dangerous. When someone crosses into a different dimension, even with astral senses, they’re ability to perceive is severely hindered because the laws of physics are congruent but compounded within each new axis of space compared to what we are accustomed to.

Crossing dimensions is useful for bypassing wards, creating complex energetic structures, complete energetic healing of the subtle body, and time magic. It also requires a pretty thorough understanding of dense topological concepts- which require a decent understanding of mathematics and physics to learn.

Multi-Conscious Astral Projection is the act of creating and maintaining several astral forms simultaneously. This means that you will also perceive what they perceive simultaneously as well. I recommend taking a mild analgesic before trying it your first time. (It may cause a headache)

In order to do this, you have to allocate Well-Source energy into two pieces. Then imagine you’re looking in a mirror, while also perceiving what the reflection sees. With your primary form, step away from the mirror, turn one of your heads to perceive what is around you while the other perceives the observer.

The most difficult aspect of MCAP is sustaining it. Once you lose connection with an astral form’s awareness, the astral form breaks down and desentogrates. You have to maintain consistent perception from all of them for the entire duration.

I recommend practicing within our corporeal reality, rather than the Astral Plane ,as it's safer that way. It helps to have a unifying stimuli to anchor your perceptions on; like that of a consistent rhythm, whether that be musical or physical action. This process takes a lot of practice, but once you’ve solidified that process you’ll never forget it.

Energy-Work while astral projecting is an extremely useful skill. Especially if you’ve master MCAP. While astral projecting, its possible to construct complex energetic structures for a variety of purposes. From large wards to astral weapon and thoughtform creation. If MCAP is employed, then the number of bodies you have to perform a single construction is increased, like doing a group working but that group consists of only you.

Astral Weapons are energetic constructs that are designed to be resilient and dense. They can be used for many things from protection to fate work. To design an astral weapon or shield. Make sure the design is as simple as you can while still making it unique and your own. Sketch it out on paper in order to flesh out the design as much as possible. Its design needs to be ingrained into your memory intimately.

Visualize this weapon in your mind until it becomes vivid. Get to know the design in three dimensions. If you’re capable of visualizing it in other dimensions, do so.

Once the concept of the weapon is corporealized in your mind, begin constructing it through energy work, keeping in mind the properties that you want it to possess. Project the weapon into the Astral Plane and hold it, Interact with it, and swing it around. Give it weight, inertia, and substance.

Lastly, and this is optional, create a way to gradually summon them; rather than just having them appear outright. For example, my favorite weapon is a spear. I summon a needle that glows white and blue that expands into the shape of a spear. This way it is easier to maintain accurate perception of several Spears simultaneously. The more you can reduce and simplify the design, the easier it will be to project and maintain it.

Thoughtforms are prevalent in the Astral Plane as well as our cognitive reality because human beings are naturally quite imaginative. Sometimes they can be hostile, so the best defense against rogue thoughtforms is protective energetic warding.

If you don’t know what a ward is, you aren’t ready for Astral Travel. It is important to use more than one type of ward as well. The more types of wards you use, the more thoroughly protected you are. Just be sure that none of them cancel eachother out.

When creating thoughtforms in the astral plane, they’re not likely to enter into the corporeal plane unless guided to it. They can be incorporated into astral weapons as well as energetic constructs. Their uses are only limited by your ingenuity.

There is another post that is specifically about thoughtforms and how to create them. (To be posted soon)

Semi-Closed Cultures

These are cultures & practices that require a cultural context that can only be achieved through studiousness and direct interactions with the community. However, these cultures are open to anyone who wishes to join them. They may or may not require an initiation process and other requirements before someone is accepted. Some are based on regionality. The sects mentioned in this list are just one part of the pie. Whatever sects that aren't semi-closed are closed. It is nearly impossible to list all of the sects of these religious and spiritual practices.

Islam (Most sects)

Christianity

Judaism (Most sects)

Hinduism (Most sects)

Buddhism (Most sects)

Zoroastrianism

Sikhism 

Confucianism 

Yoga

"Shamanism" (A few sects)

Kabbalah (Rigorous initiation)

Native American Cultures (A couple tribes)

Ozark & Appalachian folk traditions

Slavic folk practices

Closed Cultures

These are cultures that heavily guard their spiritual and/or mystical practices. Some do perform initiation, however they will not accept just anyone. Some of these are deep rooted ethnic practices and require the same ethnic background in order to be initiated. Due to the closed nature of these magical practices, it is next to impossible to find any reliable information on the internet. Which means using these practices outside of their cultural context will be: ineffective, disrespectful, and misinformed.

Hinduism (Some sects)

Islam (Some sects)

Judaism (Some sects)

Buddhism (Some sects)

"Shamanism" (Most practices)

Navajo

Zuni

Lakota

Ho-Chunk

Mapuche

Cherokee

Chilote

Anishinaabe

Pawnee

Most other Native American cultures

Taoist mysticism

Korean folk practices 

Chinese folk practices (Almost all sects)

African Traditions (Nearly all sects)

Root Work (Commonly referred to has Hoodoo)

Rootwork

Santeria

Espiritismo

Kele

Obeah

Winti

Myal

Abakua

Kumina

Yoruba traditions

Mexica traditions (Commonly referred to as Aztec)

Toltec traditions

Maya traditions

Indiginous Australian practices

Maori practices 

Tagalog practices

Tengriism

Druidism 

Romani practices

Shinto practices

Manchu practices

Mongolian practices

Satsana Phi

Ban Phi

Vietnamese practices

Sami practices

Mari practices

Open Cultures

These are typically considered dead cultures, which means that there are very few surviving cultural centers to gain cultural context. Most of the practices are obtained through archeology and should be considered incomplete. However, taking part in these practices is not considered disrespectful if it is practiced responsibly. 

Hermeticism

Hellenism

Kemeticism (And other ancient Egyptian practices)

Norse practices (General Heathenry)

Etruscan practices

Sumerian practices 

Practices to avoid

These practices are appropriative, rooted in racism/misogyny, cult-like, and/or directly lead into fascism. They should be avoided at all costs. Many of these practices are wide-spread. Several claim to have ancient origin, when they do not. Most of them have taken practices from other cultures and obscured them and claimed them as their own. Some of these practices are literal pyramid schemes.

Wicca

Claims ancient origin, appropriative, misogynistic, consumerism

Neo-Wiccan practices

Same as Wicca, but also tends to be transphobic and racist, consumerism

Ceremonial Magick

Appropriative, rooted in racism & misogyny.

Thelema

Appropriative, rooted in racism & misogyny, cult-like

New Age practices (Like Reiki)

Appropriative, Alt-right (fascist) pipeline, cult-like, pyramid scheme, consumerism

Neo-Shamanism (Nearly all sects)

Appropriative, claims ancient origin

Neo-Nordic practices

Fascist, Appropriative, claims ancient purity

Neo-Druidry

Appropriative, claims ancient origin

Eco-Pagan practices

Appropriative, claims ancient origin, transphobic, consumerism

Hermetic Qabalah

Appropriative, rooted in racism & misogyny

Evangelical practices

Cult-like, fascist, xenophobic, claims ancient origin

Germanic Neopaganism

Fascist pipeline, Appropriative, claims ancient purity

Theosophical practices

Rooted in colonialism, appropriative, claims ancient origin, rooted in white supremacy, misinformative.

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Defining Terms

Center of Consciousness (Abbreviated as CoC): The singular point within the physical body in which sensory information is observed during moments of internal physical Gnosis.

Gnosis: An altered state in which the mind is focused on a singular concept, physical or otherwise. Not in any way associated with “HGA/PGA” or “Higher-self” emanations.

Wellsource: A localized spherical shaped area/point within the subtle body in which all vital energy radiates into the rest of the energetic system. The energy released from this point is necessary for the sustainment of the entire system and originates from an unobserved plane, which I personally interpret as being “Source” or “THE Source”.

Single-Point Astral: A form of projection/travel that does not require the construction or maintenance of an energetic form; it is parallel to a vivid thought experiment.

Subtle Body: An aggregate conglomeration of several energetic fields that sustain and house over 500 unique energetic points. These fields exist across several physical dimensions; this is to not to say different planes, just more complex spatial constructs than 3 axes separated by 90o.

Energy: A minute substance that exists within all things, regardless of their states. This substance is defined by being primarily amorphous as well as being unable to be contained within standard volumetric containers without an underlying binding force.

Astral Projection Practice:

Start out by moving your CoC to just behind the third eye spot on your forehead.

With your eyes closed, slowly push it out of your forehead and into the room around you. Try to become accustomed to the senses you have in this form. Astral Senses are going to be congruent to your bodily senses but with stark differences.

Once you’ve become accustomed to them as well as being able to move your CoC out of your body, try doing it with your eyes open.

Then do it with your eyes open while doing a task.

Then while you’re in a conversation.

Start doing it in situations that require increasing amounts of concentration. The whole time you should be trying to push the limits as to the accuracy of what you sense and how far away you can go. (At first try to make sure that you only travel a testable distance).

Tips for Single-Point Practice:

If you’re struggling to move your CoC into your forehead, it could help to rub the center of your forehead with a good amount of pressure. Not enough pressure to hurt, but enough to where it leaves a residual sensation that you can focus on.

If you’ve successfully moved your CoC out of your body but are struggling to gain any form of sense while in this state, it could help to sit facing a wall or object that you cannot see beyond, then project through them to try to “see” the other side. For some, knowing what could be seen may hinder their progress.

If the above tip doesn’t help, it may be beneficial to ask for some outside help if you are able. To do this, have a person stand beyond the object and pose. Then, the goal of the exercise is to observe their pose using only your Astral Senses within a controlled environment.

Full-Body Astral Travel:

Once you have Single-Point down, it’s time for the hard part.

Move your CoC into your well-source.

Start pumping your subtle body full of the energy from your Well-Source, filling up your entire body as densely as you can. Then start rotating your Well-Source clockwise. (This is the hardest part to explain- so please feel free to ask for elaboration if I fail to describe things accurately enough for you to grasp.)

You have to merge your CoC and Well-Source into one point- this is pretty tough and may take a few hundred tries.To do this, while your Well-Source is rotating Clockwise, you have to move your CoC to the very center of your Well-Source. (Don’t think of those process as 2D, but 3D) It’s definitely inside of your body. A point radiating in all directions. Once your CoC is in the center, let it become the same substance as your Well-Source; but you’ll know if you successfully merged them by a second layer of full-body sensation. But this sensation is going to be your astral senses. You’ll feel an entire body within your own body.

From this point you start with your eyes closed again. Try sitting up out of your body like you normally would- but it should feel different due to the lack of muscles in an astral form. You have to become accustomed to how to control the movement of a full-body astral form. It’s far more complicated to do than a single point.

Milestones:

• Awareness of your Center of Consciousness and Well-Source

• Ability to move your Center of Consciousness around your body with ease and precision

• Ability to move your Center of Consciousness out of your body without too much concentration

• Being able to discern your environment via single-point astral travel

• Manifesting a full-body astral projection

Extra tips:

It’s okay to take a break

Don’t worry if it doesn’t come easily to you. All great things are worth the effort.

Take your time, give yourself breathing room to make the process easier.

It might take a lot of time to make this “muscle memory”, don’t worry.

Sometimes being stoned helps, if you’re comfortable and open to such a thing.

Make sure you’re well hydrated and fed.

Once you’ve reached the last milestone, check out the Advanced Astral Travel post!

You can find my advanced guide here.

The shadow

This archetype is the subconscious function for dealing with trauma and/or over/under stimulating experiences. The shadow is your mind’s best attempt at managing critical experiential information that the conscious mind would rather not process directly because of its complexity or emotional effects.

The Persona

This archetype is the aspect of the self that is a projection of what we think others would want to perceive us as. The persona is the mind’s best tool for social adaptation. It regularly stores and recalls the behaviors, body and facial languages of those around you and then projects them on to yourself in moments when you desire a sense of community.

The Anima & Animgus

The current structure and interpretation of this archetype is a little outdated in my opinion. However, it does have some validity for psychological applications. This archetype, at least where the current depiction is useful, is the mind’s process of gathering and projecting information about gender, sex, identity, and reproduction. It manages this subconscious information to find a mate, sexual partner, life partner, and self identity.

Shadow Work

It is important to note that Carl Jung is not the inventor of shadow work, and nor did he contribute anything significant; however, he did give us some english terminology to use when discussing it. Shadow work as a concept originated in several indigineous cultures in the Americas, as well as several Indian and African traditions. It is important that we do not allow mysticism and psychology to be white washed, so I recommend trying to do further research into the cultures that Jung borrowed ideas from (South America, North/Central Africa, India).

When it comes to shadow work, we don’t solely deal with the Shadow archetype, we deal with the persona and the anime*1 as well. Shadow work isn’t a solely magical practice, and includes going to therapy, self care, and psychiatry. Magical shadow work is based around the idea that our psyche can be and is affected by magic. There are a plethora of approaches to magical shadow work, while there are definitely some things you should avoid.

When performing shadow work magically, do not treat the shadow as if it were a separate entity from you. It may appear to be evil to you at times, it may house some of your worst traits, but all attempts to remove it will:

a)not work.

b)be temporary fixes at most.

c)likely result in the creation of a thoughtform.

This also applies to aspects of the Persona. Trying to magically will away behavioral traits will most likely result in the creation of a thoughtform. There are workarounds, but most of them revolve around actually going to therapy and speaking to a licenced professional. There are also bindings, which do not remove behavioral traits, but rather prevent them from happening while accepting that they do exist as part of you. If you are unfamiliar with bindings and how they operate I recommend checking out this article. (https://witchipedia.com/glossary/binding/)

When working within the psyche magically, it is important that your aim is resolute. The scope of the work is only limited by your understanding of your own psyche and your self awareness. This is why so many guides and articles about shadow work are mostly depictions of mediations.

To begin performing magical shadow work, one must first gain awareness of themself. This is best done through meditations and thought experiments. Start off by entering a calm state and rotate your focus inwards, without focusing on anything at all. Then, once a comfortable level of presence in the self is reached, begin cycling through memories starting with the oldest one you can manage. Pay attention to how you processed the information and experiences you were presented with. How did you compartmentalize those experiences and how did it impact your future behavior? Doing this repeatedly will slowly build an image of your shadow and persona to work with when you are ready to do an actual casting. When it comes to casting shadow work spells, there are a few options: bindings, reinforcements, glamours, cleansing, and warding.

Thoughtforms

Thoughtforms are entities that are created through artifice, though they can be created accidentally or unintentionally. Thoughtforms are sometimes confused with the Buddhist term, “Tulpa” which, by definition and application is barely even comparable. Thoughtforms are entities that are programmed to perform a specific function or a small set of functions. It is possible for one to create a sentient thoughtform, however the amount of experience, time, focus, and effort required is vastly greater. Building a simple thoughtform requires only an anchor of some kind as well as a dedicated space and time. If the thoughtform is to have a body or form, it is highly recommended to possess at least a basic understanding of energy work- specifically about creating energetic constructs.

To begin creating a thoughtform, it is best to start by sitting down and planning on paper its function(s), appearance, limitations, restrictions, a name, and an anchor sigil. Once you’ve thoroughly planned out the thoughtform, energetically create it’s form. This can be done through visualization, however using actual astral senses for the energetic process would be more effective. Once you have created its form, it must be maintained while you imprint its programming into it. A method I like to use for this step is to stream energy into my head through the right temple, while meditating on the thoughtform’s functions, then pulling it out of the left temple before installing it into the form. This may take up to a couple hours to complete and may require starting over if focus is broken. It is important that you have the anchor sigil dedicated to memory, so that the image of it can be implanted as well. It is recommended that the sigil only be physically created a singular time, that way it is easier to destroy the thought form later on. It may also be beneficial to anchor the energetic form of the entity into a physical object made of glass or metal.

If you ever decide to destroy your thoughtform, you must destroy the anchor sigil and then work towards forgetting its name as well as its entire existence. Thoughtforms are primarily fed by the creator’s attention and interaction to it, but this isnt always the case. If the thoughtform is anchored into a piezoelectric crystal, then that anchor can be placed under pressure to keep the thoughtform alive. If the thoughtform you wish to destroy is anchored energetically to an object, then the object must be put through a banishing before cleansing it completely.

Thoughtforms are useful for applications in warding, divination, and spiritwork. They can also be used to deliver information, spells and protections to others. All that is required is a specific functionality.

Subconsciously created thoughtforms (AKA Tulpa* in closed Buddhist and Taoist traditions.)

In instances of trauma or emotional hypertension, it is possible for the mind to create a thoughtform as a way to expel an emotion, experience, or memory from the mind. These thoughtforms typically are bound to whatever object the creator is latching onto for comfort. What differentiates these entities from intentionally created ones is that they don't have an initial form, rather they develop one as time passes. A lot of the time, these entities can manifest as emotional echoes (what most ghost encounters actually are) and will live on well past it’s progenitor.

When performing shadow work, it is important not to try to eject or remove aspects of the self, as doing so may generate a thoughtform; it also wouldn’t achieve an actual removal of that aspect. Thoughtforms created subconsciously or as a result of internal rejection of aspects of the self typically take on the traits and behaviors associated with the experience tied to that aspect. They also tend to have limitations that are also tied to these experiences. As an example, if a child were to be terrified of the dark, and consistently left alone in the dark, that child could create a thoughtform whose purpose is to instill fear. However its limitation would be tied to the child’s subconscious desire to be safe and would very likely not be able to do any harm to the child; and may even try to protect them in moments of strife. If this child were to have a stuffed animal, then this thoughtform would bind itself to this object, as it would be the closest thing to the child that regularly receives attention.

When dealing with banishing a subconsciously created thoughtform, the same steps must be taken; however, this can be extremely difficult, especially if the creator has been dead for a while, due to the anchor being unknown. If the anchor is unknown then a standard area banishing is recommended, followed by cleansing. Afterwards, if the entity is still present do not pay it any attention. Actively ignore it and never speak of it again. If after a few weeks it is still present, a spacial exorcism is definitely recommended.