Thursday, January 28, 2016

The Magickal Power of Hitting "Reset"

While many people engage in the ritual of New Year's Resolutions, very few people actually take the time to stop the rhythm of their daily lives to hit the magickal "Reset" button. In tribal times, people used ceremonies to release the old and welcome the new--usually during or the equinox. In modern times, however, these times have become simply holidays, time off from work and time for family. While holidays can often mean family time, which can resemble tribal ceremonial gatherings, unfortunately the family members rarely participate in activities that are intended during gatherings... to release the old and welcome the new.

Modern Magickal Ceremonies
Depending on the people with whom you gather during the holidays, conducting modern magickal ceremonies can either be done as a group or on your own. Both group and solo ceremonies can be equally effective. Many students in our classes conduct group ceremonies, often but not always at the solstice of equinox. While the solstice and equinox are indeed powerful times of the year to conduct ceremonies, if it is not possible to conduct a ceremony during those times of year, any time will do. The goal is to take the time to stop the daily routine of our lives and spend a certain period of time purposefully releasing the old from the past season (or seasons), and welcome the new for the coming season.

There are many powerful reasons to take the time to conduct such magickal ceremonies, including:
  • releasing old beliefs that no longer serve you
  • processing events from the recent far past that you have not yet resolved so you can put the events and information in the proper place in your consciousness
  • releasing people and relationships in your life that no longer serve you, and which may cost you energy to maintain
  • allowing the new ideas, emotions, directions, guidance, and spiritual power from your spirit guides, totems, and other higher beings to enter your consciousness
  • gaining new perspectives on your life, including possible new options for career, health, money, love, family, and more
  • expanding the spaces in between the daily actions of your life to allow the magick to seep into your life and take its place in your life
There are many other benefits to spending time designing and participating ceremonies. One major benefit is that you probably won't catch any major flus or colds going around. While catching a cold does often have to do with being in proximity of others who are sick, practitioners who take the time during the change of season to celebrate with ceremony tend not to get sick.

Because there are no ceremonial periods integrated into modern everyday life, the body, mind, and Spirit often have no recourse for creating a magickal period of celebration other than illness. If you think about it, getting sick forces us to slow down, take time to rest, and avoid going to work. While lying flat on your back due to illness isn't the most pleasant way to release the old, sickness does get the job done. The old is released through all the somewhat unpleasant aspects of sickness, as well as through sleep and dreams and even the images and dreams associated with fevers. Being sick for a period of time gives us a different perspective on our lives. We move slower, think less, feel more sensation, and have the time to consider the various aspects of our lives that we usually never have the time to do.

As we begin to recover from our illness, we feel a new sense of vibrant energy. We enjoy the return of our normal vibrant energy--something we tend to take for granted on a daily basis. Recovery from illness can make us more appreciative of various aspects of our lives. If you journal, you will see the difference in your perspective in your life, as brought about by sickness.

So while getting sick is certainly one way to release the old and bring in the new, wouldn't taking just a few hours to participate in a ceremony be much more fun?

Simple Magical Ceremonies
While many of our students do create and participate in ceremonies rich in content and filled with people, this is not a necessity. To celebrate the release of the old and the arrival of the new in your life, you can do something as simple as inviting a few friends over for a drumming ceremony. If you prefer to fly solo, consider some of these simple options:

Sun Candle: Gather a bright yellow candle (no red or orange undertones) along with wooden or paper matches plus a plate. Gather pen and paper. Divide the paper into two columns. On one side list all the aspects of your life that you would like to release (the old). On the other side of the list, write all the new aspects that you would like to invite into your life during the coming season. Find a quiet place where you can be undisturbed for at least an hour. Gather all your materials and sit in the South facing North with your materials in front of you. Light the Sun Candle with the matches. When the candle has a strong and steady flame (called a working flame), place your list on the plate and put the candle on top of the plate. In a voice of command, say the following verse:

Child of Wonder
Child of Flame
Nourish My Spirit
And Protect My Aim


Sit quietly until you feel complete. If you like, meditate by staring at the candle flame. Or simply envision the energy of the old leaving your life as the energy of the new enters, Feel free to repeat this simple ritual for several days in a row if you like.

Announce Your Reset to the Universe: Another simple way to release the old and welcome the new is to make your list, as in the previous exercise, and then announce your intentions to the Universe. Once you have made your list, find a place outside where you feel comfortable speaking to the Winds, Sky, and Earth. Start by facing East. In a voice of command, speak the following: "Winds of Knowledge, With Beauty I Greet You. I ask your help in releasing the old from my life and welcoming the new into my life. I thank you in advance for your help." Turn clockwise and face the South. Address each direction as follows:

o South: Winds of Power
o West: Winds of Feeling
o North: Wind of Strength
o Sky (face East and put attention upward): Sky Father
o Earth (face east and put attention downward): Earth Mother

Hibernate: If doing either of the two exercises above seems to be too much, then simply do as many of the creatures in Nature do... hibernate. Whether you need to request that your family not disturb you or you simply need to spend the night in a hotel, take a day or two to simply sleep, eat, rest, read, relax and rejuvenate as you like. You will be amazed at how following the simple guidance from your body will recharge your batteries in a hurry!

Another way to get your new year off to a new start is to join in the magic with others. We are currently offering you the opportunity to try out our classes for free. The only payment we'll ask for is that after each set of classes, you provide some sort of testimonial or way of passing the magick forward to others. For more details on this special offer just email us at info@shamanschool.com and we'll send you the details and a coupon code to purchase the Magical Element Air classes at no cost to you to get you started. In this new year let magic help you let go of the old and invite in the new.

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Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Spellwork Troubleshooting

So you've launched your spell. You've done everything you can think of. You've done checkup Tarot readings on your Directors and Limiters (what you want your spell to do and not do) as well as on your verses. You have cleansed the area and launched your spell.

Then... nothing. You do a checkup Tarot reading on your spell and you see that it is stalled out. What could have gone wrong? Unfortunately, in the world of spellwork, unless you are using a spell that has already been proven to work under multiple circumstances, a lot of things can go wrong. So we've written a short little troubleshooting guide that might help you out. Check your spellwork against the list and see if any of the items apply to you. If so, don't fret. Many times you just need to relaunch your spell under the right conditions and all will go according to plan!

Spellwork Issue #1: The Moon
As you may know, many spells are tied into the timing of the lunar calendar. The moon is an important part of many types of spellwork, so timing the launching of your spell according to the waxing and waning of the moon is important. Just as the moon affects the tides all around the globe, the moon is often the moving factor behind a spell. The key to working with the moon is simple:

1. If you want your spell to build and grow and become larger, time your spell launch for when the moon is waxing.
2. If you want your spell to diminish a problem or cause an issue to shrink until it disappears, then launch your spell when the moon is waning.

If you plan to launch your spell several times (which is sometimes appropriate), then always relaunch your spell according to the previously given rules.

Spellwork Issue #2: Using the Appropriate Magickal Elements
Depending on whether your spell is meant to work on the level of thoughts and communication, action, emotion, or manifestation, the appropriate use of the four magickal elements is very important. The following list should give you a quick idea of which elements should be included in your spell, from the color of candles you might choose to the sound used in your spell verses. Candle carvings representing the appropriate elements may also come into play, as may the spiritual beings you call upon as you cast your spell:
  • Air: thoughts, communication, planning, speaking, logic, expression, writing
  • Fire: action, movement, kinetic (as opposed to potential) energy, anger, heat, neural energy, blood energy
  • Water: emotions, the language of Spirit, buried traumatic issues from past lifetimes
  • Earth: manifestation, practical ideas, construction, putting physical things together in a way that works
Now that you know which elements are associated with which parts of spellwork, you can review your spell to see whether you included the appropriate focus on elements. This is simply a quick peek at the elements. There is an entire deep art associated with the icons, colors, Tarot cards, sounds (for litanies and chants), and other factors for each element. If you are interested in this type of deep learning, consider our Basic Magic Level 1 course or element short courses and be sure to check out our special course offer at the end of this article.

Spellwork Issue #3: Using the Right Type of Spell
Just as you would not use a garden spade to dig a space for the foundation of a building, you would not use a backhoe to dig a hole in which to plant a small garden flower. Spellwork has the same kind of "scale" issues. If you want to tackle a truly large problem, such as a Bill that is to appear before the U.S. Senate, you will need a backhoe-sized spell to influence such a large issue. This type of spell would most likely be a room-sized Tarot spell cast by an entire group of people. On the other hand, if you want to cast a spell to get a better job, you will need a spell slightly larger than a garden spade, more of a full shovel. This might fall into the category of a Sun Candle spell or a "come along" spell with a keyed plate and magnet. If your spell isn't working, consider whether the spell you cast is of an appropriate scale for the issue you want to tackle.

Special Offer to Help You Start Your Magickal Journey
Hold onto your hats as we're about to blow you away with an offer you can't beat with a stick (or a wand)! We invite you to help spread magick across the globe and start on your own journey into magickal learning for FREE! How does this work? Just email us at info@shamanschool.com and tell us you want to take the course on the Magickal Element Air (which is the first 3 classes of our Basic Magic course). We will email you back a coupon code to use to gain access to this course for free. The course will give you access to online audio files, text book, videos, and class exercises. What's the catch? At the end of these 3 classes, we will ask that you help spread the magick to others by writing a testimonial, leaving a blog comment, commenting on our Facebook page, leaving a review on Amazon for one of our Kindle books, or something that will help encourage others to consider bringing magick to their lives. In return, we will then give you access to the next few classes in Basic Magic, the Fire Element, for free. We are prepared to continue this all the way through at least 10 classes; all at no cost to you other than to help spread the word to others. Why would we do this? We want to give you the chance to see if the type of teaching we offer resonates with you and how better to do that than actually experiencing classes for yourself. We are looking to connect with serious students of magick and feel this process will bring us together with those seeking the type of knowledge we have to offer. The more of us doing magickal acts, the higher the level of consciousness that exists and the more our planet can benefit. It's that simple. 

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to the feed to have future articles delivered to your feed reader. Or, visit our website for more great resources.

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

How to Do Meditation: The Walking Meditation

We have all heard of the many benefits of mediation for physical, mental and spiritual health, but are you one of those who are not sure how to do mediation or have trouble doing a sitting meditation? Very active or fire element personalities often find sitting meditation very difficult and frustrating. If you are one of these people and have been searching for how to do meditation in a way that works for you, look no further. We have the answer for you straight from our first Kindle book Learn How to Do Witchcraft Rituals and Spells with Your Bare Hands – a walking meditation.

The Walking Meditation
This meditation allows you to connect with the Universe and higher powers and beings, share your thoughts and receive feedback without ever having to sit down. The more often you engage in this practice, as with any type of meditation practice, the more benefit you will receive. We recommend this become a daily ritual for you and doing it around the same time of day each day will create a more consistent connection with higher powers… like creating a scheduled daily appointment.
Here’s how you do it:
  • Choose an amount of time you will walk for or a distance you will walk.
  • When you begin walking, talk to your totems, guides, angels, the Universe or any higher beings about whatever is on your mind, what you need or what you want. You will do the talking for the first half of the walk.
     
  • Halfway through the walk, stop talking and begin listening and watching for signs of feedback from the powers you have been talking to. Feel your feelings, be aware of body sensations, listen to the sounds around you, smell the smells around you and really see the sights around you. Absorb all these things totally.
     
  • That’s it! You have now joined the world of meditation.

Yes, it’s just that easy and walking meditation is truly one of the ways of how to do meditation. If you have struggled with non-moving meditations, using the walking meditation will help you finally see how your life will be enriched through meditation. If sitting meditation just doesn’t work for you, you owe it to yourself to start exploring moving meditation and reaping the benefits.


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Thursday, January 7, 2016

Basic Magic: Tribal Traditions for a Modern World

From before the written history of this incarnation of Planet Earth, magick has been taught as a tribal tradition, a dialog of learning. Only in this way is true magick passed from one planetary citizen to another--as a thing alive with power, force, and access to all that is within the Universe and its Laws.

To be sure magick can be learned from books and online courses. Many do so every day through our books, ebooks, and online courses. But true advancement in magick comes from verbal dialog, feedback from others on the same path, and the experience of magick as a tradition full of life, change, and the miraculous.

Magick, Miracles, and the Modern World
For magick to be a thing alive as a powerful force in the world, it must be adaptable to every change in modern society. In a world where the "thumb tribe" texts incessantly, where there is never enough time to slow down and "be"... how and where can magick and the miraculous exist?

Magick has always been a force that exists in the "in between"--in the small cracks and spaces in our lives, flowing silently into our lives when we least expect it, in the small lucid period between wakefulness and sleep.

And so magick and the miraculous easily slip into the "in betweens" in the modern world. Despite all the smart phones and game boxes and inability to "unplug" in today's society, magick always finds a way. Magick still exists as a tribal tradition filled with learning of how to use and play with the miraculous. Magick is still a lively tradition of discussion and experimentation and social dialog. Magick is still an oral tradition, but adapted to the modern world.

In today's world, magick must meet the needs of the digital tribe. Still taught as a tribal tradition, the modern version of this tradition combines high tech with high touch. Magick in the modern world still brings the miraculous down to Earth, and raises our levels of being to higher planes.

Magick as a Living Tradition
Taught as a tribal tradition, magick cannot be fully experienced for the ardent student by books and self-study alone. Thus we have created a modern tribal tradition where magick is a living thing, and the knowledge is transmitted through a mix of online self-study and regular lively dialog and feedback, in the best tribal tradition of oral teaching.

Join the Tribe
How can you learn magick as a living tradition, adapted to modern life? Simple. Join the modern tribe of magick and experience the miraculous for yourself. The modern tribe of practicing magicians is spread across the globe, connected by invisible yet powerful computerized and networked lines. The magickal knowledge lives in the cloud, accessed anytime and anywhere by members of the tribe. The tribe gathers weekly via teleconference to discuss, bounce ideas, exchange experiences, and learn through the oral tradition of teaching.

The Mechanics of the Tribe
To be a member of the tribe is simple. Anyone is welcome into the tribe who agrees to abide by the Rules of the Road, as inspired by our teacher, Reverend George Dew. To become a member of the tribe is simple:
  • Access full multimedia course materials from the 30 week Basic Magic course online
  • Study and learn at your own pace
  • Bring your experiences, questions, ideas, and thirst for magickal knowledge to a weekly teleconference, Skype session, and online chat. It does not matter where you are in the course. Join the teleconferences and/or chats from day one or anytime you wish. Some students will be further along in the course material, while you may be ahead of others in your learning. It does not matter. Sharing amongst the members of the tribe, as guided by oral teachings, enriches everyone.
  • Exchange ideas, share experiences, and learn via the oral tribal tradition from G. Alan Joel, co-founder of the Esoteric School. Alan will guide you through the course material, wherever you are, at whatever step you need help.
  • Access teleconference sessions from the past via recorded audio files posted in the Tribe's cloud storage system
  • Pay US$69 per month to access materials and participate in the chats and teleconference weekly. A minimum commitment of three months is required up front. After that, you may come and go from the Tribe as your life allows, stopping and starting your membership as needed, and simply paying US$69 each month that you are active in the Tribe.

Extra or Customized Help
  • If you need specific help with a specific problem, such as writing and designing a spell beyond the scope of the materials offered online, special services are available for spellwork, Tarot readings, divinations, and other customized help.
  • Most one-on-one work of this kind is offered at the rate of US$90 per hour, but is flexible depending on need, scope of work, etc.

Special Offer
Be among the first 11 members to join the Tribe and receive three months of access to all online materials, teleconferences, and chats for the price of two months (US$138).  You will also receive a free paperback copy of G. Alan Joel's book Witchcraft Spell Book: The Complete Guide of Witchcraft Rituals & Spells for Beginners.

Join the Tribe by Clicking Here to fill out the registration form and then by going HERE to make registration payment.


Be sure to provide your mailing address to receive your paperback book, provide a valid email address, and use the coupon code chfree at checkout to get your first 3 months for the price of 2 months (discount will show up after applying coupon at checkout). After the first 11 members signup the code will no longer work, so signup now. You will then receive an email within 48 hours with instructions on how to access the online portion, teleconference, and chats for the course. Join us by continuing the tribal tradition of magical practice and discover all the wonders real magic can bring to your life.