Focus

As mentioned earlier, the energy we work with is Life. Different people may sense it differently. Some may feel it as a tingling sensation; others may feel cold; others a feeling of comfort. Others may not really "sense" it at all, but merely know that it’s there. Regardless of how you are aware of it, it is important to know that  the energy can be sensed.

Some people find sensing the extent of a persons aura is simple, while others face a challenge finding their keys in the morning. In either case, practice and concentration can help improve and define the feelings and senses.

In time, these sensations may grow into other areas, like sounds, visions, or even smells. (An old friend of mine could not feel anything when it came to the energies, but could describe what they smelled like to him.) Telepathy, or "ESP," is just sending, receiving, and interpreting energy patterns between people. Some are able to slip into a trance-like state in which they watch a piece of the past or future replay itself, like a movie.

These sensations, no matter their form, can help us focus our energy by knowing that it is flowing, that it does move to its goal. It helps us believe what we can not  see, and also accept what we do see.

Ball in hand

Place your hands together. Rub them lightly together. Feel the heat created. This heat is the energy from your own body. Visualize and feel the energy flowing down into your hands. As the energy builds up, slowly pull your hands apart, continuing to “rub” them back and forth. Feel the same heat of the energy being made. If the heat/energy feeling goes away, close your hands until you feel it again. When you can feel it with your hands apart, pack it into a tight, small, ball in your hands, like a snowball. Keep adding energy to it and packing it together until you can feel it pulsing in your hands. Feel its color, shape, and texture. Ground the energy now. Practice this at least five to ten minutes a day.

An aura is the energy put out by a person or object. It tells many things about the subject it surrounds. Moods, thoughts, feelings, who the person has been in contact with recently- all can be told from the aura.

To some the aura appears as a faint outline, or ghost image, around the subject. To others, it may look like a cloud. Others still may just see an array of colors, swirling like a mist.

In “reading” someone’s aura, many say there are different meanings for each color and where they are in relation to the body. But, as everything else in the Magick, the colors and positioning is relative to the person looking at it. Each person has his or her own “fingerprint” aura, so to speak- there will be something that says that it is HIS OR HER aura, regardless of who sees it. It may be a design, or animal appearance, or even a series of color sequences. Whatever it is, it’s unique to the person who wears it.

Because the aura shows our thoughts, it can become “tarnished” or “dirty” from everyday life. Each time you think something negative, a ‘blotch’ shows on your aura. After a while, these blotches build up and can make one feel sick, depressed, or just uncomfortable. The thoughts and actions of those around us can affect us as well, just as much as our own. And so, too, can we affect theirs.

For example, let’s say that your aura is like a glass of water. When you start the day it’s clear and clean. You get up and think, “Man, I don’t feel good today.” Someone cuts you off in traffic on the way to work, and you think.... something unpleasant. Now, for each negative thought, action, reaction, response, etc that you have, put a drop of food color or coffee in the glass of water. The more negative the thought, the more you put into the water. See how quickly the water turns color? How quickly it looks murky and “blah?” Think of how you would feel if that was really your aura.

So you’re thinking, “Alright. So how do I get it back to the ‘pure’ state?” Well, just like the glass of water, you can dump the whole thing out and start over. Effective, but possibly a bit terminal. The other option (and the one I personally prefer) is to add more water to clean out, or at least dilute, the water enough that the effect of the ‘muck’ is minimized.

To do this with your aura, begin with the “Ball in hand” exercise. When you have a large enough “ball” built up, run your hands down your body, as if to wash yourself. You don’t actually have to touch, but ensure that you cover your entire body. As you go, imagine the energy in your hands drawing out and replacing the ‘muck’ on your aura. Visualize the ‘dirt’ collecting in your hands. Once you have “cleaned off,” wash your hands in the sink, or in any FLOWING water, and let the aural “dirt” be taken with it. The reason for stressing the flowing water is that if the ‘dirt’ is let to sit, it can stagnate and become worse. If a bowl or other container specifically used for this- and only this- purpose is used then be sure to dispose of it someplace where it will not interfere with any other life- like a sand pit, or a sludge pool, or, again, any flowing water. If that ‘dirt’ makes you feel tense or sick when it’s diluted in you aura, can you imagine what the ‘pure’ or ‘concentrated’ can do to someone- or something- else?

Here are some more exercises dealing with the sensing the aura. While doing them, remember that you can affect someone drastically by affecting their aura. So you need to be careful about how and what you do when working on these with a partner.

Pendulum Exercise

*A pendulum can be a necklace, a key, ring, watch, or crystal on a string or chain- anything that will swing freely and that is emotionally appealing Ground and center, and breathe deeply, from the diaphragm and belly. Hold the pendulum lightly by the top of its chain, so that it hangs about two inches above the open palm of your hand. Relax, and tell yourself that the pendulum will begin to swing sunwise, reflecting the energy in your hand. Wait quietly. For most people, it will soon begin to circle. While it seems to move of its own volition, actually involuntary movements of your own hand cause its motion. Don’t attempt to control it consciously- the purpose is to let your unconscious speak to you through your own muscle movements, reflected in the pendulum. If it does not move, deliberately make it circle a few times to show Younger Self what you want. Wait. (Some people need several sessions before the pendulum will work.)

Sensing the Aura: Pendulum method

(Two people are needed for this exercise, a sender and a receiver. Both should be successful at the Pendulum.) Sender sits in a comfortable position, breathing deeply from the belly. The receiver holds the pendulum so that it swings about two feet over the sender’s head. Both persons should ground and center. Slowly, the receiver lowers the pendulum, telling herself that it will begin to swing when it hits the sender’s aura. Practice until you can feel the edge, or corona, of the aura. When the pendulum reacts consistently, explore the outlines of the astral body. Search out areas of tension, and note vortices of energy. Exchange positions and repeat.

Sensing the Aura: Direct method

Again the sender sits in a relaxed position, breathing deeply. Both persons should ground and center. The receiver lowers her hand, palm toward the sender, into the field of the aura. Stop when you can feel the outer, radiating edge of the astral body. The “feel” will be at first extremely subtle- a slight tingling, heat, an almost imperceptible difference, perhaps only a sudden urge to stop. Scan the astral body with your hands- again feeling for areas of tension, which may register as cold, as absence of energy, or simply uneasiness. Sense the body’s power centers, as well, and compare results with the pendulum method. Exchange positions and repeat.

Seeing the Aura

(This exercise is best practiced as a group. Each of the members can take turns being the subject. All should be proficient at sensing the aura.) Set up a plain background- a black or white cloth or sheet. The subject should stand against it or lie down on it, and, if possible, be skyclad. Everyone ground and center, and relax with one of the earlier excursuses that will produce a light state of trance. Lighting should be down. Breathe deeply from the diaphragm, and let your eyes relax. Lightly scan the space around the subject. You may see a thin, glowing line around her body- the wraith. Around it, look for the cloud-like astral body, which may appear to glow, or seem like a shadow, oddly lighter than the background. To some, the astral body will appear as a subtle difference between the foreground and the background- a wavering, like heat wave over a radiator. It may appear and blank out, shift, move, and change, but will gradually become more stable as you accustom yourself to astral vision. The colors in the aura have many interpretations. Rather than follow a set rule, “feel-see” them for yourself. The quality of the color is most illuminating- is it clear? Bright? Or muddy and dull? What does it make you think of? Feel? Are you attracted or repelled by it? What associations does it have? Share perceptions and feedback, and with time and experience you will be able to interpret what you see.

“ESP”

Take some 3x5 cards. On one side, cover it with masking, duct, or electrical tape- something to sturdy the card as well as make it “see-through” proof. On the other, draw on of the following symbols: a star, a square, a circle, a cross, or a squiggle. Make five (5) of each card. If possible, make each a different color. For instance, the stars red, the squares blue, etc. Then, shuffle the deck of twenty-five (25) cards, and, one at a time, draw the cards. Don’t look at the symbol. Keep each face down. Look in your mind’s eye and from a picture of what is on the card. When you’ve made your decision, turn the card over. Keep track of how well you do. Practice occasionally (if not daily) and note your progress. This can also be done with two people, one drawing the cards and trying to “send” a picture to the other. As you improve, add more symbols into the deck, or use a normal deck of playing cards, getting more detail until you can call what card it is by suite and number.

There are many different types of energy. The energy in a person’s aura is different than that of water, or of the air, or the boxes in the closet. The most accessible energy is the elemental type-Air, Fire, Water, and Earth. Though not the most powerful, it is by far the most readily abundant and, as such, is excellent for most magickal works. There are many things that help us focus on each of the elements. There are also things in life that the elements help us focus on. Some of these are listed in many tables of correspondences. The exercises here deal mainly with the elements and its primary tool.

There are disagreements at to the use of the tools outside the ritual. Some traditionalists hold that the tools are sacred, and are for use only when worshiping in the ritual. Others hold that since the Gods hallow everything we do, that everyday use is all right. Seax-wicca, for instance, teaches the former, while Gardnerian-wicca follow the latter. Whichever you follow, so mote it be.




Back to Section 3
On to Section 5
Back to the Library.
Back to the Inn.