Developing Psychic Abilities

The development of spiritual abilities is probably some of the most sought after techniques in magical practice. Learning how to see, hear, and speak to spirits gives the magician an edge in their efforts. Some people of course are naturally gifted, but others have to work at it to become proficient. 

Since my childhood I was unfortunate enough to be able to see spirits. Along with also being hag ridden as a child, which also caused horrible night terrors, I oftentimes had visions while praying. I assumed this was the case for everyone, until others informed me that when they prayed they just saw the insides of the their eyelids. 

When I became a teen and started dabbling in magic, I started to get visited by spirits in my dreams. It wasn't until I was about twenty three when I finally started to focus on developing these skills. Most of my spiritual development took place during this time in my life, and these are some of the techniques that I believe aided in my development:

Zener Cards

I had a fascination with psychism in my late teens and I learned about Zener Cards as a tool for psychic training and testing. Although largely "debunked" by the scientific community in their application, the focus on the simple symbols off the cards can greatly aide in building the imagination. 

As for my own experimentation I would shuffle the deck, draw a card, without looking and place it face down in front of me. Then I would close my eyes and try to imagine what was on the card. If no image came to me I would place the card back in the deck without looking and shuffle the deck again. When I felt that I had a card that I could imagine, I would say allowed what I believed the image was then turn the card over. Eventually I was guessing 5 out of 7 draws correctly. 

Tarot Scanning

Donald Michael Kraig's Modern Magic was problem one the best practical magic sources that was readily available at the local bookstore 20 years ago. He had a lot of techniques that were largely based on the magic of the Golden Dawn, but there was one exercise that was an absolute gem: the scanning of the trump cards.

The exercise was simple: draw a tarot trump and scan the card slowly from left to right from top to bottom. With each scanned line you would briefly close your eyes and imagine the image you just scanned. The goal is to be able to imagine the whole card in your mind's eye. 

First, I'd like to point out that this technique works best with a Rider Wait deck because the imagery and color scheme is rather bold and easier to visualize. Second, this practice will help you better connect to the tarot deck and will strengthen your intuition when performing divinations. Finally, give each card a few days of practice with this technique, focus on seeing the image clearly before moving on.

Once you have scanned the twenty two trumps you should try the technique offered above with the Zener cards. If you are a bit of scientist, you should try the technique a few times before scanning the cards, then compare your results when you attempt again after you complete the scanning exercise.

Scrying

The act of gazing into an object to gain occult information from the object is an invaluable technique. Some people will take to this practice quite intuitively while others may struggle to get it. This becomes confusing for many as there is a litany of preferred materials for this technique that include: black mirrors, oxidized silver, a drop of ink, crystals, and more. 

A simple way to start working without investing in materials is to start with a crystal or gemstone. Quartz is generally inexpensive and you will only need a small piece. The clarity of the quartz crystal is up to you, but inclusions do not prohibit the ability to scry, in fact, inclusions can enhance the stone. 

Once you have selected your small piece of quartz crystal your first act will be to talk to the crystal. Tell the crystal that you want it to aide you in your ability to scry. Carry the crystal in your pocket day and night, and be sure to sleep with it under your pillow. 

After a couple of weeks of "bonding" with the crystal sit down quietly in a dark room. Light candle and hold the crystal in your hand. Try to let the candle catch some candle light. Softly gaze into the crystal, it's okay to blink, and allow your mind to empty into the crystal. Pay attention to images that may appear in your mind and be sure to record them. As you improve you will be able to direct your visions to the subjects that interest you.

These are just a handful of techniques to help you get started in your psychic development. It's not a fast process and at times can be disheartening and boring. However, persistence at it can opens worlds of possibilities that may not have been previously available to you. The power of a trained imagination is something all magicians should strive for.

Spirits I've Summoned: The Gnomes

The frame work of ceremony I followed in the early years my magic carrier were based on the Neophyte and Grade initiations of the Golden Dawn. I worked the elements by following an outlined based on the Grade ceremonies in order to scry and commune with the elemental beings of each realm. My  first experience with this method was introduced to me by an Adapt of the Golden Dawn.

In my early days of practicing magic, I was very influenced by the visionary works of Dee and Kelly as well as Crowley with his infamous Vision and the Voice. I was fascinated by the idea that magicians could view the invisible through ceremony and scry stones in order to gain knowledge and power. Naturally, a young magician like myself would want to gain esoteric knowledge from spirits and be able to predict the future.

I recall voicing my fascinations to a more experienced magician and he informed me of the Golden Dawn making use of tattwa cards to interact with elemental beings. Tattwa cards used specific elemental images of the Samkhya Hindu philosophy to symbolize the basic elements. A yellow square for earth, a blue circle for air, a red triangle for fire, a silver crescent moon for water, and a black or deep indigo egg for spirit/akasha.

I sat out to acquire Dr Mumford's book and card set Magical Tattwas, and straight away began to attempt the exercises in the book. One of the main objectives of the exercises is to "see" the tattwa image within your mind and project yourself through the image into the elemental landscape. I spent long hours attempting to open visualize the images with my eyes closed and see the "portal" so often described to little avail. However, despite not yet having the ability to see the elemental landscape, I was getting quite good at simply seeing the tattwa image in my mind.

I vented my frustrations with my progress after a couple of months to the same more experienced magician. He suggested that we open an elemental temple and then try scrying the tattwas. Admittedly, I was uncertain how a ceremony would improve the ability to scry, it seemed to me that all the action would produce the opposite state of mind I was striving for. Regardless of my feelings, I decided to go along with the ceremony.

The next day I went to the park to try and get in touch with earth elementals. I found a shady spot under a tree where the soil was rich and soft. I introduced myself quietly and sat around for a while, I thought I felt a presence like being watched but eventually gave up and decided to leave. I touch a small amount of soil with me for the ceremony that would take place the following evening.

We prepared the space for the ceremony by doing a Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram. Then we cleansed and incensed the space with water and frankincense. I was given the task of doing the invocation of Earth. I had spent the day practicing tracing the Earth invoking pentagram while intoning the God names of the Zealtor ceremony. I felt my whole body shaking while I drew the pentagram while intoning the names. The room began to feel animated and a lamp flickered on and off while I said each name.

The presence of the spirits fully invoked I picked up my little dish of soil and sat down in front of the altar where a the tattwa for earth was on display. I gazed into the yellow square and felt my consciousness begin to move into the image. I closed my eyes and saw the portal! I instinctively walked through and saw a landscape of rolling hills. It was like looking at a television screen. Suddenly I saw squat ugly little men in funny clothing coming over the hills. They were dancing and singing a strange little song. It seemed like they were watching me as I was watching them. They began to dig gold out of the ground and offered me handfuls of it.

Slowly the vision began to fade and I found myself back in the temple. I took a moment to regain my bearings and looked around the room. I was informed that I was in a trance for a very long time. Excitedly, I explained everything I experienced and I was surprised that no one else had such intense visions. It was suggested that because I was the one who did the invocations that I would have the more potent visions.

After that ceremony I began to experiment more with using God-names before scrying with similar success. I found myself being requested to be a scryer for ceremonies after I developed the skill. It even translated into my tarot reading abilities as I began to see things when I looked at the cards. I still employ a similar technique to this day when I wish to speak to angels in a crystal ball.