So yesterday we talked about the first principle of magic which is ritual. Today we will move into Divination.
At its core, when we talk about divination in this context, we are talking about seeing and understanding, the energy and energy magic, both internally and externally. It is where we are looking at perceptions, gaining knowledge, and control of our personal energy, or Soul. This part I think is the most challenging for many because it requires three things: an honest look inward, patience, and deep understanding of Duality. In order to move into the Web of Energy beyond yourself, and create or manipulate meaningful changes within it, you have to have a solid connection to Soul.
When you hear about “shadow work” they are generally talking about facing your inner self, the Soul, the thing you can not hide from or lie to because it is you. It is also the thing we fracture when we push down or block “undesirable parts” of ourselves. Instead we need to recognize them, face them, and either choose to embrace or change them. Do not misunderstand me here, I am not talking about another fracture. One example is that I have always firmly believed in being very open and sharing all my ideas. This was great for others but not for myself, yet I did not see it, and felt that holding back some information was being dishonest (I have a big thing about honesty). Taking the deep dive and looking at this from various perspectives I came to a place of balance. Where I feel I am still completely honest even if I am not fully divulging every detail. There are reasons to not give all your information, especially when talking about magical practices.
Through the divination practices we gain a deeper understanding of the flow or motion of energy, of time and all aspects of life and matter. Understanding the flow is crucial in being able to weave change within it.
Divination is where we look and gather information from a variety of perspectives. It’s where we also get information from the Energy Web, other patterns on the energy (divine, spirit, ancestor,etc), and from our own Soul. This aspect should also be a lifelong one. We should always be striving to learn more, hear more perspectives than just our own, and flexible enough to incorporate changes within ourselves when needed. Evolution is part of growth and in order to move forward we have to evolve.
So if Ritual is about the physical mastery of the practice, then Divination is the mastery of the energy. It is about the vibration of the energy within and without.
We will again return to the Sphere of Light exercise from part 1 for our example. In part one we focused on the action aspect. Now you will be focused on the energy aspect. First by feeling the energy and then visualizing it.
When you envision the energy coming down to the center of your head, this time you want to feel it. Is it warm, is it cool, does it radiate or is it compact?
Focus on feeling the energy with your hands as they close around it. How does it make your hands feel when you touch it? Is it like touching a beam of light, fluid like water, or putty? Is it warm, cold, tingly?
Once you start feeling the energy you should also start visualizing it. What does it look like to you, what color or colors does it contain, is it solid or wispy?
Like the ritual aspect, this takes practice and time, especially if you have never done energy work. You want to keep practicing this aspect until you can clearly feel and visualize the energy.
Tomorrow we will cover the Meditation or Manifestation aspect of the three principles.