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Underground > Temple >

Help me get back into magick

rakehell

04:07 / 15.04.03

I used to do a fair bit of magick. Mostly chaos-type stuff, sigil work, some modified voudon.

Without going into detail, my life changed and I stopped. Not all at once, but I currently do nothing. I've begun to miss it terribly, yet can't seem to get back into it. Into something that used to be a huge part of my life. I even have trouble reading books on the topic - which I was hoping would rekindle the passion I once had.

So I'm asking for "Beginner's Tips". I know how I'd start and it doesn't seem to be working. I'd like suggestions from other people, what would you do? What would you recommend to a complete novice or perhaps to someone who's just book smart?

I'm hoping that something someone says will trigger something in me and I'll be on my way to recovery. Any and all opinions and advice welcome and appreciated.

Quantum

10:06 / 15.04.03

Start a new path. Get into a type of magick different to the stuff you used to do, and you won't carry the associations that prevent you from practicing. Learn to read Tarot or use the I-Ching and see what they tell you. Meditate, do guided visualisations, try and make a charm etc etc. It'll grab you again if the time's right.

gravitybitch

14:12 / 15.04.03

That sounds like really good advice!

Another possibility is to make a list of the things that are interesting to you now, and then roll dice (or flip coins or whatever) and do that thing on the list for 15 minutes.

Pull out your deck (if you have one) and just look at the cards. It shouldn't be a laborious process; just look at the pretty pictures and admire the details. Wonder about the origins of the symbolism. Wonder about the history of it all, let your mind drift into the scenes.... See if you feel a connection to the magick in those 78 bits of cardboard.

A good part of magick is listening deeply to what the universe has to say, so ask away.

mixmage

15:00 / 15.04.03

Great idea Iszabelle!

... Or adopt a totem for the day. First living thing you see [other than humans]. Meditate on it a little, allowing your thoughts/associations/memories to just float past without engaging with or attaching to any of them. 15 mins should do just fine - even 5 mins morning, noon, night.

If you find any that feel particularly resonant to you, it could be the first step on a new path, or at least a new avenue of investigation.

Perfect Tommy

18:48 / 15.04.03

I had an idea that I liked, but I haven't tried yet:

I have no working-with-gods experience... hell, I wasn't even baptized. But I was thinking that a good way to start to build a relationship would be to treat a god like a 14-year-old treats a popstar, at least at the beginning. Put up appropriate pictures, draw a god's sigil onto your notebook repeatedly (surrounding with hearts optional), make collages, read about them, collect related words/images/smells, get a "thingy" to fidget with like a worrystone for some tactile connection.

I've avoided making an altar because I didn't want to put anything that wasn't "right" on it. Instead I'm thinking of just being a collector, who arranges his collection on a table. Eventually I'll call it an altar--visions of blue-skinned avatars should come later, rather than sooner.

Ria

19:07 / 15.04.03

alternately you could collect the collages and so on and make up a deity from that.

Perfect Tommy

22:15 / 15.04.03

...or a popstar

Good point, I hadn't thought of that.

rakehell

05:19 / 17.04.03

Thanks for the tips everyone. I've never been into the tarot, but this would seem to be a perfect place to start.

What about the saying that you should never buy a deck only steal or receive one as a gift?

mixmage: I'll have to make it "First living thing I see - other than humans or cats" because I'd end up thinking about my kitty all day and I de that a lot as it is.

Cool idea though.

gravitybitch

05:44 / 17.04.03

I don't believe in that - all the decks I own, I've gotten for myself and they work just fine...

(I have one fairly traditional deck based loosely on the Waite deck [but I don't remember who did it], and one really fun deck - the Cosmic Tribe deck - very Burning Man. Lots of "mud people", tattoos, piercings, and nonskinny/nonwhite folks. The *next* deck I pick up is going to be from Verticle Oracle... very nontraditional!)

Quantum

07:01 / 17.04.03

I agree, that stuff about receiving decks is superstition (although it is nice, I use it as an excuse to give people Tarot decks) get the one that feels right and get a good book. I can recommend 'Tarot for the next generation' (can't remember the author) despite it's new age cover.

Also reading this thread gave me an horrific mental image. The stuff about Gods and the stuff about Popstars made me think............

wait for it..................

KALI MINOGUE!

eye landed

10:53 / 17.04.03

What about the saying that you should never buy a deck only steal or receive one as a gift?

What? Stealing is in? Off to the store!

Salamander

14:04 / 17.04.03

You might for some reason also have developed an aversion complex in your psyche. Have you felt guilty for not practicing magick for the unspecified duration and reason? If so, you might want to also take a look at this guilt except it and let it go. Your failure to finish books on the subject may be indicative of this. If all this is true you need to work with that guilt...

Ria

16:36 / 17.04.03

"one really fun deck - the Cosmic Tribe deck - very Burning Man."

so much so that I met one of the models for the girl-on-girl Lovers card at Burning Man.

you need not buy a tarot deck. you can make your own deck or something dis/similar made by yourself.

FinderWolf

18:44 / 17.04.03

I say get back into sigils and see what you're inspired to do after that. Oh, and KALI MINOQUE is total brilliance.

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