[  Page Two ]       "Dreams are the source of creativity. They are expressions of experiences that are seeking to become real. When you practice dream magick, you do not just focus on what your dreams mean, you use magickal techniques, in the context of your dreams, to help them come to fruition." ~ Sirona Knight Excerpted from Dream Magic Dream Magick - basics/definitions Every spell and ritual involves three basic steps. First, you set your expectation, then you fill it with your desire, and finally you merge with the divine, to help your goal or desire to become a reality. 1. Expectation �?Having a clear image of the outcome you desire and then setting the stage for this outcome to occur. Knowing what you want 2. Desire �?How much you want something to happen. Use all of your senses, to see it, feel it, taste it, smell it, hear it, and intuit it. Be passionate! 3. Merging �?Once you build your desire while doing a magical work and it reaches the point where you feel you are about to burst with energy, the time has come to merge with your goal. When you merge, you become one with divine energy, whatever name you give it. Dream Magic Altar This is the magickal working surface that holds your tools, components, and other items you wil use in magick making. It can be any sturdy surface even a bedside table, but it should be in the north quarter as the north quarter is the realm of midnight, deities, dreams and magick. Astral Dream Magic Altar This altar is fueled with your imagination and thus remains unhampered by physical laws. This is the place where you enter, connect and depart from the dream world. Dream Guardians Like the traditional Watchtowers and four Wards, which are the lesser Goddesses and Gods who watch over the corners of the sacred circle. These deities can be very helpful during magick-making. They weave a protective shield around your circle. These dream guardians are ancient beings who protect you during night spells and rituals by standing guard at the four corners of your sacred dream circle. The difference between these Dream Guardians and traditional Watchtowers is that they not only stand guard while you are making magick, they also specifically watch over and protect you during sleep and dream. These watchful guardians were originally the lesser Goddesses and Gods who were to watch over Earth and all the celestial realms. A different dream guardian rules and guards each gate or portal of the four elemntal directions leading to the Otherworld. Dream Magick - Preparation Smudging your sacred space You can purify your sacred space by smudging. The smoke of an herbal mixture of sage and cedar, sometimes blended with lavender, copal or sweetgrass, cleanses your room, altar, tools, magickal components, and yourself of unwanted energies. I do this before ritual as a way to cleanse everything. It also helps prepare me for ritual. To smudge your room, begin by lighting the smudge stick and blowing on it softly until it starts to smoke. Hold the burning smudge over a fireproof bowl or dish because a certain amount of the burning herbs will drop down. Allow the smoke to waft over your altar. Pass each of your altar tools through the smoke three times. Move in a clockwise circle around the room and say: May the Goddess and God Protect and Bless this Sacred Space And rid it of all negativity. Blessed be! Blessed be the Gods. When you finish smudging the room, altar, tools, and yourself, douse the stick in water to put it out completely. To Create Your Dream Magick Altar Gather together all the items you want to include on your altar. Then spread an altar cloth out on the altar surface, and arrange your altar tool and other magickal components. The altar cloth is usually made of a natural material such as linen, cotton, silk, or wool. It can be any color, although midnight blue, black, silver, and white are natural choices for dream magic. The left side of your dream altar is the creative, nurturing side, dedicated to the Goddess, while the right side is traditionally the active, power side, dedicated to the God. Customarily, a status or other image representing the Goddess is placed on the left side of the altar and am image of the God on the right side. You perform your invocations and gestures before these images, and you turn toward their direction when casting spells and doing rituals. Keep your altar fluid changing it to reflect the different season, phases of the moon, your hopes, and desires. Also, be sure to place all the items on your dream magic altar so that you can conveniently reach them even in a darkened room. To Create your Astral Dream Magic Altar Items necessary: ~ Small smooth white stone ~ Bowl of saltwater ~ Active imagination First, place the stone in the saltwater for a few minutes to clear it of any unwanted energies. Rinse the stone with cool water for one minute, and after drying it, hold the stone in your receiving hand (left hand if you are right-handed) while you sit or recline in bed. Empower the stone by saying: Magickal altar seen but not seen. Sacred stone table of my dreams, May I stand before you tonight, Beneath the starspun moonlight. So be it! So dream it so! Now close your eyes and visualize the stone becoming larger and forming into a natural stone altar resting in a sacred grove of stately oak trees. See and sense yourself standing in front of your astral dream altar, placing each of your imaginary tools on it one by one. Start simple and then elaborate, and make it more personal and unusual over time. After laying your dream tools out, mentally connect them with a thread of brilliant white light. Move your attention and the radiant white light from one object to another, filling them with light. Continue connecting the tools together with light, and as you do this sense yourself filling the stone in your left hand with the image of your astral dream magic altar. Now lie back and continue to hold the stone in your hand. As you drift to sleep, repeat silently “Dream it so.�?In the morning, give the stone a place of honor on your bedroom altar. Anytime you want to return to you astral dream altar, simply hold the stone in your left hand, close your eyes, and imagine yourself standing in front of your astral dream magic altar.           Dream Magic Altar Tools ~ Athame �?Double edged knife used for magickal work ~ Bell �?Feminine symbol of the Goddess ~ Bowl �?traditionally made of clay, this corresponds with the north ~ Cauldron �?Three legged pot that represents the Goddess and the water element ~ Chalice �?Symbol of Water and West ~ Incense Burner or Censer �?Representing fir and air elements ~ Robe �?Your magickal skin. Made of any fabric, color or design. Used only for magic working ~ Wand �?Associated with the east and the air element                                                       )                                                                                                        .