Meditation

 

 

 

The first chakra is located at the base of the spine and is associated with sexual glands and organs. It governs sexual energy, regeneration, and creative drive. Its ruling planet is Saturn.

The second center is located near the spleen, halfway between the pubic area and the navel, and is associated with the endocrine system. It governs purification, metabolism, and immunity. Its ruling planet is Jupiter.

The third center is located at the solar plexus, just above the navel, and is associated with the sympathetic nervous sytem. It governs the adrenal glands, body energy, circulation, and general mood. Its ruling planet is Mars.

The fourth center is located at the breastbone and is associated with the thymus gland. This chakra is also known as the heart center. It governs the health of the mind, body and spirit. Its ruling planet is Venus.

The fifth center is located in the throat and is associated with the thyroid gland. It governs the balancing of body systems. Its ruling planet is Mercury.

The sixth center is located just above and between the eyebrows, and is associated with the pituitary gland.

The seventh center is located at the top of the skull and is associated with the pineal gland.

Visualization

Visualization is a very powerful tool in Witchcraft. It is the ability to "see" things that aren't physically present before you - to see with your mind and not your eye.

Nearly everyone possesses the ability to visualize. We did it as children when we played pretend or had an invisible friend. Some of us lost that ability as we grew up and grew serious. As a result, some people might need to practice to reconnect with this forgotten talent and turn it into a strong skill.

When you read the word apple, does a picture of an apple immediate pop into your head? That is visualization. It's that simple. The key is to develop your skill to the point you can hold a self-created image in your mind while your eyes are open.

Visualization is important in Witchcraft because it helps you direct your energy. When you cast a circle, you visualize it being formed. When you charge a candle, you visualize the energy moving from you into the candle.

Some Witches are powerful enough to simply feel the energy and know what it is doing. But you will find that most Witches find visualization a vital part of their magickal success.

Like mediation, you will find plenty of books, videos and cassettes to help you sharpen your visualization skills. We've also gathered some of the more common visualization exercises used in the craft to help get you started.

Meditation

Meditation is a form of relaxation. As Scott Cunningham says, "It's a quiet time where we can commune with the Goddess and God and ourselves, relaxing the conscious mind's hold on our psychic awareness."

Raymond Buckland describes mediation as quite simply listening..."listening to the Higher Self or the Inner Self, the Creative Force, the Higher Consciousness, even the gods themselves.

"Properly used, mediation opens the door to individual growth and personal advancement. Of All the techniques of advancement in the psychic and spiritual fields, meditation is by far the most effective. Coincidentally, it is also the most simple."

Meditation should be done before ritual or any magickal workings.

Ask a hundred Witches how to meditate and you'll get a hundred answers. Like everything else, it is something personal. You set your goals and you know what you need to relax. You can meditate with nothing but yourself, or you can use aids such as a candle, incense and/or music.

Here are some basic guidelines for meditation. Adapt them to suit your needs. There is also an abundance of books, videos and cassettes available to help you reach your meditative goals.

The first step to good meditation is to find a place where you will be undisturbed for the duration of your meditation, and secondly, to find a comfortable position. You want to minimize as many external distractions as possible.

Once you are settled in, close your eyes and take some deep, cleansing breaths. Imagine all your worries, tensions, problems and negativity leaving your body with each exhale.

When you have reached a state of calmness, open your consciousness.

Several things can happen at this point: You can just sit and "be," feeling your connection to the universe; you could toss symbols around in your head and see where it leads, you can chant or you can commune with the Goddess and God.

Don't expect wondrous Technicolor journeys or the answers of life to hit you when you meditate. For some, this might happen once meditation becomes ingrained in their life. But for most of us, this is a method to create relaxation in our mind and body.

Yes, sometimes by reaching that state of relaxation you can open yourself up to the universe and find the answers to your questions, experience past lives, discover hidden truths, meet your spirit guides, etc.

However, do not be upset if this doesn't happen immediately. Like anything else, meditation is a skill. It is something that needs to be practiced and perfected.

It is recommended that you meditate daily, even if only for a few minutes. The more you practice, the more you can gain from your meditations.

It is recommended that you keep a log of your meditations, including what accessories (candles, music, etc.) you used. Write down any thoughts or experiences you had. Make notes of things you might want to learn more about or go back to in your next meditation.

Sometimes, the line between meditation and visualization is a very thin one. Many of the meditation exercises you will find (including some of them here) also include visualization. Simply remember that meditation in its most basic form is just relaxation. Once you reach that, you can move on to visualization.

Four Stages of Meditation

1. The first is your ability to close your eyes. Jonny says when you are tense, this is difficult to do.

2. The second is your ability to observe your breath. It takes a calm and quiet mind to notice the subtleties of your breathing.

3. The third is your ability to notice the tiniest movements or changes in your body. At first the grosser movements will manifest, such as fidgeting or itching. As your mind and body quiet down, subtler sensations, such as the pulse and heartbeat, will be discernible.

4. The fourth ability is your capacity to remain calm, "non-reactive in the face of all that arises," whether it be strong feelings, thoughts or emotions. In meditation the goal is to stay calm and balanced.

Meditation is not blocking out your thoughts and feelings, but allowing them to arise, letting them go, and remaining calm. Whatever is going on in your life is likely to surface when you are meditating. During the fourth stage of meditation, you stop feeding the thoughts and emotions. When you stop throwing logs on the fire, the fire starts to die. The goal is to remain in equipoise.