YOUR PSYCHIC AWAKENING: RITUAL

This is the 7th part of continuing series.

Tonight is the Aries New Moon. This is a new beginning astrologically. A time of growth. A time to sow the seed of your dreams. Claudia at Moonsurfing calls this the Wish Moon. And an article in this year's Witches Almanac discusses the power of New Moon Magick. At the end of this post I include a short ritual for the New Moon tonight.

The more that you begin to see the world through your Third Eye, along with your physical eyes, the more you will need ritual to create sacred space and a place for unseen energies to manifest in your life. Rituals are energy fields, and they create a place for the Divine to reside in this world.

Many people find that going to a church service fulfills the need for ritual. I enjoy going to new churches and learning new religions. I incorporate many elements in my rituals and many of them are from Christian churches. A church service is a ritual for Jesus and the Love he brought to the world. (A prayer, in my opinion, is a spell.)

In witchcraft a ritual also creates a space for magick, much the same way a church creates a space for a service. Magick and witchcraft are more functionaries of the Divine and magickal energy than they are a religion. Witchcraft can be practiced in conjunction with any religion, even those that oppose it. (I recommend Marion Green and Scott Cunningham to newbie witches.) Feng Shui is a form of witchcraft, in my opinion.

Magick brings together the spirits of earthly things, calling up stone, tree, wind, storm, river, and sun to manifest as a power for healing, money, a new job, a lover, or any other need that you might have. It is no more evil to do this than it is to write something on the computer, and then print it out on a printer.

Some people have a natural magickal power. We might call this perfect positive thought or intention. They can think of something clearly, and have it manifest in their lives in a timely manner. Some witches have this power, some don't. Perfect positive thought might appear that is bypassing uniting with the spirits of earth, but if you attract a book to you have called something made from tree, water, metal, and air.

The difference between positive thought and witchcraft is that usually a witch will have a rapport with the entities of nature that the average person does not. Perhaps an ability to hear the voice of the wind, to communicate with trees or with animals, or to feel the movements and shifting of the earth and of the stars.

The practice of witchcraft is somewhat like being the manager of a manufacturing company: witches contract the services of earth spirits and have a working relationship with fire, earth, air, water, ether, the winds, sexual energy, the power of human Love, and the planetary rulers. Many witches worship one of more Dieties, and you may consider this Diety or Divine energy to be the owner or CEO of the manufacturing company.

The Goddess of witchcraft is often worshipped as the moon, or the moon as the female aspect of the Sacred Dance of the Lord and Lady. The Sacred Dance is something like a Divine entropy and enthropy. Our Universe if composed of complementary forces that create through a kind of organised conflict. Like sex between a man and woman, for the creation of children or pleasure.

Ritual can be seen as the "factory" where the workers are organised, the boss is consulted, and payment is made to the workers. This is visible in all rituals, including a mass or service at a Christian church.

Psychics usually get messages through spirit guides or angels or the dead. I believe some true clairvoyents maybe very farsighted and receive images of the future. But witches receive messages from the earth spirits as well. I have asked my Guides not to tell me things that cannot be changed. (It seems no good to know that someone is going die or become ill if there is nothing precognisence could do to prevent it or alleviate it.) However, this does not prevent the energies of the earth from telling me things that my Guides do not.

The more you practice witchcraft, the more your psychic abilities will develop, whether you have a pre-disposition or not. Nature is perfectly balanced, and chaos is always partnered with order in an intricate dance. By developing a relationship with the spirits of earth you will gain a greater awareness of how all things are linked. And you will begin to feel the tides of life and death, past and future, unseen forces, and the power of Love as the guiding principle of the Universe.

The moon is dark tonight. Her slender crescent won't be visible until Monday. In the darkness gather to yourself your deepest dreams. Not more than four of them. The most important ones that need to manifest in your life right now. Write them down if you need to.

Assemble a small stone; a mirror, seashell, or small dish of water; a feather, lady's fan, bell, or some incense; and a candle, preferably white, or two, one black and one white, or one black and one orange, or gold and silver, if you have them. A wee bit of wine and bread is nice too, or some pennies, or anything else you would like to use as an offering. Arrange these things nicely in front of you. (Optional: Pour some salt in a circle around you and your makeshift altar. Or cast a circle if you know how.)

Sit quietly, cleansing your chakras, meditating, and putting yourself in a reverant frame of mind. When you are centred, light the candle. Take a moment to Praise, Thank, and Bless each element (earth, air, fire, water), and the "unseen" element, ether. Praise, Thank, and Bless the winds, the stars, the creatures and green growing things of earth, the benevolent spirits of Love, your angels and guides and protectors, and the Lady herself, symbolized as the hidden moon.

According to the Witches Almanac, the dark moon- the day before the new moon, the day of the new moon, and the day after-- can be likened to the tremendous energy of the seed below ground creating the energy necessary to send the shoot above ground, into the sunlight.

Think about your dreams as seeds, and know that just as the moon will reveal herself in just a few days time, slender and waxing, so will your dreams begin to grow. Feel for a moment the wonder of your life and how unique and precious you are to the Universe. Feel how much Love the elements and Gods have for you-- to give you a body of earth, air, water, fire and ether (physical, mental, emotional, creative/psychic/spiritual, and soul). To give you a life beyond this one. To give you the power to dream and create.

Offer the seeds of your dreams to the Universe with Love and Thanks in your heart. Make your offering. If it is wine and bread, give a bit to the earth first before partaking of it yourself. Acknowledge that the gift you give came from the recipient, and that you are simply sharing in it, and making an offering of it with Love.

Sing a song or dance around or recite a bit of poetry. The offerings are the representation of a Feast and party. You don't have to go all out-- although you should at least once or twice a year-- but you need to make a representation of it.

Thank all of the spirits and entities that attended and assisted you in your rite. Close your Circle, if you cast one, or sweep away the salt. If the candle is still burning extinguish it by snuffing it or pinching it out with your fingers.

Look for the waning crescent in a few days time, and know that your dreams are growing. Have faith and patience. Some seeds sprout more quickly than others, and you cannot know what elements it will take your dream to grow. Morning glories grow very quickly. An acorn takes a long time to become an oak.

PRAISES, THANKS, & BLESSINGS!!!