The Book of Magick Power Read online

  Since the time that I was twelve and desperately looking for instruction, many new how-to books on the subject of psychic and magical development have appeared on the scene. But most are incomplete, and often contain superfluous spiritual and philosophical material that obscures the instruction into a mystical mush. A definitive work that simply and clearly outlines the procedures necessary to open up the unseen world has yet to appear until right now.

  What really separates this book from most others is its true emphasis on the practical rather than the theoretical. This book emphasizes the active use of mind power to create and manifest the life of your dreams. There is a certain amount of explanatory, and even some philosophical information in the work, but it is packed with over a hundred exercises that range from beginner level to advanced uses for the developing and expanding powers of the mind. Readers from beginners to professional psychics and energy workers will benefit greatly from the following pages.

  The operational model that we will employ throughout this book is that human beings are seeing, hearing, and feeling creatures. Our experiences are completely defined by our senses, and even our ‘sixth’ sense experiences are processed through these main senses. By providing a plan of the exact things that one has to see, hear and feel when exploring psychic phenomena- where to look, how to listen, what our internal feelings might be, the results follow simply and easily. Although this book's subject is unusual, the approach is no-nonsense and grounded in reality. Practical techniques have been broken down by step, providing an exact model for success. Some of these practices are extremely simple and straightforward, but I have attempted to break them down into their basic experiential components wherever possible. Although these instructions are written out step-by-step, you should not feel confined to these steps. Success is the only desire I have for you, and these are merely tools that will help to guide you on your own personal, idiosyncratic path. Some of the techniques you will find in this book are not even particularly metaphysical, but they are all still useful techniques for accomplishing your desires.

  Sadly, words always have a tendency to get in the way of meaning, and you are just going to have to forgive me if occasionally I use our limited vocabulary of ideas in slightly different ways. Words like ‘energy,’ ‘consciousness,’ ‘awareness,’ ‘soul’ and ‘spirit’ have so many different meanings in our culture, and they may be used in slightly different ways even throughout this volume. In my last book, The New Hermetics, I made frequent use of the term ‘unconscious,’ and in this book, I more frequently use the term ‘subconscious.’ While I basically mean the same thing when expressing these terms, I have a specific reason for the difference. In my previous book I wanted to emphasize getting in touch with those parts of ourselves that are deep within, layers with which we may be altogether unfamiliar, while in this book I am more concerned with those elements of consciousness that are just below the surface. When I mentioned ‘parts’ in The New Hermetics, I was generally referring to the subconscious. By ‘unconscious,’ I was generally referring to all parts of our consciousness that are beneath the threshold of our usual awareness. I only hope that the context of all of these ideas will help to clarify what I am trying to communicate.

  This book contains the practices, beliefs, and thoughts of many different peoples, including a few of my own, going back thousands of years. Through experimentation and spiritual insight, millions of people have experienced telepathy, out-of-body travel, clairvoyance, precognition and magical phenomena. Contained in these pages are the fruits of their wisdom. However, their effectiveness will be a direct reflection of the energy and dedication you put into them. Some readers may apply some small portion of one of them, and half-heartedly try another, and then declare the whole lot of them useless. To them I say it is probably best that you do not attempt this sort of exploration in the first place- at least until such time that you are willing to dedicate yourself to it more fully. You must also keep your expectations realistic. If your intention is to be able to be 100% accurate in your clairvoyance, able to read minds like romance novels, levitate across the ocean and psychically hurl a rusty Buick at your neighbors you are probably going to be disappointed. These sciences are subtle and elusive, and although parapsychological research continually proves these phenomena to exist in a measurable way, they usually manifest at least somewhat inconsistently. Anyone who claims to be 100% successful with their practical work is either deluded or trying to con you. Aim for being above average, succeeding often enough that it is above statistical chance. As you begin to succeed more often than you fail, you will find yourself spontaneously growing in many ways, and experiencing intuition and insight that will be an invaluable guide in your life.

  You must remember too, that the goal of these practices is not to gain power or advantage over others, but to understand others and the universe, so that we may better live in love and harmony. Psychic experiments should be conducted responsibly. These exercises are meant to contribute lovingly to the Universal Spirit, and should not be conducted in any way that impinges upon the privacy, happiness, or free will of any other being, human or not, in the Universe. In fact, behaving in this way seriously restricts our access to these magical regions of consciousness, as it is from our unity with all beings that the greater portion of our power proceeds.

  I recommend that you conduct these exercises in such a way that they are contributing to your own spiritual unfolding, rather than ensnaring you more in the desires and power games of the mundane. There is an important axiom that you should keep in mind from the beginning: If you desire power you become the slave of all the powers of the cosmos. By becoming desireless, you swiftly discover that you are the source of all the powers. In other words, the more you focus on the mundane desire to ‘win the lottery’ or ‘levitate’ in order to impress people, or have power over others, the more you are giving up your true center, the connection to divinity within you. The more you are operating from your spiritual center, the easier it will be to accomplish anything, without the hindrance of lack, need, or lower desire.

  There is very little danger involved in these practices, but you may confront emotions, images and memories that you'd thought forgotten. If you feel that this might be at all detrimental to your psychological health, it is recommended that you consult your therapist before trying any of these exercises.

  It might be very useful to find a partner who is also interested in these subjects, or a study group. Several of these exercises will work best if you have a partner. A few exercises even require one. And working with a partner or group will allow you to experience a much wider range of phenomena more quickly, there is a gestalt of power in a group, and your progress will be swifter.

  Finally, you should try to do these exercises in order, because their effect is basically cumulative, especially within each chapter. If one of these exercises is really working well for you, by all means keep exploring it and leave the later exercises for later. If something does not seem to be working well for you, simply go on to the next exercise. Don't worry; soon you will be on your way. Take it slowly.

  WHAT YOU WILL NEED

  TO GET THE MOST OUT OF THESE PRACTICES

  There are several physical items that are useful in preparing to explore the inner planes. None of them are absolutely necessary, because ultimately all of these practices are about consciousness. Really all that you need is yourself, your body and your mind. But many people find it far easier to create the proper setting for experiencing magick in their lives when they have a few ritual implements at their disposal. I do not think that you need to have a full magical temple constructed, or all of the weapons of a magician. Just a few simple items will suffice. The use of these implements reminds the brain that it is now entering the time for magick, a space between the world of the mundane and the infinite world of the spirit.

  However, I must really emphasize that these things are optional. None of them are necessary for your success. Do not allow
the lack of any of them to stop you or make you delay getting started. The more quickly you begin to do these exercises, the more quickly you will obtain results. Once you start working, you may find that tools just begin to miraculously manifest in your life. You may also discover that you are becoming so successful without them that you do not even need to bother thinking about them at all. However, if you have the means and/or already have these things, you may find the following useful.

  Workroom or Temple

  Ideally, you will set aside and completely dedicate a room or some particular space in your house to be your workroom or ‘magical temple.’ This need not be anything elaborate, but if you work in the same place consistently, you will quickly charge the area with an ‘aura of power.’ The more you work there, the more quickly you will enter the appropriate states of consciousness and achieve results. This is not really metaphysical at all. It is merely that by using a space exclusively for magick, your mind will quickly realize that when you go into this space you are going to be doing magick. You will then find yourself shifting quickly into a ‘magical consciousness’ every time you enter that space. However, if you do not have such a space that you can completely dedicate to your work, simply try to work in the same area as much as possible. This will have the same effect.

  It may also be useful to have a small table or altar in the room that you will use; this can be as simple or elaborate as you choose.

  But when it comes down to it, many of these techniques can be used simply and effectively anywhere in your everyday life. You can certainly look at auras or tune in to various psychic senses on a bus or at the mall, or even while having a boring meeting with your boss! The more often you use them, the more swiftly you will become accomplished and adept in their use.

  Magical Circle

  Some of the techniques in this book suggest the use of a magical circle. The circle represents the enclosing of your energy, protecting you from unwanted outside influence, and limiting your awareness to the confines of your working space. It contains and focuses your mental and magical energies, so that you can direct them most effectively. Entering and charging a magical circle is an excellent way of preparing for any exercise, as it tends to allow you to set aside your experiences in the outside world and concentrate exclusively on the present task at hand. It is, in essence, a simple mnemonic device that says to all the parts of your consciousness, “Now we are going to be doing magick.”

  I recommend that, if possible, you physically draw, paint, tape or engrave a magical circle in your temple or workroom. This physical circle will be a constant reminder of whatever psychic circle of your energy you create with your work. This simple diagram will be more useful to you in practical work than it might appear at first glance. While you can just trace an imaginary line around your working area, projecting a line of psychic energy around yourself, this circle will only be fully in effect while you are concentrating on it. When your thoughts turn to other work, you will have disintegrated your circle for all practical purposes. Most of the time this does not have much negative impact, as there is a ‘residual’ circle that you can call back to your mind as necessary, but the physical circle will prevent any and all possible problems.

  Creating a psychic circle is a good practice for those times when a physical circle is impossible or undesirable. At those times you can simply imagine a glowing blue-white line of energy flowing out of your hand and being drawn on the floor around you as you walk around the edge of your working space. By having worked within a physical circle many times you will create a much more powerful psychic circle later on. You will also be able to just imagine a magical circle into existence while sitting meditatively, even while simply resting in the comfort of a recliner! This is also one of the simplest forms of psychic protection, which we will cover in a later chapter.

  Magical Garments

  Many people like to wear magical robes when conducting their work, and this can again have a positive mnemonic effect on your subconscious. “Oh, we're putting on our robes, let's open up those psychic channels and get ready for magick time.” But you may make your own choice about this. Certainly you would probably not want to wear robes if you were seeing a psychic client, or out in the mundane world. People would surely know that you were cracked up then!

  Magical Wand

  The purpose of the magick wand is to direct magical forces. You can use a wand to draw symbols in the air, project energy out into the universe, or draw energy into you. It is not strictly necessary, but it can be useful in ritual contexts. There are many ways of constructing a wand, or one can be purchased from a new age or magick shop. There are those who say that there is one specific way in which a magick wand must be constructed, but I have noticed little difference in the effectiveness of one design over another. Three different possible designs are suggested in Appendix A of this work, or you can just use whatever you think will work best for you. You can also simply use a pointed finger or an outstretched hand in the place of the wand. It is just an object, and you are perfectly capable of operating without it.

  There are traditionally four weapons of the magician, the wand, the cup, the dagger or sword, and the disk or pantacle. For this practical magick, the wand is usually all that's really necessary. “In fine, the formula of the wand is the only one with which we need more particularly concern ourselves.”[1] Metaphorically and metaphysically the wand is really the will of the magician, the cup the understanding, the sword the intellect and the pantacle the body, so you really already have these things.

  Incense

  Your sense of smell is intimately connected to our memories, directly linking you up to your subconscious mind. Smell alone can change your consciousness drastically. I highly recommend finding an incense that you like and using it as much as possible in connection with your work.

  You can also get or create special incenses for specific energies as you begin to work with planetary and other forces. I will cover this later on in the book. The more consistent you are with your use of incense, the more powerful it will become as a tool in your consciousness arsenal.

  However, some people do not like incense, or find it physically irritating, and it is certainly possible to proceed well without it.

  A Pendulum

  You will need to have a pendulum for several of the exercises in this book. I used to think little of the pendulum, that it was just a new-agey contrivance of little import. But then one day several years ago, my mother asked if I could ‘magically produce’ some lottery numbers for her. I used the pendulum, and a technique that I will outline later in this book, and the numbers I produced won her six thousand dollars! I repeated a similar exercise with her a few months later, and she again won several hundred dollars. Since that time I have realized that the pendulum is an incredibly useful device for easily and directly connecting with your subconscious and other intelligences, and many practices in this book depend upon it. You can certainly just directly communicate with your subconscious, but a pendulum is a useful tool to filter out your conscious mind’s tricky little desires and tendency to blur your communication.

  A pendulum is really just anything that has a little weight attached to the end of a string. If you don't want to buy one, you can just tie a nail or a screw or a rock to a string. It can be that easy. But it is a tool with which you will commune with your subconscious, and your subconscious appreciates a little effort. I would recommend buying one. You can get a top of the line pendulum from any New Age shop for less than twenty dollars, and your subconscious will be ever so grateful for your gift.

  Various other Psychic and Magical Tools

  There are also several other little items that you may find useful throughout your work, such as crystal balls, either clear or opaque, magick mirrors, Tarot cards, psychic test cards, candles, parchment, etc. I will describe the use of some of these objects throughout this work, but they are only necessary if you want them, and can easily be replaced by other things. All
of them are readily available at any Magical or New Age store.

  Magical and Dream Journal

  Start keeping a journal today. Record both your dreams and your practices in your journal, and keep track of all the new and exciting things that are manifesting in your life. You will want to refer back to what has happened to you over the course of your explorations, and you will treasure your journal once you start keeping it. There are long periods of my magical journey in which I failed to keep accurate records, and it is a shame. The records that I do have are truly fascinating. Don't rob yourself of this record. It is a true gift. The importance of our dreams is phenomenal in our explorations of psychic phenomena and magick. Immediately start recording any and all dreams that you recall. I have received so much magical teaching from ‘dream masters’ that I consider it a critical component of any magical and psychic training.

  Write down all of your thoughts and observations as much as possible. Many of the ideas in this book came from chance observations that I made in my own journal, and the experiments that followed.

  Your journal does not need to be anything fancy or expensive. Just a spiral-bound notebook will do just fine. If the book is too precious, you will think it only worthy of successes and important things. I'd like to see you recording everything. There is just as much to learn from unsuccessful experiments and random thoughts as there is from your great achievements. You could also keep your journal on your computer or with an audio recorder.