By Land, Sky & Sea (11 page)

It is important to understand that loosening the astral self is vital to spirit flight. Without the ability to raise power and to excite the vibration to create the necessary portal through which the leap is made, astral projection cannot happen.

Creating an Astral Projection
(the Chariot)

To be able to actually fly in the spirit, one needs a medium, a vessel, through which to do it. In the Aurum Solis magickal (theurgic) tradition,
[4]
this medium is called the chariot. I use the term also because the method for astral projection outlined in the
Mysteria Magica
books was one of the few published astral techniques that helped me to achieve success in spirit flight.

To create a chariot is as simple as visualising a light etheric double
[5]
in front of you or hovering just above your physical body. Construct the visual reality in your mind, and then energise and lend it vitality and substance by sending astral power to charge and actualise it. This process will forge the psychic link necessary for you to take the next step and make the great leap!

Transporting the Astral self
to the Astral Projection

When transporting the conscious awareness of self to the astrally created chariot, one needs to gather the energy of awareness in a single place. Most people will naturally be inclined to pool the energy at the chakra point that is most sensitive to personalised magickal work. Generally, when astral projecting, my awareness will sit at my third eye, heart, or solar plexus chakras. Once the energy of conscious awareness is gathered in a power place, it becomes concentrated and the vibration will heighten, or quicken. This arouses the excitement even more so. The key at this stage is not to lose to doubt or fear. Just go with the flow and maintain a lucid awareness of the goings-on.

At the right moment, you will feel the pressure climax, and that is the time to take the risk and make the great leap. It is like a mental jump—from Point A (the power place) to Point B (the chariot). The leap should be swift, almost instantaneous. It should transport the entirety of your conscious awareness in no time to your chariot.

If you feel you have failed the first time, keep on leaping until you can affirm that you’ve made the transition. The first success you have may not be so apparent to you, as it is often a very surreal feeling to inhabit an astrally built vessel and wander around in it for the first time. It may even feel as if you are in two places at once. If this happens, place more focus on your astral awareness, and the spirit flight itself should be great! Remember to trust your intuition and to go with the flow.

Being in and Becoming
the Chariot

Once inside the chariot, you will feel the need to adjust to your new environment. Many people experience a “fluffy” response to the world around them, or a vibratory, atmospheric fluttering sensation. However, the experience is unique for everyone.

Make sure you affirm consciously that you have imbued the chariot with your vital charge (astrally) and thus have enabled it to act as a projection of yourself. You will now be able to expand and enhance your senses and channel with them to receive new information about the cosmos. With spirit flight, the same physical limitations imposed on our mortal bodies do not apply. We are able to fly to the far reaches of the universe and travel anywhere we can imagine.

Be in your chariot—
be
your chariot! At first, you may feel as if you are imagining everything and that therefore it isn’t real or of substance. Truthfully, much of astral travel is powered by the imagination in the first place! You need to be able to dream and see (and know!) the story before it becomes possible. The cosmos has a beautiful way of unravelling and revealing truth when we reflect on the possibility that something is true—even more so when we act as if it is true.

When it comes to travelling, viewing, and experiencing in your chariot, do not overexert your control mentality. Do not push for things to happen; just let things happen naturally. They will and they do.

It is also essential that the rational, everyday, cautionary prohibitions of mortal living don’t overcrowd your astral experience. Abstain from judgment, analysis, and evaluation; leave that for later. Simply trust in your intuition to keep you safe and protected, and instinctually know the benevolent from the malevolent when it comes to encountering other entities out there. Remember: not everything wishes the best for you! However, if you are the type to worry about these things, then make sure you understand the risks completely before attempting astral travel, and if you do go ahead with spirit flight, then call upon the aid of your guides/totems/deities/etc. to watch over you as you travel. When you are ready to return to your physical self, simply think of it, and you will find yourself sliding back into your body. When your consciousness reabsorbs into your physical self, so will the astral chariot and the excess substance you projected, as it all originally belonged to you in the first place. Affirm this for yourself just to make sure. Click into place, and allow time for readjustment and grounding.

Flying!

Spirit flight is an amazing skill to possess. Like any skill, it only improves with practice. It’s not about perfection; it’s not an exact science. However, if you follow the method outlined above (or any other technique you feel drawn to use) and do so with passion, a desire for success, and integrity, then there is no doubt that you will soar!

There are many metaphysical theories that detail the delicate nature of the astral realm and what it is to project and travel with and through it. I have never really given it much thought beyond its existence, the implications thereof, and how these may affect my spirit flight. I don’t really try to paint otherworldly geographies whereby these different realms are given structure through division and labelling. My advice is not to worry so much where you go but
how
you go.

There are so many wondrous and ecstatic experiences to be had in spirit—so many realms, worlds, and possibilities to explore! You can even stay on this plane and visit the country or sacred site of your choice. I remember exploring the ruins of the temple grounds at Eleusis before I physically visited in October 2008. The astral experience matched vividly with my physical presence at the temple grounds. However, when I flew in spirit to Eleusis, the buildings themselves were not in ruins, as they are today. I have also flown through what seemed to be Salem, Massachusetts (USA), and I’ve had many an adventure around the land of Oz. The possibilities are infinite, and to use that old cliché, the only limit is your imagination!

9

I also learned to see, and this was a different kind of seeing which came first by night.

—Vivianne Crowley,
Phoenix from the Flame

Clairvoyance means “clear sight,” and therein lies the inspiration for this chapter’s title. I am fortunate enough to have been born into a family in which these psychic gifts of clear sight (or “the Sight”) have always been nurtured and promoted. I remember instances when I lived at home with my mother when people would ask for readings and guidance, and, as I was only a young teenager (and sometimes a lazy one), I would try to weasel out of it. Both my father and mother would urge me to read, as they knew that we would all get something out of it and it would only increase my psychic skill. This hereditary lineage of the Sight (our gift) hit home when, during my 2008 trip to Bali, I was reading for about five women at my aunt’s place and one of my relatives mentioned to my mother that it was obvious I had inherited my abilities from my late Balinese grandmother.

I have written and spoken about my grandmother many times before, and it is often a strange revelation when people discover that she passed when I was two. I only have vague, almost ethereal memories of her physical self, but she is ever-present in my life, and because of the blessed gifts she passed through my father to me, I have always been in contact with her. In high school, when my life was in emotional turmoil, she appeared to me as a frenzied, fiery serpent woman. There are many reasons for this, but generally I believe she manifested in this way to effectively grab my attention! (It worked.)

I had already developed the ability to see auras in their fullness when I was fourteen, and soon after, my grandmother decided to fire up my life as my clairvoyant talent accelerated, and I began seeing and communicating with spirits on a weekly basis. I became so utterly intuitive that every reading I did (palms, cards, scrying, etc.) proved dramatically accurate for the querent. This increased my confidence in my abilities, and thereby I transcended any barrier of doubt. I learnt that the art of divination and of being an oracle is essentially about cultivating oneself as a vessel. As a vessel, one receives the constant flow of fate and learns the art of interpretation. All of this must be tempered with intuition and instinct, however, or the personalised meaning and significance of the wisdom lose their relevance.

In this chapter, I will use the term
clairvoyance
rather openly. There are many psychics (and this is not a word I often use to describe myself) who describe themselves as clairsentient (clear sensing), clairaudient (clear hearing), claircognizant (clear knowing), clairalient (clear smelling), and the list goes on. Throughout this chapter/book, when I use the word
clairvoyance
I will generally be referring to all of the above and more. Clairvoyance, at least to me, tends to cover the full range of “knowing”
[1]
psychic gifts. However, for the sake of specificity, I will tend to focus on the Sight, as this is my area of expertise.

To Open the Third Eye

The third eye has become somewhat of a New Age cliché in the twenty-first century. Its popularity supersedes the other chakras by far! Unfortunately, the overstated adoration of this energy centre has tainted the reality of this highly important chakra. The relevance of the third eye to clairvoyance is an obvious one. The name of the chakra itself gives a symbolic hint as to the function of this energy centre. The third eye, or the mind’s eye, is that “other” sight mechanism that enables the individual to receive wisdom and information that would otherwise escape the physical eyes/sight. Developing and enhancing the potency of the third eye expands psychic awareness and allows for the free flow of information.

The important thing to remember with opening the third eye is that the more gradual the process, the better. Like any magickal work, it’s best not to rush in for the sake of acquiring a new power. The journey is what counts; if gifts develop along the way, it’s merely a bonus! However, learning to flex your muscles is never a bad thing and helps to keep the self healthy and balanced. Always remember to give and receive in equal measure.

Although I cannot profess to completely understand the metaphysics and the science behind clairvoyance, I do have several intuitions regarding the nature of the Sight. Firstly, those who “see” will all perceive differently. Generally, when I clairvoyantly perceive something, whether it be a spirit, deity, aura, or totem, I will see it just as I see things in the physical realm; I would articulate this as “apparent” Sight. The vision/being appears quite vividly for me. However, often I will also perceive with what many call the mind’s eye. I see and know that what I am sensing is definitely there; however, I can only give it form or sensation within my mind. There are many degrees of differing versions of clairvoyance between and beyond these two ways; however, in essence, all sight is Sight. Remember that physical sight is merely the outcome of the reflection of light. The mind tends to rule perception.

To flex this particular psychic muscle (the third eye), you will need to centre and expand your consciousness in whichever way you prefer. As your awareness grows to encompass the beyond, and your inner tides surrender to the being of cosmos, embrace the current of life as a concentrated beam of light that flows directly through and into your third eye (the area on your forehead between and just above your eyebrows). You will feel a slight pressure, tingle, or buzz on the physical area. Concentrate on amplifying this sensation, and place the focus of your awareness in this area. Acknowledge and affirm that you are ready and prepared to receive fate/Wyrd/information in the form of a “knowing” (vision, scent, words, cognizance, etc.), and surrender to the flow. Allow whatever you perceive to simply be—and do not judge, evaluate, or analyse what it is you are receiving. Let it unravel in its own way before you impose any personalisation upon it. Of course, after the experience, the discernment tools of judgment, evaluation, and analysis will prove very useful; however, make sure you regard the experience with intuition first.

To See in Apparence
[2]

When people think of “having the Sight” or “possessing the Gift,” it is generally surmised that the seer will perceive the Other in apparence—in a vivid, raw, “right in front of the face” way. Upon closer inspection, clairvoyance does not always necessarily work like this. In fact, many clairvoyants/seers/psychics will perceive with the mind’s eye, as mentioned above. In truth, there is no difference in validity between seeing in “apparence” and seeing in the mind.

There are a variety of metaphysical and occult explanations regarding how one technically perceives with the Sight. As has been made obvious throughout this book, I am not one to dabble in or be devoted to what the Pagan author John J. Coughlin terms “pseudo-metaphysics,” which he defines as “the assumption of truth based on what sounds as if it could be true.”
[3]
In saying this, however, vibrational frequency has been touted as a way to explain the contrast between apparence and mind sight within the realms of clairvoyance. This theory tends to hold some sway in magickal circles, as the concept of energy vibration is quite a well-articulated and accepted one. In fact, the concept has even been measured and recorded scientifically (as in the works of Richard Gerber), and vibrational frequencies have been proven to underlie our conscious and subconscious perceptions of things.

Discarnate, discrete entities and beings have no physical bodies and therefore are composed of pure, unhindered, concentrated energy, flowing without stricture or strain. Therefore, most human beings are not able to physically perceive these entities, as our vibration is grounded in the physical and we have been indoctrinated to wholly believe that the physical is the only realm of existence. Only through concentrated and continued work can we alter our consciousness to allow for the reception of higher vibrational frequencies (faeries, devas, angels, deities, etc.). Of course, in magickal work it is necessary to raise power, and this is synonymous with increasing vibrational frequency. This is why, when we are directly engaging with these powerful forces, we are more prone to seeing Other phenomena and, as the Christians would say, witnessing miracles.

Magickally adept people—those who flow with the tides and rhythms of the pure will of nature/cosmos/life and embrace the All that dwells within—are completely capable of raising power and thus cultivating the Sight. All of the exercises provided within this book, from breathwork to astral travel, will enable you to achieve the state of consciousness needed for developing these skills.

Therefore, if you wish to have the awe-inspiring experience of perceiving in apparence, then all you must do is increase your vibration, relax, and receive. By raising power for a spell—or singing, chanting, dancing, making love, etc.—you are creating the right conditions for developing this extra dimension of your clairvoyance.

To Become Still

Om mani padme hum

—Tibetan Buddhist mantra

Another important perspective when regarding clairvoyance—or life in general—is the teaching of stillness.

Stillness is considered to be a sacred technique of attaining enlightenment in many Eastern traditions. In many European Pagan traditions, it seems as if stillness is rejected for active techniques of altering consciousness (e.g., visualisation); however, stillness permeates our philosophies.

In many creation myths, at the core of all things and “in the beginning” is chaos—that dark chasm of undifferentiated potential. It is life, before life ever conceived of itself. Chaos then gave birth to cosmos, and from cosmos comes all that we can behold. This concept was consolidated for me while I was sitting at the bus stop. I was breathing and centring myself, and the image of a lotus floating peacefully on a lake arose in my mind. I understood then the principal lesson of the Tibetan “Om mani padme hum” mantra—“I am the jewel in the lotus,” and the lotus is the jewel (the peace) in the lake (the chaos)—it is all one! Peace resides perfectly within chaos, because there is no extremity in the matter; it is not a duality! Truly understanding this concept so that it began to resonate in my being opened up an awareness of underlying stillness, which permeated my entire consciousness. It was a beautiful experience and its message gives context to how I feel most of the time.

Cultivating stillness is quite a simple thing to do once you have learnt the art of sacred breath and grounding and centring. These practical techniques not only introduce the individual to the concept and reality of energy, but they also help to create space within the consciousness to arouse and connect with the stillness of being. I call this space “the void.” For me, it’s that consciousness of unconsciousness that stimulates the awareness into a oneness with the All-Self that is the mystery. This “oneness” (unity) can only be described as the 0 (zero) state. It is no-thing, all things, eternity looping forever without end and without beginning. Stillness is an inspiring thing!

Never try for stillness—just be it. It is not about emulating a Buddhist monk in Zen or becoming a hermit in the wilderness. Stillness is here and now, and it can be realised and made true for you.

To be still is to be completely open to the powers that be and therefore their decidedly conscious connection with our own sphere of being, and also with the channels that allow communication to and from. The most direct channel for this kind of communication would be the Sight and the clairvoyant faculties. Cultivating stillness enhances the efficacy and the clarity of the visions and intuitions received through Sight.

Vision Interpretation:
Literal versus Symbolic