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[ReidA]

I have recently read a book on evoking various spirits. Unfortunately I have been having some trouble with the art of crystal gazing. Any help that anyone may have would be greatly appreciated. Also any helpful tips on closed eyed astral senses (astral projection) would be appreciated also. Are there any herbs, etc. that may help? Thank you.

[Izabael DaJinn]

Originally Posted by ReidA

I have recently read a book on evoking various spirits. Unfortunately I have been having some trouble with the art of crystal gazing. Any help that anyone may have would be greatly appreciated. Also any helpful tips on closed eyed astral senses (astral projection) would be appreciated also. Are there any herbs, etc. that may help? Thank you.

What sorts of problems are you having with crystal gazing? Are you not "seeing" anything?

Crystal gazing is a very cool way of exploring the astral...however the problem is, they only work well with persons who "see" the astral, as opposed to those who can hear it, feel it, or just sense it.

I myself do a lot better just closing my eyes and receiving full body impressions as well as what my eyes give me. I find crystal scrying too limited so maybe you are like me in that regard.

My other problem with scrying visually is that visual images seem more prone to deception than when I just sense, or "know" something about a spirit or entity.

As far as improving closed-eye visualizations, I do have suggestions:

1) ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS write down your visions afterward whether you think they were valid or just daydreams. This helps give validity to the visions and will absolutely make them stronger in the long run.

2) Spend time focusing on each astral sense alone for a day or two (or even week). I.e. spend a day just trying to "listen" and a day trying just to "feel" the astral. You can work with Qabalistic archangels to do this. They usually come through powerfully and never have any side effects (i.e. Raphael, Sandalphon, etc.)

3) Work with dream control and lucid dreaming. This helped me a lot with my waking visualizations. Esp. when I try to go into a lucid dream from a nap...there is this in-between realm that opens up there where my visualizations become very powerful. I haven't been able to enter a lucid dream from that state yet, but my astral senses have improved.

I think these things will help. And be patient. Being receptive to subtle energies is a difficult art.

xoxo
iza

p.s. and Welcome ReidaA. Happy to have you here

[ReidA]

Thank you Izabael!
Well I have read that the art of crystal gazing is open eyed astral senses. I never really got any results from crystal gazing, so I figured if I learned how to astral project, I would have an easier time with scrying. I was trying to scry because I was planning on evoking various goetic spirits to the astral plane, and I was just trying to scry normally without any complicated evocation ritual just to see if I could even scry in the first place. I was kind of disappointed with the results, but I continued on. From that point on I sort of just tried and failed. I once saw like a moving...spot on my mirror so to say, and various lights that were flashing. I only had success once, and that was a sort of blurry image of a 2 black dragons of some sort moving in opposite directions, just like they had been in a fight. I am not really sure where that vision had come from. I couldn't tell if I was imagining it, then projected it onto the mirror, or if it really was on the mirror so to speak. I never got any real results after that other than dots of light appearing on the mirror. I would like to get myself to the point where I would be able to freely converse with any spirits that may exist on the astral plane using my mirror. If you could explain any exercises to hear astral sounds as well as see them it would be greatly appreciated. Thank You!
Reid

[pAmphAge]

Originally Posted by ReidA

Thank you Izabael!
Well I have read that the art of crystal gazing is open eyed astral senses. I never really got any results from crystal gazing, so I figured if I learned how to astral project, I would have an easier time with scrying. I was trying to scry because I was planning on evoking various goetic spirits to the astral plane, and I was just trying to scry normally without any complicated evocation ritual just to see if I could even scry in the first place. I was kind of disappointed with the results, but I continued on. From that point on I sort of just tried and failed. I once saw like a moving...spot on my mirror so to say, and various lights that were flashing. I only had success once, and that was a sort of blurry image of a 2 black dragons of some sort moving in opposite directions, just like they had been in a fight. I am not really sure where that vision had come from. I couldn't tell if I was imagining it, then projected it onto the mirror, or if it really was on the mirror so to speak. I never got any real results after that other than dots of light appearing on the mirror. I would like to get myself to the point where I would be able to freely converse with any spirits that may exist on the astral plane using my mirror. If you could explain any exercises to hear astral sounds as well as see them it would be greatly appreciated. Thank You!
Reid

Now you sound like me. I was terribly disappointed with the results I got trying to scry. I even used a successful spell to get me just the huge ball I wanted since the small ones are even harder to scry into. I never got very good at it and the visions I did see never amounted to much.

The practice did help my over all-astral though, so nothing is wasted.

People appreciate the astral in various ways. Everyone is open to it most right before and after waking, though many people forget anything they might have experienced almost immediately.

As far as Goetia, you don't need a black mirror or crystal. Again in myself and students, these types of results are usually not even reliable. The Goetia is a cruel mistress and to get reliable results is the only way to prove anything isn't completely delusion--and the Goetia tends to bring on heavy doses of self-delusion.

So for Goetic workings I just put all my heart and passion into a demon with a goal akin to my desire, and then wait and see what type of real world results I get.

Usually bigger more elaborate rituals work best with Goetia. I find people who skimp on niceties and elaborateness tend to have worse results. Devoting poetry, artwork, and cooking to them helps with real world results too. This can be done during the main ritual, before, or after depending your style.

pAmphAge

[ReidA]

Thank you pamphage for your insight on crystal gazing and goetia. I was just wondering what type of relationship you share with a goetic demon as you are trying to get real world results with them. I was thinking of invoking Sitri, or maybe Beleth to help me with some confidence issues. I tried asking someone out, but froze up so I was thinking Sitri or Beleth could help me in that area. I was thinking of some angels from the Netzach sephira, but Ill let that wait until later. If you can give me any tips or suggestions, or maybe even let me in on what you do when you need a goetic entity to fulfill some purpose in your life. Also if its not too much trouble...do you know of any practical applications of crystal gazing? For me I have pretty much known crystal gazing as casting a circle, then sitting in a chair, and straining your eyes at a very dark very small mirror. Thank you!

[Schrödinger's cat]

If you could explain any exercises to hear astral sounds as well as see them it would be greatly appreciated.

One way to practice is to "Scry" into whitenoise.

http://simplynoise.com/ generates white noise (like the noise of an ocean or static on a tv-screen).

To practice: Just sit quietly and try to hear words or voices in the noise.

Also falling asleep is a good time to practice all astral senses. True you probably only get a few minutes good practice in before you doze off, but still.

[nytek]

www.scribd.com/doc/13133521/Crystal-Vision

Crystal Vision Through Crystal Gazing
or
The Crystal as a Stepping Stone to Clear Vision

A Practical Treatise on The Real Value of Crystal Gazing

by Frater Achad, a fool of a different color. . .

My first offering:

Crystal Vision

Crystal Vision
Get your own at Scribd or explore others:

[nytek]

I got colors and lights. It's hard for my eyes to remain in one spot... hard to look through the ball without looking at it. However I solved that problem by making Samadhi lamp. Now NOBODY can beat me in a staring contest at the very least.

A samdhi lamp is a blue lightbulb with a circular cover over the center so it doesn't blind you as you stare at it like a sigil with peripheral vision, keeping your attention on the blue dot.

Eventually after learning how to induce the dazed eyes opened state on command your eyes just adjust and you can go a long time without blinking or moving your eyes at all. It's become very helpful in terms of building the type of concentration needed for physical evocation were I to speculate on my own progress.

Otherwise... I gave the hell up on crystal gazing. My wife the skryer doesn't use ours either and she tried for a while only getting the same limited results albeit faster. We could all likely push through it, but meh, why bother? I don't see the benefit for myself personally anyway. Minding also how I could guess 98% of of the people I've spoken with use the closed eye method, and the rest of the small percentage use the black mirror but only as something to focus on during physical invocation; a proxy of sorts.

Still some sort of open eye trance training is going to be needed if you want to get away from the lingering doubt of astral evocation.... which I actually something I usually do since it's so easy--so don't prejudge my bias.

My advice for closed eye skrying is learning how to silence your mind for long periods of time... start with 5 second intervals and build until you hit a tolerance level you are stuck at. Also, try to day dream. Just do it. Watch yourself daydreaming and feel what it feels like. Lastly, occasionally repeat or mimic the spirit voices in your mind in your own mental voice for comparative purposes to note energetic similarities or differences... I find that the genuine communication comes from the center of my mind or all around me most times. Very rarely is it otherwise. There is fine line between interpreting a message and botching one.

An example of interference: An angel visited me in temple pretty recently while reading after a period of black magick; a messenger it seems. In one of those proverbil nutshells, very curt, this angelic presence "said" "Gamiel" wants to talk to me at once and I'm to reach him. "About what?", I'd asked. "Initiation... blah blah ... mars ... blah blah ... he's noticed... blah blah etc.".

If my head was more clear I would have heard the name properly. If it was less clear, I might have added things or totally muddled the name until I thought I was having a mind-trick played on myself.

Basically after two days of googling and scratching my head at similar names I found out that Gamiel is really Camiel misspelled, which is another mode of Samael, Archangel of Geburah. This was all done with closed eyes without any fancy dancing around the temple. You don't have to "see"--you can see by feel, well sorta....

... and I rarely see anything mind you. Too much emphasis is on seeing I think. If that's your thing--go for it. Otherwise find what you're already good at and use the senses you are strongest with for now.

So I don't use any crystal balls, but as it's been said, this is a well rounded application of a skill and practicing it lubricates all other gears.

[nytek]

From some BBS:

[snip]
I promised that I would include some of the other exercises that I have begun I will start with the construction of my ‘Samadhi Lamp’ and my developing my tratakam abilities.

Samadhi Lamp and Tratakam

Basically this lamp is a blue light bulb behind a 12” disc with a 1.5” clear frosted filtered hole cut in the middle with a .5” black dot in the middle of the frosted portion. This whole thing is suspended from the ceiling.

This device is used in developing the magicians tratakam ability. Tratakam is a raja yoga technique of fixed gaze. It is a self induced hypnotic trance that allows the magician to stare at a fixed point for several minutes without blinking. Now at first I thought, hell that’s easy I don’t need a bunch of books and lights and crap to stare at something. Poke offers a simple test in his book…simply try to stare at your wrist watch for 3 full minutes without blinking. If you are like me you will find that its damn near impossible to stare unblinking for longer than 1 minute. My eyes welled up, my eyes twitched, my face tingled…it was a true learning experience.

The purpose of learning tratakam is for later when we are working with the black mirrors with doing our evocations. Tratakam is the fundamental method that Poke suggests one uses when working with your black mirror. I figured, after my failed watch experiment that there was something to learn here…so I built my first Samadhi Lamp.

The first lamp I built was done very cheaply. I used a clip on light for the actual lamp piece ($5 at Lowes) and of course the blue light build ($3 – they are proud of blue light bulbs). For the disk I just used cardboard and for the filtered center I used the top of a clear coat spray paint can. The thing looked horrible but the effects were pretty incredible.

I am at a totally loss as to what the blue lights and dots and such actually do…but let me tell you if you use this thing as Poke suggests…WOW. I did the exercise by the book…starting with Pranayama breathing techniques for a few minutes I would then lie on my back and stare at the black dot of the lamp. You have not probe the lamp, if that makes sense…just look at the dot…fix your eyes on the dot. And try to not think…quiet your mind and relax your body. I almost immediately had some really wild visual effects going on – reminded me of my early 20’s and the time my room mate convinced me 3 hits of acid and a drive to Joshua Tree State park in the desert would be a cool way to spend a Saturday. Once you have experienced the visual effects but can still maintain contact with the dot I begin feeling intense relaxation…almost as if I couldn’t move if I wanted to. I have experienced other sensations as well…most often it feels as if I am sinking and even sometimes like the bed is spinning but still I can maintain contact with the light.

After about my 10th use of the lamp I decided that it was going to be a permanent piece in the bedroom…and I knew that the wife was not going to tolerate a bunch of cardboard and junk hanging over the bed...so I built a right purdy one. I got everything at the local Lowe’s – stool seat ($6) – 10’ of decorative chain ($4) – upright desk lamp ($6) – florescent filter replacement ($7 – enough to make about 20 of these things) – hardware to hang the lamp ($3). I cut a 1.5” hole in the middle of the stool seat and using my router I recessed a lip to place the filter on that I cut using tin snips and glued in place. On the back side of the seat I routed a hole that was 3/8” deep that was exactly the diameter of the lamp I bought - about 3”. I also drilled the lamp (it’s basically a cylinder with little feet on the bottom…the bulb goes in the middle and normally it would direct the light straight up – for this purpose I just turned it upside down) to allow light to seep out around the outside edge of the disk. I attached the light with a couple small ‘L’ brackets and screws. For the middle dot I used my trusty black Sharpie. In finished it off with a nice coat of stain and poly clear coat. It actually looks like some sort of art deco lamp. (I will provide pictures when the wife gets back from England – she took the digital camera).

[nytek]

Similar to mine I took down a while ago... hypnotic isn't it?