Red Oak's Ponderings

Why Am I Following Chaos Magick?

mabonis@gmail.com (Red Oak) — Thu, 05 Apr 2018 16:03:00 +0000

To give you some history, I have studied and practiced a lot of different paths and traditions over the past 30 years, when I picked up my first book on Witchcraft (it was a Marian Green book if memory serves, probably A Witch Alone). Since then I have been on a great adventure, with Wicca, Traditional Witchcraft, Shamanism, Ceremonial Magick, Kabbalah and many other paths. I have spoken to some incredibly interesting and well versed people such as the late Joseph "Bearwalker" Wilson and Peter Paddon, Robin Artisson, and not to forgot my good friend Jacobus Swart. It has been marvelous, enlightening, rewarding, spectacular.

Several years back however, I stopped all magickal practices. I was using too many different elements from too many different paths and it became chaotic. Energies were clashing and the results kept fritzing out and short circuiting. I was, too say the least, a bit of a mess. I couldn't get my magical or spiritual life to flow in a direction that was good and solid, and it affecting the rest of my life. Or maybe it was the other way around because my personal and business life was a mess to begin with, it probably spilled over to the rest of it.

Having been down that road where I needed to find my way back to the Hearth, but not sure which direction to take to get there, I can tell you it is an eye opener. I completely stopped all forms of magick and focused on my business. You may ask why I stopped when I could find balance in both, each fulfilling the other. Well that was the problem, I was in a state of imbalance for so long, I became used to it. I needed to make a change and this is the only way I knew how, i.e. focus on one aspect at a time. I had a family to support so my business was the obvious choice.

Since then I have built up my business, gotten divorced and finally found the things I need and want in my life. I have found balance again, and I have found my passions, things I had forgotten about. I also found my drive to better myself and be the best I can be, something I had also given up on.

I am now finding my way back to my magickal and spiritual practice. So the question is, why Chaos Magick? It might seem an odd choice considering how chaotic things became previously. I tend to think it is the perfect choice.

After several years or pondering and reflection, I have come to understand that chaos I went through. It wasn't Chaos Magick because I was trying to pull too many elements into one practice. Instead, I should have been engrossing myself in one path or aspect for the purpose of achieving my goal at the specified time. Something I know Chaotes do, but something I failed to do myself.

Some years back (before Facebook, when Yahoo Groups were still the in thing, remember those?), a Chaos Magician on a group explained Chaos Magick in the following way. Imagine you are sitting at the head of a large banquet table and it is filled with different dishes. On one serving plate are beef dishes, on another there is pork, and some have vegetables, desserts, all kinds of food you could possibly imagine, but all dishes separated into groups. This is the selection of paths, traditions and religions that we have available to us. Now a Wiccan might select the food from one dish, whilst a Buddhist will choose a different one, and they will eat only from that dish. A Chaote chooses from ALL of the dishes and selects the one that suits his or her ends at that time. This suits me and previous difficulties perfectly, I just needed to learn to eat one food group at a time and not gorge myself on all of them.

What has also always appealed to me about Chaos Magick is its simplicity. I have done the elaborate rituals and ceremonies. I do like them, they definitely give you a sense of moving into a different state and separating yourself from the mundane world, placing you in the magickal realm or altered state, but when it comes to magick and spelling, I like the simple, straightfoward approach. A lot of Chaos Magick is just that, it gets to the crux of the matter.

Why come back to Magick at all? It courses through my veins and is infused into my bone. I can't ignore it, it draws me, it is me, and I am it.

Time to come out of hiding

mabonis@gmail.com (Red Oak) — Wed, 04 Apr 2018 18:08:00 +0000

I have been on a very long hiatus, a few years actually. I had some difficulties and things I needed to take care of, and so I removed myself from the community all together, and from magick in general. Actually I have been trying to come back to a steady practice but the energies have been a bit haywire. Now however, things seem to be flowing a little better and my head is creative again. Chaos is fantastic, when it is not being forced into some semblance of order that it can't or won't fit into. We do need to go with the flow sometimes, often in fact, and trying to control every little aspect of our lives just finds ourselves beating our heads against very solid brick walls.

So....this is my announcement, I am back and I have a journey to continue with. I hope you will join me on this adventure. For now, at least, I will be relooking at Chaos Magick mostly as it seems to be what is drawing my attention the most. There will probably be some undercurrents and injections of Hoodoo, Traditional Witchcraft and Kabbalah here and there, but Chaos Magick will be the main focus.

Viking Beer Stand by Nordstrom

mabonis@gmail.com (Red Oak) — Tue, 13 Feb 2018 13:05:00 +0000

Nordstrom x CATHY'S CONCEPTS 'Antlers' Viking Beer Stand by Nordstrom

Isn't that lovely. Would be great for a Blót don't you think? If you want your own then go here.

I was at the Sabbath

mabonis@gmail.com (Red Oak) — Tue, 04 Aug 2015 14:49:00 +0000

If I haven’t mentioned it yet, I am in the process of fine tuning my lucid dreaming practice. One of the things I have always battled with, I rarely ever remember my dreams, maybe 2 or 3 a year. However, since I have been doing my polyphasic sleep and therefore my 1.5 hour early morning naps in order to induce lucid dreams, its helped a great deal. This morning, I actually managed to take control for a while.

Anyway, wanted to tell you about the dreams I had this morning. Bear in mind that when I start lucid dreaming I tend to keep waking up and then going back into the dream (if I don’t move). Also, I may still be having some personal interpretation going on, in that the scenery and people might not be as they actually are, but it seemed real enough. This Sabbath I was at was in a huge house with hundreds of people and it was a party. There was one point when a load of us were outside and for some reason we all told we had to go back into the house, and if we didn’t make it in time the doors would be shut and locked. A few of us didn’t make it and we were stuck outside, so myself and another guy decided to try and climb onto the roof to get into a window on the top story. I was trying to pull myself up on a lean-to roof, and one of the odd things was that I was as afraid of heights in the dream as I am in waking life, so I was having a difficult time. The other guy found an easy way up and we got back into the party.

Last part I remember was sitting around a table with some folks and a crazy, but very cute blonde girl was writing on me with a black marker. She ended drawing on my face. I then needed the toilet and went looking for one. I think this is where it really started slipping into dream like imagery. There was a daycare like centre that I went into and all the kids looked up and laughed at me because of the drawing on my face. I decided to go to my sister’s house, no idea why, and found the bathroom. Last thing I remember I looked into a mirror and saw my face, she had made huge eyebrows, and massive goatee and handlebar mustache. I was however I hell of a lot younger, probably 18 or so.

Anyway, had an awesome time, and can’t wait for the next party.

PS. I am just recalling that the moment that I took control of the dream I was moving down a corridor or through a kitchen and I took the hand of a very old woman and kissed it with great reverence. May have been a moment where I broke through the personal dreaming imagery.

Moving in Circles

mabonis@gmail.com (Red Oak) — Tue, 04 Aug 2015 14:48:00 +0000

I really need to talk about the concept of deosil and widdershins. Because it seems the majority of practitioners are in the northern hemisphere, the idea that deosil is clockwise and widdershins is counter-clockwise seems to have become the accepted norm. I’m here to tell you its not, and PLEASE COULD EVERYONE GET IT RIGHT FOR A CHANGE! I know, stop shouting and being so anal retentive, but its just been one of my biggest pains for years now and its a problem.

The movement of deosil and widdershins has absolutely nothing to do with moving clockwise and counter-clockwise, except that you are moving in a circle, so sure you would be moving one or the other, but, deosil means “sunwise” and widdershins means “against the sun”. Now because all you folks are in the northern hemisphere and your sun does move “clockwise” around the sky, does not mean you can decide that the term deosil now means “clockwise”. Us poor sorry asses in the southern hemisphere end up moving the wrong way and all sorts of things go wrong, or don’t go wrong (because the energy is reversed and so nothing bloody well happens) because we keep reading your books and watching your videos. If you are going to use a term, then use it correctly.

So, to repeat, deosil means to move with the sun, hence if you are in the southern hemisphere you would be moving east, north, west, south. Widdershins is the opposite, i.e. moving against the sun, so you would be moving east, south, west, north.

So that’s the main point out of the way. Just for a wrap up, why would you move one or the other? Well that depends on your tradition, you belief structure, and what type of work you are doing. In some cases moving deosil is for benevolent magic, and widdershins is baneful magic. Personally I move in an esoteric or exoteric manner, so if I were moving deosil then it would be workings that are exoteric, i.e. exterior to myself, maybe in the case of healing someone. Moving widdershins would then be an esoteric act, i.e. internal to myself, reaching the inner dimensions like moving into the Underworld, that sort of thing.

However, I really needed to clear up that problem with it being clockwise or counterclockwise, the main reason being that someone down here in the lower reaches of the world, as I said, picks up a book written by an American and it states for them to cast a cirlce moving clockwise. All well and fine for the person up north, but then the newbie down south starts moving against the sun and can’t figure out why everything is going wrong or not working at all.

Some time back my friend and Kabbalah mentor, Jacobus Swart, told me about when his mentor, William Grey, came to visit him in South Africa. The topic of moving deosil and widdershins came up and William Grey couldn’t understand why we here move in the “wrong” direction. After some discussion the late Mr. Grey was persuaded to try it, whilst in South Africa of course, and to his surprise he found the same power that he was used to when moving in the opposite direction in the UK. So you see, there is a good reason why I got my knickers in a twist.

Lucid Dreaming: some pattern observations

mabonis@gmail.com (Red Oak) — Tue, 04 Aug 2015 14:46:00 +0000

Not sure if this will help anyone else, but hopefully it will. I’ve noticed a pattern that I use to fall asleep that helps with my lucid dreaming. Firstly, split your sleep up into polyphasic segments. To learn more about polyphasic sleep, check this site out – http://www.polyphasicsociety.com/

What I do is get a core sleep at night of about 4.5 hours and then I take a 1.5 nap early in the morning (4am), and if need be (in case of collected REM debt) another 1.5 nap a little later (8am). You will obviously need to work this out to suit your daily schedule, but the main points are to get core sleep, get up for a couple hours and then get the 1.5 hour nap. Its the nap where you will experience the lucid dreaming, and is best done in the morning.

Something else I noticed is the actual pattern that I use to fall asleep. If I follow it to the tee then I am guaranteed to have lucidity. During the period I am up I find that reading is the best thing to do. At some point I start to hear noises and voices which is that hypnagogic state just before you fall into delta sleep. That’s my cue to go to bed.

When I lie down I lie on my left side and stretch my body out so it is straight, no bent back or legs. Since working toward lucid dreaming I have found I rarely fall asleep on my side anymore, but I do get into a good theta phase. When I start to see images and hear noises and voices again, I turn over onto my right side. During the turning, I need to stretch, and it when that happens I know I am going to be lucid. On right side I then fall asleep, although there is one other odd thing that happens just before that, its kind of like a pressure that pushes down on my head and throat, and although I can still breath absolutely fine, it feels like my breathing gets shallow by force. Kind of odd, but then I fall asleep.

So, if you can find your own pattern, you are A for Away.

Welcome

mabonis@gmail.com (Red Oak) — Sat, 13 Jul 2013 12:36:00 +0000

From the Latin, Das Magicum means "to yeild magic", Magicum being the neuter of Magicus, meaning that it is "of neither side". There are no divisions here, no boundaries for exploration and discovery. All that are interested in expanding their view of life and the Cosmos are welcome. The site is still in its infancy, but it will grow up to be a strong tree of knowledge. If you would like to be kept updated with new inclusions, then fill in the subscription form to the right and you will receive the latest posts, alerts about new downloads and other news, straight to your inbox.

Don't forget to check out the downloads at http://dasmagicum.com

Books on Smashwords

mabonis@gmail.com (Red Oak) — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 09:53:00 +0000

I have now uploaded my books to Smashwords so they can be downloaded in any eBook format you need. Prices have also been dropped.

View my profile at https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/redoakza and the pages for the specific books are at:

The Reality of Things ($4.99) - https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/224978
The Black Crow ($4.99) - https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/240590
Elementals & Servitors ($2.50) - https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/240596

Hope you enjoy and if you have any comments you can reach me on redoak@redgroup.co.za

Warding for Magical Protection

mabonis@gmail.com (Red Oak) — Sun, 06 May 2012 17:47:00 +0000

One of the first protective lessons I learned was a very simple one that has stayed with me for many years. It was to call your Guide and Guardian, otherwise known as the Ward. Now this can become a very involved topic where I could go off on a tangent and start comparing it with the Fetch beast and all sorts of things, but I will refrain as I have found the entity that comes during this ritual is not the same as my Fetch Beast.

The ritual I did was simple, although I don’t remember all of the steps as it was a very long time ago, but it has the same outcome as one which is mentioned in Druid Magic by Maya Magee Sutton Ph.D and Nicholas R. Mann. Very good book by the way. It is simple and straight forward but discusses the aspects of Druidry and Celtic Spirituality in a very solid manner.

The ritual goes as such, or as I remember it and present it to people who have great success with it.

· Sit quietly facing the East and centre yourself. You can perform the Active Meditation to get you into the proper state of mind and being.

· When ready, imagine a white pillar in the south-east, then a black pillar in the south-west, another white pillar in the north-west and finally a black pillar in the north-east.

· Imagine a black and white checkered floor extending between the pillars with you in the centre.

· Build up that visualization and then put up a wall of energy between all the pillars so that you are basically inside a room with a checkered floor, four pillars at the corners and energy forming the four walls. I usually like to imagine this kind of energy as being like a force-field from a sci-fi movie, so I also hear the whaaa as it goes up and then buzzes. I find that sci-fi imagery helps a great deal in magic, so don’t laugh.

· Then when you are ready, all you do is ask your Ward to come to you as you would like to meet it.

· Wait a while and eventually it will come.

If it appears that the Ward doesn’t arrive, then just stop the ritual and try it another time. The Ward is always with you, but it is usually out of sight because we seldom consider it to be a part of our lives. The fact that the Ward didn’t come to meet you may just be because you were not in the correct state or frame of mind, but it is there.

Now the manner in which this Ward can present itself is usually of a nature that you really wouldn’t expect, so keep your mind open to any possibility. You can also do this for other people or locations such as your house. Just imagine them in the centre of the room you create around them and ask their Ward to come. I did this for my daughter some years back when she was still a baby and was rather ill with flu. When I called the Ward I saw ivy growing all around her, covering the room I had created. At the time I didn’t know about the magical properties of ivy, so I went looking and much to my surprise, found that it is a protective plant. If it is a building you need to protect, just build the pillars and area around the building itself. There are no limitations.

What do gaps, marks and Mounts Signify?

mabonis@gmail.com (Red Oak) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 15:29:00 +0000

Judging various hands painted with so many lines, curves, gaps, mark and mounts is an art of palmistry or palm reading. According to some well admired palmists, there are certain things or marks on hand which represents the positive and negative aspects of life. Nowadays, palmistry is something very unique and interesting thus well accepted or admired throughout the world. Finding a professional palmist is not difficult these days, juts thanks to internet providing everything at one place. According to palmists, the gaps in the various line such as Heart line, Head line and life line, indicate some serious complications in later stages of life. A gap represents some negative possibilities in the coming future which can be minimized through taking right decisions. Palm reading helps to demonstrate these possibilities and suggest some immediate solutions. It is not possible to ignore the risk for 100% because future is not easy to predict, it is always uncertain. Generally, there are different textures and marks in palm, each having its specific significance. The break mark indicates unpleasant interruption in life whereas a bar marks suggest a barrier in the progress. The chaining mark symbolizes weakness, indecision and unlucky tendency. Circle marks are very rare representing good fortune with the brightness of sun. A cross mark is a sign of failure or shock and in opposite mark with double line is reinforcing and strengthening. The forked marks are symbol of contradictions and division of interest whereas island marks indicates weakness, breakdown and period of depression. Mounts play a very significant role in palm reading because they are some different lines. They are named after planets and posses some special features. There are many types of mounts such as Jupiter mount, Saturn mount, Apollo or sun mount, Mercury mount, Venus mount, Mars mount, Luna or Moon mount, Neptune mount, Pluto mount and others. Every Gap, Mark and Mount depicts some unique characteristics of life and personality.

Don't forget to check out the downloads at http://dasmagicum.com

New downloads

mabonis@gmail.com (Red Oak) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 08:02:00 +0000

Some new eBooks have been added to the Store, with the inclusion of an Audio Books section. In the next couple weeks a Music section will also be added, so watch out for that. New titles in the Store include In eBooks: The Art of Astrology - How to Make and Read Horoscopes Learn to Read Tarot Cards (includes full Master Resale Rights and sales website) Read Between the Lines - Palmistry Simplified! In Audio Books: Read Between the Lines - Palmistry Simplified!

Don't forget to check out the downloads at http://dasmagicum.com

History of palm reading

mabonis@gmail.com (Red Oak) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 15:52:00 +0000

Palmistry is a unique art and culture that has prevailed throughout the years of the human civilization. There are different cultures that have contributed greatly towards the development of this art over the years. The art of judging and foretelling one's future on the basis of reading and the analysis of reading the palm is an old art. The roots of this art date back to India and the art of astrology is known as Jyotish in Sanskrit. There were many sages and astrologers who had evolved this art as culture and made it such a widely known way of predicting the future. There have been sayings that there are a lot of other cultures related to it as well; like the Chinese and that from Romans as well. There are many countries that have been involved in the slow and steady process of the development of the palmistry culture. These countries include Egypt, Tibet, China and Persia besides others. There have been many ways of estimation and there are a lot of things that palmistry can predict. There are a lot of things like life, marriage, money and study that are supposed to be predicted with the help of this art. There are so many things that can be predicted from the lines of the hand. There are different predictions for males and females. There are different predictions according to the left and the right hand. All in all it is something that one can learn with a lot of skill practice and knowledge. There is a constant need to understand from the works of the skilled few who have passed on this art from the generations. There are many mysteries that can be unraveled with the help of this complex art and one is sure to benefit with it for sure.

Don't forget to check out the downloads at http://dasmagicum.com

Post Abramelin

mabonis@gmail.com (Red Oak) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 07:40:00 +0000

I completed the Abramelin Working almost a year ago and am only just now realizing where it has left me and taken me, it is not what I was expecting...although I am not complaining. After the Working was complete I spent some time with the seals, giving them a test run as it were. I became rather disillusioned with this process, and am now under the impression that the true seals are either lost, or were a bunch of fooey to begin with. The more I worked with them, the more I came to realise they were irrelevant. Of course many will disagree with me, and they have every right to as we all have different experiences and outcomes, but before I performed the Abramelin Working, I was already heading down the road of realising just how simple Magic really is. As I always said, and kept repeating, everything is energy. Magic, ritual, a spellworking, life itself, brushing your teeth in the morning, all of it is the manipulation of energy from the moment the thought enters your mind, to the realization of the desire to act, to movements that are created through those actions. So what does it all boil down to? Energy, and we don't even need to move to project and form a pattern of energy to cause and effect. But back to my post Abramelin discoveries. So, after some tampering with this, that and the other, now that I had a good connection with my HGA (not that I needed to go through the Abramelim to get to that point, but more in another post), I sat down one day and decided to make a proper plan with my life. At that point I was doing as many things to earn a living as I could think of. Architecture, web design, book publishing, authoring, artwork, you name it, if I had the skill to do it, I was doing it. This may sound like a good idea, but I discovered it wasn't as I was spreading myself so thin between them all, nothing was really getting off the ground. Therefore, I decided to take one discipline and focus solely on that. It worked. I focused on web design and specifically WordPress, and the work started rolling in. I was able to get us back on track. This did however leave me disconnected from everything else. My entire spiritual practice took a backseat as I built myself up, so the question came to mind, if I have just performed and completed the Abramelin Working, why am I not using anything I have learned? I realized the answer to that question a couple weeks back. As Magicians, Magick Workers, Witches, Pagans, whatever you may be, one essential part of being a success in this practice is to be a success in yourself and all other areas of your life. To become a successful Magician, you first need to start at your roots, beginning in the here and now, in Malkuth, this physical world. If this is a mess, then how do you think the rest of your Tree looks? Think about it, everything that is present in this physical reality is first created in Yesod, and then manifests in Malkuth, so if your life is a mess then that would mean that everything above, below and around is a mess because you have created that mess. So, where did my HGA take me first of all on the rollercoaster of realization and awakening? Into my life, my career, my family, and She forced me to create a neat weave in my own Orlog. I have become engrossed in Malkuth for the past six or so months, but now it is time for me to move into Yesod, and so my journey up the fulcrum begins once again as the pendulum swings a little less rapidly now again. It is for this reason that I am back, even though there are a lot of changes that have been made and will be made. Am I the same person? Most definitely not, I am new and improved.

Don't forget to check out the downloads at http://dasmagicum.com

British Witchcraft Across the Ages

mabonis@gmail.com (Red Oak) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 14:28:00 +0000

by Adrian Eglinton

Across the ages, the magical practices of The Traditional Craft or Traditional Witchcraft in Britain has been as important to the Traditional Witch as breathing air. Magic is seen as another aspect of the energy of Nature, an added dimension of spirituality. The traditional Craft is the historic witchcraft of old Britain and is not Wicca, which dates from the early 1950's. The Traditional Witch has always been highly spiritual. We view the concept of God, as the universal consciousness that is evident in the world that surrounds us. Indeed, it is a core belief that Nature is the the very same as God. Consequently, Nature is divine. Magic itself is nothing more than the use of the forces of Nature, forces of God, to change or modify our reality to suit the desired outcome intended by the Trad Witch. Thus, magic is, when directed correctly, a divine act, comparable to prayer, which fosters positive change within the individual, their family, community, and our MotherEarth. It is an intended force for change, of creative modification. It can be used for any of the following purposes: * For personal growth and transformation. * To protect oneself and family. * To improve their life and the lives of their family. * To heal the oneself and to heal others. * To aid in obtaining a intended goal. * To remove barriers and impediments. * To create an alternate beginning or new circumstances. The magical arts can be a meaningful force for good in our lives, if we are willing to learn how to use it properly. The events in life are never coincidence, this magical results are never coincidence. Magic is based on the belief that Nature unfolds in an orderly manner and its events can be known. With this information, one can modify or alter the energy surrounding these events in manner that may influence the outcome. Magic, to most people, seems rather incomprehensible, something weird andsupernatural. Nevertheless, magic is something very different. For, rather than being something beyond knowing, the magical arts are within the reality of Nature, and affects our lives with ramifications to both the spiritual and physical planes. The spellcraft of Traditional Magic is particularly effective because the Trad Witch has knowledge of techniques that endow magic. While these techniques are not commonly thought of as applicable to magic, they go back in use in British magic for over a thousand years, if not longer. The terms commonly used for these techniques today, "meditation" and "visualization," are certainly not the same terms used our history, but their names do not matter. The substance of what is taught does. Traditional Witches subscribe to an very old concept called the Law of Return, or the principle of Cause and Effect. This is also found in physics, it states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. It is by this principle that every Traditional Witch knows full well that when an action is taken or they send a magical spell, the energy of that action or spell will eventually return to the sender in full force. Therefore, the wise are always careful in what they do. Traditional Magic can be a wonderful and potent force that can add to our quality of life, but only if it is used in a prudent manner.

About the Author

Adrian Eglinton is a writer, author, and began as a student of Traditional Witchcraft 30 years ago. He is dedicated to the spread of the natural and eternal truths of this old spiritual path and light the way for others. On his website you can read more abouttoday's witchcraft, and you can subscribe to a free 7-week Mini-Course on Traditional Magic.

Don't forget to check out the downloads at http://dasmagicum.com

The Worlds Of the Shaman - An Exploration Of Reality

mabonis@gmail.com (Red Oak) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 14:12:00 +0000

by Howard G. Charing "Reality is an Illusion, albeit a persistent one." Albert Einstein. Shamans for many thousands of years have pointing in the same direction as Quantum Physics. There is a greater reality outside our limited perception. This article explores the worlds of the shaman. Shamanism is not a system of belief or faith, it is a system of knowledge, and is directly experienced first hand by the senses. The world that Shamans work in is not a consensus reality, i.e. what we have agreed is reality. The Shaman sees i.e. experiences with all the senses. The Shaman is the mediator between the ordinary world and an alternate reality. Shamanism offers a way for people to wake up to their potential, and begin to explore their spiritual relationship to the universe, to other forms of life, and to each other. The experiences which come from shamanism help a person to evolve a deeper bond and respect for all of creation, and from this perspective one is more likely to lead a life that enhances life, with an emphasis on harmony and balance, and which encourages understanding and optimism. The Shamanic path is a path to experience this expanded view of universe. The origins of shamanism pre-date recorded civilisation and the earliest findings date back forty thousand years. The word Shaman originates from the Tungus people of Siberia, it means 'One who sees', and I would like to add to this as someone 'who sees with the heart'. This brings us to one of the most important characteristics of shamans, that they are masters of energy and of the life-force which moves through the human body and all of creation. They know that there is energy normally invisible which connects all that exists, and they live with the knowledge of this energy and how to use it. This concept of the inter-relationship and understanding that man is a part of nature, not separate to it, a part of the connecting energy has been expressed in many ways and over many cultures, unfortunately not in ours. As Chief Seattle said in 1855 in his address to the American Congress; "What befalls the Earth befalls all the sons of the Earth. All things are connected like the blood that unites us all. Man did not weave the web of life; he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web he does to himself." As the Siberian shamans say; "Everything that is, is alive." One of the other important characteristics of a shaman is that a man or woman who journeys into other realities to obtain hidden knowledge and wisdom on behalf of others i.e. in service to the community. Shamans are masters of altered states of consciousness in which the normal rules of Newtonian three-dimensional existence are broken, and in which travel to other worlds, pre-cognition, distant seeing are all possible. To put another way, the shaman travels outside of time. Today shamanism survives on all inhabited continents in less 'developed' regions in spite of the constant pressure of Western materialism, and the treatment of the Earth and nature as something to be dominated and exploited. Shamanism is a practice shared by peoples the world over with an underlying cosmology that cuts across cultural differences and customs. There is a common core, and when allowance is made for climatic, cultural, and geographical considerations there is a common experience. To illustrate this, a shaman from the frozen tundra's of Siberia may not be familiar with the symbols of a shaman from the rainforests of South America, but he or she would certainly recognise the methods and techniques that are being used. Contemporary shamanism is a path, a way, that we ourselves can be aware that we are a part, a strand in the web of life, and not outside of it. This path can lead us to experience in a practical way the nature of reality, and exceed our perception of the limits of reality. Shamanism is currently enjoying a revival in the West, one of the factors in this is the re-discovery of health techniques that actively recognise and use the mind and spirit of the individual to help healing and maintain wellness. Many of these methods and the knowledge underlying these are known in ancient shamanic practices which have migrated in to Western society. Increasing numbers of people are seeking and finding solutions to their health problems, whether defined as physical, mental, or emotional. Many shamanic principles are widely used in holistic healing centres and practices. Another factor in the 'revival' of shamanism is that we ourselves as individuals can experience the inter-connectivity, the intricate web of life that unifies all things. Shamanism provides tools and techniques to help you become your own spiritual authority. By journeying to the other realities, extending the perception of perceived reality, individuals can start to see, feel, or sense the one-ness of all things. These new insights and understandings come from within you, and from the teachers and counsellors in these other realities. This is an experiential process, and this means that you know for yourself that these experiences are valid. This is the meaning of a spiritual democracy. This expanded vision of life, can touch our heart, adding power to our walk in life, and we can move into a harmony and balance with nature, the Earth, and all living things. This not only changes our life perspective, but can also have a beneficial influence on all others, the community around us, which these days (whether we like it or not) is a global one. The shamanic path is a way to transformation, a personal, and subjective experience to an expanded awareness of this great mystery we call life. Much of our universe which is hidden can be explored, a universe which is known mainly through myth and dream.

About the Author

Howard G. Charing, is an accomplished international workshop leader on shamanism. He has worked some of the most respected and extraordinary shamans & healers in the Andes, the Amazon Rainforest, and the Philippines. He organises specialist retreats to the Amazon Rainforest at the dedicated centre located in the Mishana nature reserve. He is the author of the best selling book, Plant Spirit Shamanism (Destiny Books USA). His website:

Don't forget to check out the downloads at http://dasmagicum.com

Positive Results with BMT

mabonis@gmail.com (Red Oak) — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 18:37:00 +0000

If you are wanting to work with a passive income system that does actually work, then try Be Motivated Today. I actually got paid a commission, and this after not even looking at for almost a year because I thought it was going nowhere so I abandoned it.

Read more about my experience here http://redgroup.co.za/archives/a-nice-surprise-from-be-motivated-today

Or go straight to BMT now and sign up for a free trial membership and test the waters. It really is a brilliant system and you get to download lots of good motivational and inspirational ebooks.

Bune Drawing

mabonis@gmail.com (Red Oak) — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 17:23:00 +0000

I finished the next installment of the Goetia Series drawings, Bune. This one was definitely a little more involved with a lot more detail, but well worth the time spent on it. I still need to upload it to RedBubble, but here's a small sample.

The Twenty-sixth Spirit is Bune (or Bim). He is a Strong, Great and Mighty Duke. He appeareth in the form of a Dragon with three heads, one like a Dog, one like a Gryphon, and one like a Man. He speaketh with a high and comely Voice. He changeth the Place of the Dead, and causeth the Spirits which be under him to gather together upon your Sepulchres. He giveth Riches unto a Man, and maketh him Wise and Eloquent. He giveth true Answers unto Demands.

Frith,
Lee 'Red Oak' Johnson
http://redoaksponderings.blogspot.com
http://hlmagickschool.com
Need a Professional? http://magickforhire.com
My art - http://www.redbubble.com/people/redoak

Magick for Hire

mabonis@gmail.com (Red Oak) — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 08:40:00 +0000

Here's an interesting concept for you, http://magickforhire.com

Completely new site, looking for Practitioners to join the database, so if you are interested, fill in the application. If you have any questions there is a contact form you can use or email info@magickforhire.com

Frith,
Lee 'Red Oak' Johnson
http://redoaksponderings.blogspot.com
http://hlmagickschool.com - Free Online Magick Lessons
http://proudlypagan.co.za

Errors in Positive Thinking and Sigil Work

mabonis@gmail.com (Red Oak) — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 13:35:00 +0000

Many of us have heard of the practice of Positive Thinking. It is mentioned by many authors and practitioners of Self-Help and Esoteric works such as Deepak Chopra and it abounds in The Secret. One aspect that I discovered which was missing from this simple but effective practice was the aspect of Positive Feeling. Not only should we be thinking positively, but also feeling positively when we do these exercises. To just think, "I want lots of money" without actually feeling it, means that we do not project a sufficient amount of energy toward that goal. You need to include the desire, the feelings that come along with it.

However, there is an error which I picked up. It may have been mentioned by all of the previous people before me and I was just too thick to recognize it, or they considered it to be obvious, which I don't think it is to everyone. When we do the act of Positive Thinking we tend to think of our desire as being in the future. Therefore, we do think, "I want to be rich" or "I will be rich". There is a huge problem with this.

Each day you may stand in front of the mirror or sit in meditation and stir up a lot of emotion about how rich you will be one day. Every day you do the same thing, but nothing happens. Why? Because every day you are projecting that desire into the future, pushing it forward or in front of you each time because you WILL be rich. What you should be doing is thinking and feeling in the present, i.e. "I AM RICH" which would bring your desire into the now and will stop pushing forward each time. It's a bit like pushing a shopping cart in front of you. It will always be in front of you until you take the crazy action of actually jumping into it (make sure you are not going downhill at the time).

The same goes for sigil work. In all, or most of the texts we find that this process begins with the creation of a Will Sentence, and in all, or most, that Will Sentence is to start with "It is my Will to". Now the problem I find here is that when you add to that sentence that which it is your Will to, it is more than likely you will make it futuristic (damn that was a difficult sentence). Therefore we end up with something like "It is my Will to be rich" which is always projecting into the future. We can't say, "It is my Will to I am rich" just doesn't make sense. Therefore I propose that we burn the "It is my Will to" part of sigil creation. Ban it, stomp on it, chew it up and spit it out, it has no place in the NOW.

Frith,
Lee 'Red Oak' Johnson
http://redoaksponderings.blogspot.com
http://hlmagickschool.com - Free Online Magick Lessons
http://proudlypagan.co.za

The Goetia Series

mabonis@gmail.com (Red Oak) — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 05:00:00 +0000

I have started a series of drawings called the Goetia Series, simply because they will all be of the Goetic Spirits. For the first contribution, Orobas was kind enough to pose for me and the finished drawing can be found at http://www.redbubble.com/people/redoak both with the seal and without. I added the seal in photoshop so the original is just Orobas by himself.

Will try and do one drawing per week which should keep me busy for about18 months.

Elementals and Servitors

mabonis@gmail.com (Red Oak) — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 07:10:00 +0000

Before I disappear for my spiritual adventure, I finished my new eBook over the weekend and have just uploaded and made it available.

Elementals and Servitors

Elementals and Servitors are energetic beings that are created by a Magician or Witch to perform tasks for them. They have been used in various forms by cultures spanning the globe for centuries. This book gives you the methods to work with them and a practical guide on how to create them. Not only does it discuss this aspect of Magic from the perspective of Chaos Magic, but also presents the Kabbalistic method of Elemental creation, giving you a descriptive means of using the Yetziratic Wheel and taking you through the various launching methods.

You can purchase it at http://stores.lulu.com/pansgate or for any South African folks at http://hlmagickschool.com (just go to the Stores link in the Main Menu and then click on eBooks in the Categories.

But wait, there's more

mabonis@gmail.com (Red Oak) — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 09:38:00 +0000

This is getting more and more difficult to explain.

Imagine yourself as a ball of power. In this ball are all the infinite moments of your existence in this lifetime. Extending from that ball are connective links to all of the people, places, things, animals, etc. that you have encountered during this lifetime, and these lines connect to the balls of power which are those things, people, etc. Now, within this ball which is you are also all of your incarnations. This means that the concept of the ball as you, expands even further. Connected to this ball which is you and all of your incarnations is another ball, your Neshamah (it’s not actually connected as it is the ball, but trying to explain in words is not easy). Each person has a Neshamah connected to them, but the Higher Self or Soul is again split into three parts, the Neshamah, the Chiah and the Yehidah.

So now, expand your view from the You Ball up to your Neshamah and then take a group of people, let’s say a family, your family. All of the members of your family have their own ball of power containing all of their moments, experiences, etc. and incarnations of same. Each person has a Neshamah, and all of those Neshamah are connected by the Chiah. Expand that further to contain all the Chiah of a nation and you have another Chiah. Put them all together and you have the Yehidah which then unites all.

But now remember that the Neshamah is only part of the soul belonging to people. We also have the plants, animals and all of the other things of creation. Uniting all of this is God, the Primal Force, the Everything and No-Thing, the Universal Mind, The ALL.

And now that I explained this as best I can in the format of a network, remove the network and bring it all into one ball of power that is infinite, has no boundaries (and is therefore not actually a ball).

The Gods

mabonis@gmail.com (Red Oak) — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 09:12:00 +0000

My perception of the Universe keeps expanding as I get shown more. For instance, who are the Gods? Let’s take this back a little and explain the HGA, or in Kabbalistic terms, the Neshamah.

The Neshamah is the Higher Self of a person. This portion of our soul is that part which is immortal. As we incarnate through different life times, we forget the previous ones in order to experience the new one. The Neshamah on the other hand does not die, is not born and retains the experiences of all of those lifetimes.

When we speak of the Gods we may think of them as sentient beings or archetypes. In retrospect, both are correct in my view. We work with the Gods, or petition them to aid in our work to affect something of ourselves or our environment. If we want love, we go to a certain god or goddess, if we want money, we go to a different one, each of them having aspects that we require, almost like job titles. You would not go to a plumber to get your electricity fixed, and you would not go to a “god of money” to get love in your life.

Now, each person we encounter has their own aspects and personalities, experiencing this reality in their own manner, their own job titles as it were. Their Neshamah is therefore experiencing that aspect of life and adding it to the experiences of its previous incarnations. We speak of the Gods as being immortal and having more experience, which is the same as the Neshamah. It would stand to reason that the possibility exists that the Gods are in fact the Higher Selves of all the people on the planet.

Reality in an instant

mabonis@gmail.com (Red Oak) — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 09:13:00 +0000

I thought I would share a lesson I was given last night by the kaneh-bos ally. It has to do with Reality being made up of moments that all happen within the same instance, lateral time as opposed to our man made linear time. For a brief moment I experienced this Reality, only a portion of it though, but I knew in that moment I would not be able to experience it when I came back to normal every day life, it is just too big. Anyway, for those interested, this is the imagery that I was presented with.

Each second is a moment on a card, and there are multiple cards. we experience each moment all at once, but our attention in our conscious mind is only on one, which was lit up. Our attention obviously moves around from moment to moment. Now, that is each second, so between those seconds, you have to split up the moment more into nanoseconds, making thousands of cards from second to second, and then split it up even further into an infinite number of cards or moments, beyond human reasoning or calculation. Then expand that over an entire lifetime and you have the bigger picture. We live within all of the cards in the same instance. Then remember that is only one person, from specific cards/moments, other things branch off to form the experiences of other people, animals, things, places, etc. It's huge, and it all takes place in the same instance as one large body.

Breathing in the Sigil

mabonis@gmail.com (Red Oak) — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 13:53:00 +0000

I used a method of sigil launching this morning that I hadn’t thought of previously and wanted to share it. It’s a combination of sigil work and Kabbalistic practice and may prove interesting and worthwhile to others.

I have a frame which holds two small panes of glass which can be slid in and out and so you can easily replace something between the pieces of glass. I put a plain white sheet of paper between them and then took a glass artliner from Dala and drew the sigil on one of the pieces of glass. The interesting thing with this is that you can take coloured paper and put it between the glass and then place a candle behind the frame which illuminates the sigil. If you get two pieces of glass with clips, you should be able to construct it quite easily.

Then I went into my Temple, placed it standing up on the altar with the candle behind. I then drew in spiritual force from the Infinite Power Source (this is the Kabbalistic method and is spoken of in the book I am working on about Elementals and Servitors, which is partially uploaded on my website) and projected lines to the sigil. This was a simple case of drawing in Power through the top of the head into the forehead and then breathing it out, projecting a line of power to the sigil, and when it got there it kind spider-webbed out to cover the sigil itself. I repeated this but moved the power into the throat and out to the sigil, then into the chest, then to the solar plexus and finally the groin. I didn’t add hands because I was intending to meditate for a while after that process (and didn’t want to sit there holding up my hands).

So then I sat and meditated for about 20 minutes followed by breathing the sigil in. Now this is the process of Breathing in Spiritual Force which you usually do with an object or colour, but I thought it would work just as well with a sigil. Therefore as I breathed in I drew the sigil into myself through the lines of power I had used to connect to it. Three breaths and that was it.