How to Become a Witch, Amber K. [new books to read .txt] 📗

Seriously, Witches do not perform any kind of divination (or sacrifice) that would harm an animal! However, the movements and natural patterns of animals and birds can be omens, and you can learn to read them if you watch closely.

Psychic Skills

Talents Beyond the Everyday

Because we are connected with all things and beings, humans have psychic skills. With rare exceptions, like the studies by J. B. Rhine and a few Russian scientists, they are ignored by science. However, that doesn’t mean they aren’t real or cannot be developed with practice. Witches are very open to such things, since they dovetail with the magickal arts. Let’s look at several.

Intuition: This is a water element quality, as discussed in chapter 3. It is the most common, basic psychic skill of our species. Everyone has hunches, a sense that something is dangerous, or a feeling that someone can be trusted, or that the weather will change soon. Do you know when you’re being watched? Can you sense trouble waiting to happen? Do you hear a little voice say “uh-oh”?

Here’s one explanation: we take in more data than we consciously process or are aware of—but the subconscious keeps correlating data and finding patterns, even as our conscious minds are busy thinking about something else. You walk into an Old West saloon where there’s an ambush set: they’s a-layin’ fer yuh. Your mind is on whiskey, but your subconscious picks up subtle danger signs: the sudden drop in conversation, the bartender’s tension, covert glances from the card players. Suddenly you feel it: message from subconscious, “Danger, danger!” Trusting your instincts, you drop, roll, and come up with six-guns a-blazin’ at the varmints who just appeared on the balcony.

Pay attention. Trust your intuition, what Marion Weinstein called your “inner bell.” When you get a message, listen and act. Later, note it in your Book of Shadows, along with your response and the outcome.

Messages from your subconscious may come through your body: queasy stomach, tight shoulder muscles, a tingling on the back of your neck. Ask yourself: does this situation, person, or object psychically feel warm or cold, heavy or light, bright or dull, smooth or rough, perfect pitch or off-key?

You will probably misinterpret some of the signals, especially if you’re very intellect-oriented and in the habit of ignoring “mere feelings,” but over time you can hone your intuition to a fine edge.

Reading Auras: As we explained in chapter 5, everything has an energy field that emanates from it and surrounds it. With practice you can learn to sense the aura and tell high energy from low, health from illness, joy from anger, and much more. This particular psychic skill is very valuable to healers.

Healers will sometimes hold a pendulum over each chakra and interpret health from its movements. Some will hold their hands over a chakra and receive colors or images, as though they were scrying. You may sense auras by seeing, feeling, or hearing them hum.

It’s sometimes useful to read the auras of others, to get a sense of their emotional or physical state, but your main concern should be your own energy field, because it reflects your state of health and well-being.

Psychometry: This is the art of receiving psychic impressions or information from an inanimate object. You have done this a thousand times without realizing it. You have picked up a piece of clothing, or a book, and felt drawn to it—it just felt warm, inviting, or friendly. You may have touched some other object and recoiled—it had a bad energy, hostile or sad or pained.

Touch or hold something very old, with a lot of history. Center, allow your mind to relax and open, even go into a light trance; you may get impressions that are clues to its past. The object may be holding an emotional charge or a vague sensation of a place where it was kept for many years. You may receive a sense of light or darkness, moisture or dryness, heat or cold, trauma or peace. Smells may come to you, or sounds. You might even get a vivid image of a place or person associated with the object.

Shielding: You can arrange your energy field to protect you from negative energies, either random ones or those directed at you with harmful intent.

This latter situation is rare; there are very few magickal adepts around, and probably none who wish you harm. Yet there could be an occasional person, without any magickal training, who is angry at you and projects her or his feelings strongly. It’s not comfortable, but you can ward off that angry energy until you resolve the situation.

A greater concern is the undirected negative energy that floods the ether and affects anyone who is psychically sensitive. The emotions of fear, despair, frustration, guilt, anger, and hatred are very powerful. Most people are not very sensitive to such free-floating emotional toxins or have developed natural filters and shields. Sensitive natural receivers for emotional energy are called telempaths (as opposed to telepaths, who hear thoughts) and can be affected badly until they learn to shield.

A simple way to protect yourself is to ground and center, then inhale deeply and draw energy from the earth through your root chakra; inhale again and draw energy from the sky through your crown chakra; keep breathing and let the energies pool in your solar plexus chakra. Then mentally send the combined energies into your etheric body, the layer of energy that extends just beyond your skin. As that layer becomes stronger and denser, push it out an inch or so, and let it stabilize there. Do this often, until you have trained yourself to hold a strong, expanded energy field.

You can also shield somewhat with a protective amulet or talisman; for example, charge a silver pentagram pendant and wear it over your heart.

Many techniques exist for shielding, but your best protection is to keep yourself healthy and fit, keep a positive attitude, and avoid areas or situations that are toxic. A strong and healthy