Magickal
Body
A
Guest Post By:
Anna
Anima Mundi
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***A VERY SHORT BIO***
Anna Anima Mundi is a
licensed massage therapist, reflexologist, Reiki master/teacher, and high
priestess in the Western Mystery Tradition. She is fascinated by the
intersection of mental processes, physical processes, and spiritual states of
being. A devotee of Isis and Thoth, she perceives Their intelligence in science
and medicine as well as metaphysics. She lives in eastern North Carolina with
her husband and priest and several fur kiddoes.
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Contemporary Paganism is
well-known for holding the natural processes of the Earth in high regard - of
seeing Spirit in Earth. And as the chant goes, " Earth my body / Water my
blood / Air my breath and / Fire my spirit." Unlike many other religions, we regard our
appetites for sex, sleep, food, and play as avenues to the Divine, not
barriers.
As a massage therapist, I
have come to understand the Power and Potential inherent in every human body to
help access the realms of the Divine more fruitfully. Meditation, focus,
raising "energy" to empower magick, are all physical processes that
take place throughout the whole body, not just in our heads. Devoting a bit of
attention to the body's needs will yield huge dividends in the quality of one's
magickal Work. We take care in choosing athames, herbs, incenses and the like;
but the most important magickal tool happens to be the Earthly home of our
spirit - the body!
Our root traditions of 50+
years ago actually validated the human body as magickal instrument. Of the
"Eight Paths to Power" described by Gerald Gardner, many emphasize
the physical: breath control, the dance,
chanting, etc. But our modern practices
often do not utilize these effective tools-- perhaps because of the physical
ills that a modern lifestyle brings? A sedentary, indoor, fast-food lifestyle
impedes the free flow of physical vitality that assists our spiritual
activities; chanting, dancing, breathwork and the like become difficult and
unpleasant. Happily, this can be corrected fairly easily for the purposes of
magick.
There is another aspect to
this picture: while the body affects our magick, magick and the Power it
employs also affects the body; it's a two-way street. And, not always for the
better: psychic work is well-known to be exhausting, and intense magick can
cause unwanted physical symptoms or even actual illness. Anyone who does a lot
of psychic, energetic, or magickal work should pay close heed to their body's
needs, because they will surely change.
With this in mind, here are
some "first steps" to helping our bodies become effective magickal
tools that work our Will:
Movement. Being sedentary stiffens the extensive web of tissues
that connects our skin, muscles, organs, blood vessels, and bones. These
tissues (the "fascia") naturally have a jelly-like quality and are
actually considered to be a "liquid crystal." These tissues are
currently being studied by scientists as the matrix that carries the chi
that acupuncture affects! Stiff fascia stagnates our energies very quickly, in
multiple ways. Here are two simple ways to reverse this:
(1) Once or twice a day, and
especially before you meditate or do any kind of magick or ritual, take five
minutes and move all your joints through their range of motion. Start by
rotating your ankle about five times to the right, and then an equal number of
times to the left. Point your toes and then your heels an equal number of
times. Move up your whole body and
explore all the ways each joint can move. Do not force anything, but do try to
move to the full extent that each joint can. If you have a painful joint, go
easy on it. You will feel more energized, and this will increase the
effectiveness of your metaphysical work.
(2) Explore bending and
stretching. When you stretch, go only to the edge of discomfort. Take a
breath, and as you exhale, see if you can go just a smidgen more. Then slowly
move out of the stretch. Keep in mind that there is no competition! if you can
only bend a tiny bit, that's okay. It will loosen tissues and unlock stagnate
energies.
If you are very serious
about your magickal practice, consider adopting a yoga practice. After all, it
was invented to help the body access metaphysical states more easily. You do
not have to be young, thin, strong, and flexible to do yoga. Find a 10-minute
beginner's sequence online or check out local studios. Even twice a week can be
effective. Qi gong is another practice highly suited for magicians.
Hydration. You do not have to drink tons of water every day to be
healthy. However, you do have to drink more water than coffee, tea, soda,
etc. Water helps keep that liquid
crystalline connective tissue soft and pliable and able to convey magickal
Power. Also, magickal energy runs
"hot" and increases your need and thirst for water. (This includes
energies such as Reiki, too.)
Proper food. There is no one, right magickal diet. The best overall
magickal diet is the one that makes you feel the best. For some people, this may be vegetarian. For
others, it may be low-carb/meat centric. Do not let ideology stand in the way
of finding out what's right for you.
Doing a lot of magickal or
energy work will often cause changes in your body that may impel you to alter
your diet in unexpected ways. You may develop food sensitivities, such as to
grain, dairy, certain fruits, or preservatives and other food additives. You
may have cravings. You may suddenly be unable to tolerate meat or some other
food - or you may need more of it to ground or rebuild tissues. This is not
necessarily a sign of illness but of increasing sensitivity on all levels -
from psychic to physical.
You may want to experiment
with your diet to induce psychic changes. Eating meat does not mean you can't
be psychic, of course - many great magicians and psychics are omnivores. But it
is true that the quickest way to increase sensitivity is to go veggie for a few
days. Vegan is better; raw vegan makes one even more sensitive. This is the big
reason why magickal orders will have you fast before an initiation - it
literally makes you more open to the subtle forces they are invoking into your
aura.
Breath. Blood carries Power. Breath fuels Blood. Altering your
breath is the quickest way to altering your consciousness. Deep belly breathing
engages the calm-inducing part of your central nervous system, and energizes
you simultaneously. It can change and harmonize brain waves. A few minutes
every day spent doing comfortable belly breaths will make you healthier and
happier. Conversely, the shallow breathing many of us adopt engages our adrenal
glands to pump out stress hormones. From a magickal point of view, belly
breathing and simple (but profound) techniques such as four-part breath or
alternate-nostril breathing will clear and focus your mind and immediately
engage that magickal state of consciousness.*
This essay is just a very
tiny summation of body/magick interaction. A whole book can be written about it
(and in fact, one well-known occultist is doing just that). These easy
body-centric practices will help you with grounding, raising energy for spells,
chakra work, and all your other magickal endeavors. Happy magicking!
* You can google "four
part breath" and "alternate nostril breathing" for instructions
on these techniques.
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I’d just like to
say that there is really some good stuff in there. Also, I could not agree more
that working with the body and the energies thereof are essential to the Work
of the Craft. After all, the body is one third of the ole mind-body-soul
triangle.
Once again, I just
want to say thanks for writing this. Thanks. It is appreciated.
Boidh se!
-Spanish Moss
“Lost
in a thicket bare-foot upon a thorned path.”
