The Witches' Book of the Dead (5 page)

Letting Your Inner Witch Out

Witchcraft is both a practice and a way of life. As in any lifestyle, we immerse ourselves in its elements and embody its truths. In the case of the Witch, this immersion dares us to be different, to be unique, and to live our lives in both this world and the world of spirit. Witches have a fascination with the dark and mysterious; we dance with the dead every day. We honor them by draping ourselves in the black of night, wearing spidery veils and such adornments as the silver of Hecate's moon, mourning jewelry, charms, and bones. Enveloping ourselves in shadow, we dress to impress the dead!

Spirits hate boring people and would rather avoid them. If you want the spirit world to take notice, celebrate your nonconformity! The competent Witch weaves herself between the worlds in exciting and sometimes shocking ways. When you allow your own unique soul to come through, you will discover your inner Witch, an archetype of great magical power and wisdom.

Keeping One Foot in the Real World

While it is important for the Witch to keep one foot in the grave, so to speak, don't let the powers of death consume you. The Witch must learn to balance the worlds of matter and spirit. While this is a book about how Witches can work with the dead, Witchcraft is also devoted to life, and no book on the subject would be complete without urging readers to savor the living world of earthly senses. The simple pleasures of the flesh are important aspects of the magical experience. Spirits are attracted to your life force, so enjoy life! Get out there! Feel the passion and vitality of every second of your existence!

Tools, Places, and Times of Power

In the chapters to come, you will find the mysterious trappings of the magical arts employed to enhance your personal power or aid in contact with spirit forces. Whether the task at hand entails lighting a black candle, acquiring a human skull, or visiting a graveyard at midnight in the dark of the
moon, you will find that the proper tools and the right ambience are vital elements of magic.

Witches know how to accessorize. Iron keys, graveyard dust, human bones, powders, daggers, and makeshift dolls stuck with pins are just some of the tools of the trade. The strange paraphernalia the Witch uses in magic are powerful mental keys that unleash her will upon the worlds. The more powerful the symbol, the stronger the connection. Finding just the right elements for our rituals and incantations is often challenging, but always rewarding. We scour graveyards, antique shops, flea markets, and even the Internet searching for unique items to increase our powers.

The appropriate surroundings help the Witch to attain a mood conducive to magic. A candlelit room drenched in shadow, a desolate crossroads at midnight, a decaying cemetery overrun with weeds, or a deathbed chamber filled with the sweet smell of mourning are settings that create the perfect atmosphere and invite the spirits to participate.

The clever Witch understands the spirit and power of place and knows that certain otherworldly intelligences and energies become associated with particular locales, holding dominion over the land. These spirits may be the shades of those who once lived in the area and remain attached to it, or more ancient beings of unknown origin that have chosen to become mighty sentinels. In both cases they have bonded with the very energies of the land itself, creating vortexes of immeasurable power. On an even larger scale, we recognize the sacred geometry of ley lines: places where the spirit world intersects with our own. You will often find pyramids, temples, stone circles, and other sacred markers at these power spots. Such magical sites radiate metaphysical energy through which the spirits manifest most strongly.

Time is a key ingredient in magical conjurations. Who hasn't heard tell of the enchantments of the Witching Hour? When bringing to mind the Witch of legend, we see her standing on the precipice of a lonely cliff while a thunderstorm rages, or moving stealthily under the pale glow of a full moon at midnight. Certain magical times may be fixed and determined in advance, such as astrological aspects or moon phases, helping the Witch to plan her
work ahead. At other times, such as the arrival of a sudden gust of wind to fan the flames of magic, the Witch will act swiftly to tap into the power of the moment.

When the Witch combines her steely determination with the shadowy accoutrements of the art, the spirit of place, and the times of magic, the greatest works of Witchcraft can be spun. Using these methods in your work with the Other Side will serve to usher the spirits to cross the inky black waters of death.

The Death Current

Virtually every exercise, tool, or ritual that deals with accessing the wisdom and power of the dead involves tapping into the cosmic force known as the Death Current, an energy that pervades the universe, passing through all of us and guiding us toward our own physical finality. It is similar to the Yin element of the Tao, the destructive chaos from which all life springs and to which all life must return; and to the Akashic records, the psychic storehouses of all knowledge, wisdom, and even emotion. It is through this vibrational current that the spirits of the dead swim, waiting to be reached through the gifted seership of the Witch. Every second that the dead lived, everything they learned, every tear they shed, every joy they experienced, and all that they have been resides in the celestial tides of the Death Current. It is within this current that you will find the Witch, channeling her life force to balance and connect with the forces of death.

The Dangers of Spirit Work

You may be curious to know if there are dangers and pitfalls to interacting with the dead. The forces you will learn to conjure in this book are not to be trifled with, nor are these pages to be skimmed over; you must be willing to learn and absorb the teachings before you attempt any form of conjuration or contact. In fact, I recommend that you read this book in its entirety to
make absolutely sure that this path is for you, and only then begin to practice the exercises herein.

The dangers are legion. If you enter into this intricate dance of life and death with the mind of a mere dabbler, you open yourself up to a host of possible complications ranging from fatigue, melancholy, and minor poltergeist disturbances to mental and physical illnesses, malevolent hauntings, and even possession by malefic forces! It is of grave importance that you engage in this work with care.

Be of sound mind and body, nurture your spirit, and approach the work with both caution and determination, and you will succeed in opening doorways through which the dead can penetrate this world. Your inner strength will serve to protect you, and your understanding will be a light to guide the way.

With these warnings prowling about your mind, you may wonder why I would consider doing this sort of thing at all, never mind teaching it in a book. You may also question whether there are any tangible benefits to such work.

The rewards and gifts of the spirits are limitless. Court the dead and they will help you to achieve love, wealth, and knowledge, and enable you to strike fear into the hearts of those who would commit injustice—all while leading you into realms of consciousness where death as we know it does not exist. It is through these altered states of awareness that the Witch discovers her greatest reservoirs of power.

The Visionary State

What you are about to learn is perhaps the most fundamental component of the magical arts, one we will refer to throughout the remainder of the book. It is the mental key that unlocks the treasure chests of universal wisdom. I refer to this as the visionary state—an altered state of consciousness through which we connect with unseen forces and our spells take form and flight. It is also the method the Witch uses to walk between the worlds of the living and the dead.

Exercise: Entering the Visionary State

Whenever a ritual or spell you encounter in this book instructs you to enter the visionary state, the following exercise is the one you will use
.

Step One

Find a comfortable chair where you can relax and connect to the spiritual forces around you.

Step Two

When you are comfortably seated, close your eyes and focus on your breathing. Allow your breath to become slow, deep, and deliberate. In your mind's eye, see your breath as a living force of energy, inhaling the powers of the spirit world and exhaling your own thoughts and dreams so that the spirits may experience them. Realize that the air you exhale becomes sustenance to the dead as they absorb your essence through your breath. With each inhale, the dead align with your life force. Your breath should continue this way over the course of the visionary state.

Step Three

Feel the flesh of your body tingle as the Death Current begins to flow through you. Notice the changes that take place: your breathing may become shallow, your limbs may become
numb or tingly, and your heart rate may drop. Trust the process—it is like falling into a deep, dreamlike sleep, yet one in which you are still aware. Let your spirit release itself from the heaviness of flesh and bone. Breath after breath, slower, heavier, and deeper, descend into the depths of the underworld. To define the state, you will now count to yourself from ten to one. When you reach one, say in your mind, “I am now in a visionary state. I am at one with the spirits. They flow through me as I flow through them.”

Swim in the dark waters of the Death Current, feeling those currents within your very blood. You are now able to communicate with the spirits at the core of your body and soul, able to share in their memories and experiences.

When you are ready to come back, count from one to ten and open your eyes. It is important to count back up whenever you can so that you do not have the feeling of suddenly being jarred awake. Do this exercise daily or whenever possible and you will have the key to reaching the spirit realms whenever you desire.

The visionary state is an active form of meditation. Rather than quieting thoughts, we are pushing our mental ability to its most creative, allowing spirit vision to dance across the screen of the mind.

As with all meditation, the foundation of its success is in proper breathing. Deliberate breath, slow and relaxed, in through the nose and out through the mouth, is the first step to achieving the state of awareness required. Practicing this style of breathing daily not only increases your ability to enter into the visionary state, but it also helps to bring your physical body into balance by oxygenating the blood and thus giving the brain more power.

Once you have connected with the correct form of breathing, it is necessary to clear the mind of mental flotsam and jetsam. Here we inherit the wisdom of the Yogis, masters of “passive” meditation—the quieting of the mind—who are able to hold mental states of emptiness for days at a time. Before we can paint the canvas of our mind's eye with information from the spirit world, we must clear it of the stresses and worries of everyday life.

Once the mind is cleared, focus on your desired target. This could be as simple a task as finding a lost object, or as complex as a necromantic graveyard ritual. In both cases, it is important that you remain centered and focused on the work at hand. Do not allow the thoughts of the mundane world to creep into your consciousness. In this way, you will learn to discern between real psychic information and mere imagination.

Those who practice the visionary state regularly tell of hours flying by in what seem to be only moments. Others tell of time stopping completely. Thus, you may want to limit your exercise to an hour when you're first starting out, using an alarm clock if necessary. Since alarms can be uncomfortably jarring, it is important that you use them as a backup, coming back to an alert state of consciousness on your own. As you progress in skill, you will be able to gauge your surroundings more clearly, becoming more attuned to the seen and unseen phenomena that surround you. Once you have truly mastered the visionary state, your mind and spirit will know when to return from the veil and reenter normal waking consciousness.

Making Pacts with the Spirits

In order to open the doorways to the spirit world, your will must be strong, your determination unwavering, and your commitment to a mutual relationship with the dead resolute. There is no room in your mind for doubt, skepticism, or fear. The spirits can see through all of that. You must know in your heart and in your soul that you want to walk the path
of the Witch, and this path includes the deepest understanding of the realms of the dead.

This symbiotic bond between the living and the dead is at the root of what became known in the Middle Ages as the pact between Witches and their “familiar spirits.” While the term conjures images of your soul being carried off by Furies and devils, the reality is much simpler.