Natural Witchery (3 page)

One of the basic steps to turning on your psychic abilities is to light up the chakras. By this, I mean you envision them as pulsing with bright, glowing colors.

Studying the energy centers of the body could fill up an entire book on its own, but we are going to keep this simple here. This is a visualization exercise that only takes about five minutes. It calls for you to picture the chakras as glowing orbs of energy, and then turn up their light, so you visualize them glowing brightly and pulsing with energy.

Begin by getting out paper and a pen so you can quickly write down your impressions when you are finished with the exercise. Set them in a handy spot nearby. You can start this exercise by sitting easily on the floor and resting your hands comfortably in your lap. Roll your head around gently, and stretch out your neck and shoulders. Close your eyes. (This act will force you to focus on your psychic impressions, not your physical ones.) Take a few deep, cleansing breaths, and ground and center yourself.

Now picture the root chakra that sits at the base of your spine. This orb of light is bright red. This chakra is known as the seat of power, and it is a place of raw energy and a grounding force. This chakra connects you to the physical world. Picture this ball of light as glowing with a vivid red and warm light.

Next move up to the belly chakra. This chakra center is between the base of the spine and your navel, in the abdomen area. This sphere of light is orange. This chakra is thought to influence your instincts, emotions, and personal power. This is the area where “gut hunches” begin. Light it up and see the orb as glowing a beautiful, bright orange. If you feel your belly clenching as you turn on this power area, take a deep breath, and try to relax those muscles. After a moment, go ahead and move on.

Now we go to the solar plexus. This is directly beneath the rib cage and above the navel. This orb is a brilliant yellow color, and as you focus on this area you may notice it tightening up as well. What do you sense when you focus on this psychic center? This is considered the “soul area,” and your psychic intuition and personal power are linked to this region of the body, as is your magickal will. This is the energy center where psychic impressions physically gather. At this point of the body, you can literally feel the intuitive impressions tighten up your muscles. Give yourself a moment to experience the sensation, and gather any impressions as you light up this area.

Next, turn your focus to the heart chakra. It will be a gorgeous grass-green color, found right where you'd expect it—the middle of the chest. From this energy center, your emotions and love radiate out. Unconditional love and strong emotions come from this chakra. Light up this sphere and feel the sensation of perfect love and perfect trust spread out through your whole body. Enjoy this lovely sensation for a bit, and then move on to the next chakra.

The throat chakra is located at the hollow of the throat. This chakra is a stunning sapphire blue. Turn it on, and visualize it as glowing bright along with the other chakras. This chakra controls how we communicate with others and how well we listen. Psychic hearing is governed from this area. As you visualize this chakra expanding and lighting up, listen carefully and see what your inner voice has to say.

Next, shift your focus up to the middle of your forehead, the third eye area. This chakra is a gorgeous amethyst-violet color. This energy center is the point of your psychic vision and perception. Illuminate this orb of light. Take a moment to experience the difference in your awareness as you focus on the center of energy that clairvoyance (called psychic sight) comes from. Give yourself a short time, and “see” what you can perceive.

Lastly, shift your attention to the top of your head, called the crown. The crown chakra is a brilliant white, and this where we experience and sense the divine in our lives. Here is where you link to the God and Goddess, in everyday life and during magick. From this chakra, we experience divine love. Let this orb billow out in a dazzling white halo, and take a moment to experience the love of all of creation.

Now that all seven chakras are lit up and pulsing with positive energy, take a few moments and enjoy the experience. What sort of psychic impressions are you gathering? Does one part of your body feel more “turned up” than the others? Focus on it, and ask yourself what you need to know. Don't think this to death; just see what you feel.

After a little while, turn down the brightness of the chakras. I like to picture a dimmer switch that I turn so the light gets softer. If it will help, pantomime the action of turning the switch down in a counterclockwise turn. If you notice one of the chakras is still bigger than the others or you have a tightening in one part of your body, take a deep breath, and make those muscles relax. If it helps, rub your hands over the area to help the muscles loosen up.

Then reach down to the floor directly in front of the base chakra and “zip” all the seven chakras closed. Raise your hand up in front of your body, in a straight line, and finish up as high as you can reach. No muss, no fuss. If you don't fling your arm around, it appears to the casual observer that you are merely stretching.

Ground and center, placing the palms of your hands flat on the ground. Hold that pose for a moment so that you may send any excess energy safely back into the earth and so you can pull up stabilizing energy from the earth as well, should you need it. Allow yourself to relax. Once you've done that, open your eyes, place your hands in a natural pose, and relax your posture. Take some time to jot down your impressions. Now that you've worked your way through this chakra exercise once, it only gets easier and quicker every time.

Receive Psychic Impressions as Easy as 1-2-3

If you want to receive psychic impressions swiftly, light up the chakras in order, just as in the first exercise. Then visualize the belly (orange), solar plexus (yellow), and third eye chakra (violet) spinning, expanding, and growing larger than the rest of the other chakras.

Hold this image in place for a few moments, and allow your perceptions to open up. Shift your attentions inward, and let your mind drift. What do you see, hear, or sense? What pops into your mind, and what causes you to have a physical reaction? By that I mean what impressions made your solar plexus or belly area tighten? After a few moments, turn the power down so all the chakras are the same size and intensity. Now zip them closed, and ground and center. Jot down your impressions. This 1-2-3 technique also comes in handy while working with any divinatory tool, such as the tarot or runes. It also helps when practicing psychometry, the psychic reading of objects by touch.

Find the Ace of Spades

This is a simple and fun way to warm up those psychic muscles. You will need one deck of regular playing cards. We'll work with playing cards here, because the images are bold and simple.

From the deck, pull out the ace of spades, the ace of hearts, and the ace of diamonds. Set the rest of the deck to the side. Now turn the three aces face down on a table, and mix them up well. Slide them back and forth in a circular motion over each other until you have no idea where the ace of spades is. Now, keeping the cards face down, line them up from left to right in a horizontal line in front of you. Now hold your hand over each card (without touching it), and guess where the ace of spades is. Think only about the suit of spades and the color black. Turn over your choice. How did you do?

With this exercise, you'll get to experiment and see how your intuition communicates with your conscious mind. You may hear an inner voice saying “this card.” You may see the ace of spades in your mind's eye or the card may have a different “feel.” Your solar plexus area may tighten up when you hold your hand over the correct card, or you may just know.

Try this exercise again, only this time touch the cards—see if that helps you find the ace of spades more easily. Then repeat for as long as you like. When finished, take a moment and write down how you intuited the correct card most often. Was it by listening to an inner voice? Did you sense the ace by touch? Or did you just instinctively know? Were you able to gather the information by a psychic visual impression or by tuning in to your solar plexus and following your gut hunch?

Now that you have your intuition turned on and are warming up and beginning to understand the process, let's take this neat little test and see where your psychic strengths lie.

The intellect has little to do on the road to discovery.
There comes a leap in consciousness, call it intuition
or what you will, the solution comes to you
and you don't know how or why.
The truly valuable thing is the intuition.

Albert Einstein

Discovering Your Psychic Abilities

This quiz is divided up into five separate sections, each one representing a different psychic ability. This test uses a simple scoring method to give you an overall idea of where you stand in the range of psychic awareness. There are several questions in each section for you to read and then answer.

On a separate piece of paper, make five separate columns. Then write the topic heading of each section down, and add the numbers one through ten to each of the five sections. Read each numbered statement, and then write your yes or no answer down next to the corresponding number. Now, don't overthink these statements. If they honestly apply to you, then mark down “yes.” If you start thinking,
Well, that sort of happened to me once, three years ago…,
then your answer is “no.”

Clairaudient Quiz

1. While I am speaking to friends, I know what they are going to say—
before
they say it. (yes/no)

2. As I begin to fall asleep, I hear a voice call my name. (yes/no)

3. I often hear a friend or family member's voice in my head, even when they are not physically with me. (yes/no)

4. I hear key phrases or words in my mind that then play out immediately in real life. (yes/no)

5. When I am frightened or nervous about something, I hear a comforting and calming voice out of nowhere. (yes/no)

6. If I have a person's name stuck in my mind all day, I typically receive a
“surprise” phone call or visit from them. (yes/no)

7. I will have a song spontaneously pop into my mind that then provides
me with insights or information for a particular problem. (yes/no)

8. I always pay attention to my “inner voice.” (yes/no)

9. I hear what other people are thinking. (yes/no)

10. It is essential to me to use the sounds of nature to unwind. (yes/no)

Clairvoyant Quiz

1. I regularly experience premonitions. (yes/no)

2. I feel that I can understand a pet or a loved one by looking into their eyes. (yes/no)

3. When I close my eyes, I can see actual images in my mind's eye. (yes/no)

4. I mistrust people who will not look me in the eyes or who look away while speaking to me. (yes/no)

5. I am attracted to light-filled rooms and bright, sunny colors. (yes/no)

6. Visualization techniques come easy for me. (yes/no)

7. While being taught something new, I do better by being shown as opposed to being told. (yes/no)

8. I have experienced a clairvoyant vision while I was awake and aware of my other surroundings. (yes/no)

9. I insist upon having fancy props and elaborate altar setups while I work my magick. (yes/no)

10. I would describe myself as a visual type of person. (yes/no)

Precognitive Dreamer Quiz

1. I always remember my dreams, both good and bad. (yes/no)

2. I daydream in clear color pictures, complete with emotions and sound. (yes/no)

3. As I drift off to sleep, unexplained images regularly pop into my head.
(yes/no)

4. I have precognitive dreams. (yes/no)

5. My “psychic dreams” tend to be clearer, louder, and more vivid in detail. (yes/no)

6. My dreams influence me during the daytime. (yes/no)

7. I consider the bedroom my sanctuary. (yes/no)

8. I enjoy working with symbolism as an integral part of my magickal practices. (yes/no)

9. I enjoy solving puzzles or figuring out a mystery. (yes/no)

10. I have a vivid imagination. (yes/no)

Intuition or “Prophetic Knowing” Quiz

1. I have experienced a foreboding feeling (which may be described as a “sinking feeling in the pit of the stomach”) about a person, place, or serious situation that then actually happens. (yes/no)

2. I tend to blurt out whatever comes to my mind without first thinking it over. (yes/no)

3. While driving, I often get a hunch about another driver—that they will do something dangerous or cause something to happen—and as I back off the other vehicle (just to be safe), it turns out I am correct. (yes/no)

4. I act on my “gut hunches,” which is followed by a positive affirmation that it was the correct thing to have done. (yes/no)

5. I rarely worry because I “just know” things will turn out all right. (yes/no)

6. I let my instincts guide me while searching for a book or other new item to purchase. (yes/no)