witchantheia:

I’ll be honest. As soon as someone says “Antheia, think of a bright light between your hands,” I’m out. While visualization works very well for me when I’m grounding, meditating, or shielding,  I find it hinders rather than helps when I get to actual spellcraft and more complicated energy work. While visualization is a skill that is very useful and good to practice, here’s a few solutions.

1. Do something physical. When you’re putting up your shields, lift your hands with your shield. When you’re cleansing yourself or something, rub it down as though you were washing mud and grime off of yourself/the object. Imagine the heat of your skin is the energy that you’re putting into something. While you might feel a little silly at first, I’ve found that doing something along with your energy work can be really helpful in putting you into the right mindset. In terms of spell craft, sometimes making something that you can hold physically will help, as well.
2. Command it. You will do as you please. Saying it out loud can also be helpful if you’re having trouble visualizing. “I’m raising my shields/My shields are up.” “The energy will…” “My intent is…” Simple commands can be very effective, just don’t get too caught up in having good grammar or anything. Sometimes one word works. Sometimes you might want to dictate what you feel or what you want to happen.
3. Do some breathing exercises. These are not for everybody, but again, something physical for you to do. A very simple exercise is to imagine your shields swelling big big bigger when you inhale, and then coming in tight around you, right against your skin, when you exhale. Works with energy, works with some spells, helps with meditation and grounding.
4. Close your eyes. Sometimes, especially when you’re a beginner and can’t see what you’re doing, just closing your eyes can make a difference. By taking away that sense, you sharpen your other senses a little more, and it gets a lot easier to practice. When I’m in a very high or low part of my mood disorder, I have a lot of trouble concentrating on magic and on energy. I find that closing my eyes can help me by disconnecting me a little from what I’m seeing and I can pay more attention to what I’m actually doing.

Again, these are things that I do when I’m having issues with visualization. If they don’t work for you, try something else! These aren’t the only ways, and you can combine them however you’d like. I’d also love to know the practices that other people use in energy work, be it visualization, one of these techniques, a combination, or something else entirely!

I’m really good at visualizing, but I understand that some people have a harder time with it. This is for those people. :)

Visualisation Question #1

Is it weird that I visualise better when my eyes are open? Like when I’m daydreaming I lose focus way less and the stuff I’m imagining/visualising is clearer than when I try to do the same thing with my eyes closed during a method.

I’m kind of worried about this because I’ve always daydreamed about my DR and it seems much more solid/real than when I try to do it with my eyes closed during a shifting attempt….

disclaimer: i’ve been ruminating on these thoughts long before covid-19, although now i’ve incorporated current events into these thoughts. i am not advocating for rich and/or city people to leave the cities to move to rural areas and help destroy them by making them over-populated and/or bringing disease there.

for years i’ve been meaning to meditate more, connect more to source, etc. i have a connection but it was always up to me to foster, deepen, and trust that connection. i’ve done a lot of work in the realm of self-healing. to be more specific, this journey began when i was 16, but truly and consciously since 2013. i have never felt the call more than now to get serious with these abilities. many times, frazzled, i’ve declared, “i need to meditate more!” as i’ve continued a lifestyle that is not conducive to what i know is best for me. out of fear and the hope for ravaging success, i’ve continued to live in a fast-paced, capitalist-driven environment and work myself to the bone just to make rent. i was convinced that if i just buckled down and worked hard, it would come… that’s how people get what they want! right? but i’ve been at a crossroads for a few years now… hesitant of which direction to move in, so i’ve continued to remain in what seems to be what i want, even though i feel the calling for a life outside of all of what we are told to desire. i am trapped in the dichotomy of the two lives i want and can’t choose between. i’ve dabbled in too many different things, never sticking to just one.

but i wanted this, right? i’ve wanted to live in a “cool” city like NYC or LA (i’ve lived in both) and wanted to succeed in the industries that are mostly tied to these places whether that be publishing, film, marketing, and so on. no matter the rent amount, i wanted this. but for the last year, i’ve been contemplating a lot more about what my soul truly wants… because i think my desires might be evolving. maybe so have yours. maybe they align perfectly with the current events that are happening globally right now.

side note: i mentioned to my partner the other day that what i’ve wanted would have been easily feasible once upon a time, but that the world is changing and we must adapt, and maybe what i’ve always wanted might not even be possible in the near future. or maybe it’s simply not what i’m destined for in this lifetime. i simply don’t know yet, hence the call to meditate more. what i do know is that i’m being very much called to go inward, to continue the self-healing work i’ve been doing. but there is more to do. it truly is time to get disciplined.

i started writing my novel at the end of 2019, and without giving too much away (because it’s still a tiny seed), i think it’s going to be focused around two women who propel humanity forward. when i realized how much that might link to what’s happening now… things became a bit more clear.

when i visualize new earth, i see so much more green than i physically see now. maybe this will just be a new location for me, but i also think globally there will be a lot more green, and a lot less city. i do love cities, so much, but i know they can be restructured to be more eco-friendly and less industrial. it’s always been hard for me to decide where i want to live because i love cities, beaches, mountains… that’s why i love California so much. it has all of the above, even deserts! which are my least favorite, but don’t tell the succulents that… because i do love them.

something i’ve learned again recently is that humans are the keepers of Earth. we aren’t just here to enjoy it, we are meant to take care of it. this might sound obvious but hang with me here. we are meant to plant trees, foster plants… there is a reason caring for animals and plants feels so good for many of us. it’s tending to the earth. it’s what we are here for. we are spirits in human bodies. we are guests here. everything else is extra — whether it’s fun or not. most things are not necessity, which is not to shame what we enjoy, but to cherish it, and honor the earth for her gifts to us.

somewhere down the road, things changed… many of us have evolved into machines (just watch a conservative/conspiracy-washed news anchor… yikes). we have been so shamed into or falsely gassed up into the hustle and bustle that part of me still feels ‘bad’ for wanting to build a home and tend to it. for wanting a house with land so that i can tend to, plants and animals and children, and my own food. like it has to be one or the other. between the many obstacles i’ve faced and learning myself more and more, i know corporate life isn’t for me. i know i am meant to work in other ways, and i think many, if not all of us, are. we can still do what we love without those models… old models that don’t serve us individually or humanity as a whole.

my intention is not to dismiss the suffering that current events is causing. it’s heartbreaking to witness. i meditate in my gratitude every day now. despite my own challenges, i am aware of my privileges as well. this time is not always going to be easy, or simple, and many are hurting… my biggest hope is this propels us forward in real, tangibly changed ways. count your blessings as much as possible. connect to your heart space–which, by the way, is green.

it’s not wrong to crave a different way of living. to crave a more natural world in our tech-bombarded and rushed way of life. this capitalist world wasn’t made in our favor, even though it’s been sold to us that way. it’s not wrong to want to leave the city. maybe we just have to finally give ourselves permission to choose differently. maybe that’s step one to eroding what we know isn’t working for us collectively and in very big ways. some of us have kept ourselves so tied up to corporate and capitalist ways of living. some of us haven’t had a choice. this moment in time certainly feels like the beginning of the end of a collective tower moment. a collective releasing of that which does not serve us (hasn’t spiritual-internet been telling us to release that which does not serve us for years now? i have a theory it may have all been leading up to this), and i pray for our collective flourishing, and i pray for justice where it’s deserved, because i see what’s on the other side… and it is glorious.

The Creatrix and Editor in Chief of Pussy Magic, sam is a writer/editor originally from Northern California. Her work in and outside of writing revolves around the merging of spirituality and authentic well-being to foster community, raw self-expression, and holistic healing to honor our sacred selves: mind, body, and spirit.

sam is the author of L’ACQUA (2017), a poet, and the columnist of sacred wild exile at Pussy Magic. Her writing has been featured in ILY Mag, The IN Magazine, The Vagina Zine, Tiny Flames Press, Occulum, Rose Quartz Magazine, and more, with a poem forthcoming in Blood Orange.

sam offers Sacred Serpent Writing + Healing sessions to bring people more intimacy with themselves and their writing which you can find more info about on her website. She currently resides in Los Angeles with her partner and plant babies.

Find more about sam, her writing, and her offerings on her website and follow her #soulbits on Instagram.

What is visualization?

By definition,visualization is the “formation of a mental image of something”. Its the visual aspect of imagination, but to the witch it is more. Seeing something in one’s mind eye is not something that comes naturally to all on command, but you use it all the time. When you remember something, when you dream, when you daydream, and when you ponder the future, but doing it on command takes practice. Its an important tool in witchcraft. It let’s you remember things,  let’s you anticipate happy things in the future, gives you the ability to worry, inspires solutions to problems that arise, gives you ideas, or how to do something more efficiently, allows you to tell other people about things that have happened to you, and makes you see things. Its an incredible tool, especially to the witch. Let’s dive into why that is, shall we?

Why is it important?

To the witch, visualization is using your mind to effect the outside world. To start off there are two kinds of visualization; outcome based and process based. Both are useful to the craft. One reason it is relevant is because it allows you to believe that the goals you have for yourself are possible and focus on that general purpose when thinking of the future. This circles back to intent; arguably the basses of all magick and the law of attraction itself. Speaking of intent, visualization works hand in hand with it in other ways too. This skill helps you be sure that your intent is the right one by visualizing all the possibilities. Upon visualization, you may get emotional from seeing the results of your efforts; your intention in the action of reaping rewards. Let that emotion charge your spell and make it more powerful. Feel.

You can’t visualize on command?

Let’s do a simple exercise. Let’s imagine a candle in great detail. Go somewhere where you can sit and focus in a place comfortable and safe. To start, imagine a candle right next to you. See the hot wax drip down onto whatever surface and the flame flicker. What color is the candle? See the light and how it casts shadows or reflects of something in the room. Smell it? what scent it it? Does that smell remind you of anyone or anything? Picture it for a moment before bringing your attention back to the candle. Stare at the flame. Doesn’t it look like its dancing? Imagine it to a beat. Its so in sync you can hear the beat of the drum. Now reach out to it, its slowly getting hotter. Be careful not to burn yourself. When you’re ready, blow out the imaginary candle. You did it !! You visualized it with only a little bit of help !! I’m proud of you.

When should I use visualization?

ALWAYS.

You are using it a lot the time without even noticing like I explained, so you know its importance. Right now is the time to practice. In witchcraft use can use visualization for many things. I will list a few common way off the top of my head.

• Casting a circle
• Astral projection
• Dreaming
• Cleansing
• Finding intent
• Enchanting
• Banishing
• Invoking
• Charging
• Divination
• Spells
• Energy work
• Auras
• and a whole lot more !!

How do I use visualization?

First, you must have intent, like so with everything else in your craft and in life in general. When you visualize, get all your senses involved. Make it feels real; let the vision come to you naturally and don’t force it. Just focus. Let yourself get emotional. Fully immerse yourself into what you’re doing. You can see it, feel it, smell it, hear it, and move it. It is so real you feel like its actually happening. That’s it. You’re visualizing.