[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.In contemporary Witchcraft, conscious astral projection is practiced inassociation with certain kinds of magical workings.For example, contempo-rary Witches sometimes utilize astral projection to communicate with spiritentities, to examine the future, and for distant healing.See Also: Astral PlaneFurther ReadingMuldoon, Sylvan J., and Hereward Carrington.The Phenomena of Astral Projection.London: Rider and Company, 1969. .The Projection of the Astral Body.York Beach, ME: Weiser, 1970.Shepard, Leslie A., ed.Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology.Detroit: GaleResearch Inc., 1991.AstrologyAstrology is the science (or study, Greek: logos) of the stars (astron).The gen-eral public is familiar with only a tiny portion of this subject, namely the 12signs of the Zodiac as they relate to the personality of individuals and the useof astrology for divinatory purposes.The Zodiac (literally the circle of ani-mals ) is a belt constituted by the 12 signs Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer,Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces.The notion of the Zodiac is ancient, with roots in the early cultures ofMesopotamia.The first 12-sign Zodiacs were named after the gods of thesecultures.The Greeks adopted astrology from the Babylonians, and the Ro-mans, in turn, adopted astrology from the Greeks.These peoples renamed thesigns of the Mesopotamian Zodiac in terms of their own mythologies, whichis why the familiar Zodiac of the contemporary West bears names out ofMediterranean mythology.From a broad historical perspective, Zodiacal symbolism can be foundeverywhere, and zodiacal expressions are still in use in modern English e.g., bull-headed (an allusion to Taurus) or crabby (an allusion to Cancer).The popularity of sun sign astrology (the kind found in the daily newspaper)has kept these ancient symbols alive in modern society, so that even suchprominent artifacts as automobiles have been named after them (e.g., theTaurus and the Scorpio).Approaches to astrology differ widely.One approach stresses the study ofthe stars as a natural science (and consequently attempts to distance itselffrom occultism).Other approaches emphasize the spiritual or occult dimen-sion of the study of planetary influences.The former perspective, using the20 ASTROLOGYAn astrologer works on a star chart at the Tibetan Medical Astrological Institute inDharamsala, India.(Corbis/Alison Wright)natural science model, tends to conceive of astrological influences in terms offorces, analogous to the forces of gravity and magnetism, that are actually ra-diated by the planets.While often speaking in terms of occult forces, the more spiritual per-spective usually emphasizes correlations between celestial and mundanespheres that result from a kind of pre-arranged harmony built into the verystructure of the cosmos.In other words, this harmony is a result of syn-chronicity (to use Carl Jung s term) rather than cause and effect.A largenumber of astrologers attempt to adhere simultaneously to both a natural sci-ence and a spiritual approach in the study of astrology.Magic, the art of influencing events by occult means, is clearly related tothe science of the stars.While astrology is not, in the proper sense of theterm, magical, techniques such as electional astrology determining thebest times to perform certain actions border on magic.Traditional Westernmagic views astrology as providing insight into the occult forces that are play-ing on the Earth at any given time, and a specialized form of electional astrol-ogy is utilized by magicians to determine the best times for performing partic-ular rituals.Much of the astrological lore traditionally associated with magic is fo-cused on the days of the week, the planetary hours, and the gems and metalsconnected with the planets.Each of the traditional seven planets theSun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn are said to rule21 ATHAME(meaning to have a special connection with ) the seven days of the week.Thus, Saturn rules Saturday, the Sun rules Sunday, and so forth.A similar relationship exists between the planets and the hours of theday.Magicians utilize these relationships and other traditional associationswith the planets in various ways.For example, rituals to gain love would beperformed on Friday ( Fri- comes from Frigga, the Norse Venus) during anhour ruled by Venus (the planet of love), rituals to gain money would be per-formed on Thursday ( Thur- comes from Thor, the Norse Jupiter) duringan hour ruled by Jupiter (the planet of wealth), and so forth.Amulets, which are fabricated objects used as charms, are also con-structed during days and hours in symbolic harmony with the task the amuletis intended to perform.Additionally, such objects are constructed from mate-rials ruled by the relevant planet.In the above examples, for instance, anamulet designed to attract love might be constructed from copper (the metaltraditionally associated with Venus), and an amulet intended to attract pros-perity might be made from tin (associated with Jupiter).Magicians who are competent astrologers also pay attention to the signin which the relevant planet is located, as well as the aspects (angular rela-tionships with the other planets) the planet is making at the time of the cer-emony.Thus, once again taking Venus as an example, a magician would waituntil Venus was located in a favorable sign (which, for Venus, would be Libra,Taurus, or Pisces) and favorably aspected (making harmonious aspects withother planets) before performing a love ritual or constructing a love amulet.See Also: Amulet; Divination; MagicFurther ReadingDaniels, Estelle.Astrologickal Magick.York Beach, ME: Weiser, 1995.Denning, Melita, and Osborne Phillips.Planetary Magick: The Heart of WesternMagick.St.Paul, MN: Llewellyn, 1989.Lewis, James R.The Astrology Encyclopedia.Detroit, MI: Gale Research Inc., 1994.AthameThe athame is a black-handled ritual knife one of the most common distin-guishing marks of the Neopagan Witch [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl przylepto3.keep.pl
.In contemporary Witchcraft, conscious astral projection is practiced inassociation with certain kinds of magical workings.For example, contempo-rary Witches sometimes utilize astral projection to communicate with spiritentities, to examine the future, and for distant healing.See Also: Astral PlaneFurther ReadingMuldoon, Sylvan J., and Hereward Carrington.The Phenomena of Astral Projection.London: Rider and Company, 1969. .The Projection of the Astral Body.York Beach, ME: Weiser, 1970.Shepard, Leslie A., ed.Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology.Detroit: GaleResearch Inc., 1991.AstrologyAstrology is the science (or study, Greek: logos) of the stars (astron).The gen-eral public is familiar with only a tiny portion of this subject, namely the 12signs of the Zodiac as they relate to the personality of individuals and the useof astrology for divinatory purposes.The Zodiac (literally the circle of ani-mals ) is a belt constituted by the 12 signs Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer,Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces.The notion of the Zodiac is ancient, with roots in the early cultures ofMesopotamia.The first 12-sign Zodiacs were named after the gods of thesecultures.The Greeks adopted astrology from the Babylonians, and the Ro-mans, in turn, adopted astrology from the Greeks.These peoples renamed thesigns of the Mesopotamian Zodiac in terms of their own mythologies, whichis why the familiar Zodiac of the contemporary West bears names out ofMediterranean mythology.From a broad historical perspective, Zodiacal symbolism can be foundeverywhere, and zodiacal expressions are still in use in modern English e.g., bull-headed (an allusion to Taurus) or crabby (an allusion to Cancer).The popularity of sun sign astrology (the kind found in the daily newspaper)has kept these ancient symbols alive in modern society, so that even suchprominent artifacts as automobiles have been named after them (e.g., theTaurus and the Scorpio).Approaches to astrology differ widely.One approach stresses the study ofthe stars as a natural science (and consequently attempts to distance itselffrom occultism).Other approaches emphasize the spiritual or occult dimen-sion of the study of planetary influences.The former perspective, using the20 ASTROLOGYAn astrologer works on a star chart at the Tibetan Medical Astrological Institute inDharamsala, India.(Corbis/Alison Wright)natural science model, tends to conceive of astrological influences in terms offorces, analogous to the forces of gravity and magnetism, that are actually ra-diated by the planets.While often speaking in terms of occult forces, the more spiritual per-spective usually emphasizes correlations between celestial and mundanespheres that result from a kind of pre-arranged harmony built into the verystructure of the cosmos.In other words, this harmony is a result of syn-chronicity (to use Carl Jung s term) rather than cause and effect.A largenumber of astrologers attempt to adhere simultaneously to both a natural sci-ence and a spiritual approach in the study of astrology.Magic, the art of influencing events by occult means, is clearly related tothe science of the stars.While astrology is not, in the proper sense of theterm, magical, techniques such as electional astrology determining thebest times to perform certain actions border on magic.Traditional Westernmagic views astrology as providing insight into the occult forces that are play-ing on the Earth at any given time, and a specialized form of electional astrol-ogy is utilized by magicians to determine the best times for performing partic-ular rituals.Much of the astrological lore traditionally associated with magic is fo-cused on the days of the week, the planetary hours, and the gems and metalsconnected with the planets.Each of the traditional seven planets theSun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn are said to rule21 ATHAME(meaning to have a special connection with ) the seven days of the week.Thus, Saturn rules Saturday, the Sun rules Sunday, and so forth.A similar relationship exists between the planets and the hours of theday.Magicians utilize these relationships and other traditional associationswith the planets in various ways.For example, rituals to gain love would beperformed on Friday ( Fri- comes from Frigga, the Norse Venus) during anhour ruled by Venus (the planet of love), rituals to gain money would be per-formed on Thursday ( Thur- comes from Thor, the Norse Jupiter) duringan hour ruled by Jupiter (the planet of wealth), and so forth.Amulets, which are fabricated objects used as charms, are also con-structed during days and hours in symbolic harmony with the task the amuletis intended to perform.Additionally, such objects are constructed from mate-rials ruled by the relevant planet.In the above examples, for instance, anamulet designed to attract love might be constructed from copper (the metaltraditionally associated with Venus), and an amulet intended to attract pros-perity might be made from tin (associated with Jupiter).Magicians who are competent astrologers also pay attention to the signin which the relevant planet is located, as well as the aspects (angular rela-tionships with the other planets) the planet is making at the time of the cer-emony.Thus, once again taking Venus as an example, a magician would waituntil Venus was located in a favorable sign (which, for Venus, would be Libra,Taurus, or Pisces) and favorably aspected (making harmonious aspects withother planets) before performing a love ritual or constructing a love amulet.See Also: Amulet; Divination; MagicFurther ReadingDaniels, Estelle.Astrologickal Magick.York Beach, ME: Weiser, 1995.Denning, Melita, and Osborne Phillips.Planetary Magick: The Heart of WesternMagick.St.Paul, MN: Llewellyn, 1989.Lewis, James R.The Astrology Encyclopedia.Detroit, MI: Gale Research Inc., 1994.AthameThe athame is a black-handled ritual knife one of the most common distin-guishing marks of the Neopagan Witch [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]