Got Ghosts?Are you sensing you're not alone in your home? Perhaps you are experiencing strange occurrences such as objects moving of their own accord or footsteps and shadows of no known origin. There are spirits all around us at any given time; however, only some of them become active and reactive. What can attract spirits? Fragmented energies, Ouija boards, young children, arguments and upsets in the home, among many things. Why are they most active at night and/or in the wee hours? We are less active then and things are quieter around us, so we tend to notice their antics more at that time. And some spirits wish to be noticed since their mere presence often indicates some unfinished business which begs investigation.What can you do to rid your home of unwanted visitors? You must tell them to leave. Remember that your home is YOURS - not theirs. They may be visiting, but YOU live there now, therefore YOU are the boss. Exercise your authority of ownership and try not to be afraid. That said, remember to first centre yourself and remain calm and focused. It may be helpful to burn sweetgrass, sage or incense in order to create the right atmosphere for clearing your home of any unwanted energy. Once this is done and you are focused and centred, speak to them in a clear, concise manner and, firmly but calmly, tell them to move on (e.g. 'This is my home and I do not find your actions amusing in any way. Only disruptive. You must go on to another level of existence, toward the light, and leave this place. '). You may have to do this clearing 'ritual' more than once in order to get through to them; however, it WILL work given your intent, clarity of thought, and your authority. If you feel that you are not psychologically capable of performing this ritual by yourself, you may have someone else perform it, but you MUST be in attendance. Remember: it is YOUR home and your space. How can you be sure you do indeed have a ghost? Keep a journal of disturbances and oddities in your home. You may notice a pattern forming (things happen when someone in particular is in the room, perhaps) which may help you determine their cause. If you are still unsure and require physical, scientific proof, there are organizations which can help. Always remember that you are, in your own right, a powerful person. By claiming your power, unwanted 'visitors' will have no choice but to move on. So mote it be! © Zsuzsana Summer, SpiritmattersMedia.com. All rights reserved. **********************************************************************************************
Haunted Pets or Things That Go Woof in The Night By Lynda QuirinoIt is no secret that pets in general usually behave strangely when a ghost is nearby. They are usually frightened and agitated, sometimes running away, sometimes freezing to the spot, staring seemingly into space. We receive many emails from people claiming just such things. Perhaps pets can indeed see those things which we find invisible to the naked eye. Perhaps they "feel" the atmospheric conditions change when a ghost is present, much like they are able to "feel" a tornado or earthquake on the prowl. Some pets are even physically harmed by an entity or at least toyed with by unseen hands. Why do certain spirits target the family pet? And why do pets in general have a sixth sense when it comes to places which are somehow not quite "right"? We can only speculate the answers to these questions, yet it is fascinating that pets are so sensitive to their surroundings, hearing and seeing things that we simply cannot. It is also fascinating that pets as well as people seem to linger even after death, perhaps refusing to leave their comfortable domain in favour of a higher vibrational existence. Generally, most people who report hauntings by pets usually have recently experienced the death of a beloved one. Frequently, we hear stories of beds being jumped upon by unseen furry visitors, of invisible pets brushing against legs or of familiar meows and barks emanating from nowhere. And it's not just dogs and cats. Birds have been known to return to cheep once more or to phantomly fly around the houses of their former owners. Sometimes, pets just come on back to say hello. Sometimes they come back to warn their owners of either imminent death or of an impending catastrophic event such as a fire. Loyal to the death...and beyond, it would seem. There are reports of pet hauntings by people who do not own any themselves, but who inhabit a home in which they obviously abided. This would suggest that pets, too, can become attached to a specific location, refusing to budge even after death. But what of the reported animal hauntings by people who are frightened by an unusual animal ghost? Perhaps a cat who likes to scratch or a very terrifying, growling dog? They are certainly not alone. It is wise to note that spectral animals are not a recent invention. They are indeed historically and folklorically popular. Take, for example, the animal haunting of Ballechin House in Perthshire, Scotland (circa 1877). The house's owner, Major Robert Steuart, an eccentric, kept many dogs. While in India, he became a believer in reincarnation and transmigration and, therefore, his final wish was to return in the form of his favourite black spaniel. Upon his death, his family ordered all of his dogs shot since they couldn't stand the thought of his coming back as one of them. Perhaps they believed Major Steuart's threat. The theory is that since the dog he so loved was physically destroyed, he was then forced to live as a disembodied spirit, haunting the house from then on. Some of the reported strange occurrences at the house included the overwhelming smell of dogs, rappings, knockings, animal-like sounds, the apparition of a black spaniel, and phantom dogs' tails striking doors and other objects. And it doesn't stop there. "Black Shuck", the spectral demon dog in British folklore, is apparently all black, with glowing yellow, red or green eyes, and is as large as a calf. To meet Black Shuck usually means that death will follow within a year. It apparently haunts graveyards, country roads, hills and marshes, and leaves no prints and makes no sound. Spectral dogs (black in general) are said to haunt numerous places and are usually associated with the Devil who often assumes, it is said, the shape of a black dog. In some areas, spectral dogs are associated with witches and witchcraft. The howling of dogs in folklore is also a death omen. In mythology, it is the dog Cerberus who guards the underworld and guides the souls of the dead. There are some legends which claim that black dogs or spectral hounds are the souls of unbaptised children who return to hunt down their parents. Again, to meet them means to die within the year. It is also upon the concept of demon dogs that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle based "The Hound of the Baskervilles". That's quite a dog repertoire indeed! In folklore, birds are not exempt as death omens either. It is considered bad luck or imminent death for a wild bird to enter a house or for one to come down a chimney. Birds appearing in dreams are said to represent angels, spirits or supernatural help of some kind. Certainly, cats seem to come back to their local haunts to do just that or to alert their masters in some way. We all know the folkloric stories associated with cats, and the superstitious among us are well aware of their prevalence. Animals are the friends of the living and the familiars of the magical. They are as popular a haunt as any. To say that their significance is less important is to discount many a significant haunting or experience. Our emails are proof of this. The next time you think that it's "just the cat" that made the bud vase fall to the floor, you had better clarify which cat it was: the present puss or its dearly departed predecessor? Watch Mystic the Cat Chasing Ghosts here © ArcanaMatrix/SpiritMattersMedia. All rights reserved.
The Hat
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Thoughtforms and Spirits© 1988 by Phil Hansford.This article is licenced for free non-commercial distribution only. Although there are hundreds of kinds of divination, the principle ones are astrology, geomancy, the tarot, the I Ching, and direct psychic means (especially clairvoyance). True divination is more than a mechanical system, for it implies true psychic interpretation (receiving). Some form of divination is often used in magick ritual to communicate with the entity invoked. Since divination operates through the mind, it is affected and biased by the mind. Our attitudes and fears may alter it. Sometimes results are very detailed, and accurate -- but not always. Often the future is plastic and changeable anyway, and the use of magick may alter the result. Thus divination shows tendencies only, which may be helpful, but must not rule us. DEVELOPING CLAIRVOYANCE It is possible to improve your natural ability with clairvoyance through practice. A good start might be to look around you, then close your eyes and try to picture your surroundings. This is also good exercise for visualization. And visualization is an essential talent in magick. Open your eyes again and check your accuracy. Then close your eyes and try it again. When you use your physical eyes, look at everything like a child seeing it for the first time. Let the vividness of color and form burn into you, until everything takes on a veritable glow. Try to capture that glow when you close your eyes now and picture your surroundings. It's just a simple step to extend what you see with your eyes closed into what you remember seeing in the next room, or what you *imagine* seeing in the next building, the next city, even the other side of the world. Don't expect perfect results, especially at first. Just try to be even partly right. Another exercise is to picture a clock face, and thereby tell the time clairvoyantly. THE AURA Under the right conditions, it is possible to clairvoyantly observe a colored light around other people. This is known as the 'aura'. Sometimes the aura is seen as multi-colored emanations around the person, built up of various differently colored layers and zones. Although many occult dabblers claim to be able to see the aura easily and under many varied conditions, I seriously doubt that they do. There are optical illusions and qualities of sight which can sometimes trick one into thinking he sees what he does not see. In this area, the quality of sight known as after image is especially pertinent. Do this: stare at any solidly colored bright object for a few moments. Very intense red, green, or blue are especially good for this. Now look away at a white surface and you will see a phantom image of the object in its complementary color (a red object will show green, a blue one orange, etc.). If the bright object is in front of a light surface, you may observe a fringe of complementary color around the object after a few moments. This is all very normal, and is used by some magical groups as an aid to visualization sometimes called 'flashing colors'. Some silly people will stare at other people in the same way. And when they see the after image of the person's clothing, they think they are seeing his aura. What is more, various meanings have been attributed to the colors of the aura. A psychic who can see the aura is supposed to be able to determine that persons emotional state. Thus psychic frauds can have a marvelous time with auras. One deluded psychic taught a class I attended in which he performed instant psychoanalysis on the basis of the supposed aura. It was obvious that he was actually observing after images from the students clothes! This brings us to the chart of aura colors on the next page. It is a general guide, based mostly on Theosophical material. Various groups may attribute different meanings to the colors. The colors we show on the chart are emotional in nature; useful if you plan to create an artificial elemental or do healing. Surrounding yourself with a particular color will tend to produce the specific psychological effect described in the chart. That quality of color is useful in magick ritual. COLORS OF THE AURA [Ed. note: I disagree with a lot of these, but I beplieve that auric colors are a very subjective thing. You will see the color that matches YOUR conception of a certain mood/feeling. However these are a good start.] BLACK malice THOUGHTFORMS AND SPIRITS Whenever we concentrate our thoughts, we draw psychic energy together. This is called a thoughtform. Usually the energy dissipates as soon as we break the concentration, but it is possible to purposely concentrate energy in this way, producing very strong thoughtforms. Such thoughtforms are vortexes or centers of psychic energy. They can exist as entities by themselves, at least for a while. They are basically inanimate, non-thinking forces. Talking to one is about as logical as talking to a chair. In this way, thoughtforms are similar to elementals, ghosts, and spirits. All of these psychic entities consist of a psychic energy vortex which could be described as a localized field or as a discontinuity of the physical world. Psychic entities respond to certain electrostatic and magnetic fields, and to other energy vortexes. That is why they respond to magick ritual. Someday, we may accomplish the same thing with electronic machines. Psychic entities are sometimes able to affect our thought processes. Thoughtforms, elementals, and ghosts are usually not very smart. If they display any intelligence at all, it is limited. They are the morons of the spirit world. Their behavior is usually automatic, repetitive, robot-like (just like some people). We see that artificial elementals are little more than astral robots. Spirits and deities are more intelligent and volitional. DIRECTED ATTENTION Your mind follows your attention. Wherever you direct your attention, there will your thoughts go too. By directing attention to a specific place or purpose you *focus* mental energy upon it. For example: you're having lunch in a cafeteria crowded with people. It is a large place, and everyone there is talking at once, so that the room is a constant jumble of noise. You happen to notice a man accross the room; he reminds you of someone. All at once he drops his fork and you hear it hit the table. But would you have noticed the sound of his fork if you had not been looking? No. Only by focusing your attention there were you able to pick out that individual event and associated sound. It is a dark night. You are walking and the only light you have is from the flashlight you hold in your hand. As you move the flashlight around, the beam of light from it directs your attention first one way then another. Now, the mind is something like that flashlight in the dark. And by directed attention, you point the mind to one place or another. As with that flashlight beam, you see where the mind is pointed; nothing more. The rest is 'noise'. And so we could define mental noise as anything not focused upon. In another way, noise could be considered as negative emotions, attitudes, and thoughts which make it more difficult to direct the attention. Your emotions follow your thoughts quite easily. Your emotions are not YOU, but are rather reactions prompted by your model and ego -- like a performance or an act, while the real you watches. In a similar way, directing your attention toward a specific emotion will cause you to experience that emotion. ======== Phil Hansford, 4/88 Mysteria (818) 353-8891 (modem) |
Orb Study
(c) Zsuzsana Summer
www.arcanamatrix.com
I have been photographing and researching orbs for many years now, and I am still mystified by these weird and wacky anomalies. Are they paranormal in origin? If so, are they ghosts? spirit entities? aliens? paranormal energy in the pre-manifestation stages? Skeptics and photography experts tend to dismiss the possibility that orbs are paranormal phenomena, and in many cases they may be correct about some of the mundane causes they cite for orbs appearing in photographs. There doesn't seem to be enough consensus on how to recognize a true light anomaly that can't be explained in any other way.
Possible NORMAL causes of light anomalies and orbs appearing on pictures include:
Moisture in the air, dirty lenses, dust, pollen, bugs, objects (like camera straps or fingers) in front of the lens, etc., and of course, 'faking' and manipulation. Since the advent of the digital camera, photographic captures of orbs are much more common, and many experts insist this is simply due to many lower quality cameras not being able to capture the pixelation required for the photo, thus leaving blank 'spots' in the photo, and also due to the usage of autoflash, which can cause all kinds of reflections and internal prisms that appear as orbs. Because cameras have become increasingly smaller, the lens and the built-in flash are often very close together which causes a reflection from the flash back into the lens and can create some strange light effects.
Wikipedia says: Spirit orbs are sometimes claimed to exist more densely around certain haunted regions, or to be the spirits of departed loved ones. These types of orbs are sometimes claimed to have faces, sometimes with discernable expressions and sometimes of recognizable persons. Some feel the size of an orb indicates how great of an impact a life force had in its lifetime.
But what about moving orbs? And orbs seen with the naked eye? Even if many orb photos can be explained away as mundane photographic 'accidents', there are numerous captures of moving light anomalies, which are harder to explain away as dust or other particles in the air, and there are many instances of people seeing orbs right in front of them.
I invite you to send in your orb and ghostly photos to for discussion and study, with the following stipulations:
Please name/identify each of your photos. Include a description of the type of camera used, the conditions under which the photo was taken, location and any controls (i.e. if you took 2 more photos at the same time and there were no orbs on the other photos, etc.). Please describe any sensations you may have felt at the time the photo was taken, and any other pertinent information. I will publish and invite discussion on the photos collected here and see what ideas we come up with.
bright blessings
Zsuzsana
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The Witching Hour
2006 copyright Zsuzsana Summer
A client asked me recently about the best time of day for
doing a certain magickal ritual and the question prompted
me to put together some information on why the darkest dark
of night is most conducive to magick, as well as to ghost-
hunting and paranormal phenomena in general.
The 'Witching Hour' is traditionally believed to be the
time when ghosts, demons and witches are the most powerful
and it is the time when spells and rituals are worked most
effectively. To be precise, the witching hour is at
midnight on a full moon. (Moon phases are crucial to magick,
with the new moon, waxing moon, waning moon and full moon
all having their own distinct properties). Many people,
though, refer to the midnight hour on any night as the
witching hour.
Looking at the field of ghost-hunting, researchers also
say that most ghostly and paranormal phenomena occur after
3 P.M., but the vast majority occur after nightfall, with
peak hours for experiencing ghostly manifestations being
between midnight and 3 A.M. which is in keeping with the
general image we have of things going 'bump' in the night.
A possible scientific explanation for the magic and
mystique of the midnight hour is that the earth's
atmosphere, which is constantly bombarded by strong solar
winds during the day, is pulled in close and dense to the
earth's surface while we are facing the sun. At nighttime,
when we are sheltered from the sun, our atmosphere becomes
much larger, stretching out into space and having much
less density. There is, therefore, less interference and
resistance to electrical and magnetic energies. This makes
it easier for electric or magnetically based entities and
phenomena to manifest, and perhaps even eases their very
entry into our atmosphere. This atmospheric phenomenon is
also the reason that in general, radio stations come in
much more clearly at night, even those far away, than they
do during the daytime.
Many experienced ghost hunters also believe that "between"
times are very conducive to ghostly manifestations.
"Between" times include dusk and dawn, eclipses, equinoxes,
and solstices. It is also said that while a clock is
chiming midnight is a "between" time. Many also point to
the end of the calendar year as a magical time, and speak-
ing of calendars, some people feel that ghosts still know
very well what day it is on the other side of the veil as
they often appear on or around the anniversary of their
passing. These changes and shifts that we mark in earth
time are perhaps felt in other planes and dimensions as
well, and because they mark a shifting energy and
conditions are in flux, this creates a portal or maybe
even rings a doorbell in the spirit world.
It seems that mysticism and science both hold possible
explanations for the eerie reputation of the witching hour
and the increase of paranormal activity people experience
at night. We also have to consider that with less back-
ground noise and distractions at night, and our lessened
ability to gauge our 3D world as clearly in the darkness,
there are obvious factors that contribute to our heightened
sensitivity at this hour, so while ghosts have an easier
time making themselves known, we also have an easier time
of perceiving them.
Are you afraid of the dark? Or do you get shivers when the
clock strikes 12? Perhaps you have a favourite relative
that visits you in spirit form each year on a certain day.
You are not alone. Washington Irving, authour of "The
Legend in Sleepy Hollow", wrote, back in the 1830's: "Two
pairs of eyes are watching me now, from the couch and the
ledge by the window. Faerieland shines in those eyes. And
I must leave you, for it's the witching hour and a full
moon is rising..."
carpe diem!
(c) Zsuzsana Summer
www.arcanamatrix.com
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THOUGHTS ON PROTECTION
(or "We Ain't Scared O' No Ghosts!")
I see many simple actions to be the most magical. We protect ourselves in many ways. And they are all magical. Fasten your seat belt? Hmmm... Sounds like cord magic to me! If nothing else, it says "I don't want to be hurt." And those thoughts take root magically.
I find a mini-protection ritual takes place as I lock my doors. Especially the power locks of my car doors. They lock with a loud thud, a release, a focus of mental energy, and electrical too.
At work I recently received a shipment of expensive and bulky computer equipment. Since I work in a cube, open -- with no locked doors to protect valuables, I merely placed a sheet of paper atop the boxes saying "Do not remove." To me, this was a magical device. Why? -- because I said so. I believe that when we "say so" it becomes real. It takes magical form, through our thoughts & desires. Mundanely, there was nothing in that simple piece of paper that would stop a thief. But magically? The boxes stayed put!
I also put a silver pentacle on the zipper of my tent when I camp. I see the pentacle as a symbol of protection. Charms watch over things, even when you are not around.
I think the same action happens when we use a device like The Club, or any form of lock & key. We are taking a mundane action, which expresses a mental desire for protection. Sounds like magic, if you believe it is....
I've even heard stories of people who create images of their pets on the astral plane, to protect their homes. I know someone whose cat is supposedly a huge monster on the astral plane to defend the home. I'd guess that any form of watch-dog/cat is a magical act, using familiars.
I also notice that people like to put stickers on their home/car windows warning of burglar alarms. These symbols are shaped like a shield. Protection. Magical? I also notice that many police officers wear a shield, or a five or six pointed star as a badge. Protection? Hmmm....
To be honest, I never ever do formal rituals of protection. To me, the more you spend energy on protection, the more you acknowledge that a threat exists. And magically, what happens when you spend your thoughts on something? You make it more real. So why worry about what "might" happen? To me, most protection rituals are like scratching poison ivy. By adding attention & energy to a problem, you only aggrevate it, make it worse. But hey, I am not like most Pagans. I am a bit of a heretic, and a bit unconventional. I follow my heart, I ask why, and I rarely do something just because tradition dictates.
Remember, many Pagans grew up in a Christian culture. The idea of original sin and a soiled earth is all around us. As Pagans, we tend to internalize this. That is why we THINK we need to purify our sacred space. To me, it was pure to begin with. We do not need to "baptize" it to make it holy -- it is so, and will always be so.
Pagans also think we need to vacuum and dust and shower before ritual. To me, the Diety loves me regardless of a few sloppy things around the house. (People are critical, not the Goddess & God.)
I also don't view casting a Circle as "needed" for protection. In my world there are no boogie men waiting to get me! Someone very wise once told me, "I have the Old Ones in my Circle, and could have no greater protection than that."
Another idea on protection: Look at the way mother animals protect their young. Now think how human parents (especially Mothers) stick up for their kids. It seems we are not all that different from our animal ancestors after all. We protect our young, our food, our homes. Remember that the next time you read about a political issue concerning schools, or rent control, or other basics of life/home/family/survival. (One can learn a very basic economics lesson merely by trying to take a bowl of food away from a hungry dog. He'll bite before he lets you take it!)
Thanks for asking the question. I found it very thought-provoking. I hope you enjoyed my ramblings...
Link (Anthony)
PMB 211
203 Main Street
Flemington, NJ 08822
AnthLink@aol.com