Magic: Why Now?
mam_adar asked me elsewhere if my teacher had ever mentioned practices like the banishing pentagram before, and pointed out that most magical traditions have rituals for this purpose.
I had indeed been aware of them, and my teacher has mentioned them to me on several occasions, but until last night they just rubbed me the wrong way. Intellectually I knew they were tried and true practices fundamental to many magical systems -- but when *I* tried them I ended up feeling ridiculous and not having any discernable success. What's changed? This is the first time in my life I've been deeply enough grounded in a magical-spiritual practice to connect with the energy involved in either discerning or dispelling.
I need to credit my increased energy sensitivity to _storyteller_ and Uncrowned_king, who were the first to make it real to me. They were deeply attuned, and they did simple perception and manipulation exercises with me and encouraged me to tune in and perceive energy in everyday life as well as during intimacy.
My work with my teacher has taken me to the place where I've been doing a meditative and energetic practice every morning. The main energy practice is RJ Stewart's The Rising Light Below -- and I believe that tapping into and moving that energy every morning is what made it possible for me to actually a) be aware of the energy in my environment, and b) have the ability to shape and project my own energy in a meaningful way.