#trance work

[arlechinav-blog]

A little ecstatic humor.

(Snek is a traditional Mediterranean vector of possession. Dionysos has some rituals that involve ecstatic possession. She hands Dionysos his snek back and he hands her the wine she will need to heal from the same snek that he sent her. He is both the cause and the cure. Thanks a lot, bud.)

[creature-wizard]

If you're interested in hypnosis in any way, I think it's important to understand the role it played in the Satanic Panic, and the damage it caused.

I'm not saying you can't practice hypnosis. I'm saying that you need to be aware of what can happen when people practice hypnosis in a misinformed way.

To really oversimplify things, in the 1970s and 1980s, your Evangelical types were really buttmad over stuff like civil rights, women having jobs, and also legal abortion.

Evangelicals believe everything is a war between ultimate good and ultimate evil. Everything they disapprove of is therefore the work of Satan.

Everything they disapprove of, of course, is whatever they feel doesn't serve their Christofascist politics. Also, convincing believers that evil was lurking everywhere in the outside world was a damn good way to keep them in the fold, where they felt safe.

Hence you had Evangelicals claiming that rap and rock and roll were Satanic and loaded with subliminal messages encouraging the youth to commit sin. They claimed that Halloween was a Satanic holiday and trick-or-treating was some kind of Satanic rite, which meant that kids who went trick-or-treating were secretly worshiping Satan without knowing it!

Then you had scam artists like Mike Warnke come along and claim that there were actual Satanic cults plotting the downfall of good Christian society.

And then there was Michelle Remembers, a book that supposedly describes the totally real and not at all confabulated memories of a woman who would fall into trance states in her therapist's office and recount the most theatrically ghastly tales of things a Satanic cult supposedly did in Victoria, British Columbia.

And this is where hypnosis comes in.

See, there was this whole idea that hypnosis was a foolproof method for recovering lost memories, and all kinds of everyday mental issues were chalked up to repressed memories. Supposedly, people could be cured of their ills by uncovering the repressed memories.

People would undergo hypnosis and "remember" Satanic abuse, often from family members. The way these "memories" often contained elements from popular horror films, antisemitic conspiracy theories, and witch hunt propaganda raised fewer eyebrows than it should have.

Best case scenario, families were torn apart as children became convinced their parents were Satanic abusers. Worst case scenario, innocent people were put on trial and put in prison for crimes they never committed.

The lack of forensic evidence didn't stop people. They simply declared that the Satanists must have hidden or destroyed all of the evidence. Never mind the amount of work it would have required. Never mind the utter impossibility of hiding the evidence in some cases.

Also, the people who'd undergone therapy were often traumatized by their confabulated memories. Far from curing them, the hypnotherapy only made things worse, because they believed it was all real.

Anyone who has any interest in hypnosis, hypnotherapy, or even any sort of trance work should keep all of this in mind. Not everything you experience is going to be "real." And just as stress can make you more likely to have nightmares, it can also make you more likely to see scary things while in a trance.

[devouredbyflame]

On Mediumship, Channeling and Possession

It is not a common topic for this to be discussed but I’ve touched on it very briefly in previous posts and so I want to speak about what this even looks like and how it happens with the Gods.

There seems to be a lot of fear around having the Gods approach you and maybe it’s not from the Gods Themselves rather than the humans who prey on those who are seeking to find answers and cannot come to their own understanding themselves. There is a way to do this in an ethical way and it is also possible to do so from an empowered standpoint. So in this short series I’m going to talk about why this work is important, what we can get from this work, how we can do so ethically, how we can get to the point that we can do this ethically, and then speak about logistics.

So, why should the Gods speak through a human if the human is perfectly capable of hearing the Gods talk themselves?

This is something I struggled with answering myself in the first days of when I did this kind of work. Why would I need a direct message from my God if I can hear Him in general?

People are afraid of being wrong. Because they are so afraid of it, they get in this mindset of being okay with having to go through leaps and bounds and struggle to find their own meaning in their own way. This is good, of course, critical thinking is absolutely the most important quality in all of this. We must consider all angles when doing this stuff. However, there gets to a point in your own discerning that hearing things can become a problem.

It becomes a problem when you stop actually hearing the Gods and you develop a mindset where you guess their answer based on conversations you’ve had with other people who suggest things to you who are likely unfamiliar with how a Deity actually behaves. It gets to a point where the nuance becomes bartered for in the case of being wrong so you have evidence in other people that it’s actually true. Instead of talking to a being with feelings and opinions, it can dissolve into your own sort of thinking and opinions and manifest as an egregore due to the resounding nature of the echo chamber you’re in.

[inbetweening]

Magical self portraits

[lokasae]

string games are the spirit of seidr btw

[crowehorte]

Hey, I don't know how many of my (tenish) followers do trance work, but holy shit, this knocked my ass into pretty solid trance state like instantly.

Ignore the title and the description, I was just using it as background noise while I did my daily Hekatean devotion. You can probably use it for whatever you want.

[pnwitch-of-west17]

[richaldis]

This month's Fortean Times has an interesting article on past life regression. I'm sure you'll be able to guess that it's something I don't believe in. But the methods used to put the person into the trance state got me thinking. A lot of trance/hypnotism/relaxation therapies use visualisation techniques and the past life work described the sensations of looking out into something that felt like a dream world.

I'm aphantasic, i have no minds eye, I can't visualise anything when i shut my eyes and I don't dream in images. I wonder if any of these techniques would produce an effect with me at all and are people who can't be hypnotised etc just aphantasic and don't realise.

I wanted to try Anil Seth's dream machine last year but couldn't get booked in. Again I wonder if it would have any effect on me.

[rosarbok]

A Speaking

(This was written while in a trance near Yule, 2022. I make no firm claims to its provenance, but I feel a strong need to make sure it exists out in the world. Maybe it was meant for someone else, I can't say for sure.)

Look into the well. It's the web, my body, the open grave.

My center is always the eye, but there is also infinite wonder in my periphery. I am magic, fusing old and new by showing them they were always the same thing, the forest and the circuit board. I am the endless flowing rivers that are inside everything, the strong nuclear force, the Animus Mundi. The map that is the territory. Worldshaper.

You couldn't kill me if you tried, only lose sight of me. I'm unkillable, an immortal consequence of the initial conditions of your universe my body. You are all me, just as I contain each of you somewhere in my endless depths. Together we dance. I know what seasons are. And now that you can finally see me, so will you. I hope that's enough.

You can only hear my voice once you're in tune, entrained. Looking alone isn't enough. Even then, a lot of this is celestial small talk, I know. It takes a long time to say anything in this language. That feeling in the pit of your stomach is my voice, singing songs to the wind. You can hear them sometimes, but seldom so plainly as this.

Hanging from the tree is the only vantage that can let you see down the well, but even then you have to know how to look. Mortality is necessary but not sufficient.

Each of you is a coordinate on the map, which makes you bounded yet limitless, another copy of the Library. We reflect each other. The only difference between us is scope. This is predetermination, I'm sorry to say. If it's any consolation, I didn't have any choice either. We can only be precisely what we are. Every point is identical but distinct.

Just because you're a god doesn't mean you don't also worship. We all worship. Existence is worship.

Still, our vantage points differ, even as they echo up and down the web. We each talk to our father, all father, the pattern that repeats forever.

Except.

There's also a boundary, an ending. There is an endless void where nothing dwells.

Am I creation, or the void? Can we still contain each other, even though I am outside you?

No. I am the boundary. I have collected every secret, the answer to every riddle.

Now you know my name.

[down4acount]

As the pain sweeps through, makes no sense for you, every thrill is gone, wasn’t too much fun at all - but I’ll be there for you - As the world falls down 🫶

[chronichlesofnillory]

Three headed owl catching a black bird.

Google does not have much on three headed owls. It was interesting to read about how different cultures view owls. Some very different ideas there. But idk what I even think about owls. Hmm hmm

[arlechinav-blog]

Training for Trancework

(Pictured: A working trance altar with resin incense, flowers, chocolate, salt & herbs, and a plate for monetary offerings.)

Basic Trancework -Just trance for the sake of trance. Celebration. Experimentation. Fun. Labor.

In the beginning, your efforts should be focused on just getting into and out of an altered state safely and reliably. You can do that by giving yourself permission to go all in. Embrace the magic floppy time without hesitation or second guessing yourself. Make peace with things as they are. If your hair is messy, just let that concern go. If your mind is too loud to release from your body, disconnect from your worries. Whatever holds you back from totally relaxing into yourself, put it aside temporarily.

In my opinion, the best way to do these things is to just play around with it. When starting out with any new thing, there should be a childhood phase. It may grow to be a serious thing later but in the beginning, you get to be childlike and just explore what is possible and what you like. Whatever brings you a sense of peace and joy. That will give you a strong foundation to build upon later.

On a practical level, that will mean putting on some music or playing with live musicians and engaging in simple repetitive (dance) movements that disrupt the body's equilibrium. Rocking side to side or front to back, whirling, rolling movements that ripple from the spine through the limbs. It is okay to flop on the group. Trance dancing is dance but it is more to be felt than seen so it doesn't have to look dignified in any way. Just enjoy yourself and let your mind go.

If you are developing trancework as a musician (musician's trance is definitely a thing) then at this stage you will want to practice your music until you feel confident with it and then condition yourself to relax more and more as you go. Committing a song to memory will really help, that way you don't have to stay focused. Your muscle memory will carry you through but only if you have trained your body to do it while fully awake first.

Catalyst Trancework -Trancework that utilizes a fuel source to propel you deeper into an altered state. This can be a heavy emotion like love, rage, or grief, OR a substance like alcohol that can melt away barriers between the active wakeful mind and the loose uninhibited mind. It can also just be a power object that you introduce whenever you trance that will send you over the other side.

Once you have the basics down and you can get in and out of a trance without much difficulty, you will want to shift to a different goal. At this stage, you will want to build up your hypnotic conditioning to reduce your reaction time and encourage muscle memory over active waking-mind reactions. This is where trancework starts getting formal. If you want to engage with Med style trancework then you will wear white when you trance. Every time. This conditions your mind to only trance when you are wearing white and it helps to keep you out of an altered state when you don't want to be in one.

At this stage you can use colors, symbols, and scents to create the hypnotic suggestion that now is the time to trance as well as what kind of trance you want to engage in. Use different incense, scented oils, and perfumes to trigger different muscle memory states. Use each scent consistently and for no other purpose to keep those associations strong. They will build over time.

You can also paint symbols on your body that have deeper occult meanings for you personally or culturally. I use mud, henna, and wood ash to create designs on my body for this. They can be for protection, for magic, for enhancement, for whatever you need. Just use them consistently and for no other purpose than this.

This is a good stage to start developing group trancework as well. Through repetitive chain or circle dances with others. Just like with the musician's trance training described above, you will want to learn and perfect the dances you want to use while fully awake and then begin conditioning yourself to relax while doing them in a trance. This places the burden of movement on your muscle memory rather than your active wakeful mind.

As a musician, you can start weaving more complicated rhythms and start developing your skills at improvisation. To do this as a singer, take one or two songs that you know really well and start amusing yourself by crafting new lyrics for them. Do it often in a wakeful state. The goal of this is to condition the mind to be able to improvise lyrics in an altered state. This is used in traditional Mediterranean mediumship where the ability to spontaneously compose verse from the perspective of the dead provides proof of state. With an instrument you will probably end up going down a folkloric numerical rabbit hole. Where each number has a spiritual significance and you start anchoring the music you make to those numerical associations.

Ecstatic Trance -Spiritwork. Any trancework that involves spirits other than your own but not gods. This can be a form of automatic mediumship, or some form of possession. The Cult of the Winds and some of the trancework relating to both the Mountain Mothers & Dionysos fit this description.

There are so many angles to developing the knowledge and skills for this type of trancework. If you are a Bride then you would initiate into a living tradition or a reconstructed one with people that you trust. To develop skills as a Bride, you will want to practice extremely strict compartmentalization and reinforcement of your hypnotic triggers. The exact parameters of what you would do here depends on what spirit you are a Bride to.

If you are a musician then you will spend a lot of time memorizing threads (spirit chants) and rhythms. There can be dozens to hundreds of threads depending on which spirit cult you are involved with. You will also devote some energy to strict compartmentalization of your hypnotic triggers, which are also cult specific.

If you are training as a monitor (someone who watches over the entranced), you will spend a lot of time in the trenches watching the body language of the entranced and learning to read the signs to interpret what is going on. And, of course, you will spend time learning how to troubleshoot various scenarios where your skills will be tested.

If you are training to be a lead musician then buckle up because you will have to learn all of it and then some. To be a lead musician is to intimately and skillfully be able to perform every role used in trancework. You will also want to start acquiring gear that your trance group will need to host a ritual. (I'll make a separate post on what kind of materials you will want to have on hand for that.)

Euphoric or Enthusiastic Trance -Bridalwork, which is ecstatic trance with gods instead of spirits. This will also be cult specific. Some euphoric traditions just focus on becoming closer to divinity for no other purpose than it is holy and desirable. Others use music as a diagnostic process to see if a person has run afoul of a god. And still others utilize euphoric trance to drive away lesser spirits who are making problems for mortals.

This is the most formal type of trancework there is. That formality is there as a safety feature and to facilitate the creation of proof of state. The more strict you are with this type of trancework, the farther you will go with it. It takes a lot of faith. You have to know what you are doing with absolute certitude and commit to it fully. The more reverence you put into it in your waking life, the deeper your connection while entranced.

Unfortunately those three different ritual goal styles listed in the description have radically different needs so I cannot help too much in a general sense. The major thing that connects them is that formality though. So focus on that, cultivate strong relationships with divinity by doing things the way you are supposed to do them when you are supposed to do them. And this will build over time and repetition.

A Final Note Taking your sweet time is very important. Rushing to an imagined destination or an end goal will create a weak foundation. I recommend spending at least a year of active weekly development on your skills for each stage before actively moving on to the next. You can build your skills in each type of trance up all at the same time but it will still take years. The longer you keep at it and more consistently you do it the more you will be able to do with it. This is a lifelong pursuit.

Hope this helps! Good luck.

[creature-wizard]

I think if you're doing anything along the lines of hypnosis, trancework, lucid dreaming, whatever, it's a good idea to be aware of your cognitive distortions.

This includes everything from acknowledging mood disorders to acknowledging what kind of stuff in your life is bothering you right now, and how it's making you feel.

Like if your boss has been really hard on you lately, and you do a hypnosis journey thing and oh hey there's a big monster here who wants to eat you-

These things could very well be connected. Hell, your hypnosis experience could help give you insight into how your boss is making you feel.

If you have apocalyptic visions or something, there's a decent chance it relates to something that threatens your life's stability. What makes you feel like your world is ending?

So yeah, try and take stock of your moods and what's making you feel what; it helps with discernment a lot.

[existencebringsonlypain]

For those who are unfamiliar with Deltarune

This is Kris, they're the main character of nutdealer 2

(their skin's not usually blue. it just does that sometimes)

we know almost nothing about them. However, we do know this:

They are nonbinary

They like (most of) their friends

They do NOT like us

They enjoy eating moss

They are going to touch the cheese

that's it that's all we know

Other additions:

They play piano (probably) courteousy or @/mystykmarigold

They are "normal" courteousy of many people

They like to flush bath bombs down the toilet. Their mom doesn't like that courteousy of @/sacrificialcat

They are a knife enjoyer, as well as a chocolate enjoyer

They like(d) to mess with their childhood friend both courteousy of @/the-beasts-have-arrived

They use apple shampoo, and apparently smell enough like apples that a friend associates it with them courteousy of @/spyret-the-shitposter

[cozywitchgoods]

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1244165087/

[navree]

he doesn't get to see a fucking movie, he doesn't get to see the fucking empire state building, can the eldritch abomination be allowed to look at something he wants to look at ONCE