Plural Magic

We use a number of terms in these blogs, some of them common, some of them not as much. Other people on the internet may disagree with our usage of these terms, and that is okay. This is just how we use them.

Plural / multiple - a state of having more than one person/consciousness in a body. We like the word "plural" because it feels more inclusive. (Some would draw a line from "multiple" to "multiple personality disorder", which is not universally applicable to plural systems.) Note that "plural" may also refer to medians. (See link at the bottom.)

System - a neutral term referring to a body that is plural. Or more precisely, to the group that resides in it.

Headmate / systemmate / Other - A member of a plural system. The latter ("Other") is an odd term that we came up with in order to make people who are not plural comfortable with exploring the ideas we post from a magic perspective.

Inner-world / Other-world / headspace - A place that members of a system may reside and/or visit. "Inner world" and "headspace" are more common in the larger community, but we like "other world" because it doesn't have any implication about where it's located.

Front - Control over the shared body. This act is called "fronting". Likewise, you may have "co-fronting", where there is more than one.

DID/MPD - These are psychiatric diagnoses for someone who is plural, usually by way of trauma. Many visited a doctor/therapist because of feeling disordered or discommunicative, but not all of them are. It is a common misconception that all plural systems fall under this category, but many do not.

Neo-shamanic - This is a practice that involves, among other things, journeying into other worlds and speaking with their inhabitants. There's a lot more to it than that, but that's the part most people know. This refers to an adaptation of shamanic practices from aboriginal tribes, and could be considered everything from a cultural appropriation on the bad end, to a useful and enlightening practice on the good end. I prefer the term "neo-shamanism" because it describes the useful aspects of what is being talked about, without implying that it is the original practice.

Journeying - The act of mentally / astrally / etc travelling to another world and engaging that world, speaking to its inhabitants, etc, and bringing back the knowledge. I am, again, really simplifying here. If you want to know more, I recommend studying it as a separate topic from this.

These posts may also be interesting for definition purposes:

- What is plural magic? - also talks about system types.
- Median plurality



.. more will be added as time goes on ..

We haven't had a lot to say lately, but everyone else is quite welcome to submit posts. There's a moderation queue for now, but I'll approve things fairly quickly. So don't be shy! And if there's something you don't want to post as yourself, just PM it to me and I'll post it anonymously for you.

Continuing on from yesterday's topic (Shallow Co-fronting), this is another plural topic that can affect your magical work as well as your daily life. Many people don't realise that this applies to them, and understanding it can open up a whole new world of possibilities.

What is "median"? Well, you can read a lot more about it here, including pretty graphs, but the short version is that it's somewhere between plural and singlet (one term for someone who is not plural/median/etc). If you've ever heard someone talk about "putting on their game face", or showing one side of themselves to one group, and another side to another... that's the same sort of idea. Rather than several separate people, this is one person made up of separate people. To quote a very helpful line from Astraea's FAQ that I linked to above,

You might say something like "there are many of us, but we are really all Karen" or "aspects of Karen", etc.

If you ever had one of those colour-shifting pens from the 80s and 90s, think of that too. Press a button and a different ink comes out.

If you find yourself getting into "modes", where you almost feel like you're a different person even though you know you're not, then this may be a useful avenue of exploration for you.

( More... )

That was long and somewhat rambly, but hopefully something in there was helpful! If it's interesting, you may also take a look at LivingPlural's median question list.

(Definitions)

I'm on a roll here. Two posts in one night. :)

A common theme that runs through many of our posts is visuality. You go to a place and you see people and places. Or you see Others nearby. These are all concepts laden with visualisation and sight.

For a variety of reasons, some people don't work this way. For one thing, you may have trouble moving your consciousness to another place to begin with. For another, you may simply not see things that way, for a number of possible reasons. Some people don't have other-worlds.

So I want to take a stab in the dark (har har) at some thoughts on another way of being, doing plural magic.

( More... )

(Definitions)

I thought I might take a moment to write some more about what exactly is meant by "plural magic".

I assume you know what I mean by "magic" since you're here, but I'll go ahead and give my definition. Basically magic is using your will, calling upon other or higher powers, or even just putting your determination toward effecting change. So this covers anything from the rather mundane "give it your all to change for the better" up to elaborate rituals and years-long working, what is often called "energy" or "chi", or other such forces that aren't measurable by scientific means at this point in time. To me, science is a way of interacting with the universe in a mechanistic, deterministic way, like tapping someone's knee to make their leg jump. Magic is speaking to the universe and interacting in a higher level, more psychological way, and asking for help.

Magic can also serve the purpose of a religious service, to reaffirm one's bond and comfort with the larger world(s). In this regard, even atheists can practice spirituality. (Marvelling at the intricacies of the universe, spending time stargazing, etc.)

The "plural" refers to not being alone in one's personal mental sphere, only during rituals/workings, or all the time. I'll write more about commonly recognised types below.

( Plural Types? )

(Definitions)

As I discussed in this post, sometimes you get to a point where it's silly or tedious to keep passing messages back and forth for your Others. (And sometimes, in the case of some kinds of rituals/magic/etc, it's not practical.) So here is a guide for helping them borrow.

This is based on some posts I made earlier on Tumblr and DW. It's a straightforward and step-by-step guide to letting your Others borrow you, to interact out here. It's based on my own methods and thoughts, of course, but others have found it useful.

This is going to be really long, sorry. But I want to be complete and give you the best chance you can at it.

As always, YMMV, do only if you feel completely comfortable, risks and consequences are yours to eat and savour.

( How to! )

I'll probably be revising this for a while. ^^; It's huge.. sorry again about the TL;DR.

(Definitions)

My second topic that came out of reading Dove's post is in regards to what I've been calling "borrowing". This bears some resemblance (or is perhaps the same) as other concepts like "horsing", "riding", and "fronting". As a more mainstream example, I would also consider (just my opinion) the Abraham-Hicks pair to be practising borrowing and plural magic.

Outside the art, so to speak, this is actually a good example of something that cuts across many different scenarios and beliefs (shamanism, "speaking on tongues", channelling deities, plural/multiple groups, and so forth), and earns you a badge anywhere from "spiritual leader" to "put this one on stuffazine, stat", depending on culture, understanding, and so on. Inside the art, this is a subject that ranges from really mundane to really controversial, depending on your spiritual bent, your personal psyche, etc. But it's fundamental to us (and IMO, the topic), so I'm going to cover it.

Standard disclaimers apply: YMMV, caveat emptor, take responsibility, not my fault, etc... :)

( Uncover dark secrets... )

(Definitions)