plural_magic | Entries tagged with others

I struggle a little with coming up with a term for this topic I want to write about today, but perhaps that's a good enough approximation ("shallow co-fronting"). Today's post is all about the this-world end of things, with borrowing/sharing. My language here will be plural-heavy, because that's what I'm familiar with. I should also preface this with a larger than normal "this is just how it works for us, hope it helps"!

What do I mean by shallow co-fronting? Well, let me back up for a moment.

What do I mean by co-fronting? (Or "normal" co-fronting.) In general, co-fronting is when two or more people are very close to front (see above, re: borrowing/sharing). This is like when you are viewing a YouTube cat video, and several people are standing to the side or behind you, looking over your shoulder. They may be commenting to you or to each other, laughing at what you are laughing at (or sometimes things you aren't laughing at, and vice-versa). In the case of co-fronting, the people near you are your guides/Others/headmates. Say you're web browsing, sometimes you might type a comment for them (or they for you), choose a different thing to look at based on their interests, and so on. Just like many people sitting around a computer.

For some, I think co-fronting is the only term here, and it means what I'm about to talk about. For us, there is a distinction, though, which I'll explain below.

For us, when switching, we start out in that place. When we actually want to switch, it moves to something that's a lot like co-fronting, but even closer. In that situation, we are occupying the same "physical" space. Each of us feels as though it's our body, but only one of us is actually controlling it. I call this shallow co-fronting, because of how close everyone is to the surface of this world, in front. And it has a variety of potential uses in ritual!

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For some, this may come naturally, but for me, it's moving a little past "plural 101". :D I'll still file it there though.

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fuzzyjayling

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.

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fuzzyjayling

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)

nierika

Hello! *waves* I'm that elusive Sparrow person, and I also go by Allie. A quick introduction, though I don't like to belabour the point: We think of me as something like fae, or that is a good metaphor, anyhow. I like to spend my time out in nature for the most part, but I also have an interest (along with my people) in studying the world, cultures, languages, and so forth. You might call us archivists. We like a good party, too -- fresh food, a bonfire, dancing, chanting, poetry...

I met Fuzzy by way of a sort of merged journeying. What finally brought her understanding that I was separate is actually the exact topic that I have to talk about today: recovering memories. She was visiting my people, and "she" suddenly started talking about things that she didn't know or understand.

( Find those memories! )

Hopefully that was interesting and/or useful. :] If you have further questions or comments, feel free to post them! Or send me a Dreamwidth message if you like.

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fuzzyjayling

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.

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fuzzyjayling

I've been speaking of a lot of abstractions, so I thought I'd give a concrete example of how other-folk can participate in a ritual, and what it feels like. This is a description of one in which we participated tonight.

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fuzzyjayling

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... )

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fuzzyjayling

I actually had an idea for two separate topics from Dove's previous post, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to combine them or not, but I guess I'll go ahead with two posts and write the second later.

A pretty fundamental question is, how can you find and communicate with other-space and other-folk? Guides, familiar spirits, and so on. It's different for every person, so all I can really do is give my experience and hope something clicks for you.

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angelinflight

Hello~! <waves> I've wanted to contribute something for a little while, but I guess I haven't had very much on hand to talk about. We thought of one the other day, though, so I'll give it a try.

First, a short introduction: I go by Dove (the one FuzzyJayling referred to earlier), and also Annie. I try not to put too fine a point on what I am precisely, because I think it invites stagnation (and argumentation). And more to the point, I'm still trying to understand that, myself. :) But the archetype of relevance for me is an angel, or perhaps a "celestial" is more apropos. A helper to the divine. As many humans stretch for the divine, I am, a little ironically, stretching for humanity. ^^ I wish to understand and experience. Perhaps one time or another, I'll be born here, too. But that's neither here nor there.

You know, I'm going to call her Fuzzy. :D

We have a long history by way of a number of rituals, journeys, and dreams. She first met me in a dream, and then later, during a journey, we actually spoke consciously for the first time. I think that she saw me as another part of herself, perhaps a past life, or a personal guide, or even her guardian angel. I can't say that any of that is wrong, really. I just don't know.

This goes back a little bit to what she wrote earlier, about Credulity, as well as (depending on your beliefs and experiences) a general sense that the thing you're talking to may not be the thing you think you're talking to. You want to know that you're receiving true advice/conversation, and not the fears of your subconscious, or (if you believe in them) something malicious trying to fool you. This is doubly important when you start to talk about letting them borrow you and influence your magic in this world. So we've developed some authentication systems, so to speak.

( Get the rest, read all about it! :) )

I guess I ended up writing from more of the out-here perspective after all. ^^; I'm not as good of a writer as Fuzzy (a little verbose and unorganised), but I hope that was helpful!

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fuzzyjayling

Referring back to my post about terrain and maps, I (and many others) experience an consistent inner-space or other-space which contains, among other things, Others*, residents, guides, denizens, whatever word you want to use. Moving your inner eye, your consciousness, to that place, and walking, flying, moving around, talking with its inhabitants, is an important concept. Neo-pagan circles tend to refer to that as shamanic journeying, whether that's accurate or a cultural appropriation (or perhaps my own misunderstanding of what they're talking about); but I tend to simply call the whole concept as I stated it "journeying".

( Cut for length... )

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* Others: Nothing to do with this story. >.> (Gore TW on that one, sorry.)

fuzzyjayling

It's a personal belief of mine that an important aspect of magic is belief. (Everything I say, really, is a personal belief unless I've stated otherwise, so... Just keep that in mind. :)

The universe is a living, breathing thing. Humans are a collection of cells making up organs, making up you. Humans are also cells in countries, and the planet itself. The planet itself is an organism that is a living, changing, breathing thing that exchanges gases and magnetic fields with larger structures, and so on. This is our universe, and it has two levels.

One is akin to a person's reflexes: tap here, the leg jerks. Touch with something hot, the limb pulls away without thought. Then there are the emergent processes in a human, the mind, the ability to think, and so on. These are not so predictable as the reflexes: you can make the same input many times, and get a different response each time. For me, analogously on the universe level, this is magic.

( Cut for length, read more... )

(Definitions)

fuzzyjayling

This came from a discussion I had with a friend the other day, in regards to this plural/inner-spirit/guide type of magic.

Most of us who work with this kind of magic or spirituality have, in one way or another, an inner or other world that we visit in order to contact these others. Visiting this place is often referred to as journeying, but that is typically in an explicitly shamanic context. You journey to an otherworld and meet guides who give you advice, direction, support, or other help. (Sometimes a kick in the behind. :) What is that place, and where is it?

On the other end of the spectrum, some have a feeling that this space is actually an inner space, or perhaps an other-space with which they're associated; but in any case, it's very personal.

A while back, I had started to wonder, myself, if they weren't the same thing. Creating working analogies and metaphors is a fundamental concept to us. We turn a little wheel, and a big car turns. We speak into a phone, and our voice comes from the other end. Perhaps the most poignant and topical example of this is that there was once a version of the game Doom that would represent programs running on a computer as denizens of the game, and firing upon them would shut down the programs.

I've come to think of that space as a truly inner one, one that maps onto something external. Something that makes it comprehensible and topical. Perhaps the people I meet there, whether they are in their "true" form or not, are avatars that may be populated by beings outside me. In this way, they exist both inside and outside. Information and change feed both ways. So, in a metaphorical sense, the map has become the terrain, and vice-versa.

Discuss! :D

(Definitions)

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Plural Magic

Entries tagged with others

Shallow co-fronting

Non-visual ways of being

What is "plural magic"?

Recovering Memories

Borrowing/Sharing How-to

A Practical Example

Borrowing

Finding and communicating with other-space and other-folk

Authentication

Gods as Others

Credulity

When is the map the terrain?

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January 2016

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