One of the most important things to learn within witchcraft is how to raise energy. All magickal workings require the expenditure of resources, an equivalent exchange. For simpler workings, or once you\’ve become fairly experienced, you can perform your craft with no resources exhausted other than energy. If you simply use your own, you will find yourself drained, weak, and vulnerable to the influence of others. To avoid this, you must raise energy. Be warned, this is where my crazy starts showing. If you are not a practitioner of Magick, a witch, a sorcerer, a psychic, or whatever, you may want to just stop reading here. This post is for those with a desire to use Magick.
If this is your first time, you\’ll need to get an idea of what your own energy looks and feels like. The reason for this is that you can actually transform the energy you raise to match your energy, making it much easier to work with it. There are many different ways to do this, but I\’m going to teach you how I do it. Like almost everything I will cover here, take it, tweak it, put your own spin on, and make it your own.
It\’s best to do this somewhere secluded, away from distractions, where you feel safe and secure. Get comfortable. For me this was standing straight, feet shoulder width apart, shoulders relaxed, head tilted slightly down. Close your eyes. Focus on your breathing. If you\’ve ever meditated, that\’s what you will be doing here. If you haven\’t this part may take some trial and error. Keep focusing on your breathing. Clear your mind, seeing only the blackness around you. Keep breathing slowly. Your breaths should become smooth and even, like a wave rolling up the shore before sinking back to the ocean. Raise your hands in front of your chest. Keep your eyes closed. Breath in. Breath out. Gently press your hands together at the fingertips. Feel the connection between your right hand and left hand. In…out…Feel your pulse in your fingertips. Focus. In the center of the darkness, the center of your chest, a feint glow emerges…pulsing with your heartbeat. Focus on your breathing. The glow gets a little brighter after every few pulses. At the heart of the glow is a tiny sphere of light. It\’s surface is rolling like the surface of the sun. As you keep breathing slowly and steadily, the sphere continues to grow little by little. What color is the sphere? What does the glow look like? Is it pale or vibrant? Is it dim or bright? What do you hear? Is there the crackle of electricity or the popping of fire? Maybe the sound of waves gently rolling. When you have answered these questions, you have identified your energy. You place your hands at your sides and exhale. Visualize the sphere shrinking. It\’s glow fades. With each inhale, the sphere is stoked slightly, but each exhale fades the sphere a little bit more. When the light is gone, take a few moments to readjust. Continue to breathe smoothly. When you open your eyes, you will likely feel disoriented as if waking in a crowded room.
That was what I refer to as calling your core and that was the hard part. You only have to do this the first few times. After a while, you will be able to call this energy quickly and with little effort simply by visualizing and controlling your breathing. Once you have called your core, it\’s time to raise energy.
You will always use your left hand to raise energy, as the left hand is for taking in while the right hand is for pushing out. Call your core. Once you have your energy core conjured extend your open left hand with your fingers outstretched. Some reach to the sky while others reach to the ground. Do whatever feels right for you. As your core pulses, visualize a suction in your left palm. With every inhale, trace particles of magickal energy begin to travel into your left arm. As you continue, the suction becomes stronger. You may begin to visualize particles being pulled into your hand from a longer range. As the particles begin reaching your core, it reacts like a fire being stoked. The sphere may grow more vibrant. It may grow larger. Soon your arm will seem to be filling with a flow of particles into the core. When this happens, it\’s time to transform the energy. Visualize the particle flow closest to your core begin to thicken and solidify. It\’s color begins to shift to that of your core. If there is an elemental presence to your core, that begins to travel up the particle stream, into your left arm. Some people begin to feel light headed at this point. The energy you are connecting with is more than you have felt before. You have now gathered a substantial amount of magickal energy to use for your works.
It is important that when you are finished and have no more need of any raised energy that remains, that you release the energy. This can be done as simply as releasing your core. You may feel the need to shake your left arm. That\’s just the brain still thinking in physical terms, but if it helps, go ahead.