Broken_Crow wrote: ↑Mon May 11, 2020 4:40 am
Yeah I've been studying Buddhism for about 10 years. So I'm not looking for info on that. I have the Tibetan book of the dead. What differentiates occultism from wicca? Im not particularly fascinated with any one tradition yet. Still in the knowledge gathering stage before I choose one or an amalgamation of a few different traditions. So any guide to practicing or books for beginners in different traditions would be greatly appreciated.
Wicca is a school of magic, and also a spiritual / religious paradigm. So, the magical aspect of that falls into the category of occultism. If you're considering using an amalgamation of traditions instead of locking into just one, you may get along well with Chaos Magick. Chaos Magicians generally study multiple different schools of magic, and then create their own personal system of magic by absorbing the ideas from each that work best for them. But, there are also certain techniques that could be said to belong to Chaos Magick.
Here are a few documents and rituals that can provide a good starting point. The first two are introductory Chaos Magick documents, and the second two are useful rituals which originate from the Golden Dawn, one of the most influential magical orders of the late 1800s and early 1900s. Besides Chaos Magick, the other paradigm I am most familiar with is Thelema (which has some roots in Golden Dawn), but most Thelemic documents could hardly be called introductory.
Liber MMM
A short 14 page booklet, one of the foundational documents of Chaos Magick. Teaches basic meditation, trance, dream work, and magical techniques which you can practice daily. The magical techniques covered are sigil magick, a simple and powerful form of spellcasting that anyone can easily perform (your results may vary), and a simple Banishing Ritual. Banishing Rituals are important to clean the energy around and within you before and after any magical work in order to prevent energetic interference and negative aftereffects. You should try to learn at least one Banishing Ritual by heart.
Link:
https://paranormal.se/article/Liber_MMM.pdf
The Psychonaut Field Manual
This is another introduction to Chaos Magick written in a flippant style and cartoonishly illustrated. It teaches beginner and advanced techniques, starting from the bottom and working up.
Link:
https://www.deviantart.com/bluefluke/ar ... -530005584
Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram (Golden Dawn Variant)
This is the Golden Dawn variant of the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram, one of the golden standards of banishing rituals. It will take some practice to learn, but is very powerful. Practicing it daily will improve your visualizations and energy manipulation skills. Like the Thelemic variant, it utilizes Abrahamic imagery and sacred names. If this isn't your cup of tea, you can find versions that use Pagan imagery instead, or find a different banishing ritual (there are many.)
Link:
https://i.imgur.com/U1ZwcdH.png
Middle Pillar Ritual
This is another powerful daily practice ritual which improves energy manipulation and perception. Like the LBRP, it utilizes Abrahamic imagery and sacred names.
Link:
https://imgur.com/a/b3YYenX
In general, you are likely to begin noticing some results from magical practices after doing them daily for about a month. Also, don't expect to see things with your waking eyes. Instead, the clarity of your mind's eye will increase as you perform your exercises. Seeing things with your regular vision is not actually necessary, but might come much later.
As you continue your daily practices, you will have periods of quick progress followed by long slumps during which it seems like you aren't progressing at all. Keep up the practices and you will eventually reach your next period of progress (followed by your next slump.)