Elemental reclamation.

Another issue I am finding with some of the esoteric and magickal books these days , is the fact that too much information is available,this can is especially true with regard to the solitary student that may have only text books to work from and no mentor or overseer to guide them.
some of the older writings on the occult gave only clues and hidden messages to the seeker of truth, this leaves the student to discover the finer points for them selves, bringing deeper insights from self discovery, without the pollution of preconceived ideas, this is a basis of all "mystery" traditions and is important, as opposed to the modern paint by numbers approach we see a great deal these days.

I see see how certain scenarios in the head may be of great aid to the neophyte,of course an imagination is one of the most important tenants of all occult working, however, to much preconception will cloud the mind to the absolute truths,it should be your own imagination and not that of someone else, It goes beyond aid when the pupil is told not only what colour the compass he or she casts will be, but much further into what images he or she will expect when calling the quarters or invoking the goddess and god.
There are many out there who need to take two lessons from an occult master (all be it a little green pointy eared fictional one from a sci fi genre), the first is "you must unlearn what you have learnt" the second is to "reach out with your feelings".
I know there will be those who can now claim me to be the delusional science fiction geek, well I guess this may be in part true, but these two ideas are what could enable you to keep learning and go over the top of what has possibly become an esoteric trench,then to to evolve in your practice.This is when it comes down to actual belief or faith if you like, do you trust your abilities , do you really believe in what you are doing and that by doing it you are having an actual effect, actually becoming one with the powers, or are you only performing actions, a lead role in a mummers play of your own delusions.
If you know that what you are going to see when you call up the watchers of the east is an enormous golden eagle , then a version of that is what you will see, if you stand in the west expecting wild crashing ocean again something like that is what you will see, It is time some of us broke away from preconceptions , even those of our own creation and return to the circle as a novice once more, let the powers that be tell us about themselves and for us to stop dictating to them what they are.

During a recent working I did exactly this, I had craft work that I wanted to do in full compass ritual and not in my kitchen so a circle was cast, I walked in after twenty years or more of practice,this time as a novice, my mind a blank as to what was going to happen, I had the form and structures in place as usual but gave all trust to the powers that be, to show me their true nature.That feeling of dread moment, the awakening and my trust was rewarded, as my faith had told me it would be, new shapes and images came pouring to the top through years of self imposed imagery, beautiful visions ,sensations and even smells filled my world at each quarter, unexpected colours filled the compass edge, and my perception of the old gods were as those of people I know very well although slight less godlike than usual, my treading took me to new places and my fire was all colours, this was akin to the first circle work T and I did many years ago,the same levels of excitement and achievement.
I have yet to see if my magick has worked , these things can take time and manifest in odd ways, I am still reaping the benefits of my money charm, this week I have been picking rocks out of a field and helping someone to build his house, and wait for it...getting paid.

So there is much truth in the fact that the devil makes work for idle hands, these ones at least.

Another important thing to remember about Magick is that it is an evolving force ,there fore any ritual needs to evolve also, one should not stick to old ideas exclusively when there are new ones emerging, time to remove the blinkers and step forward into new realms, to walk the walk, to stop splashing around in the shallow end and go for a swim into the deeper realms.

Could anyone tell me of the possible significance of the rhyme "three blind mice" first line only ? as I heard this quite clearly being hummed while in trance , does anyone use this as a chant? if so I heard you the other night and welcome.
FFF