potential topics

sex magic
alchemy
shadow work (Jung?)
elemental magic (would need to be broken down further)
familiars & totems
healing (huge topic)
life coach

Notes on trance

This image and the following notes are from the online Alexandrian BOS.
The [eight pointed asterisk] sign on the Athame is said to represent, among other things, the Eight Paths
which all lead to the Center and the Eight Ways of Making magic, and these are:
1. Meditation or concentration.
2. Chants, Spells, Invocations. Invoking the Goddess, etc.
3. Projection of the Astral Body, or Trance.
4. Incense, Drugs, Wine, etc. Any potion which aids to release the Spirit.
5. Dancing
6. Blood control. Use of the Cords.
7. The Scourge.
8. The Great Rite.
You can combine many of these ways to produce more power.
To practice the Art successfully, you need the following five things:
Intention. You must have the absolute will to succeed, the firm belief that you can do so and the
determination to win through against all obstacles.
1.
2. Preparation. You must be properly prepared.
3. Invocation. The Mighty Ones must be invoked.
Consecration. The Circle must be properly cast and consecrated and you must have properly
consecrated tools.
4.
5. Purification. You must be purified.
Hence there are 5 things necessary before you can start, and then 8 Paths or Ways leading to the Centre.
For instance, you can combine 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 together in one rite; or 4, 6 and 7 together with 1 and 2, or
with 3 perhaps. The more ways you can combine, the more power you produce.
It is not meet to make offering of less than two score lashes to the Goddess, for here be a mystery. The
fortunate numbers be 3, 7, 9 and thrice 7 which be 21. And these numbers total two score, so a less
perfect or fortunate number would not be a perfect prayer. Also the Fivefold Salute be 5, yet it be 8
kisses; for there be 2 feet, 2 knees and 2 breasts. And five times 8 be two score. Also there be 8 Working
Tools and the Pentacle be 5; and five eights be two score.
(Note: 8 plus 5 equals 13. 8 multipled by 5 equals 40.)
http://www.tryskelion.com/tryskelion/alexwheel.htm

These are excerpts from wikipedia's article on trance; note the similarities in the section on trance induction:
http://en.wikipedia.org/?title=Trance
Trance-like states which are often interpreted as religious ecstasy or visions and can be deliberately induced using a variety of techniques, including prayer, religious rituals, meditation, pranayama (breathwork or breathing exercises), physical exercise, coitus (and/or sex), music, dancing, sweating (e.g. sweat lodge), fasting, thirsting, and the consumption of psychotropic drugs such as cannabis.

Benevolent, neutral and malevolent trances may be induced (intentionally, spontaneously and/or accidentally) by different methods:

Auditory driving through the sense of hearing by chanting, auditory story telling, mantra, overtone singing, drumming, music, etc.;,
Kinesthetic driving through the sense of feeling and movement through the kinesphere by dance, story telling by movement, mudra, embodying rituals, yoga, breathwork,oxygen deprivation, sexual stimulation etc.;
Visual Driving through the sense of sight by yantra, visual story telling, mandala, cinema, theater, art, architecture, beauty, strobe lights, form constants, symmetry;
Olfactory driving through via scent through the sense of smell by perfume, pheromones, incense, flowers, pollen, indeed any scent for which we have an association or memory, etc.;
Gustatory driving through the sense of taste and indigestion; including: starvation, herbs, hallucinogens and drugs. As the intake of food and beverage entails intra-bodily chemical reactions through digestion, some infer that all food may be considered "medicine" or "drugs" and therefore contribute to the induction of discernible psycho-physical states (refer Ancient Medicine). It can be attained through the ingestion of psychoactive drugs such as alcohol and opiates, or psychoactive plants and chemicals such as LSD, 2C-I, peyote, marijuana, mescaline, Salvia Divinorum, MDMA, psychedelic mushrooms, or datura (Jimson weed).
and
Disciplines: Yoga, Sufism, Surat Shabd Yoga; meditation; and
Miscellaneously: traumatic accident, sleep deprivation, nitrogen narcosis (deep diving), fever, by the use of a sensory deprivation tank or mind-control techniques, hypnosis, meditation, prayer; and
Naturally occurring: dreams, lucid dreams, euphoria, ecstasy, psychosis as well as purported premonitions, out-of-body experiences, and channeling.

Short Report format

The idea here is for us each to prepare a short summary, about a page long, on whatever topic strikes your fancy. Pick a symbol, stone, herb, tarot card, rune, historic or mythic figure, review a book. For consistency, we can try to keep it in this format:

Title
Picture
Summary
What is it? What does it mean?
Cultural/Historical Context
What extra info helps it make sense?
Relevance
Why should we care?
Practical Application
Give a practical use for today's pagan. This could be a craft, spell, exercise or ritual. How can we use it or become better attuned/aware?
References/Resources
Book references, URLs, etc. Personal gnosis is OK as long as it's clearly identified as such.

Trial run

Hi guys. Let's see how this goes as a place to keep our files for class. --Ocean