I made a BIG BOO BOO!

I ordered two crystal wand points.

I was hoping to make a couple of hand made wands to send them out to some friendly witches I know.

But when I got these crystals they are HUGE!

These cystals are about 3 inches in diameter, and about 3 or 4 inches tall.

They each weight about 5 pounds! They feel like a 5 lb. sack of sugar!

To make wands out of these suckers, the wands would need to be like staffs about 4 or 5 feet long. These could go on the end.

They are ENORMOUS!

I thought they were going to be tiny crystal points for small hand-held wands.

I don't know if I have time to order two more in time to make the small wands for the Yule.

What a bummer.

Anyone interested in a 5 foot long staff wand?

This would be like the staff that Gandalf the Gray carried in the Lord of the Rings.

I wonder what the shipping cost would be for a wand that big!

It says that an alternate use is to build a light box to set them on.

I just put a flashlight under one and turned it on, and it is real pretty all lit up.

I could just make a couple of wooden light boxes for under them and use them for scrying or just as crystal resonators on an altar.

They could probably be carried around as cleansing rituals too. I mean if they are charged for that purpose in a ritual.

Crystals are good to have no matter if they have a specific purpose or not. they automatically work to clean negative energy from your home and are very good mood enhancers. You can't have too many crystals in my book.

I bet it looks beautiful with the light under it.

You must have a pretty big book.

Those things must have cost you a crap ton and a half. If not, where did you find them?

Oh, and I was wondering if there's anything in that Shamanism book of yours that might contain juicy tid-bits about dream-catcher making? (not necessarily a how-to, but the types of feathers and stones most often used in their creation) My roommate asked me to make one for his girlfriend for Christmas. But it's the first request I've ever had from a non-witch for help.

Plus, it seems like Ruth might be able to use one.

I already know that the wood most often used was birch. Most people however, tend to like the look of wrapped suede.

These are the ones I bought

http://www.themysticcorner.com/dbDisplayImage.asp?productid=5363&currpage=Crystal_Balls_3.asp

This is what I should have bought:

http://www.themysticcorner.com/dbDisplayImage.asp?productid=5267&currpage=Crystal_Balls_3.asp

Here's the whole selection:

http://www.themysticcorner.com/Crystal_Balls_3.asp

Anyone see anything they like on that page?





I haven't read that book yet, but I just looked through the chapter on dreams and it doesn't mention dream catchers. It does give information for making amulets to ward off nightmares.

A friend of mine was really big into North American Indian Shamanism. He was into dream catchers and used to make them. Unfortunate he's dead now.

There were two tales I've heard about dreamcatchers.

One is that they were used to 'catch' incoming dreams before they reached the sleeper. Thus preventing nightmares.

The other tale is that they were used to 'catch' good dreams that the sleeper has and then the energy of that 'caught' dream could be taken via the dream catcher and used to bless or charge something else with the good power of the good dream. Or possible be used to pick the dream back up again the next night or whatever.

I guess these traditions differ with different tribes and cultures. Or maybe they can be used both ways?

I just don't know enough about them. I wasn't into shamanism when my friend was alive, and so to me they were just pretty artwork.

But he gave me both versions of the story of how they are used. So I guess it depends on the culture. I don't know.




Yes, if they stop incoming nightmares that's the way to go. I guess.

I'd like to read this dream chapter in great detail. Penczak talks about a lot concepts. Unfortunate all his major concepts are short peices, it's not a very large chapter in the book.

I may need to go to outside sources to find more intense information on controlling dream states. This is certainly a big item on my list of things to learn.

I really want to learn how to become Alice in Wonderland in lucid dreams.

I know I have the capablity to do this because I've had lucid dreams naturally. So clearly I have the ability to have them. What I need to do is learn how to master that ability and be able to control it to some degree.

That would be great! I might end up going to bed and never waking up again.

The Spanish Inquisition was really disturbing and it went on a long time. It was established in 1478 by the Catholic Monarchy in that time period. It was not even definitely abolished until 1834. It was intended to maintain Catholic orthodoxy in the kingdoms, and to replace the medieval inquisition which was under papal control. In a sense, they wanted their Inquisition to be better than the previous Inquisitions.

Of course then you have Mary 1 of England (Bloody Mary) killing Protestants left and right. It just goes back and forth historically with those two factions ordering the death of one another. I imagine that is part of the angst that Protestants have with the Catholics even to this day.

Protestants are the original non-Christian Heathens.

And now they have become the Bloody Mary metaphorically speaking of course.

Thanks Ruth. I developed an interest in the Gris Gris bags because I had to go down to Louisiana for a while. Long story on that and not important but here I am in the deep south in August. Oh no. I couldn't breath and the humidity is unbearable and it smells like swamp.

I ended up traveling around a bit and touring. I met some wonderful Cajuns who took me on their boat into the swamps (Bayou Teche and Vermilion) and showed me how they made their living. I also got to see alligators, nutria and beautiful swamp foliage. I forgot about the heat and humidity or else I was just adjusting to it by that time. The Cajuns were wonderful and I felt bad about being afraid of them initially. In movies of course they are always portrayed as being these crazy swamp dwellers that kidnap people, never to be seen again.

Thats simply not the case.

Anyway, I have these Gris Gris bags now and was interested in making a Mojo and putting some of that together. I will check out that site. Thanks

She may or may not have listed ingredients on her website for the different kinds of bags. I have her book and was enrolled in her course for a time so if you want to know specifically she recommends for the bag, just let me know and I'll be happy to tell you.

I don't think I want to interefere with my dreams as I'm beginning to understand that they are usually important if I remember them. I had never discussed my LAPD dreams with anyone prior to talking to you guys about it and I learned a lot about myself. So, that was good.

Ruth... I remember my dreams most of the time however, they never seem to make any sense I keep telling myself there's something important in them but I have yet to figure that out. Tho I don't have reoccuring dreams.

The Dream Chapter and Lucid Dreams

I read the Dream Chapter last night in Penczak's book on Shamanism. It's a disappointingly short chapter. One of the shortest chapters in the book actually.

However, one of the reasons that it's so short is that he does a lot of referencing back to topics and exercises that had been covered in the Inner Temple Book and the Outer Temple Book. So there may be more information in those books that go into dreams in more depth. He also references other topics within the Shamanic Temple Book. So I won't be able to see the full picture until I've studied all of these books and lessons in greater depth.

None the less, as short as the chapter is, he covers a lot of topics pointing to more information elsewhere in his other books.

1. Dream Journal
2. Dream Circle - this is a totally different concept from a Magick Circle.
3. Returning to a Dream at a later time.
4. Techniques for Lucid Dreaming
5. Spirit Dreams
6. Dream Spells - These are spells that you do to request help with lucid dreaming
7. Group Dreams and Telepathic Dreaming.
8. Sending Dream via Dreams
9. How to deal with and/or interpret Nightmares
10. Dream Charms
11. Dream Herbs
12. Dream Pillow
13. Prophetic Dreams
15. Neutralizing Dreams
16. Deciphering Dreams

That sounds like a lot of topics, but like I say, he doesn't really say much about each topic, at least not within this chapter, but he does point to other resources elsewhere in his own books.

One thing I found quite interesting is that in the section on Dream Charms he suggests that Selenite Crystals are good for inducing lucid dream.

So right away I grabbed those two 5 pound Selenite crystals and placed one on either side of my head on the headboard of my bed.

I may have just found a use for these crystals! Owl have to put them on the list of things to Charge in the Yule circle ritual. I can charge them specifically as lucid dream inducers.

Although they may have already worked to some small degree.

After setting up the dream crystals I turned on some meditation music and did a countdown into a meditation state. Then I asked the Great Spirit, the God, and the Goddess, to send me dream spirit guides and to help me achieve lucid dreams that are pleasant.

Side comment

It appears from what Penczak says that most people are into learning to how to do lucid dreaming mainly for divination, or learning something about themselves from their dreams. This is not my purpose at all. I just want to learn to lucid dream for the pure pleasure of the experience. If I find personal meaning in them fine. If not, that's fine too. I'm not looking to try to extract personal meaning from each and every dream.

I would also like to learn to lucid dream for the purpose of communicating with guide spirits, and potentially other spirits who once lived and are now gone. Although I'm not counting on that, but it would be cool if that came to pass. I would love to spend time on the 'other side' at night in my dreams.

Back on topic

At first I just asked for a lucid dream. But I didn't have anything in particular in mind. At first no dreams were forthcoming.

So then I asked for a vision of the Great Spirit. May as well start at the top and work my way down through the pantheon.

No sooner did I ask, then I was blessed with a very clear and lucid vision of floating in outer space. All around me I could see galaxies and nebula floating. I could also travel though space at phenomenal speed far greater than the speed of light. This was obvious as I could pass large clusters of galaxies like driving past a Dairy Queen at 60 MPH on Highway 101.

I was brought to our solar system and then to the Earth, witch at first seemed like a tiny speck of blue dust.

The Great spirit was telling me, not in words, but via these visions that it is the universe and all of creation.

It brought me to the earth and I fell to earth feet first and made a wonderful entry into the atmosphere. I floated down to the surface and landed softly standing on my feet on a beach on a temperate ocean shore.

At that moment the world was small. I felt like I was standing on a huge globe. I could visually see the curvature of the ball of earth.

At that very moment, I intuitively felt that the Great Spirit was kind of thinking, "Nope. Wrong picture".

Just then the world expanded tremendously to where I felt like a speck of dust on an immense beach with this huge ocean before me. I could see large whales swimming in the sea. Their large fins coming up out of the water. It was quite lucid. I could see the water running off their fins falling back into the sea.

At this point I instantly felt like was out at sea on a large ancient wooden ship. I didn't actually turn around to see if there was a crew aboard. I was so absorbed with this lucid image of whales before me. They were HUGE! And it was so REAL! I could feel the ocean water spraying on me and the wind blowing. I looked down into the seawater and I could large rays swimming graceful in the deep.

My vision was actually underwater now. I was in the sea visually. I didn't physical feel wet or like I was underwater. The feeling are more like watching a documentary on a television screen. Only I could care the ocean sounds like as if I was in the ocean with these creatures.

I must have lost the connection at that point, or fell asleep, to continue the dream unconsciously. Because that's all I remember of that part of the dream.

However, the next thing I remember is looking down at a stainless steel sink basis in a kitchen. There was a little girl washing a book. She had some sort of book under the faucet and she was washing the pages with the water running. She was humming a little tune like children do. She seemed to be quite happy.

I instantly realized that I'm consciously lucid dreaming again!

So I become focusing on watching to see what this little girl was going to do!

I wanted to get a bigger picture and see where she was, and what she was up to, etc.

However, once I realized that I was lucid dreaming the 'reality' of the dream vanished.

I'm not sure how to explain this. But owl try.

When I first saw the little girl it was like she was a real person doing her own thing. She was humming, She was washing the pages of a book. She was her OWN BEING.

However, as soon as I realized that I was having a lucid dream. She became inanimate. I could still visualize her standing at the skin holding the book. I could still SEE THE PICTURE in my mind.

But she was no longer "alive". It was like in order for to make her move I had to move her. I was in total control of the imagination again. She would only do what I imagined her to do.

However, BEFORE I had consciously recognized that I was having a lucid dream she was doing HER OWN THING! It was like she was ALIVE. I wasn't making her do anything. I was just observing her.

At that point, I was quit exhausted and just rolled over and went to sleep and don't remember any more dreams.

But hey, not bad for starters huh? I had two lucid visions. And now I know how to visualize the Great Spirit. It's just the totality of universe itself and all the LIFE within. I had one question answered! Already.

I don't know if the Selenite crystals helped, but now I'm thinking they look good on my headboard.

Im the same way. I generally cant remember them or if I do, it will come back in "flashes" the next day and I cant really make any sense of it.

In the case of recurring nightmares, then something more than likely is out of balance either physically or emotionally. Emotional unbalance can also lead to physiological problems so it needs to be addressed and examined.

The fact that your dreams are recurrent and always seem to revolve around your past career lead me to believe that something is unresolved as it relates to that situation. A police officer is a high stress position and I dont know all the circumstances under which you left the force. It seems like there might be a feeling that something was not completed or left undone in a certain respect. I dont know though Im only guessing based on some comments you have made about the dreams themselves.

I generally don't try to analyze them unless they are recurring. I figure it's just my subconscious working things out and it will all become clear when I need it to.

Last night I had a dream I was trying to buy my daughter a birthday cake. Her birthday isn't until Feb... But I got her birthday cake at Wal Mart and I was trying to get it out of the box and the cake fell. I tried to put it back together but it was ruined beyond repair. So I took it back to wal mart and I was trying to make the people make me a new cake by the next morning. I was even blaming them for the cake being ruined. I started yelling at them, demanding I get a new one by the morning, free of charge cause it was all their fault. This is not something I would ever do in my conscience life. My dreams are always like that tho... they just don't make any sense.

This may be true for you personally in this situation, but I'm not convinced of this across the board.

A lot of people believe that all dreams are messages of some sort that we are supposed to understand and gain some insight from. But I'm not convinced that this is the case with all dreams. I think most people have dreams about their careers simply because that's what much of their memory contains - images of what they have done for a living.

I mean even if the exact episodes aren't replayed, it's still the same basic scenarios built up from those building blocks.

When my mother died I had recurring dreams of losing her and trying very hard not to let go over her.

I would have dreams of being with her, out on a ship in the ocean, and the ship would be sinking and there weren't enough lifeboats and I would try to save her anyway. I wouldn't let go of her.

She was small and frail, just like she was in real life. We'd be on a lifeboat and eveyone was demanding that I throw the 'old lady' overboard to save the group. But I wouldn't do it. Finally they would toss me over board with my mother, I could cling to her in the figid water, but she would die and my arms would become weak and I just couldn't physical hold her anymore and I would watch her sink into the depth of the sea as I helpless watched bearly treading the frigid water myself.

I had dreams that we were on an airliner and it was falling apart in the sky. To save my mother I found a parachute and strapped it on then grabbed my mother and jumped out of the plane. But as soon I jumped out the door the wind was so strong it just ripped my mother from my arms and she would go falling to the earth below with no chute.

I used to take mother for long walks on a country road in her wheelchair. The road I live on is level and seldom traveled. I would walk with her for miles sometimes, picking wildflowers along the way. (that was reality)

In my dreams I would imagine being on those walks and a rabid bear would come out of the woods and attack us. It was trying to get to my mother, but I would confront it first. But it was so powerful I coudln't stop it and it would maim me and I would lay there cripple and unable to move as I would watch the bear run over to the wheelchair and maul my mother to death.

These were all the same type of dream. Dreams about being unable to protect my mother.

I KNEW what the dreams were about.

They were about my feelings of guilt for having LET her die!

Like as if I could have prevented it!

I probably did have some totally unrealistic 'guilt' feelings about her death. Not because it was in any way my fault that she died, but simply because I felt so helpless to prevent it.

It was unrealistic. She was 90 years old. Very feeble, and required 24/7 care including wiping her butt. Which I didn't mind at all if it meant that she could remain alive.

I guess the thing that was truly killing me is that despite her physical frailty, she was very mentallly alert. She wasn't senile at in the least. She was perfectly well from a mental point of view.

So when her body died, it's stole a perfecly healthy mind.

I guess I just couldn't accept that. And I felt like that was something I could have done to somehow prevent it.

But there was nothing to analyze about my dreams. I knew what they were all about. Yet I continued to have them for almost a year after she died.

One day they just quit. I guess I just finally accepted that life sucks. And it's not my fault.

I guess that's what all those dreams were about. They were placing me in IMPOSSIBLE situations where there was just NOTHING I COULD DO to prevent my mother's death.

And they wouldn't stop until I finally accepted the truth of that.

I guess one day I must have accepted that I'm not reasponsible for the way life is.

Maybe your dreams are simliar Ruth.

Maybe you are having guilt complex for not 'fighting' crime anymore. Maybe you feel some responsiblity for the crime in the world just because you're no longer fighting to put an end to it.

Maybe you just haven't come to grips with the fact that YOU'RE NOT RESPONSIBLE for the fact that there is crime in the world.



You're beating youself up with these dreams unnecessarily, just like I was beating myself up with my recurring dreams of my mother constantly being snatched from my protection.

That's probably the message.

I have a random astral projection question. I'm very interested in mastering the art but I'm still just a novice. My entire household thinks our house is haunted. Everyone in the house has had some kind of paranormal experience. There have just been wayy too many incidents for it be be everyone's "imagination". I don't want to get into it because that'll just be a totally different discussion on it's own.

But anyways. Is it safe to Astrally Project in this kind of atmosphere? I mean would you astrally project in a haunted house? I don't want to attract anymore attention from whatever other then my family resides in the house or deal with it on an astral plane. I know it can't really harm me, but I don't even want to confront it or have it confront me till I've fully mastered the art.

Opinions..?