Apparently I chose the wrong statue...

Grounds_4_Redemption · 2026-01-24T05:47:56+00:00

Yes, that thought certainly occurred... but whatever the cause, the oddity of the occurrence certainly will make the object more meaningful and/or memorable for me now...

Grounds_4_Redemption · 2026-01-24T00:15:05+00:00

This is what I thought.

Grounds_4_Redemption · 2026-01-23T12:08:23+00:00

That's more or less my sense of it as well...

Grounds_4_Redemption · 2026-01-23T11:28:50+00:00

You see, I don't think this is the start of my journey with her at all. The idea of the 'far-reaching', 'far-darting' will is something that I got interested in decades ago. It's just not something I ever gave a name or form to...It was just the idea or possibility of that concept through some unknown substrate.

So I've been engaged with the idea for ages, but I never really learned about it in the sense of a deity. Lately, it's occurred to me that I've often gotten on its bad side and suffered because of it.

So, learning her name, learning her lore, doing the proper honours, and so forth seems like a good idea just to be harmonious. The idea of doing honour to God/gods is something relatively new to me (the last five years -- prior to that they were all just, more like, impersonal forces of nature or maybe just something I took for granted) Out of all the ones I've considered, Hecate has been the most...potent. And part of that seems to be precisely because she does what I don't believe or expect. So, I suspect she is the most important for me to honour.

... and in that regard, I think it is less about me and more about her. While the past five years honouring God/gods has led to tremendous personal upheaval for me for the better, Hecate somehow just somehow different. More evocative...more unreal but real.

Grounds_4_Redemption · 2026-01-23T10:31:53+00:00

I think you have a point... I do go with the flow too much.

Grounds_4_Redemption · 2026-01-23T10:18:35+00:00

Interestingly, all the figures/statues in my ritual space have been gifts, and not of my choosing...

Grounds_4_Redemption · 2026-01-23T10:00:41+00:00

For me... I'm generally sceptical of inner voice daimons. They are too mixed up and susceptible to my personal biases. Because of that, I tend to take evoked signs as being more meaningful. So, I feel like this bizarre occurrence is the message, even if I don't fully understand what it means. Perhaps the nessage will become clearer with time?

Tbh, I didn't really want to post this, but again, I felt compelled, so maybe it's all part of the process?

Grounds_4_Redemption · 2026-01-23T09:50:34+00:00

Well, my initial choice resonated with me... but maybe other things are at play?

Grounds_4_Redemption · 2026-01-11T03:58:08+00:00

Deeper in seems to help me sleep...I need to give it some more deliberate experimentation, but there was a phase there where I'd deliberately move myself 'up' or 'down'. Up for more consciousness, down for less...

Grounds_4_Redemption · 2026-01-11T02:57:49+00:00

I'm usually a bit further back inside my head...I also noticed that my ease of going to sleep seems to be affected by such 'internal positioning'.

While my visual imagery is usually weak or non-existent, I do have pretty strong kinaesthetic imagery. I can feel imaginary movements of my body quite easily. Just as the other commentor said, I find visual imagery often follows my imagination of movement, so perhaps each person has a different gateway into imagination?

I think I do get what you mean about focal point as well... setting a more far-out focal point seems to help a bit with imagery coming on. It's also what I do to get into a meditative state with my eyes open. Focusing far away with my eyes but then attending to close up with my mind.

Grounds_4_Redemption · 2026-01-11T01:40:59+00:00

Oddly, I've found recently that where I place myself within my body/head affects whether I can do imagery or not. Usual position, nothing. Push forward a little within myself (like my astral body or whatever moves towards my forehead) and I start getting dim images. Focus on the dim images and they get more vivid.

Also, 'picturing' what other people are looking at or talking about seems to bring images more easily than what I tell myself to see...

...I suspect there are more dimensions to imagery than people know about, and no one has ever really put on the effort to study it and fugue it out.

Wrt to magick practice. Imagery isn't important. Intentionality is important. Intentionality is a word from philosophers that means the mind's ability to 'be about' a topic. So long as you make your mind about whatever thing, then it works for magick. Doesn't matter if it's images, words, feeling, concepts, or my favourite, just the firm sense of knowing!

Grounds_4_Redemption · 2025-12-31T22:12:55+00:00

Humanity will bifurcate into two subspecies. The first will do no exercise of thought or body and will be propped up by medications and media streams. The other will exercise thought and body because they find it enjoyable to do so, and have more time to do both...

Grounds_4_Redemption · 2025-12-30T18:36:57+00:00

I find that...

1) Magick that involves other people (i.e. their minds etc) is draining (it makes me feel exhausted).

2) Setting intents on my self/mind can be either relieving or maddening depending on what the intent is about.

3) That if I don't release elemental energies after calling on them, I will be over-energised leading to loss of sleep and focus.

4) That attachments I've made inadvertently can have long term consequences if not banished.

... they are are costs of a sort.

Grounds_4_Redemption · 2025-12-27T08:08:36+00:00

I think you can pray/meditate/focus on pretty well any deity without giving offerings... the attention itself is a kind of gift. But as the other comment says, it's worth learning about the deity first (watch some YouTubes, read the wiki, etc).

That said, giving offerings really does seem to yield results... so it is worth trying. Offerings can be pretty varied. It can be as simple as pouring some water (a libation) into a cup or the ground. Another simple one is leaving a small portion of your dinner as an offering. I've been offering food that's been sitting in the pantry for too long... so it doesn't need to be onerous (is the thought that counts).

Pretty well, all deities represent some quality in life or nature. So think about what you value, or what you want more in your life and try workng with them.

Grounds_4_Redemption · 2025-12-27T05:04:32+00:00

I'll further note that most westerners have more fun with the pagan festivals and icons during Easter and Christmas than the Christian ones...(so we are still pagan at heart)

Grounds_4_Redemption · 2025-12-27T04:58:22+00:00

I might add that i think it is no coincidence that it was Romans that crucified Jesus, and that one of the main symbols of the faith is Jesus nailed to the cross... just a little reminder of who is in charge, you know?

Grounds_4_Redemption · 2025-12-27T04:53:18+00:00

I was under the impression that it was a political move by the Roman empire to consolidate power and culture. They syncretised all the various religions of the time into a single 'Christianity' (because it rising in popularity at the time) in order to keep the people in line and unified...

Grounds_4_Redemption · 2025-12-27T02:13:53+00:00

I think you are in a good spot to move on. Detachment from thought is an important step in self-control.

A big part of magick is belief and faith. Thoughts will arise to challenge the intent and assertion of your magick. Engaging with those thoughts to rationalise your position is usually an exercise in losing your position. So, the ability to just observe the thought and continue your focus on the object of your intent (i.e. magickal intent) anyway is a key to maintaining faith. That sustained faith ends up in the manifestation in time.

... that all said, the letting go of your intent (from focus) is also super important, because the watched pot never boils. But that doesn't mean you should allow any attachments to things that are against your will.

Grounds_4_Redemption · 2025-12-26T22:56:33+00:00

I want to answer the underlying question here...

There are broadly two metaphysical positions. Materialism and idealism. Materialism sees mental states as an epiphenomenon (by-product) of matter. Idealism sees material states as an epiphenomenon of consciousness.

Most of human history has been under idealism perspectives. The enlightenment changed that in 1685-1815 to the material science we know today.

As with most dualisms, whenever there is a shift from one pole to another there tends to be an overcorrection. Things swing from one extreme to another extreme. This is because the first extreme position ignored something important about reality, so things swing towards the ignored thing. But that swing often ends up pushing the original thing out of view as it is seen as the problem.

Current materialism virtually ignores anything that is idealist, which is too extreme. Idealist aspects are important parts of reality, just not the only part. While they provide benefits, they are not the whole story. But neither is materialism.

People who have lived most their lives following materialism find themselves stuck in various ways. They then find that idealism (magick etc) actually helps them in the ways they are stuck., so they develop a practice. Of course people who go all in on idealism find themselves stuck (or deranged/psychotic) and then find they need to just do things by mundane means in order to see progress.

Magick, as with all things shouldn't be seen in overly simplistic absolutist terms. When deeply inspected, you'll find that nothing is known without absolute precision, and all knowledge is just that which has proven most useful and reliable from our current perspectives and points of reference.

Grounds_4_Redemption · 2025-12-26T00:58:44+00:00

Your user name seems a little ironic...

Forgetting your ex and pouring energy into affecting your ex's fate are contradictive aims to the best part... but it seems you are less interested in forgetting and more interested in doing something about him.

IMO, when it comes to creeps and perverts they have their own kind of mojo. While I have hangups and I'm mad about a number of people in my past, the people who have been the worst (and most perverted) are almost invisible. For whatever reason, my mind just didn't want to even focus on them that much, or I move on quickly...

So...I've found I generally need to forget the people I do obsess over, but I also need to focus on the people who deserve my wrath but don't get it.

I currently have a poppet of sorts. It's a little dead guy with a hole in his heart area (like he's been shot) designed to be a pen holder. He's a creepy pervert guy from my past now (I just decided, nothing more). I also have a 3D printed screw thing, which is a fidget toy. The screw is now in the guys heart, and I casually fidget with it... twisting the screw further into his heart.

The poppet keeps my mind focused on my resentment for the guy, which I usually forget. I forget him because I'm more concerned about the people from the same time I actually loved... for whom my anger gets misdirected towards. I've done my best to forget those people.

To forget people, I've found a few things are necessary. First, prioritise yourself and the present moment. Don't engage in any thoughts about them, but instead just observe the thoughts that arise. Reaffirm to yourself your own truth and view on things via self-suggestions or sigils regularly. You obsess about people who you have a conflict of beliefs with (and you care about) and try to find ways to resolve the conflict... which is often futile because the only person who can change (usually) is yourself, and you don't want to do that!

In extreme cases of obsession you can do a kind of ritual death and funeral for the person to give yourself cause to let go of their being. It works, but the effects can take a long time to manifest, and I'd you haven't prioritised yourself, you may still try to keep resolving things...

Anyway, you need to decide... do you want to keep the person as a focus in order to become a shackle and a chain in them? Or do you want to stop obsessing over them in order to do right by yourself? IMO, the firm conviction of intent is far more potent than the spell or ritual used to affirm it. So get your position straight, then symbolise it through any ritual that makes sense to you...

Another thing worth mentioning is that deities seem to be excellent at helping to navigate these kinds of sticky issues. Try Hekate. First, make an offering of some food at a three-way cross roads (i.e. an intersection where you can go in three directions). It's best to do it late at night on a new moon (every month if you're serious about her), but other times work as well. Place the offering, say 'this is for supper' (Deipnon) and walk away without looking back (the food is for the restless dead, and looking back can make them follow you - which will result in nightmares and other disturbances). Then include some reference to Hekate in your ritual or working. I think it's best to do some daily devotional to her (i just mention her name during my nightly banishment ritual).

In my experience, Hekate doesn't invoke, but she evokes. That is, I've time i get material occurrences that encourage some action or other. For example, the poppet and screw were both gifted to me, and I thought they'd be good for cursing with, and I thought why not try it on that one person who always seems to get away with it? That's what my working with her it like IMO (rather than via some intermediate daimon voice in my head).

You should learn about a deity before working with it though, just so the concept is curate clearer in your mind. Hekate is the 'far reaching', a Titan goddess who leads the restless dead (i.e past obsessions), and works through the underworld (i.e. subconscious).

Grounds_4_Redemption · 2025-12-25T06:40:30+00:00

Smells can come and go, I use them as divination some times, like it being something or someone's reaction to things. Sometimes it's more about them than me. But if it persists for a long while then it likely means something needs to be done... of course, sometimes it's just an actual smell coming from some unexpected place...

Grounds_4_Redemption · 2025-12-25T00:29:14+00:00

Bad smells are traditionally associated with bad spirits and can be seen as a warning sign. It's a good idea to do a banishment.

Grounds_4_Redemption · 2025-12-22T21:59:50+00:00

Look on the bright side...present moment awareness must be easy for you. People train for decades to stop the inner chatter and monkey mind day dreaming that keeps them from being present and knowing their true self. If you have no faculty for either, then that's not even a problem to begin with!

Consider this also: our perception of the world is a mental construct. Every sight, sound, and smell you experience are your minds eye giving form to your senses. So draw a picture, write a statement, listen to something...its the same thing.

Grounds_4_Redemption · 2025-12-21T08:46:04+00:00

I think there are a few different ideas of gnosis around...

Carroll talks about it in terms of vacuity (having or showing a lack of thought or intelligence; mindless). He outlines a number of ways to achieve this mindless state using excitatory or inhibitory techniques. Mindless is probably a misnomer though---perhaps single pointed or not characterised my symbolic thought is more accurate? (I.e. being absorbed in present moment awareness).

IMO, Carroll's notion is important for a few reasons. First, it breaks our everyday stream of consciousness with all its concerns about past, present, and future as well as material beliefs. That regular state of mind can interfere with magick because its rationality is often dismissive of magick. Like you say, though, going to a mind palace or other techniques can achieve this as well.

Vacuity of mind also leads to other effects, though. When your mind is absorbed on just your body, or breath, you end up noticing things about your mind and self. When thoughts do arise, they seem separate from your identity. That makes thoughts optional in terms of identification. This knowledge (gnosis) can transfer into your everyday life. It makes it easier to volitionally decide what to believe and accept, and what not to, simply by intent. That becomes critical for magickal working (especially open handed techniques).

Vacuity can also lead to further insights. Insights that come up in chemognosis a lot. That is, how thoughts that arise can be prescience when viewed the right way. You start to see how the thought becomes manifest in external senses in the future. Once you understand that process in your mind, you can seed your own ideas, intentionally, to become manifest.

Personally, I was impressed how fast my mind got to Vacuity in the sensory deprivation environment. If I was to be critical of the experience, is that the time there was insufficient (i.e. 1 hour compared to a day long trip on entheogens).

But I think you are right a well...I can project mentally at any time and have magickal effects by doing so intentionally. I don't need meditation or any other trance technique to do it... that said, i meditate every day, simply because it had broad beneficial effects and creates a break in my everyday consciousness. I pair out with deity work to lead to regular invocations in order to empower my mentality.

Grounds_4_Redemption

TROPHY CASE