Urban Shamanism- Working With Celestial Energies
In traditional Shamanism the Celestial region- the area of the Astral that might be termed “The Abode of the Gods”, is shown on symbolic maps as being located above the Earth Plane. As humanity developed religions this became translated into an actual physical abode for their Deities. Either on a high point such as Mount Olympus, or in the sky itself with their Divine Being(s) literally looking down on humans from above. In Urban Shamanism the ways of contacting these Celestial Energies are symbolised by a variety of structures and tools, the most obvious being the skyscrapers that people work and live in. They have their roots (foundations) in the earth, but reach high into the sky and in some practices of Urban Shamanism have replaced the traditional Shamanistic World Connecting Trees, such as Yggdrasil found in Norse Paganism which connects the nine worlds.
Traditional Shamans would enter a trance and ascend or descend the tree depending on their intent or what action or ritual was required at the time. Urban Shamans would do the same with their conceptual model of the World Skyscraper, using the lift, stairs, or other methods depending on their style or intent. In the case of someone who had modelled their World Skyscraper on Yggdrasil each floor or level might be a different realm, although, because of the many interconnections between them the travel between them might be just as complicated as moving about the world tree.
Some of the major celestial powers are concentrated in the upper world. These include the heads, or head offices of major business concerns, the main players of which usually occupy the top floor or the company building and live in a penthouse. They may even have deity- like attributes such as craft that can quickly and efficiently transport those with power, or their acolytes and hangers on, across the world. Most importantly from the magickal point of view they develop their own thoughtform, which is a collection of psionic energy built up by the people who built, work, run, and use the company or service. As time passes this energy forms the company’s soul/personality which can influence the way the company behaves and affects both the market and the immediate environment. The latter can be an effect on the physical and energetic planes; physically the company employs a lot of people in the area, and occupies physical space. While on the Astral the energies of the company’s employees, the way it does business, and how it is perceived contribute to the local area’s “Genus Loci” or “Spirit of Place”.
When working magick that involves affecting the actions of a particular company working with the aspects mentioned in the paragraph above is a very effective way to achieve desired results, especially when used as part of a campaign that includes work on the mental and physical planes as well. An example of this was when the city I live in decided that they wanted to install a monorail system. The system was misrepresented both in scale and in the potential negative effects of the system on the environment. Particularly the effect on the local trees and animals in as much as there were plans to cut down several mature oaks, and little mention of the die back effect on other trees by the line. Needless to say the local Druids were not amused; they rallied other local Pagans, including me, to perform rituals and take more concrete actions. Rituals were done using the monorail company’s logo as a focus with the aim of destabilising the finances. It helped that there was another project at the same time to build a “Millennium Tower” and there were Pagans working to stop that too as it was rumoured to be putting harmful pressure on an important local Ley Line that spanned the harbour.
The spell they used for this, initiated on a Saturday, involved a tower outline cut out of an old sponge, a plastic bowl a laminated City Council logo, and a newspaper picture of the (not to scale) monorail. The bowl was lined with the laminated logo and the picture of the monorail and the outline of the proposed tower placed in it. Rainwater was collected from all sides of the city’s guildhall, and dyed green (representing council money). Power was then raised and, at the key moment, the water was added to the bowl and the key phrase “May these fade like the foam on the water” was uttered. The bowl with its contents was then placed in the cellar of a building close to the council offices and the spell left to work.
While the spell was working the city Pagans were active on the physical plane as well. A local Druid Order was tasked with contacting Arthur Uther Pendragon the "battle chieftain" of the Council of British Druid Orders with the aim of asking him and his knights, and possibly a group known as “Dykes on Bikes” a female Brighton motorcycle group with several Pagan members, to meet somewhere in the city where there was a good media opportunity to put the case for stopping both projects. Thus using the Urban Shamanic approach of invoking the mass media as part of a magickal project to achieve a desired outcome.
In the next article we will look at how effectively these multi-plane approaches worked on the problem designed to solve. This style of magick works well for many spellcrafting and other magickal endeavours because acts on the physical plane help earth it and gives form to intent. Many Pagans overlook this, and then wonder why their spells have little or no effect. It is only by engaging all aspects of reality that magick can truly work and bring about the changes you desire.
Traditional Shamans would enter a trance and ascend or descend the tree depending on their intent or what action or ritual was required at the time. Urban Shamans would do the same with their conceptual model of the World Skyscraper, using the lift, stairs, or other methods depending on their style or intent. In the case of someone who had modelled their World Skyscraper on Yggdrasil each floor or level might be a different realm, although, because of the many interconnections between them the travel between them might be just as complicated as moving about the world tree.
Some of the major celestial powers are concentrated in the upper world. These include the heads, or head offices of major business concerns, the main players of which usually occupy the top floor or the company building and live in a penthouse. They may even have deity- like attributes such as craft that can quickly and efficiently transport those with power, or their acolytes and hangers on, across the world. Most importantly from the magickal point of view they develop their own thoughtform, which is a collection of psionic energy built up by the people who built, work, run, and use the company or service. As time passes this energy forms the company’s soul/personality which can influence the way the company behaves and affects both the market and the immediate environment. The latter can be an effect on the physical and energetic planes; physically the company employs a lot of people in the area, and occupies physical space. While on the Astral the energies of the company’s employees, the way it does business, and how it is perceived contribute to the local area’s “Genus Loci” or “Spirit of Place”.
When working magick that involves affecting the actions of a particular company working with the aspects mentioned in the paragraph above is a very effective way to achieve desired results, especially when used as part of a campaign that includes work on the mental and physical planes as well. An example of this was when the city I live in decided that they wanted to install a monorail system. The system was misrepresented both in scale and in the potential negative effects of the system on the environment. Particularly the effect on the local trees and animals in as much as there were plans to cut down several mature oaks, and little mention of the die back effect on other trees by the line. Needless to say the local Druids were not amused; they rallied other local Pagans, including me, to perform rituals and take more concrete actions. Rituals were done using the monorail company’s logo as a focus with the aim of destabilising the finances. It helped that there was another project at the same time to build a “Millennium Tower” and there were Pagans working to stop that too as it was rumoured to be putting harmful pressure on an important local Ley Line that spanned the harbour.
The spell they used for this, initiated on a Saturday, involved a tower outline cut out of an old sponge, a plastic bowl a laminated City Council logo, and a newspaper picture of the (not to scale) monorail. The bowl was lined with the laminated logo and the picture of the monorail and the outline of the proposed tower placed in it. Rainwater was collected from all sides of the city’s guildhall, and dyed green (representing council money). Power was then raised and, at the key moment, the water was added to the bowl and the key phrase “May these fade like the foam on the water” was uttered. The bowl with its contents was then placed in the cellar of a building close to the council offices and the spell left to work.
While the spell was working the city Pagans were active on the physical plane as well. A local Druid Order was tasked with contacting Arthur Uther Pendragon the "battle chieftain" of the Council of British Druid Orders with the aim of asking him and his knights, and possibly a group known as “Dykes on Bikes” a female Brighton motorcycle group with several Pagan members, to meet somewhere in the city where there was a good media opportunity to put the case for stopping both projects. Thus using the Urban Shamanic approach of invoking the mass media as part of a magickal project to achieve a desired outcome.
In the next article we will look at how effectively these multi-plane approaches worked on the problem designed to solve. This style of magick works well for many spellcrafting and other magickal endeavours because acts on the physical plane help earth it and gives form to intent. Many Pagans overlook this, and then wonder why their spells have little or no effect. It is only by engaging all aspects of reality that magick can truly work and bring about the changes you desire.
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