Developing Inner Magickal Energy

As I described in my previous post, How Magick Works, the concept that magick works by raising and directing some sort of magickal energy is currently the most popular paradigm for understanding how magick works. If you have ever read a spell from a book of spells and followed the directions, only to have no result, the cause may be that there was no magickal energy raised or directed toward the goal of the magick. The words and actions merely direct the energy you raise, they are not the magick themselves.

So as you learn various important aspects of magick—rituals, correspondences, etc.—I would contend that it’s also a good thing to develop your abilities with magickal energy. One of the basic ways of doing this is through the creation of what is called an “energy ball.”

Creation of the Energy Ball

1) Find a comfortable position, standing or sitting. Take a few deep breaths and slowly exhale, allowing yourself to relax.

2) Hold your hands out in front of you, palms facing each other. Keep your elbows bent so you can hold this position for awhile.

3) Using your imagination, visualize a ball of pulsing energy between your hands. Traditionally, it should be blue, like the color of a gas flame. However, try to make the image as strong and vibrant as possible. It may be that it comes to you in a different color or blur of colors. That’s fine, but also work to get that blue color.

4) With each breath you take, visualize this ball becoming stronger, more pulsing, more energetic.

5) Now, move your hands apart and then closer together. When you feel resistance at the edge of your energy ball, you have succeeded.

6) Play with this. Make the ball larger and smaller. Check your success by feeling resistance when your hands are at different distances from each other. Use visualization to change the color. Have fun with this exercise.

7) When you are finished, us your imagination to visualize the energy ball dissipating harmlessly.

Notes:

A) Although usually called an “energy ball,” the shape may not be a sphere. For you it may take another shape. If you get that feeling of resistance between your hands, you are being successful. Since this is only an exercise, the precise shape isn’t important. You may even wish to play with the shape just as you play with size, intensity, and color.

B) Some people may complain, “Hey, this isn’t real. It’s just imagination and visualization.” That’s right. It’s not “real” on the physical plane…at least, not yet. The imagination creates on the non-physical plane, commonly called the astral plane. Visualization is the means by which we create on the astral plane. It “actualizes” our creation of our imagination.

As you’ve probably heard, everything has an “astral double.” People have astral bodies. But you don’t have an astral body because you have a physical body. Rather, because some aspect of you exists on the astral plane, it eventually must manifest on the physical plane. The astral creation comes first followed by the physical manifestation. Therefore, by creating things on the astral plane you are directly or indirectly causing them to manifest on the physical plane. This is a key concept of magick.

Your imagination and visualization creates the energy ball on the astral plane and it literally manifests, physically, between your hands. You detect the success of this practice through the kinesthetic sense of touch, the resistance you feel when you press in with your hands at the edges of the energy ball. Be sure to feel all sides of it.

But being able to raise internal energy is only part of the technique of magickal creation. Practice making energy balls. We’ll go into other forms of energy generation next time.

For more information about raising personal energy, here are some great resources:

The Art of Spiritual Healing

Aura Energy for Health, Healing & Balance

Chi Kung for Beginners

Energy Essentials for Witches and Spellcasters

Energy Sourcebook