Imagine What You Can Do!
The tools of the Craft. Chalice, athame, wand, candle, pentacle, incense, crystals, creative visualization. Wait. Creative visualization? I know what you're thinking. “That doesn't belong there!” Unfortunately, many make the same mistake. When you think about the tools of the Craft, do you think in tangible items? Wands, athames, altars, things you can see and touch? Properly honed, creative visualization, your own imagination, is perhaps the greatest Craft tool at your disposal. Anywhere, anytime it is always with you, making it the most portable of tools. I have performed an entire ritual, from circle casting to circle banishing using nothing more than my imagination, with successful results.
As children we use our imaginations every day. I watch my children now and remember the days when I was Wonder Woman. When I sailed the waters of the Amazon, explored the depths of the jungle, marched days across the burning desert, all without leaving my backyard. As children, our imaginations are unhindered by the adult world of responsibilities and the daily grind. We don't care, as children, if we look “foolish”. The key to successful visualization is to remember back to the days of our childhood, when our minds were fresh and unfettered. Meditation, done properly, can be a key to unlock your imagination.
Once, when expressing my frustration with not being able to clear my mind completely in preparation for meditation, someone told me it was almost impossible to empty your mind completely due to the power of suggestion. The harder you try not to think about something, the more it intrudes on your consciousness. “For instance” he said, “try not thinking about a blue eyed polar bear.” I couldn't do it. But, ever since, that blue-eyed polar bear has become my focus for meditation. I have found that the more I try to empty my mind, the faster the thoughts come popping into it, but, if I have one single focus, I find I can clear my mind of everything but that focus. It is something I believe I picked up from, of all things, childbirth classes.
The exercise is this:
Close your eyes, breathe deeply and relax, your technique for relaxation is up to you, I find that, with one deep cleansing breath, I can relax my whole body at once. Others like relaxing it one part at a time beginning with the feet and ending with the head. Which ever you choose it's up to you. When you feel you are sufficiently relaxed, bring the image of a blue-eyed polar bear into your mind. Focus on the bear as a whole at first and gradually bring the image closer, as if you were walking toward the bear, until all you can see are the vibrant blue eyes. Look deep into the eyes, study them. What color blue are they? Are they all one color or many different blues? Set your mind free to imagine what ever it wishes, you will be surprised. When you wish to end the meditation, back away from the bear again until you can see the whole bear, close your mind's eye, take another deep cleansing breath and open your eyes.
In order to “exercise” your imagination, you must play. Children know this instinctively. They exercise their imagination constantly. Unfortunately, as we grow older we play less and, like a muscle that goes unused for a long period, our imagination atrophies. If you have small children, exercising your imagination is much easier. Involve yourself in their games of make believe. Be the dragon for your little knight to slay, the horse for your little cowgirl to ride. It's wonderful exercise for your imagination and at the same time will bring you closer to your children. If you don't have small children at home, you can still play. I have, in my car, the soundtracks to both Mission Impossible and Charlie's Angles. Sometimes, I like to play the music and pretend. Maybe I'm driving a suped up sports car (I drive a 95 Geo Tracker), and in my back seat are the top-secret military plans I've just stolen (instead of a car seat and a basket of laundry). I'll admit that sometimes it's a little hard to imagine that gorgeous hunk in the passenger seat when there's a small Pug staring balefully up at me, but you get the picture. Play. If nothing else, your kids will love you for it.
If you are planning a long involved spell or ritual, then I would not recommend the sole use of visualization but it is possible to cast a circle, perform a ritual or spell and banish the circle, all in the depths of your mind. I've done it, and my spells have worked. All it takes is an active imagination and a little practice. Tools are just that….tools, they should accessorize your ritual, not comprise it.
