#trance visions

[dark-canary]

“Those who believe they can do no wrong have lost the ability to grow, develop, and change. They are unable to learn from their own mistakes because they do not believe they make them and so they will gain no power.”

[dark-canary]

Trance Trip: Ritual Day Part Three.

Lately, my trances have been less specific. I've been going deeper into trance and given less visuals and more impressions, words, feelings, thoughts and sometimes visuals to go with those things. Or rather, it's less that I'm not seeing things and more that when I return I haven't been able to remember much of what occurred. I know something happens because I am left with those lingering sensations, snippets, and words but I cannot remember them in a detailed sequence. I have yet to decide if this means I'm getting better at what I'm doing or worse. But I've found usually that the things that occur during my trances somehow bring themselves to the surface again later in every day life and often in the most peculiar ways. Again, I can't decide if that's a good thing or a bad one. Today, I do not remember anything much at all. Or rather what I can recall I cannot put into words. Because it is vague and distant from me. But there is one thing that I feel like I had to fight tooth and nail to hold onto to bring it back with me because it was important. Near the end of my trance I heard, more clearly than words usually come to me in these trances (because usually I jumble them on my way back or something is lost in the translation, “You already know how to keep your secrets.” This one line I held onto tightly because it is pertinent to what is currently going on with my group and with myself. With opening up more on my blog and @thewebandthevoid blog that my group and I run. And so I brought it back with me so that I could remember it. It actually came up in a discussion with my group today so I was glad that I did. Other than that I will have to wait and see what comes to the surface in the next two weeks, or what occurs during my group trance tonight. Which I will be posting about either later tonight or tomorrow. I want to thank you all for continuing to join me on this long and twisting journey. I hope you all stay safe and that you have a wonderful Lughnasadh. Adjourngrund, Aria

[dark-canary]

Runes and Rituals.

Hail and Hallowed Hunting my friends and fellow witches! It is I, your local Cryptid. I know I seemed to just disappear after day Nine except for my brief appearance on All Hallows. I've spent the last several days recuperating and resting, gathering all of my thoughts in one place, and acclimating myself to my new Runes and the next steps in this journey. I got new runes by the way! I had hoped they would be here in time for my readings and work on All Hallows but alas they didn't come until late the day of the first. Still they have good vibrational energy. They are made from Ash wood, an excellent material for conducting psychic energy. Before purchasing them I did a little research on Ash wood as a whole and found it to be the best choice of wood. If you'd like to see a little more information on Ash wood or other trees I found a lovely site that shows the properties of trees. You can find it here. From the moment I received them and ran my fingers through them the connection I felt when purchasing them has only grown. They have a strong intellect of their own which I find fascinating and so far they are quite direct in their answers. I look forward to working with them in depth. I believe they will definitely be worth the price I paid for them. In just brief news I saw that my Mistress Mary post is going around again. It has over 700 notes. And I can't help but wonder if that's what I'm going to be most known for on here. I found it an amusing thought so I decided to share. And now down to business. Most of you are probably here because you are wondering about the results of my ritual. As you know, much of my craft is experimental. I am always trying new things, looking for results. If something doesn't work I take it and change it, make adjustments until I see results or improvement and then move on from there. So far, this has worked well for me, and this time was no exception. There was a rhythm to this journey, almost a storytelling sequence. Some of the things I saw and wrote were vague, but some of them were very specific. I want nothing more than to share my visions with you, to give you the journey raw and uncut just as I received it. However, at this time I fear doing so would go only one of a few ways. Either you will think me absolutely insane, Chicken Little or you will believe me. And either what I have seen will come about or it won't. And I myself am not ready to put all my eggs in one basket either. There are still things I have to do and research I need to conduct, experiments to do and answers to search for. So I cannot, in good conscious, post my ritual's journey at this time. However, I have written it all out and at the time that it becomes relevant to share it I fully intend to. Completely unedited and as it is. I am a thoughtful practitioner and I know that some secrets must be kept for a time. To make up for that a bit, for those of you who have read this entire post, I have decided to do a few free readings with my new runes. They will be the basic readings, question and answer. If you are interested in a Soul Reading please refer to my prices here. If you would like to enter for a free reading please send me an ask with your question, your first name, and whether you would like the readings to be posted privately or publicly. If you do not include the above information I will not be able to do your reading. I won't be able to do all of them if I get a ton of questions but I'll get through what I can. Hallowed Hunting, Aria

[dark-canary]

Lyre in The Woods.

Hail and Hallowed Hunting my friends and fellow witches. Magic makers, world shakers, children of the unknown. I have returned home from my trance. I've returned from where I've gone and I have gone near and far. Unlike most of my ritual trances, I did not start in the woods this time. Instead I began on the thread of the Web, as I most often do when reading fortunes for you. I wandered along its silver light in the darkness, cloaked in mist and shadow, searching for the way. The way to what? To answers. To understanding. To knowledge. To Arn. I moved through the darkness, along the leyline of the Web, the tether I had been following, to a bright and gleaming center. As soon as I stood upon this center, I fell through it, into the darkness. And for a moment it felt as though I slept, for my next vision was accompanied by the sensation of waking. When I woke I was sat upon a great stone, overlooking a small pond or lake. Dressed in heavy clothes, many of them, draped like water around me. I sat with a lyre in my hand, tracing fingers over the strings, playing softly into the quiet of the woods that surrounded this place. The trees swayed, shifting from the colors of emerald leaves to the reds and golds of autumn and then back again. Leaves falling around, landing with ripples in the pond. As I played, more ripples along the water appeared, as though moving to the sound of the music. There is a rustle in the wood behind me, that stops the music short as I turn to look. Leaves shift and part into darkness and I see a hand draped in shadow reach out. As soon as it leaves the darkness of the woods it vanishes, but I can feel a presence enter the clearing around the pond. And I am not afraid, because it is one that I recognize as Arn. I had wanted to talk with him. But we do not speak. Only the wind moving through the trees and the soft lap of water from the pond disturbs the silence between us. And then, the soft sounds of the lyre as I move my fingers gently over the strings. In that moment, it was almost as though we were reminiscing, not with words, but images that flashed within the surface of the pond. He showed me the Fairy Ring that I cried within when I was a small child of four or five after something terribly traumatic. The place where I met Wulferam. And then the large willow tree that grew in Grandma Audrey's garden. It was as though I was seeing it through the window that I often looked at it through as a child. And I saw her maze like garden with the hedges around her property and flowers everywhere. The places I would secret myself away to read or sleep or daydream. To be alone when I was lonely. Places that made me feel less alone I should say. It felt as though he were showing me all of the places he had been when I had needed him. When I had been alone and lonely. When I hated myself for not being the perfect and obedient child. For being too much. Or not enough. In those places, I was neither of those things. I was free to simply be myself. And they are cherished memories. This journey began long before I realized it. And yet, only now have I begun to walk the roads that have been calling to me. As far as my trance work has gone, this was by far the most peaceful trance I have had since I've begun this. There was something serene about it. Something gentle and calming. Tinged with the sense of...something. “This is only the beginning. There is more to come.” As though it were a gentle reprieve, a rest, before the real work begins. And I am looking forward to it. To all of it. Overall. I'd say this Ritual was very successful. And I couldn't be more pleased. Hallowed Hunting, Ydra

[dark-canary]

Crossing Into The Unknown.

Hail and Hallowed Hunting my friends and fellow witches. As you know I performed my trance ritual today for the New Moon. Just before I began the ritual, a spider crawled across my leg. A real one, though small. I took this as a good sign because the trance spider always seems to appear when I'm about to have a particularly vivid experience. Unlike last time, I was able to descend, the problem was the visions were more disjointed than they normally are. And I was interrupted partway through it. I tried to record the experience, so I wouldn't forget what I saw, but I found it difficult to pull myself out of the visions long enough to say anything. What I needed was someone to prompt me to speak. During this ritual, I once again made my offering to the Fae, calling to them so that I might learn more of what it is I am supposed to do. I have a general idea, but no solid method for doing what it is. In this vision, the first thing that I saw was a teacup, much like the one I saw when I first met with the Fae in what I believe was more of a neutral setting. However, this time the cup didn't hold just tea and I didn't make the mistake of almost drinking it. Inside of this teacup were larvae, moth larvae I believe, though at first I thought they were simply large maggots. The cup was filled to the brim, filled to overflowing, with moth larvae, tea, and green herbs which I believe to be mint. It was after I saw this teacup that the man appeared. A man shrouded in shadow with a Cheshire smile. I've seen him before, more times than I can count. In dreams and visions alike. I asked him who he was, what he wanted. I know he wants something, though it took me a long time to understand that despite him being there for so long. He wouldn't give me his name, or even speak to me though. Just grinned, turned, and walked away. I went to follow him through the darkness and he disappeared. In his place a black cat, as dark as the darkness around it, was walking towards me. A black cat with startlingly white or silvery paws coming towards me. I looked down at my feet as it wound its way around my legs, and there was a bowl, a large glass bowl filled with water. Inside the bowl, beneath the water, was a spider, a spindly spider like I'm always seeing. I took the bowl in my hands and turned it over to dump the water out. The spider seemed to be reaching towards the surface, trying to escape. But when I turned the bowl over the water remained where it was and the spider looked like it was walking along the glassy surface, one leg extending out of the liquid. It didn't seem to be in any pain or harm at all. I looked like it belonged there. The bowl vanished and suddenly I was standing on a glassy surface, just like the spider. Only it was a pond or a lake. The body of water was massive, I couldn't see how far it stretched on, but there were fish swimming beneath the surface that I was standing on, doing slow figure eights. They looked like Koi fish. Off to one side there was a book on the lake's surface that flipped open on its own, ruffling pages turning to a specific point before stopping. But when I moved towards it to see what page it stopped on and what the page said, it vanished. I felt compelled to walk across this lake even though the book was gone and there were only the fish and water and darkness in every direction. So I continued on in the direction the book, moving past where it had been. It became so cold, the chill in the air seemed to seep into my skin. And then it began to rain, great curtains of rain falling so heavily you could hardly see in front of you. But I could just barely make out a silhouette in the distance ahead of me. No matter how far I walked I never seemed to get closer. The rain didn't ripple the lake's surface, it was as still as glass even as I walked across it. And mist rose from it, huge, cold, white clouds of it, the further I walked. There was always a ring around me though that no mist crept into it, allowing me to see the surface of the lake clearly. It was almost like the eerie opposite of a lantern light casting its glow – darkness instead of light. Other images swirled in and out of my vision, from the mist around me and the water below. Images of a man tall and blond from one angle and brunette at another. Sometimes I saw myself with him smiling or laughing, others I saw myself alone and in agony. There was music sometimes, soft flute or harp or lyre, the sound of bells and singing. Other times it was disconcertingly quiet, even the rain didn't make any noise. There were all manner of beasts too, just out of discernible sight. Suddenly there was a presence behind me. I could feel it and hear the rustling of clothes that sounded like leaves in autumn. Just as I went to turn around, just as I caught a glimpse of the tall shadowed figure, the phone rang and I was ripped from the vision. I wasn't afraid during the visions. But frustrated at not getting the answers I needed. And trying to understand the meanings of what I saw, puzzling those things out, has been difficult. There are certain parts that I am not sure of the meaning of. It took me a long time to relax enough to descend this time around. Which is unusual. Part of it was probably because I was worried I would see nothing again. But it was a struggle to get to that point and took me much longer than it usually does. I cannot say I'm surprised by that though, after dealing with this feeling of being bound from my craft. Still, the entire experience was...not frightening, but unnerving. And it's made me terribly curious. I may not wait until the full moon to descend again. It is possible my trance states will become more frequent in these next months. It feels like that is important and at the point impossible to avoid. I hope you all had a magical Friday The Thirteenth and an interesting New Moon. If you have any questions, comments, or thoughts on this, I'd love to hear them. Hallowed Hunting, Ydra

[dark-canary]

Descent.

Hail and Hallowed hunting my loves! You guys! I successfully achieved my first intentional, deep trance state today! I modified my normal deep meditation method, adding in some deep drums to help steady my vibration and facilitate sending myself into trance and it worked! I use deep meditation and visualization in my work all the time. Especially when I'm doing readings. But aside from dream walking, which is a sort of trance state that uses lucid dreaming to achieve trance, I've never gone from direct consciousness into trance on purpose. I've slipped into it a few times while meditating on accident or unintentionally. And I've also slipped into it when falling asleep. This usually happens to me when I am absolutely exhausted but cannot sleep. And I dove so deeply. One moment I'm lying back, focusing on my breathing and clearing my mind, letting the drumbeat carry me. Focusing on descending downward into the void. And the next I'm being jolted out of deep trance. I was able to stop myself from coming back up all the way. I stopped about halfway, in a gray area. The thing that pulled me up was that I was startled. While in trance this gigantic, spindly spider crawled over my hip and down my thigh. The spider's body itself was small. Maybe only dime or penny sized. But the legs were long. And so, so thin. I could feel it. It felt so real. The sensation of things crawling on me always freaks me out, so that's why I ascended. I managed to stop because I realized that the spider wasn't physically on my body. And it was in this gray state of deep trance that I was able to understand. The spider and its significance. It felt as though it wanted me to follow it. But before I could I lost control of the trance and ascended. Coming out of it I realized it was the sudden tension that caused me to jolt back towards my body. And though I tried I wasn't able to slip back into the void from that gray area. It'll take more practice, and I'll have to account for physical sensations and reactions that will occur so that I can make adjustments while in trance. But even with that little hiccup I am so excited! The experience was exhilarating if not a little unsettling and exhausting. I'm excited to try again. Hallowed Hunting and be safe out there! Ydra

[dark-canary]

World’s End (pt 1)

Hail and Hallowed Hunting friends and fellow witches. It has been some time since my last post in regards to my work. And that is because I haven't been working. The trouble is, after my last ritual and fast during the New Moon, I acme out of my trance feeling more lost than when I went in. I expected this as soon as I began it, that I wasn't going to get answers and that I wasn't going to complete this drawn out ritualistic journey for a while yet. That I still had a long way to go and could only go so far so fast. I had accepted that. I have accepted that my life right now is ruled by moon phases and the metaphysical, the mystical strand of DNA that has been pulled like a thread inside of me, unraveling like a scroll to read passed down through generations of ancestors long past. I had accepted that this twisting pattern was on that would take considerable time to decipher. But after the New Moon, I stopped sleeping. No matter when I went to bed at night I couldn't get myself to sleep more than four or five hours. And even then only a few hours of it was true sleep. The deep, restfulness of R.E.M. sleep would have been one thing. Even three or four hours is better than none. But, a long time ago, I found a very fine line between deep sleep and trance. More like a mental turn that can be made. To go right will place you into that restful sleep in which I dream deeply and vividly. Sometimes these dreams having importance, meaning, or prophecy. Sometimes they are just dreams. And there is a feel to them that allows me to recognize the difference. However, if you are on the edge of slumber, and you go down the left hand path, sleeping becomes something other than sleep. When this happens, it is very much like being awake, like meditating and going into trance. Because I always perceive myself first, lying in bed. I see myself lying there, watch myself. And as I watch myself lying in bed I can see myself thinking. Sometimes I get glimpses of these thoughts that flicker through the mind in the sleeping body, while I stand outside of that body. From the outside, I can see thought processes, visions, thought patterns. I have gone into trance this way before on purpose. But every night since the New Moon I have been pulled into that state rather than sleeping. And every night it is the same. Freyja appears, framed in the darkness by shifting light. Sometimes white or gold, sometimes red or orange. Always like moonbeams and solar flares. She doesn't speak to me, not in words. But I can read her body language. And every night there is a tension in her movements, a mixing of irritation and distress. She reaches out, her lips moving to say something. And I fall into deep trance. My physical body becomes almost paralyzed as I detach completely from it and then the visions come. Sometimes rapid and incoherent. Fluttering. Sometimes orderly and pointed. But always, always when I come back to my body, the only thing I can remember is Freyja and the light surrounding her. After I am pulled from these visions and return to my physical body, I wake up. And then I am able to go back to sleep for a few hours. Enough that I can function. Mostly. But not enough to do the things that I needed to for my craft. I wasn't rested enough to meditate or purposefully go into trance. There were several days where I tried to take naps in order to at least get enough rest to keep going. I'd sleep anywhere from half an hour to two hours and then be unable to sleep again. For nine days, from the day of my vision of the second cavern, the last time that I was able to go into trance, I have followed this same pattern. Last night, before going to bed however, I came to a sudden understanding about something that is going on in my life. Something that has been effecting my work and my progression in my craft. And last night, once again I fell into that trance state. I saw Freyja, but this time the distress and irritation in her body language was replaced by something else. And this time when she reached out, instead of visions that were hazy or unorganized, I fell instead into a deep sleep and a very vivid, very strange dream.

[dark-canary]

Dreams and Visions.

Hail and Hallowed Hunting, my loves. I have some updates and thoughts for today to share with you. So, first of all, I waited a few days to descend into trance again until I had established my new morning routine. I'm trying very hard to build healthy and helpful habits that will propel me forward in my journey. I have been weaving these threads one at a time for the past four days. Oddly it feels like it has been longer than that. Time lately has been obscure and troublesome. But I am making progress and finding footholds. I had a strange dream last night. A dream that I cannot remember anything of except that I was going into trance. I was sitting by a fire, listening to the beating of a drum that matched my heartbeat. And there were the sounds of rain, like one of those rainsticks, being tilted back and forth. And a soft rattle. And there were other people. And I was trying to go deeper into trance. I did this three times. And the third time I went so deep that...I felt this...strange darkness touch me. And then gently push me back up out of trance, away from it. I came out of the trance feeling...not afraid but anxious. And I told the people, I could see them around me now, something. I warned them about something. But I don't remember what it was. Today was my first trance meditation in four days. But it was also different. The images I received were clearer, sharper, more real. And there was movement rather than flashes. Scenes playing out. Each one came unbidden while I was keeping my mind blank and appeared after a flash of white light. And they each sort of...pulsed in my mind. The first vision I had was of a lush, green yard. And at one edge of this yard was a bush with strange lights in it. It looked at first like Christmas lights from a distance. But the closer I got to it the more it changed. Until it was like starlight, winking in and out between the leaves. Growing in brightness and intensity. Like flowers bursting into life. And then those flower became flames, and the bush began to decay, to become ash, to fold in on itself. And from the ashes and smoke of the bush rose a figure, spirit like. It looked at me. Formed of smoke it swayed and shifted, the color of lavender, and it looked at me with dark, hollow eyes. Then the wind swept it away. The second vision was also outside. This time however, I was looking up at a mass of trees. The leaves shaking and swaying against the sky. Lush and green, carrying the scents and sounds of spring. The tops of the trees became clouds, the wind swirling them, taking the tops of the trees right off, turning them to white cumulus clouds. And suddenly I was face to face with these clouds, rather than looking up. And I was reaching out to touch them, to try and put them back into the trees, to fix the trees I suppose. The third vision came right after that one, the second one fading suddenly and the third one rolling in. I saw two cats, very large cats. Though one was larger than the other, a male, and the smaller one was female. The large cat was lighter in color though it kept switching from orangish red and white, to all white. The second cat was black or dark gray. They looked like they were fighting at first. The male cat pulled up on its haunches to bat at the female cat but they were only playing. The female cat twisted and dodged and they danced together that way. Until they saw me and they stopped. The female cat started to move towards me, eyes locked on me. The male cat lowered from his hind legs and sat, watching, observing us both. The vision faded before she reached me. I feel strange after these visions, because I am not sure yet what they mean. But I am being told something. That coupled with my dream has left me feeling both excited and uneasy today. But I wanted to share my progress with all of you. I hope you're all having a fantastic day. Hallowed Hunting, Ydra