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Another way to look at the "symbol system" is to look at your religion, or philosophy if you don't have a religion.  If a person is religious, their symbol system is largely, but not wholly dictated by their religion.   If you are not religious, your symbol system is dictated by the way you see things, relate to them, and base your decisions, i.e., your philosophy.

A strong look at what you believe is needed to determine what different visions mean to you.  Color is one way we relate to the world, but it is largely symbolic because of that.  Think of where you see the colors that you see in meditation and everything else you see in meditation, in relation to where you see those things in waking life, then relate that to how you feel about those things and situations those things put you in.  That will help you determine your own personal symbol system.

It does take time, and when I say that, I mean years.  Not only that, but our symbols change their meaning over time in our lives, so we have to constantly redefine them.  An example of what I mean by this is if a two year old dreams of a lollipop, that is a great thing, and could represent treasure of great value, now thirty years later, let's say this same person has developed sever periodontal disorders that lead to sensitivity to sugar that causes pain when it enters the mouth, if that same person, in this situation dreams of a lollipop in their mouth, do you think it still symbolizes treasure?

Defining your personal symbol system is a lifetime job.  Don't rush it, and don't believe any books on the subject. They are YOUR symbols, no one else's.

Bloodsong

What kind of symbol system do you use?  Purple/violet in many systems, is a color of high spiritual importance.  That is part of why it became associated with royalty, the monarch was supposed to be the direct line to God, and thus be wise enough to lead the people.

The "extra centimeter" you need to go to may be one of two things.  Either careful examination of yourself to find your next step in your evolution, or to let go a little more completely so the information can come to you freely.  Either way, you need to run what you are experiencing through what you believe to find the truth as it pertains to you.

Bloodsong

Two answers:

1) That "weighty" feeling was you finding your inner self and realizing for the first time the weight your physical body exerts on your soul.

2)That fluid feeling was intense energy sensations.  They start off strong, and wane when your finer bodies become more in tuned with what you are doing.  Or to put it as many others here do, you are flexing your energy body's muscles, so you feel it really well.  Once those muscles become more toned, you won't have such an intense rush from those exercises.

Bloodsong

Check your PM box.

Bloodsong

I think the worst that could happen by trying to "trick" the system that your body runs on for this would be that you get in too deep, so to speak.  You may trigger something that you aren't ready for mentally.

As for age, I think maturity has more to do with it.  Take it more seriously and you should see more indicative results.  

As for exercises to see if the third eye is open, nothing but serious meditation.  Most of the questions you have can only be answered by taking this path more seriously, honestly.

Bloodsong

Well, honestly, if you are really impatient, that is the amount of time to devote to it in the early going.  It gets results fast and gets you used to it.  I tried the "take your time" approach, and found myself still at half-hours after two years.  Started a more disciplined approach, and got better a lot faster than I thought possible.  I think of it as semi-psychic cross-training.

Bloodsong

I usually meditate right when I wake up for about an hour, but that is the time frame I learned on.  The best time is a variable from person to person.  Experiment.  Try different things.  Don't be afraid of going against what anyone tells you with this stuff.  If anything, you will understand the reason you were told what you were and have an important lesson learned!

Bloodsong

When are you meditating?  If it is at the end of the day, it could be because you are getting all the mind babble out of the way and can realize exactly how tired you have gotten yourself.

Also, how long have you been meditating?  It could also be that it is still new for you and thus you have to strain a bit.  Kind of strange, having to strain at letting go, but until you get used to it, the act can take it out of you.

Bloodsong

Don't worry, we were all there. Considering that I am only 24, I was there a lot more recently than you might suspect!  For meditation, just search the forums past posts.  The subject has come up more often than you can realize.  

A great book, at least in my opinion, on the subject, is Book 4 by Aliester Crowley.  Only Part 1 really deals with meditation, though.  It is also a lot more focused and painful than most other methods of learning.

For instance, whereas most would tell you to choose a simple asana (position) and get used to it slowly for a long period of time, Book 4, Part 1 tells you to take an intermediate asana, hold it for an hour everyday, no matter the personal pain involved.  It hurts, but it works a lot faster than most I have seen, and if you stick with it, you also gain a great amount of discipline.  That strengthened will helps out in magic.

As for working magic from a meditative state, the best way is through the Golden Dawn version of astral projection in my experience.  This takes a while to master, but is effective.  Again, though, this is MY experience, and may not work as well for you.  I'm sure there are other methods, and others will likely post some of them.  Try them all.

If you have the means, get Israel Regardie's books Golden Dawn and Tree of Life.  If you want to try the mediation exercises from Book 4, Part 1, I have it on pdf and can send it to you, just PM me.

Bloodsong

You might be surprised at the friends I have here.  Just wanted to make it easier on them.  

Bloodsong

Healing is a matter of intent, not form.  The idea of luck betterment is what all magic is about.  Magic is trying to change circumstances to conform to what you think is best, after all.

For healing, I use directed energy through hands and distance spells.  What we would need to know is what form of magic you would be able to perform, and what kind of practices you are drawn to.  Candle spell work, ritual, meditative, the list is endless, and all of it can be conformed to the practices you mentioned.

Bloodsong

WoL,

I honestly have never done those types of grounding.     I always felt that if I am a being of this divine energy, then I should be able to contain it.  Rather than "ground it out", I just wait for it to settle down.  No ill effects, and I noticed that my day to day energy levels have grown since I started.

I wish now that I had done these types of grounding to compare the magick side of it, but to change now would be rather difficult, and my intuition screams that it would only hurt the level of effectiveness, so I am hesitant to try.  But anyway, what I was getting at was "grounding out" just doesn't seem as effective to me as "settling in".  

Oh well, to each their own, eh?

Bloodsong

What are the names of those books so that I can order them from my local bookstore, please.

Bloodsong

The first sensation, the rocking, may be intense energy movement.  There are some things, such as the "Circulation of the Body Light" rituals used by the old Golden Dawn order that can cause this sort of thing on purpose.  It was even written in one book that I read that this ritual was recommended to be done with watchers, no to guard against possession as most people on the outside thought, but to catch the ritualist if he/she fell!

The second sensation, the headaches.  If you are circulating that much energy, perhaps you aren't devoting enough time to "coming down" when you end your meditations.  The result is that the exercises continue out of your control, and the natural movements that you are doing disrupts the flow, causing, basically, meditation hangover.  The easiest way I have found to stop this is to come halfway out of your asana and rest in that position for up to a minute while not trying to move energy.  Just let everything settle down.

Hope this helps.

Bloodsong

Here is a good site with basic poses (asanas) for meditation.  If you fall asleep in ANY of these poses, you are more tired than you need to be!

http://www.sivananda.org/teachings/asana/headstnd.html

The toolbar at the right of this site gives the top 12 basic asanas, and the left will guide you through different methods to meditate.  

As a note, if you are doing this alone, e.g. no teachers, not joining a class, or anything, you will get frustrated, just keep going.  You would get frustrated those other ways as well, but you would have support in the form of a teacher or group.  The solitary way is lonely and hard, but the outcome is more discipline in less time.  Group working gives lots of support, but the strength of will comes slower.  It is a payoff.

Candle magic is how I started off, and can be done rather quietly.  Just dress the candle more mentally than with actual oils, do the invocations mentally rather than out  loud, and focus more for the lack of practical tools.  Focus and intent are the most important tools to cultivate.

If candles are out of the question, this same sort of principle can also apply to incense.  Again, with less burning time, it is important to charge the intent well, but it can be done.

Just a few alternatives.

Bloodsong

Wizzle, the result of taking Ritalin was never compared to taking coke.  The comparison that was made was that the chemical compound is very similar.  That makes the two "related" in a way, but the results of ingesting them is quite different, as you stated.  BTW, I would strongly suggest not taking any of them!  Just take a good look at what the physical results of taking these are to the body and judge the "benefits" for yourself.

Barley green, specially formulated vitamin and mineral supplements, and Omega fatty acids, flax seed powder, borage oil and other things can be taken as an alternative.  From seeing the difference in a friends seven year old recently, I can tell you that this works and keeps the "savant factor" that some report in step with increased attention span and focus.  Talk to an alternative health professional for more information.

Bloodsong

If you are interested in meditation, one of the most straightforward books an magical meditation that I have ever read is Book 4 Part 1 by Aliester Crowley.  I know to some more experienced on the forum, that is an oxymoron, Crowley and straightforward, I mean.  But it goes through the basics of what meditation is, what to do to achieve it, and so on, in a step by step matter.  If you would like, I can send this to you, just PM me with a private email address.  The file is 731k, so make sure you have the space to accept it in your inbox before replying.

Bloodsong

Anyone give any thought that the "indigo children" label might be an actual phenomenon occurring. Perhaps it is the next step in the awakening that is foretold by the "age of Aquarius" and the Mayan calendar, just to name a few places?

Bloodsong

who is to say that God is not the devil in disguise

Personally, I like Crowley's idea:

The devil is God as misunderstood by the wicked

I agree with James on most, but I do disagree on the money part.  Money is better as an agent of corruption than power ever was or will be!  I have seen a few great tarot interpreters loose sight of spirituality and morality because they started relying on the readings to bolster their income.  I feel that the best commodity is friendship!  If you are doing readings for people, just ask for a return favor, and never read for someone you don't know well.  That last is for two reasons: 1) it helps with not having to charge since you won't see that person again, and 2) readings come a lot clearer if you have more knowledge about the person.

Now, this only pertains to SETTING PRICES on readings.  If you imply that you wouldn't mind the "donation" now and then, ya know, just as compensation of what the other sees as fair for your time and effort, that is fine.  Just don't fall into the trap of giving only the best interpretation of the cards so that you coffer is more full!

Just pros and cons as I see them, both ways have ups and downs.

Bloodsong

Plain and simple:  no you can't choose a specific entity using Ouija.  Yes, you can narrow out the "bad" stuff by doing a good banishing ritual before hand.  If you don't mind talking to whatever pops in, do the banishing ritual after to get rid of any left over influences.  All in all though, it would be more efficient to learn to do evocations and perform those properly.

Bloodsong

What kind of magic and what are your purposes for learning?  Also, you don't have to expound on the specifics, or even label it, but do you have a personal philosophy of beliefs?  Even scientific atheist is okay, but until you are able to nail down exactly what you want to do, why you want to do it, and how you think it will be accomplished, magic won't do too much.

Bloodsong

Actually it seems that four people answered you, two of those got into a personal shouting match and blurred the topic instead of taking it into IM.

J.M.O.

Just My Opinion

Bloodsong

This is a site I just discovered.  Very comprehensive, lots of information, all available for free download in .pdf format.

http://lqairah.tripod.com/

Bloodsong

Magic is as varied as the people who practice it, but I have yet to meet anyone who can shoot fireballs.

For me it is about a personal relationship with whatever created this world, and whatever created the being or beings that created this world.  It is all about knowledge, and how to apply that to helping everyone around me.

As I said though, it is different for everyone.  Perhaps the most popular answer to give to "What is Magic?" was the answer given by Aleister Crowley "Magic is the science and art of causing change to occur in conformity with will."  Typical of Crowley, that says both more and less than it seems to at first sight, but only if you know the works of Crowley well enough to see through it all.  Luckily, though, it is worded in such a way that it does make sense and ring true even if you don't understand all of the nuances.

Bloodsong