Path: typhoon.sonic.net!not-for-mail From: nagasiva@luckymojo.com (nagasiva yronwode) Newsgroups: alt.magick.tyagi,alt.paranormal,alt.paranet.skeptic,alt.paranet.psi,alt.paranormal.spells.hexes.magic,alt.magick,talk.religion.newage Subject: Magic and Psychic Energy/Power/Force (was Taxonomizing Magic ...) Organization: Sonoma Interconnect,Santa Rosa,CA(us),http://www.sonic.net Lines: 279 Sender: yronwode@sonic.net Message-ID: <88g87f$bik@bolt.sonic.net> References: Reply-To: spam@luckymojo.com X-Newsreader: NN version 6.5.4 (NOV) Date: Thu, 17 Feb 2000 07:32:54 GMT NNTP-Posting-Host: 208.201.224.36 X-Complaints-To: abuse@sonic.net X-Trace: typhoon.sonic.net 950772774 208.201.224.36 (Wed, 16 Feb 2000 23:32:54 PST) NNTP-Posting-Date: Wed, 16 Feb 2000 23:32:54 PST Xref: typhoon.sonic.net alt.magick.tyagi:21297 alt.paranormal:153593 alt.paranet.skeptic:20922 alt.paranet.psi:18560 alt.paranormal.spells.hexes.magic:19105 alt.magick:179688 talk.religion.newage:118977 50000216 IVom Harold F Stubbs and Tom Schuler talk skeptically (inquiringly and open-mindedly rather than cynically) about psychic power and magic. one of the subjects of study I have found slightly of interest was "psychic power" or "psi". some of the texts I've retained over the years address what this is. here is an excerpt from one: Your Psyche and your body make up a very closely- united whole -- neither the one nor the other acts quite alone, and both work better when we recognize their basic interaction. a. "Psychic Power" generally means the assertion of the psyche's powers in the material world without the apparent involvement of the physical body. b. But, "Psychic Power" is also involved when the physical body exceeds the usual level of strength or skill -- as in athletic or sports achievements, dance, or feats os strength. In other words, the development of the psyche can also directly benefit the body. ... You have a body, and you also have a psyche. You probably have a fair idea of the powers of your body, or of body and psyche together; now you want to find out how to exercise your psyche's powers. As a fact, body and psyche together make up a very closely-united whole, and to expect either one or the other to act quite alone would be unrealistic. Still, what we mean by the use of psychic power is a very well defined [sic] form of activity. For example: if you wish to lift a pencil off the table, and you merely sit looking at it until it trembles, tilts, and at last rises up above the table, that is a demonstration of psychic power even though your physical enery undoubtedly helps. But if you grasp the pencil and lift it by hand, of course you show no special power even though your psyche most certainly is what causes your muscles to act. ... The human psyche is defined as the non-material part of the human individual. The idea, "You have one psyche, I have another" is a true reflection of a reality: one person's psyche differs from another in emotions, inclinations, abilities, aspirations. Thus far we can think of our psyche, if we choose, as a non-material "self" formed rather like a phantom replica body. Nevertheless, much of the psyche's experience is not "self" at all, in our usual application of that word. It is also questionable how far we "have" or "possess" the psyche; at all levels, both higher and lower, it is a vaster reality than the consciousness with which we explore it. Besides, the psyche has its mysterious doorway, hidden but never closed, into the Collective Unconscious; first, into that of the human race, and, beyond, into that of all life forces. The psyche, by its nature, is capable of various interactions with matter as well as with non- material realities, and these two capabilities form the main heads of our inquiry. The action of the psyche upon matter and the action of one psyche upon another, form the bases for a number of highly interesting developments and powers. Other abilities, which we may call the internal powers of the psyche, are also very well worth developing; they are less measurable, less demonstrable, but they can be of immense value in our lives. *Such is the ability to monitor our dreams, or to achieve out-of-the-body experience.* ------------------------------------------------- "The Llewellyn Practical Guide to the Development of Psychic Powers", Melita Denning and Osborne Phillips, Llewellyn, 1987; pp. 1-2, 5, 63-4. _________________________________________________ the authors then move on to explain a personal spectrum as comprised by spirit, mental psyche level, astral psyche level, and the physical body. they describe the psychic powers as having "their foundation in the astral level of the psyche", which is described as "the emotional and instinctual level" (Ibid., pp. 65-6). as regards the production of effects, the authors suggest that you must "get into harmony with what you want to do." this is interestingly reminiscent of both mysticism and magic in that the former tends to stress harmonization (usually with some spiritual or personal principle) and the latter usually includes (at least symbolic) sympathy (either with one's ideal potential/true will or with the object one desires to influence). from what little I have observed, the subject of para- psychology or paranormal effects, abilities or events seems to have its greatest impetus if not its origins in the American Spiritualism movement. many books on psychic power and education emphasize spiritualist cosmologies, metaphysics, and morality. contact with special entities (the dead, angels, divinities, spiritual guides, extradimensional or extraterrestrial beings, etc.) and the development of supranormal abilities (of perception, influence and exploration) have not only become an integral element of what is today called the New Age movement, but also has had a tremendously powerful impact on the subject of magic and occultism, promoted by organizations on the edge of these subjects and their practice such as Theosophy, Rosicrucians, and other Hermetics (Golden Dawn and its successors and competitors) and reflected in the text of a number of ceremonial magicians inclusive of Dion Fortune and William Gray. for this reason I am consulting spiritualist resources in this post for an expression of what defines and explains what is called either "psi" or "psychic power". my interest is particularly the boundary where these abilities overlap with and describe similar effects to what would be called in the occult community "magic". Hill ("Spiritualism, Its History, Phenomena, and Doctrine") has nothing on "psychic power" per se. Randall ("Parapsychology and the Nature of Life") has little more to say. Woelfl has this to say: _Psychic-Force, Cosmic Energy:_ the power used by spirit-operators for manifestations of all psychic phenomena. ----------------------------------------------- "Psychic Experience: An Introduction to Spiritualism", Genevieve Woelfl, Redwood Publishers, 1976; p. 179. ________________________________________ and Blunsdon elaborates significantly: _Psychic Force_ The term was originally suggested in a letter to Sir William Crookes by Serjeant Cox; the persons who employed the force were to be called "psychics", the science itself as 'psychism' a branch of psychology. The sensations accompanying its emissions according to Maxwell are: 1. Sensation of cool breezes over the hands. 2. Slight tingling in palms and tips of fingers. 3. Sensation of a current through the body. 4. 'Spider's web' sensations in contact with the body in various parts. These sensations are now considered due to the emission of ectoplasm. ------------------------------------------ "A Popular Dictionary of Spiritualism", Norman Blunsdon, Citadel Press, 1963; p. 168. ________________________________________ now we're getting to its historical origins, at least. according to the same source, Crooks, who lived between 1832-1919, was a physicist who investigated Spiritualism with grandiose claims of exposing the fraudulence and later claims of its truth (in the investigation of Katie King and Florence Cook) that his peers found objectionable. this appears to specifically involve what is called "ectoplasm", the subject of humour and special effects in movies such as "Ghostbusters". here is what Blunsdon has to say about it: _Ectoplasm_ A subtle living matter present in the physical body, primarily visible but capable of assuming vaporous liquid or solid states and properties. It is extruded usually in the dark from the pores and the various orifices of the body, and is slightly luminous, the more so when condensed. The temperature of the room is usually lowered when ectoplasm is produced; it possesses a characteristic smell and is cold to the touch. This substance is held to be responsible for the production of all phenomena classed as 'physical', and is the substance out of which materialized forms are built by the spirit operators. In addition they build elastic or rigid rods to produce movement in objects (telekineses), raps and noises; artificial 'voiceboxes' for the phenomena of the direct and independent voice. The levitation of tables and heavy objects is accomplished by building extensible columns under them. Hands have materialized, dipped themselves into molten wax and then dissolved, leaving perfect moulds behind that are impossible of duplication by ordinary means (see _Kluski_). Solid balls of cold light are familiar manifestations in physical phenomena. Ectoplasm has been photographed on many occasions and appears opaque white by infra-red flashlight which is the usual method employed. Sudden exposure to white light is of great physical danger to the medium when the ectoplasm is being used, due it seems to its swift elastic recoil as it returns to its source. In movementit can be swift or slow, it can build a perfect representa- tion of a living human body with pulse warmth and muscular movement. Dr. Dombrowski of the Polish S.P.R. [Society for Psychical Research] had a sample analysed in 1916 and to quote a summary of the bacteriological report: 'The substance is albuminoid matter accompanied by fatty matter and cells found in the human organism. Starch and sugar, discoverable by Fehling's test, are absent.' ----------------------------------------------------- Ibid., p. 69. _____________ the same author also mentions that a different term for Psychic Force used by Professor Thury is "Ectenic Force", but I find little which explains how ectoplasm is integral to Psychic Force as a parallel to magic. its part in Spiritualist seances is obvious enough, but how this progressed to today's notions about psychic power and psychic force which, as in a variety of books and films, is used to manipulate matter directly, is not clearly explained. modern Wiccans and psychics tend to describe a kind of "energy" which they associate with a tingling or warm experience in the hands or other body parts. the evidence of fraudulence in psychic "demonstrations" is clearly documented. books like Brandon's "The Spiritualists" and "Madame Blavatsky's Baboon" (author forgotten and I don't feel like going downstairs to obtain their name, sorry). there is a categorical difference typically made between 'magic' and 'psychic influence' based on symbolism and principles like contageon and sympathy. the latter tends to ignore any kind of 'magical link' (after Crowley). for this reason and because of the deceptions rampant in the psychic community, some magicians (like Crowley) heap scorn upon those who associate with this phenomenon or its character. that so many newcomers to the occult community describe magic as a kind of psychic force seems to me the result of the projection from earlier spiritualism through modern films and books and their portrayal of 'magicians' or 'witches' as doing little more than wiggling their nose or waving their wands to achieve their fantastic effects. very few bother to further distinguish between thaumaturgy and theurgy, especially whilst describing their activities as in conformity with spiritual authorities or agents. it occurs to me as I finish off this small investigation that Mesmerism is probably also an influence on the subject, but I'm unsure if Mesmer or his successors used the term "psychic" or indeed "psychic power" or "psychic force" in their explanations of consciousness changes and electromagnetic flux. I very much doubt it. additional input (especially quotes from reliable sources or citations in review of scholarly materials) requested. my interest is in attempting to isolate the history and explanatory components of what modern Star Wars fans call the use of 'The Force' or psychic power to directly influence the world whether telekinetically or in a more extravagant fashion (a la 'Bewitched' or several other fictional examples). nagasiva