Soul Flight: Astral Projection and the Magical Universe

Citation preview

S O U L FLIGHT

About the Author Donald Tyson (born 1954) is a Canadian who lives just outside Halifax, Nova Scotia. His books cover the full spectrum of the Western esoteric tradition, including topics such as the Tarot, runes, the Kabbalah, Enochian magic, the Golden Dawn, and the Necronomicon. He seeks in his writing to make ritual magic both comprehensible and relevant to modern readers, and believes that magic could not have survived for so many thousands of years unless it offered something essential to the human experience. He is the author of nearly two dozen nonfiction books on practical occultism and several novels related to the supernatural.

To Write to the Author If you wish to contact the author or would like more information about this book, please write to the author in care of Llewellyn Worldwide and we will forward your request. Both the author and publisher appreciate hearing from you and learning of your enjoyment of this book and how it has helped you. Llewellyn Worldwide cannot guarantee that every letter written to the author can be answered, but all will be forwarded. Please write to: Donald Tyson ;/, Llewellyn Worldwide 2143 Wooddale Drive, Dept. H0-7387-1087-3 Woodbury, Minnesota 55125-2989, U.S.A. Please enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope for reply, or $1.00 to cover costs. If outside U.S.A., enclose international postal reply coupon.

Many of Llewellyn's authors have websites with additional information and resources. For more information, please visit our website at http:lIwww.llewellyn.com.

FLIGHT

ASTRAL PROJECTION & T H E MAGICAL UNIVCRSC

Llewellyn Publications Woodbury, Minnesota

Soul Flight: Astral Projection Q the Magical Universe O 2007 by Donald Tyson. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever, including Internet usage, without written permission from Llewellyn Publications except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. First Edition First Printing, 2007 Book design by Steffani Chambers Editing by Brett Fechheimer Cover design by Kevin R. Brown Interior diagrams courtesy of the author Llewellyn is a registered trademark of Llewellyn Worldwide, Ltd. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Tyson, Donald, 1954Soul flight: astral projection &the magical universe 1 Donald Tyson. - 1st ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-7387-1087-7 ISBN-10: 0-7387-1087-3 1.Astral projection. 2. Parapsychology. 3. Occultism. I. Title.

Llewellyn Worldwide does not participate in, endorse, or have any authority or responsibility concerning private business transactions between our authors and the public. All mail addressed to the author is forwarded but the publisher cannot, unless specifically instructed by the author, give out an address or phone number. Any Internet references contained in this work are current at publication time, but the publisher cannot guarantee that a specific location will continue to be maintained. Please refer to the publisher's website for links to authors' websites and other sources. Llewellyn Publications A Division of Llewellyn Worldwide, Ltd. 2143 Wooddale Drive, Dept. H0-7387-1087-3 Woodbury, Minnesota 55125-2989, U.S.A. www.llewellyn.com Printed in the United States of America

Other Books by Donald Tyson 1-2-3 Tarot

A1hazred Enochian Magic for Beginners Familiar Spirits Necronomicon Portable Magic The Power of the Word Ritual Magic Scrying for Beginners Three Books of Occult Philosophy

CONTENTS Introduction: The Astral World

ix

Part One: History 3 Chapter One: Shamanic Soul Flight Chapter Two: Witches' Flying Ointment 17 Chapter Three: The Land of Fairy 35 Chapter Four: Religious Bilocation 47 63 Chapter Five: Spiritualism 77 Chapter Six: Theosophy Chapter Seven: The Golden Dawn 95 Chapter Eight: Remote Viewing and the CIA 117 Chapter Nine: UFO Abductions 135 Part Two: Practice 157 Chapter Ten: Uses of Ritual 179 Chapter Eleven: Astral Doorways 197 Chapter Twelve: The Tarot Chapter Thirteen: Pathworking 221 239 Chapter Fourteen: Runes Chapter Fifteen: Training for Soul Flight 259 275 Chapter Sixteen:Astral Guides Chapter Seventeen: Etiquette in the Astral World 291 305 Chapter Eighteen: Astral Self-Defense Conclusion: The End of the Journey Bibliography Index

32 1 331

3 19

INTRODUCTION

The Astral

A

stral projection is usually understood to be the act of separating the subtle or astral body from the physical body, so that the astral body can travel away from the physical body, carrying with it the consciousness of the traveler. It is held that the astral body can be projected any desired distance by the force of the will, even to the farthest corner of the universe, unrestricted by the physical laws that govern the movement of matter, such as the limitation of the speed of light. Vast distances are crossed instantly. The physical body remains behind, as though asleep or in a trance state. The astral body stays connected to the physical body by an astral umbilical cord known as the silver cord that can stretch to an unlimited degree, and when stretched to its thinnest has the appearance of a strand of spider web. The link of the silver cord allows the astral body

x • Sou! niglt/

to return at once to the physical body at any moment t hat the traveler conceivn of the desire to return. T hat is the popular modern concept of a.ltral projection, which waS formalized by the Thoosophish a,,(1 spi ritualist s during the la11er half of the nineteenth century. Th e word as/ml can l>e a bit m~leading. It means "from Or like the stars: and signifies a subtle substance that possesses form without matter, or at least without the gross mat ter with which we are famil iar, It is sometimes descri~d as a subtle fluid, and may ~ co nceived to be :;omewhat similar to moonlight: silvery and faintly glowing. T he general

idea is that this astral body lies within the physical body, taking the shape of the physical body, but at times, either by accident o r by deliberate choice, it may be dislocated from the ph}'sicall>ody to roarn freel)' through tlte world .

No Traveling in Astral Travel It is necessary to understand th is nineteen th-century Theosophical concept of astral project ion bcca llse it persists as the commo n view to the present day, Unfort llnat ei y, it is

co milletely wro ng. There is no projecting involved in astral projection, and no traveling in aSlrallravel. not in a physical sense. The aSlTalbody is nOI a separale physical envelope for thc consciousness, l>ut is a part of Ihc mind. and il nevcr kaves the mind. Astral projeCl ion i""olves I he transition of conscious ness fro m one Slate to another-from the normal everyday waking Mate we arc all familiar With. to all altered state thaI may called the astTllI world.

~

The astrJI world is nOI a place in space; rather, il is a dimension oflhe mind that resembles very closely the dream stale. Indeed, Ihe astral world and the dream world are one and the same. Conscio llsness is a pa rt oflhe mind. and never leaves the mi nd. When you thi nk aboUI it, the very idea that it could some how separate itself fro m the rest of the mind and go wandering around the mater ial world is absurd. We might as well suppose that Our Ii,·cr. an esscntial part of the body, could tear itself out and go houncillg away on a jou rney of self-discovery, leaving the rest of the body behi nd ii, To accept that ou r awareness call never leave our minds is not to impose a limitation, but to strip alllimital ions away. Each individual human mind is a part of the un iversal mind that shapes and sustains all things. There are no limits wit hin the m ind hecause mind underlies everything, extending not merely 10 every corne r of space. bUI into the

C JPYTighted material

['uroduaiMI • XI

past and future as well , and into other rea hlls of reah,y that are not a pan of the realm we und~rsland as the physical world, which we beli~v~ ourselves 10 inhabil. Ast ra l projection is a real phenomenon_ It has existed since Ihe early beginnings of the human species, and descriptions of it are found in the myths and tales of every cuI· ture and historiC