Meditation Techniques

Meditation is one of the basic tenets of Wicca, in order to be effective in magickal work, you will need to learn to enter a state of deep relaxation, a place of calm and balance to align yourself with the natural forces around you. As you learn to still your mind and enter this state of relaxation, you are learning to focus your mind, becoming centred, balanced and calm, you are learning mental discipline. It is here in your inner self that you will meet your Spirit self and your guide through your journey.

To reach a truly meditative state requires a lot of practice, and it is important to be patient and take your time. By using a meditation device repeatedly, such as incense, candles, chanting or drumming, you can condition your mind to enter a meditative state.

Wiccan Basics - Meditation

Just some tips for those starting off...

1. Meditation should be carried out in a quiet room, preferably with some object for a focus point. Try using a pentagram for starters...being a Witch an all that!

2. Sit comfortably (you might be there for a while), in a chair or on the floor. The body should be completely relaxed with the head in a straight line with the spine.

3. Once you have achieved 1 & 2, and not before, the mind should be quietened and if possible stilled. An invocation to the elements should be performed before any meditation commences.

4. Breathing should be slowed down and lengthened, do not strain to keep to long or deep a breath. Slowly find a rhythm. Length and depth of breath will come with practice.

5. As the breath is taken, visualise an energy ( most visualise it as bright white light ) filling you, from the feet upward, as you exhale send it up through your head and then filling your magickal space ( most people create a dome above & around them with this energy).

6. Now look at the pentagram, relax, open your mind, see what comes into it, and think of the following things:

The uppermost point of the pentagram represents human awareness.
The lowermost points represent the four elements.
The continuous line is the energy of life itself unifying and connecting all things.
The pentagram symbolises our basic human instinct to be in harmony with the forces of nature.

Visualise yourself on the top point of the pentagram, connected to all the elements. Now spend a little time thinking about each element in turn.

As you continue to visualise yourself at the top of the pentagram, connected to the elements, notice that the real you, is greater than the sum of its parts...

You feel (Water)
You think (Air)
You respond, to the challenges of life (Fire)
You take responsibility, for yourself (Earth)

7. On starting of the visualisation there may be a feeling of descending or ascending. Just carry on.

8. On the termination of this feeling, you should have either some spiritual truth, if you have meditated without seed (the seed, being in this case the pentagram), or the answers to your questions of the seed (the pentagram).

9. This meditation may lead to astral projection and take you out of your body. If this should happen, try not to travel to far in these early stages.

10. Immediately the meditation becomes blank and its obvious there is no more information, it is time to return.

11. If astral traveling, immediately the vision becomes blurred, return to the body.

12. When returning, unless it is an emergency, return slowly. A quick return can harm.

13. Once safely back, take note of all you have seen, and conclude with thanks to the elements, each in turn.

Spiritual wisdom gained should be returned or used, for the benefit of humankind. This is my point of view anyway.

Remember those of you that are just starting, not to expect immediate results, practice WILL, make it as easy as...........erm, easypeasy. 

Table of Correspondences

Number Colour Jewel Plant Incense

7 white, light blue, black (to reach the deepest levels) aventurine, amethyst, sapphire bodh tree, cannabis frankincense or myrrh

More On Meditation »

Meditation Resources.

Buddhism Meditation Net Links
Spiritual Walk of the Labyrinth
Grounding and Centering

Bibliography.
The Wicca Handbook by Eileen Holland.
A Practical Guide To Witchcraft and Magick Spells by Cassandra Eason.
The Ritual Magic Workbook by Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki.
Wicca A Guide For The Solitary Practitioner by Scott Cunningham.
Meditation - a Wiccan basic by About.com Guide.