Chapter V - WATER MAGICK
29. Night Projection
Perhaps a more familiar term for what you are about to study is Astral Projection or traveling. The word "Astral" is derived from the Latin and Greek language which means "of the stars". You learned in the beginning of this chapter on Water Magick, that the Astral Body interpenetrates the physical body. Your consciousness resides in the physical body during the day and by night, when your physical body sleeps, your consciousness resides in the Astral Body. People don't remember what takes place during their Astral sojourns because they believe that this physical world is the only true reality, and so their mind rationalizes what they have seen in the Astral Realm into a distorted dream. But if you truly believe that the Astral Realm exists and that you can go there then you will remember what you have seen and done in the Astral Realm and remember it upon awakening. Yet, you can go beyond dreaming and actually travel there. You can bring back your experiences in the Astral Realm. You can do this by learning, consciously, to project yourself into the Astral Realm. This is Astral or Night Projection.
To begin with, in learning to Night Project consciously, you must learn to have no fear. Fear is the greatest destroyer of good results in this work. Fear will prevent you from accomplishing anything in Night Magick. So do not be afraid to Night Project. You can not get lost while you reside in the Astral Realm. The physical body is firmly attached to the Astral Body by the silver cord. No matter where you travel in the Astral Realm, whenever you wish to return to the physical body, simply think of yourself there, and you will do so. Why would you want to travel in the Astral, in the first place?
To begin with you could see how well you're doing so far in your sojourn on Earth. You can meet face-to-face with your Guides and Teacher and receive first hand instruction on how to solve certain problems. You can receive instruction on how to better your life and access the lessons you have learned so far. You can also travel anywhere on the Earth plane you wish to. You can see great libraries and be able to read the books contained therein. You could see museums and other places of interest. There is no limit to the things you can do while Night Projecting. But be warned if you try to go somewhere and invade another's privacy. You are liable to receive an "astral shock" and get slammed back into your body with a terrific headache. Although the person you visited may not be able to physically see you their subconscious will be able to do so and send a strong astral blow to your Astral Body. Its best if you don't go where you intuit you shouldn't go. Without fear and listening to your Oversoul for guidance your ready to Night Project.
First, you should watch your diet before Night Projecting. Try to eat as little fried food as possible. Do not travel on a full stomach. You won't get anywhere if you are uncomfortable because your stomach is full and in the process of digestion. For about a week prior to actually projecting you should prepare yourself mentally by repeating the following invocation, four times daily. Do it once in the morning, noon, evening, and before going to bed. The invocation is, "On this day ___, I am going to Night Project. I am going to travel in the Astral Realm and remember all that I see and do. I will recall all of this after I have returned to my body. This I will do and won't fail." On the day you have selected to Night Project be sure and have as peaceful and quiet a day as possible. You must try and keep your mind on the subject of Night Projecting all that day. You must look forward to going to bed that night with the intentions of traveling in the Astral Realm. Now, you need to learn to relax before projecting.
Many will say this is easy for them to do, but actually this is not true. True relaxation is an art and must be practiced to be mastered. To begin Night Projection, you must be fully relaxed. There must not be a tense nerve or muscle in your entire body. When you lay down to project, the room must be just right, being neither too cold, or hot, if you are to achieve true relaxation. To assist relaxing and projecting, darken the room and secure it from entry by anyone else. In no way should there be any way that you can be disturbed. If you are touched, while traveling, this could cause harm to your physical body. Further, no one should attempt to try Night Projection if they are prone to heart trouble. This is not to scare anyone, but the body should be in good health. You should not cover yourself with heavy bedding for this will interfere with relaxation and projecting. If you're ready to relax, then let's begin.
Turn your consciousness upon your toes. Concentrate mentally on them and see them relaxing. See all the tension leaving the toes. Next, work on the foot and see all tension leaving it. Do this all the way up one leg and then do it for the other leg. Do not go on till there is no tension or tightness in any part of your lower extremities. Then move on to the pelvic region and do the same relaxation technique. Then do the arms and each finger, individually, till you feel calm and relaxed. The stomach and chest region are next, then on up the neck and finally, the head region. Relax the jaw and forehead. Relax each part thoroughly before going to the next part. Once you have accomplished this, it is time to relax the mind.
In order to relax your mind, allow your thoughts to dwell on a beautiful day with billowy clouds in the sky. Take your thoughts and place them on one of those beautiful dark clouds. Just relax and drift on the cloud and let your mind forget all its worries. Think of nothing else but the deep sensation of peace and floating on the cloud. At this point your eyes should be closed. Relax your thoughts and for a few moments try to think of nothing. In Night Projection, you are where your thoughts are.
The Astral Body looks somewhat like your own physical body so picture it floating about three feet above you. You must know that you're actually floating above your physical body. Relax, do not force the process, do not strain or induce tenseness in the physical body, and above all, do not jerk. If your body jerks, then you will find that you will have to wait till the next night to try again. You will feel a floating sensation and a gentle sense of rising. This is great! If you don't jerk, then you will find that you will continue to float and rise, so carefully, open your eyes. You will have found that you have floated up and away from your physical body. If you want to view your room then you can do so by just thinking of doing so, but be careful. The experience is something akin to hearing your voice for the first time on the tape recorder. It will be quite a shock and you'll hardly believe it's your body. Some have become so startled that they have returned to their bodies with a shock. Do not be startled or afraid. Just relax as you float there and get used to the sensation of your new body. You will find that you are naked. If you will think of clothes, then you will be dressed, but remember to put that thought away in a corner of your mind in order to remain dressed. Slowly, "will" yourself to settle back to the floor. What will you do next?
For the first night, it is best that you go straight to the Astral Realm. All you need do is think of being there and you will do so. Wherever you want to be your thoughts will take you. If you will go to the Astral Realm first, and thereafter spend a little time in the Astral before doing other things on the Earth plane, you will never have trouble getting out of the physical body again. You will also receive a tremendous magickal recharge by visiting the Astral Realm. When you want to return simply think of your physical body and you will be there. Now, you must return slowly, and carefully, back into your body.
It is essential that you do this slowly. Have you ever had a dream where you felt yourself suddenly falling and woke up with a start. This is what happens when you return too fast into your physical body. It is essential to align the two bodies up correctly, or you will suffer from a headache. If this happens, simply fall back to sleep and when you awaken the alignment process will have occurred naturally and the headache will be gone. On reentry, you will feel as if you are returning to a very dense and cold body. It won't be the most comfortable experience in your life. But this shows you how much more crude and slower a rate of vibration the physical body really is. There, you have Night Projected. Let's examine another technique for projecting yourself out of your physical body.
Again relax fully and make sure that there are no rough edges disturbing your body and distracting you. Have your eyes closed and roll them up so that, in effect, you are looking somewhere up at the top of your forehead. Do not create eyestrain though. Breathe regularly, rhythmically, and deeply then forget all about your breathing. Turn your conscious awareness towards your third Night Center which is located over the solar plexus, or navel area. It is from this area that the Astral Body leaves the physical body. Visualize your Astral Body slowly starting to leave your physical body. Picture the third Night Center like a window through which the Astral is going to leave. See the Astral as a cloud-like figure, shaped similarly to the physical body, and slowly rising up and floating about six feet above the physical form. At this point any one of the following might happen:
1) You might jerk and return to your body and so on another night you'll have to try again.
2) You'll feel a tingling or numbness in your physical body which is a good sign, but which you should ignore. From here, you will feel a rigidity or stiffness come over the body and you will not be able to move. DON'T PANIC! This is an excellent sign of progress. You will be able to see as if through your eyelids and the surroundings will be bathed in a soft light, if you remain calm, you will begin to feel a slight swaying and out you'll move into the Astral Realm. You will see things in very vivid colors and with remarkable clarity.
3) You may feel a swaying motion and then experience the feeling as if going through a dark tunnel, at the end of which is a bright light. At the end of the tunnel you will pass through a curtain of brilliant colored drops and then, suddenly you will be in the Astral World. Night Projection is a very beautiful experience.
Have no fear and you will have no problems. Don't be discouraged if, at first, you don't succeed. Nothing ever comes too easy in life but must be worked at with great patience and diligence. Never talk about your travels except to help others. Use it to grow magickally on the road of Night Magick. Remain always in the Shadow of your Night Teacher as you travel in the Greater Realms. You have come to the end of another chapter in Night Magick.
It was a chapter filled with the wonders of Water Magick and the Astral Realm. You have come to know the Realm, intimately, and even how to travel in it while still living in a physical body. You have explored the secret uses of water. You have learned secrets about your physical and Astral bodies and the inner power contained within them. You can look at others now and know their thoughts and emotions by the use of your Night Eye. You have met the Goddess Diane and perhaps most importantly, you have come to know that you are never alone in this world. That your love ones and friends are just in the next Realm always waiting to help you if you will let them. Yet, for the moment, you must leave the beauty of the Astral Realm and the lore of Water Magick and enter into a higher and even more exciting phase of Night Magick. This is the Mental Realm and the lore of Air Magick.