The Magickal Arts

THE VISUAL APPEALEveryone has a distinct learning style. This statement has been proven by academic research as well as through psychological profiling. For many of us we learn through our visual experiences first, and then become engaged more deeply through the other forms of sensorial expression. I am a visual kinesthetic learner; meaning that I learn best when visually engaged and am able to act out or move in accord with what is being taught. This style always kept me ahead of the game when I was dancing since I picked up intricate and lengthy choreography very quickly and easily as it was shown and I copied the movements with my own body.Most magickal workers are visual kinesthetic in their basic learning style. This mode of learning and processing is also the underpinning of most artistic experience. All of the arts stimulate the senses and open and awaken the neural pathways so they respond in a more dynamic way. This stimulation in turn causes a tactile response of integrating and responding to the experience through the process of doing. Add the visual component and you have the key ingredients of a solid working magickal practice. This is the energy and law of attraction that begins by learning through the action of doing and visualizing with intent the outcome that is desired to be brought into manifest form. I mentioned in my last post about the geometric images formed by the dancers of the Pilobolus Dance Theater and the impact this had on those experiencing the performances. This is the same premise that we use when employing the visual to our magickal work. Visual art evokes emotion through use of color, tone and hue; again creating specific patterns of vibratory resonance and the geometric or non-linear method of structure produces its own set of stimuli for the brain to respond or react to. This is the process of fueling desire to feed the will towards action. All of which, is set in the imaginings or visioning of what that desired outcome will be. One of my daughters is an artist. Her work is inspired by the spiritual nature of humanity. She is often lost in the work she produces as slender hand sketches, paints and adds life to what she creates. The visual image is a powerful tool in magickal work. We use statues, magickal tools, candles, amulets, altars and more to bring our intent into a place of manifestation. We empower sigils and glyphs to hold the energy they have been created to embody and we garb ourselves in the dress and style of the magick we work as form of identification. Underlying all of these actions is the universal principle of attraction and the resonation of like with like to produce a synthesized and cohesive newly created product. When you read her artist' statement below, you have a sense of what is the intent for the work to be viewed. The interesting thing about this is that this statement will vary as the artist finds new routes and methods of expression each having been formulated from the foundation of the other. MY WORK IS CENTERED ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE HUMAN BODY AND HIS/HER PSYCHOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENT. THE PAINTINGS STORE AN ENERGY AND IMPRINT OF THE MOMENTS IN WHICH IT WAS MADE, A PHYSICAL MANIFESTATION OF THE URGE TO CREATE. THE IMAGES SERVE AS A MIRROR FOR THE PSYCHE OF THE VIEWER. ART AS A VIEWING AND MAKING PROCESS CAN RAISE AWARENESS AND RESTORE THE UNCONSCIOUS STRUGGLE FOR INTERNAL/EXTERNAL UNION. IN UNDERSTANDING OUR INNER COMPONENTS THAT GIVE WAY TO THE WHOLE OF OURSELVES, THE BETTER WE CAN EMPATHIZE, ACCEPT, AND CO-EXIST WITH OUR FELLOW MAN... CAITLIN FENNELLY, M.F.A. art can convey the line and flow of the alchemical elements. Color and the vibration emitted from each create imprints upon minds and are translated into our emotional stores to be accessed on mundane and spiritual work. We are surrounded by color in varied hue and tone and the simple act of walking into a room painted in one color versus another can stir the memories of associated emotions stored as response to that particular color's vibration. When writing my books, I asked my daughter to create specific images for cover art that would be engaging. I had asked my daughter to paint something evocative of the four elements that would conjure the necessary connections at a subtle level. This is the power of the visual arts and their subtle yet profound impact on the way in which you in turn visualize the world around you. This is the magick of creation pouring from one vessel into the next and available to quench the thirst of all who desire its sweet nectar. SELF-INSPIRED: For this month's exercise the focus is on truly "seeing" what is around you. If you have the time and are able to spend a few hours at a Museum, that would be a great starting point. But, ANY setting will do as we are continually surrounded by the visual. Begin by setting the intent of really seeing what surrounds you. Focus on a singular object; in particular one that seems to attracts your immediate attention. Now, relax and breathe into the experience of connecting to what you are seeing. Make note of the colors, textures and shapes. What other senses are drawn into the experience. If it relates to food, the senses of smell and taste may be employed. If it is a visual performance, sound will come into play. Make mental note of all that you experience; mental, emotional and actively- from whatever you are seeing. Do this with several types of imagery over several days. As you begin to cultivate this awareness you will also begin to feel the energetic connections that differ from visual to visual. This information is invaluable in magickal work and spiritual progress. Imagery and visualization are the forerunners to what has potential for manifestation. NEXT POST: IN THE HALL OF THE GODS

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