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Can you explain how I am bruised in my dreams?

6/20/2015

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QUESTION - So here lately I've stopped remembering my dreams, and I feel afraid to go to sleep, and when I wake up, afraid to go back to sleep. I wake up with unexplainable scratches and bruising. I sleep in the middle of my room with no loose springs, no zippers on anything, no sharp things anywhere. I don't sleepwalk. A few days ago, I asked my long distance boyfriend why he hadn't slept in three days now and he said he was afraid to sleep because he couldn't remember his dreams and he kept waking up with scratches and bruising that he couldn't explain. All of my Wiccan friends are calling for me to get protective charms, but I don't even know what's going on. You don't know us, what do you think is going on?

ANSWER – It could be a multitude of things ranging from the mundane to serious magical infiltration. Probably the best thing to do is to explore a few options and see if anything resonates with you as being a sound explanation.

Starting at the mundane end of the scale (and I always believe in considering the simple practical options before looking toward more complex solutions) it is certainly possible that thrashing around in your bed with restless sleeping patterns could cause a certain amount of accidental harm to yourself. Now the warmer weather has kicked in sleeping patterns do change and become less peaceful and even in the sleeping circumstances you describe it is not out of the realms of possibility to suppose the scratching and bruising is self inflicted. If I were to continue with a very mundane explanation I would consider the possibility that it is a coincidence that your boyfriend is suffering the same. 

Not remembering your dreams incidentally is very common. Recalling a dream is by far the exception rather than the rule.

My second mundane explanation would be to consider if you have both seen any films or read any books recently that have got into your subconscious mind. I don’t mean you are deluding yourself about the symptoms you describe, more that the symptoms could be psychosomatic and brought upon by something that has frightened you or stimulated your mind. The mind is capable of playing some funny tricks and is certainly capable of translating fear into physical damage. It would be worth having a discussion to see if anything you have watched/read together has had a profound impact on you both.

Now I’m not entirely satisfied with the mundane explanations as I don’t think it takes into account fully the fact that you are both scared to go to sleep. I’d be interested to know what state your relationship is in at the moment. You say it is a long distance relationship? That often brings a lot of stress for two people who want to be but cannot be together. It is possible that the stress and agitation is leading you both toward subconscious (albeit it light) self harm in your sleep. Sleep is often difficult for people who are under pressure because the body has to relax a certain amount to get into the sleeping state. Adrenaline fuelled stress can make it hard to unwind. We also become very emotionally vulnerable as we relax and the thoughts we are able to keep at bay during the day come to haunt us in our sleep. If you are both repressing worries during your waking hours I would hazard a guess that those worries are being played out in your dreams, making you very wary on a subconscious level of going to sleep and having to face the things that worry you.

The fact that it is happening to both of you does obviously suggest that the two experiences are linked and the likeliest way to my mind of this happening is that you are projecting into each other’s dreams. Again this is very consistent with the desire to be together but being physically apart. I could offer two suggestions here – firstly that you are having very passionate intimate moments across the astral which is leading to tangible marks on the physical body. Secondly on a less positive note I’d consider that there are some issue in your relationship that are not being spoken about when you are awake and you are taking your frustrations out on one another while you are asleep. You are in a better position than me to answer that one. For my money I’d say the explanation of astral travel (be it for passionate or frustrated purposes) is the most likely.

It would be very natural to wonder if you have attracted the attention of a hostile spirit who is seeking to harm you. It’s unlikely though – perhaps if you are both in the habit of using Ouija boards or visiting séances and have deliberately left doors open to invite this sort of activity, but otherwise it is unlikely. You are in two different locations so it cannot be a place orientated spirit. I’d also struggle to see what motivation any malign spirit would have to attack you in this manner. I’d pretty much discount spirit activity as an explanation. Generally our subconscious minds tend to be capable of wreaking a lot more havoc and fear than low level spirits anyway. 

Now in terms of what you can do – it really depends on which explanation you believe is closest to the truth. Your Wiccan friends are not wrong to suggest some kind of protective charm but they seem to be very much jumping to the conclusion that you are being attacked by an external force whereas I would be more inclined to see this as something you are doing to yourselves or each other. My first suggestion would be you have a frank talk about your relationship and try to iron out any difficulties between you. If the dreams are caused by stress this should help ease the pressure and therefore the manifestations of that pressure.

In a similar vein I think you both need to learn how to relax outside the bedroom. You need to spend some time in your own heads without distraction and to understand not to fear opening yourself up to the thoughts you are probably suppressing. Some gentle meditation in an environment that soothes the senses (incense, candles, music etc) would help you open up to anything playing on your mind. It may also take away the fear of letting yourself go enough to sleep.

I’d suggest you keep a notebook by the bed and write down anything you remember about your dreams, no matter how disjointed. Sometimes our dreams have messages for us. If you can piece together enough to work out what the dreams are about you will be halfway toward identifying and therefore curing the problem.

Might be worth setting a video camera up in the bedroom. Note I am NOT expecting  anything like that silly Paranormal Activity film here! I am thinking much more along the lines that people don’t always realise what a strenuous activity sleep can be and you may find it reassuring to watch just how much you do roll and thrash around in your sleep. It may help you understand just how easy it is to hurt yourself accidentally…

In terms of protection – well it certainly can’t hurt. A simple scattering of salt across the threshold of the room you sleep in (and the window) will act as a deterrent on the off chance this is an external threat. If you are a believer in deity you may wish to ask the Gods to bless some water and anoint yourself with it before sleeping. Crystals can help you to relax – A small piece of Selenite under your pillow can work wonders. Lighting a white candle at the highest point of the room is a common method of protection. If you have an oil burner a few drops of Pine oil will promote banishing anything dodgy. Wear a piece of black Jasper for personal protection.

Let me know how it goes. 

http://www.deviantart.com/art/Complementary-192909945

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Should I read a deceased witch's writings?

6/16/2015

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QUESTION - So I've come to find out that my friend (who has no interest in studying these kinds of things) has some old books her cousin once used for the craft. Her cousin has since passed, and I'm tempted to ask her about the books (I would LOVE to look over another witch's notes and studies) but some friends suggested there may be negative energy attached to the books, and warned me away from them. Would that happen, and if so, is there a risk if the books came into my possession?


ANSWER - I don’t think you would have a problem doing this at all. There are certain witches who in very specific circumstances do choose to place spell work on their writings with the intention of harming anybody who reads them but it is unlikely these would survive a passing. It’s also quite rare – most witches either live alone or with people they trust entirely - there is simply no reason for many witches to infuse their private writings with negative magics.

You can take some basic precautions – light a white light nearby, a quick smudging, a respectful word as you open the books to the effect that you are doing this to learn not to pry. May also be worth having a word with the friend about the kind of person her cousin was. A good character reference may make you feel more confident that the books are not infused with malicious intent. But like I say, very unlikely such intent would survive a passing, it would have to be magic totally disproportionate to something as simple as deterring strangers from reading her private notes.

That isn’t to say though that there may not be some danger involved in reading the writings of another witch. The primary issue that I would envisage would be that you would be swayed too heavily toward following the footsteps of the witch whose writing you were reading rather than carving out your own niche on your personal magical path. Think of it like a computer game – you might get to the end quicker with a walk through guide but you miss the experience, the knowledge and the sense of achievement involved in getting there on your own. You also may end up taking a very different road ahead than the one you would have taken if you had allowed the natural passing of time to guide and educate you.

There is often a tendency to revere the dead and take their words as absolute truth and there is a real danger that you may trust what you are reading above your own instincts. That would be detrimental to your own growth and development. If however you believe truly that you are capable of reading these books objectively – looking for ideas and inspiration but staying away from any temptation to follow/copy - then you may well find you have a very useful source of wisdom on your hands. 

To be fair, I’d be a total hypocrite to tell you not to do it as given the same opportunity I know I would read those books like a shot.



Just as a postscript to this - in this specific situation the intentions of the deceased witch have not been made clear. Where specific wishes state that a witch wants her writings not read or destroyed on her passing my advice would have differed from that given in this particular situation. 

Image http://www.deviantart.com/art/Grimoire-67734817



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Can a witch subconsciously cast a love spell?

6/7/2015

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QUESTION - I know a witch. Loves me when she is drunk. Can she without knowing it, ie subconsciously, have done something to me that's makes me love her. Have got divorced. Cannot get her out of my mind. We were friends, drinking one night, she told me that she was a witch. I truly believe her. Her mother is too but not as strong. From that moment on she has been in my head.

ANSWER - Very interesting question - the idea of subconscious casting comes up a lot in discussions. I’d say to some extent most of the witches I know would acknowledge that they have achieved results without deliberately seeking to bring them about. Certainly I’d identify with that – things pretty much always go my way whether I intentionally cast magic to bring that about or not. 

In the specific case that you discuss in your question the deciding factor for me would be whether the effects are temporary or consistent. I don’t think a witch (certainly not a witch in control of herself) could bring about a permanent mind altering spell without consciously focusing intent but I do think she could ramp up the wattage of her personality to the point where she becomes dazzling and very attractive to you on all levels.

I think it is very likely that in a state of heightened emotion brought on by the alcohol this witch is certainly projecting her charms to you so strongly that you cannot help but have feelings for her. This doesn’t mean she is doing it intentionally or that there is any malice on her part, she may well not know she is doing it.

We are also biologically designed to be very addicted to the feelings that love inspires in us so if each time you spend time with this witch drunk she is arousing these heady feelings in you it is unsurprising that you can’t get her out of your head. I don’t think that means she is intentionally implanting herself there, more that you are keen for your next fix of the love rush.

If your feelings are lingering beyond the moment then my money would be on the fact that they are genuine and more about what you naturally feel for her than anything she has done to you. Love magic is popularly portrayed as being quite easy to cast but in fact anything that alters free will is pretty complex magic indeed and hard to pull off. You do seem to be discounting the possibility by the way that she is not doing this subconsciously? If she’s focusing her intent and effort into this then it is definitely plausible that she can elicit feelings of love from you.

In a nutshell – yes it is possible.


Image http://www.deviantart.com/art/The-Frozen-Witch-196460502



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