First NAP Ritual Backfires

[O Delano]

I get what you're saying about angels. They do indeed often seem to be about the big picture. One thing I've learned lately is that angels aren't the best for acute cases, like the ones I mentioned.

Looking back, if I would have known then what I know now (in terms of experience AND tech), for the minor streak of good luck AND for the oncoming cold, I would have conjured Michael to ask for initiation and integration of Solar forces into my personal sphere.

For the record, with my backfires in NAP, it definitely was not a case of things getting worse before they got better. Things just never got substantially better...at least not until I forcefully dismissed all the NAP spirits I had worked with from acting on my behalf and giving them all license to depart. Even then, it took me delving back into practical, not-necessarily-spirit-based magic to cause things to come to a more even keel.

[lefty]

Hey O Delano,

I really like your blog. I especially like the first of your things on Uncrossing (I've yet to read the rest as I was going back to find it and NAP references).

It, and what you say above, got me to thinking about the nature of "hitting one's rock bottom". Last week I was in a class with a big time comedy writer, someone just about everyone in my circle looks up to (someone who'd be way behind the scenes from most people's perspective). He talked about his path to where he is, and basically he bottomed out before having any real success, and was in a bad place for a while. But I don't know too many people that get anywhere with any "art" (and I definitely see all magick as an art) that don't face a seriously dark and bad place for a while. I remember sitting around with a bunch of struggling comedy writers/actors/comedians-- like 16 of us-- and after we all kinda danced around what got us into this end of the comedy thing, one guy just said "I was depressed for years" and we all just 'fessed up one by one and we all realized we were sitting in a room full of people that had each been through their own kind of hell. This story has since happened many times, both in the comedy circles and in the musician circles I travel in.

I don't mean to project onto your own journey, with what you're saying about "looking back, if I would have known then what I know now" but I wonder if that part of the journey is ever really avoidable-- alterable I'll readily grant, but I'm not so sure about avoidable. I'm kinda thinking aloud, we all see people that appear to have avoided it entirely.

It's not my right to ask, but I think it would be good to hear about that part of your journey with regard to using and moving away from NAP. I'm sure you're past it, so I don't know if it would be good for you to rehash it-- and I'm sure you're busy--; but considering you have such a good and down to earth way of writing and that you have a perspective on it all that is granted to you by experience and time, I imagine what you'd have to say would be of value.

In any event, thanks for sharing both here and on your blog.

[O Delano]

Thanks for the compliments, Lefty! I'm really glad people are enjoying my blog. I'm hoping to put a lot more stuff up there soon.

I think you're right about the nature of the journey in one's path. I guess just about any craft can be like that.

I had gotten into NAP after feeling like I had wasted my time pursuing practical, results-oriented magic through Wicca and then through Ceremonial Magic and Chaos Magic. With Chaos Magic I had gotten moderate successes, but I also had a constant push and pull between it and Ceremonial magic. So I often concentrated on Ceremonial magic because authors like Regardie had convinced me that I absolutely HAD to have the spiritual development be first and foremost.

So then I found NAP, and it seemed like a wonderful combination of the western Qabalah that I was stuck on, and practical magic that didn't rely on complicated talismans and extremely drawn-out consecration rituals (at least going by the GD material, which I was).

I got a couple of minor successes, but it really wasn't much. It wasn't even as good as sigil magic, for me. HOwever, even sigils had stopped working for me by that time. Then, one by one, I had the failures I mentioned before. Other NAP workings just failed with no discernable effect.

It wasn't until I stumbled on sorcery and revisited aspects of magic I practiced way back in the day as a Wiccan, that I found out what was going on. At one point I had fallen under a crossed condition that had also affected my ability to work magic. I even found ways to diagnose my spiritual condition and change it! I hadn't found much in the way of that when I had practiced ceremonial magic, and even chaos magic. Studying sorcery I learned what seem to be some good, solid methods that have stood the test of time.

By no means am I trashing NAP. Obviously others on here have worked with it successfully in a consistent basis. Also, there were aspects of my practice with it that were not consistent on my part that I think got in the way. I'm sure if I would have practiced NAP's material more consistently, I could have used it to diagnose and break my condition. But from what I remember, there wasn't much dealing with that in the book, aside from a case study during which Gray-Cobb didn't mention how and when to check for crossed conditions.


There's more I could go on about, but it would be a bit off topic I think, and it goes into a variety of tangents!

[SeventhSin]

What about over usage / abuse translated into a warning ? Like: "Yo, dudes! Got a cold ? Take a pill, go see a doctor."

There is a pattern I notice in the behaviour of people making magic work: they become addicted. They don't ask the girl out any more, but do a spell to get it done. They don't boldly confront their enemies any more, but "hex" them instead. Everything must be solved through "magic" now.

It smells like abuse/addiction to me and we all know what happens to the addicted.

Just a different angle for he who cares too look at the problem in a new way.

SS

[amind]

It wasn't until I stumbled on sorcery and revisited aspects of magic I practiced way back in the day as a Wiccan, that I found out what was going on. At one point I had fallen under a crossed condition that had also affected my ability to work magic. I even found ways to diagnose my spiritual condition and change it! I hadn't found much in the way of that when I had practiced ceremonial magic, and even chaos magic. Studying sorcery I learned what seem to be some good, solid methods that have stood the test of time.

Which sorcery methods worked for you? If you dont mind me asking.

Ive also got to add from my own experience, from my experience most work done with goetics or even some olympian spirits has been followed by a relatively long period of illness... Anyone else experience similar things? I'm really wary of working woth goetics again, and would probably only do so in the future for the mere purpose of experimentation and knowledge. NAP did not have such an effect on me.

[O Delano]

Amind, I'm not sure how off-topic my answer would take this thread, so I'll PM it to you.

SeventhSin, I think it's possible to become addicted to magic. However, in myuninformed opinion, anyone addicted to it would likely not make a good magician, witch, or sorcerer. Addiction implies a lack of control over oneself. If you lack control of yourself at such a fundamental level, I don't think that would be good for one's effectiveness in magic.

However, I lack experience to back that up.

[SeventhSin]

Lots of trust in the infallibility of human nature in general and of magicians/sorcerers in particular.

[dark86]

for me to be dabbling in any magical work means no alcohol, no meat, and no pharma drugs in my life whatsoever......many rosicrucian documents go with this too.

[Trucomallica]

Hello again. I've been reading all the NAP pages, and I got to this old thread, so I decided to make a little update.

After a while, a don't remember how much, I discovered through scientific papers that Omega-3 pills could help with my condition. Maybe it's somehow connected to the angels, but this pills have really helped me, now a barely have attacks, and when they come they are really weak and don't last too long. (Omega3 pills may help you if you have a condition related to inflamation, like gout)

I'm practicing with NAP again. A few weeks ago I tried to help a couple of people with their health, without them knowing about it, and got some positive results. Not dramatic, but I think it made some difference based on my observation.

I hope that now I'll be more disciplined about NAP and stay with you guys =)

[Slater]

Glad you got it sorted.
The imbalance between Omega 6 and Omega 3 Fatty Acids is precisely what i was referring to when I said your diet at the time was pro-inflammatory. You seem to have it under control but if you haven't already, check out a book called Fats that heal, Fats that kill by Udo Erasmus