Imagination after the hiatus

[akenu]

One thing that suffers a lot after a long hiatus from the practice is definitely the imagination. The imagination used for Magick is a bit different than the one humans typically use. You know, I could ask you to imagine your favorite place or a scene from a movie. You wouldn't have a problem with that. However, that kind of imagination always feels like it exists somewhere else. The imagination used for Magick exists right before you, right before your eyes, or around your body. That's why the word visualization is often used to explain the concept a bit more correctly. What is also interesting, if you focus on the properly visualized image for long enough, this image will actually burn into your retina and cause an afterimage.

So, how to develop and strengthen this type of imagination? The best method I have found so far is the trataka meditation. Trataka is great for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, it's a focal meditation, allowing you to learn how to tame your thoughts. Secondly, it's fun. For example, even 5 minutes of void meditation can feel like an eternity when you start, trataka keeps being interesting and even 20 minutes feel like nothing.

Of course, you can use many images for trataka, you can even go the path of tattvas, as it was designed by the Golden Dawn, but my favorite is probably the symbol of Antahkarana, the ever-changing symbol. Since my way of doing things changed so much during the hiatus, I do not draw by hand anymore, so I have crafted a printable version because trataka via the computer display can strain your eyes a lot. Try it out yourself and let me know.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kes1NFct21pHPClURgi80AugvklcOAdH/view?usp=share_link