“I'm being attacked!”
This is a page from the third version of Technopagan Yearnings. There are some formatting differences. Originally published at www.neowayland.com/C1325529963/E373316030
“ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX IV: I mean what exactly are you doing with your life?
ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX: I'm being attacked by a Vogon Fleet.
ZB IV: Doesn't surprise me in the least.
ZB: Yeah, look. Can you help?
ZB IV: yip yap Help?
ZB: Yeah! Like now!”—The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy radio series, Fit the Ninth
This last week two things happened. I had an experienced witch tell me about a group of Pagans who thought that they were being attacked, and I had a Pentecostal teenager ask me questions about my faith. Specifically, the teen wanted to know what I would do if I thought I was under spiritual attack.
There is a lot of information out there about the mechanics of dealing with an spell attack. But I would like to take a step back for just a moment.
Most psychic and spell attacks are self-inflicted. Especially among new practitioners.
Now I know that isn't a particularly romantic notion, but it is true.
I'll tell you why.
Yes, there are all sorts of beings out there in the aether or Other World or Second Wind or whatever you wish to call it. Most of them aren't that concerned with humanity, and even less concerned with individual humans. Of the ones who do take notice of us, some are antagonistic to humans. Others are helpful when it suits their purposes. And then there are those who take an active interest in humans and our world.
None the less, there is an understanding. It's fairly complicated and deals with balancing power and influence, but at it's simplest, no entity will mess with a human without being invited or in defense of theirs. To do so, would be to violate the understanding and upset the balance, which in turn releases other entities from some of their obligations so they could defend their own.
Just by honoring our culture and all the ties between ourselves and others, we wrap ourselves in layers of protection. It is not armor, more like silk, but it does serve it's purpose.
There are a couple of conditionals here. Just because you haven't invited a god or a spirit during your life doesn't mean that you haven't invited them. And then there is the trespass. If you cross one of these entities, you are fair game.
Now with all that being said, let's look at what happens when someone decides to "embrace the magick." The first thing that they do is deliberately remove much of the protection that they have drawn from their society and their family. They make themselves naked before the spirits. This is a necessary step to advancing on a magickal path, but it is not easy and it has risks. And without that social protection, all the person's emotional baggage must be carried by themselves.
Again, this is a part of your personal Ordeal, you can't just magick it away without serious and lasting consequences.
It is not unusual for all these fears and lusts and dark impulses to manifest in something that apparently is outside of the new seeker. Some call it the Dweller in the Dark, the Untamed, the Shadow Beast or dozens of other names. It can seem to be against the seeker, working with an ability far beyond the seeker. But it is not separate, it is a denied part of the seeker.
That is the source of most attacks.
That is what the seeker has to master. Strength alone is not enough. Skill is not enough. It has everything the seeker has, and more.
How do you tell the difference between an attack by the Untamed and an attack from outside?
You can't until you master the Untamed.
Posted: Mon - November 21, 2005 at 06:05 AM
