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March 25 through March 31, 2024

Monday opens with a Libra full Moon/lunar eclipse, starting a two-week cycle of regrouping and reassessing where we want to place our focus for the next six months. Eclipses come in twos, and the solar eclipse will occur on April 8th, marking a profound shift in our goals and outlook. On both Monday and Tuesday we'll focus on balance and equality in all we do. Wednesday the Moon moves into Scorpio, carrying an intense focus that allows us to take care of business and tend to the demands of our lives. Things lighten up on Friday when the Moon moves into Sagittarius for the remainder of the week and encourages us to socialize, have some fun and reconnect with loved ones near and far. This is also a great time to update your social media and backup your computers and phones to the cloud, as Mercury will be slowing down to turn retrograde next week!

The Art of Focus: Tips to Improve Your Scrying and Dowsing, by Jenny Tyson

(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)

Focus may be defined as an event, object, or person that occupies the center of one's attention. It is a primary concept and an essential skill in both divination and magick. It is also needed to effectively perform scrying and dowsing. The ability to focus is a requirement for any basic individual scrying session, but it is also a tool that must be mastered for long-term scrying accuracy and personal improvement in the divinatory arts.

Over the course of developing the original techniques of scrying and dowsing presented in my latest book, The Art of Scrying and Dowsing, I was able to greatly improve my ability to focus. In this short article, I would like to introduce some ideas that you can use to enhance your ability to focus, and to give you information that will enable you to understand its role in all forms of divination, particularly in scrying and dowsing, as well as in the general practice of magick.

First, I will give a more specific definition of focus that pertains to the practice of scrying and dowsing: Focus is the unwavering attention and persistent contact with the incoming intuitive information obtained during scrying and dowsing sessions. Distraction is the opposite of focus. Distraction is when you lose contact with the incoming intuitive information. The result of distraction is a decrease in accuracy of your perceptions.

One of the best ways to help you see how well you are focusing is to scry physical targets related to known locations, activities, and living beings. Physical targets can be researched, and information discovered about them compared with scryed information for the purpose of discerning which perceptions were accurate and which were not. This examination takes place after the scrying session and is called feedback, or the feedback session. It is best done intentionally and with nonjudgmental honesty. The feedback session will help you determine the quality of your focus.

So what are the characteristics of focus? How do you make the changes needed to improve your scrying ability and accuracy? The characteristics of focus are trust, persistent contact, and steadiness. Each of these characteristics plays an important role in learning to scry accurately, as well as in other types of divination. Let's look at each characteristic in turn.

Trust
The first characteristic of focus is trust. Scrying and dowsing require that you trust that the goals of the session are doable. You need to trust in the process of scrying and dowsing strongly enough to be motivated to put effort and attention into the work.

I want to distinguish the difference between trust and belief. Belief is where a concept or idea is determined to be a rule by which the universe operates. For example, if you believe there is an angel of love, a belief in the angel of love would entail a series of ideas about the characteristics and role of the angel. Belief persists through time and changes slowly.

Trust can be temporary. You may temporarily trust that there is an angel of love, and complete a scrying session involving the idea. This can be done without having to buy into concepts regarding the angel of love as part of a set of ideas as to how the universe operates. This trust allows you to have the motivation to complete the scrying session concerning the angel of love. After you complete the session, you can examine the information you obtained and the experiences you had, and then decide if you want to change your beliefs.

Scrying and dowsing can successfully be done based in either trust or belief. All you have to trust is that the scrying and dowsing techniques will work and provide you with information. This trust allows you to complete the scrying session. Once the operation is complete, you may or may not wish to add concepts to your belief system.

So how do you improve trust, especially if you have doubts about the effectiveness of scrying and dowsing as means of obtaining information? The easiest way to do this is to set a time limit on the period during which you will deliberately place your trust in the concepts related to scrying that you need to utilize in order to perform the scrying and dowsing session. This means that for the duration of the session, you will trust that the scrying and dowsing will provide the information that you are looking for.

The time period will vary according to what is being done. Trust in the process you are working with needs to be for the duration of the session. The scrying session may be as short as 15 minutes, or you may do multiple sessions on a single target for a period of several months. Trust is a sort of pact that you make with yourself that you will set aside doubt for the duration of the scrying session.

The time limit can be determined before you start and reassessed as you work. It is not necessary to have long-term belief in scrying and dowsing for it to work, you only need to adopt temporary trust in the process for the duration of the session.

Once you reach the end of the operation, you make an intelligent and deliberate decision on which concepts you want to add to your beliefs and what ideas you want to discard. This way, you do not feel bound to adopt a belief that you may not feel completely comfortable with, but you still have the freedom to perform a scrying or dowsing session. This practice of distinguishing trust from belief allows for healthy skepticism and internal honesty.

Persistent Contact
The second characteristic of focus is persistent contact. Persistent contact means that you must pay attention to the incoming data of the scrying and dowsing session to the exclusion of all else in your mind and in the immediate environment. During the time of the session, you disregard everything else. One of the mistakes I see quite often is the tendency of beginners to focus on how their bodies feel, or on what is happening around them.

Once you focus on anything other than your scrying and dowsing perceptions, you have lost contact with the target. Preparation for scrying and dowsing involves changing your attention to focus on the session and nothing else. Distractions can include electronics, music, random thoughts, body sensations, environmental issues such as odors, sounds, lights, and other people. External distractions are problematic if they draw your attention away from the incoming perceptions you are scrying. You can learn to maintain focus while in a distracting environment. Learning to ignore environmental distractions is called resilience. Building resilience is a useful skill in any esoteric practice, whether it involves divination or magick.

Internal distractions are things such as distracting thoughts, fatigue, or nervousness. Training to disregard internal distractions is often accomplished by seated meditation. When you practice seated meditation, you are learning to handle internal distractions and focus on the objective of the meditation technique—a spoken mantra or your breathing, for example. Scrying itself can be used to help you learn to disregard internal distractions.

If you wish to do ritual work for the scrying session, that is perfectly fine. You need to completely finish the ritual before you start scrying, and close the ritual after you finish scrying. Once you start to scry and dowse, you must completely focus on those perceptions, documenting what is coming to you and nothing else. You cannot focus on ritual and scry at the same time. Scrying should be carried out with an all-consuming attention and interest.

Setting is how you arrange your external environment for the scrying session. An example of a setting is a ritual circle, robes, sword or staff, lighting, and ritual timing. The setting is done according to the individual and the type of scrying being done. Scrying does not require special setting or rituals to work. It is a matter of personal preference.

I do not personally find that scrying accuracy improves with elaborate ritual settings. However, I think this is a matter of individual liking and comfort, and I do not discourage using elements of special settings or ritual. I simply allow it to be done according to the individual's preference. The elements of ritual and setting need to be in place when you start to scry. During the scrying session you do not get up or attend to any setting element. Doing that will cause the contact to break. It has to be re-established again before accurate scrying data will be perceived. Frequent breaks will cause accuracy problems.

As with trust, the best way to improve persistent attention is to have an arbitrary time limit to the scrying session. I generally recommend the session be under 20 minutes for a beginner, and never to exceed and hour regardless of experience. After an hour, persistent contact is going to be difficult to maintain. It is better to do multiple sessions on a single target and maintain strong steady focus in each of them, than to do a single long session where focus is wavering.

Steadiness
Steadiness is the last characteristic of good focus. Steadiness is being in the moment both mentally and physically while you are scrying. It is a state that is not tense, but one of sitting still while you are scrying the target. The state of relaxation does not have to be intentionally induced. If you have persistent contact, you will not be paying attention to your body. Your body will find its natural state of relaxation without you doing a thing to induce it. In fact, the more you pay attention to your physical state, the less persistent contact you have with the scrying target coming in. Loss of attention causes a decrease in your scrying and dowsing accuracy. So, how do you achieve steadiness without focusing on your body?

This is done through preparation prior to the session. You need to be seated in a place where you feel comfortable and safe. Scrying is best conducted in a chair that is reasonably padded. Your lower back should be supported and there should not be any areas of uncomfortable pressure or pain. Your feet need to be in contact with the floor. This will prevent muscle tension and leg cramps. When you are sketching your perceptions, the paper, your hand, and your forearm need to be supported by a firm surface. This is best achieved by sitting at a desk or table.

If you are working outdoors when recording your scrying perceptions, you should use a clipboard. However, you need to ensure that you do not become tense or feel the need to shift around. While outside, you must keep warm, and be protected from biting insects. During summer when working in the daytime, avoid the hot sun. These preparations are done before the scrying session begins. Once you start the session, your attention will be entirely on the scrying process.

Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2021. All rights reserved.

I've been Buddhist for 25 years, and chant on a regular basis. I believe this is the philosophy that is most accurate in regards to our place in the universe and our responsibility in all things seen and unseen. Having said that, I've just broken up with a man I love. He actually did in some ways become my honzon (object of worship). I didn't worship him, but I did try very hard and put up with lots of stuff for the sake of making our relationship work. Well, it didn't. He's gone. It's painful, but not unbearable. After he left, my plants all started to grow and bloom! On the day he left, I was walking in midtown Manhattan, and I saw a nun dressed in a white habit. Five days later, in another part of Manhattan, I saw this same nun going into the building I was going into for a party. I told her that I'd seen her earlier that week, and she asked me where. I told her and she confirmed that it was her I'd seen. During that whole week I must have seen at least five sets of twins or encountered twins in some unusual way. I just kept running into twins. There seemed to be some kind of synchronicity at play. What do twins and nuns in white have to do with anything? Who knows? Perhaps you do!. Thanks for your attention. I really enjoy your column.

Constance

Dreamchaser:

I'm glad you've found a belief system that works for you. I know quite a few people who are very grounded in their Buddhist faith.

As a Buddhist, I'm sure you've heard of the Twin-Snake energy. I believe the twins you have been seeing all over New York City symbolize that same Twin-Snake. Other people might call this Kundalini Energy.

Kundalini literally means "coiling." The energy moves in a spiraling motion, like coils on a snake. It starts at the base of our spine and runs up into our heads. We should be very careful about releasing it too quickly, for that literally can make us sick.

Here are a few results of opening up your Kundalini:

*You activate your DNA.
*You open up to your clairvoyant abilities.
*You feel connected to the ONENESS of the Universe.
*Your mind feels expanded and starts to search for higher awareness and knowledge.
*You allow your ego to step aside and start to connect with a higher frequency of consciousness.
*You more often feel unconditional love, peace and a connection with Spirit and All That Is.

As you can see, those things have already started to happen in your life. For example, I'm sure you saw the nun two times because you are connected with All That Is. That was a manifestation of your own energy.

The fact that she was wearing white is significant. White has always signified truth, purity, innocence and PEACE. Now that this man is out of your life, you are seeking and finding PEACE. The color white was a clear sign from Spirit just for you.

Your plants growing and blooming illustrate how YOUR energy field and the energies in your house are clearing. His being gone is a good thing. Now everything in your house can grow and bloom - including YOU and your dreams.

If you watch them, your plants will show you how you can be happy about this change in circumstances. Some people can clog up our energies and stop us from growing and evolving. He was doing that to you - and your plants!

I know you miss him from time to time, but be thankful for the blessings you shared and the lessons you learned. Then set your sights on someone new - if that's what you want.

It's a Universal Law that we'll get something better than we had before if we are evolving and opening to it ourselves. If you continue to ask the Universe for more and better, that's what you'll get.

I wish you continued healing and growing.

*****

Astrea:

Constance, you sound like a very interesting, spiritually aware person. As much as I'd like to tell you that these strange coincidences mean that the "man you love" will come back and be the person you need him to be, that's not what I'm sensing.

Scorpios are exciting, mysterious and fun to be with. They exude a powerful sexual aura. I can see  how you would be naturally drawn to the OPPOSITE aspects of your own loving, giving personality.

Sadly, all the things that drew you to him in the first place later manifested as some of the more negative Scorpio personality traits. The exciting part became devious. The mysterious part became secretive. The fun part became fun, but only if HE thought it was fun.

You began to see the REAL person underneath the actor, and as a Buddhist, you saw that he wasn't right for you any more, so you released him. It was the right thing to do, and you seem aware of that and resigned to it.

I'm sorry he couldn't keep being who you thought he was. I feel that he WANTED to, but just wasn't able to pull it off. It's very sad for him too, as he will NEVER find ANYONE who will love him the way you did!

Based on your birthdays, personally I hope you're finished with this person. He wasn't right for you. He didn't understand you, and he wasn't really trying to, either.

He has a selfish streak in him a mile wide! He never really took the time to consider you or your feelings, and he wasn't a spiritual person either. You deserve someone who is as gentle and aware as you are, and that guy was NOT it.

These signs mean that you've made the right choice in letting him go. Your plants growing and blooming now that he's gone is just amazing and wonderful.

This is the Universe at work, trying to give you a tangible sign that you did the right thing by ending this relationship. That your plants are happier without the boyfriend around means that you'll eventually be happier too, once you feel better and start giving yourself the chance to grow and bloom either alone or with someone new.

I really love how you say, "It hurts, but the pain isn't unbearable." Isn't that true of most relationships that go wrong?

I hope our readers absorb that phrase, and if THEY are chanters, will use that mantra the next time one of THEIR relationships doesn't work out the way they hoped. We would have a MUCH happier world if we could all realize that just because we make ONE bad choice, it doesn't have to color our lives forever!

Good luck, Dear Heart. New love is on the way!

Astrea:

Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.

Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!

While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!

I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!

As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.

I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.

You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!

Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.

A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.

You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.