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Are you eager to start your occult practice but aren't sure what it should look like exactly? We've all been there, wondering where to start and what to expect. Practicing occultism involves mastering your mind and emotions through various concentration and visualization methods. This will allow you to perform more advanced rituals, like summoning entities from other dimensions, changing your mental state at will and easily influencing others to reach your goals. Step 1: Choose your occult practice Occultism is any hidden, mystical path that has self-development and self-actualization as its main purpose. Occult practices can be found in almost every culture in the world. There is usually an exoteric religion that's practiced by the majority of the population, while, esoteric, hidden knowledge is reserved only for those with greater interest in spirituality. We can also make a distinction between the RHP (right-hand path) and LHP (left-hand path). RHP are more orthodox forms of spirituality which have as the main purpose the perfect connection with God, while abolishing the ego, which is viewed as a flawed part of the human psyche which separates us from God. The word God is a common term that's used to depict the absolute, divine power which governs the universe, even though it can be depicted differently across religious traditions. The outward appearance doesn't concern the mystic who deals with the essence of spirituality, instead of the culturally-conditioned exoteric elements which are only the surface layer and are there primarily to appease the ignorant masses. LHP is often considered heretical, negative and evil by the mainstream orthodoxy. Think of tantric yoga or black magic. It is usually the LHP that is labeled "occult" and depicted as such in today's popular culture, because it's practiced with even more secrecy than orthodox estoricism that is more or less accepted in society. When it comes to morality, we can also distinguish between the white and black magic labels. White is used to depict magic used for benevolent purposes and the black as that which is used for achieving selfish and sometimes malevolent goals. The most well regarded paths in the Western occult tradition are: Hermeticism Neoplatonism Kabbalah Gnosticism Alchemy Thelema Wicca Chaos Magick Satanism In reality, a magician will often create his own system drawing upon useful resources from different traditions. Eastern occult tradition is just as interesting and vast. The most well-researched and popular practices fall under these two general categories: Yoga (originates in India) Qi Gong (originates in China) The most popular types of yoga: Anusara Yoga Ashtanga Yoga Hatha Yoga Iyengar Yoga Jivamukti Yoga Kripalu Yoga Kundalini Yoga Westerners often have the wrong impression of yoga, treating it (only) as a form of exercise. In India however, it's considered to be the most sacred of all sciences. Along with the physical benefits of doing yoga, it's also practiced to reach the highest levels of personal development, mental superpowers (perfect memory, astral projection, even time travel according to Indian scriptures) and full spiritual enlightenment. Some occultists prefer a magical practice that is built into their own culture and tradition while others don't mind borrowing from other cultures. There's nothing inherently wrong with either approach. When choosing an occult practice, ask yourself these three fundamental questions: What is my goal? - If it was always your dream to invoke a succubus, you should explore ceremonial magick rather than yoga. While there are many overlapping attributes between all occult practices, and they can often be synthesized, summoning otherworldly entities is uniquely found in only some magical systems. Can I practice efficiently? - Your occult practice should align well with your physical condition and environment, otherwise it will be difficult to advance. If you're missing a limb or two, you'll definitely struggle with doing most yoga, qi gong and tai chi movements. For ceremonial magick you'll often need a quiet place and items like candles, incense, knife, dark robe etc., in order to create the right conditions. What occult practice interests me the most? - This is arguably the most important question. If you're not sure yet, dabble into a few of them until you find the one that peaks your interest the most, then go full in. Progress in the occult is based on trial-and-error just like every other endeavor. The more paths you try out, the more knowledgeable and wise you'll become. Especially because there are many overlapping features and requirements. For example, making progress in meditation will be helpful on any path you wish to follow, now or in the future. Step 2: Strengthen your mind and body Many beginner occultists try to cast spells and achieve special effects immediately. But imagine playing a video game and trying to use a spell that's reserved for a level 10 player when you're level 1. It's simply not going to work. You'll lack "mana" to cast the spell, which is a perfect analogy for your magic capability as an occult practitioner. If you think this is a childish comparison, keep in mind that video game creators draw upon occult traditions, not the other way around. Before you can successfully summon a succubus, conjure wealth or activate your third eye, you need to get the basics right, by improving your: willpower mental clarity concentration mind-body connection flexibility and stamina (especially for movement-oriented practices like yoga) Now I will share with you a few ways you can improve these attributes: 1. Willpower The only way to improve willpower is to go beyond your comfort zone. When you feel like you no longer want to do something, but your proceed anyway, you're building willpower. Think of it as lifting weights in order to build strength. In order to build strength, you need to progressively lift a heavier load so that your muscles and nervous system have something to adapt to. There's no growth without challenge. When it comes to building willpower the same principle applies. Luckily, there's a lot of inherent freedom when it comes to building willpower. Common practices frequently used by occultists: Getting up earlier in the morning Strict diet Fasting Why is willpower important? To advance in anything in life you need willpower, otherwise you won't have the strength required to progress when the task ahead gets more difficult. Magic in general has a lot to do with directing your Will towards a specific goal. But it's not enough to simply direct your Will, especially if it's weak and dissipates quickly. You need to have Power behind Will it order for it to manifest and produce tangible results. Building this power-potential is what we actively accomplish every time we decide not to take the easy way out, regardless of the specifics of the situation. 2. Mental clarity Mental clarity is a prerequisite for every occult practice because without it you can't focus fully on your current action. A foggy or racing mind is not centered and focused on the present moment, so it can significantly diminish the power of your spells and rituals, even if you've built up significant willpower that allows you to finish tasks DESPITE of not having perfect conditions. Effective ways to increase mental clarity: Mindfulness meditation: 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes in the evening is a great start. Progress slowly by doing a few minutes more every week Ask yourself often "What am I thinking about?" to short-circuit a racing mind. Workout routine: cardio, weightlifting, calisthenics, yoga, tai chi etc. Clean up your diet: eat light and smaller meals that require less energy to digest, remove any foods that cause digestive discomfort or allergic reactions like mucus Stop using recreational drugs, unless they're part of a legitimate occult practice (highly unlikely at beginner stages) Reduce stressful factors in your life: people, habits, unrealistic goals etc. Use electronic devices responsibly Reduce multitasking such as having multiple tabs opened in your browser (I should heed my own advice on this one) Reduce masturbation and ejaculation frequency (check NoFap/NoPorn and Brahmacharya to learn more about the benefits of sexual energy retention, but don't overdo it) 3. Concentration What will you use your willpower and mental clarity for? Imagine yourself riding a powerful stallion (willpower) on an endless green field (mental clarity). You've replaced the donkey with a stallion and you've finally escaped the black forest of your foggy mind. Now you can move about more easily AND you have a vehicle to reach your destination within a reasonable period of time. But without focus, none of this will matter because you could end up riding in circles forever, never quite reaching your destination. This is what happens to many people who focus solely on mindfulness meditation. They empty their minds of thoughts, but all they're left with is the void. It's a very vegetative and passive way to experience reality, and most occultists would actually prefer to use mental clarity for a higher purpose than that. To build concentration, perform these exercises: Concentration meditation: focus on a candle light, a mantra, draw a small dot on the wall Visualization: begin with visualizing light and geometrical objects, advance to visualizing more complex forms like fully-formed entities Walking meditation: make every step consciously, instead of automatically like you normally would Reading: read for a longer stretch of time with concentration, improve by a) reading longer b) reading more complex literature 4. Mind-Body Connection (Intent) Mind-body connection is required to feel the effects of subtle magical energies working on the material plane. It can drastically improve the effectiveness of your spells and rituals. A comparison with weightlifting is warranted here as well. You will often hear personal trainers say that you need to "feel the muscle" while it's working to get better results. That's entirely correct. An advanced gym goer will feel his lats working when he pulls down on the lat machine. A beginner will only feel his biceps working because he has negligible mind-muscle connection between his nervous system and his back muscles. It can only improve through increased concentration on this under-developed muscle, rather than performing the movement while focusing on the cardio bunny bouncing up and down on the treadmill. When it comes to occult practice, you also need to put more intent in your actions, instead of doing them automatically. If you've done a magic ritual according to a recipe and it created on results, it doesn't necessarily mean that the recipe is bad. Conversely just because you perform a Qi Gong movement for the first time based on a Youtube demonstration doesn't mean you will get the equal benefits as the Qi Gong master who's done the movement a thousand times already. The difference is in the intent and the connection which builds up over time in a practitioner, between the spiritual and material plane. The stronger this connection is, the more magick potential you're able to manifest in the physical realm. I personally don't believe it's necessary to do any independent "intent building" practice. Simply keep in mind that performing any activity with more intent will create better results. 5. Flexibility and stamina Flexibility and stamina are especially important for yoga. But luckily they get developed through yoga as well, so it's not necessary to do any extra methods if you're already practicing yoga. If you decide on a different occult practice and yoga is not your things, these are some alternatives: stretching running HIIT workouts circuit workouts swimming Keep in mind that you're not practicing for a marathon or a bodybuilding competition. Don't spend all of your energy on physical betterment if it leaves you depleted for mental challenges. But it's ridiculous to be an out-of-shape, wheezing occultist, trying to invoke supernatural powers in an overweight body (and there are many of them!). So make sure to incorporate some form of physical exercise into your routine. Especially focus on flexibility because it will help you practice sitting meditation for longer periods of time without feeling back pain and other forms of discomfort. This will naturally help your concentration training as well. After all, it's hard to create clear visualizations and concentrate on them with tight hip flexors and lower back pain. Step 3: Gather materials You might be encouraged to have different magical objects depending on your occult practice. These can be part of your daily apparel or used only for rituals: black robe candle incense grimoires ring necklace crystal ball skull dagger gemstones Ceremonial rituals typically involve ritualistic objects which are used to create certain favorable conditions and alter your mental state. More minimalistic practices like yoga and chi gong don't require much material if any. Step 4: Create a progressive routine Occultists are naturally drawn towards self-development. They're also not satisfied with achieving ordinary results, seeking spiritual enlightenment instead. It's these higher levels of ambition that differentiate occultists from the rest of humanity. Often I see occult practitioners stagnate because they get comfortable with their identity as a magic user, which already elevates them to a higher status than ordinary folks that surround them. But this defeats the purpose of the practice. So make sure that you're constantly looking for ways to improve, adding more difficult tasks, reading and learning more about the occult and expanding your awareness. Don't settle for the introverted forms of development that are often emphasized such as performing strange rituals or meditating in silence. Travel, taking on worldly challenges and engaging in exciting relationships can all fall into your occult practice if done with proper intent. Invest in a journal (actual notebook) and regularly write down your thoughts, routines, rituals, spells, experiences, plans for the future etc. Final Word: How to Practice Occultism The occult is a vast library of knowledge that could take hundreds of lifetimes to fully explore. In order to get tangible results focus on one occult practice at a time and become advanced in it. As you gather more experience, you'll be able to draw upon different spiritual traditions to create the system that works best for your individual goals. I hope you'll find this introductory article helpful in starting your journey, and feel free to check other content on the website.