Traveling in the Body of light.

Many of you may have heard of astral projection.  Essentially it is a mental process whereby you create a vehicle of consciousness to exist for a time outside of the body. It can be likened to a dream, so intense that you think that the dream is real, like one that you are aware you are in, seeing what you are seeing while knowing it is just a dream, The astral projection most sought after is the one where the dream seems real, but all you need, is the one that you are conscious in.

     There are varying systems, an assortment of religious pantheons or collections of symbols, or concepts, which enable your mind to have an approach towards the practice. A place to go, a reason to go there, to peer into the future, to have a spiritual experience. Whatever it may be, for inevitably you are asking Divinity for a mystical experience. The Tree of Life of the Qabalists is best for this. It can be used as a map of the paths to project onto. Rising into a path or Sephirah is like entering a new world. Familiarizing the correspondences of the tree will enable you to understand what each path or Sepirah is about. The Tree of Life is a guide to all existence, replete with most of the facts you might need for any part of existence.
     Since every world of the four worlds has a Kether, they also have an Ain, Ain Soph and Ain Soph Aur. For those of you familiar with Qabalistic ideas, you can flow through the astral without sight, but just in a state of awareness of all events chosen to be perceived. Yet the typical approach to traveling in the spirit is more useful to most. Thus the Sigilum Dei Ameth was created for the elect, to enter the truth, which is beyond form.

The Tree of Life, used as a guide map for rising through the ethers.

     The symbol of the Collegium et Spiritus Sancti is what the Rosenkreutzer's were referring to when speaking of the astral, and the communication which is possible between adepts. The idea of disembodied communication is as old as Ezekiel, talking about going up in the spirit. 

The Lord is beyond form, but form can limit ones ability to communicate with the Divine.

Collegium et Spiritus Sancti.

       Through meditation techniques you can attain concentration. You must be in a state of controlled thought. Your body must be unmoving, basically forgotten about. Various relaxation techniques will work for that, especially raising the Ruach, throughout the entire body. As you forget about your body you can become absorbed in the presence of spirituality. For a time you allow that gentleness to flow through you.

The Tree of Life, a great abstraction in the tradition of the Surrealists.

     You are then ready to begin having brought yourself into a relaxed and meditative state. If you can, fill your body with the Ruach/Prana/Chi/Ki. When relaxation sets in, you will yourself to rise, flying upwards, into the clouds, to the heavens above. You then decide to float down to your body, or fly down as the case may be. You see your body beneath you and lay back into it. The simple and meditative approach to astral projection. You create a body of light for the mind to occupy, and you fly.
     You practice this until it is normal to you. Using the vehicle of understanding provided by the Tree of Life you can rise to a Sephirah or path and explore. As is explained we dwell in Malkuth, the Kingdom, that is the world of the physical with all its attributes. We can practice rising through the sky until we enter the starry expanse. This is the 32nd path, having the elements of both earth and spirit attributed to it. We flow through it to the realm of the Moon, or Yesod, which is where the astral begins. This Moon is where etheric forces come to play in all things. It is a violet color, a purple realm of illusion, which can be the plastic substance with which we shape reality. Force leads to form. A perusal of Qabalistic principles will give you an understanding of this side of existence, a travel guide to the astral.
   
      You can develop this through varying techniques. Enter your astral form, then fly to a place you already know. Remember as much of the place as you can, colors, objects, architecture, people, and then return to your body. Compare this with what you already know about the place, and check the history of the locale; if there are any variances with what you saw and what presently exists. A traveler went to a building and saw gold carpet, but was told that the building has green carpeting. Upon asking they found that the carpet used to be gold and was recently replaced with new green carpeting.
     This then leads to what today is called remote viewing, or psychic spying. Information gathering.  Please note, that only a lucid and well controlled mind can collect information. Practice in mental control and concentration exercises lend to a balanced set of results. Few people gather correct information. Even fewer can shape reality, or perceive it directly.
     The ancients used to refer to the astral as the plastic substance of the universe, the world of formation or Yetzirah. They said that it is here that reality can be shaped. The alchemists suggest that it is this plastic substance from which the vegetable or healing stone is made. What to do? A good approach is that offered by the Qabalists. This approach has been altered by modern writers on the subject. Studying 20th century writers who wrote before 1950, following with the old writers will yield better results.
          Experiment. How would you shape this Ether if you could shape the ether. With the power of the mind through its power of visualization and will, we often can create phenomena to occur in accordance with the Will of God. We must do more than that. We must create, for the moments we spend doing this, a complete belief in what we are doing. No matter how fantastic the thing is you are trying to create upon the astral, you must be completely committed to the belief in what you are doing for the time you are doing it, in order to gain any results. In the attempt to make illusion into reality we must accept small strides as we progress, not presuming to any successes.

Used as forms of power for the magickian to assume upon the astral.

           One more thing to know is that you can create a stronger form for yourself upon the astral. It is kind of like creating an avatar for yourself, but on the astral. The ancients would use god-forms for this purpose. Most of the pagan mythologies were created for this purpose. The traveler in the spirit could create a form of power for themselve's, to defeat or dissuade any negative entity from having influence upon them when in Yetzirah. You must transform yourself into this form, and look upon yourself in this form when you are there. With each astral projection this form will become stronger as will your ability to visualize, and the inner belief in your strength which must be called upon when visualizing or fighting off unwanted contact with astral entities. Using ancient forms can be more effective as they have built up power through the years. Drawing a flaming star between yourself and anything you see is an effective weapon against whatever you might not want to have contact with, as is the banner of the west, a symbol used by modern travelers upon the astral to dissipate the unwanted forms one might come across. As in the physical world there are many predatory things which require wariness.

A good form of the Warrior god Horus. a form of power not meant to be worshiped.

          You must banish the place of working to protect your body from possession when left behind, always ending with a circle of white flame surrounding the place of working. There are plenty of people who are disseminating methods for banishing. If you need help there, leave a comment and one of us will get back to you with the method for banishing. It is a good idea to practice what the alchemists call sealing yourself within barrels, it has been called the form of Harpocrates by others. You visualize yourself within a thick glass bubble. This is used to retain etheric force. You should not feel drained after these practices. If you do, you are not sealing yourself properly.
     God has created these principles for us to make use of, so that we may experience existence fully, and directly commune with Divinity. There is lots to read on the subject. Be wary of new age writers.