The Element Encyclopedia of the Psychic World: The Ultimate A–Z of Spirits, Mysteries and the Paranormal. Theresa Cheung

field of shining and flexible light that encases the body visible only by a psychically sensitive person. It is thought that when you are sleeping the astral body can separate from the physical body which results in flying dreams and the experience of disorientation experienced if you wake suddenly and the astral body hasn’t had time to line up with the physical one. Driven by emotions, passions and desires, the astral body is believed to be a bridge between the physical brain and a higher level of mind.

      ASTRAL DOORWAYS

      Symbols and pictures that are used to help individuals in astral projection reach the astral plane. Tarot cards can be used as astral doorways but the definitive doorways, used by psychics and magicians for hundreds of years, are the Tattwas of the Eastern esoteric tradition. The five primary tattwa symbols are simple coloured shapes - a yellow square (earth), blue circle (air), red triangle (fire), silver crescent (moon) and black oblong (ether) - and each one can be used as a focal point to trigger astral projection and give access to a specific part of the astral plane.

      ASTRAL PLANE

      Using tattwas to trigger astral projection

      Tattwa cards are easy to make. All you need is some white cardboard, a pair of scissors and some colouring pens or paint with strong brilliant shades of yellow, blue, red, silver and black. When you have cut out your shapes you only need to colour or paint one side; leave the back of the card plain and white.

      Once you have made your cards, find a quiet place, get comfortable and relax. Choose a symbol and gaze intently at it for a minute, then turn it over and gaze at the blank side. As you do an optical reflex will cause the symbol to appear on the back of the card. Now close your eyes and visualize what you have seen, mentally enlarging the image until it is big enough for you to pass through. Imagine yourself steeping through this mass of colour as if it were an actual door to the astral plane.

      According to occultists the astral plane is an alternate and non-physical dimension of reality that can be visited during astral projection or out-of-body experiences. The word ‘astral’, from the Greek word meaning ‘star’, originally described the heavens of the Greek gods, but as time passed the concept expanded to refer to a spirit world inhabited by etheric entities, disembodied spirits and higher beings.

      The astral world is believed to be invisible to the ordinary eye because it vibrates at a higher rate than the energy that comprises the material world. However, occultists believe that it can be perceived through astral projection and clairvoyance and it is a world just as real as ours. It has scenery, inhabitants, countries and seas and is subject to the laws of nature and constant change just as the physical world is.

      Modern psychologists argue that accounts of trips to a strange and alien dimension spring from the imagination, but according to occult theory the astral plane is undeniably real. It is an intermediate and invisible level of reality between the physical plane and the divine realms where communication with higher beings can be established and where the individuals thought forms take on a reality.

      ASTRAL PROJECTION/ASTRAL TRAVEL

      The astral body is believed to be capable of a very special type of travel. While leaving the physical body at rest, it can get up, walk around and look at its physical body, explore its surroundings and journey to new places. What makes this experience unique is that you are fully conscious and in control throughout the experience.

      This process of consciously leaving the body and travelling free of physical constraints is often referred to as astral projection or astral travel. Although the terms are often used interchangeably, experts define astral projection as becoming aware that your consciousness is separate from your physical body. For instance, people describe floating above themselves and viewing their bodies during astral projection. With astral travel an individual uses this conscious awareness to experience a sense of flying to new, non-physical or physical realms.

      How the mind disconnects from its everyday type of consciousness and separates from the body remains a mystery. Experts agree that having a relaxed focus, such as in meditation or when you are just about to fall asleep, helps you to reach that state, as concentrating too hard on achieving the experience may interfere with the process.

      See also aura, bilocation, out-of-body experiences, lucid dreaming and near-death experiences.

      ASTROLOGY

      An ancient system of divination that uses the positions of the moon, stars and planets to interpret how their movements in relation to each other affect our lives. According to astrologers, celestial bodies exert forces and exhibit personalities that influence people and events on earth. These influences may be determined by mapping their positions in the sky at various points in time.

       Getting started on the astral traveller’s path

      Like any skill, astral travel takes time and practise, and it is difficult to prove what actually happens, but those experienced in astral travel tell fascinating stories of their experiences. Some travel to secret realms where they meet spirit guides and spend hours researching ancient texts. When they wake up, their clocks show that only a few minutes have passed. In all likelihood most of us won’t be able to accomplish these feats. But here is an exercise that can help you get started on the astral traveller’s path:

      

While relaxing, imagine your astral body positioned just in front or above you in the exact position of your physical body.

      

Take note of how your astral body looks. Check out the back of your head and bodyand parts of your body you can’t normally see.

      

Allow your consciousness to move into your astral body and look at your surroundings from this new perspective.

      

Ponder what you would like to do next and where you would like to go. You may want to visit a place or person who is normally far away, through a process called targeting. This can be done by focusing on the image of the location or the person’s face, then seeing it at the end of a tunnel. Move forward through the tunnel until you arrive at the desired place or the intended person.

      

When you are ready to return, think yourself back into your physical body, and move your body until you feel comfortable back in it.

      Astrology appears to be one of the most ancient of the surviving occult sciences, and evidence of highly sophisticated systems in Babylonian, Egyptian and Aztec cultures has survived. For centuries in the West, astrology was a revered method of divination supported by royal courts. Nostradamus used astrology to make predictions in the sixteenth century that are still being studied today. With the development of science in the seventeenth century, astrology was relegated to the realm of superstition, but it never fell completely out of favour. Today it is followed by celebrities and the rich and powerful as well as the general public.

      Popular astrology is concerned with the reading of a horoscope, a chart of the positions of the planets, moon and stars at the moment of one’s birth and interpreting the influence of the planets on human affairs. It is based on the belief that the movements of the celestial bodies affect human potential and other events on earth, such as the moon’s influence on the oceans. From your horoscope your zodiac sign can be determined, and this allows an interpretation of what sort of person you are (or will be) as well as what is likely to happen in your future.