This is the ability to create an object or situation in your mind and the more clearly you create the object or situation, including sensing how it feels, smells, tastes, sounds and looks, the more likely you will be to achieve your objective. If this is something that youíre not used to doing, start practicing by visualising something you are familiar with, whether itís your pet dog or a favourite ornament and move on from there. During spellwork you will visualize your goal (so it needs to be specific and detailed) before directing your energy and intent into it.

Hereís an exercise in visualisation from Jadzia to practice with:
Everyone speaks about visualisation, and most books about magic imply it is necessary for magical work. Yes, it is; but I consider the word itself rather misleading. Good image making in the mind doesn’t utilise only vision: it uses all the senses to whatever extent one can work with them. For some people, this will be a very visual experience, but for others it may be largely a sense of touch or auditory. There are many books that give one elementary exercises in painting pretty pictures in the mind. This information is geared towards those who may find that vision isn’t their strongest inner sense.

Personally, my visualizations range from quite concrete images to abstract splashes of color and sound that represent whatever I’m visualizing. I’m sure there are as many variations as there are witches, so if one thing doesn’t work for you, another might. The orange example below is a good one, but if that doesn’t work, try creating an energy ball in your mind.

So the exercises I’m going to offer here give you a chance to train all your inner senses…and to define which ones are strongest and most useful for you.

Let’s start simple; try eating an orange:
See the orange as clearly as you can. Maybe you see just the colour and shape, or maybe you see each little dimple. Push yourself…try to see the green pip on the end. Feel the heaviness of it in your hands. Feel the rough surface of the peel. Can you feel the lifeforce in the orange? Do you feel anything in your body as you construct this image…do you salivate or get puckered?

Start to peel the orange. See as much of this as you can. See the peel opening up…see the white pith (underpeel in American) inside. Feel the action of peeling in your hands, the resistance and the easing of that resistance as the peel gives way. Feel the sting in your nose and eyes as the juices in the peel spray. Hear the little tearing sounds as the peel and pithl rip away. Smell the oils in the peel. Lick your lips and see if you taste any of them. Are you salivating yet?

Finish peeling the orange. Can you focus enough to have a good memory at all times of how much is peeled and how much is yet to go? Do you see/feel/sense the pile of peelings as you drop them? Do you hear them land?

Now, pull the segments apart. See them come apart…see the membrane peel off one, and see the pulpy bags of juice inside if you can. Feel the tearing away, and the burning on your fingers as the juice runs down them. Feel your tongue go out to lick your fingers. Smell and taste the orange. You’ve gotta be salivating right now…even if your just reading and not doing the exercise!

Feel the orange in your mouth…feel the juices gush out as you bite down. Taste the juice. Feel your tongue move and your throat muscles contract as you swallow. Feel what happens to your energy as you take this living, vibrant food into your body.

Eat as much of the orange as you wish and then sit quietly.
Think back on your experience and play it back in your memory. Which senses were strongest? Which were most detailed? Which have the best memory? Were there any senses you didn’t get any input from at all? If you do the exercise again, can you make those senses more alive, or will they need more time?

You may, at this point, wish to look at specifically training the senses that you identify as your strongest and weakest. You can do this by picking up simple objects around you, observing them carefully with the sense involved, be that sight, sound, or touch, then putting the object away, closing your eyes, and trying to image-ine what you perceived while actively observing.

As with anything, it takes practice to get good at visualisation, so do it regularly, as it is an important element of magic, but itís also a very rewarding thing in itís own right.

See the Meditation page for more information.