There are a variety of simple methods of establishing authority and focus within a place before a magickal working. Some traditions call it Centring, though to others that’s more of an energy work technique unrelated. It’s often a preliminary before banishing or creating space, but they can also be used to do both of those, when the practitioner is competent enough in them. The Qabalistic Cross is a great example of such a technique. (There is more to it than just that though)
It’s an alignment or realignment with the source of your authority, a recollection of your force, and a gathering of power
I wanted to share a method that was given to me by a spirit I work with. I’ve found it has a similarity to a Buddhist practice I’ve found in one ritual thus far (though it may be in more). When I need to establish a sense of stability and confidence within a practice, I will often do this, or a variation of it before hand. I find it is also great for giving my energy body a quick jolt, the energetic equivalent of a warm-up sprint.
It is a series of visualizations tied to breathing. While I mention the in breath and out breath they don’t have to be consecutive, if you need more time to do a visualization or part of the energy work, take it, but make sure when you resume to pick up the breathing pattern at the next step.
Stand or sit in a stable position, take a deep breath in. As you breathe out see yourself as a giant black mountain, a flat dull black like coal. It should be a large visualization, a mountain, but at very least cover the space you’ll be working in. As you take another deep breath in feel yourself as solid as possible, the core of this massive dark mountain, and as you breathe out feel the weight of the mountain pressing down on the Earth. You’re not just resting on the surface of the planet; your mass is pushing down into the planet.
Your in breath is used to stabilize this image, and with your out breath project your mind down into the core of the planet. Feel your awareness shoot down into the centre of the planet until it reaches the core. While the core contains molten rock and metals, you’re looking for an energy that has the sensation of fiery iron. That is actually what you’re trying to connect to, burning molten iron, red iron fire. Try to sense and locate the energy, but if you can’t project out the request, there is something down there that helps, ask for the Iron Fire.
Once you’ve connected to the Iron Fire energy take a fast deep breath in and draw that energy up through the earth, through your central energy column, the centre of the black mountain, and out through the crown of you head and out through the tip of the mountain. It erupts as light from the top of the mountain, the Iron Fire component of the energy being absorbed and transformed within you. The flow and radiance continues regardless of breath, the movement continues from the core of the planet through you into space.
(I’ve found after some time, that the light is actually connecting to a Star above me. Not a real physical star -I assume- but a symbolic star, either a representation of Celestial energy, or perhaps a higher aspect of myself. This star, or the awareness of it, is not required for this technique to function, I mention it as an observation that grew over time.)
As this energy flows up through your mountain body it begins to radiate outward from the centre, as it moves out it transforms the black material into a clear crystal. Eventually you’re left as a large crystal mountain, perfectly clear radiating a beam of light from below out through the top, and radiating a halo of light out through the crystal body. You transform your body from the coal black, to a clear crystal blazing with light.
(From here, if you so desire, you can continue to radiate out in an attempt to clear out the space, though it might take some work to become proficient at that. I find it is more efficient to clear the space normally after the next step, but it can be part of this is you so desire.)
Draw the light back in, up from the core, down from the heavens, in from the world around you, and see the mountain dissolve into your self, your body becoming the radiant crystal.
Black Mountain of Fire
