There are powers and combinations of powers that come and take people away from themselves. By saying this, I mean that there are powers and combinations of power that steal a person away from those perception-states that they consider as "normal". The experience can be of three characters: it can be traumatic or exhilarating, full of emotion and excitement; it can be overpowering and steal a person into basic unconsciousness; or it can be so subtle as to be ignored or not noticed. It is the first of these three characters that the sorcerer hopes to cultivate, and of the last two, he or she hopes to defeat. It does not do to be dragged away into unconsciousness or to be so numb to the mystical changing of mind-states that we accept them as "common" or "normal" and disregard them.
Of the first character, while we do not wish to be assaulted by fear or terror, it does happen, to everyone. Some power, some Weird is like that- it shows its power through its ability to disturb.
There are many powers and combinations of power that come and take people into new conditions of mind. The cunning witch or sorcerer will know them and utilize them to the best of their ability.
1. The Moon: the moon, throughout its phases, sheds the mediated light of the sun into a trance-inducing light, and it calls those who see it with eyes of wisdom into deeper states of mystical introspection.
2. Gravesites: these places have been seen as powerful since time immemorial, though today they normally only get a passing "fearful" reputation as possible sites of hauntings, and then only on the part of the uninformed and superstitious. Every grave is a passageway-point into the unseen world, and the shade-like power of the dead hover about and near their graves for some time- often a very long time. Graves are doorways, and being near them, especially in the night, causes an alteration of the mind for those who are sensitive to such things.
3. Seasons and Sacred Times: the outward seasons of winter with its cold and snows, of summer with its heat and greenery, autumn with its riot of colors, and spring with its watery and cool boundless energy- they cause changes in people, even if people have learned to ignore them. The cold calls us to introspection; the heat calls us to activity; the relaxing autumn calls us to secret places, and the spring fills us with hope for renewal. You can feel these powers best after sleeping, and then walking outside as soon as you awake and communing with the force of the day and of the season.
Early in a season, I find that I "feel" the new power of it best, only becoming used to it a few weeks in. It is good to try and never become "used" to a day or a season's power, and to let it be new to you every morning and evening. The hidden seasons are likewise powerful- bright Beltaine, dark Samhain, the old days of Harvest and merry-making, the twelve Wolf-nights and Mother-nights of Yule- all of the old calendars captured days and weeks of strange occurrences that coincided often with the changing of seasons. These days are best for sorcerous workings by virtue of the Weird forces that collect around them. And they change people, if those people can feel.
4. Liminal Areas: like graves, certain places wield a natural power to exert change and transformation on the mind: the banks of rivers, the tops of hills, the borderlines of properties, forest deeps, ocean-shores, hedges, crossed roads in the lonely country or forked roads, and this list continues on. We do not walk on a "common earth"- it is a very powerful collection of Weird, showing itself as many powerful locations.
5. Lack of Sleep: going without sleep is a stress on the body and a transformative power on the mind. Going without too much is a gateway to madness, but forcing the mind and body to find new sources of energy by denying them sleep places a person in a more hyper-aware spiritual state than many believe.
6. The Wild: being far from human beings and their cities, normally in a forest or anywhere on the untamed land makes your mind and soul change over into a new shape. All who love spending their time in such places already know this, though they may not realize that their love for the wilderness comes from the fact that it changes them and orients them to feel the natural bliss and boundless infinity of the Weird.
7. Cold: cold winds and temperatures force us naturally to turn within. The cold is to the moon as the heat is to the sun- the sun turns us outward; the moon inward, and thus it is with temperatures.
8. Fog: mists and fogs exert an uncanny presence on the world and therefore on the mind- they remind us of what is hidden and they make it possible for anything to be "near us" though unseen. They swirl and move like ghosts.
9. Religious and Spiritual Rites: whether it be sorcerous operations or workings and devotions of "religious" power, doing things that you consider powerful- chants, the blessing and eating of sacrifices or offerings, dances, or whatever- these things do change the way you perceive, while you are engaged in them, though (sadly) many don't feel this strongly enough. It becomes routine for people, but this is death to the cause.
10. Intoxicants: it goes without saying that intoxicating substances can change a person's perceptions of things, but too much and too often, and the mind becomes heedless.
11. Spiritual influences: in every place, there are powers and Weird and they can alter and change perceptions when people come too near to them. The wise seek out places that seem to have these powers hovering about them.
12. Occult training and pacts: deals with familiar spirits and allegiances to other powers cause a life-long change in perception, or at least a change so long as the deal holds good.
13. Strong emotions and pain: the most common powers that alter perception are also the ones most people never stop to notice or utilize: great joy and elation or sorrow, or rage- and even physical pain. They do change us, cause the extraordinary perceptions to come near to the surface of awareness.
14. Hunger: not eating for a while- anywhere from one day to three days- has an enormous power to make one more receptive to extraordinary realities. These sorts of practices have been done since time immemorial by ancient peoples from all over the world.
15. Fever: when the life-fire of the body runs high and hot, one may feel wasted and tired, unwilling to engage in works of Art or sorcery, and perhaps there is some wisdom to this, for most. But fevers also give access to subtle reaches of perception that can have sorcerous use.
Together, these 15 powers and combinations of power can be further combined- and many are they who have already seen the great potential of these things. What greatness and depth of perception can be found for a person who goes out, on Lammas eve, deep into a forest to the bank of a river, with a mist pouring off it, the cold settling in, and the moon bright and large in the night above? What if that person has prepared himself or herself by fast and by ingestion of a stout brew, enough to raise the spirit of the flesh, but not enough to confuse them? From that combination of powers, consciously pursued, many forces can be entwined in him or her for contact with the extra-sensory reality, and much can be gained. A great poetry can appear in them.
