Post by alchemic on Dec 15, 2011 3:56:47 GMT -5
Well good Morning/Day/Evening to you all, depending on when you happen to be reading this. I plan to use this thread to chronicle the various things I've seen over the years of practicing magic. I've tried various different things, and have been to various different places while doing so, so this might seem a bit disparate and all over the place. That being said, I'll try to add in only the more interesting stories.
I've always been fond of animals. As far back as I can remember, there hasn't been an animal I haven't liked, and few who didn't like me. To this day, the only animals I've encountered that I didn't get along with were the snakes my mom kept as pets till a few years after I was born. I don't remember them, but from what I was told, though I was very much interested in her burmese pythons and anaconda (she found a new home for the anaconda shortly after I was born, the pythons three years later) the snakes were not to pleased with me.
Never the less, I'm an animal person. When I was young, around the age of six, I would sit in front of my cat, and just stare into it's eyes. I'd have entire conversations with the cat, and not say a single word. At the time, I wasn't quite sure if it was happening it or if I was imagining it, but looking back I see that I had a great connection with him. One day, when I was outside playing, our dog jumped on me, forgetting I was a much smaller being then he was, and sent me smashing to the ground all over a bed of rocks. My cat rushed him, and clawed our dog's face all over while hissing, causing the dog to get off of me and run off in shock.
It would be several years before I had what I would refer to as my first real paranormal experience, however. When I was thirteen, I was on vacation in Florida. I have always enjoyed taking long walks at night, so I was wandering around in the hotel parking lot, which bordered on some woods. I kept going like that, all the while talking to one of my friends on the phone. Then, a chill ran through my body. I turned towards the chain link fence that separated the parking lot from the woods, and there was a panther, standing before me plain as day. I stopped dead in my tracks, and just stared at it. It was black as the night, with golden yellow eyes. I was to scared to move, thinking I was about to be eaten. It began pacing back and forth, staring at me, as if not knowing what to do about me. It was about this time that my mom came outside looking for me, to tell me to get back in the hotel room. She walked up next to me, and asked me what I was looking at, and why I was so afraid. I pointed to where the panther was, and asked if she could see it. She told me to stop playing games, and we went back inside.
Now I'm going to skip a bunch of stuff (I'll go back and cover it in a different post) but to stay on the vain of animal related experiences, it's necessary.
Around the time I was sixteen, I started to develop an affinity for wolves. Whenever we would go to a zoo, the wolves would be hiding, and no one could see them. Then I'd call out in my mind, and they'd come out from wherever they were. One day when I was at a music festival, I saw a silver ring of a wolf's head, snarling. I bought it that second. Later that evening, I was sitting in my room meditating, as I had just recently gotten into magic, when a wolf appeared in my mind. He was a large artic wolf, with a thick coat of fur. He nudged his head in a direction, and took off running. I followed him, through bushes, around trees, and over logs till we reached a clearing. He just stared at me for the longest time, his eyes seeming to go straight through to my very soul. After a while, he lay down on the ground, and I could tell he was in great pain. I approached him, and with each step I took, the wolf grew older, a large bump appeared on his back, and his fur became matted. When I finally got up next to him, he looked me in the eye, then collapsed to the ground.
A year and a half later, I found a wolf sanctuary about an hour's drive from my house. I jumped at the chance to visit. I drove up there on one of the days where they allowed visitors, eager to see these amazing creatures up close and personal. When I walked in the gate, I stopped dead in my tracks. There was the wolf from my vision, a year and a half prior. His fur was matted, the bump was still there, but unlike the piercing, analytical eyes he'd had in my mind, his eyes were full of hate, and were shifting from person to person. I asked one of the people who worked there what the wolf's name was, and why he was like that. The woman told me that his name was Khan, and when he was a pup, he was owned by a carnival, and was kept in a small cage where people would pay to poke him with sticks. This kept on for most of his life, until he was rescued and brought to them. Though most of the wolves at the sanctuary were sociable, Khan hated people with a fiery passion. They had to have double-gates in his enclosure just to feed him, and no one could (or dared) to get close enough to groom him, and to get him the medicine he needed they would have to sneak it into his food. He looked me in the eyes, with a gaze so full of malice and hate I will never forget it. It was as if he was saying "You did this. You and all your kind".
The other wolves at the sanctuary had various different stories. Mystery was the only purely wild wolf, she was caught in a hunters trap, shot, left for dead, when some people found her, and took her to an exotic animal vet. They nursed her back to health, and gave her to the Sanctuary. She is gorgeous, though to this day I wouldn't trust her for a second. That first day, I signed on as a volunteer.
This was in late August, and when October rolled around, I had a fairly good rapport with the animals. Especially the twins, Remus and Romulus. They're around three (maybe four) years old, and giant balls of energy. To this day, some of my fondest memories are of playing tug of war, and running around their enclosure with them. They had been around humans for their entire lives, and are very friendly. With Samhain fast approaching, I decided I would do some vision work. I left a small sigil I had made just inside the gate of the Sanctuary the day before, and waited for it to be time.
That night, I lit my incense, sat down, and began my work. I focused my mind on the sigil, on taking myself there. Slowly, the Sanctuary formed in my mind. First the ground appeared beneath me, then the gate and fence. After that, the enclosures appeared, and finally the wolves themselves. When I saw the wolves, they all looked straight at me in apparent surprise. Lately, Khan had been ignoring me for the most part, but now he was at the front of his cage, snarling at me like never before. Slowly, the enclosures started to fade and they began to shift into the forest from the previous year. Khan rushed at me, but Remus knocked him to the ground, and Romulus stood front of me as a guard. I was about to get out of there, when Dutchess, another arctic wolf (who hates women, but loves men) rubbed up against me with her head. Several of the other wolves stood beside Romulus, with Remus standing in front, while Khan still looked ready to kill me. This was surprising to me, because Khan was considered to be the Alpha of the pack. It seemed though, that the wolves had decided that they would not let him do whatever he was planning to do. I kneeled down, and looked Dutchess in the eyes. She seemed to have a flirty smile, as if this was all fun and games to her. Mystery just circled around, eyeing me, not sure whether to join the others or Khan. Finally, he just sat down on the ground, staring at me. His hate faded to pain, and after a while he just laid down on the ground in apparent surrender. The wolves who had come to my side nudged me, and Yoda, the largest of the wolves besides Khan, who was now the apparent Alpha, nodded to the gates, as if telling me my time to go had come. I asked what about Khan, he was obviously suffering. He looked at me sadly, then looked at Khan. They all knew he was sick. I said my goodbyes, then left. A little under a month later, Khan passed away at the age of 19, one of the oldest wolves ever to live.
However, that was not the last time I saw Khan. It was now December, and I had long since said my goodbyes to Khan. I was sitting at what would later be the memorial garden, but at the time just held the graves of the wolves who had passed away there. I had already completed the day's work, and I was relaxing before I had to go home. I stood up to leave, and felt a push against the back of my legs. Standing before me was Khan. Now though, he appeared as he had in my vision almost two years previous, his fur think and sleek, no visible bumps, he was back in his prime. He gave me an angry look at first, and I could tell he wasn't pleased with me at all. I told him I was sorry for what had happened during the course of his natural life, and that if there was any way I could of stopped the pain that was caused to him, I would. He lowered his head for a moment, and I kneeled down. He looked back up at me, and licked my hand that was resting on my knee. He nudged the wolf ring on my thumb with his head, and then he walked off.
He's been my guardian ever since. I only call on him when I'm doing something particularly difficult or dangerous, but I can feel him there more often then not.
(Not to be shameless at all, but if you want to check the place out, and possibly donate ((I would love you forever if you did)) the url is wolvesofsaintfrancis.org/)
I've always been fond of animals. As far back as I can remember, there hasn't been an animal I haven't liked, and few who didn't like me. To this day, the only animals I've encountered that I didn't get along with were the snakes my mom kept as pets till a few years after I was born. I don't remember them, but from what I was told, though I was very much interested in her burmese pythons and anaconda (she found a new home for the anaconda shortly after I was born, the pythons three years later) the snakes were not to pleased with me.
Never the less, I'm an animal person. When I was young, around the age of six, I would sit in front of my cat, and just stare into it's eyes. I'd have entire conversations with the cat, and not say a single word. At the time, I wasn't quite sure if it was happening it or if I was imagining it, but looking back I see that I had a great connection with him. One day, when I was outside playing, our dog jumped on me, forgetting I was a much smaller being then he was, and sent me smashing to the ground all over a bed of rocks. My cat rushed him, and clawed our dog's face all over while hissing, causing the dog to get off of me and run off in shock.
It would be several years before I had what I would refer to as my first real paranormal experience, however. When I was thirteen, I was on vacation in Florida. I have always enjoyed taking long walks at night, so I was wandering around in the hotel parking lot, which bordered on some woods. I kept going like that, all the while talking to one of my friends on the phone. Then, a chill ran through my body. I turned towards the chain link fence that separated the parking lot from the woods, and there was a panther, standing before me plain as day. I stopped dead in my tracks, and just stared at it. It was black as the night, with golden yellow eyes. I was to scared to move, thinking I was about to be eaten. It began pacing back and forth, staring at me, as if not knowing what to do about me. It was about this time that my mom came outside looking for me, to tell me to get back in the hotel room. She walked up next to me, and asked me what I was looking at, and why I was so afraid. I pointed to where the panther was, and asked if she could see it. She told me to stop playing games, and we went back inside.
Now I'm going to skip a bunch of stuff (I'll go back and cover it in a different post) but to stay on the vain of animal related experiences, it's necessary.
Around the time I was sixteen, I started to develop an affinity for wolves. Whenever we would go to a zoo, the wolves would be hiding, and no one could see them. Then I'd call out in my mind, and they'd come out from wherever they were. One day when I was at a music festival, I saw a silver ring of a wolf's head, snarling. I bought it that second. Later that evening, I was sitting in my room meditating, as I had just recently gotten into magic, when a wolf appeared in my mind. He was a large artic wolf, with a thick coat of fur. He nudged his head in a direction, and took off running. I followed him, through bushes, around trees, and over logs till we reached a clearing. He just stared at me for the longest time, his eyes seeming to go straight through to my very soul. After a while, he lay down on the ground, and I could tell he was in great pain. I approached him, and with each step I took, the wolf grew older, a large bump appeared on his back, and his fur became matted. When I finally got up next to him, he looked me in the eye, then collapsed to the ground.
A year and a half later, I found a wolf sanctuary about an hour's drive from my house. I jumped at the chance to visit. I drove up there on one of the days where they allowed visitors, eager to see these amazing creatures up close and personal. When I walked in the gate, I stopped dead in my tracks. There was the wolf from my vision, a year and a half prior. His fur was matted, the bump was still there, but unlike the piercing, analytical eyes he'd had in my mind, his eyes were full of hate, and were shifting from person to person. I asked one of the people who worked there what the wolf's name was, and why he was like that. The woman told me that his name was Khan, and when he was a pup, he was owned by a carnival, and was kept in a small cage where people would pay to poke him with sticks. This kept on for most of his life, until he was rescued and brought to them. Though most of the wolves at the sanctuary were sociable, Khan hated people with a fiery passion. They had to have double-gates in his enclosure just to feed him, and no one could (or dared) to get close enough to groom him, and to get him the medicine he needed they would have to sneak it into his food. He looked me in the eyes, with a gaze so full of malice and hate I will never forget it. It was as if he was saying "You did this. You and all your kind".
The other wolves at the sanctuary had various different stories. Mystery was the only purely wild wolf, she was caught in a hunters trap, shot, left for dead, when some people found her, and took her to an exotic animal vet. They nursed her back to health, and gave her to the Sanctuary. She is gorgeous, though to this day I wouldn't trust her for a second. That first day, I signed on as a volunteer.
This was in late August, and when October rolled around, I had a fairly good rapport with the animals. Especially the twins, Remus and Romulus. They're around three (maybe four) years old, and giant balls of energy. To this day, some of my fondest memories are of playing tug of war, and running around their enclosure with them. They had been around humans for their entire lives, and are very friendly. With Samhain fast approaching, I decided I would do some vision work. I left a small sigil I had made just inside the gate of the Sanctuary the day before, and waited for it to be time.
That night, I lit my incense, sat down, and began my work. I focused my mind on the sigil, on taking myself there. Slowly, the Sanctuary formed in my mind. First the ground appeared beneath me, then the gate and fence. After that, the enclosures appeared, and finally the wolves themselves. When I saw the wolves, they all looked straight at me in apparent surprise. Lately, Khan had been ignoring me for the most part, but now he was at the front of his cage, snarling at me like never before. Slowly, the enclosures started to fade and they began to shift into the forest from the previous year. Khan rushed at me, but Remus knocked him to the ground, and Romulus stood front of me as a guard. I was about to get out of there, when Dutchess, another arctic wolf (who hates women, but loves men) rubbed up against me with her head. Several of the other wolves stood beside Romulus, with Remus standing in front, while Khan still looked ready to kill me. This was surprising to me, because Khan was considered to be the Alpha of the pack. It seemed though, that the wolves had decided that they would not let him do whatever he was planning to do. I kneeled down, and looked Dutchess in the eyes. She seemed to have a flirty smile, as if this was all fun and games to her. Mystery just circled around, eyeing me, not sure whether to join the others or Khan. Finally, he just sat down on the ground, staring at me. His hate faded to pain, and after a while he just laid down on the ground in apparent surrender. The wolves who had come to my side nudged me, and Yoda, the largest of the wolves besides Khan, who was now the apparent Alpha, nodded to the gates, as if telling me my time to go had come. I asked what about Khan, he was obviously suffering. He looked at me sadly, then looked at Khan. They all knew he was sick. I said my goodbyes, then left. A little under a month later, Khan passed away at the age of 19, one of the oldest wolves ever to live.
However, that was not the last time I saw Khan. It was now December, and I had long since said my goodbyes to Khan. I was sitting at what would later be the memorial garden, but at the time just held the graves of the wolves who had passed away there. I had already completed the day's work, and I was relaxing before I had to go home. I stood up to leave, and felt a push against the back of my legs. Standing before me was Khan. Now though, he appeared as he had in my vision almost two years previous, his fur think and sleek, no visible bumps, he was back in his prime. He gave me an angry look at first, and I could tell he wasn't pleased with me at all. I told him I was sorry for what had happened during the course of his natural life, and that if there was any way I could of stopped the pain that was caused to him, I would. He lowered his head for a moment, and I kneeled down. He looked back up at me, and licked my hand that was resting on my knee. He nudged the wolf ring on my thumb with his head, and then he walked off.
He's been my guardian ever since. I only call on him when I'm doing something particularly difficult or dangerous, but I can feel him there more often then not.
(Not to be shameless at all, but if you want to check the place out, and possibly donate ((I would love you forever if you did)) the url is wolvesofsaintfrancis.org/)
