Although we have put numerous bits of advice within the course, and also in the Apprentice study guide which is available for free download on our free text pages, I am still seeing a trend in the submitted notes of many students which concerns me. The Quareia course is there for people to do what they wish with in terms of how they approach the work, but for people who wish to seriously work with the course there are some simple approaches that are really important for the success of the individual in developing their skills. It is also important in terms of acceptance of written work when a student wishes to submit that work to join the Quareia online debate community, or to be accepted for a Quareia event, or to be mentored.
When people approach Quareia training, often folks will rush through the early part of the training, ticking off the lessons as they go, and treat the magical training like doing a mundane course. In terms of magical skill levels, you get back what you put in….. if you recognise a foundation skill in an exercise and fully apply yourself to continue practicing for the long term then that skill will flower.
The first step is to recognise the difference between a step and a skill. Some of the early exercises are blueprints for important foundation skills. Some are magical steps that will be built upon as you go through the work… as you move onto a harder more expanded step, you leave the smaller step behind. But the foundation skills are something that should become a constant part of your life for the long term where you slowly develop those skills.
So here is a little bit of advice from this grumpy grandmother – and I am not laying it all out for folks, as part of the training is learning to recognise what is what, and why.
Foundation skills for a magical life
The very first module of the apprentice section has a series of basic skill sets that should stay with you for the rest of your magical life. They serve to protect you, arm you, focus you, and enable you to navigate your way through an increasingly mad and dangerous world. It is the magical foundation that you will stand upon not only in your magic, but also your everyday life.
Do not be lazy with any of these skills; learn them and use them/practice them continually for the long term. If there is nothing else you take away from Quareia, take these skills, as you are going to need them in the future.
1- Meditation. I have nagged everyone enough times about meditation, but here it is again. Keep doing it. You will learn and develop different ways of using meditation as a magician – while sitting, walking, talking, etc. Very short meditations, longer meditations, meditation under stress, and so forth.
2- Inner senses. Learning to get information from touching things, listening to things, smelling things, or from just being in places is a really important skill that needs long term development. Not only will it enhance your magic, it could also one day save your life or the life of a loved one. We live in dangerous times, and having a good inner radar then trains you to have a good outer radar. And meditation is the building block that inner senses stands on. So continue to practice your inner senses exercises, and adapt them for your everyday life.
3- Tarot/card divination. If you pick something up on your inner radar, you need to be able to pinpoint exactly what it is, when it is coming and how to avoid it. Good divination skills are crucial to the magician for lots and lots of reasons, and they are also crucial to navigating your way through dangerous times. That ability comes with long term practice.
4- Basic astrology. Learn to be able to spot patterns and influences by learning first about your own natal chart, and then your transits. It will help to inform your decisions on important matters that you have picked up on, and you can use that information to form options that you then check with divination. It can also help you to understand what you are going through, and to spot ‘bad weather ahead’.
5- Visionary work. If the first module you learn to navigate your environment using your mind. This skill is not only the foundation stone for visionary magic, it is also a skill you can use as an adjunct to divination to check out spaces to assess for safety.
6- Direction ritual. The basic directional ritual pattern you learn in module one is the foundation for contacted ritual. It is also a technique you can use to draw powers around you… it is truly invaluable, and by long term work with it, you will begin to realise just how important it is not just for your magic but also your mundane life.
7- Self protection and ritual cleaning. In such a crazy time, knowing how to keep yourself clean from an inner/energetic perspective is really important. Ritual cleaning should be a part of your monthly life routine, and in a time of pandemic and also political upheaval, it is a priceless skill that is seriously important. It should be something you do for the rest of your life. Don’t over use it, and don’t under use it. The same goes for learning to protect yourself and talisman yourself. If you need to go under the radar, the technique is not an ‘off the shelf instant ritual’, it is a skill that is built up from practice, that draws upon the directional ritual, inner senses and visionary work.
8- Stretching your mind through time. Another important magical skill – it starts as a visionary memory exercise but is actually laying the foundations for being able to stretch your mind through time. You will be surprised how important this skill can become in magic and also everyday life. Practice it.
All of the above skills are like life skills – they die off if you don’t practice them, and they become second nature high skills if you incorporate them into your regular routine of life. As foundation skills, they do not need special time set to one side to practice them, rather, incorporate them into daily life.
Instead of browsing the internet or social media when you have a bored ten minutes, wherever you are, practice. I used to practice divination in the office at lunch time by using ordinary playing cards (which are essentially the minor arcana) – people thought I was playing a game. Or I would sit outside my workplace during a break and either use my mind for stretching through time, or for wandering around the building in my mind. If someone interrupts you, just press pause, and then continue once they leave you alone.
Journals - important!
I cannot stress enough how important journal work is for magic. I see a lot of submitted journals from Quareia students, and many will do the very bare minimum set in the lesson, or even less than that, i.e. just a list of what they have done. When I say, write down your impressions and observations, I mean that. I do not mean write a single line saying you have done it. Many have been turned away from joining the debate group, and some have been turned away from mentoring because their notes are not notes, they are a list of jobs done.
Although I stress in the course that handwriting is important for magical development, I do recognise that many have problems with it for a variety of reasons. If that is the case, then here is a solution. For your main journaling, essays and written tasks, use the computer and save them in online folders. THE FOLLOWING IS IMPORTANT. Have a folder for each module, and sub folders for each lesson. Ensure your name, the date and the lesson + module number is at the top of each page. We get a lot of submissions, and I do not have time to try and figure out what lesson is what, or to read through mixed up papers where the lessons run into each other – I just reject those applications. If you can’t be bothered, then I can’t.
Save them on an external drive and in on online cloud/drop box account for submission. This is important. If you lose them, you cannot submit them. We make no special allowances for lost work; the same rule applies to everyone. In Josephine speak; “ you are a grown up, so get your shit together and don’t make excuses. If you are not grown up enough to have your shit together for such a basic task, then you will be no good at magic. Period.”
For your magical handwriting aspect, also keep a handwritten journal of notes, impressions, drawings etc that is for you only. Using the hand to convey magical information triggers a different brain and energy dynamic that is important to develop for magical reasons later on in your magical life, and practicing develops those skills.
ADHA/dyslexia management
There has been some discussion in the Quareia debate forum about students that suffer from dyslexia, dysgraphia (see above regarding handwriting) and ADHA/ADD. Such things should not be a barrier to magical study if you learn how to manage such things – it is not a deficit; it is just a difference. I have dyslexia (thank the gods for computers) and also mild ADD. If I can write the course, you can study it, it is about determination and adaptability.
If you have a short attention span, then learn to dot around with the studies you are doing – work until you cannot focus and then switch to another focus. Do it in bursts – I often have 2 or 3 things on the go at once and I will switch back and forth, and also take frequent breaks. Everyone is different, and if you learn to be adaptable, you will find your own way of working that enables the skills to be developed and will also help you to develop an intense focus in short bursts. That is pretty handy in magic; you can learn to focus all of your power and mind into a tiny detail in brief bursts which is like pointing a laser at something, it can be very powerful when doing magic. Everyone is different, there is no such thing as ‘normal’, but there is such a thing as your own normal, so learn how to learn in a way that works for you and where the knowledge, skills and experience go in.
And don’t give up when it is tough – slow down, tread water, switch focus, and remember, one more step taken when you think you cannot take another step opens up your path ahead: ‘just one more’ has been my life mantra in times of real hardship or struggle, and success comes in single ‘one more step’ units. It is how I got through writing such a massive course in a short time.
Some people pause their training during a difficult time, and sometimes that is necessary. However, there is also a dynamic in magic that comes to the fore during a destructive tide/time, and that is where certain magical work inherently brings protection with it. Divination is one to be careful of during destructive times, use it carefully and with a good cleaning routine. The visionary and in particular the ritual work can help during a difficult time. There is never a ‘good’ time to practice… so don’t wait around for the good times…. A magician who can work through a destructive tide is a magician who can survive anything thrown at them.
The other important training dynamic that is rarely mentioned in magical training is integrity. Quareia is contacted work, real magical work, and it takes integrity not only with the world around you but also integrity with yourself. We are living in extremely difficult times, and what we are witnessing politically, environmentally, medically and socially are all symptoms (not causes) of a time of disintegration. Surviving, prospering and growing in such times takes integrity – if you walk a path of honesty, integrity, responsibility and honour, all the powers, contacts, beings etc will walk with you. World changes comes about by individuals refusing to give up such a walk. First you change yourself, and then you start to change and inspire those around you.
Finally, engage your common sense. In a world where idiots and fanatics rule, where google holds more weight than real experts, and where injustice is endemic (along with stupidity), don’t get sucked into the mind games we are surrounded by. You have intelligence, common sense and integrity – use it. Stay safe, healthy, and sane!