Xaos – Chaos Mægick: Grounding and Centring

systemofaclown:

xaos:

These two terms might be used interchangeably by some, and if you’re instructed to ‘ground yourself’ during a rite it may not matter if you, instead, ‘centre yourself’.

I suggest that grounding is a process of connecting with the Earth / reality / environment in a way that sheds miasmic feelings and energies; establishing healthy polarised flow.

In contrast, I suggest that centring (or centering for non-British readers) is a process of acknowledging your place in [the] Universe / wider environment and your own sovereignty in a way that lets go of extraneous thoughts, feelings and energies; establishing a pressured yet unbound identity.

In magick, doesn’t our preparation before a rite and any initial meditation ground and centre us?

When I was learning Rogerian counselling, we started group work by sitting quietly, and each recognising the thoughts and emotions we had brought to the circle out loud. It wasn’t about repression, it was about expression, and letting go (for a time).

Recently, I was talking to a group of counsellors and before I was invited to lead the day’s activities (it was an away day, and I was the guest speaker) we were asked to spend a quiet minute to ‘arrive’. After the long journey to Buckfast Abbey and the hustle and bustle of meeting and greeting so many acquaintances and strangers, this minute of silence to quell the internal monologues and irrelevant minutiae was invaluable.

The transitional, interstitial or liminal periods between one activity / mindset and another are so very important to our psychology, not only to magickians who are, of course, edge walkers.

Next time you meet a friend, start a project, or return to an activity, ask yourself if you’re ready. Have you arrived? Might you ground or centre yourself for a minute?

All of xaos’ best posts (in my opinion, anyway) also seem to be hir least reblogged/liked ones.  Why is that, I wonder?