Do Magick August ’18: Day 2 – That Rings A Bell

He said to be prepared to spend more time with my “lessons”. So I set the alarm clock to “Too Early” again and this time snoozed through two sets of alarms. My morning obligations took longer than I expected and the clock found me with just as little time for summoning Patient Caller as I did yesterday.

The two devices remained on the table. While both have chambers, one was permanently filled while the other remained empty and available for use as needed. The polished amber token would fit easily within the empty chamber without risking scratching up the hand polished face of it. Reasoning that [Patient Caller] would not have called out the devices if he didn’t want me to use it, I placed the amber piece in the chamber and closed it.

The chamber is metal with a glass face. Once closed and placed between the lit candles, the chamber’s interior appeared to be an absence of light. I congratulated myself for an overdramatic and unnecessary interpretation of the contrast between the candlelight playing on the polished exterior of the device and the spooky lump of darkness barely visible beyond the glass. I placed the same Hierophant card that I used yesterday before the device.

“In the name of the great and mighty God, and by the command of your master, Saint Cyprian, I call upon you, [Patient Caller], that you come forth and by use of this [device] before me, communicate with me. Rede, rede, rede in pace.”

The air remained still. The candles remained lit. I heard a man outside yelling for his dog to get back in the house. A train sounded in the distance. I felt twice as foolish as I did yesterday.

This sudden pressure on my head probably wasn’t helping matters.

Something distracted me on the table and I meant to reach up to move the device and see what had distracted me. As my hand moved closer to the device, the pressure on my head and temples increased.

The pressure began to hurt. Surprised, I never did touch the device as I immediately brought my hand back with intent to rub my forehead. I closed my eyes as I did so.

The sudden flare of brightness made me wince and attempt to cover my eyes with the retreating hand. I realized that I was seeing the brightness through my hand and my closed eyes. I opened my eyes and squinted as the pain and pressure intensified.

The table remained as it was before. The candles were lit. The flames were stable. Nothing was out of place.

I felt a high-pitched ringing in my ears. I turned my head slightly to determine if the source was external and found the felt but not heard sound was emanating from the device holding the amber.

I closed my eyes again and the brightness blinded me until I forced myself to sit still and remember that what I was “seeing” was not physical. My false sight adjusted and saw a duplication of everything my physical eyes had seen with two exceptions.

The chamber of the device holding the amber was filled with light so intense that it seeped through the seams of the chamber as if it was incense smoke. The wisps gathered around the chamber as if caught by a gravity well, giving the device the illusion of a halo or covering of power.

When I looked to compare the light of the candles with the light from the chamber, I looked up and saw that the candles appeared not to be lit. It was as if the light from the chamber was so bright that the candle flames could not be perceived.

As I sat observing the “vision” with curious mirth, I noted that the pressure I had felt before also seemed to be coming from the chamber. I was grateful for [Patient Caller] being a “friendly” spirit. I realized that if I had tried to call any spirit that wasn’t 100% willing to inhabit the device, I would be experiencing more than just a pressure headache.

«Take note of what you are perceiving. Not all communication will be with words you can transcribe.» I felt his voice instead of hearing it. It also was sourced from the closed chamber.

“Question. Was it necessary to place the amber in the chamber?”

He answered my question with a query of his own that stabbed an unhealed wound in my psyche that I reserve for my private notes.

“I’ll take that as a no.”

«The agreement between us only requires the tarot card. To use the amber is an extra step, with extra results.»

Did he just call me “extra”? The pain caused by the subtly increasing pressure became more than I was willing to bear. I thanked him for the lessons, even the ones that hurt, and gave him license to depart.

The closing of my eyes in the vision felt just as real as the closing of my physical eyes.

“Go all now in peace.”

The pressure, pain, and ringing stopped immediately. My eyes snapped open at their sudden absence. The candles remained lit. Outside, the dog got out again and his owner was now swearing at him as he shuffled down the sidewalk. Two cars in the distance were competing for the honor of having the loudest horn.

I was twice as determined to continue as before.

Total time: It felt like almost thirty minutes, but the clock only counted eight of them.