Right now I’m going to speak a bit more about life on the inner planes, as well as spirit work. I don’t like to use the word astral projection for this, because it can mean a specific paranormal phenomenon as well. One good book on this topic is The Pathwalker’s Guide to the Nine Worlds by Raven Kaldera. Kaldera is a Norse magician, but his observations and experiences can inform those of us in Western magic as well.
First, what is this term, spirit work? What are the inner planes? If you have read the scrying article, the inner planes is a catchall term for the mental plane, the astral plane, and other ‘imaginary’ places that we enter or observe when we scry. Crowley says not to mix the planes, but right now, we are not going to fuss about ‘what plane it is exactly’. Even visualizing what you had for breakfast is an inner plane activity of a sort. People make it out to be a much bigger thing than it is.
Spirit work is the process of working within the inner planes. It can range from guided visualization to actively engaging, working with, and building relationships with the people of the inner planes. (Like in Goetia or evocation magic). Spirit work is anthropologically part of shamanism, but in a more wide-ranging way. People tend to think of shamanism as part of indigenous cultures and their traditional religions. Many others have extended the definition to encompass elements of Celtic and Nordic traditions as well as the ancient Greek sibyls.
You may not have thought about it this way, but spirit work and "shamanic-like" concepts also exist in western magic. A spirit worker is a broader category that can include shamanic techniques. People practicing core shamanism, scrying, ‘witchcraft’ / low magic, and many things can call themselves spirit workers because they work in the inner planes. I certainly do.
Beginning Inner Planes Work : Inner Planes Temple
When you have done a great deal of scrying or evocation, you may wish to bivouac in these planes for a bit. This is usually called an ‘astral temple’, but I’ve already stated my issues with the word ‘astral’, and it’s not merely a ‘temple’. I like to call my personal space my inner planes house.
Like any home, this can be a shared space for you and your friends. It’s a place to do magical workings when you choose not to do them physically, but it’s also a jumping off point to other planes: you can build magic doors, portals, broomsticks, magic carpets in your house to facilitate travel. Moreover, it’s a refuge to rest, relax, store your equipment, eat, party, and take a shower – or to experiment with magic.
There are Thelemic rituals that explicitly call for your inner planes temple: Liber Samekh, for example, is done ‘in the spirit vision’ preferably in a nicely set-up Thelemic inner planes temple.
First visualize the outside of the space. Is it a house, a pyramid, or some other structure? Is it an apartment? Go inside the space. It should be big and comfy, with windows. In the east is your altar and all your tools are there: cup, wand, sword, and disk. Lotus wands and any other equipment you use can be found throughout the space.
Maybe there is a couch on the side of the room, and a nice fireplace so that it can double as a cozy parlor. Maybe there is a fridge to one side. It doesn’t just to have one room, there can be bedrooms or a bathroom. Maybe there’s a nice flatscreen TV above the fireplace. It’s your call.
Make sure that there are closets, because you’re going to wear many different outfits in the inner planes, and have to store many things. Even if it’s just a bag of holding or your usual weapons to do battle with demons and dragons. Hey, anything can happen. Visualize where your broomsticks, horses, and other forms of transportation or. Or you can just have a car.
I like to have a magician’s kit to bring on inner plane trips. It has a magical tool set, extra wand, a rune set (or other divinatory tool), emergency food, and some useful herbs and oils. Hey, you never know when you might need these things.
Traveling Around
You could travel to a previous pathworking or aethyr, or you can explore other places – visiting other ‘aethyrs’ where various entities live. This is where we get to some important distinctions. When most people explore these regions through guided meditations, they may get a preliminary or basic view of this zone. Some spirit workers may say that you get the entity’s “answering machine”, that these inner planes residents tend to get a lot of seekers bothering them, and have developed a system of canned answers.
When you go “off the beaten track”, rather than hanging out in a sephira, Tattwa world, or a Tarot card, Kaldera says: “Imagine going on a quest to find knowledge and teachers in the slums of Los Angeles or New York City. It’s not that there aren’t any, but you don’t want to be buttonholing every stranger hanging out on a stoop and asking them to teach you. It could be unhealthy. Parts of the Nine Worlds can be like that.” These places definitely do have regions that are not too friendly to tourists. Here is some etiquette on how to deal with exploring the planes.
Tips and Techniques
When you run into questionable behavior in characters that you meet in the inner planes, there are ways to test them and banish them if need be.
You can test these guys with the planets. Draw the following Hebrew letters if you suspect certain phenomena. This is not part of the Jewish religion but it actually comes from Samuel Mathers in the Order of the Golden Dawn.
Tav (Saturn) – memory
Kaph (Jupiter) – construction
Peh (Mars) – anger or impatience
Resh (Sun) – vanity
Daleth (Venus) – pleasure
Beth (Mercury) – imagination
Gimel (Moon) – wandering thoughts
I find that if any of these are true, the entity either vanishes or turns tail when the letter appears. Sometimes they seem to ‘flash past’, meaning that they are quite strong and probably unhealthy and in that case you should shield and get out of there.
Remember that they do not always work the best. Tools can differ from one plane to another, but if you go to a Tarot or sephirothic ‘jump-off’ plane, they probably will work. Places dominated by rune magic or other forms of magic may require adaptations to their techniques, but there is a certain amount of force and intention behind these Hebrew letters that is universal.
There you have it. There are many cool places in the inner planes that you can visit – libraries, cafes where you can chat with magicians from all planes, meetings and conventions. There’s also the coziness of your own inner planes temple, and the security of a transition space between the world of the pathworking and the regular world of Assiah. You may eventually become a shaman, working as an employee of inner planes entities to bring positive spirituality to your community. Or you can be a spirit worker, a person who works with inner planes entities and communities in any number of ways. So what are you waiting for? Check out the inner planes.