Astral Projection

There is no consensus as to what this really is, but what is for certain is what is happening; we define it commonly as "leaving the body". Whether or not we actually leave our bodies, is up to the individual projector. The definition of astral projecting accepted and used here will be, whenever your mind is completely immersed in another reality and/or you are completely aware of being in another reality, as if in the physical body.
When you have projected, you are existing in what is called the astral body, astrosome, or "body of light". This body is not confined by physical parameters, only your perceptions.
When one is about to project, the physical body is so deeply relaxed, while the mind is still awake, the two separate.

True astral experiences are spent, when the mind is at its most efficient and the body has relaxed: this is known as the alpha state(regular, everyday brain activity is called beta: the opposite of alpha) - brain activity has slowed and is in a light meditation to asleep. This is induced when the brain relaxes, much like the body - natural psychics and some artist/musicians achieve this, instinctively. The mind literally looks into itself so far, as to totally go outward.
OBE's occur more often than most people are led to believe. We dream whenever our conscious minds rest: dreaming, in itself, is a form of astral projection. The difference between true astral projection and dreaming is cognizance of your surroundings and how much you interact with "outside sources" - what is not just a product of your own mind. A dream where you are aware of yourself is called Lucid Dreaming. Think of dreams as a personal world, while projecting as part of a greater whole.
Given that most astral projectors argue the sense of profoundness that can not be described, as opposed to the in-stability and surreality of a dream: there are many different levels of astral projection and the experience is based on the person.

Types of Astral Projectons

The most common types of astral projections are lucid dreaming (when you consciously control a dream) and deep meditation.
Lucid dreams are the closest to astral projection, but they are not quite part of the "greater ocean", but more like a "tide pool". Your mind is still controlling most of the action, but your consciousness is free enough to be able to intergrate the edge of the Astral world, with the "dream world".
Deep meditation and "trances" are when your mind is unaware of your physical surroundings and is on the edge of the Astral - just like lucid dreams. If one goes deep enough, separation into the Astral is possible.
Inducing Asral Projection

Lucid Dreaming
Since most un-controlled OBE's occur during sleep, they can also be brought-on by controlling dreams; learn to recognize when you are dreaming. Commonly done during a nightmare, when we "change" the dream, this way of knowing is called the trigger mechanism (T.M.) Each T.M. can differ from person-to-person. Try to recognize what yours is.
Once a lucid dream is initiated, we can then "slip into the Astral". This is done by the desire to leave your body, visualize yourself "slipping-out". I did this once, by feeling like I was flying, then got out. Rocking motions are great too. Sometimes though, we are already on the astral: most dreams are OBE's, we just dont always know it.
Have a destination in mind then, "feel" yourself there. This transition is instant. It can take up-to months to learn to control dreams. lucid dreaming is definitely a longer route to an OBE...but works just as well as any other. Simple affirmation while falling asleep works good; something like, "I control my dreams..." over-and-over.

The Fall-out
This is a simple method. The room needs to be completely darkened. Lay down and relax yourself. Imagine your body becoming very "heavy" and fluid-like. Take slow deep breaths and keep relaxing...dont fall asleep. Now, feel yourself SLOWLY getting-up. Allow yourself to forget your physical body (if this works, you wont tell the difference). Feel yourself walking around the room. If you have a destination in-mind, go there.
Practice this method often. And take it real slow...the trick is to ease into it. Be patient, as with any method of this. Frustration only makes the process even harder.

Displaced-awearness Projection
This is how I consciously project, but is more or less "remote viewing" (clairvoyance) - except a degree of astral projection, as it falls under the loose definition. What is achieved, is a trance-state where you lose all sense of your physical surroundings and are on the threshold of full transfer of consciousness, to another locale. This method is intended for those who are already developed psychics, as you need your psychic awareness to do this and understand what is supposed to be happening.

Get into your usual trance-state and make the desired conditions of the room: incense, music, candles, etc - if you listen to music, you will be able to completely tune-out, as a way of knowing your success. Your whole body should feel heavy and as if it where numb.
Close your eyes and through your psychic awareness, try to sense the entire room, at once: feel yourself just above your shoulders and seeing all around. Remember to be very passive about what is going on - "allow" what you are sensing to come-through and only will for "where" you are.
As you begin to introduce other sensations, like touch, imagine you are facing backwards, toward an opposite wall. Take the time to feel where you are and examine what is there - the idea is to forget about where you really are and displace your sense of direction.
When you are ready, induce the feeling of floating high above where you are, on the roof. Look across the expanse, before you and try to feel the wind on you and the distance all around you. Fly to wherever you like.
Upon "returning", imagine that you are being absorbed and slowly coming to awareness of the room, again. It's fun to have that sudden disorienting feeling and all the physical stimuli just come back, all at once.

Returning to Your Body
Getting back is not as hard or mystical as many might say. Getting back to your body is no real task at all. You will not be doomed to spend eternity in limbo. It is not possible to get lost or "stuck" permanently out of your body, unless you are dead.
The reason people get stuck at all is from fear. Most will leave there bodies with ideas in their minds that OBEs are dangerous. Finally, when you get where you want, you end-up believing that somebody's put a curse on you, possessed your body and is going to keep you to themselves.
You where never really lost to begin with. Your mind will not allow you to just escape it: you have been in your body all your life and will continue to have associations to it. These are the defenses that will get you back, "safely". Just remember what it feels like to be in your body. My best way is to think about wiggling my fingers and toes. It is that simple.
If you face any type of barrier, the other most probable cause is you not really wanting to get back. Being completely free is an exiting concept; you cant ever be as free in the Physical. If you have ever been swimming when you where a kid and mommy says "Time to get out!" You stayed in the nice water as long as you could, didn't you?
Astral Logic

When you are out of your body, the first thing that will be in your mind is "Where am I?"
The Astral Plane is the place you end-up. This dimention separate from the Physical, is all that is not yet existent but contains all existence. It is a "limbo" between worlds. There is no real perameters other than it is there.
The Asral is different than the physical one, because there are literally no real "lines" and "substance". It is all feeling and what you wish to make of that. The only limits are the ones in your mind.
Most other levels of existence are not comprehensible to the human mind. Hence, anything explained will only be as another human can see it. As a general guide, thought is the action in the Asral Plane. Whatever your intentions are, you attract what you are feeling.

Astral Levels
Most religions have some sort of explaination about what is beyond the physical world. "Heaven and Hell" are two of these rationalizations.
Think of the Astral as like a pond: the slightest motion (your thoughts) can change how the whole is seen. Like a real pond, there are many depths that are not seen so easy; you would not swim to the "deep" end if you did not know how deep it really is, or what might be lurking at the bottom. Also like a pond, these "levels" are not in a fixed line of being, meaning that they are all inter-related and are only seperated by "shallowness" and "deepness".
Like a rainbow, these levels are spread according to frequency. The fastest (most evalved) is at the top; the top is the force from which all things spring fourth. At the bottom is like the "Hell", where un-evalved thought-forms settle and some people go there because of ethics.

Astral Entities
Just like the Physical, there is an entire range of non-physical beings that inhabit the Astral.
Ghosts, faeries, angels, daemons, souls, thought-forms...all cultures have a name for the things that we cant see. These beings are like any other: different personalities, to match the different levels.
The creatures that do manage to enter our world (like ghosts), do so because their energy is compatible to ours, just as a frog is made to be multi-terresrial. The Celts believe that there are areas where the "veil" is thin enough for mutual passage--dusk and dawn, are two. No creature can stay away from their natural environment for long; you cant hold your breath underwater, like "they" cant exist here forever.
Are they evil? Depends on where they are. If you are unhappy and find yourself in the lower levels, prepare to be with those just as despondent as you.
The inhabitants of the Astral Plane are just as good or bad as those here. Dont be near anything that makes you afraid or uncomfortable.
It is possible to actually be followed by one of the inhabitants. If this is not something you wish to happen, keep your standards high and your mind focused only on yourself. You can only expect to be hurt, if you are feeling hateful.

Astral Projection, travel and magick

The astral world, or astral plane as its sometimes called, is an important place for Witches to become acquainted with. It is conceptualized as an invisible otherworld that parallels and interpenetrates our own, but remains unseen in our normal states of consciousness. On this plane all thoughts, deities, and magick live, waiting to be called into manifestation. All types of magick and ritual can be done in the astral with great efficiaency, since this is where your energies must go before manifesting. While there you can find a likely place to cast a circle or work a spell, or you can also travel to other places to work astral magick, such as appearing in your astral body at the bedside of a sick friend who has requested your help in healing.

Astral projection is best defined as the art of sending consciousness out at will to a location away from the physical body. While this projection ultimately remains in the mind, it is no less a real place populated by real beings and containing very real phenomena. This is the world where all our thoughts and dreams must first take shape before we can bring them into the physical plane through magick. It is also the home of the elemental powers and their inhabitant sirits.

Astral magick is usually considered an advanced skill, though merely projecting into the astral plane is not. More than any other skill you will learn, astral projection takes repeated effort to be fully controlled by you. Some can master the art within a few months, others can take several years. We all experience psychic phenomena in different ways, and therefore there is no frame of reference for astral projection, and no definitive experience. So there is nothing wrong with you, no matter how long it takes you to learn.

Astral magick is defined as the changes you cause to happen, both in the astral and in the physical, as a result of your workings in the astral world. Think of it as magick without tools. You can bring absolutely anything into being in the atral, work spells and rituals, and create any sort of astral tool or environment you want in which to work. In the astral your thoughts take immediate form, and once you learn to shape and control these forms, you have a potent magickal skill at your disposal. It takes a great deal of mental discipline to shape astral magick at all, especially without unwanted side effects.

Astral travel naturally occurs during sleep. It is an aspect of our consciousness extending itself out of our physical body for experiences on other realms. Few of us recall this after we awaken.

Since everyone astral travels, why not make productive use of these journeys? To do this, you must accept that you astral travel. Then you need to ask spiritual help in remebering these travels or "dreams". It is important to become close friends with your spirit guide(s) through meditation.

In order to have a productive experience during your nightly astral travels, you need to have definite goals. Perhaps the following list can help you:

Meeting with an appropriate teacher-guide for help in solving current problems.
Studying spiritual knowledge in "astral classes".
Visiting with physically deceased loved ones and friends.
Taking a look at a past life. Use this to check on the causes of present problems and illnesses.
Looking into your own future. This is useful in checking for upcoming problems or obstacles.
Asking to receive prophecies connected with future events, such as the safety of a plane for travel, the possibility of an earthquake in a certain area, etc.
Working healing or magick on the astral for yourself or others.
Visiting a present area of the world you always wanted to see but can't afford to visit.
Meeting with another particular astral traveller, usually for the purpose of influencing the person in one way or another.

If you would like to start astral traveling lucidly, there are many different exercises that will help you do so. You can begin experimenting by using one of the following methods:

Focused meditation
Guided meditation
Symbolic Gateways
The Chakras

In focused meditation, the idea is to bore your mind with so much inactivity, it goes elsewhere in pure self-defense. This can take up to thirty minutes to do, but the results can be startling. To bore your mind into projecting, place yourself in an altered state of consciousness. This doesn't mean daydreaming about mundane matters, it just means thinking about nothing specific.

Guided meditation is a user-friendly entry point into the astral world, one that often works before you realize it is happening to you. It is defined as an escorted mental journey into the unconscious for the purpose of gaining knowledge and effecting a lasting change in both the conscious and subconscious mind. It involves the use of a prewritten path or guided story which one follows along during the meditation. These meditations can be read to you by someone else who is not embarking on the inner-world journey, or they can be prerecorded and played back. An example of one is as follows:

Make a tape of the folowing passage, so you will not hinder the astral process by trying to remember what to do.

Place yourself in a comfortable position, either lying down or reclining in a comfortable chair that supports your body. make sure that there will be no distractions for 20-30 min. Make sure there isn't too much light in the room.

Loosen any tight clothing or jewlery, and just relax. Dismiss the perceived ideas you may have about astral travel...tell yourself that it is something you already know how to do. Tell yourself that however it happens to you is your way of experiencing it, and you will not question or analyze what is happening, you will just allow it to be real.

Close your eyes and begin to breathe in deeply and exhale slowly... IN to the count of four...OUT to the count of four...IN to the count of four... OUT to the count of four...

With every breath you take in, let yourself be aware that you're bringing into your body calming, soothing, relaxing oxygen...and with every breath that you exhale, you're releasing tension, pressure, and stress.

Now as you inhale, just imagine a wave of relaxation and positive energy flowing from your toes and the balls of your feet, up the front of your body and over the top of your head...and as you exhale this relaxation and positive energy is flowing down the back of your body and out of the soles and heels of your feet...just be aware that as this energy flows out of your feet, all the tensions...all the pressures...all the stress of the day is flowing out of your body, and out of your mind.

With every breath in...with every breath out...you're relaxing deeper... and deeper...and deeper...and you are becoming more and more receptive to all the levels of your self.

Now become aware of the center of your breathing, become aware of your connection to your higher self. Let yourself energize that connection; send your love energy to your higher self. Feel the return of love energy from your higher self. invite your higher self tro join you in this journey.

Now imagine that you are hovering above your body, actually looking down and imagining or visualizing your body in its relaxed position.

Now imagine and visualize that you are looking down at your body from the ceiling across the room...

Now imagine or visualize that you're moving out of your room and out of the building...and that you are looking down at this building and the area around it from ten feet above it.

Now observe the building and the surrounding area from 20 feet above...

As soon as you have an awareness of your higher consciousness, ask your high self to help you begin your trip.

Let yourself enjoy this journey, knowing that you are protected with your higher self.

In your astral journey, you may visit a particular planet, or you may travel to many different parts of the Earth. There is no right or wrong way to travel. There is simply your own personal experience. Allow it to flow like a daydream. If you have questions about anything that happens during your trip, consult your higher self for an explanation.

When you visit a particular planet, ask someone acquainted with it to communicate with you and give you a tour of it. They will be pleased to do so.

You will know when it is time to end your visit. Follow your intuitive sensing or feeling. Thank your hosts and ask your higher self to request that your hosts escort you back to Earth and your starting place.

As soon as you get back to your body, you will automatically "slip into it", just as you do every night during your sleep state.

When you are aware that you're "back into your body", thank everyone for their assistance, and focus on your breathng for a few moments. Breathe deeply, and always IN to the count of four...OUT to the count of four...just relaxing and allowing yourself to comfortably prepare to move back into your natural state of alertness and awareness.

Suggest to yourself that at the count of three, you will open your eyes and be wide awake, feeling rested, relaxed, and good all over...And that each time you practice your astral travel, it will be easier and easier and you will feel more confident and more secure with your natural ability to project an aspect of your consciousness into other realms.

And now, counting slowly...ONE...TWO...THREE! Your eyes opening and wide awake... feeling good all over. --end of meditation

You may want to write down your astral trip while it is still fresh in your mind. Any questions you have should be taken to your higher self. Remember, it is there to help you and guide you in whatever you do.

With regular practice, you may realize that you are no longer listening to the meditation being read to you. You will be able to venture off the prewritten paths and explore the world you have entered all on your own. By doing this, you should have no doubt that you are traveling consciously in the astral plane.

Symbolic gateways are another method of astral travel. Like guided meditation, the area of the astral world you enter and the beings you meet there will be colored by the symbolic gateway you choose. Good symbols to start with are the alchemical symbols, tarot cards, and rune stones. You can use a different one every time you enter the astral and land in a new place every time. The basic technique for making these work is to gaze at them until a halo appears around the outside of the symbol, close your eyes, and let the image on the back of your eyelids engulf you. With practice this can provide instant access to the astral. The strong archetypes in symbols involuntarily activate and involve the subconscious, and they have the ability to instantly create unique and interesting astral places to visit.

The Chakras: Probably the most popular method of astral travel is exiting through one of the chakras. Some people believe exiting through the lower chakras propels you into the lower astral level, where nasty entities you don't want to meet live. Some recommend the naval chakra to women because of its association with the feminine creative power center (the womb). You will have to decide which chakra point makes the best exit for you. Logically, you should choose the chakra you feel is your strongest, the one through which you can most easily send out magickal energy, or that is linked to an element with which you have an affinity. To exit from a chakra, mentally focus your consciousness to that point. Visualize your inner self at that doorway waiting for it to open. Allow all physical sensations to cease as you concentrate your whole being on that exit point. When you feel the time is right, mentally move yourself out of the chakra, think about where it is you want to be, and you should appear there instantly.

The Astral "Security System"

You can set up psychic security for the protection of personal documents, belongings, your home, pets, family, yourself, or your business. Build a wall of energy around the people and places you want protected. Then surround this wall with an area of deliberate confusion. Usually this is enough to deter any astral entity or traveller from breaking in or causing any problems. As an added precaution, place warning thoughtform guards in this confusion layer; they should be programmed to notify you of any intruders. If properly done, this method is better than other security systems or burglar alarms--and less expensive.

Setting up Watchers will only be effective if you also have built an astral dome of protection. If you keep your intuitive senses alert, you will be able to pick up their warnings any time a negative astral entity or thoughtform invades, or attempts to invade, your environment.

You can also create a personalized Watcher, a thoughtform that stays right with you and is set to give you an alarm any time you are physically in danger. These are especially valuable with the crime rate soaring as it is.