Happy Tracks Notes (with other shamanism bits and pieces)

- intellectual analysis vs + body + soul (?)

- 26 keys is a way of growth of awareness through interacting with astrological
factors as they happen, clothed in hermetic terminology
- thus 2 world views, astrological, hermetic
- third way, shamanic
- no formal initiation, but "studied the best I could"
- article specific definition of "shaman" = " a person who walks between worlds
using creative imagination, and their guides for the purposes of bringing knowle
dge and healing to our world"
- allows us to include different methods - pathworking and gateworking (?) the T
ree of Life, meditation, or Lucid Dreaming
- (??) Any activity can become a part of interacting with your chart - dancer da
nce, painter paint, runner run (??)
- no dogma, a toolbox of things to adapt, spindle, mutilate to forge your own pa
th.
- 3 sections
- prep: getting ready, general instructions
- practising: 5 sections - introduction, houses, signs, planets, aspec
ts
- medicine bag: miscelleneous , but related and useful things - particu
larly about Tree of Life can be explored
-1. Prep
- essential to prepare
- give (ritual) to consciousness that it is about to engage in a sacred
act/interact with other worlds
- do some planning for the journey, just as you would for a real life jo
urney
- the more consideration and preparation you do for this initial journey
, without going overboard, the better for your initial experience
- prep shields you from unforeseen exps and enhances quality of your exp
erience
- purification - bath, fasting, drumming (!), blessing(?), incense, danc
e(!!) - anything that focuses your mind heart and body on what is to come, shoul
d be done as close to the journey as possible
- drumming is a powerful way to alter consciousness as per DC, but is to
o intense for most people (?)
- If you are trained in anything, involve it in the prep - e.g: if train
ed in Hermetics, look at (?) elemental balance
- If on a specific quest, be sure to have examined your motives, conside
r your mission seriously because
- IF this has been deeply reflected upon, spirits will respond f
avorably and meaning will emerge with little effort
ELSE you are inviting spirits to teach you abouth them (goals an
d motives) and those lessons can be surprising (<-- understatement of the centur
y?)
- if you are trained to perceive spirits your work will go swiftly, but
if you are a novice and have never done this work before,
- be careful! everything you encounter is just as real as you are (yeah
right!)
- in the beginning spirits do what you expect them to do. But eventually
change and "act more independently". (this sounds like psyche bits, not necessa
rily spirits)
- the 'touchstone' == any object, word, memory, or symbol that draws yo
u back into the physical world. e.g: streams, rivers, rocks.
- give touchstone a purpose ('draw back' etc) then shield from other peo
ple, clean and care before journey, if physical, if memory or phrase, do somethi
ng with it
- follow instincts wrt what the touchstones are

- worlds you voyage to are non physical realms and so primarily exercise
astral and mental muscle, but
- voyages work best when all three bodies are involved - hence dancing a
nd chanting as primary vehicles
- post purification, prepare space by 'opening' it. cast a circle, smud
ge with incense, light a candle
- to transform it into a space where you are safe, comfortable and can g
o into altered state of consciousness
- sacrifice (of something valuable to you) is used to prime yourself, su
pplicant (?) or place of journey. To placate spirits, some quests demand this sa
crifice.
- Shaman learns to walk otherworlds but also bridge them for everything
encountered (?) and become living embodiments of their journeys (??)
- Consider using a tradition linked to your identity. Become aware of th
e significance of the symbolism that culture has dressed the reality of the Othe
rWorlds in.
- This provides important signs and portents
- direction, time and space don't really apply in the journey. Movement
is symbolic
- it is possible for time to move backwards or sideways
- you can become what you encounter and shapeshift into a bear o
r raindrop
- you can perceive strange things - faces in clouds
- be interested in everything that happens and everything you pe
rceive
- soak in all sensory inputs from Otherworlds
- let them soak you in, in return. Shine forth who you are.
- how much prep you need to do is individual. Do more first time. but do
n't overscript.
- creative imagination and its use *in an altered state of mind* is the
key
- c.i given by Earth, so before you begin, reflect on Planet Earth with
love.
- to use this technique astrologically, what you need is a natal chart (
only).
- without conductors and keys, just choose a place in the chart and plan
the trip.
- but conductors and keys can provide most potent *times* to make a jour
ney. And 'act as guides' (?) to what you can expect when you go wandering.
- to practice with keys,
- choose an activation
- note its placement and role in your chart
- then go looking (foraging, for X, you'll know it when you find
it) starting in that direction(? = house/sign etc?) at that time (activator wit
hin orb?)
-2. Practising
- on first journey, intent is to travel to 12 separate 'locations' and m
eet the inhabitants there, make careful notes of anything encountered
- the 12 locations correspond to 12 temples of your chart, so visualize
as temples, though may take any structural form
- visit in any sequence or order, but visit all before revisit any
- if 12 locations are too much for one journey, break into manageable ch
unks.
- if you use a conductor, visit them at the allotted time
- if you use a key, visit them during the window of opportunity (but rem
ember that an activation will be shaping your experience of the temple)
- if you have planets in a specific temple in your natal chart, you will
meet them at the corresponding astra-mental temple

- each temple represents, for you, your astrology in that temple. Will g
row more you visit, and the greater your quality of interaction
- in each temple, you can reflect, meditate, perfrom experiments, do wh
atever you wish
- each temple is also a place of instruction, and you can undertake voya
ges into the sorrounding wild, seeking answers to questions beyond your astrolog
y
- path linking 12 houses - the ecliptic - made of sun/moon light.
- you can 'note' (??) objects/creatures symbolizing various degrees of
zodiac, decanic faces, bounds etc
- pass through a portal connecting our world and otherworlds to find it
- somewhere near sacred space? difficulty finding?
- guardian of the portal *may* be there? one day quest giver? appearanc
e significant?
- once thru portal, you are in the OtherWorlds- here on in, if travelin
g with a specific intention/goal/endpoint (say Temple #1) keep it in the front o
f your mind,never lose this focus, keep moving forward. Else you'll get lost. If
get lost, look for landmarks/guides.
- when journey is complete, come back like the wind through the portal,
back the way you came if possible, thanking the Keeper of the Ways.
- Immediately Record your experience
- Reflect on the experience in the coming days - often messages become
clearer later on.
- For each temple
should be tangible locations that only you know how to f
ind, possibly buildings or other architectural forms
should be roomy enough to rest
have manmade objects/design statuary, symbols, furniture
-

outer areas (like gardens) should have boundaries

front entrance with some kind of sign of controlling zod

iacal sign
back door about 6 degrees before the next temple begins.
short distance, but distance irrelevant in the Otherworlds.
- temples do NOT back into each other.
- zone represents a transition between temples
- you can explore transition between temples in this are
a
e backdoor/other side
ge of territory within
rough it.
al bush"

once you pass through entrance you can see through to th

If another sign begins in the temple, you can see a chan
this temple
within the temple is a pocket realm with path winding th
outside temple (+ outside area?) boundary is the "zodiac
- *illuminated by the ecliptic*
- a golden belt of light illuminating all zodiacal terri

tory, *even at night*

- beyond the belt is an area of darkness, where no light
falls
- Sun shines at day, Moon at night, matches her Earthly
phase
- look at Sun/Moon long enough and you'll see a face loo
king back
- planets visible in otherworld sky when they are visibl
e in physical sky (and sometimes when they are not)

- normally invisible planets (e.g: Pluto) are also visib

le (capacity to see in the OtherWorlds is not dependent on eyesight)
- Mercury through Saturn are also manifest (in the other
worlds?)
- what you see inside a temple should reflect temple activities
- entertaniment in 5th, courting in 7th
- if something unusual happens pay attention - you might learn s
omething
- what happens inside a temple can reflect an activator (so tran
siting planet influence?) so if you observe this effect you might learn somethin
g
- whatever you see let it be. Temples may have hidden areas, wri
ting on walls, whatever. Let it be, can change later if required.
- signs perceived as
- processes in the environment
- as an atmosphere
- symbolically - fire signs as torches, water signs as s
eas, rivers, streams, fountains
- associated creatures
- mood of beings in a sign resonant with sign
- adornments, tools,clothing, (activity?) of temple inha
bitants - Taurus 6th temple has people sewing a sumptous green gown(?), Leo Temp
le has a golden brooch in shape of a skull (!) etc
- these details can emerge spontaneously and reg
ister only after you return. often have deep significance for you.
- signs describe a protocol, a way of conducting yourse
lf in a temple.
e.g If temple starts in Aquarius (Fixed Air) and
ends in Pisces (Reactive Water) act in an experimental, but is also sympathetic
and compassionate
- everything in the sign's environment , animals, plants
, sky, wind concepts
a. can 'speak' express ->
b. the *language* of the sign - this clouds in G
emini will be light and wispy, in Scorpio brooding.
c. you can commune with or become them.
- signs pervade the environment rather than manifest as entities
, but when they do, often situate themselves away from temple
- temples may have symbols of it's sign's ruler. E.g: 7th House
in Cancer has a mirror(?) that leads to Moon in Gemini
- Lights, planets, Centaurs, dragon
- main actors in your other world journey
- meet them in the temples and commune with them
- if you follow a tradition, meet the analogous gods etc
- go to a temple containing a (natal) planet and you'll
encounter a being representing that planet inside the temple
- on your first visit will greet you
- in future will share things
- might have information related to a quest
- is part of you connected to the planet. Theref
ore form will be humanoid and significant of your current relationship to the pl
anet
- bring them appropriate gifts (?) and ask what
you can do for them (??)
- if find them in bad mood, seek to understand w
hy and how to improve things for them
- never insult, even if they do/show things that

hurt
- visit all of them first, before revisiting. Meet and g
reet Sun through Dragon
- planet in your birth chart
- can tell you what it is doing there
- what is going on in that temple
- can talk about temples it rules, from the pers
pective of temple it occupies
- e.g Saturn in the 11th when he is rule
r of 2nd and 3d can tell you what 2nd and 3d temples mean to you and friends
- a planet in its own temple are in great comman
d and can make things happen easily.
- planets show essential dignity in the forms they take
and their contentedness with what is around them
- a planet in rulership is in total command of the envir
onment around it, planet in detriment is just the opposite
- By interacting with these disgruntled beings, you can
make changes and improve their lot.
- An activator or progressed planet is a visitor passing
through.
- They have a place set aside for them in your temple, a
nd can be met there
- often they will be doing something in the temple and/o
r interacting with the residents
- you can receive wisdom about the past, and information
about the future
- you can discuss whatever work you are doing with their
activation
- sometimes they leave markers in your temple- markers o
f affection and astramental talismans of their essential meaning
- display these prominently in temple
Aspects
- reveal how planetary beings in your temple rev
eal/regard each other
- some planetary beings won't seem to get along,
others do
- stories about other planetary beings, messages
for them, objects given to them by other beings - all representations of aspect
s
(key) since beings in the Otherworld *also* have
objective reality
- talking with one about another can cha
nge how they manifest in your life
- taking messages from one to the other
can 'lay down tracks' that strengthen their connection
- can do 'diplomacy' to positivize squar
es (give both parties something to focus their different strategies on) and oppo
sition (mediate a compromise)
- these changes can take time to manifes
t in the real world, but they must come
- conjunctions, joint bodies, prophetic
changes when activator goes by.

In the form of TODOs

0. Plan out your journey.
1. Ready touchstone

2. Purify. Switch on any drumming tracks etc if used. or any other means of alte
ring consciousness.
4. Find a portal/go to portal if already established. Greet the Guardian (or not
, depending on the tradition. The Eight temple meditation essentially has a pra
yer to Adonai here (I think)).
5. Open portal. Step onto the visualized ecliptic. Move to the temple you want t
o start from/work in.
6. Do whatever work you had planned. [a] [b] [c]
8. Pass through the temple and come out the 'back' door.
9. Step off the ecliptic via the portal.
10. Ground yourself
11. Record experience.
12. "Close" sacred space.
13. Go do something mundane
[a] On the first "creation" trip visualize an appropriate (to the House) temple,
a. with the qualities of the sign/signs permeating the space,
b. with a surrounding landscape reminiscent of the sign the house opens
in.
c. visualize all planets at the appropriate degree, (including progresse
d planets? ), with changes in signs etc where the temple includes two signs as a
ppropriate.
d. Have the opening sign on the gate. I'd probably also indicate the num
ber of the temple somehow. Maybe just 'carve' it into the door or walls of the t
emple.
[b] Once all temples are 'built' do a 'walk' off all temples from 1 to 12 in on
e session
[c] On the third trip, 'meet and greet' all the natal planets in order from hou
ses 1 to 12. Now your astral temples are "open for business".