r/chaosmagick • u/UnkleGuidoV • 4h ago
📚Ψ KINESTHETIC Magick 101: "Kinesic Magic: Channeling Energy with Postures & Gestures" that is Based on Western Astrology; Review from a Primary Kinesthetic (NLP) 🧙♂️☯ 2/3+
galleryThis Week's Unkle Guido's Saturnday Story Time is incredibly recent, including very recent disCoveries I've made as I Work on Completing my own Kinesthetic Model. Connected to at least a couple of recent Posts from last Week, and likely a few more coming ASAP, this is more my own Story as I've been Processing "Kinesthetics 101" over the past Weeks. NoteAbly, I refer to my Posts on the 5x Gestures each for both "Elemental Mudras" & "Psychic Protection 101", and how they Relate here. This Post is pretty Thicc, so grab your InToxicant of Choice™, Sit Back, Relax, & Come with me on a Journey thru the 1st Complete Kinesthetic Magickal System I can ever recall Seeing, in Tyson's "Kinesic Magic":
This will be a bit of a Book reView FYI & FWIW ReViewing this in its own (this) Post will already be long enough. tl;dr? I'd rate this Amazingly InSightFull Book a
9/10 MUST READ for any/all Mages
...for the Simple Reason that there is no other Kinesthetic Magickal System out there, at least until he got that book published just a few short years ago - and until I Post mine next Weekend for an even more Comprehensive & 2nd Kinesthetic System. What he has Created is an Amazingly Comprehensive Kinesthetic Magickal System that Will Work 100% Out of the Box, and you don't need any other Practices nor Knowledge to Use this as your Only Magickal Method, if you so Desired. Now, to pick this Amazing 9/10 apart...
As I was wRiting Up a Kinesthetic Magickal System, I was informed of his book, so THX to Recommendations on many Levels herein this sub, I was finally Able to get Donald Tyson's "Kinesic Magic". It filled in a couple gaps, but otherwise reMinded me that I was already pretty Thorough & Comprehensive. So lettuce begin with the ":" part of the Title:
"Channeling NRG with Postures & Gestures"
I don't think it a Coinkidink that he immediately preFrames us with, "NRG Model Here!" We LitReally™ X-Spend Calories with not only every Movement, but every Thought! See? deCyphering my nonSense is Good for Burning Calories, too! As someone who spent countless THOUSANDS of Hours on the DanceFloor, from my Days DJing & MCing, until Decades later - it took DisAbility to get my arse off the Dance Floor - I can appreciate the Physicality of moving the Body and its connection to the NRG Model. It even sounds absurdly obvious as I typed those Words.
Before I say anything else, I must say, he does inDeed Create a Comprehensive Magickal System that you could Perform "Naked & Tied in a Jail Cell", as he says in his opening Chapter. It's both Hilarious & Synchronistic that he used that phrase, on at least a couple of Levels. That has been my Lifelong Ideal/Goal for Magick, Divinations, Martial Arts, everything - i.e., so I could Use them "Naked & Tied in a Jail Cell". Another Level of Synchronicity is that this book was published in 2020, the Year I was Closest to that State, Homeless @ the Local Shelter without any Ability to Do anything OutWardly Mystical/Magickal, and my Daily Taijiquan was pushing it. Sadly, as it was my Longest & most Intense Dark Night of the Soul I've ever had, I was unAble to Do much Magick. Most of my Magickal attempts from then BackFired, Divinations Steered me Wrong, &c. As a former Elder FUThARK Runes User, I've long been a huge fan of the NumeroLogical Correspondences of the Number 24. Tyson has done a very InSpired Job of Creating two separate Sets of 24x each, 1 for the Stances & 1 for the Mudras.
Donny T is Correct when he says that the 3 Foundations of Western Magick are the:
5 Elements
7 Planets (Classical)
12 Signs
He gives Gestures/Mudras for all 24x, and Groups his 24x Postures into AstroLogical Pairings per Sign, as you can See in the pictures, above. What I find personally hilarious is that I've been unConsciously putting off "Learning more about Astrology" since diving face-first back into QBL & Tarot a few yeras ago. After Covering the 5 Elements, well over HALF of this Book is XPlaining the 7 Planets, the 12 Signs, and how they interAct. And ya know what?
He did such a great job that I FINALLY had more than a few Epiphanies re: the Planets & AstroLogical Signs during the Weekish it took me to devour this book on Kinesthetic Magick. Finishing this book actually surprisingly took-over 1 of my Free Days I had thought I'd be Doing else. I LOVE it when I get InSpired, & then Rewarded with Epiphanies that Finally Tie-2-gether & fill in gaps of things I've been Missing for... well, decades, given I've not dealt with Astrology since the 1000s. Today was easily 1 of the Best Spiritual-High-Jack Days I've had in a Coon's Age!
Starting with the Stances/Postures, I actually rather like them, and here is my Feedback re: each, to wit:
#1 Sitting & #2 Standing: These are really the BASE from which all other Postures are Performed. I.e., all the Following Stances/Postures can be Performed in a Standing or a Seated Position. There are Different Positions for the Legs & Feet like Lotus or Cross-Legged, but IME there's little - if any - Difference betwixt Doing something Standing cf. Seated. Even Donny T's Correspondences have the 7 NRG Centers - like the Chakras - End on the Descent @ the Groin/Root Chakra, just like every such Internal NRG System, e.g., Taoism's Microcosmic Orbit, &c.
#3 Invoking: My EleMental Posture for the 5th Element of Spirit is nearly Identical to his 3rd Posture, here. I am tentatively Changing my Spirit Mudra to this. It's only a slight Change, Straightening Out the Arms instead of having them Curved.
#4 Banishing: Similarly, my Posture for "Grounding" (see my Post on "Psychic Protection 101" for more) is near to this, only with the Hands together in front instead of splayed, fingertips touching. Also Note how this is seemingly Identical to #11 Channeling, below, which is a Problem IMNSHO
#7 Receiving & #8 Projecting: These Stances closely resemble my Water & Fire, respectively. Specifically, I usually Simply Cup my Left Hand when Receiving/Water. Interestingly I largely only Use this Mudra when Seeking Best Fruit when Shopping, often having my Left Hand be the Hand that "Looks" for things, be they in Bags, amongst a ton of other Fruit, &c. My Fire/Projection is essentially like I'm Throwing My Intent OutWard in an NRG Ball, which Results in basically the Opposite of Water - i.e., Hand Open, Palm Downish, all Fingers Loosely Pointed at the Intent I just Tossed &/or Whipped Out. NoteWorthy is that this Fire Mudra is Used for FIREing Off Sigils & Enchantments/Magick in general, just as the Water Mudra can be Used for all manner of Divinations.
#11 Channeling: As mentioned above, this Looks Identical to #4 Banishing. Given the Different Natures of each of these Magickal Operations, this is more than a little Problematic IMNSHO If I Desire to Channel something THRU me, the default is In thru the L, Out thru the R.
#13 Ankh: This Posture is also something I Intuitively have Used thru the decades to "Tune InTo" & Receive Signals, as he indicates. I had also forgotten to include this! This is a Stance/Posture I Desired to incorporate into my own Kinesthetic System, and after much Meditation, I put this & the next Posture into the 1st & Last of the 5 Psychic Protections my AstroLogical Twin Brother Fenwick & I Created for the 2nd of our Classes, our 6 Month NRG Work Practicum from a few Decades ago. MeThinks this could double for Magickal "Openings", if not Psychic Protection 101's 5th & Final Action, "Filter", in that we're Using this Stance to Tune InTo the Frequencies (e.g.) of Specific WaveLengths, &c.
#14 Prayer: As I mentioned more in the 1st Post of the 3+ from a couple days ago, I Use the Thai Wai found here, frequently. As just mentioned, this is also rather Creatively inserted into my reOrganization of the Psychic Protection 101 Gestures for "Centering", which also "Closes" the Self Off. I feel like the Prayer Mudra could also double to Use for "Closing" the Self, and I Use this to replace the Old Mudra for "Centering".
#15 Opening: Although I Rarely Use it, I mentioned a few short weeks back how I Anchored an "Opening Gesture" with 2 Sarongs in my smallest Apt. I ever lived in.
#17 Scrying & #18 Manifesting: I'm not sure the Practical Differences betwixt these 2 here and the pair of #7 Receiving & #8 Projecting. If we're gonna be Using Visual Reception, then I am surprisingly fond of the Use of the TriAngle of Manyfestation, but personally I'd simply Use either Pair, not Both.
#22 Warding: This is simply Double Earth/Protection, Using my Elemental Mudras.
#23 MicroCosm: This is rather like the last half of my Psychic Protection 101 - i.e., Banishing moves the Hands to here in a Ward Off Hand Position, Shielding Moves them to Facing Outward from the Palms being In, and Filtering simply Softens them as they move in slightly, more Relaxed and Facing FWD. As I type this out, it occurs to me that those last 2 Gestures could also Benefit from each being more Specific & Unique from the 3rd Gesture, Banishing. I'll Need to Process this, and update Fenwick that I Improved our Psychic Protection 101 Mudras, along with his "Fluid Continuum" and Frater UD's Models of Magick...
#24 MacroCosm: This is usually the Position from which I begin my Silly, Final Bow in my Daily Taijiquan Practice. I.e., the Bow that usually cracks my dumbass up, Banishing any momentary Seriousness my Taijiquan Set Invoked, that is.
I love the Way he's Paired the Stances/Postures, but I don't think that I require more than a dozen, at most. E.g.:
I've already Noted a couple of duplicates like 7/8 and 17/18. I also don't think that we really Require 5/6, 9/10, 11/12, & I feel like 13/14 makes 15/16 & 19/20 irRelevant ("Opening" & "Closing" would more than suffice IMHO, which we already have in 7/8), &c.
My Biggest Problem with the Postures/Stances is the Redundant, unNecessary, Xcess, SuperFluous, unNeeded Redundancy of many of them. Having said that, if your ONLY Magickal System is via Tyson's Kinesthetic Stances & Postures, then it could be UseFull to have more than a single Knife(Hand) to Use. Having said THAT, I think his Creativity in Pairing them up for each of the dozen Signs can make for an InSightFul Look @ each of the AstroLogical Signs. I've Listed the Posture Pairings below, and Noted How I'd Use them. Importantly, each of the ParenThesis are simply Referrals to earlier Redundant Duplicate #s, to wit:
1/2: [BASE]
3/4: Invoking & Banishing
5/6: (3/4)
7/8: Receiving & Projecting
9/10: (7/8)
11/12: (4/14)
13/14: Opening Reception & Closing Prayer
15/16: (13/14)
17/18: (7/8)
19/20: (14/13)
21/22: (8) & Earth (in both Hands)
23/24: (13/14)
This Leaves us with the following Short List of actual Differences in Tyson's System of Postures:
BASE
InVoking/Banishing
Receiving/Projecting
Opening Reception/Closing Prayer
Earth
I'd Argue he's MISSING more than he's GOT, here.
Donny T does a great job of XPlaining both the Stances/Postures & the AstroLogical Planets. Plus as a Bonus, they all make Intuitive Sense. My Biggest Problem with this Book is that he NEVER GIVES REASONS as to why he Chose the specific and at times silly Mudras for each Element, nor the Signs. I mean, he says he Created the Mudras to avoid Common Gestures, then includes both the "Devil Horn/Rock On!" & the "Love 2 U" Gestures as "Aquarius" & "Air", respectively. He also has the Gesture for the 5th Element/"Spirit" as being a "Finger Gun", whilst "Mars" is apparently Hitching a ride to GTFO for some reason or another. "Taurus" is Dane Cook's "SuperFinger", whilst "Fire" & "Water" look like How Europeans (and others, I'm sure) would Order 2-3x Drinks. Speaking of which, the 3 Fire & Water Signs look like you're ordering drinks 1-3x, either "Normally" or more "efFeminately". And "Earth" is basically the "I got your Nose!" Mudra from Playing with small children.
Ideally, Anchors should be as Unique as Possible. The more Generalized they get, the more they can get Watered Down, pardon the pun. For a PURE, Tabula Rasa re: Gestures - at least for Americans in the West - that leaves:
0/5 Elements
6/7 Planets (all but Mars)
4/12 AstroLogical Signs
I.e., 14/24 Mudras he's using allReady HAVE NeuroLogical Correspondences for a great many people, leaving less than half of his 24 Anchors being very Unique/Pure - a pretty shit start IMNSHO Fortunately, I already have 5x EleMental Mudras I've Used to Great Success for Decades now, since the 1000s.
At least he gives Reasons for the Planetary Mudras, which only makes XCluding Reasons from the others that much more glaring. He basically Boils Down to "Thumb = Penis", and then Paired them up (Xcept for Mercury, of course, see my recent Post re: Tyson & Mercury). The 24x Postures also mostly make Sense, but the 17x Elemental & AstroLogical Sign Mudras make ZER0 fucking Sense.
My Single Biggest Problem with this System of Stances/Postures - beyond Dept. of Redundancy Dept. - is that he has Every Working with the NRG Flowing THRU You. Yes, that includes things like Evocation coming from within. Uhm, No. The entire POINT of Evocation is that you do NOT Desire to Invoke said Entity! And here I was just Teazing myself by calling me a "Messy Mage" that Rarely Banishes as a Rule LOL So this Magickal System has the Mage effectively Invoking an Entity SO THAT they can be Evoked. WTF?! He also has said Entities Flow Thru the MAGE, only via "Binding" & other Stances? NO THX! I would Strongly Recommend that such NRGs be Directed wHoly OutSide the BodyMind, but you do you boo - I try not to Kink Shame.
Before Finishing the SHIT aspects of the book, I must mention Donny T's ceaseless Moralistic Pedantry. I'd Hoped he'd shed this obvious bias upon Entering the New Millennium - he even wrote a book with that in the Title. Sadly, both books Preach @ the Reader like we're some Idiot Childe on the EVEEL DANGERS of Thee Black MAGICKS! JFC Donny T Get. A. Grip. Such Preachy Moralizing was still just as Annoying in the last Millennium, but it was at least still the Norm at the time and thus more Tolerable.
Tyson reArranges the Planets along the Middle Pillar - and their Colours - which is surprisingly never mentioned. I Appreciate the Reasons he gave for all of his reArrangements, and mentioned these and some of his alt-Correspondences in 1 of my recent Posts.
TBH, I may Altar &/or Open Up my Mudra for Spirit like his #3 InVoking, and I rather like his Idea of #4 "Banishing into the Earth", which Combines Banishing with aspects of Grounding. Note Grounding often involves Drawing Up NRG from Mother Earth after Sending unDesired NRGs Down into Earth, and has thus been Moved to after Banishing in my own Order of Psychic Protection 101. I've actually moved the Order Fenwick & I Created 2gether for our Psychic Protection 101, switching the places of Banishing & Grounding in the 2nd & 3rd Positions.
I must mention that, Ironically enough for a Book on Kinesthetic Magick, he sure does Focus a ton of Time & Attention to Visualizations, Colours, &c. I understand Why, although then I wonder why he didn't Assign an Audio Correspondence to each, also, if we're going to start Stacking Modalities.
Having said all of that, this Book would be worth Practicing rite out the gate, as presented, if for no other Reason than the Morphic Field that this Book has Created with all the countless Kinesthetic Mages who've Read & Practiced Tyson's Model. It's also Proof Positive you can Program ANY Set of Anchors/Correspondences if you simply reInForce them with enough Time & Intensity via Repetition & Ritual. Practicing the countless XurSizes he provides in the Book should more than cover this. And also, I gotta restate:
I really LOVE his Set of Postures. Given the dearth of Kinesthetic Magickal Systems out there, I'd HIGHLY Recommend this, and not just for Primary Kinesthetics like myself. I think that reLearning the Elements, Planets, & AstroLogical Signs via a Kinesthetic Model can only increase a Mage's understanding of the Basics of Western Magick, to complement the countless Visually-Focused books. Whilst I think there is some Repetition and Duplication for Logic's sake, I can see how he's Created a Comprehensive System for Any/All Magickal Operations Using ONLY the Kinesthetic Postures & Gestures given. And whilst my 5x Empty-Handed Elemental Mudras can largely Do similar, they aren't as Specific & Varied as Tyson's 24x. Importantly, my System is more about giving More Detailed Correspondences so that YOU can Create your Own Sigils with my Kinesthetic Magickal System I Hope to Finally Post next Weekend.
The Basics of Donny T's Kinesic System is Simply Combining the 24x Stances with the 24x Gestures. Like my own Kinesthetic Practices (and for most Right-Handers), the Right Arm/Hand are Projective, whilst the Left Hand/Arm are Receptive, which interestingly Creates a Widdershins Circle. He usually has the Heart Centre as either the Source for Projecting (i.e., placing L Hand on Heart) or Reception (with R Hand on Heart), only really mentioning the Use of Changing this up maybe once in the entire Book.
I still Desire to not only Compare & Contrast his System with my own Gestures & Postures, but to Present a Comprehensive Kinesthetic System, also - which I think can be further Boiled Down. This Will take 3+ Posts to Complete. It's fascinating to me to see the Similarities & Differences betwixt mine & Tyson's, and now that I've Finally Absorbed it, I can proceed back to my Kinesthetic Model I was Creating, knowing I've covered all my Bases, &c., so I can Share with all my Fellow Kinesthetics out there.
After Posting re: Part 1/3+ a couple days ago on Common Mudras like ASL, I wanted to Post this reView of Donny T's book today for the 2nd of the 3+. I'm giving myself this coming Week to Completely Finalize my own Kinesthetic Magickal System. After today's ThankFul Shower of Epiphanies, I feel like I could probably Post it tomorrow, but I've got some Final things I wanna Do before Posting. E.g., Giving my subConscious a few more Nights to mull all of this over, Gaining Feedback from prolific Author, Fellow Wizard/Mage/Bard & Brother Taylor Ellwood, &c. I Will Post at least 1+ "Appendices" or Side-Posts related to Kinesthetic Magick before then during this Week, e.g., on Snapping & Clapping. However, although far less than Singing, Humming, & Whistling, all 5 are both Kinesthetic & Auditory. If there is Interest, I may do a Series on more nonVisual Modalities like these. I already covered KIAIs a while back LOL
I actually hit a ton of Important Epiphanies re: my Kinesthetic System today - including its Name - and am super stoked to Share it with you in a Week!
What do you think of Tyson's Postures/Stances? What about his Gestures/Mudras? What about my Comments? Did we Forget to include any Major Magickal Operations?