fandomhigh | Magical Theory 101 (Monday, 02/06/2006, 5th Period)

CLASS IS CLOSED FOR GRADING.
The door is closed in order to minimize disturbances from the hallway. As usual, Jenny has coffee laid out for her students. She's also got fresh fruit on a tray. For once, she's going to try to be healthy.

"First off, we're going to be talking about the basics of working with energy. No, we won't be doing any practical demonstrations. But if you're going to be working with magical energy, well, in my dimension, these are the very basics. Grounding. Think of it as extending your energy down into the Earth and anchoring yourself there. A lot of people who do magic without grounding themselves? Get dizzy and lightheaded and in danger of passing out. The bigger the working, the more you need to be grounded.

Yeah. It's kind of like with electricity. You find more than a few parallels between physics and magic. Weird, huh? ~~Please don't ask me too many physics-related questions as anything more than the absolute basics are totally not my strong point OOC.~~ But still, a lot of people visualize themselves as rooted in the Earth like a tree when they ground themselves. Which is kind of a neat analogy too, huh? You can use the concept of grounding solely for magical working, or you can use it for meditation too.

Next in line? Centering. It's a way of focusing. Some people say it's a matter of focusing your mental processes in the center of your head. Personally, I'd say if you focus yourself in your head, great. Some people focus their magical center elsewhere--like their abdomen, maybe, or their heart, or even their physical center of gravity. Some people use visual aids. A lit candle, maybe, or a favorite stone, or a bowl of water. Whatever works, right? It's a very individual thing. A lot of centering is a matter of concentration, making sure your thoughts aren't too scattered to work the magic you're trying to work.

So, does this hold true where you're from? What does it sound like to you? A good way to get started, or total bunk? Maybe something else entirely?

Useful Links:
Ms. Calendar's Voice Mail
Ms. Calendar's E-Mail

{{OOC: OCD comment threads ~~going up shortly~~ are up.}}

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Sakura ponders. "I guess the sort of magic I practice required the same sort of thing," she says. "I've never really thought about it that way before."

"The same sort of thing?" asked Jenny. "What are the differences?"

"I never really had to think about it before," Sakura explains. "Kero told me what to say, and it... just sort of happened." She shrugs a little, somewhat confused herself.

"So you use a verbal focus, then?" asked Jenny. "Some sort of preliminary incantation, I'm guessing?"

Sakura's eyebrows knit together -- she has to think about that for a second. "...yeah, I guess so." She nods. "I'd never really thought about it that way, but yeah." She leans over and extracts her deck of cards from her bag, tilting her head at them as she absently shuffles through the deck.

Jenny glanced curiously at the deck.

Sakura blinks at them, then smiles up at Jenny. "You want to look at them?" She shrugs lightly. "They're not really anything special to look at, but... yeah." She offers the deck of cards out to her.

"Sure," said Jenny, taking the deck of cards. She started looking through them.

OOC: I have no clue about your canon. :) What are the cards like? Would Jenny be able to get any sort of magical vibes off them? Thanks!

OOC: Oooh, pretty! Gorgeous artwork. And we'll go with faint magic vibes, then. :) Thank you!

"Very nice," she said. Faint prickles of magical vibes were coming out of the cards as Jenny shuffled through them. "You work magic with these?"

Sakura nods, and unearths a small charm hanging on a chain around her neck. "Using a different incantation, this becomes a staff," she explains, setting the necklace down and tapping the charm. "It allows me to control the cards."

"Pretty," said Jenny. "And useful. Nice double whammy there. So what do you do with the cards?" She handed them back after she finished looking at the pictures.

"All kinds of things," she explains. "Some of the cards are elemental, some of them are just sort of... random skills. There are attack cards and cards that are more ... submissive, if you will."

"Sounds like fun," said Jenny. "Must take a lot of practice."

Sakura made a face. "It took a while to get used to it," she says. "And some of the cards have a more ... rebellious nature than others," She raises her eyebrows, pausing a moment over the "Dash" card in the deck. That had always been a fiesty card -- strangely cute, the card's spirit looked rather like a cross between a cat and a rabbit -- with the temprament of a siamese cat. She shook her head and stuck the cards back in their designated pocket in her bag.

Jenny grinned. "Thanks for sharing. It's neat to see something out of the ordinary magic-wise."

Magical Theory 101 (Monday, 02/06/2006, 5th Period)

Re: Discussion - Today's Topic: Grounding and Centering

Re: Discussion - Today's Topic: Grounding and Centering

Re: Discussion - Today's Topic: Grounding and Centering

Re: Discussion - Today's Topic: Grounding and Centering

Re: Discussion - Today's Topic: Grounding and Centering

Re: Discussion - Today's Topic: Grounding and Centering

Re: Discussion - Today's Topic: Grounding and Centering

Re: Discussion - Today's Topic: Grounding and Centering

Re: Discussion - Today's Topic: Grounding and Centering

Re: Discussion - Today's Topic: Grounding and Centering

Re: Discussion - Today's Topic: Grounding and Centering

Re: Discussion - Today's Topic: Grounding and Centering

Re: Discussion - Today's Topic: Grounding and Centering

Re: Discussion - Today's Topic: Grounding and Centering

Re: Discussion - Today's Topic: Grounding and Centering

Re: Discussion - Today's Topic: Grounding and Centering