Psi Vampyrism and the Subjectivity of Perception

Disclaimer: I will be explaining, to the best of my ability, the nuance of metaphysical and spiritual experience through the perspective of a skeptic. I will question the validity of Psi Vampyrism, magic, and spiritual experience. I am a long time student – more than two decades - of energy work and magic from both solitary study and training under a handful mentors and specialized groups. I mention my experience not to boost my ego but for the reader to understand I take my spiritual and magical practice seriously and have devoted most of my life to it. It’s important to step back from time to time and question our beliefs and perceptions. To shed light on the doubts and inconsistencies. You may be uncomfortable or even offended reading certain perspectives that I share, which I assure you is not the intention but transparency on my directness of these topics. Sometimes hardship is necessary for growth, so I offer this blog not as a testament of materialism but as a testament to the subjective nature of perception. ... This weeks blog I offer Deeper Looks. These can be books, videos, articles, and conversations with people well studied on these subjects. It is important to have a variety of perspectives on a variety of subjects. For me, I take a single subject of interest and compare a wide variety of subjects to it. I’ve done this with martial arts and now I do it with Vampyrism and magical concepts. It helps keep me grounded as I learn more about myself and the subject of interest on a deeper level then I ever could have just studying the subject itself. It’s Not That Deep The deeper I get into understanding magic and Vampyrism the more I look to psychology and other mundane avenues to explain the weird and strange. Without getting into specifics as I am not a medical professional, the similarities between neurodivergence, autoimmune, and neuromuscular disorders, among many other quite mundane illnesses, have many of the same symptoms as Vampyrism. Mental and physical fatigue, emotional dysregulation, a constant hunger, sensitivity to noise, light, and temperature, etc. The line between what is energetic and what is psychological is just about impossible to define. Many of us have an emotional attachment to our beliefs and would rather believe we have some psychic power, psychic need, or are magical adepts when in reality we just perceive the world through a unique lens. This does not mean psi and magic are not real, but people often fall back on the spiritual and metaphysical to explain anything they are uncertain about. It is easier for a spiritual person to explain things through a spiritual lens but this isn’t practical nor beneficial for all things at all times. If I think I am fatigued because I am a Vampyre and go feed on a Donor, I feel better. Is it really from an exchange of invisible human energy or is it because I was around someone I admire as a lover or friend, or that they provided me with attention, touch, and conversation that I otherwise lack? Often, what we perceive as energy is an emotional exchange and chemical bond. Human touch releases dopamine and loving touch releases oxytocin the “love hormone.” A good conversation can brighten our day as much as a demeaning one can shatter it. What about feeding on ambient energy? As someone that has primarily fed on ambient energy for several years I can say there are positive effects, but are they really from siphoning invisible human energy or can they be explained in a mundane way? If I am having Cravings that food, sleep, water, and a good movie don’t seem to be helping with then I may go for a walk to a third space like a coffee house or book store to be around people. I sit in melancholy and fatigue and begin to open my perceptions to the crowd. I then make my way to the register and as I order I flirt with the barista, or am just friendly enough to open them up. I feel a little better. I sit and observe the other caffeine addicts and connoisseurs, pooling their energy into a misty formation and pull it into myself with a deep inhalation. I hold my breath to allow the collective energy to flow through my body and exhale to release any excess. I continue until I feel mentally and physically better. I sip my coffee and venture off. This is a common way I feed, but I can also break it down into three completely mundane steps: 1. I got out of my house and went for a walk, getting fresh air and a moment to clear my head

2. I had genuine human interaction which made me feel seen and validated

3. I did a breathing exercise and became mindful of my mind and body as a unit Deeper Looks: Almost all things of a metaphysical nature can be broken down into material and mundane concepts. Read some articles and/or watch educational videos on emotional fatigue, trauma, and the human need for touch or any other symptoms you are feeling in relation to your Vampyrism. Journal your findings. Art is Magic and Magic is Art “There is some confusion as to what magic actually is. I think this can be cleared up if you just look at the very earliest descriptions of magic. Magic in its earliest form is often referred to as “the art.” I believe this is completely literal. I believe that magic is art and that art, whether it be writing, music, sculpture, or any other form is literally art. Art is, like magic, the science of manipulating symbols, words, or images, to achieve changes in consciousness.” Alan Moore.

Everyone likes a good meme. They are funny and bring us some relief from doom scrolling. For those that may not know, a meme is much older then social media mind numbing cream and dates back to the biologist Richard Dawkins in his book The Selfish Gene (1976). The concept of the meme was inspired by the process of genetic information being copied, varied, and selected. Dawkins theorized that the same process happens on a cultural level and named these replicators ‘memes’ which are spread through social contagion. Introducing a friend to a musical group through a song and they share that song with a different friend, so on and so forth, is an example of a meme prior to social media doom scrolling. For the sake of simplicity, a meme is like a cultural virus. It spreads from host to host until it almost has a mind of its own. All I Want for Christmas, Carlton’s Happy Dance, and the Easter Bunny are all cultural memes spread through social contagion from radio waves to malls. In Chaos Magic we have tools called ‘sigils’ which are magical symbols created by the magician. They can be glyphs, short chants, or even longer form pieces of art like a song or comic book. Longer form sigils are called hypersigils, a term coined by Grant Morrison. Another form of sigil made popular by the early Fae/Otherkind (what we now know as Otherkin) is the glamourbomb. It is a phrase, symbol, or art piece that is shared anonymously in public spaces to create more magic in the world. Glamourbombs are thus memes shared through street art and now through virtual spaces via social media. The brain sees the symbol and associates it with nonsense or curiosity. If the individual finds it to be nonsense, then it is discarded. Magically speaking, this charges the sigil and then begins to take effect, but that doesn’t make much sense psychologically. What makes more sense is the second condition of curiosity. Even just the spark of curiosity can have a ‘magical’ effect because curiosity may lead to investigation or ones own creative output. Ritual itself is an art form, especially the ceremonial aspect. Church (or temple) is theater when you break it down. Their is a protagonist (Priest or Minister), supporting actors (altar boys, choir), a monologue (reading from scripture), a moral lesson followed by Communion (narrative), and final prayers (ending scene). All major organized religions have a similar way of performing their rites and rituals. Even the less elaborate churches and congregations rely on the telling of stories and use basic visual cues, be it a Buddha, a Crucifix, or simply gestures and speech that command Spiritual Authority. Masonic rituals are steeped in mythology and attire similar to what you would see in a Hermetic or Thelemic Lodge. Magically speaking, theater is a form of long form glamour and the director is the Minister of the play of Religious Indoctrination. Deeper Looks: Today’s science and psychology was yesteryear’s alchemy. Look into the psychology of color and shapes, research into memes and subliminal messaging, and the history of story telling, from the indigenous creation stories around campfires to the anthropomorphism of emotion and nature in ancient mythology. Remember to journal your findings and deeper curiosities. Go Forth and Vampyre I ask that you do not let doubt cloud your judgment on what you know to be viscerally true, but also don’t let what you know to be viscerally true cloud your logic and critical thinking. We live in a world of infinite perspectives and probabilities. What science and psychology cannot explain doesn’t mean the witch doctor has the answer, but that also doesn’t mean that the methods of the witch doctor are ineffective. Maybe your Vampyrism is tied to your neurodiversity or autoimmune disorder, that doesn’t make it any less real. It doesn’t mean you are crazy or that you need to suddenly stop calling yourself a Vampyre and drop the community. Maybe your Vampyrism is not tied to your neurodiversity or autoimmune disorder but feeding helps both as well as the strange energy deficiency you may have, but that doesn’t mean mundane actions should be dropped in light of Awakening. It is about balance. Your physical, emotional, energetic, mental, and spiritual all need to be in balance to be a fully functioning human. The more you focus on holistic health and well being the more you will be able to live a full life, to thrive as the strange creature you are. There is nothing wrong with being different, strange, or monstrous as long as you understand the veil is thin for us. The veil between body and emotion is thin as emotion can cause stress. Distress can debilitate us and eustress can enliven us. The veil between emotion and energy is thin as emotion can cause our energy to deplete (sadness) or explode (anger) and our energy can effect our emotions. Heavy energy can cause stress as much as heavy emotion, but one is an element tied strictly to the mind and body (emotion) and the other more fluid that ties into the spiritual (energy). So on and so forth, the more you work with energy and spirit with their similarities and differences to body, emotion, and mind the more subtle perceptions you can attain. These perceptions aren’t mystical or magical as much as learned behavior. Following are my distinct definitions of Body, Emotion, Mind, Energy, and Spirit concisely as possible:

Body – Your physical makeup of skin, bones, muscles, organs, brain, nervous system, and fluids, etc. Your body is tied intimately to the Earth and your environment.

Emotion – Your internal feelings of happiness, sadness, excitement, anger, trust, doubt, love, and shame,among many others. Your emotions are intimately tied to your Body and Mind.

Mind – Your mental qualities of identity and personality, inner and spatial awareness, core values,

thoughts, dreams, and other mundane perceptions. Your Mind is intimately tied to your Emotion and Energy.

Energy – Your subtle perceptions of both your internal and external perceptions, what many consider Extrasensory Perception stem from energetic sensitivity. Energy is the Sixth Sense which are basically the extended perceptions of the above, usually described as the “Five Clairs” or “Five Clears”: 1. Claircognizance – Clear Knowing

2. Clairvoyance – Clear Seeing

3. Clairaudience – Clear Hearing

4. Clairsentience – Clear Feeling

5. Clairalience – Clear Smelling Spirit – Your magical self, the You that is unique beyond your genetics and culture, what many mystics and magicians call the Self (the Self is also the Mind if it is strictly psychological as it is relegated to identity and ego). Many equate Mind, Energy, and Spirit as a singular entity but I have found the separation of these three helps determine best practices for sensitivity and manifestation. 1. Mind extends from the Brain

2. Energy extends from the Spirit

3. Spirit extends from the Soul (our connection to the paradox of divinity and imagination) Deeper Looks: There are vast amounts of spiritual and energetic modalities, study one or two of them and compare them to your previous studies on psychology and the human condition. If you are well seasoned in an esoteric practice, cross analyze your journals and experiences with modern psychology and medicine. Conclusion and Closing Remarks I offer you paradox. Challenge your preconceived notions on spirit and matter so you don’t lose sight of the truth of the matter – nothing is absolute. Perception is subjective with objective qualities. There are limits to magic and spirit but those limits will never be known unless you push past the limits of consensus reality. The power of Vampyrism is that you know there is something different and strange about you and the world at large. There is an entire culture of Nightkind that have the same previously unexplained experiences as you. There is a growing community of us and as we grow we are bound to find people and groups that may seek to exploit the young and gullible, young in age or young in the community. This blog is offered as a way to combat that cult mentality as it guides you to challenge your beliefs, your emotions, and your experiences through research and self analysis. It is not written to tell you what to believe or how to believe but to teach you how to discover belief through multiple avenues of thought. If you understand how a meme and subliminal messaging works then you understand how organizations, large and small, use branding and social media to influence your decisions. You understand both the frailty and power of perception. By understanding the mechanics of viral mind tactics you cannot only utilize these methods to your advantage but you can spot them easier and train yourself not to fall victim to their influence. Analyzing your Vampyric symptoms and comparing them to modern psychology and medicine you gain a better understanding of your overall health and well being. This self analysis will help you advocate for yourself with doctors and therapists. It will help you see signs of manipulation tactics of shady Houses and Covens by selling you mystical cures to all your woes. Continue feeding, reading, experimenting, and journaling. Self discovery, like the Vampyre, is Endless.