Issue date: Saturday, October 7,
2006
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P A R A
N O R M A L I N S I D E R
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Hi,
Everyone! A client asked me recently about
the best time of day
for doing a certain
magickal ritual and the question prompted me
to
put together some information on why the darkest
dark of night is
most conducive to magick, as
well as to ghost- hunting and
paranormal
phenomena in general. The 'Witching Hour'
is
traditionally believed to be the time when
ghosts, demons and
witches are the most powerful
and it is the time when spells and rituals
are
worked most effectively. To be precise, the
witching hour is
at midnight on a full moon.
(Moon phases are crucial to magick, with
the new
moon, waxing moon, waning moon and full moon all
having
their own distinct properties). Many
people, though, refer to the
midnight hour on
any night as the witching hour. Looking at
the
field of ghost-hunting, researchers also say
that most ghostly
and paranormal phenomena occur
after 3 P.M., but the vast majority
occur after
nightfall, with peak hours for experiencing
ghostly
manifestations being between midnight
and 3 A.M. which is in keeping
with the general
image we have of things going 'bump' in
the
night. A possible scientific explanation for
the magic
and mystique of the midnight hour is
that the earth's atmosphere,
which is constantly
bombarded by strong solar winds during the
day,
is pulled in close and dense to the earth's
surface while we
are facing the sun. At
nighttime, when we are sheltered from the
sun,
our atmosphere becomes much larger, stretching
out into space
and having much less density.
There is, therefore, less interference
and
resistance to electrical and magnetic energies.
This makes it
easier for electric or
magnetically based entities and phenomena
to
manifest, and perhaps even eases their very
entry into our atmosphere.
This atmospheric
phenomenon is also the reason that in
general,
radio stations come in much more clearly at
night, even
those far away, than they do during
the daytime. Many
experienced ghost hunters
also believe that "between" times are
very
conducive to ghostly manifestations. "Between"
times include
dusk and dawn, eclipses, equinoxes,
and solstices. It is also said that
while a
clock is chiming midnight is a "between" time.
Many also
point to the end of the calendar year
as a magical time, and speak- ing
of calendars,
some people feel that ghosts still know very
well what
day it is on the other side of the veil
as they often appear on or
around the
anniversary of their passing. These changes and
shifts
that we mark in earth time are perhaps
felt in other planes and
dimensions as well, and
because they mark a shifting energy and
conditions are in flux, this creates a portal or
maybe even rings a
doorbell in the spirit world.
It seems that mysticism and science both
hold
possible explanations for the eerie reputation
of the witching
hour and the increase of
paranormal activity people experience at
night.
We also have to consider that with less back-
ground noise and
distractions at night, and our
lessened ability to gauge our 3D world
as
clearly in the darkness, there are obvious
factors that
contribute to our heightened
sensitivity at this hour, so while ghosts have
an
easier time making themselves known, we also
have an easier
time of perceiving them. Are
you afraid of the dark? Or do
you get shivers
when the clock strikes 12? Perhaps you have
a
favourite relative that visits you in spirit
form each year on a
certain day. You are not
alone. Washington Irving, authour of
"The Legend
in Sleepy Hollow", wrote, back in the 1830's:
"Two
pairs of eyes are watching me now, from the
couch and the ledge by the
window. Faerieland
shines in those eyes. And I must leave you,
for
it's the witching hour and a full moon is
rising..."
carpe diem! Zsuzsana Summer
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Now,
here is a selection of letters from our
Readers' Mailbag.
Paranormal Encounters I
have a few experiences to share. I really
enjoy
reading your newsletter. You are welcome to use
any of these;
all together or separately as you
see fit. Shadow
person? Years ago, when I was
around the age of 13, I woke up in
the night and
saw what I now believe was a shadow person. The
head
of my bed was against one wall of the room
and my bathroom doorway was
directly on the
opposite wall of the room. Standing in the
bathroom
doorway was a tall figure whose head
almost reached to the top of the
doorway. The
figure was pitch black, solid looking, and in the
shape
of a man. I couldn't see any features
other than the silhouette shape.
Behind this
figure was a bright light that filled up the
bathroom. I
know this wasn't a waking dream
because when I woke up, I was staring
at him for
a little while and I was wide awake. I said my
brother's
name and "Is that you?" but I didn't
receive a reply and the figure
didn't move. It
just stood there. That's when I realized nobody
in
the house could fill up the doorway like that
and how weird it was that
I couldn't even make
out a face. It literally looked the same as
if
you took a picture of a person and then drew
over the person with
a black marker. That's when
I got a little scared, so I hid my head
under
the covers and eventually fell asleep. I have yet
to see
another shadow person but years later,
this same room became my mom and
stepdad's room.
The night my great uncle died, my stepdad saw
a
shadowy figure standing at the foot of the bed.
Aliens This happened at my mom's house one
night while
I was visiting around 1995-96. I was
sleeping on the floor in the
living room and my
stepsister was sleeping on the couch. My mom
has
said that she's been abducted by aliens multiple
times and she
remembers a lot of it. This
particular night, I woke up and saw three
aliens
walking around in the room between the living
room and her
bedroom. This room can be seen
through a set of French doors and
two windows.
The light in this room has a dimmer and it was
usually
left on during the night so I was able to
see these aliens well. They
were about 4 feet
tall, very skinny, long arms with no muscle
tone,
and the skin was a light greyish color.
They were wearing long sleeved
jumpsuits of a
dark color. They had the alien heads but the
eyes
weren't quite as big as in most drawings.
All I could do was lift my
head up and I soon
fell right back to sleep. The next day, my
mom
mentioned that the aliens came, and her
description, including
how many there were, was
the same as what I saw.
Ghost This happened
in the middle of the day. I went and laid
on my
side for a nap. After just a few minutes, I felt
that
the side of the bed behind me was dipped
down as if someone was sitting
on it. As soon as
I was thinking about that, the mattress
popped
back up, I felt a light touch on my head, and
then a whispery
voice said, "Liiiiiiisaaa." I
jumped up and nobody was there! I didn't
know
anyone that recently died, so I still haven't
figured out who
this ghost was. Lisa
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Hi
Zsuzsana, I find your newsletter both
interesting and comforting.
It reinforces the
knowledge that there is definitely something
more
after this life. To know that others have
had similar experiences is so
comforting to me.
I have had only two "groups" shall we say
of
spiritual experiences but they have made a
definite impact on my
life. The first type of
experience happened when my
Grandfather died. I
was only in the sixth grade when he died.
His
death was my first loss of a loved one. I had a
"dream" that
was more realistic than any dream I
had ever had. I was in my
bedroom when the
spirit of my Grandfather came through the door.
I
jumped into his arms for one last hug before he
moved on. This happened
again when, at the age
of 23, my father died after a two year
fight
with cancer. As with the other "dream", this
"dream" was very
different than dreams I had
ever had. My father and I were out in
our
backyard sitting at a picnic table. The sun was
shining
brilliantly. He told me of how he was
happier now and was going to
be OK. He told me I
shouldn't worry about him and that he was not
in
pain anymore. Was I dreaming or was this a way of
both of these
beloved men communicating with me
before they moved on? To this day,
and I am now
55 years old, no one could convince me that
these were
simply dreams. The other experience
I had was with a cat. Again,
this happened when
I was only in my teens. My beloved "Kitty"
(yes
that was her name), had contracted feline
leukemia. At that
time, the vet told me and my
Dad that the only way to determine if
the
ailment was indeed feline leukemia, was to give
her a blood
transfusion. If she failed again, she
would have to be put to
sleep. I got an advance
on my allowance and went ahead with
the
transfusion. Kitty was like a new kitten. She
had energy again
and started to play as if
nothing had ever ailed her. However, two
weeks
after the transfusion, Kitty suddenly fell off
of the table
she was sleeping on. I scooped her
up in a towel and my Dad drove
us to the vet's
office. I know that Kitty died in my arms before
we
got there. I don't remember if it was that
night or maybe even a couple of
nights later, I
went to bed. I turned out the lights and started
to
drift off to sleep. I was suddenly startled
back into complete
consciousness because I felt
something jump onto my bed. I felt
the
impression of paws walking up the bed to the side
of my face. I
heard purring in my ear and could
feel breath on my cheek. I sat bolt
upright and
turned on the light. Nothing was there. After
calming
myself down and telling myself it was my
imagination, I turned off the
light and tried to
get to sleep once more. Before I got into any
state of semi-sleep, the same order of events
happened again. This
happened for a total of
three times when I finally got up and made
my
way downstairs to the kitchen. I knew that I
would not be able to
get back to sleep any time
soon as the experience had actually scared
me.
When I got to the kitchen, my Dad was sitting
there. It
was close to midnight and he would
normally be asleep by then.
When I told him why
I had gotten up, he told me that was why he
was
sitting there. He had had the same experience!
Sadly, I think Kitty
knew I was frightened and
never came to me again. I will always
regret
that. These encounters I have written about
today are
the only experiences I have had in my
lifetime. I suspect that
perhaps we are more
open to such things when we are young. What
is
your take on this? Do you find that these things
usually are more
acute when we are in our youth?
Marsha in Massachusetts
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Hi,
The first "weird" experience I have
encountered is the number 13. It
just seems to
come up for me all the time. If I grab a handful
of
something, there are 13. It started when I
was about 20. To this day, I
wear 13 rings on my
fingers. I don't know what it means, but I call
it my
lucky number. Most people fret about
Friday the 13th. Not me, I
embrace it. The
second weird experience happened when I
moved
into my house. I have an entertainment center
that has
several Christmas ornaments hanging
from it. I was sitting on the
couch and all of a
sudden one of the ornaments took off swinging
as
if someone had hit it with their hand and sent
it sailing. I looked
around and there was no cat
in the area (I have two). So I just told
my
spirit, I won't bother you if you don't bother
me and we can live
together peace- fully. The
third weird experience has been my
telephone
ringing. I will wake up to hear a phone ringing,
but it is
NOT my house or cell phone. I just
hear a ringing phone. Other
times my house phone
will ring once, or even half a ring, and when
I
wake up there is nothing there. I have
attributed it to my Grandmother.
She passed away
two years before I got my house and I figured
that
was her way of telling me she is around and
watching over me. If it's
not, at least it feels
good. It also makes me wonder if it was
her
knocking my Christmas ornament loopy, as
Christmas was her
favorite holiday. Any
insight to these three consistent
happenings in
my life would be appreciated. Thank
you,
Lezlie
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If you
have any comments for Lezlie, Marsha or
Lisa, please post them to our
forum at:
Paranormal Insider Forum If you wish to send me
a story
for publication, please email to:
paranormal@zsuzsana.com Take care and see
you
next week! Zsuzsana Summer
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