130 Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard
saries for this game). An example might be: “Magick
is the art of probability enhancement.” Then, with-
out letting anyone else see what you’ve written, whis-
per your sentence into the ear of the person on your
left. That person, in turn, must whisper those same
words to the next, and so on around the circle.
Each person should pass on exactly what they
think they heard, whether or not it seems to make
sense. When it gets back to you (or whomever started),
speak it aloud to everyone, and then read aloud the
original statement you’d written down. Invariably the
original sentence will get so garbled as it is passed
from person to person that the final version can be
quite humorous! For the next round, the next person
in the circle starts in the same way.Psychic Games
Games to demonstrate psychic abilities are popu-
lar for small circle meetings of 5–7 people. Here are a
few examples:Levitation: One person sits in a chair and four
people stand around the sitter. The people put their
right index fingers under the armpits and knees of the
person who is sitting and try to lift him or her. Gener-
ally, it can’t be done. Then the standing people put
their hands over the head of the sitter, raising and low-
ering their hands together to the count of five. They
quickly place their index fingers as before and easily
lift the sitting person into the air.Rigor Mortis: One person lies down on the floor,
on his/her back, arms at sides, eyes closed, and pre-
pares to go into a trance, breathing deeply and steadily.
The other people line up on either side and count
slowly backwards from 10 to 0 while gently stroking
the person from head to toes. At the count of “zero,”
everyone says “Rigor Mortis!” —whereupon the per-
son goes completely rigid, stiff as a board. Then ev-
eryone picks the person up and lays him/her like a
bridge between two facing chairs, feet on one and head
on the other. If you have done this successfully, you
can sit on the belly of the “bridge” person and he/she
won’t collapse!Free Fall: This one is often used in Initiations, and
is a lot of fun. One person stands on a low stool, cin-
der block, or box—no more than a foot off the ground.
Another person stands in front of him/her and says:
“Close your eyes and breathe deeply. Feel safe and
secure, completely trusting that no harm shall come
to you. Lock your knees so your legs won’t bend, and
prepare to fall backwards.” Meanwhile, everyone else
gets behind the person on the stool and prepares to
catch him/her. After giving the person a moment to
prepare, the one in front touches a finger to the breast-
bone of the one on the stool, and gently pushes him/her backwards. And everyone else catches him/her,
and lifts them high in the air, before setting him/her
back on his/her feet.Transmission: People pair up, sitting back to back.
Each person has a notepad and pencil. Taking turns,
one person (the Sender) thinks of an image and draws
a picture of it, concentrating and focusing on trans-
mitting it to the other person while drawing. The other
person (the Receiver) tries to pick up the image his
partner is sending and draw it on his own pad. Do
three different images before switching Senders and
Receivers. Then compare drawings and see how close
you’ve come. After a set of six images (three in each
turn), switch partners with someone else, until every-
one has gotten a chance to pair up with everyone else.Dowsing: One person hides a quarter somewhere
in the room (or yard, if outside). Tape another quarter
to the center of a Y-shaped forked “dowsing” stick.
Holding the ends of the two branches in your hands,
and using the main part of the stick as a pointer, try to
locate the hidden coin. You can make up as many
dowsing sticks as needed for everyone to search at
the same time. Whoever finds it keeps the quarter!Role-Playing Games
(by Jack Griffin)
Role-playing games are a great way to learn what
it’s like to see the world from another’s eyes. In their
way, all role-playing games can be considered a form
of acting—a seemingly mundane skill with roots in
true magickal shapeshifting. Though there are many
different types of role-playing games, each has this in
common: It offers the chance to be someone else, to
experience what it might have been like to be a hero
(or a villain), and to live inside of a story.
When playing a role-playing game, imagine what
it would be like to be that character. Try to see your-
self as that person inside the story, and listen to the
images presented. Smell the winds. Hear the horses
gallop. Experiment. See what happens. Perhaps the
spirit of that character will teach you something. When
interacting with the other players, try to think like that
being would, in that instance. Why are they the way
they are? What motivates them to be who they are?
In their way, role-playing games provide a beau-
tiful framework for a shared dream, allowing us to
express parts of ourselves that might be difficult to
let out in mundane society. But be warned. Role-play-
ing games are a powerful tool and can be seductive.
The idea of living in the story of a hero, free from
crisis and challenge, is compelling. It is a challenge
to take the story’s lessons to the beautiful world be-
yond it. Our ability to project ourselves into different
worlds is no less important than our ability to pull
ourselves back from them.- Practice.p65 130 1/14/2004, 4:21 PM