Mental Imagery: The witch’s doorway to the cosmos
The article presupposes that »The ability to experience mental imagery in some forms appears to be an innate capacity in human beings«. On this basis the author discusses the techniques advocated for the cultivation of mental imagery within Wicca, and the major part of it plays in the belief system...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Diagonal-Verlag
2012
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| In: |
Zeitschrift für Religionswissenschaft
Year: 1995, Volume: 3, Issue: 1, Pages: 81-90 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) |
| Summary: | The article presupposes that »The ability to experience mental imagery in some forms appears to be an innate capacity in human beings«. On this basis the author discusses the techniques advocated for the cultivation of mental imagery within Wicca, and the major part of it plays in the belief system itself. Using Noll's definition of mental imagery cultivation as »the deliberate, repeated induction of enhanced mental imagery«, the author seeks to show how this is done by Wiccans, its purpose, and that it is an integral component to the inducement of metaphysical »powers« which, apart fromt ist celebratory aspects, is the axis of the Wiccan belief system. Various techniques of Wiccan visualisation are considered, and in particular the process of mental imaging is set in relation to the practice, central to witchcraft, of casting the sacred circle. The concluding discussion considers the potential of mental imaging for healing purposes and for the general activation of imaginative life. »Neopaganism, in general, seems to provide a contemporary cultural niche for the spiritual exploration of the imaginai worlds. Perhaps they are the modern Western equivalent of the indigenous shaman,« |
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| ISSN: | 2194-508X |
| Contains: | In: Zeitschrift für Religionswissenschaft
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1515/0022.81 |