Astral Projection: An Overview
If you’ve ever researched wizards or magik or, heck, even checked out our Remote Viewing episodes you may have also come across the phrase “Astral Projection.” Made infamous by practitioners like Aleister Crowley. However, it’s practice goes much further back than Crowley, and across the globe. You may also know Astral Project by another name, an “out of body experience”, however Astral Projection is almost always intentional. So what is this phenomena, and why does it linger around so many strange paranormal figures? Let’s find out together.
In its most simple form, Astral Projection is a term to describe an intentional out-of-body-experience. The idea of Astral Projection presumes the existence of something called an ‘astral body’, which is how consciousness can function separately from our physical bodies and travel through the astral plane.
The idea is, if you could harness the power of the astral plane you basically travel anywhere and, perhaps, even spy on people. Similar to lucid dreaming, you are meant to be fully conscious, in control of your decisions, and able to remember your experiences while traveling through the astral plane.
Although, like I mentioned above, the idea of Astral Project is centuries old it was popularized in the late 1800s in the west thanks to the infamous Helena Blavastky, who was one of the founders of the Theosophical Society, focused on spiritual exploration, mysticism, and even magic. She often taught people about the astral body and astral projection and was key in Crowley’s own exploration of astral projection.
While some claim to be able to travel around the world, many have treated in similarly to a meditative practice in line with many New Age beliefs. So, it’s no surprise that one of the prerequisites of astral projection is the ability to mediate.
But, is there anything to this? Well, there’s no scientific proof. We have no way to tell if anyone’s spirit/soul/etc leaves and/or re-enters their body. Without establishing this, it is hard to study the truth behind astral projection.
However, Jane Aspell, a cognitive researcher at Anglia Ruskin University in England told HowStuffWorks that it is possible for the brain to kind of create a mode of reality. She goes on to say, "There is evidence from multiple scientific studies that OBEs arise because of abnormal functioning of an area of the brain called the temporo-parietal junction. This is an area that combines signals from multiple senses to create the model of our self in the world.” If the brain were to malfunction, “it gives rise to an unusual model (and experience) of the self in the world – one that seems to be separated from the body."
The blog image is Joannis Elerti Bode Uranographia, sive astrorum descriptio viginti tabulis aeneis incisa ex recentissimis et absolutissimis astronomorum observationibus and is from the NYPL Digital Collection.
Thanks to Stephen A for this Blogsotnishing suggestion!