00:30 Apr 06 2013
Times Read: 374
The study of transcarnation, in necromancy, is a matter of blurring the lines between life and death. The enchantment of the body is a skill which relies heavily on intuitive transmogrification of the flesh into something less (more?) than what it was. Transcarnation is sought after by many diligent necromancers because of the tendency for those hovering between life and death to be more sensitive to the interactions that take place between the netherworld and the material world. Even the anecdotal accounts of those who have endured a near-death experience often report seeing spirits, knowing of the presence of soul, and also, in some cases, sense the presence of death itself either as a sensation or as an anthropomorphism. There are also other types of accounts by those in the nursing and health care profession who have attested to being able to "feel" death in a room where one has recently died or by those interested in divining using objects of the recently departed. These phenomenon are indicative of the powers that exist which allow the skillful necromancer to manipulate their own soul, and indeed their own body, to become sensitive to the netherworld and to furthermore precipitate events from that level which will manifest as changes to the self.The transformation to lich form represents the pinnacle achievement of any necromancer since it is, in essence, as close as one can come to being perfectly attuned to the realm of the dead without actually being a true denizen of that dimension through bodily death. Short of physical death itself, the lich state is the closest affinity to the netherworld that one can possibly achieve while still connected to a physical body. The spiritual lich form is considered such a coveted state of being that many necromancers would willingly sacrifice large portions of their life span to achieve such a thing. The attraction lies in a few facets, but is ultimately reduced to one of the single most coveted goals of all major forms of necromancy: to allow the soul to survive the death experience with the mind intact.The purpose of the lich state, on its highest level, is to know.
It is the transcendent knowledge of the levels of human consciousness and being able to straddle these levels simultaneously to produce an effect similar to what has been called "gnosis" by various sects and magical orders, yet the necromancer does not also maintain the utter arrogance to think that necromantic lichform's variant of gnosis is actually an absolute knowledge. It is simply the most perfect state of self made manifest to the self by the self through the systematic shedding of common confusing corporeal elements and instead seeking to achieve bilateral existence in both the material mundane world and also the metaphysical netherworld. There are a few ways in which necromancers have traditionally attempted to achieve the lich state, which will be discussed in turn.The first and most radical method of achieving the lich state is through the use of drugs and dietary changes. Similar to the vision quest of a shaman, necromancers have occasionally taken it upon themselves to discipline, master, and then release their own body to the extent that it seems to simply fade away, leaving nothing but the aware and raw thanatoic consciousness. This is considered a radical method because many have not been so tame in their approach as the traditional shaman and have made use of many different types of chemical and regimen as aids. This seems like an attractive option, at first glance, for those that would like a quick and dirty solution to achieve liche form in record time with minimal effort, yet it should be kept in mind that this is very much a synthetic approach and carries a great deal of risk both to the body and also simply of causing a vile and pitiful state of self-induced illusion due to inadvertently increasing the amount of 'corporeal noise' which the lich state is aimed at dissolving. Nevertheless, some have chosen to use a synthetic route to achieve bodily dissolution and have routinely and aggressively made use of hallucinogens, narcotics, poisons, smoking, drinking, starvation, sleep deprivation, catatonic trances, bloodletting, and other forms of physically and mentally taxing deconstruction methods on their own body. (Obligatory Legal Warning: It absolutely must be noted now that none of these methods are necessarily condoned and that quite often there is a legal, psychological, interpersonal, and financial risk involved in using any these methods or their variants, not to mention the obvious risk to health.
No responsibility can or will be taken for those that use this information as a justification for misconduct of any sort. It is known to be a suicidal method which is typically considered psychologically abnormal and often requires lawbreaking and spending a great deal of time and money to destroy the body and thus can not be condoned. This is presented only for academic purposes.)These methods are certainly not unique to necromancy, per se, as a great many eastern methods and modern western methods within the realm of the occult have also used similar means, and most notably hallucinogens and catatonic postures, to achieve a heightened awareness. The most notable spin that necromancy has given to these techniques, and that which makes them necromantic specifically, is the aggressive and self-destructive zeal with which certain necromancers have used these methods. The purpose is not to simply enjoy the experiences or to achieve an epiphany and then return to normal life, but rather to punish the body with a fanatic barrage of hazardous techniques and substances until it is no longer strong enough to interfere with the matters of the soul. This artificial catharsis is meant to reduce the noise the material world presents by reducing the ability of the material body to accept these interruptions. With the body stupefied and the brain less active, the mind is allowed to note the subtle nuances of the realm of the dead and how it interacts with the corporeal realm.Notably, in the necromantic world view, the brain and the mind are considered two different patterned phenomenon. The brain is simply the neural circuitry which allows the body to interface with the corporeal world. It is fantastically complex in its own right, yet does not, to the necromancer, represent the sum total of that which we commonly call the "true self". It is a physical thing which coordinates the physical body. Damaging the brain hinders one's mechanical ability to express emotion and thought in the material world, yet does nothing to destroy the mind. The mind is the closest semblance of a true self possible which naturally attunes itself to the material world due to the prepared matrix it is tethered to upon birth. The presence of a body ready to be used is too opportune for the mind to not default to when introduced to corporeal reality, yet it is amply clear to the necromancer that this default set of sensory delights is not the only set that exists.
There are multiple levels available for exploration, yet the necromancer, for reasons often unique to the individual practitioner, has chosen to primarily explore the realm of the dead.To begin this exploration the necromancer has to learn to stop relying on the five physical senses of touch, taste, smell, sight, and hearing as their sole means of receiving information. Perhaps due to the human condition, and our desperation to relate all things to terms which cater and correlate to the five material senses, necromancers will often speak of "seeing" ghosts, "smelling" death, "feeling" the chill of death, "hearing" voices of the dead, "tasting" fear or grief, and similar things which are, in essence, knowingly false comparisons made by analogy out of necessity for the sake of comprehension. The necromancer knows full well these things transcend the physical, yet our only way to relate necromantic experiences to our peers is often to simply make analogies based on the familiar five senses. Be wary of reading necromantic material for this reason; take care to not fall into the trap of literally understanding comparison and analogies. Instead, consider that the mind is an entity almost independent of the material world (yet related in ways that no necromancer fully understands) which is being fed information it can translate from any of a thousand realms and information sets.Releasing the mind from the trappings of the material world, as opposed to the synthetic methods mentioned earlier, is an arduous task. The necromancer must first understand their goals, plot a method which will achieve these goals, then set to a unbroken regimen of concentration which is continually buffered by sheer willpower and discipline to achieve these set goals through the planned method. The goal of lichform is to transcend the physical world by attuning to the realm of the dead, as was stated earlier. The most common mechanism used to achieve this end can be synthetic regressions of the body, or selective progressive dismantling of the body.
Selective dismantling is the traditional way of achieving this state, and is guaranteed to be permanent, assumably barring exceptional circumstances, but is also far more taxing on the mind and requires a great deal of time and effort.Dismantling the senses in favour of increasing thanatoic sensitivity is less of a feat than it is a way of life. To begin the lichform transformation is the beginning of a new way of life rather than simply being an experience to walk away from. It is the sharing of information equally between the spirit and material worlds which makes a necromancer completely aware of occurrences on both planes.To become an embodiment of the living and dead worlds requires the necromancer to remember. Too often seen as nostalgic doddering, reminiscing on past experiences is the key to achieving perpetual lichform. In this way the adept necromancer becomes somewhat of a mystic autobiographer; without introspection and analysis of past successes, intertwining death with life is impossible. The almost comedic irony of the lich state is that it is, in essence, only a most advanced and integrated form of all those rudimentary essential elements which have been previously developed. It is not as much of a new skill as it is the ability to simultaneously and perpetually engage the majority of skills that have already been accomplished. Much like drugs with superadditive properties, the history of one's own successes, when crystallised as a complete life regimen, will become more than a simple sum of component parts.To not only second guess, but also to anticipate as well as react to events will separate the actions of a lich from the actions of a regular necromancer. While the term "undead" refers to the dead which have mythologically, figuratively, or ideologically achieved a semblance of life, a necromancer who has successfully attained the state of lichform could be said to be in a state of "unlife". While still living, such a necromancer has learned to adapt to the impulses of the realm of the dead and necessarily relies on the veracity of these impulses because of the accuracy of their interpretation of thanatoic intuitive senses. Having tasted of the precognitive powers death has to offer, drawing solely on the physical senses and deduction for information quickly becomes tedious, trite, and wearisome. Once competent in reading information from the realm of the dead and also comparing and contrasting these events with material occurrences, reliance shifts from the material to the ethereal.The first major step in becoming a lich, beyond generic instructions, is to replace the sense of sight. Primary among the senses, as much as 60% of the brain is dedicated to vision.
It is the most pervasive of all the senses and also the newest acquired sense in evolutionary history for the human species. For being so relatively new it certainly has become the single most dominant sense, often overriding other senses and taking our attention away from those things without a visually perceptible facet. This is the first major challenge an aspirant lich will face on the road to transcarnation. The necromancer must learn, first and foremost, that seeing is not believing, nor is seeing necessarily even important. Defeating the senses by systematic dismantlement and reintegration with impulses of the netherworld is the key. It is tempting to associate the mechanics of necromancy directly to the five corporeal senses, though this trap is avoidable by keeping in mind the fact that we were born into a material world and have been conditioned by society to acknowledge nothing that does not fit into the schematics of "proper" academia. As such, it is tempting to say that we "see" spirits, or "smell" death, though these things are merely mental correlations to that which is familiar. If that were the end of it though, such associations would be considered a natural adaptation. Unfortunately, this is not the case.Stripping down the qualitative value of a necromantic omen or urge by feeding it to the desire to liken everything to sensory terms is utterly detrimental to progress. It would be like trying to condense the power of Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven to "a talking bird perched on a statue". Sadly enough, such barbarian butchery is often used by posers and passed off as "necromantic study" but the finer points, which make all the difference, entirely elude these coarse imposters. Since common language is constructed to address only the five conventional material senses though, it is literally impossible to adequately record the nature of these experiences without creating new words. These things each practitioner must explore and record on their own. In essence, the crux of the matter is to simply not accept blanket physical occurrences at face value. See the inner meaning by examining the immaterial catalytic factors through whatever means is deemed appropriate.The last and most curious point about the lichform transcarnation regards changes in the practitioner which may or may not occur, depending on methods used, stage of progression or regression, and overall health. With the espousal of the realm of the dead into the life of the necromancer upon achieving a lich state, there seems to be a general trend among necromancer throughout history to have achieved the power they desired, yet also reflect their powers with rather gaunt complexions and frail frames indicative of their practices.
The actual mechanics of this transcarnation are unknown as of yet, since few would dare say they have ever achieved full liche form, even for a moment, yet there are many in various lower stages of transformation which swear by the tales of old and the whispers of modern practitioners warning of the attrition that higher necromantic processes inflict on the user and their surroundings. Of course, as with any information of this sort, take it with a pinch of the proverbial salt, but do not discard it. Though not a rule set in stone, the reasoning is sound: shrouding the mind in an eternal pall of death carries deathly effects with it as the mind interacts also with the material plane.In summary, the landmark achievement in transcarnate necromancy is to employ, in an integrated manner, as many of the previously perfected necromantic skills in an attempt to weave them into a single cohesive way of life. Also, above previous skills, the ability to centre the ego from the realm of the dead so that its impulses become a primary form of receiving information is key. Essentially, becoming a denizen of the realms of the living and dead simultaneously is the goal, and the rewards is everything that either realm has to offer.
1.Second Sight -- Does the world seem different to you when toggling between the realms of the living and the dead? Do the carryovers from each world appear consistent?
2.Selective Dismantling -- Are you capable of shutting down sole reliance on the material world for the sake of understanding the netherworld? Can these material interruptions be laid aside for a time to promote concentration on understanding necromantic impulses?
3.Sensory Transition -- The old senses have taken second place to reliance on the realm of death. Are cognitions from the death realm lucid enough to reliably act upon?
4.The Body Metaphysical -- By blurring the lines between life and death, effectively seeing the two states as coterminous spectra of the same reality, is the interplay between metaphysical effect and physical causation readily apparent?
The process of necromantic transcarnation has long been a fascination of the necromantic world. To turn into something which is still living yet resembles that which is dead (i.e.. "unlife") has been an obsession since the middle ages and continues into this day. Some claim to have achieved it, and some very enlightening theories (and some not-so-brilliant ones) have come to light over time to bring us ever closer to creating a perfect formula for liche form. In the form of a perfect lich lies unlimited access to the boons of the realm of death; what more could any necromancer want? Infinite possibilities lie within this art and science of necromancy. Personal transformation, precognitive effects, channelling the dead, binding souls, sapping life, communing with the dead, and many other effects are all possible through this discipline, yet they are only the merest fraction of the possibilities that exist. These travelled paths can be likened to a mere few cells contributing to the complete body of necromancy, which is always evolving. Understand the precepts herein, apply them, master them, but, most importantly, expand on them when the formulas of your peers become insufficient. Exploit the liquid adaptivity of this dark art and remember always to revere the power of death.
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COMMENTS
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LordFangor
01:01 Apr 06 2013
How is that working out for you? I mean the whole blurring the line between life and death.? Where is Schrodinger's Damn Cat, when you need it?