psychomagic
A short introduction to psychomagic.
About
Psychomagic aims to heal psychological wounds suffered in life. This therapy is based on the belief that the performance of certain acts can directly act upon the unconscious mind, releasing it from a series of traumas, some of which practitioners of the therapy believe are passed down from generation to generation.
Healing is a road towards happiness, the seeking of true joy
Psychomagic is an accelerator for healing, like surgery for the soul. The human need for ritual is primeval, and is our belief that most mental ailments come to people who feel alienated. Healers, shamans and religious leaders thru history have understood this, a shared morality, rituals and understanding has given them the capacity to connect with their members in a subconcious level to guide them towards healing.
The solutions that it provides open the door for consultants to work thru their addictions, traumas, but also it can be used to empower people into achieving their personal and professional goals.
What is a psychomagical act
A psychomagical act is a particular scene that holds the keys for the processing of the trauma. We use the language of the subconcious and aim to bypass rational thoughts. We can use any tool at our disposal to create the experience, some common ones are tarot, story telling, theater and music. Some practictioners add substances as props or to stimulate neuroplasticity.
Any practicioner can create succesful experiences on the spot, starting by listening to the consultants without passing any judgement and listening to your intuition.
We call them acts because actions heal and not just words, the consultants must be equally engaged in the experience and be in a place where they fully trust the performers.
Who is a psychomagician
Alejandro Jodorowsky defines them as therapists that use magic for healing, without believing in the superstition of magic.
Cristóbal defines himself as an urban shaman, who mixes several symbolic elements with the purpose of being useful and helping.
Any artist can practice psychomagic, psychoanalists aim to translate the the subconcious onto something that can be understood rationaly, we aim to communicate directly with it on its own language.
¿De qué sirve tener talento, si quien lo posee no canta, escribe o pinta? ¿De qué sirve hablar de amor por los niños si los educamos mal? ¿De que sirve pensar, si nuestros pensamientos permanecen como letra muerta? Es por ello que una vez que hemos comprendido, nuestra comprensión es inútil si no actuamos.
What’s talent for if is not for singing, writing or paiting? What’s love for children good for if we don’t educate them? What’s thinking good for if our thoughts lie like dead letters? That’s why once we have understood, our understanding is useless if we don’t take action
- Alejandro Jodorowsky
Repressed desires can be fullfiled metaphorically. The participants need to understand the risks involved in any act, the same power that heals can scar. Acts must always end in a positive note, or it can further the damage on the participants.
Psychomagic and burning man
According to Burning Man philosopher and historian Caveat Magister, burning man was created by psychomagicians.
Studying their history and psychomagic reveals the techniques for creating the magical, impossible, life-changing experiences developed over 30 years by San Francisco’s underground art scene — experiences that Caveat says became the very source code of Burning Man culture.
The point is that the things that really reach us, reach us not so much in the conscious mind, but in the unconscious mind, the subconscious mind, the regions of us that are below our conscious awareness, but still really move us and shake us and engage us and motivate us in ways that we don’t understand.
- Caveat Magister
Further Reading
Manual of Psychomagic: The practice of shamanic psychoterapy
Official website for the film by Alejandro Jodorowsky
Religion for Atheists: A Non-Believer’s Guide to the Uses of Religion
Turn Your Life Into Art — An Interview with Caveat Magister About His New Book