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Donald Tyson explains his methods of astral projection – and how you can do it

CAN WE LEAVE our physical bodies and travel to other worlds, other dimensions? Those who practice astral projection say that it is not only possible, but that it can be a wondrous journey where we can meet human and non-human beings and gain insight into our lives on earth. Donald Tyson, author of Soul Flight: Astral Projection & the Magical Universe (Llewellyn Worldwide, 2007), explains the nature of astral flight, how each of us can achieve it, what we can expect to find in the astral universe, how it relates to the UFO abduction experience and lucid dreaming, and how to avoid any dangers.

Q: There are many books available on astral projection. What are you attempting to provide in Soul Flight that is different than other books?

Tyson: In Soul Flight I wanted to take a look at the entire scope of astral projection in all its forms. Books about astral projection usually follow the model established by Sylvan Muldoon and Hereward Carrington in their influential work The Projection of the Astral Body (Rider, 1929). They describe the astral universe in the terms set forth by Muldoon, which in my experience are woefully inadequate.

Muldoon, although a gifted astral traveler, had a limited and materialistic conception of the astral dimensions – he saw the astral world as little more than a double of the physical world, yet this is only one tiny aspect of it. He encountered few astral entities who were not human, because he had the firm expectation that he would see only humans, and the astral level that we travel to is shaped and defined to a large extent by human expectation.

Muldoon was a Spiritualist, so naturally he tended to see the astral universe in Spiritualist terms. His insistence upon the reality of the silver cord, a supposed strand of elastic matter linking the physical body with the astral body, is almost fanatical. He expected to encounter dead people, and at times he did so.

Muldoon’s view, which has become the standard view of the average person, is that astral projection is the actual projection of a double of the physical body beyond the envelope of the skin and out across the material environment. This double remains connected physically to the body by means of a cord that is almost infinitely elastic. According to Muldoon, the astral double actually travels across fields and along roads and through doorways as it explores the astral plane, which in Muldoon’s experience was almost identical to the physical plane, and lay superimposed over it. Essentially, for Muldoon, to project was to walk through the physical environment in an astral body composed of very subtle and usually invisible physical substance that was projected out of the physical body, but always remained linked to it by the silver cord.

All this is hopelessly simplistic and naive. Astral travel is not projection out of the body. It occurs entirely within the mind. The levels of the astral world are mental levels. At the same time, the physical reality that we experience is also a mental creation, and exists as a level of the mind. This is something Muldoon could never have grasped. The astral world can overlie the physical world, so that at times an astral traveler seems to walk around in the physical environment, precisely because both physical world and astral world are mental constructs. They are, of course, different in kind, but both are formed within the mind, and therefore no projection is required. It is more a matter of shifting from one mental state to another – of changing mental resonance.

The astral experience is much broader than imagined by Muldoon and the Spiritualists. I trace its various forms from the soul flights of the primitive shamans of our pre-history, all the way up to the remote viewing of the CIA secret project known as Stargate, which was on-going until 1995. Some of the forms taken by soul flight, as I prefer to call the experience, include: the sabbat flights of European witches, which were induced by the use of narcotic flying ointment; the encounters with fairies that are so common throughout Celtic history and folklore; the bilocation of Christian saints, induced by physical austerities and prayer; the deliberate experiments in astral projection that took place among the Spiritualists, Theosophists, and Rosicrucians; and the close encounters with UFO aliens that are commonly reported in our own time.

Also examined is the close connection between soul flight and such related experiences as dreams and scried visions. Crystal gazing involves a kind of soul flight. There is very little difference between viewing an astral scene and entering it, although most people don’t know this. The alchemist Edward Kelley, who scried for the magician Dr. John Dee, would often find himself suddenly surrounded by the spirits he scried within Dee’s crystal, and would briefly become a part of their world.

Similarly, remote viewing is no more or less than a type of astral projection, even though remote viewers themselves do not recognize it as such. There is little difference between sending the consciousness to a remote site on the astral plane, and sending a double of the physical body to that same remote astral location. Remote viewers never view physical locations – they view astral locations that reflect the physical locations. There is no such thing as projecting either the consciousness or the astral body across the actual physical landscape. Projection is always an astral event, but since the astral overlies and touches every part of the physical world, by projecting across the astral world, any point of the physical may be viewed in its astral reflection.

So to summarize, two things distinguish my book.

The full scope of astral projection down through history is examined as a unified type of human experience, in spite of its seeming diversity. Also, astral travel is shown to be a mental activity, not the projection of some sort of subtle body beyond the physical body. Levels of the astral universe are mental states, just as is the physical environment we create from moment to moment in our minds. Because astral and physical planes are made of the same mind-stuff, they can overlap. This is why we sometimes see ghosts. Ghosts are astral overlays on the physical plane.

Q: I was surprised to see a chapter on UFO abductions in the first part of the book. What’s the connection to astral travel?

Tyson: The insight that UFO abduction experiences are a form of astral travel is very important when seeking to gain a true understanding of the nature of soul flight in its larger scope. I am not the first person to suggest that alien abductions may not be physical events, but I believe I have explained more clearly than most how they can be astral events.

Those who suffer alien abductions undergo a shift or jump in levels of consciousness, from physical perception to astral perception. The physical world is still experienced through its astral reflection, so the person having this event believes himself to be awake and in his ordinary state of consciousness. The alien beings with which he interacts are astral beings, but because astral beings are capable of projecting tactile sensations that seem completely “real” there is no way for the abductee to know that he is dealing with astral beings, not physical beings.

This is something that perhaps must be directly experienced to be fully appreciated. I can testify from personal experience that the touch of a spiritual being – a being composed of astral substance, not physical substance – seems utterly physical. Indeed, at times it is impossible to tell the difference between the touch of a spirit and the touch of a living person. When I say impossible, I mean impossible. The hand of a spirit can feel exactly like the hand of a person touching your skin. Yet that spirit is not physically present, and does not even possess a physical body.

The aliens perceived during alien abduction events are spiritual beings who inhabit the astral realms. They are not physical beings. Yet their touch appears to be completely physical to those who endure it. This perfect imitation of physical touch is what causes the confusion. Abductees can hardly be blamed for believing that the events are completely physical. They trust the evidence of their own senses, and their senses tell them that the experience is a physical experience. But it is not physical, it is astral.

As I point out in my book, there are strong parallels between the fairy abductions of past centuries, and the alien abductions of today. Indeed, they are one and the same event. The beings who at one time were perceived as fairies are now perceived as aliens. They have put on new forms that are better adapted to the expectations of our scientific age.

It would be impossible to convince someone who has been abducted by aliens that it was an astral event. After all, they have felt the hands of the aliens on their skin. But in past centuries, it would have been equally impossible to convince those who believed themselves to have been taken into fairy mounds that they had not suffered a real and physical abduction. That is one expression of the power of soul flight – that the astral can seem so real, it becomes a physical experience that involves all of the senses.

Q: How important is ritual to the practice of astral flight?

Tyson: Another goal of my book is to emphasize the importance of a ritual structure in experiments with soul flight. The value of ritual is twofold: it both facilitates astral travel and provides protection against malicious astral beings. Ritual has the useful function of separating consciousness from the mundane reality and elevating it to a higher level. For this reason, its use in past centuries as a framework for astral travel was almost universal. No shaman would have considered attempting soul flight without ritual support.

Yet today, ritual is generally dismissed as meaningless and unnecessary. In most of the books written on the subject of astral travel, you will find no mention of it. Muldoon did not use ritual, and his example has become the modern norm.

It is possible to travel through the astral realms without ritual support, but it is easier and safer to use ritual. That is why it was employed by the Golden Dawn and related groups of ceremonial magicians. Ritual is part of the history and tradition of soul flight.

One value of ritual that is often not considered is that it transports consciousness to a different level. When the ritual is terminated, consciousness returns to its normal state. Once the habit of ritual is adopted, it becomes more difficult to shift levels of consciousness without it, and this acts as a safeguard, since it is much less likely that consciousness will shift without the intention or awareness of the practitioner. If astral travel is simply engaged in without any ritual structure, this shift in consciousness is much more apt to happen when it is not wanted – while driving, for example, or while at work in the office.

As much as the beginner desires to make the first astral journey happen, he does not want to have it occur by itself at awkward moments. He does not want to be confronted with astral entities while talking to his company executive in the boardroom, or when trying pass a semi on the highway. There is a time for astral travel, and a time to avoid astral travel, and ritual is very helpful in marking out the boundaries between the two states.

Q: Many people are frustrated by failed attempts at astral travel. What advice would you give them?

Tyson: Most people can experience soul flight in one form or another, if they apply themselves to its study and practice. Regular exercises are important, along with an optimistic attitude. Some are better at scrying in the astral than traveling through it. I do not consider myself to be particularly adept – certainly nowhere near the level of a Sylvan Muldoon. Yet I have achieved astral flights that have been of great significance to me in my spiritual and magical development.

There are many avenues that lead to the astral realms. If direct travel is difficult, the use of a crystal or mirror may work. Or if waking travel is difficult, it is possible to induce dreams of astral travel. This was a common practice among the Egyptians and Greeks of the ancient world. There were temples devoted to dream oracles, where those seeking the oracles slept. Such dream oracles are a type of astral travel.

My advice to those who have tried the technique in a book and failed would be to give the method a chance for a few weeks or months. Do not quit too easily. It takes time to build up reflexive habits that aid in ritual work and in the change in states of consciousness. If at last, you find that a particular technique is not working for you, try something else. There are many books available on the subject of astral projection, and many different induction methods.

I do advise that a simple ritual circle be used as a focus for the mind, and also as a protective barrier against astral intrusions. It is quick and easy to project an astral circle around yourself before experimenting with astral travel. Do not worry about being locked within the circle – the center of every circle is a gateway that leads in and out, and your subconscious mind will open this doorway automatically when you seek to project beyond the circle. You can facilitate the opening and closing of the doorway of the circle by visualizing spiral swirls opening and closing. The point doorway at the center of a circle is opened by means of a vortex. As I say, this happens automatically, but it can be aided by visualization.

Q: What is your preferred method of achieving astral projection? What works best for you?

Tyson: For informal astral exploration, to lie in bed in the dark and open myself to the perception of images works well. I allow the images to form themselves, and then I enter into them. After long practice, these animated scenes begin to form on the darkness whenever I turn my attention toward them. I can watch what unfolds or interact with the beings who inhabit the scenes.

In the book, I describe a formal ritual structure that uses an astral staging zone where the astral journey is initiated, a zone that is fully protected from intrusion by its very structure. It is useful to go to the same place in the astral world when you initiate astral travel, and use it as a kind of leaping off place.

This was the practice of the remote viewers of the CIA and it works well as a general approach to soul flight.

I also describe the use of an astral elevator as a way of separating and defining the various levels of the astral universe, which are sometimes referred to as astral planes. By means of this elevator travel is possible not only to the hither astral realms, but also to the lower realms, such as the land of fairy, which exists just beneath the surface of our waking condition.

Q: You mentioned “malicious astral beings” earlier. Is there any danger in astral projection? If so, how can it be avoided?

Tyson: The dangers of soul flight are overrated. Most beginners mistake frightening encounters that surprise or repulse for actual perils. This is usually not the case, although sometimes a traveler can injure himself in his extreme desire to escape from an astral being or an astral scene that he is emotionally unable to cope with.

One danger that does not exist is the risk of having the silver cord cut. This is supposed by some authorities to cause death. However, as I show very clearly in my book, the silver cord is only a metaphor for the link between the consciousness and the physical body, and since astral travel never really involves travel beyond the body, but only changes in mental states, the connection can never be cut. I agree with Allan Kardec, the famous Spiritist, who wrote that there was no danger of being stranded outside the physical body. At any real danger, the consciousness immediately returns to its awareness of the physical world. The whole concept of a silver cord was an unfortunate fixation of Sylvan Muldoon and is at best merely an artificial and symbolic creation.

Another unnecessary fear is that astral entities can harm you on the astral plane. It is true that astral beings may accost you or even fight with your astral form, but they cannot harm it.

What does sometimes happen in rare instances is that a kind of reaction may occur in which the perceived injury to the astral body shows itself on the physical body. This is known as repercussion. My own view is that these injuries are caused by the mind of the soul flier himself. Just as belief can cause warts to vanish, or the wounds of Christ to appear, so can belief that the astral body has been injured cause reflexive injuries in the physical body. But these are not caused directly by an astral attacker. They are caused by the faith of the traveler himself.

A magic circle around the physical body is a very useful defense against the intrusion of astral beings when the body is in a trance state during soul flight. It prevents the highly unlikely displacement of the consciousness by a spirit, which would result in possession.

The ritual I describe in my book automatically divides the place of working for the soul flier from the greater astral world, thereby excluding possible malicious spirits.

In any emergency it is always possible to snap back into ordinary consciousness. This is not recommended since it can be abrupt and somewhat uncomfortable, but it is not harmful and in the face of a perceived danger is a sure way to remove yourself from any astral confrontation.

Really, the dangers of astral travel are so exaggerated, it is almost unnecessary to consider them. However, they are not entirely imaginary, and in the unlikely event that the traveler ever faces a real danger, I have provided defenses both in the very structure of the general ritual and more actively in the form of a protective amulet, the use of names of power, and through the tried and proven lesser banishing ritual of the pentagram. Fear of possible dangers should not deter anyone from experiencing the wonders of the astral world.

Donald Tyson is the author of more than a dozen books on divination, ceremonial magic, the Kabbalah and other occult subjects.

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