Advice: Is it Dangerous?

Are there any dangers of Astral Projecting? I have read that you could die from it. But I can not remember the source, therefore I don't 100% believe it. I have never been able to project, and have never done extensive research in projecting.

I have a friend who is a Satanist. He is one of the most intelligent people I know. He meditates daily, for hours at a time. He has told me he has spoken to demons, and Satan himself. He has described astral projection as being able to be anywhere, without being there physically, as long as you have been in that place before, or know someone who is physically there, and have an attachment to them.

I have also been told it is similar to in Hollywood movies where the person dies and is walking around like a ghost. Able to see and hear their loved ones, but unable to touch/interact with them. This is the "idea" that I believe the most.

I have trouble believing many things people tell me due to being told false things about magick when I was 11-13 by people I trusted, and now have trouble doing my own research, due to having trust issues.

I was wondering if anyone had personal experiences good or bad, and if you could explain what Astral Projecting is really like, or if it is different for each person. I like recommendations for books, but I don't have the financial ability to purchase any. I have Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft and have skimmed it, but still, don't really understand.

Any advice is appreciated. Thank You. Blessed Be.

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Hi! :D I've had some experience with AP. And to answer your primary question, yes, it can be dangerous. I've seen the negative side of it, as well as the beneficial side of it.

Astral Projection, from what I understand, is projecting your spirit into an alternate plane. My experience is limited to the astral realm, since I didn't go globe trotting while in this phase. And in this alternate plane, literally anything is possible. I've talked to gods, I've talked to living people (I woke up and talked to them in real life to make sure it happened) and I've talked to spirits. You want to throw a fire ball? It can happen in the Astral realm. You want to become a magic unicorn? Astral realm can do it. The Astral Realm is from what I understand it an almost dream world made of and by your imagination.

However, it is also seductive. I have a friend with bipolar depression who is an extremely gifted psychic but wants to die so she can live forever in the astral realm. It consumes her everyday life, every dream she has, and her every waking thought. Becoming consumed by the thought of the limitless possibilities is dangerous when it can affect you in unhealthy ways, so whenever you use astral projection, exercise caution and restraint.

I've never heard of people dying from astral projection, but people can get hurt if their projections are badly enough injured. I've woken up to a bruise from where someone kicked me in the dream world that was gone within a couple hours. Scary enough to wake up with that, and I've had friends with sore arms from what they did in the astral realm.

So the astral realm is what I like to refer to as a big bubble bath. Each person has their own little world within the Astral Realm. In your own little realm, you are safe and you control everything. You can call your spirits and ancestors there, commune with gods and allow them to teach you there. That's your bubble. You can also visit the bubbles of others, but here is where you need to be careful. You don't control the other bubbles, just yours. You can control your actions within another bubble, but that world is not yours, if that makes sense. My little bubble is just a forested area where I can commune with my goddess and she gives me life lessons working in a forge. Someone else's bubble might be a paradise, someone else's might be a hellscape. There are serious dangers to consider when traveling through the astral realm beyond your little bubble.

So through roughly two years or so of astral projection before I quit, I made a bit of a safety net you might find useful:

1. Anchor. Have something that connects your physical body to the physical world. This can be a pet you sleep with, a stuffed animal, a medicine bag, a crystal. Have something to connect your spirit here.

2. Remember it is a dream. You are dreaming. You have full control over when you want to wake up and what you do. It is possible to forget that fact when you're deep in there, but remember you are dreaming and you can wake up. If you feel unsafe for whatever reason, WAKE UP! This is why the anchor is important.

3. Shielding. It is possible to get hurt, so make sure you have your spirit guides, angel protectors, patron gods, all that watching over you. Use crystals and amulets if you have to, just make sure you are protected.

I hope this helps. This is just my personal experience with it and I haven't projected in years, so I've gotten fairly rusty over time.

I think Trinitarian gave a really thorough, great answer, so I don't have much to add.

One thing I haven't seen many people talking about is that one should always make sure spiritual experiences aren't the result of illness. Dissociation, for example, can be mistaken for astral projection, as it can cause people to feel as if they're outside of their body. Practicing astral projection isn't inherently unhealthy, of course, but I think it's important to make sure one doesn't have anything that may cause dissociative or hallucinatory symptoms first.

Also, some people believe that energy can be sucked from people's souls, which can be more likely if you're astral projecting or travelling to other realms as you're more likely to run into spirits. As long as you take the proper precautions, as Trinitarian outlined, I think you'll be fine.

As a side note, before attempting anything potentially draining like this, be properly hydrated and make sure you're not hungry. It's not a bad idea to drink some water and have a snack after astral projecting to get some energy back and help yourself ground.

I will play Devil's advocate here and disagree with Trin.

The astral realm is not a dream or mental realm. The concept of the astral realm is found from Eastern philosophy to the Western Neoplatonism. Many modern books and practices have taken it away from its source and added their own personal thoughts on it, turning it into something very different.

From one perspective it is the boundary that we cross through on our journey to other spheres of existence after death and from another, it is a whole plane of spiritual existence where all manner of spiritual being exist and carry out non-material lives. This means it is a place we can visit to communicate with spirits, souls of those passed, and all other sorts of non-material beings. That is an important thing because we can acquire knowledge and understanding by initiating contact with those in this realm.

If you look at this realm as a whole place of spiritual existence where you travel to through your astral body, there are things that can influence you through this vehicle of the soul. I've never actually heard any credible stories of anything grave or serious happening to someone doing this, but it is better to be safe when doing these kinds of things. Calling on spirits for protection is a good idea.

Thanks for the alternate point of view :) It's always good to have them, and not just trust my semi-bad experiences hehe. It's why I quit