Astral Studies Assignments (Term 3)

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Seated at her desk, Professor Ignatia Kalpana regarded her class with a soft smile as the students entered and took their seats. She sipped from a cup of herbal tea as she observed them.  A few students looked uncomfortable, and Natia at once recognized them as the students that had failed to turn in their last assignments. As the last student was seated, she took one last sip of the tea and slowly rose.

"I am disappointed that some of you did not complete the last assignment, but I see no need to call you out into the hall this time.  Simply, this is your last chance to save your grade," she stated calmly. She regarded the students calmly, as a few exchanged nervous glances. "And for those of you who completed the last assignment, well done."

She cleared her throat, casting her gaze around the room.  A solemn look momentarily clouded her face.

"As is the academy's policy, those of you who have passed in the last two assignments, and are satisfied with your scores, are not obligated to turn in this final assignment. Granted, I hope you will, as this set of assignments serves to further you experience."

Natia clapped her hands together eagerly, her eyes seeming to glint with anticipation. The gentle smile returned, then transformed into a full grin.

"Let us begin, shall we?"

 

Beginner Courses

 

AST 101 - Introduction to Spirit Communication - a brief introduction to various spirit communication beliefs and practices around the world, as well as the ritualistic tools used

"For this assignment, I shall ask that you pair up with another student, for your own protection.  However, it is not mandatory, just highly recommended.  You will likely need the extra assistance should you have any difficulties in the dungeon." Natia surveyed the faces of her students. There were, of course, a couple eye rolls, but most of the students looked concerned.  "This is merely a precaution, as there have been students in the past that have been possessed or cursed by spirits in the dungeon doing this same assignment.  I speak from experience."  Natia raised her foot, then brought it crashing down on the floorboards.  "TACLOR!"

Taclor, Natia's horned spirit companion appeared, glaring at the students.

"Taclor is bonded with me as a result of my experience with the dungeon," she said with a wave of her arm in Taclor's direction.  "Therefore, I have invited him as today's guest speaker.  Taclor, you have the floor."

Taclor floated before the students, who all looked rather concerned at this point, much to Natia's bemusement.  She was glad, for they needed to be concerned, but more so about the assignment than Taclor.

"Ignatia Kalpana is bonded to me because she ignored my warnings to her.  She was an over confident student, just as many of you are," Taclor rumbled, and Natia rolled her eyes.  "Because she and her friend insisted on entering the dungeon, they experienced tragedy."

"Really, Taclor?" Natia sighed, leaning against her desk, her arms crossed. "I think the dramatics might be a little much."

"Fine, Ignatia," Taclor huffed. "But you were over confident as a student."

Natia gave an exaggerated sigh, rolling her eyes theatrically, causing a titter of nervous laughter from her class.

"IGNATIA!" Taclor erupted, whirling on her.  A collective  gasp came from the students, but Natia merely smiled, and gestured to the class.

"Alright, Taclor, I'm done.  Please, carry on."

Taclor began to speak again, describing the experience she shared with her friend Al as they attempted the assignment.  Hearing how Al accidentally offended the demon he summoned and how he became cursed by the demon's visions made some of the students pale.  When Taclor spoke of how Natia was willing to make a sacrifice to save Al, the class actually applauded.  Natia blushed, not expecting any kind of recognition.  Even Taclor seemed mildly taken aback by the reaction, as it took him a moment to resume speaking.  Then he spoke on the deal he made with Natia to save Al and how she honored her end by returning to the dungeon and becoming boned with Taclor.  When he finished, offering the cautionary advice of preparing in order to be safe, the students politely applauded.

"Thank you, Taclor," said Natia with a half bow as Taclor faded away.  "Now, please remember Taclor's cautionary tale, so as to try to avoid a similar fate."

Natia paused as a few students applauded again.

"Your assignment is to go to the dungeon and summon a demon with a song or story of your choosing.  Choose with caution as the darker your selection, the stronger the chances will be of getting a darker demon.  Please use a protection circle, or, at they very least, some protective charms.  And be respectful, offending a demon is most unwise. You may speak with your demon, perhaps get advice for an assignment or other endeavor, but do not try to issue a command at this time.  This is a dangerous assignment, but you are ready for it."

 

Assignment Summary

Working in pairs or individually, go to the dungeon and summon a demon.  Attempt to hold a discussion with the demon about its past, or try to give it a minor command.  Try to survive the assignment.

 

Students

Sagittarius (5,-,5)
Averill (-,-,-)
Avery (5,5,5)
Eurneid (-,5,-) 

 

AST 102 - Introduction to Psychoactive Plants - a study of various plants used in summoning  and spirit communication rituals

 

With a sweeping of her arm, Natia gestured to an array of herbs and plants on her desk.

"Through out history, plants and herbs have played an important role in death rituals and magic." She turned her attention back to the lone student that made up her class. "There are different beliefs within the various cultures for the reasons plants play such roles in these rituals, and that brings us to the topic of this assignment."

Natia opened a book to a page of images of some rather common herbs, placing the book on the table in front of her student.  She flipped a few pages, pointing out some samples and briefly discussed their common uses.

"While some plants are used to cleanse the soul or to bring protection in the spirit realm, others are used for aiding communication and focus in death magic," she stated.  "I want to read up on the different uses for plants and herbs in death rituals and magic.  Perhaps this will prove useful in your future endeavors.  Select a few plants and herbs to present about in class, focusing on spirit communication.  Bring some samples of these plants or herbs.  You may purchase the from the shops along Moonseed Lane or harvest them from one of the Academy's greenhouses.  Or, if you are looking for something a bit harder to find, you may wish to try the forest or the mountains nearby, but do take extreme caution if you go that route.  I'd rather you not die gathering herbs."

 

Assignment Summary

Study herbs and plants used for death rituals, identify ways to communicate with spirits with such herbs and plants and the potential uses for such methods, bring some samples of these herbs and plants to class.

 

Students

Sagittarius (-,-,-)

 

AST 103 - Introduction to the History of the Astral Plane - understanding the historic beliefs of the astral plane and the significance of the astral spheres

 

"Now that we have some experience in reaching the lower level of the astral plane, it is time we learn about reaching higher levels," Natia stated.  "As you already know, there are many levels to the astral plane, although some you cannot reach without already being a spirit.  However, today we are focused on a more attainable level."

Natia turned and pointed to a chart of the astral levels on the wall. It was slightly faded with age, but still readable.

"The higher one ascends on the astral plane, the more they can learn about themselves.  While on the lower levels of the astral plane one can sometimes find answers to other topics as well, on the higher levels one is better able to develop more of an understanding of who they are, and, ultimately, their full potential."  She smiled and turned to her students.  "Simply, the higher you ascend, the more you learn."

"The assignment is simple; using whatever method of meditation works for you, ascend to the next level of the astral plane.  Try to connect with a spirit that feels it has somehow been wronged, or perhaps has wronged someone else.  This may be the spirit of one that has passed on, or may still be living.  It is possible, in fact likely, that the spirit you encounter will be familiar to you.  Try to help the spirit ascend by finding a way to relieve them of their burden." The young professor looked at each of her students' faces in turn.  "Remember, this is a higher level, and I would not be surprised if you began to unlock truths about yourselves and your lives.  Or about who you wish to become.  The experiences may not always be pleasant, but if you can take away a lesson, then it is still good.  And sometimes the spirits you meet will not be tied to you, but how you choose respond to them is just as much of a way to learn about yourself." Natia waved her hand as she turned and mad her way back to her desk.  As she sat, she chuckled.  "Rest assured, I have  no interest into what you learn about yourselves, or if you do at all.  That is for you, and only you.  I do care that you report back to class with your experience.  Best of luck to you."

 

Assignment Summary

Try to ascent to a higher level of the astral plane using meditation or another method of your student's choosing.  Try to connect with a spirit that feels it has been wronged or is burdened by guilt or remorse.  Try to help the spirit ascend by helping it to feel better about it emotional burden, but be aware this may not be successful.

 

Students

Tsubasa (-,-,-)

 

AST 104 - Astrology - learn about Eastern and Western zodiacs and their impacts on divination

 

"Astrology is a useful tool of divination, and it can also help you to develop a profile for the subject you wish to use your magic on, for better or worse." Natia chuckled slightly. "A profile helps you to know what might be most…effective with your subject."

She gestured to her charts in the wall.

"I can tell you all have a great understanding of astrology and interpretations you find from books, but I'd like you to do some interpreting from the stars directly this time. For part of the assignment, you will need to rely on books, unless you can time travel to view the stars at the moment of someone's birth," she said with a slight chuckle. "But I also want you to use the current alignment of the stars to help determine the future. The books will help you interpret the meaning of the stars precise positions, I do not expect you to have that memorized, but this way you can develop a more precise and current interpretation. Remember, the stars positions at the time of birth can give a strong generalization of one's traits and future possibilities, but the current positions can help you foretell more immediate events."

Natia crossed to her desk, plucking up a scroll. She brought it to the student's table and unrolled it.

"This is a profile I wrote on my young spirit ward, Arozi, to help me better understand her.  As you can see, part of the profile includes a summary of traits I may expect to see in her over time, as well as a bit of a prediction on major events held in her future.  To create her profile, I used both zodiacs to determine her traits and a bit of her future. The added benefit here is that I know Arozi and can determine what information I glean from the zodiacs is most likely to be more applicable to Arozi, helping to establish a more accurate profile.  I do not dismiss information from the zodiacs, of course not. But if there are things  that seem more to fit with Arozi, I make a special note of them."

She rolled the scroll back up, and held it for a moment before returning it to her desk.  "We are aware that with the zodiacs, signs next to each other on the wheels often share some similar traits because the individuals born under those signs, especially on the cusps, will share similar traits. Just as those born under the same sign will have differences. Remember that the exact moment and location of one's birth can influence the traits they gain from their signs."

She cleared her through, blushing slightly.

"Apparently, having students stalk other students for assignments, even if just for observation, is viewed as unnerving by many. So for this assignment you will conduct two astral profiles, one for yourself, and one for myself or another student who agrees to it. In this way you will still be able to get a sense of the accuracy of your interpretations, and I'll hear fewer complaints about my less stealthier of students."

 

Assignment Summary

Using the zodiac of your student's choosing, do a profile of Professor Ignatia or another student and predict her, or his, future for the next term.  Do the same for your student.  (The professor's signs are the horse in the Eastern zodiac and Capricorn in the Western zodiac.) If your student has different signs compare and contrast the results between the two profiles and indicate why your student finds there may be similarities.  If they share a sign (or both signs) identify the differences and why they exist. 

 

Students

Sagittarius (-,-,-)

 

Advanced Courses

 

AST 302 - Spell Casting - a study on the distinction between benevolent and malevolent spell casting, with and without spirit assistance

PR: AST 202 or AST 204

 

"As I have mentioned before, casting larger spells can  be assisted by the energies of spirits, thus causing less of a drain on your own energies. This is quite valuable when in situations like mage battles or working with complex casting situations involving multiple spells." Natia chuckled as she caught sight of a few concerned glances being exchanged amongst students. "I am hardly going to pit you against each other in a mage battle, so you may relax."

She cleared her throat, and opened a large scroll set of weather spells.  She passed around the scrolls.

"These are spells you can choose to use for this assignment. You will cast two brief weather spells over the academy. You will need to summon a spirit to assist you with the casting. You should be prepared to make an offering or sacrifice to gain the spirit's assistance. If you wish to do the spells on separate days, that is fine. If that is the case, you may wish to summon a second spirit to assist with the other spell."

She cleared nodded to the scrolls.

"As we have discussed, intention in spell casting is important in determining if a spell will be malevolent or not. So you will cast one spell with the intention of being helpful on some level, while the other will be cast with a more mischievous intent." The young professor suddenly swallowed hard and looked nervous.  She raised her hands as if in mild protest to an unspoken threat.  "N-nothing too dark, I cannot have unsuspecting students dying from a lightning bolt or a flash flood, I hope that is clear?"

She clasped her hands together, still a bit pale as she drew a slow breath.

"Now, if you are feeling confident, you may wish to cast one of the weather spells unassisted, so as to feel the difference on the drain in your energies. I will allow it, and rather recommend it. Just try not to cast something so big that the energy drain kills you. Resurrection spells are quite involved and rather taxing, and I'd prefer not having to use too many this term."

 

Assignment Summary

Summon a spirit to assist your energies. You may need to make an offering or sacrifice to the spirit. Cast two brief weather spells over the academy, one with good intentions, the other is to be more malevolent. You may want to cast the spells on different days.

 

Students

Raikou (-,-,-)

AST 303 - Hypnotism - a study on the effects of hypnosis and inducing vulnerable slumber

PR: AST 201 or AST 204

 

"Self hypnotism is rather simple when you are able to clear your head and set yourself up with a relaxing environment," began the young professor with a simple smile. "It work just like hypnotizing other individuals, with just a few simple tricks of the trade, as it were. Using a swaying pendant that you dangle before your own eyes will work fine, or you can rig up device to do it for you. I know some one who once cast a simple spell over a bowl of water to gently swirl hours for a relaxing tool for self hypnosis and meditation, and it worked quite well for her. If you want to borrow a sleep inducing pendant for this assignment, you may, or you can use your own, or any other object that provides a repetitive motion."

Natia passed around several scrolls of parchment tied with bright cerulean silk ribbons, and a crimson feather quill.

"These are a little gift for you that should aid in you assignment as well. Each piece of parchment is enchanted with a recording spell that I find works quite well for this kind of thing. Write down the speech with which you wish to use to hypnotize yourself. When you are finished, read it aloud as you would speak it to someone you were actively hypnotizing. The parchment will then record your words for you to play back whenever you wish.  When you are ready to start, you will simply speak 'READ' to the parchment." She cleared her throat. "Be sure to add to the end 'When you awaken, you will be yourself.' There is rumor of a student trying this who did not issue such a command and managed to convince himself he was a wolf. When he awaken, he was still a wolf like version of himself, and he had to be dehypnotized by a few professors. Supposedly they had a bit of trouble catching him for the process and had to drug him with several sleeping draught basted raw steaks. So just be sure to add 'when you awaken, you will be yourself' to the end of your hypnosis speech, please."

Crossing to her desk, the professor opened a scroll of parchment and issued the simple command. Her voice began to recite her own hypnotism speech until she commanded 'silence'  and regarded her students with firm resolve in her  stiff posture and now grim expression.

"Most students choose to do this assignment with the 301 assignment, if they are enrolled in that course. This is fine. Regardless of what tasks you assign yourself, it is important to be very specific. You may have a trusted friend issue you the commands, or you may use another piece of enchanted parchment, for I have given you several , and as they are so simple to make, I always have ready supply of them for student use.  However you choose to do the second part, be sure the command at the end is for you to awaken. This is especially important for those of you doing the 301 assignment. I have instructed Taclor to check in with you to be certain no one dies, at least not permanently, from this assignment.  In case of emergencies, I am able to resurrect you, with assistance from certain other professors who are aware you will be doing this assignment. Still, I would prefer it not come to that. If you choose to use the parchment, you will need to read your written instructions carefully, being mindful  of your timing. For those of you doing assignment 301, because of the nature of the assignment, please notify me an hour prior to beginning, so I can be sure to be ready in case Taclor finds you have…a situation. Perhaps you should also warn me if you are planning in making yourself believe you are some type of carnivorous beast. I'd really rather not be summoned for another reprimand for having students wreaking more havoc on campus." Natia flushed at the memory, and shuddered visibly. It was rumored that she had been seen fleeing the castle in tears at the end of the last term and had shut herself up in her office for two days until another professor took pity on her enough to coax her out of hiding. The young professor would not speak on it, but it was plain to see that she was not doing well fitting in among the other professors and it was rare to see her speaking socially with any of them. She cleared her throat and smiled awkwardly. "I just ask that we take the proper precautions to try to avoid other students being gnawed on and otherwise terrorized this term. Best of luck to you!"

 

 

Assignment Summary

Hypnotize yourself, using a prerecorded suggestion to achieve a task. Some students choose to do this in conjunction with the 301 assignment to be certain their spirit does not attempt to cross over but linger about so they can complete the assignment.

 

Students

Raikou (-,-,-)

 

Expert Courses

 

AST 401 - Fortunetelling - a study of the ancient practice of predicting the future

PR: AST 301

 

The young professor passed out several small drawstring leather pouches. A few students opened the pouch as soon as they received it, pouring a small collection of round wood chips and smooth river stones. A few raised eye brows and turned their puzzled eyes to the chuckling professor.

"Yes, I am aware there are no markings on them, that will be part of your assignment," she began pleasantly, pulling a worn pouch from her pocket and tugging at the strings. She pulled out a smooth stone with a runic symbol etched on its face. "Runes are ancient symbols used as an alphabet as well as for spell casting and divination purposes. We will be using runes for fortune telling. The concept itself is similar enough to reading tarot cards, so I expect you'll grasp it soon enough. The Elder Futhark consists of 24 characters and is thought to be the oldest of the runic alphabets. Thus it is the one we shall work with." The young professor unraveled a scroll of characters and hung it on the wall for the students to see. "Please copy these symbols and their meanings, as you will need them later. These are the runic symbols we will be working with. It is thought that these very runes were the predecessors to tarot cards, hence why the casting and reading of runes will be similar to the experience of reading a tarot layout. Of course, similar to tarot cards, several variations of runes have developed over the ages, but they all originated from this set here."

She tapped a set of blank wood chips and stones with a long, pale finger.

"Natural materials are always preferred when creating runes, wood and stone being ideal. To create your runes, decide if you prefer stone or wood as your medium…or create a set of both. You may wish to carry out a preparation and cleansing ritual before carving the runes. I would recommend it to help your energy become one with the runes , but it is not required. You will then carve each rune and speak it's name as you carve it. If you wish you may pain color in your runes. Red is traditional as it is the color of blood and thus the traditional color of life. But any color is fine to use, if it reflects your personality or general intent." Natia nodded to a scroll of layouts hanging on the far wall. "Those lay outs should seem familiar, as they also work with tarot spreads. You will be casting with the 5 rune spread for this assignment. Now, there are several accepted layouts used for rune readings, but they are more complex and will require further study for accurate readings. Especially the seemingly random ground casting method, as one must be familiar with angle aspects. The five rune layout will be a good way to begin to understand the fundamentals of rune reading."

Natia laid out five runes, placing on in the center of the table, the next behind it, the third above it, the fourth below, and the final rune at the front.

"This is the spread you will use." Tapping each rune as she spoke, she explained the layout. "The first rune is the issue at hand, the second it the things that have been influential in the past leading up to the current issue. Now this third rune is the potential form of assistance or hindrance present or possible forthcoming for the issue, while the fourth rune represents those aspects of the issue that are unchangeable. The last rune is the final outcome, the resolution of the issue, if you will. Simple enough, right? So, create your runes, do a reading for someone else and do one for yourself. You may have a focused on issue for the reading or do it generally, whichever you wish."

 

Assignment Summary

Create a set of runes with either stone or wood. Casting the runes, read someone else's future. Cast the runes again for a glimpse of your own future.

 

Students

 Raikou (-,-,-)

 

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