As of late, I've been learning ASL, and that's brought about an interesting series of inspirations worth sharing here!
English is not a conceptual language. Our words represent things, sure, but they're really not a "sight picture" process. We spell out lavish descriptions of things, and we can use our words to invoke emotions & visualizations in others, but we don't really paint a picture with those words. ASL is radically different in this respect, and this is actually what makes it magickally useful.
In sign language, you paint a picture with your hands. Its an inherently visual language in this way, and in this respect, it directly correlates to both mudras (magickal hand signs found in India & Asia) and hieroglyphics. Its something of a cross between interpretive dance and invocation, and it can be a powerful, consuming source of passion.
Fair warning, it'll take some mental gymnastics for this to make sense.
Remember what I said about English being spelled out rather than conceptual? What I mean is that we don't often think/visualize what we're describing on a conceptual level. When we spell a word, we're usually thinking of the verbal building blocks of the thing, NOT the image of whatever it is we're describing. Its inherent to our language. If you need proof of this, try to finger spell out the name of a Rhinoceros and see if that's the image it invokes..... ;)
The sign for Rhinocerous, however, makes it SUPER obvious.:
English is not a conceptual language. Our words represent things, sure, but they're really not a "sight picture" process. We spell out lavish descriptions of things, and we can use our words to invoke emotions & visualizations in others, but we don't really paint a picture with those words. ASL is radically different in this respect, and this is actually what makes it magickally useful.
In sign language, you paint a picture with your hands. Its an inherently visual language in this way, and in this respect, it directly correlates to both mudras (magickal hand signs found in India & Asia) and hieroglyphics. Its something of a cross between interpretive dance and invocation, and it can be a powerful, consuming source of passion.
Fair warning, it'll take some mental gymnastics for this to make sense.
Remember what I said about English being spelled out rather than conceptual? What I mean is that we don't often think/visualize what we're describing on a conceptual level. When we spell a word, we're usually thinking of the verbal building blocks of the thing, NOT the image of whatever it is we're describing. Its inherent to our language. If you need proof of this, try to finger spell out the name of a Rhinoceros and see if that's the image it invokes..... ;)
The sign for Rhinocerous, however, makes it SUPER obvious.:
Try to take this into account when you consider what you're looking to convey to spirits. There's a LOT of ways to use this, either with your own self-created mudras and signs, or by using ones that are already in existence. Get creative with this, and try to find ways to relate the concept of a thing to others without necessarily needing to be all that linear in your process.
This will be difficult for the non-visual folks at first, but that's part of what makes it so incredibly powerful!
Be blessed!
-Chris
This will be difficult for the non-visual folks at first, but that's part of what makes it so incredibly powerful!
Be blessed!
-Chris