Care fellow lucid dreamer,
I first off want to point out that there is a HUGE difference between lucid dreaming & sleep paralysis, waking dreams, really any out of the ordinary dreaming experiences, and Astral travel or Projection.
Astral travel/projection as some call it, is a discipline that takes considerable study, practice, and patience to truly achieve. While lucid dreams are quite common, and can feel SO real that you may think it is Astral travel, in 99.9% of these cases, it is garden variety lucid dreaming. On the other hand, you can develop the ability to purposefully have lucid dreams or dreams where you are aware that you are dreaming & can control the dream or do seemingly impossible things once you realize you are dreaming (like flying, walking through walls, etc.), basically things that normally are not possible in our plane of existence.
To truly "Astral Travel" (and I put it in quotes because it's not the best phrase to describe the TRUE abilities gained after MUCH work developing your Astral body). or experience true "Astral projection, one must first study the basic concepts and practices of either the Western Mystery Tradition or the Eastern Mystery Tradition. If you don't know what I mean by that, you can Google it, but basically, Western esoteric Tradition was developed primarily in Sumeria, Egypt, & Ancient Greece, & passed down trough the ages through multiple esoteric Schools and Orders, all the way from ancient Sumeria, into Ancient Egypt (mainly through the Isisatic Mysteries and cults of Osiris, Amun-Ra, etc.), where it really began to blossom & develop into a brilliant system. It then made it's way into Greece during the Ptolemaic period (e.g., during the last Dynasties like those during the reign of the last Cleopatra, the one most of us know about) where Pythagoras (yes, he did much more than develop the Algebra we all loved so much in school, lol) added much great philosophy and ideas to it's already seemingly all encompassing glory. From there the Elusyinian Mysteries and Essenes continued to develop it further. It was passed into the Hebrew Holy land directly by Moses from Egypt as well(who even according to the Bible was "learned of the Egyptian Mysteries") when he led the Exodus, along with through the Greeks as described above. So it came into that area by two separate routes in different time periods.
From there it came into Europe during the Dark & Middle Ages & spread throughout the continent. It further developed during these times into 2 distinctly different yet inherently similar branches. On the one hand you had the "Mystery" Schools, and on the other, the "Magic" Schools of thought. They agree on more than they disagree on, and use mostly the same info & sources, however, the Mystery based schools taught mainly to develop the Astral Temple or "body" early on in their Orders and generally speaking, placed themselves into deep meditative states where they trained themselves to become "receptive" to Divine energies or Deities, depending on the specific Order in question. You could compare this somewhat to prayer, (although much different from Christian "prayer") due to being in a passive, receptive state and "asking" for the Divine, or the Light, as most call it, to come into your Soul or being.
The more Magically oriented Schools & Orders use a different approach. Rather than putting themselves into a receptive state and waiting or asking for the Divine, or Macrocosm, to come into them (Microcosm/man), schools of Magic take a more direct approach, using Invocation to embody different energies & Deities and use these either strictly for spiritual development, or for more practical purposes. An example of practical Magic (or Magick) would be doing a Invocation of the spirits & Angels (differs depending on the school and culture what type of energies or beings are invoked of course) of the Planet Jupiter for the purpose of directly influencing your life with luck or success, as that is what that particular energy is associated with on a practical level.
Both Mystery Schools & Schools of a more Magical Nature have the same goal of spiritual evolution, becoming a better person through contact, conversation, and interaction with these various energies. These include mostly Elemental, Zodiacal, Planetary, Enochian, and Sephirothic (Qabbalistic Emanations of Deity) forces. Also the concept of the Higher Self, or Holy Guardian Angel, (Divine Genius) is taught and evolving spiritually to be able to contact this Higher Self by rising in the Planes, or, as some call it, Astral projection. In order to accomplish this, however, one must first put in a LOT of work meditating & developing their Astral bodies through a lot of study & patience. Simply meditating is different from ascending to one's own Astral Temple, or Celestial Sanctum, as it is called by some Schools. It isn't something that just "happens", as lucid dreaming is. Although lucid dreaming can be greatly increased in frequency and quality through the development of the Astral body & Temple.
Think of an Astral Temple as the place you go to when you reach a deep trance state and leave your body (I'm talking about while awake here folks!) From there you can travel, or project, your energetic body and experience true exploration of Higher planes, (or lower if you so choose, however unwise it may be!) or even project yourself to a different location in physical reality. Once an Adept at this practice, one experiences true Ego death and is able to do amazing things.
I am sure there are plenty of people here in this community that have done DMT or taken Ayahuasca. That is a shortcut to this experience I'm describing, and while VERY powerful and Sacred when used in the correct setting with a Shaman or Guide, does not even come close to what you can do naturally with the right teachings and a LOT of practice & patience. However, it is a very similar experience, its just much easier with the help of the Sacred plant, like some of the Hallucinogens out there, but especially with DMT containing compounds or teas.
The foremost Schools and Orders that teach the development of the Astral Body and the techniques to rise in the Planes and find your Astral Temple, and to eventually go even further from there to specific Invoked forces & the Higher Planes that they exist on in modern times are as follows. ( I obviously cannot list them all, so I will list the most prominent of the Western Mystery Tradition, both Mystic oriented & Magically oriented). Concerning the Eastern Tradition, I am learned in some of it, but as I am not an Adept in that Tradition, & have personally chosen the Western Tradition for my spiritual Path, I won't speak on it. Every person needs to experiment and see whaich one appeals to them personally.
As far as Mysticism, you have Rosicrucianism, which is a Tradition found in many Orders today all over the world. Most of them are mystically based, but there are definite exceptions, and it is not solely "Mystical". Foremost among these today is AMORC, or the Ancient and Mystical Ordo Rosae Crucis, which means Order of the Rose Cross. A quick search on Google will give you plenty of info on them, they focus early on on the Astral body and Inner or Hermetic Alchemy (no, not turning Lead into Gold, Inner Alchemy is about transmuting your body from base matter into spiritual "gold"). It is not something I can even come close to completely describing here. Really none of this is thorough, you need to do your own research, these are just starting points.
Of course Freemasonry also contains many of these esoteric principles & though they are hidden in it's symbols, many Masons choose not to pursue it, or if they do, they join other, more esoteric Orders, most of which were originally founded by Masons that WERE into the Occult.
The Traditional Martinist Order is a related Order to AMORC, and is called TMO for short. They do a lot of the same things, but concentrate more on Qaballah for spiritual development. They are also worth looking into if interested in TRUE Mystery Schools & esoteric knowledge. These are not "New Agey" type organizations. Unlike Wicca, which is a religion, not a spiritual Path, and also is rather new, only being born in the 40's and 50's with Gerald Garner. Having said that there is nothing wrong with Wicca, to each there own. However, the schools I am describing are open to anyone, regardless of religion, race, sex, etc. and are based on very ancient teachings. They have their roots in very ancient practices and Orders that have been around for a LONG time.
On the Magical side, & really the esoteric community in general, the Golden Dawn (or Hermetic Order of The Golden Dawn, as it is currently known) has influenced the Occult revival more than any other single Entity or even all of them put together. Even if you don't know much about the topic, I'm sure you have heard names such as Israel Regardie, author of "The Golden Dawn"(sometimes referred to as "the brick", due to its size & also because it was looked down on by the traditional G.D., considering he was a member of the Stella Matutina as I said before, and also because he published many of the secret rituals & initiations, which was a definite breach of his Oath) , "The Middle Pillar", A Garden of Pomegranites", & many more), Aliester Crowley(I'm sure no intro is needed for him  but his main contribution was called "The Equinox" and he founded 2 of his own offshoots of the Golden Dawn, the A.A.(Argentum Astrum) & the O.T.O(Ordo Templi Orientis),(he also published many Oath bound materials & documents, making him hated by many but loved by others). Although this is the case, and breaking a Sacred Oath is no small matter, it did lead to a enormous revival in the esoteric community as a whole, and for the first time brought the once Secret Society & it's brilliant system into the public realm. A.E. Waite (creator of the famous Rider-Waite Tarot Deck), S.L. MacGregor Mathers (co-founder of original Golden Dawn Order, and author of many well known and highly sought after and studied books on Occult topics such as the Greater Key of Solomon The King, The Lesser Key, or Goetia, & many more, also noted for decoding the famous "Cypher Manuscripts" that are the basis for the Order's initiations & rituals. This system that was developed from ancient manuscripts that were completely encoded, became the main influence & basis in the Occult revival that took it's shape into the G.D., and spawned MANY esoteric Societies, Orders, & Schools over the following years, up to the present day. After several disagreements among the Adepts of the original G.D. in the 1800's, a schism occurred and many of the high ranking members decided to break from the G.D. & form their own schools. More examples of this are Paul Foster Case, who created B.O.T.A. (Builders of the Adytum), a mystically based Order that however continued to use much of the G.D. system, but took out much of the magic & rituals that he deemed "not Christian enough". This is somewhat silly considering they still practice magic & divination and have a HUGE emphasis on the Tarot. It is still a very good School though, despite this fact (some may say even a somewhat hypocritical attitude or approach, using what they want but trying to fit it into a more Christian box). Dion Fortune was also a G.D. initiate who, after the schism began her own philosophical & esoteric school, namely, The Society of the Hidden Light (or sometimes called "Inner Light"). W.B. Yeats, an Irish poet & G.D. initiate also went in a slightly different direction, although staying closer to the original system. The original founders of the 1800's G.D. were Mathers, Wescott, & Wood. There are MANY more but this post is already long enough and gives some great names & Orders to research on your own, because as I previously said, the best Path for you is what you feel the most connected to in your Heart. After the schism of which I have been speaking, the true G.D. Order split into 2 main branches, the Stella Matutina (of which Israel Regardie was a member, and the Alpha Omega, which continued to be led by S.L.M. Mathers & his wife, Moina Mathers.
Many of these schools, both Rosicrucian & Golden Dawn based Orders(this is somewhat confusing as both are technically Rosicrucian, just with different approaches) originated with the Gold und Rosenkreutz Order (Order of the Gold & Rosy Cross), a very secretive German Occult Order, who preserved it for quite some time up until the huge Occult revival of the early 1800's, when the G.D came into official existence. It eventually blossomed into countless Orders & Mystery schools. There are many Orders today that use the G.D. system of spiritual development & Magic, but the largest, foremost, and only G.D. Order with direct initiatic lineage all the way back to the 1800s is the Rosicrucian Order of Alpha Omega, or the A.O., led by Imperator Ordinis David Griffin, author of the coveted Ritual Magic Manual, a true Tome or Grimoire of incomparible value, selling on eBay for as much as $1000, and giving complete instructions on the entire G.D. system and all its rituals (minus the initiations of course, those are Oath bound). Their Order consists of a 3 Order structure, where the outer or 1st Order is the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, the 2nd Order (higher grades) the Rosae Rubae et Arora Crucis, or R.R. et A.C., and the 3rd Order who governs the whole structure (Name is secret, sorry). The whole 3 Order structure is called Ordo Rosae Crucis, Alpha Omega, or The Rosicrucian Order of Alpha Omega, as it is more commonly known.
There are various other G.D. Orders out there like the Cicero's(authors of many great books on self initiation and creating magical tools, as well as a wonderful G.D. based Tarot Deck) Hermetic Order of the G.D based in FL, the Open Source Order of the G.D.(an internet based Order that believes this wisdom should be shared with the public, or strictly over the internet(a sentiment I personally disagree with). These 2 newer G.D. Orders, along with many others, like the Esoteric Order of the Golden Dawn, The Collegium Spiritum Sancti, etc. all use, in my opinion, a downright dirty, deceiving, and less effective way of initiating their members "astrally" without the member really having to do anything, much less have the relationship of initiator/initiate, which is VERY important, & some of them are clearly just out to get money from their members, who, unknowingly put their trust in it's leaders and are many times duped. Also, they do not contain nearly as much knowledge and ritual as the A.O., & one can rise through the grades (climb the Tree of Life) very quickly, which is not advisable. Of course, as stated earlier, there are several others (including Mystery based schools like AMORC, but using the G.D. system), but none nearly as thorough as the A.O. Basically, if the others, and this again is just my opinion, but many share it, are high school, the A.O. is Harvard. They have very high standards & to progress to the next grade or degree you have to study very hard & take exams, and participate in physical initiation, whereas most of the other G.D. orders will "astrally" initiate you ( a load of BS in my opinion, but to each their own, lol).
Having said all of this, I am admittedly in the A.O., as well as AMORC & TMO, and a practitioner of Kemeticism, the ancient Egyptian Religion. Ancient Egyptian themes are very common in all these Schools. so, as I said earlier, you do not have to choose between Mysticism & Magic as far as a Path to Union with the Divine, which is the goal of them all. There are many who use both. AMORC & TMO are great for developing the astral body early on in the degree structure, & beginning the inner alchemical process sooner, whereas the A.O.'s Outer Order is comprised of 5 grades, each corresponding to an element, & you work with those energies first, assimilating them into your Aura or Sphere of Sensation (which also is a form of psychotherapy as each element corresponds to a human condition. For example, Earth is your foundation & material basis, Air is your thoughts, Water, emotions,etc.) before progressing to more advanced work in the 2nd or Inner Order, like truly developing the astral body, Inner Hermetic Alchemy, and Divination, among many other things.
I think I have given enough info to give you a lot of terms and Order names, etc. to do some very thorough research on Google or whatever your Search Engine of choice may be. I know this post is about dreams, but it seems as the the OP is interested in understanding these phenomena more & also being able to control them, and if I'm correct in that assumption, well, then I won't have wasted 2 hours in the middle of the night typing this all up while my pregnant wife sleeps peacefully in the bedroom ,lol  I hope some of you have found this info helpful, and if you are interested in lucid dreaming, astral travel, and the occult in general, take the time to check out the authors, Orders, and concepts I have discussed here. There are a ton more of course, but this post is already long enough!
If you choose to start on this Path to Spiritual Evolution, I can promise you, you will NOT be disappointed. That is, if you are willing to put in time & work. But as I said, the results are AMAZING, and MIND FREAKING BLOWING after regular practice of the rituals and applying the principles taught in your life.....OK, I am about to fall asleep on my computer speaking of dreaming, so I'll end here. If anyone has any questions or if I didn't make sense in a certain part due to the fact that its late as hell, I got up at 6 am, and have been enjoying some beverages this evening, along with many other factors, lol, feel free to pm me. I am here to help!
Some other authors of older times to look into if interested are, Cornelius Agrippa, Eliphas Levi, Jacob Boehem (not sure if I spelled that right), Louis Claude de Saint-Martin(AKA the unknown Philosopher), Gerard Encausse (AKA Papus),Augustin Chaboseau, Jean-Antoine Chaptal, Basil Valentine, Paracelcus, Pythagoras, H.P. Blavatsky, Edward Kelly, John Dee, Claudius Ptolemy, J.S.M. Ward (a Freemason), Albert Pike, Florence Farr, J.W. Brodie-Innes, Marquis Tereschenko, the 3 books of Abramelin, Francis Barrett, Frater Achad, William Blake, Lord E. G. Bulwer-Lytton, Bram Stoker (yes, the same one who wrote Dracula!), and countless more. Important books to read include the Fama Fraternitatis & Confessio Fraternitatas, The Sepher Yetzirah, The Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz, Secret Symbols of the Rosicrucians. It goes on & on folks. Another great book for those of you who have been atheists but are interested in these topics is "Wholly Science", I cannot recall the author off the top of my head but it will be easy to find. That should give you more than enough to work with and find your place on this Path with so many turns, but all leading to the same Union with the Divine.
Meanwhile, happy trips and wonderful dreams to you all! I hope you all had as great a Summer Solstice as I did. And accompanied by a Supermoon none the less! In Life, Love, and Light. Peace Profound, in L.V.X. - Luksifer
Edited by luksifer (06/24/13 12:57 AM)
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. I have edited it and put page breaks in for easier reading & reference. As far as the point you took from it, you are correct. Although it is not always a divinatory practice. Sometimes it is used for practical magical purposes, as part of larger more complex rituals, and sometimes simply for the purpose of exploring the Universe and Higher Planes. But yes, simple lucid dreaming is definitely different than Astral Projection or Travel.
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