Post by Deleted on Feb 10, 2014 1:14:32 GMT
(and please! leave your shoes at the door.)
The inside of the divination classroom is uncharacteristically humid for a room within a castle located within Northern Scotland. The air is smokey with incense and the scent of candle wax, its aura putting those who enter almost immediately into a heavy listless reverie. Clinging to the walls are exotic tapestries originating from the East Indies and Asian continents. Lining the floors are various prismatic oriental carpets, dense and lavish, only to add to the already comfortable atmosphere. Within the classroom are a series of low tatami tables which house various divination utensils- lemurian crystals, tarot cards, rune stones, astronomy charts, and tea sets. Surrounded by each table were a series of persian floor cushions. Within the center of the classroom sits a large circular glassy scrying pool. The east wall of the classroom is remarkably omitted, allowing for an excellent view of the school grounds, especially during sunrise. From somewhere the trickling sound of running water can be heard but there is no visible source to be seen.
Llewellyn was nervous but hardly made that apparent. First lessons were always the biggest hurdle to overcome in Divination. He had long since learned that the first day brought forth the most skeptical of students. While some were open minded towards the art, it could simply not be expected that premonition would be a gift given to all- however, Llewellyn was not one to negate the idea of cultivating those who wished to learn. He did in fact take his job very seriously, holding a firm belief that with the gift of instruction every young witch or wizard could make it towards their own personal enlightenment and better the future. A future that Llewellyn had, regrettably, seen but rarely mentioned. As Llewellyn sat with his legs crossed at the head of the classroom before the scrying pool, he carefully eyed each student who wandered into his classroom with a critical eye, motioning for them to join him around the sizable basin. Despite Llewellyn's eccentricities and friendly demeanor he was rumored to be one of the more demanding of professors and would not tolerate those who refused to take his subject seriously.
As the spots around the pool filled in with eager faces, Llewellyn straightened his back, preparing to begin his lesson. With a wordless circular wave of his wand the surface of the pool ripples and then settles, reflecting back what appears to be a child. A child, in Llewellyn's case, having a nightmare, but for many it would be other visions. Perhaps riding a bike, eating a meal, playing, etc. That which was reflected was a conjuration of the individual's past, likely a forgotten memory but familiar all the same, different for every respective person. Llewellyn then stood and cleared his throat, signaling the beginning of his lesson.
"Everyone has intuitive potential - my wee witches and wizards. It is a natural talent that everyone possesses. It is not something special limited to only a few gifted individuals. As a child, you freely accessed your intuition or inner eye. Unfortunately, over time you likely received negative feedback from your peers, teachers, or family. You likely began to doubt your intuitive voice and shut down this channel of information. You were told to forget about things like 'deja-vu', coining it to be an anomaly of the mind."
Carefully Llewellyn circled the pool at a leisurely pace, watching his own reflection with an glazed over expression. "Today's lesson is one addressing just that- regaining control of one's inner-eye or intuition. Your intuitive voice is still there, you just need to tune into it. This should, in theory, dramatically improve in your intuitive abilities."
With another wave of his wand the image of the child ripples away. It is replaced by a perfectly pristine white slate.
"There are a number of ways to achieve this. It is most crucial, however, to have a clear mind in doing so. You likely have lots of thoughts running through your mind at any given moment. You probably spend much of your day multi-tasking, being stressed out over classes, preoccupied with social interaction. All of this "noise" makes it difficult to access your inner eye. It is important to find some ways to quiet your mind. You can't shut off your thoughts completely, but you can learn to slow them down."
Yet another flourish of his wand the image changes to a flickering candle.
"An excellent way to do this is through meditation. As you get used to being in a meditative state, you will find that it is easier to hear and see the whispers from your soul and to distinguish these messages from other mental chatter. Since you are new to meditation we will try sitting quietly and focusing your attention on a candle flame. When your awareness drifts- and it will, simply bring your attention gently back to the flame. After, I would like you to return to the tables and record what you experienced during your meditative state. Please be careful to note any emotional shifts, unusual thoughts or daydreams, glimpses of the Self, shifts in your visual field such as lights or colors- these are called tanmatric lights. This is indicative of your inner eye at work."
OOC: Sorry! I got a little carried away with this. If you guys need any help in what to write, please PM me. This is a pretty cool exercise that can be reflective of your character's development and inner thoughts/feelings. Feel free to make up whatever ridiculousness you want. If your character saw themselves riding a giraffe, then so be it. It can be however long/short you want... Just have fun with the assignment!
