Time Travel

The question was discussed by Choronzon and myself, and by a couple of Z(Cluster)ites. All relevant comments are included, in some cases edited so they look better. Yeah, yeah, we're vain fuckers, we know...

The querent wrote:
Is time travel possible, not just travelling back to the astral plane where the events are imprinted, but to actually influence the past by going back to it..

Hmmm. This is another highly theoretical matter. There is no way that I know of to achieve physical time travel magickally, and retroactive magick is viewed with a lot of skepticism in some fields.

Now, time travel might be possible by exceeding the speed of light (as some physicists theorise), or - in a more magickal sense - by coming to a state where upon you exist everywhere and every time at once, or possibly by dealing with an entity that does.

Of couse, time might be a finite and limited thing that is completely impossible to affect. But it's more likely that, in the same way as many other things, we just know sod-all about how it works currently.

In terms of time manipulation, I just know of a couple of things which affect the passing of time currently, and have heard reports by individuals who claim to have slipped between slightly different dimensions.

Also worth considering, physical time travel, if possible could have a lot of problems (of course dependant upon the nature of time). If time is fully linear, then changing even one thing about the past would affect the future, potentially changing things to a huge degree. Of course, if the theory that each possible occurence has it's own little dimension, and changing something in the past will just create a different time line and a different dimension (or send you to one, in the case that such dimentions might all already exist), then you'd have nothing to worry about.
We'll add to this section later, but I'm going to quit writing this shit now - I've been up far too many hours and it's making my head hurt.

Carlos comments:
A book I have says something about this subject:
This man (Frank G. Rippel) talks about a dream body and a time(temporal) body. Then he goes on to explain the time body this way, "In respect to the time body, we could say that its the same physical body, but transformed into temporal mass. As we have already seen, the intersection is formed where the three time currents meet.
Theoretically, if the magician is able to open a dimensional gate and physically enter the intersection, he will exist only in the present. On the other hand, if the magician is able to transform his physical body into the time body, he could exist in the intersection, thus existing in all three times."

Also on the subject of time travel, although more relating to travel the astral plane, Arawyn conThanatos (p_pichler@mail.styria.co.at) writes:
OK, thought some things up for time traveling:
This here is only for one experienced with astral travel.

I would suggest that the mage goes to the astral plane and there evokes a god of time. Kronos, Saturn, Thoth, maybe one of the Norns (Urdr for past, Skuld for future), Bran (supposedly he's a god of time, but celtic believe isn't what I'd call very verified since most myths were already ages old when the xtian monks wrote them down and much got lost) or if you prefer the fictious gods, try Tarod of Chaos (my favorite) or Akatosh, dragon god of time. Ask the god to take you to the time you want and guard you (and of course to bring you back when you desire).
Another method would be to create a guide, similar to servitor/egregore creation with the soi like "to bring me to the time I want on the astral plane" or whatever. You could use it similar as those ter'angreal dream rings from the Wheel of Time books. Create a serv in a ring or whatever you can comfortably wear while you are lying and call it when you're on the astral plane.
In some myths, dragons are supposed to be able to time travel. So when on the astral plane, change into the form of a dragon and thereby assume his skills and fly backwards or forwards.
If you don't want to do that you can also try to simply walk back in time. Visualize for example an hourglass where the sand flows back up to symbolize going back in time. Or better yet a full clock along with date, so you can better control when to go.

Some years back I created a design for a time pedant. I never actually got around to create it but here's the basic design:

Front:
At the centre I drew a man in grey robes with a long staff with a moon siecle on the top. On the borders are the names of various gods of time between the names I put the signs that are associated with time. Like the astrological sign of saturn (which is on the 4 cardinal points) and peorth (p rune, which has supposedly a meaning for time, but that is speculation) between each saturn sigla. Around the man I added some self-created sigla that represented the time flow.

Back:
In the centre one of the magickal squares (1-9, I think that was for saturn, but I ain't sure at the moment), then some more sigla that are associated with Saturn around it. And the names Kronos, Urdhr, Verdhandi, Skuldr, Bran etc on the border again.

4 9 2
3 5 7 the square
8 1 6

Basically that was intented for a time manipulation servitor or focus to manipulate time with.

Traveling in the past should prove no major problem (leaving aside the theory that there are multible alternate worlds with a different past for each other choice you made for simplicity's sake - I don't care that somewhere out there there might be me married to x already yada yada yada). The future however is another matter altogether. Since it is not fixed but in constant motion it wouldn't be too accurate. Certainly not more than simple divinations.

Arawyn makes some additional notes:
Physically speaking, the universe is build up in various dimensions. 1 being just a line/dot, 2 being a square, whatever, 3 being our 3 dimensional world and 4 being the dimension of time. So in theory, to be able to teleport would mean that we have to move over into the 4th dimension which stands above the 3rd. So to travel freely thru time in any direction, one would have to gain access to the 5th dimension. However here the problems would start: What exactly IS the 5th dimension? And, even if you're able to knock out a theory what that dimension would be, you'd have first to gain access to dimension no 4 and then 5.
Another theory says that time is only an addition to space, that both rule over our dimension. Then what would be the 4th dimension? And how to gain access there?

Then of course there's the black hole theory (I wonder who would in the future be so dumb and try to prove it). A black hole is supposed to take one through time. So, since basically the only limitation of magick is the mage, one could in theory create a small black hole and go back through it.

Another possibility for the mage who read too many fantasy books is to try to create a time gate

What I would really suggest to try is, to evoke a god of time and ask him how to do it. Time gods should be the most qualified to ask there.

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