Witchvox Article

Author: Sickle
Posted: April 22nd. 2007
Times Viewed: 4,862

A few days ago, my attention was drawn to a specific book on the shelf of a bookstore. It was a book that I would probably never read, its subject matter bearing little interest for me, and so I felt there should be no reason to pay it any mind. Nonetheless, it drew and held my attention. This particular tome, advertising through its title, suggested that the author could help readers escape the dangers of psychic vampires.

Now, in my run-ins with the term "psychic vampire", I have come to understand it in two very different ways. On one hand, it refers to someone who uses personal tragedy and trauma to gain the attention of others at the expense of the others' emotional stamina.

On the other hand, it refers to a person who has the ability to take the very essence of life (known as chi, ki, prana, etc.) from another for their own nourishment, similar to the way Stoker's Dracula consumed the blood of his victims.

Reading the title, I became suspicious at its suggestion. Surely, I thought, the author must have written about the dangers of allowing others to tax us emotionally, robbing us of the potential of positivity in our lives. While this was my hope, it was not what I felt the subject matter to be. A quick glance at the review on the back made concrete what I had suspected: The author had written about the "dangers" of those who, through psychic means, are able to nourish themselves from the life force of others.

Upon finding out the true nature of the book's contents I became offended, which is not something easily accomplished. I was not offended over the topic of psychic vampirism, but at the notion that psychic vampires are somehow innately dangerous to general society.

I was offended, you see, because I am the kind of psychic vampire of which the author wrote. Reading the title of that book was the equivalent of walking into a bookstore today and finding a book whose title read: "How To Avoid The Evil Tendencies Of (insert ethnicity here)."

Even though I find the book to be offensive, I see no need to take it from the shelves or to tell people not to read it. I have no doubt that the techniques taught in the book, providing supposed "protection" from psychic vampires, are not aggressive towards others. I'm sure they are concerned more with the process of avoidance, for which I am grateful. It helps keep me from the bitter disposition brought on by being subject to the presence of those who would believe the nonsense suggested by the title of the book I have mentioned.

As it is, I would like to speak out on the topic of psychic vampirism, from the point of view of just such a creature, and allow myself the indulgence of pondering aloud what dangers vampires pose. Who better than one of the so-called "dangerous" to let you know the score and raise vital questions?

For whatever reason, psychic vampires are unable to produce enough of the subtle life force created by all living things to sustain their own health. There are several theories as to why this is the case, but that is not important for the purpose of this writing. What is important is that we vampires require something that, while everything else is able to self-generate, we are not able to produce sufficiently.

As such, we must find exterior sources of this life-stuff, which are generally people. Either through teachings or trial and error, we eventually learn to manipulate our energy bodies in order to connect with our chosen sources of energetic nourishment. As we are learning, we can sometimes cause harm to others.

"Feeding" from the sick, the elderly, or the very young can seriously affect not only the psychic health, but also the physical health of such people. It is quickly noted, however, that feeding from such people is not only harmful to them, but a waste of time for us, as their energies are lacking in the sustenance we require.

As our talents mature and we grow in experience, we learn how best to feed and from whom. Contrary to what some authors may think, being fed upon by a vampire when you are healthy is not damaging. As it is, the process often leaves the "donor" feeling slightly euphoric or pleasantly sleepy (this seems to be an aid in feeding, like mosquitoes producing a natural anesthetic). The energy lost is quickly recovered, and the donor has suffered no harm.

So where, exactly, is the danger of being amongst mature vampires? It has occurred to me that it may be a simple matter of evolution. The predators in the realm of nature are certainly feared by that on which they prey, this being nature's gift to the prey to help promote its longevity. It is then perhaps a matter of a certain author being the potential source of sustenance for another that gives said author a certain queasiness in the stomach. Is this a valid concern? Should non-vampires run and hide in the knowledge that, bottom line, they're all food?

Hardly. As it were, everyone is potential food for everyone else, but the possibility of psychic vampires running rampant and draining everyone dry has as much potential of coming into being as mass cannibalism.

Morals and ethics do come into play, and while immature vampires can pose a risk to others, anyone who doesn't live in a hole in the ground knows the risks of immaturity in general.

Thus, I'm still left questioning the innate danger of psychic vampires. We are no different in our necessities than someone who needs constant blood transfusions. I shall not find some more palatable term than predator to describe us, for by definition we are predators. Unlike most predators, however, we do not take life until there is no life left to take.

The wolf and the tiger kill their quarry, consuming essence and source in order to maintain survival, yet that is unnecessary for the vampire. The source of the essence is left, undamaged, to regain that which was taken out of need.

We may take without permission, but we take without injury to those who sustain us. Save for the possible feeling of wanting to take a nap, you'll never even know what you gave us.

Perhaps it is our very essence as predators that make others see us as dangerous. Maybe it is our potential to cause great harm, or the fact that we are not quite like the rest of the two-leggeds that causes alarm in some.

The way I see it, being a two-legged creature who preys on others and has the potential to create total annihilation describes all of humankind. Thus, I am led to believe that the true reason certain people are sounding the alarm does indeed reside in simple evolution: You now know something is above you on the food chain, and you're worried about it.

If you find yourself shuddering at the idea that psychic vampires are around you and feeding from you, relax. Calm your nerves. Chances are you've been fed upon and haven't even known it. Oh, you may have had a strange sensation come over you as a stranger passed you by, but you were no worse for wear (especially since it might just have been gas from that Chinese food you ate at the mall).

If you're still unconvinced that we mean you no harm, you're probably the safest of all.

Your intellectual dilapidation would probably be an affront to our psychic taste buds.

ABOUT...

Sickle

Location: Mt. Jackson, Virginia

Website: http://www.geocities.com/covenoftorchandoak

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