WAYFINDING

Wayfinding

Wayfinding is a system of intelligence gathering that involves filling diaries and notebooks with miscellaneous thoughts, and fictional concepts, newspaper clippings, and random reminders. Then, through a process of analogical causality, which bears more in relation to magick than to objective research, the seemingly random juxtapositions of data can be interpreted into a coherent and breathtaking flow of rational naratives. In this way, Wayfinding bears many similarities to Bryon Gyson’s cut-up method, and the automatic writing and drawing of the Surrealist movement; and can indeed incorporate all of these.

A good example of Wayfinding can be found in Tim Burton’s 1999 movie Sleepy Hollow, in which Ichabod Crane (Johnny Depp) writes down a disconnected stream of related thoughts on a sheet of paper, which in turn produces a coherent sentence; the sentence, in this case, being “The conspiracy points to Van Tassle”. However, it will not always be the case that randomly organised strings of sentences will be divested of such innate meaning, and it may be necessary for the Wayfinder to employ his/her experience and imagination to fill in the blanks, as it were.

Although the process of Wayfinding is itself entirely random, there are some initial parametres which, ought to be observed. For instance, Wayfinding should begin with a diary or notebook whose empty pages are gradually filled, without contrivance. You are urged to;

• paste newspaper clippings of interest to you
• invent short stories and narratives
• jot down random notes in the margins; the name of a band you heard on the radio, and important event in your calendar etc.

When the notebook is filled it should be discarded and forgotten about until a later time.
Upon rediscovering the document the miscellaneous entries should be read in a linear fashion with all information seen as directly related to one another and taken as absolute truth.

If you are an Upper Realm operative you should obviously possess, at least, one of these notebooks already; so I urge you to go look for it. But if you don't have one, don't worry. Upper Realm agents are always on the look out for dormant operatives and/or new recruits. So why not begin a Wayfinding manual today?