curiousBy "polarity" here, I mean the phenomenon I described that caused me trouble at ritual -- a mage, due to some combination of instinct or training, finding it easier to draw in energy from one side of the body and push it out from the other.
For example, I am "dominant-in" -- I'm left-handed, and on that dominant left side I find it much easier to draw in energy (and then push it out on the right). I also call this "counter-clockwise polar" because I'd be much more useful passing energy around a circle if that energy were circulating counter-clockwise among the participants.
Not everyone is polarized, and there's no "right" direction; it's just one of those things that happens, like handedness or sexual orientation. In my limited experience, polarity isn't necessarily tied to handedness, although I'd be curious to see some hard numbers for it.
Feel free to point your willworking friends at this poll; the bigger the sample size, the more useful the data gets. If you don't have an LJ account but want to chip in, leave a comment.
The following best describes my energy polarity:
Left-handed and dominant-in. (Counter-clockwise polar)
1(3.4%)
Right-handed and dominant-in. (Clockwise polar)
0(0.0%)
Left-handed and dominant-out. (Clockwise polar)
0(0.0%)
Right-handed and dominant-out. (Counter-clockwise polar)
9(31.0%)
I haven't observed a preference.
10(34.5%)
Clicky thing! (I don't do energy work but want to vote anyway.)
9(31.0%)
I would describe my polarity as:
None at all
4(13.8%)
Slight
7(24.1%)
Moderate
5(17.2%)
Severe
1(3.4%)
Clicky thing!
12(41.4%)