Nix’s Intro to Hypnosis
Interested in hypnosis, but don’t know what it involves or where to start? You’ve come to the right place!
This is a beginner’s guide to hypnosis, with a focus on erotic hypnosis play scenes. In this guide, I’ll walk through these topics:
A little bit about me before we start: I’m Nix. I’ve been in the hypno scene for over 10 years now. I’m a subject, which means I’m the one who gets hypnotized, but this guide is intended for new hypnotists and new subjects alike. Hit me up on Twitter with any questions, or email me: contact[at]hypno.fyi
The Hyper TL;DR
If you only have 5 minutes, here’s the shortest summary possible:
Can I be hypnotized against my will?
As a beginner, no. You should still vet audio/video files and hypnotists before jumping into them though. See Playing Safely below for more.
How do I get started?
By yourself: dive into audio files, and just listen without worrying whether you’re going under.
- Lie down on your bed with the lights off, turn on the file, and close your eyes.
- Try a variety of artists, genres, and induction types to figure out what you like.
- Check out my list of favorites for some places to find files
With another: walk through the scene you’ll have explicitly with the other person, and don’t be afraid to let them know that you’re new!
- Anyone in our community who’s a good person will be kind to newcomers, so fear not 😄
- Ideally, form a rapport with the other person before doing any hypnosis. Trust is key for any hypno scene.
- Before the scene, walk through each other’s boundaries and expectations. See Playing Safely below for more.
Alright, back to the long form intro 🌀
What the heck is hypnosis?
Hypnosis is when one person (the hypnotists) puts another person (the subject) into an altered state of consciousness. In that altered state, the subject looks like they’re asleep and is more open to suggestions. They’ll often follow instructions much more than they would outside of hypnosis. Usually, subjects feel calm and relaxed while under hypnosis.
My favorite depiction of erotic hypnosis
There are two contexts for hypnosis. In non-kink spaces, hypnosis is a tool for therapists to help clients change their behaviors. In kink spaces, a hypnosis scene usually involves a subject going into a trance state, and other types of mind-play techniques can be added. Erotic hypnosis is commonly based in themes like domination/submission, loss of control, consensual non-consent (CNC), and personality modification.
Why do you like hypnosis?
Most folks into hypno were introduced to the idea at an early age, since the mind control trope appears in most (if not all) kids cartoons.
So many cartoons have mind control tropes!
Hypnotic eyes and mind control eyes tropes are ubiquitous in TV cartoons.
Fairy Odd Parents more or less summarizes erotic hypno in a nutshell in this scene, and the show Back at the Barnyard even had a small “tutorial” on hypnosis.
Hypno kinksters generally are into hypno because of the the power dynamics: the hypnotist imposes their will on the subject, and the subject feels a sense of loss of control. Personally, my favorite part of hypnosis is the loss of control aspect, and it’s genuinely a relaxing experience for me to go into trance. I get a huge rush of endorphins when I come up from trance.
What does a session look like?
An erotic hypnosis play scene is called a session. Most sessions can be broken down into three types:
- A hypnotist puts one subject under hypnosis
- One subject hypnotizes themselves by watching a video or listening to an audio file
- One hypnotist puts multiple subjects under as a group
Most sessions have one hypnotist and one subject. They can interact in many different ways: in person, over video calls, over voice calls, or over text. The possibilities are endless though! Hypno is often the “sprinkles” of kink scenes; it can be a great addition to many other types of play.
No, most sessions don’t look like this. Nor do they involve…. magnetic waves?
Generally, hypnosis sessions have three main parts:
Let’s go through what each part looks like in a common scenario: one hypnotist and one subject.
Negotiation and Prep
Before starting a hypno session, you’ll discuss the game plan. This can include how long you’ll be playing, what type of suggestions each party is interested, and what each other’s limits and boundaries are.
Always play safe and discuss limits! Read through the Playing Safely section below before engaging in sessions.
After talking through what the session will look like, you’ll set up your environment to get ready. For example, before any session I make sure the doors are closed, my phone is on do not disturb, and I’m in a comfortable position.
The Scene Itself
Now’s the fun part! Most hypnosis sessions have an induction, followed by some suggestions, then an awakener. During the induction, the hypnotist will relax the subject and put them under. There are many different induction styles. Some inductions use props, like a moving pocket watch, while other inductions bring the subject in and out of trance multiple times to put them under deeper, like fractionalization.
Although not my go-to, the pocket watch is one of the most iconic tools for an induction.
Once the subject is under, the hypnotist will use suggestions to influence how the subject thinks, feels, or act. There’s a ton of different ways a session can go during the suggestion piece. For example, the hypnotist might convince the subject that the room is very hot, and the subject will take off their shirt. Some people like suggestions that are based on stage hypnosis, such as clucking like a chicken. Others prefer more erotic/kinky suggestions, such as incorporating personality modification, drone play, pet play, etc.
At some point, the hypnotist will bring the subject out of trance using an awakener. Examples of awakeners include counting up from 1 to 10 and snapping fingers. Sometimes, the hypnotist might use post suggestions on the subject, where suggestions from the session influence what the subject thinks and acts after coming out of trance.
Aftercare
After a session, the hypnotist and subject can review what they did and didn’t like about a session. Hypnosis is all about trust! With repeated sessions and aftercare, you and your partner get to know each other better, build trust, and create space for awesome hypno scenes.
Playing Safely
The most asked question I get is “Can I be hypnotized to do something against my own will?” My answer to that is a bit nuanced, but the TL;DR is no, for beginners the risk of doing something against your will is very low since you first need to learn how to go into a deep trance.
Hypnosis sessions are often kinky, can have emotional risks just like other kink scenes. For example, some of my favorite parts of hypno are in the darker themes like, mindlessness, brainwashing, and personality modification. They’re really fun to play with in a safe space! It’s really important that you build that safe space for yourself whether you’re listening to a file in your room or working live with a hypnotist. Everyone in a session is responsible for playing safely, including you.
Above all, the biggest things to focus on are consent and communication, and the best thing to have is your list of limits and interests. What sort of topics and concepts get you going? What ideas and styles do you strongly dislike? Don’t worry about having a complete list of everything you enjoy and dislike though. As you get more experienced, you’ll hone in on your personal table stakes and deal breakers.
There’s a whole world of literature on the art of safety in kink
To start building your list of interests and limits, I recommend starting with some audio files or YouTube videos that have light-hearted general hypno content—things like just putting you to sleep, positive affirmation—and figure out from where what styles and genres of hypno you enjoy.
If you want to learn more about kink safety and frameworks, Lifehacker has a good overview on SSC (safe, sane, consensual) versus RACK (risk-aware consensual kink), and History of the Dominatrix details the history of both terms.
A lot of the hypnosis community focuses on red flags — reasons to avoid someone, but I recommend seeking out green flags instead. Above all, a good hypno partner is someone you enjoy talking to outside of a session. If you get along well with someone and like talking to them, great! That means you’ll both probably really enjoy a hypno session together, since that’ll basically be one of you talking to the other for a while 😄
Some other positive signs I look for are:
- They want to get to know you and can talk about non-hypno topics and hobbies
- They have a good idea of what their interests and limits are, and are open to talking about mine
- They interact kindly with others in shared spaces
You might be thinking that these sound like basic green flags, and you’re right! There’s not much of an art to finding folks you enjoy hanging out with. Erotic hypnosis is kinky play, and I’ve found my best partners to be some of my best friends.
Where to go from here
Check out the Links page for more places to explore hypnosis.
✏️ with ❤️ by Nix in Chicago, IL