How to discern Astral projection from lucid dreaming?

[Isisd]

Hello everyone. This morning at 9 I was doing my meditation routine. Around 10, I decided to try Astral projecting. This is been part of my practice for like 2 months now and I think I finally Astral projected today. At first it was like I was remote viewing the place I wanted to visit. It wasn't my imagination but a very clear vision of the place as if I was actually there but only with my eyes. Very clear details, colours, so real. Then I felt my body ascending and as I said in previous post I felt blocked/ poor eyesight. I decided to persevere breathing slowly taking the advice of a fellow Satanist who answered my last post on Astral projection and after a while these limits were gone. I was actually in the place I wanted to project in with my spirit. I walked and explored, then I visited some other places like my place of work etc. I was able to teleport, I was able to change form for a very very short time, only a few seconds(becoming a black dog) as I read that in Astral projection a mage can also change form to make himself unrecognizable in initiation to hermetics. When I woke up, my Astral projection experience was in my mind blurry as a dream, other parts real as I experienced them in real life. Was that all an illusion, maybe i was lucid dreaming? How could I know the difference? Some people say lucid dreaming and Astral projection are the same thing, others say these are totally different. I think the latter statement is more correct. Can someone please relieve my doubts?

 

[Ninetailedfox]

I think dreams will have a lot of npcs and astral projection has a lot less people and the environment is denser.
I also think dreams are a type of environment and astral projection is the vehicle.

 

[Isisd]

As long as I remember I didn't see no one during the projection, only some birds and other animals.

 

[AFODO]

Lucid dreaming IS NOT astral projection these things are different!
Lucid dreaming is only happens inside your head, and astral projection actually happens outside of your body.

Since you have not projected yet, and you managed to go this far the first time, this can be an sign that it was just dreaming.
The fact that you could hardly remember it is also a huge sign that it was just dreaming.

Anyways, here is a trick:

Get or find a deck of card. Mix it and choose a card randomly. Do not look at the card. Put it up on a shelf or somewhere where you can't see it normally. Put it down, facing upwards, so it is visible what card is it. Now, when you astral project, go to that card, and see what card is it. When you get back to your physical body, go to that card and see if it's the same card that you have seen when you astral projected. If it's the same, most probably you have astral projected successfully.

 

[Isisd]

Lucid dreaming IS NOT astral projection these things are different!
Lucid dreaming is only happens inside your head, and astral projection actually happens outside of your body.

Since you have not projected yet, and you managed to go this far the first time, this can be an sign that it was just dreaming.
The fact that you could hardly remember it is also a huge sign that it was just dreaming.

Anyways, here is a trick:

Get or find a deck of card. Mix it and choose a card randomly. Do not look at the card. Put it up on a shelf or somewhere where you can't see it normally. Put it down, facing upwards, so it is visible what card is it. Now, when you astral project, go to that card, and see what card is it. When you get back to your physical body, go to that card and see if it's the same card that you have seen when you astral projected. If it's the same, most probably you have astral projected successfully.

Crazy how I didn't think of something like this myself, I will do it with my Tarots. Thanks for the trick, I'll let you know on this topic how it goes