 Magic Demystified-- Skye Alexander
Magic Demystified
By Skye Alexander
Magic is a mystery to most people. Some of them think it's all trickery, like stage illusion. Some consider it the stuff of myth, legend, or superstition, an anachronism in the twenty-first century. Others believe magic is evil, and that its practitioners are malicious sorcerers with strange, supernatural powers. Even individuals who may accept the reality of magic often view it as a rare and elusive art that's beyond their own capabilities.
All of these suppositions are false.
In truth, magic is real and it works. It is natural, widespread, and as relevant today as it was in King Arthur's time. Magic is not inherently dangerous or malevolent, but it can be misused by unscrupulous people, just as fire can be harmful in the hands of an arsonist. Although some individuals possess more native ability than others, virtually anyone can learn to perform magic effectively.
Magic, which often is spelled with a k to distinguish it from sleight of hand and other magic tricks, has been used by cultures around the world since ancient times. Some experts speculate that the animal images painted on rock walls by our cave-dwelling ancestors may have been a form of magic to petition the assistance of spirit animals during the hunt. Early agrarian societies often performed magical rites to ensure a bountiful harvest. Dancing around the maypole on Beltane (May 1), for instance, is an age-old fertility ritual performed at the beginning of the planting season.
The world's great religions are steeped in magical concepts and practices. The beliefs and practices of esoteric Judaism are based on the magical system described by the Cabala and the Tree of Life for transcending the physical realm and connecting with the Divine. That system also underlies Western ceremonial magic and the influential, century-old Hermetic tradition of the Golden Dawn, which laid the foundation for modern ceremonial magical work. Some Christian ceremonies, including baptism and Communion, are actually magical rites. Lighting a novena candle is a type of magic spell. So are chanting and prayer.
Many of our familiar customs and routines have magical ties. Undoubtedly, you've done magic yourself--you just didn't realize it. When you blow out candles on your birthday cake as you make a wish or hang mistletoe above a doorway, for example, you are performing simple magical acts originally meant to make your wish come true and banish evil, respectively. Magic is omnipresent, occurring all the time, everywhere.
"Magick is not something you do, magick is something you are," writes Donald Michael Kraig in his book Modern Magick.1 Being a magician is more than doing a few spells or attending a Sabbat ritual, just as being a Christian is more than going to church on Sunday. Magic isn't something you put on and take off when the mood strikes you. It is a worldview, a way of thinking and feeling and being--a way that contradicts much of what we in the West have been taught to believe.
To be a magician is to live in constant awareness of your connection with everything else in the Universe, knowing that you are in control of your own destiny. It involves all your senses, both the ordinary and the "extraordinary." A magician's world is a place of power and humility.
Magic is probably infinite in scope--there is always more to learn, so you will never know it all. And just as it requires years of concentrated effort to become a marathon runner, master carpenter, or concert pianist, it takes time to become an accomplished magician. Don't let that intimidate you, however. You can begin doing elementary magic spells and rituals right away. As author Marian Green so aptly puts it in her book Elements of Ritual Magic, "real magic is not a spectator sport."2
For centuries, magical wisdom and occult knowledge were kept hidden, due to fear of persecution. (Occult, by the way, simply means hidden.) Magicians passed down secret teachings by word of mouth, through rituals, art, and coded texts. Numerology, which links each letter of the alphabet with a number, is one method used to convey occult truths to initiates while concealing them from the masses. The tarot is another. We have only now begun to rediscover the magic of our ancestors.
At the same time, contemporary magicians are putting their own spin on this ancient wisdom and adapting it to our twenty-first-century world. One example of this is the pairing of so-called complementary therapies in medicine. When herbal medicine, which uses the vital energies of plants for healing, is combined with modern medical technology and skills, this age-old magical art can produce results that surpass those known to early wise men and women.
Some magic is quite basic and practical, such as manifesting a convenient parking space at a mall on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Some of it is performed as part of an ongoing program of self-development, like daily meditation or exercise, rather than to produce a specific outcome. Other magical work has a goal, such as promoting healing, improving finances, or attracting a romantic partner. Once you become accustomed to using this "force," you will just naturally call upon your magical abilities to assist you in nearly every aspect of life.
An artist sees everything in terms of light and shadow, color and composition; a magician perceives everything in terms of energy. When you do magic, you tap the energies within yourself, in the earth, and in the worlds beyond. As you work with magic, you will begin to see things differently. Your relationships with other people may change, as will your relationship with yourself. You will experience the patterns and dynamics that underlie the superficial as you come to know that the physical world is only one part of the All. You will become aware of how your thoughts, words, emotions, and actions affect conditions in your life and you'll begin living more consciously. In short, magic will transform your life.
How Magic Works
When you work magic, you tap into the natural forces that exist all around us, on earth and in the heavens, and use them for specific purposes. By manipulating energy, a magician creates the circumstances she or he desires. According to Aleister Crowley, one of the best-known magicians of the modern era, "every intentional act is a magickal act." More specifically, explains Donald Michael Kraig in Modern Magick, "Magick is the science and art of causing change...to occur in conformity with will, using means not currently understood by traditional Western science."3
Magic operates on the premise that everything is energy, and that everything in the Universe is connected to everything else. We exist in an energy matrix, which is like a giant web that entwines our Earth, our solar system, our galaxy, and beyond. When something happens in one part of the web, it sends ripples throughout the entire web--just as fluctuations in the New York Stock Exchange impact economics in Japan. This enables magicians to perform magic in their immediate environment and produce effects on the other side of the world.
The Universe contains numerous realms of existence, or levels of being, that interface with the visible world where we carry out our daily lives. We see only the tip of the iceberg, so to speak. By using intuition, imagination, and other mental powers that ordinarily lie dormant, we can access these unseen realms for magical purposes. We can communicate with the nonphysical beings who inhabit these levels of reality--fairies, angels, elementals, ancestors, and others--and gain their assistance in our magical work.
Types of Magic
Archdruid Prays Before Solar Eclipse
Magic comes in many flavors. Some practices are complex, others are quite simple; there's something for everyone. Druid Magic, for instance, is closely linked with the natural world and the unseen realms that parallel and intersect our own. Ritual Magic utilizes the Cabala and other teachings derived from ancient Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cultures to gain access to the higher realms; as the name suggests, this tradition emphasizes ritual and ceremony. Sex Magic channels erotic energy to produce specific effects. Shamanism involves interacting with nonphysical entities, such as ancestors, spirit animals, elemental forces, and deities, and moving between the various levels of reality. Wicca harnesses female and male powers, cosmic and earthly energies, to create what is desired.
Shaman, Quito, Ecuador
These are only a few types of magic, and there are many others, each with its own unique focus, perceptions, rites, and origins. Some are culturally based. No one form of magic is "better" than another, although you will undoubtedly find some to be more appropriate for you than others. Although magic involves certain laws, it does not subscribe to any particular dogma--you can be a Christian, a Jew, a Buddhist, a Muslim, or without religious affiliation at all and still tread a magical path. An open mind is all you need to proceed.
Although I don't pretend to know about all the different types of magic, those with which I am familiar generally accept a few, fundamental concepts. Some of these are:
• There are many levels of reality and many planes of existence in addition to the apparent, physical one in which we conduct our mundane affairs.
• You constantly create circumstances with your thoughts, feelings, and actions.
• Your mind and intent are what empower your magical work, though special tools and rituals can enhance it.
• Magic is based in natural laws and works through the proper utilization of these laws.
Beyond these basic tenets, various magical traditions share lots of other ideas, even though their outer trappings may be different. For instance, many hold that a part of the Self (soul, spirit, higher self) lives on after the death of the physical body and may reincarnate again and again. Most believe in a Higher Power and a Cosmic Order. For the most part, magicians honor all of creation and strive to live in harmony with the other beings on this planet, as well as with those that abide in the numerous unseen realms of existence. For more information about magical paths and traditions, read Bill Whitcomb's encyclopedic book The Magician's Companion.4
The Ethics of Magic
Many people fear magic and hold lots of misconceptions about it and its practitioners. That's not surprising, given the enormous "misinformation" campaign waged by religious, scientific, and political forces against magic for the past couple of millennia. Those practicing witchcraft, sorcery, divination, and other forms of magic have been punished with torture and death in many parts of the world. Even today, magicians tend to keep their beliefs and activities secret to avoid reprisal.
For the record, magicians don't worship Satan, put hexes on people, enslave unwilling individuals, or try to foist their beliefs on others. Magic is not dangerous if performed correctly. Magicians don't look different from other people. They aren't immune to life's problems. They have families and jobs and friends and, at least outwardly, seem pretty much the same as everyone else--the person who cuts your hair or repairs your car may be a magician.
Experienced magicians don't perform so-called "black" magic because they understand the ramifications of such acts. An important occult truth is that whatever you do comes back to you. Like a boomerang, the energy you put out in thought, word, or deed--good as well as bad--will return to you in kind. We see this law in operation in our everyday lives as well as in our magical lives. If you drive recklessly on the highway, for example, you may inspire road rage in other drivers. If, on the other hand, you smile at the people you interact with and treat them courteously, chances are they'll respond in a friendly manner. Of course, the repercussions of your actions aren't always this straightforward or immediate, but the law of cause and effect is immutable, and those of us who practice magic know that we cause the effects we experience.
This is not to say that magicians never misuse knowledge or behave irresponsibly. Magical power is a heady thing and, at least in the beginning, it's tempting to wield it selfishly. Some magicians say that novices can't really do much harm because they haven't developed the "magical muscles" to accomplish their objectives, and that once you reach a position of true power you know enough not to abuse it.
To an extent, I agree. But I've seen inexperienced magicians get themselves into trouble by casting spells irresponsibly and calling up entities they couldn't handle. This can be very painful and disruptive to everyone--especially the spellworker. Love spells are where many people first get off track. They attempt to draw a particular person's love to them and end up binding themselves to the object of their affection. You should never manipulate another person. Instead, put out a "call" to the Universe that you are open to receiving a relationship that's right for you, and let Divine Will send you an appropriate partner.
The guiding principle behind Wicca is do no harm. If you follow only this rule, you will be moving in the right direction. When you realize that everything in the Universe is connected, you know that to hurt someone else is to hurt yourself. In a sense, that's what the Golden Rule is about.
To be on the safe side, it's a good idea to begin or end your magic spells with a statement such as, "Let this be done for the highest good, harming none." That way, you get your own ego out of the way and invite Divine Will to manifest your magic in the proper manner.
Magic isn't a toy. It is real and powerful and it works. Use it wisely, with love and respect. And remember the old saying, "Be careful what you ask for."
Notes
1. Donald Michael Kraig, Modern Magick (St. Paul, Minn.: Llewellyn Publications, 1999), p. 421.
2. Marian Green, The Elements of Ritual Magic (Dorset, England: Element Books, 1990), p. 5.
3. Kraig, p. 9.
4. Bill Whitcomb. The Magician's Companion (St. Paul, Minn.: Llewellyn Publications, 1998).
__________________ Our beliefs define the limits of our allowed experience
Bunnies taste like crunchy
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