Photo: Melissa Portan
This is not the kind of magic where you pull a rabbit out of a hat. This is what some call magick, why some call themselves witches, wizard’s, mages, shamans, and so on. And no, we are not about to talk about a fantasy novel. Magic, in the sense of transformation, is what we’re talking about. To bring about change in your life, in another’s life, is what some call magic; but it is all done indirectly, done by the use of mantras, spells, candles, direction of will, meditation, sex, love, dreams, astral projection. Let’s say there is a rock in the middle of the road you are taking, it is blocking your path. You want to move this rock but for whatever reason you can’t or don’t go and move it with your own hands; perhaps it is too heavy. So how does magic work in this scenario? You refer to your preferred method, either mediation or candle work, either sex magic or ritual magic, and so on. Magic is: causing someone else to come and move the rock, to remove that barrier, whether it is bulldozer that comes just in time for you to pass, or nature with a cleansing storm, or another person to help you pass over it.
To some, magic may seem like a child’s imagination and to others like an easy way out. Today, in modern spirituality and what is known as new age, it is often said that every person is in charge or in control of their own reality. The success of the book The Secret proves the great allure that this idea, this idea of individual power, has in society’s mind. New agers do not call this philosophy or belief magic, but enlightenment. There is a profound difference between enlightenment and magic. (Note, not all new agers are the same and there are benefits to listening and reading what they say.)
So, what is magic? Magic, to me, is exercising control over the mind to cause what is desired to come into this physical reality. But my definition and understanding of magic does not end there; it is also working, physically and pragmatically to bring those things into reality, by ceasing the opportunities that appear, by allowing yourself to bring the change. So, it is half and half; half what happens within you and half what you do, half on the astral-spiritual world, half on the physical-mundane world. (There is so much to learn and explore just in this area that we cannot cover it all here in a single post and perhaps in the entire blog. If you’re interested in knowing more, you can look into the magical practice called Wicca. Book reviews soon.) How much can be done with magic depends on how you do it, what you believe, and who you believe. Some believe magic has no bounds. Depending on what tradition you follow, the limits of what magic can do for someone vary. Certain cultures, for example, the cultures of Latin America, believe that magic can be used to heal the body and cure diseases that are otherwise incurable. Magic is how demons are removed from the person and locations and known as exorcisms by some and as cleansings by others. To some, if you worship a God other than their preferred God, you are practicing magic and are a witch or wizard or even worse things. There is no definitive proof of magic, there is no scientific proof of magic, there is only the internal understanding that the person experiencing it feels and sees.
As always, there are two sides to this. There are good things you can do and there are bad things you can do. Both good and evil can be done through magic. There are ethics that some hold onto dearly while others disregard them entirely. For the evolution of your soul, ethics are central, or should be central to a magical practice. So again, what you can achieve through magic depends on you and your beliefs mixed with your ethics.
How does magic work? There, as it is often, isn’t one single, perfect, and correct answer to the question. How magic works depends on what type of magic you are performing. Ritual magic requires there to be a ritual for it to be effective. Whether this is because of what the person believes or because of the laws of magic, I am unsure. One way to think of magic is as your hand extending upwards, up and up into the astral plane, and when it is there, rearranging things. This rearrangement of things lasts as long as you will it to last, or as long as it is allowed to last (by other beings either of higher consciousness or lower consciousness), or as long as it needs to last for the change to happen.
“In Flight” by Joel Olives
Magic can also be used for self-improvement. It doesn’t have to be for money or love or other physical aspects of life. Magic can help you further understand your spiritual path, it can bring into your life what you need to evolve. The more sincere your effort to learn about your spiritual self is, the more knowledge you will receive. The most powerful type of magic is not Satanism, nor black magic, nor ritual magic, nor shamanism. The most powerful type of magic is Love. When the heart is behind your will, the greatest and most beneficial transformations occur.
Namaste.
Photo Credit: Melissa Portan