The Art of Magick, Part II

Good evening Witchy Friends!

So now that you've had some time to mull over the meaning of "magick" and you've had a chance to really focus on what it is you want to manifest, I'd like to take you back to my first blog post.

The Witches Pyramid contains the foundation of your magick.  These are the 4 building blocks that you must master in order to create the changes in your life that you desire. Here is a copy of my post about the Witches Pyramid:

The Witches Pyramid

The Witches Pyramid, as seen through the eyes of SnowyOwl

-or-

Performing Practical Magick in an Impractical World

An old teaching, it has been said that it comes from ancient ceremonial magicians (magus, magi).  These are the five basic laws of witchcraft, and what you'll find in the teachings of most any wiccan coven or tradition.  They are derived from the "Magician's Manifesto", also known as the "Hermetic Quaternary".  They each have an elemental correspondence:

1:  To Know - (East - Air)

They say knowledge is power.  I believe this to be true.  Knowledge comes from reading, learning and understanding the powers of the many elements of magick.  Read every book you can, but know that not all books will present the exact same concepts - especially when it comes to basic spell-writing structure.  Take from them what resonates with you.  Know your occult correspondences - numerology, moon phases, astrological correspondences, symbols & sigils, tarot, runes, etc.  These are immutable and absolute.  Learn them, know them, live them.  

Most importantly:  KNOW YOURSELF.  You should know exactly what it is you want, what outcome you desire.  There's also an old saying that "KNOWLEDGE IS POWER".  A witches power comes from within, as well as from the universe.  That power is enhanced by learning, seeking, and experiencing.

2:  To Will - (South - Fire)

Now that you have all this knowledge, can you bring forth the desire needed to perform the act/spell/ritual?  Believe in yourself, believe in your magick.  That generates the desire, the will.  

3:  To Dare - (West - Water)

To explain this, I'll take the standard dictionary definition of the word "dare" and run with it.  You need sufficient courage.  Have the courage to contend against, venture or try (to perform that action).  Challenge yourself to perform an action, especially as proof of that courage.  You may have read all the books there are to read, and written the perfect spell, but if you don't DARE yourself to perform the act - you'll never manifest the outcome you are looking for.

4:  To Be Silent - (North - Earth)

As I'm writing the above (#4), I pictured the earth - and more broadly the universe, that we live in.  So much of the beauty of this earth is manifested silently.  Seeds planted, roots take hold, trees and plants and flowers bud and blossom.  Outwardly, stars and planets align.  All silently.  

But, To Be Silent means just that.  It's going to hurt you in the long run if you finish your spell or ritual, and then go chatting about it with friends in the mundane world.  All of the energy you built up and released during your spell work will dissipate - much like sticking a pin in a balloon.  Think of all the energy you put out when blowing up a balloon.  If there is one pinhole, that balloon will deflate.  You may think that if you tell your best friend, he or she is going to just support you and infuse more positive energy.  You don't know that for sure.  Why take chances?  

5: Love (Above - Spirit)

Didn't think about this one, did you?  Well, I'm throwing it in here because it's a part of my belief.  As I said earlier, a witches power comes not only from within, but from without.  That's Spirit.  The Universe, The Gods and Goddesses.  Make sense?  It's my belief that any magick born out of hatred, rather than love, will not only fail miserably - but more than likely backfire on you, creating an even BIGGER set of problems.  Some call it "karma".  You decide.

Now - you might say, "But Snowy, I HATE that person who hurt me, hurt an animal, hurt a child, etc., and I want to do something to STOP them!".  Ok, I get it.  But remember this:  do your magick out of LOVE of the one who has been hurt, not HATRED for the one performing the mean or nasty deed.  If the act was against you - do a spell for yourself that will protect you or change your way of thinking so that those actions do not affect you any longer.  Remove the person from your life the mundane way and do magick to give yourself the courage to keep it that way.  It's my belief that love really does conquer all.

I hope you find this both interesting and informative.  

Please do not share or re-post without my express written consent.  

In Her Service,
SnowyOwl

What is Magick?

British occultist Aleister Crowley defined magick as ""the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will". He related this to will in the mundane as well as ritual magick, and chose to spell it with a "k" at the end to differentiate it from stage magic.

Most witches and wiccans today prefer to use the "magick" spelling when talking about their workings.

I believe that it's important to understand why we are where we are at any given time in our lives. Why do some things happen to us, or others? The answer is very simple, but oh-so-complex for many to comprehend.

We as individuals are responsible for where we are and why some things happen. No one else. Not your neighbor, not your co-worker, not your mother-in-law, not the mailman. The choices we make each and every day carve out the life we live in at this very moment in time.

Yes, Really.

In order to begin to follow this train of thought, you must understand the concept of Free Will.  The dictionary defines Free Will as:

"The power of acting without the constraint of necessity or fate; the ability to act at one's own discretion."

So many times we allow others to influence our actions and/or choices. We allow concepts or thought processes that have been ground into our heads to dictate our decisions. We may have a religious belief system that tells us we "shouldn't" or "can't" do this or that, so we make choices outside of what our heart tells us is right.

Many people have issues with self-esteem. Low self-esteem is the number one magick killer, in my opinion. If you do not BELIEVE, you cannot ACHIEVE. That's all there is to it.

Do we always know that a choice we make will turn out for the good, or not so good?  No.  Do we sometimes have a feeling that it's a bad choice, but we do it anyway?  Yes.  Free Will does not mean that we will always choose wisely, or end up where we wanted to be.

Part of the power of Free Will, and of Magick, is that we have the ability to state EXACTLY what it is that we want, what outcome we want to see in any given situation.

When deciding to perform ANY magick, keep this one crucial thought in mind:

Be careful what you wish for.

Know this:  the Universe does not read your mind. It only hears the words you speak, and will reflect back to you those things that you concentrate on.


Once you have a firm grip on what it is that you want to change in your life, the next step is to see it already in place, already in existence.  In Wicca, we believe in the concept of "As Above, So Below". Meaning, we create our realities based on our thoughts, actions, and reactions.

Here is another very important component of magick:  NEVER focus on the "how", just focus on the RESULT you DESIRE.

Magick = DESIRE
Magick = FOCUS
Magick = WILL

Once we determine that there is a change that needs to occur in our lives, we begin the DESIRE. It should be a burning desire. Something that you truly want to occur, or change that you want to bring about.

Next, we FOCUS. Our goal should become the vision we go to sleep with, the vision we wake up with, and the outcome we envision throughout the day.

The use of Positive Thinking is another crucial component of magick. Think and speak as though the change has already occurred. Instead of saying "I want to... (insert desire here)", say "I AM... (insert desire here)".
 
We then choose the tools to use in our magickal rite to help with the process of focus. Once we have made a decision and firmly cemented not only the change we want in our heads, but have truly focused deeply on it, we perform the ritual of magick.

Choosing the correct timing for magick is your best course of action. Take into consideration the moon phase, astrological phase, day of the week, etc. The more thought you put into preparing for doing the magick, the more you are FOCUSED. ;-) It may seem like a daunting task at first, but what you are doing is training your mind to think and act in accordance with your desire.

So... HOW do we perform the magick?
 
I have written a simple article about candle magick. Candle magick is one of the easiest and simplest forms of magick there is. Choose the candle color according to the chart that best associates with the desired outcome. There is a color chart here for you.

Other tools we have at our disposal are various herbs, gemstones, sigils, divination, and incense. It can be quite overwhelming to the beginner, but don't let it be! Start out small, make it simple. Let the magick happen, and if it doesn't happen right away, don't get discouraged! It does not mean you're a failure, it simply means that either you need to put more FOCUS, DESIRE, and WILL into the change you want to bring about, or the Universe is still working on it. Sometimes PATIENCE is what's needed. 

Next time, we will go more in-depth at the art of magick.  For now, practice focusing on what you wish to achieve. 

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