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Witch StuffCoven of Cythrawl
POSTINGS
(Number 443)
Ideas, Belief, Willpower, Magick and Life & when magick doesn't work
Some new members have written in wanting to know
how to make spells
work. Actually, this is way beyond the scope of the Group, as such
things are so very personal and learnt over time, guided by a group,
or one's Mentor.
There are a few points I can try to make in answer to so many
questions such as, "why don't my spells work?" Actually, I have gone
over this subject so many times in the past, along with the concepts
to magick and spells, both on the main site and in the postings
here. However, for those that have just joined, or those that are
interested and never saw the earlier postings as an email, they may
go directly to the Yahoo site;
(http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Coven-of-Cythrawl)
and then read through the "messages" archived for a year or more now,
after reading this one. We have 97 members now, which is wonderful
and I hope that you all hang in there and perhaps more people can
post their questions, comments and/or views on the board for all to
read and I'm sure there are lot's of members who can answer some of
the questions much better than I. Anyway, going back to why 'things'
and more specifically, magick might not work.
Let me quickly jump off the wagon here and talk about relative and
relevant concepts by introducing "Ideas" versus "Belief",
which I
will dig from memory from my PhD thesis. Think of an idea as a
table, with only one or two legs. It's potential is certainly there,
but as it is; it serves no purpose and has no real value. Now think
of a "resolve" as an idea, (backed usually by a decision), but not as
solid as belief.
St Augustine said (quite sagely for a Christian), that "Faith is to
believe what you do not yet see; the reward for this faith is to see
what you believe".
So, faith is a sense of certainty; resolve, absoluteness. "Faith" in
that "belief". Decision to act with resolve. Action with resolve,
with a `belief' in that action and faith in its outcome, together
with willpower is what will make things happen.
Willpower is actually the fuel that will make your efforts pay off.
Without `will' to succeed, no technique, no advice, no faith, no
belief and no knowledge will ever improve your magick, work, life, or
anything else for that matter. You must focus your intent and learn
to use the power of your mind.
It is not enough to simply have `willpower' though if we intend to do
something. In order to accomplish a task, you have to develop
a "real, genuine intention" to do something, and then actually carry
out that intention at an indefinite point in the future. If you want
your magick to work, you must remember this `intent' and carry it
out – actually "do it" – not talk, or think about it, and then
have
the willpower to start and continue, with the steadfast resolve to do
it and the belief that it will happen, and that will give you the
faith to see it though and wait for it to happen.
Please do remember that sometimes spells don't always come out
exactly as you prescribed, but perhaps in a round about way that they
resolve the or a problem and we must understand that it might be for
the best and the way in which Nature decided to take Her course.
Let's note some pertinent facts here. Every magician has occasions
in which the magick he or she is directing does not seem to work.
The desired result, whether internal or external, does not come into
manifestation.
These occasions are actually opportunities for greater development in
the magickal arts, and by working through the disappointment and
discouragement, they can reach greater self-knowledge and technical
expertise in the art. Go back to your Mentor and work at it, a step
by step pace and try to find one of the myriad of ways that might not
always feel comfortable to you, but that actually "work" for YOU!
I personally believe that magick always works. Magick is a tool, a
reality shaper, but like any tool, however, `its' ability is limited
only to the operator's knowledge and skill.
For an illustration in this, let's use a bow and arrow. Your
intention is the arrow and your magical technique for directing that
intention is the bow. You use the bow/technique to poise, balance and
guide the intention/arrow with the strength of your arms and
hands/determination and will.
What happens when this all works together optimally? The will firmly
grasps the clear intention, balances it upon the technique, you
gather your emotional and mental force, and then fire the intention
into the invisible world to be made manifest. In its own time and
way, your wish materializes.
Conversely, if you haven't got the skill to bring all of these
efforts together, things can and will go askew. Your arrow can veer
and stray, or it may travel a few feet before losing power. Your bow
can break, or not be strong enough to propel the arrow. Or, you may
even find that you've got your bow and arrow ready to use, but you
haven't got sufficient strength to manipulate it.
It is important to meditate on all the facets that have just been
outlined and perhaps more importantly, what I am about to write, and
remember that the following concepts not only apply to magick, but
life itself. In fact, if one's magick is going amiss, it is time for
serious mediation and Pathworking to develop the mind and especially
imagination!
Going back to our table though; perhaps "experiences" are the legs
(the real support) to make "belief" become certain. References to
this might be a `belief in your ability', perhaps through training
and/or repetition, which causes you to `believe' that you can do
something, because `you've done it before and done it successfully'.
Therefore, by virtue of that experience, one has confidence.
Confidence and willpower is a natural result of successful
experience, (added to some measure of competence of course!)
All these experiences are used to support an idea. As you continue –
the table legs becomes more solid, (makes you more solid in your
confidence) and cause you begin "believing" in it. Your idea feels
solid and now it is a "belief" – a sincere belief! One should, in
their magickal practices, always decide which beliefs will `empower
you' and which ones will `dis-empower you', (if that's a word, but
you know what I mean).
Beliefs are a huge source of power! You can choose what to believe
about yourself and your abilities. And these beliefs will determine
the actions you take. The important thing to remember is to choose
beliefs that support and empower you and thus make your beliefs,
actions and confidence levels always stronger.
Many cultures around the world have many varied techniques for
inducing and working magick that appear to have no scientific basis
for working whatsoever. Yet among these people who sincerely and
fervently believe in them, the techniques do actually work and work
damned well! Helping here is pure `willpower', the power of self-
suggestion;, that often causes these sometimes bizarre techniques of
magick to work for those who `really believe' in them.
Concentration is also a key element of course in being able to
effectively use concepts such as autosuggestion and maintaining
resolve in your magickal working. Keeping your mind set on one
idea. Not letting your intentions falter at all – in any way! These
are skills that will help you greatly.
"What you see is what you get." The fastest way to change how you
feel about something is – to change what you're focusing on! (If you
feel down and extremely depressed and we all go through such phases
I'm afraid as it's a part of life – but in saying that, would you go
to a lousy, terrible movie and then go back again to watch it again,
and gain, and again? Of course not!) We often do that with our
minds, repeating bad things, hateful comments, and hurtful
experiences, instead of dropping them, leaving them alone and getting
on. Therefore, control your focus.
Don't focus on what we can't control; outside our power – it only
leads to frustration, anger, bitterness and deeper depression. If
you change your focus even a little, your reality is going to change
a lot. Easy to say, I hear lot's of people saying, but that's the
whole point; do something different, don't dwell in that lousy movie,
repeating sad old lines over and over; move out and do something
else, think of something else.
For the drivers out there, we could say that like life, we are
speeding along life's highways and backroads and if we skid suddenly,
inexperienced drivers tend to look at what we are running into – the
disaster. We must in fact, focus on the clearing into safety and
where the mind goes, the body goes and we steer out of trouble.
We must not freeze in action, but always be in action and change, and
that means training our belief, where confidence will pull us through
automatically. Once you know! Therefore, once again... Idea –
Concentration - Belief – Faith – Experience – Confidence – Belief....
All leads to enhanced performance and a better, more positive life.
Do a spell that takes a lot of work and really get into it, with
the "belief" of course that through repetition and practice, it will
work. Then after you've done it; forget it! Completely, and allow
it to work! When anyone at all starts on a magickal path, they
should really start step by step and firstly choose spells that are
easy to do, with relatively easy outcomes and not want to change the
world in flash bang, or zap some poor soul into loving someone they
don't want to.
I actually started my magick as a young boy by doing a spell "for me
to see someone within a day with a mark on their face". Easy I
guess, I know, plus as the laws of averages say it will happen if I
go out and walk around enough.
The fact that I hadn't seen anyone like that in many, many months
might not have bearing on averages, but I went out the next morning
and immediately saw a lady with a huge bright red birthmark covering
one whole side of her face. Co-incidence, or meaningful co-
incidence, or as Karl Yung calls it syncronicity, yes perhaps,
magick? Who cares...It worked as far as I was concerned and my
empowerment came in strong faith and belief, so that the next spell
was carried out also with an even stonger sincere purpose and an even
stronger belief and it too worked, and it still continues today, to
get stronger and stronger.
So do something that has an outcome that has no real value or bearing
on the practitioner, whether it works or not is not an issue and then
do it with belief. Watch the difference. It's the old maxim, that a
journey of a thousand miles starts with but one step and it is
then....step by step, by rugged step. No choice, no short cuts –
sorry!
As I wrote in my site, the power of real magick cannot be found in
any recipe book, or ancient grimoir. If it were only that easy!
Unfortunately, it is highly unlikely (and a great pity) that one will
stumble upon the hidden grimoire or mystic amulet that will instantly
grant one "magical powers" to zap anything one wants. The ability to
perform real magic is attained only through diligent practice, hard
work and inner inspiration".
If you study the traditions of magic over the centuries, you might
notice that certain forms and procedures appear over and over. So if
you strip away the outer symbolism and only retain that which is
repeated across these many systems, you might be surprised to find
these "strange attractors" which point to an underlying basic
principle.
It is reasonable to assume that these procedures/rites and rituals
arise for the same reason that any intelligent being who uses
geometry will probably stumble across the value of "pi" sooner or
later. It's something actually integral to the nature of the known
and unknown forces, human mind/body and the reality we find ourselves
in at the "time".
Like many other skills, the serious art of magick skills could be
construed as a "knack" perhaps. An art that is learned all in one!
For instance, you cannot 'half' meditate, or 'nearly' ride a bicycle,
or even 'just about' swim.
In each case, there is a state of "not being able to", and then,
albeit badly at first perhaps, the actual ability to meditate, swim,
or ride a bike. Practice makes perfect and Magick, like all others,
takes right action, determination, perseverance, and more (of course)
actual practice. The actual doing, not talking, or thinking about it
and certainly not playing at it!
As said earlier, you will not suddenly receive this skill by the
grace of a magick grimoire, or magickal passing from a some great
mystical magi to you, the student. It takes hard work - actual work
being the definitive word. This is the real secret!
There lies the basic secret to Magick and perhaps to many traditional
forms of magick from around the world. However, the student must
choose with care about which traditional techniques s/he adopts, and
examine them dispassionately to determine what is useful technique
and what is artifice.
One of the the authentic and pragmatic keys to making "magick" truly
work, is the real ability to "Vibrate" words whilst also working to
achieve an ALTERED STATE OF CONSCIOUSNESS and raise power. (I know,
I've said it a million times, but why do I keep saying it. Think
about it!)
But not just any old altered state will do, it is actually quite
precise, yet equally difficult to attempt to imply, define and of
course, teach. That is the main problem in magickal traditions; it,
(the truth, secret, or whatever you want to call "it"), must come by
working at "it" and when you get "it", you will know
"it", and then
you will find that you too cannot define or explain "it".
Also it is the fact that what works for one may not necessarily work
for another. We must all find our own ways, based on the generic
teachings, feedback and help we get from our Mentors.
This is the crux and bane of any magickal tradition and expresses
most succinctly the insurmountable difficulty throughout the ages in
the successful transmission of the "secrets" of magick. It also
explains why there seem to be so many styles, forms, sects and
beliefs, (in that very impossibility of explaining the unexplainable
and subsequently being perceived and practiced by every individual,
as they "received it").
A Mentor, of course can in fact, only point the direction, show the
way and act as guide. You cannot be "told it", no more than you can
be shown "the secret". No-one is "the" guru; we are all, and
remain,
seekers on an everlasting journey, and mostly all of us at different
places, different junctures and different stages in our life(s).
So keep at it.....
B*B
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