How would you define Magick?
Why do you practice it?
Can you give an example of practicing Magick? What does it look like?
How has Magick benefitted you and the people you love?
In previous discussions with you regarding magic, both another and myself were giving you pointers as to what magic "was". Here's another definition that encompasses what we shared with you, as the other focused on the naturalistic/"scientific" and I focused on the spiritual/non-material with a tenuous membrane between the two inextricably linking them both.
This definition is according to Giuliano Kremmerz
"Magic in all its complexity is simply a series of
demonstrable theorems and experiences with concrete effects; the magical
truths, as abstract as they may be, owe their evident demonstration in
concrete 'fulfillment,' just as abstract mathematical truths have mechanical
applications."
According to Kremmerz, magic, "or Arcane Knowledge,
is divided into two parts, the Natural and the Divine. The former studies
all the phenomena due to the occult qualities of the human organism and
the way to access and reproduce them within the limits of the organism
engaged as a means. The latter is dedicated to preparing the spiritual ascension
of the initiate, in such a way as to render possible a relationship
between man and the superior natures invisible to the vulgar eye."
One must bear in mind, furthermore, that "the point at which the former ends
and the latter begins is very difficult to determine . . . and it therefore very
often happens that both magical directions [the Natural and the Divine]
move forward in tandem."
In the introduction to Evola's "introduction to magic" you will find a developed treatment as to reasons why some people seek higher knowledge through occult means.
Introduction to Magic
Some of the reasons why people study magic is because it is a path to greater self-knowledge, a desire in some to have a more naked and immediate relationship with themselves and the world around them, often through a change of consciousness and communion with higher forces in a more direct manner. Some people are disillusioned by what passes for truth in the world, and they seek to divest themselves of empty philosophies and conventions in order to study something that promises a more direct perception of the world around them.
There are truths that cannot be grasped by the intellect alone.
At best, the intellect will give a reflected view of the truth, hence why the intellect was seen as lunar. (the heart is solar and the center of a being. Traditionally the sun was referred to as the organ of mental perception and governs knowledge gained from intensity of direct perception/experience)
Some just want a fun hobby. Others are fascinated by magic as a study of antique cultures. Magic provides a lot of fodder for those with imagination and aesthetic sensibilities. People study magic for serious reasons as well as for entertainment. Of course, many see magic as essentially ********, or conflate it with stage magic/illusionists (which is why Crowley added the k to "magick" in order to differentiate the two. I don't subscribe to adding the k because I think it is unnecessary.)
Magic is as vast as is humanity, and depending on where you go you will find tribal/folk magic that peddles love potions and money serums, all the way up to aristocrats partaking in high magic ritual and collecting magical artifacts that are supposedly passed down by the great personages of whatever intiatic strain they claim they are a part of. In both cases magic is goal oriented, whether that goal be thaumaturgic or theurgic (essentially natural vs. divine as defined earlier). The benefits purported range from getting more money to connecting to higher intelligences that will open you up to truths and knowledge that transcend human understanding, which when bridged/brought back down to "earth" and converted into something practical will result in new insights for the human race or new inventions, or new patterns of thought.
Here is an example of a magician practicing magic. His aim with these operations were theurgic. - The Arbatel Experience
Notwithstanding JA's memes about witches "hexing" trump (here's a practicing witches perspective on that) - Traditional Witchcraft and #MeToo
There are practitioners who are more sensible and less cringey about how they approach the whole business.
And I know you don't like to read all this **** about magic but unfortunately magic is vaster than astrology, so if you're afraid of digging and delving and taking the time to find the answers and making up your own mind, then you will never get anywhere with knowing what magic "is".
How would you define Magick?
Why do you practice it?
Can you give an example of practicing Magick? What does it look like?
How has Magick benefited you and the people you love?
To the first - Yes. The scientific method can be used in magic. It's how you test what is **** from what has relevance.
The field where magical operations are worked on is "inner". Meaning, a lot of magical practice cannot be verified through sensible observation. How magic is verified is through reports by individuals who have taken the time to undertake whatever operation they have chosen - detailing out in what way they failed or succeeded, how they approached it, what materials they used, what theoretical grounding/principle they used and the like.
You might say that such an operating stance makes any tester liable to making up anything they want, as no one can verify if what they experienced was the real thing. My response to this is that one - it happens, two - there are certain guidepost markers that occur as a result of certain experiences being triggered. A comparison is that the psychological makeup of a human is the same no matter where in the world you go, however they won't all present in the same way. The human body is made up with a "spiritual anatomy" just as much as it is made up of a sensible one, and the two (actually four) are intertwined with one another.
The fact that someone can already make stuff up by claiming it as magick is unsettling for me.
There are those that purport to have the ability to create physical magic such as starting fires and levitation. I haven't encountered any proof of them yet, but I'm open should I actually cross someone who can do something of that nature or along similar lines.
To the third - Take a look on the forum some time. People's paradigms change when they go through divorce, job loss, cheating partners, deaths of close family members, spiritual emergencies, crises of faith, strange paranormal experiences and the like. Oftentimes what passes for conventional ideas surrounding what "life" should be like is shattered or cannot be explained by their previous views on life. Tell me if you want specific examples if you don't catch my meaning.
To the fourth - You grasp them on superconscious/extraconscious levels that can be induced by certain practices. Intuition, ESP and the inner senses are some of the faculties that you can use to perceive these contents that isn't normally accessible to the waking consciousness.
And I did say alone. I didn't say that the intellect isn't used at all - that is impossible. However, the more of your faculties that you have *on* at any one time, the more you can perceive of an object or subject.
One example is - enhancing your eyesight so that you can see ultraviolet and infrared, as well as the regular light spectrum that a human can see. You see *more* because of an increase in faculties while still retaining your previous powers. You expand your area of accessibility, it's not one for the other. This is an example that exemplifies what happens as a result of certain operations - your spectrum of perception/consciousness is increased.
In any system you'll see the importance of the sun in terms of combining the different aspects of the structure in order to facilitate an integrated center and illumination. Examples are the Sun in modern astrology, and Tiphareth as detailed out in the hermetic kabbalah.
As to emotions and there place in magic. You can read this article about that and come to your own conclusions.Magic, Power, focus and emotions
To the fifth - Essentially the problem of intellect is this. Describe to me what sex is. Now go have sex. What's the difference between the former and latter in terms of "knowing"?
Reflected doesn't mean false. Reflected means reflected - a replica of the same thing but not of the same substance. I can tell you everything about mountaineering and one day you might be able to be the best lecturer on all things mountain climbing. But unless you step foot on a mountain and actually begin the ascent, you will never truly have a direct, practical, knowledge of what mountain climbing truly is.
To the eight - the rituals are detailed out in the Arbatel. You can take his word for it or you can test it for yourself. Or you can disregard it out of hand. Your choice.
To the ninth - If that's your conclusion, sure.
For me magic is a set of intuitive practices that have an esoteric or ineffable quality. The benefits of it I find are much less useful in an age with so much technology than they would have been in ages past.
Some of the things I do with magic are innate. I intuitively know whether babies will be boys or girls. There is no spell or ritual, someone just has to tell me about someone I know having a baby and then it comes to me. I see it as part of a pattern that exists. I know it, I just don't know why I know it. I can be skeptical about it happening again, I can be skeptical about why or how it happens, I just can't be skeptical that it has happened to me in the past.
I also have an intuitive herbal sense. I know how to find herbs, know where they grow, know which ones to put in a tea to help me when I'm sick. I know how to modify, combine and substitute ingredients to create the effects I want. If that's not flashy enough for you, and sound too much like cooking, know that it is like cooking. Any creative act is something like magic. Magic is taking that and making it it's own discipline.
Magic in everyday life is rather prosaic, but you weren't expecting me to tell you that I was Superman, were you?
If I can give you an explanation it's not magic. If it's magic I can't explain it. That's fundamental to the concept of magic. Whenever it becomes explainable, it becomes science or technology instead.
But that's my take on it.
Why did you make this thread, out of curiosity? Did you wanna learn something new or just debate people?
Magic requires work. And there are no simple easy silver bullets to achieving the skills.
It is part of the results of meditation. I can experience things happening in meditation now that that I couldn't perceive of happening in 1972 when I started meditating. Some one recently asked me to explain exactly what I do, and I found that I couldn't explain the vocabulary let alone the practices that I use. She kept asking me for definitions of words i used and then definitions of the definitions of the definitions. She couldn't understand that there were per-requisites. But at the same time she could understand that she would not understand quantum physics without calculus and other physics per-requisites.
And so, when someone tries to explain how magic works to someone who doesn't even know the the meanings of the basic words, its like trying to explain exactly how to understand quantum physics to somone who just discovered basic arithmetic.
The west is more advanced than whatever else. The west is the best thing that’s ever happened.
The Chinese and Russians disagree with you.
thank you captain obvious
I wonder why you didn't respond that way with my first three posts in this thread. Trying to score some points?