~ Jimmy Page, 1977, quoted by George Case in Jimmy Page: Magus, Musician, Man: An Unauthorized Biography
Hey, a girl can dream, can't she? In fact, she should.
Showing posts with label Will. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Will. Show all posts
Sunday, March 29, 2015
A big little dream
“…when you've discovered your true will you should just forge ahead like a steam train.”
~ Jimmy Page, 1977, quoted by George Case in Jimmy Page: Magus, Musician, Man: An Unauthorized Biography
Hey, a girl can dream, can't she? In fact, she should.
~ Jimmy Page, 1977, quoted by George Case in Jimmy Page: Magus, Musician, Man: An Unauthorized Biography
Hey, a girl can dream, can't she? In fact, she should.
Friday, August 1, 2014
You and Only You
"Finding quantum 'lines of desire': Physicists track quantum system's wanderings through quantum state space."
~ Washington University, St. Louis, July 30, 2014
Mage Music 85
Summary of the above article:
What paths do quantum particles, such as atoms or photons, follow through quantum state space? Scientists have used an "artificial atom" to continuously and repeatedly record the paths through quantum state space. From the cobweb of a million paths, a most likely path between two quantum states emerged, much as social trails emerge as people round off corners or cut across lawns between buildings. Read more…
At last!
Quantum physicists are just catching up to what Mages have known forever. Physicists are now able to demonstrate scientifically that quantum particles – the stuff that makes up “reality” as we perceive it – are influenced by the outside world.
Physicists can now observe the process of manifestation, though they don’t call it that. What they're finally seeing ishow the most likely path for a quantum system is established – in other words, how quantum particles change from what we might call a state of the infinite (where the potential exists to do anything but nothing has yet happened) to what we’ll call a state of the finite (where it can be predicted what the particles are going to do, and then they do it).
The first state of being is what in Magick we refer to when we talk about the Energy of the Universe. The second state of being is what in Magick we refer to as the Transmutation, or Manifestation from potential to actuality.
What is cool is that quantum physicists are calling the process they’re now observing…. [wait for it]…. A line of desire.
Sound familiar? Magick is a process of desire + will + ritual. The Mage desires, the Universe is influenced by that desire. The more the Mage engages will via ritual, the more the stuff that makes up reality is influenced by that desire, until eventually reality follows that line of desire to manifestation in the Mage’s reality.
Kind of mind blowing. And it explains a lot, too.
Fortunately Magick doesn't have to be a group process. Magick is everything about the individual. The lines of desire that billions of people create and that influence the quantum state are, by and large, unconscious desire. Magick, on the other hand, is about conscious awareness and deliberate choice.
Obviously a Mage can’t expect validation from the unconscious choices of billions of people. Magick is a solitary quest. When a Mage fails to manifest desire, it is not that Magick isn’t working – it’s not even that there are billions of people desiring something else. When a Mage fails it’s a failure of personal desire and will.
Self-sabotage
Quantum particles don’t think -- they only react to the pressures of desire. They can’t “know” whether that pressure to manifest one way or another is coming from unconscious or conscious desire. So really, all a Mage has to do is want something… and then consciously keep wanting it until it manifests.
That sounds so easy, but it’s not.
Most of the time what happens is the Mage is thinking too much of what is not desired, not what is desired. Self-sabotage. This isn't all that surprising because it’s hard to wrench the mind from the unwanted reality and strictly focus on the wanted.
Worse, it almost seems like life conspires to keep a Mage's attention on the wrong thing.
Actually, that's exactly what's happening. The Universe's lines of desire tend towards the well-worn pathways. It's a Mage's job to nudge those quantum particles in a different direction (the line of desire), but the Mage is immersed in a path already, and that makes it a challenge.
How to not keep on keepin’ on
There’s a reason that acts of Magick are called Works (as are all acts of creation). The deliberate, conscious choice to create change takes effort and willpower. It’s easy to fall back into the path of least resistance instead of maintaining that effort to get those pesky quantum particles to enter into the Mage’s desired line or path.
It takes constant vigilance. Desire and will, in other words, constantly maintained (that’s the ritual part of Magick. That's work, all right.
Inertia and entropy are acting on the quantum level and on the physical plane to return a Mage’s reality to the old path. A Mage might not even be aware of a misstep or omission, a falling away from the desired path.
A simple complaint, an analysis of what’s wrong, a negative emotion elicited by the past, a worry about the future – these are all so commonplace as to fall under the radar of a Mage’s awareness, but these are the things that sap the Magick. Every moment of attention on the unwanted thing is an influence on the quantum level, and quantum particles will be influenced.
Conscious awareness. If it was so easy, everybody would be a Mage. Except for the physicists, of course, since they want to spend their time watching it all happen.
~ Washington University, St. Louis, July 30, 2014
Mage Music 85
Summary of the above article:
What paths do quantum particles, such as atoms or photons, follow through quantum state space? Scientists have used an "artificial atom" to continuously and repeatedly record the paths through quantum state space. From the cobweb of a million paths, a most likely path between two quantum states emerged, much as social trails emerge as people round off corners or cut across lawns between buildings. Read more…
At last!
Quantum physicists are just catching up to what Mages have known forever. Physicists are now able to demonstrate scientifically that quantum particles – the stuff that makes up “reality” as we perceive it – are influenced by the outside world.
Physicists can now observe the process of manifestation, though they don’t call it that. What they're finally seeing ishow the most likely path for a quantum system is established – in other words, how quantum particles change from what we might call a state of the infinite (where the potential exists to do anything but nothing has yet happened) to what we’ll call a state of the finite (where it can be predicted what the particles are going to do, and then they do it).
The first state of being is what in Magick we refer to when we talk about the Energy of the Universe. The second state of being is what in Magick we refer to as the Transmutation, or Manifestation from potential to actuality.
What is cool is that quantum physicists are calling the process they’re now observing…. [wait for it]…. A line of desire.
Sound familiar? Magick is a process of desire + will + ritual. The Mage desires, the Universe is influenced by that desire. The more the Mage engages will via ritual, the more the stuff that makes up reality is influenced by that desire, until eventually reality follows that line of desire to manifestation in the Mage’s reality.
Kind of mind blowing. And it explains a lot, too.
As above, so below
On the quantum level inertia and entropy and all sorts of things become clear, including, if you let yourself go with it, Why Things Exist. On the human plane there is an answer for why it’s so hard to go against the flow of other people’s expectations.
Billions of people creating billions of lines of desire that influence reality to take predictable paths -- and then there’s the Mage, wanting to change reality anyway. Talk about going against the flow.
Billions of people creating billions of lines of desire that influence reality to take predictable paths -- and then there’s the Mage, wanting to change reality anyway. Talk about going against the flow.
Fortunately Magick doesn't have to be a group process. Magick is everything about the individual. The lines of desire that billions of people create and that influence the quantum state are, by and large, unconscious desire. Magick, on the other hand, is about conscious awareness and deliberate choice.
Obviously a Mage can’t expect validation from the unconscious choices of billions of people. Magick is a solitary quest. When a Mage fails to manifest desire, it is not that Magick isn’t working – it’s not even that there are billions of people desiring something else. When a Mage fails it’s a failure of personal desire and will.
Self-sabotage
Quantum particles don’t think -- they only react to the pressures of desire. They can’t “know” whether that pressure to manifest one way or another is coming from unconscious or conscious desire. So really, all a Mage has to do is want something… and then consciously keep wanting it until it manifests.
That sounds so easy, but it’s not.
Most of the time what happens is the Mage is thinking too much of what is not desired, not what is desired. Self-sabotage. This isn't all that surprising because it’s hard to wrench the mind from the unwanted reality and strictly focus on the wanted.
Worse, it almost seems like life conspires to keep a Mage's attention on the wrong thing.
Actually, that's exactly what's happening. The Universe's lines of desire tend towards the well-worn pathways. It's a Mage's job to nudge those quantum particles in a different direction (the line of desire), but the Mage is immersed in a path already, and that makes it a challenge.
How to not keep on keepin’ on
There’s a reason that acts of Magick are called Works (as are all acts of creation). The deliberate, conscious choice to create change takes effort and willpower. It’s easy to fall back into the path of least resistance instead of maintaining that effort to get those pesky quantum particles to enter into the Mage’s desired line or path.
It takes constant vigilance. Desire and will, in other words, constantly maintained (that’s the ritual part of Magick. That's work, all right.
Inertia and entropy are acting on the quantum level and on the physical plane to return a Mage’s reality to the old path. A Mage might not even be aware of a misstep or omission, a falling away from the desired path.
A simple complaint, an analysis of what’s wrong, a negative emotion elicited by the past, a worry about the future – these are all so commonplace as to fall under the radar of a Mage’s awareness, but these are the things that sap the Magick. Every moment of attention on the unwanted thing is an influence on the quantum level, and quantum particles will be influenced.
Conscious awareness. If it was so easy, everybody would be a Mage. Except for the physicists, of course, since they want to spend their time watching it all happen.
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Mage, Invent Thyself
"For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been and there you will long to return."
~ Leonardo Da Vinci, Codex on the Flight of Birds
Mage Music 80
Once upon a time, years and years ago, a young musician worked at his craft and honed his skills, biding his time until at last his music had so far surpassed the bonds of his apprenticeship that his dreams could no longer be contained. He stepped away from the safety of the conventional in order to invoke the Magick of his dreams.
He had envisioned something that had never existed before. It was a sound that had not yet been heard, a musical message that had not yet been shared. His dream was bigger than any but the boldest had ever dared. His dream was even greater than that.
We know today that this was no ordinary musician, of course. We know that this is no fable. This is the true story of a musician who became a Mage, of a man who understood that without imagination there can be no Magick, and that it was Magick that would carry his music into realms beyond the dreams of most mortals.
It's no accident that we use words associated with flying to talk about the dreams we have while we are awake. Flights of imagination, soaring imagination, on wings of dreams - the words are about taking yourself far beyond where you ordinarily dwell.
Magick exists everywhere as potential - Magick is purposeful use of the energy of the universe, after all. But Magick stubbornly remains as only potential until the Mage activates it though desire, will and ritual. A Mage’s desire is more than just a vague wish, however – it is specific, it is powerful, and it is held in place by will so that it can be manifest through ritual.
Imagination is what turns a wish into a desire. A Mage must invent his new reality, and because the new reality has never existed before, a Mage must imagine it so strongly that on some level it already exists for him. Once the new reality already exists - even if only in a Mage's imagination - the heavy lifting is done. All that remains is for the Mage to use the ritual of Magick to make it so.
A Mage’s will is the discipline to know with all the cells of his body that there is nothing more important than that he attains his desire. His discipline allows him to ruthlessly remove all obstacles that may be in the way. The first and foremost of these obstacles is doubt. Doubt is the wing-clipper, doubt is the imagination-blocker, doubt is the Magick-slayer.
To step outside the comfort zone and launch into the sky takes a rare kind of bravery. While the world enjoys the results of invention, it is human nature to be cautious, even fearful, of new things. A Mage stands alone, eyes turned skywards, dreaming the new reality into his soul until he spreads his wings and flies free. The rest of us may follow if we dare.
Mage Music 80
Once upon a time, years and years ago, a young musician worked at his craft and honed his skills, biding his time until at last his music had so far surpassed the bonds of his apprenticeship that his dreams could no longer be contained. He stepped away from the safety of the conventional in order to invoke the Magick of his dreams.
He had envisioned something that had never existed before. It was a sound that had not yet been heard, a musical message that had not yet been shared. His dream was bigger than any but the boldest had ever dared. His dream was even greater than that.
We know today that this was no ordinary musician, of course. We know that this is no fable. This is the true story of a musician who became a Mage, of a man who understood that without imagination there can be no Magick, and that it was Magick that would carry his music into realms beyond the dreams of most mortals.
It's no accident that we use words associated with flying to talk about the dreams we have while we are awake. Flights of imagination, soaring imagination, on wings of dreams - the words are about taking yourself far beyond where you ordinarily dwell.
Magick exists everywhere as potential - Magick is purposeful use of the energy of the universe, after all. But Magick stubbornly remains as only potential until the Mage activates it though desire, will and ritual. A Mage’s desire is more than just a vague wish, however – it is specific, it is powerful, and it is held in place by will so that it can be manifest through ritual.
Imagination is what turns a wish into a desire. A Mage must invent his new reality, and because the new reality has never existed before, a Mage must imagine it so strongly that on some level it already exists for him. Once the new reality already exists - even if only in a Mage's imagination - the heavy lifting is done. All that remains is for the Mage to use the ritual of Magick to make it so.
A Mage’s will is the discipline to know with all the cells of his body that there is nothing more important than that he attains his desire. His discipline allows him to ruthlessly remove all obstacles that may be in the way. The first and foremost of these obstacles is doubt. Doubt is the wing-clipper, doubt is the imagination-blocker, doubt is the Magick-slayer.
Eyes turned skywards
Saturday, July 6, 2013
Review
“Will is another word for animate energy.”
~ William Burroughs, Crawdaddy Magazine, June 1975
Mage Music 60
There are quite a few new readers of Mage Music now, so this week I’m presenting a review of what this blog is all about. The review will not only serve as introduction to those who haven’t read the posts from the beginning (shame on you), but for those who've been here all along but maybe have forgotten some of the basic concepts.
Forgetting, of course, would only happen if you aren't practicing what you’re reading. But that’s a lecture for another time.
About Mage Music
I began this weekly blog because I was personally interested in exploring the music/Magick connection, specifically as demonstrated by the work of Jimmy Page. Mr. Page himself has stated that his music reveals who he is, and I found this to be a fascinating concept that felt intuitively correct as well as significant - a clue not simply to the mystery of that very private man, but about where his music comes from and what it is.
Mage Music, it must be emphasized, is not about Jimmy Page. It is about exploring the concepts involved with manifestation of new states of being in this reality through use of creative acts, such as music. I use Mr. Page’s music because it is so clearly full of Magick.
It is my intention to present an understanding of what Magick is and how it works in the real world in a way that is free of the constraints of traditional customs or beliefs of Magick and religion. To do this I explore the basic concepts that underlie all traditions.
Sometimes music helps explain or fleshes out things I’m discussing, in which case I offer a playlist. But not always.
About Magick and Music
The spelling, “Magick” has been in use since the mid 1600s. I spell the word that way, and I capitalize both “Magick” and “Mage” in this blog to not only to emphasize their use as metaphysical terms and to differentiate them from descriptors of the acts of illusion such as performed on stage, but also as a form of respect.
Magick is a process of desire+will that brings about change in reality, and desire+will are focused through ritual. According to the culturally influential and innovative artist and novelist William S. Burroughs (1914-1997), it is self-evident that the assertion of will is the primary moving force in this universe. All discussion of Magick in this blog derives from that assumption.
This means that any “rules” of Magick are the same as for all living beings that are capable of choice in this Universe (choice is a result of desire+will). Thus Magick works the same for Mages as for anyone who uses the process, and further, the laws of Magick are laws of deliberate creation. They are different from the laws of other physical objects, even other living objects, because they are laws of conscious and on purpose behavior. As Mr. Burroughs has said, there are no accidents in the world of Magick.
Music and all creative acts are very similar to Magick in how they work. Music, in particular, is worth looking at because it involves the same parts of the brain as Magick - and the effects are, in many ways parallel. Music is so natural and such an integral part of human consciousness that it amounts to another non-verbal language, one that expresses concepts that words cannot express.
Music used as a ritual of Magick is powerful stuff.
About Mages, You and Magick
Anyone can perform Magick. With sufficient desire and will, and focused through a correctly designed ritual, Magick is available to all as a way to purposefully manipulate the energy of the Universe, that is, change the stuff of which reality is made. As used in this blog, the difference between a Mage and anyone else who creates change through Magick is the level of proficiency. A master is a person who has complete knowledge or skill in an accomplishment, technique, or art - a Mage is a master of Magick.
To master music to the point of someone such as Jimmy Page is a matter of powerful desire and will, and a tremendous amount of time and effort. The music is the ritual that focuses that specific desire and will. Mr. Page has reached a level of proficiency that allows him to manipulate the music as he desires and wills without having to consciously think about it. This is not something that comes about accidentally or overnight, and it is the mark of a master.
Whether or not Mr. Page is a Mage is his own business, as whether or not you or I practice Magick is ours. What is important is to know that the concepts presented in Mage Music can be applied successfully to life itself, because Magick is a process of life itself.
About the Author
A professional non-fiction writer of government documents for the last ten years, I have decided to branch out into areas that are more speculative and closer to my heart. To that end I write weekly posts here on Mage Music and occasional posts on another blog, Spiritual Horsemanship. For a person with an open mind, the two blogs may be synergistic.
I also have completed my first novel, which touches on music and Magick. More on that another time.
~ William Burroughs, Crawdaddy Magazine, June 1975
Mage Music 60
Forgetting, of course, would only happen if you aren't practicing what you’re reading. But that’s a lecture for another time.
About Mage Music
I began this weekly blog because I was personally interested in exploring the music/Magick connection, specifically as demonstrated by the work of Jimmy Page. Mr. Page himself has stated that his music reveals who he is, and I found this to be a fascinating concept that felt intuitively correct as well as significant - a clue not simply to the mystery of that very private man, but about where his music comes from and what it is.
Mage Music, it must be emphasized, is not about Jimmy Page. It is about exploring the concepts involved with manifestation of new states of being in this reality through use of creative acts, such as music. I use Mr. Page’s music because it is so clearly full of Magick.
It is my intention to present an understanding of what Magick is and how it works in the real world in a way that is free of the constraints of traditional customs or beliefs of Magick and religion. To do this I explore the basic concepts that underlie all traditions.
Sometimes music helps explain or fleshes out things I’m discussing, in which case I offer a playlist. But not always.
About Magick and Music
The spelling, “Magick” has been in use since the mid 1600s. I spell the word that way, and I capitalize both “Magick” and “Mage” in this blog to not only to emphasize their use as metaphysical terms and to differentiate them from descriptors of the acts of illusion such as performed on stage, but also as a form of respect.
Magick is a process of desire+will that brings about change in reality, and desire+will are focused through ritual. According to the culturally influential and innovative artist and novelist William S. Burroughs (1914-1997), it is self-evident that the assertion of will is the primary moving force in this universe. All discussion of Magick in this blog derives from that assumption.
This means that any “rules” of Magick are the same as for all living beings that are capable of choice in this Universe (choice is a result of desire+will). Thus Magick works the same for Mages as for anyone who uses the process, and further, the laws of Magick are laws of deliberate creation. They are different from the laws of other physical objects, even other living objects, because they are laws of conscious and on purpose behavior. As Mr. Burroughs has said, there are no accidents in the world of Magick.
Music and all creative acts are very similar to Magick in how they work. Music, in particular, is worth looking at because it involves the same parts of the brain as Magick - and the effects are, in many ways parallel. Music is so natural and such an integral part of human consciousness that it amounts to another non-verbal language, one that expresses concepts that words cannot express.
Music used as a ritual of Magick is powerful stuff.
About Mages, You and Magick
Anyone can perform Magick. With sufficient desire and will, and focused through a correctly designed ritual, Magick is available to all as a way to purposefully manipulate the energy of the Universe, that is, change the stuff of which reality is made. As used in this blog, the difference between a Mage and anyone else who creates change through Magick is the level of proficiency. A master is a person who has complete knowledge or skill in an accomplishment, technique, or art - a Mage is a master of Magick.
To master music to the point of someone such as Jimmy Page is a matter of powerful desire and will, and a tremendous amount of time and effort. The music is the ritual that focuses that specific desire and will. Mr. Page has reached a level of proficiency that allows him to manipulate the music as he desires and wills without having to consciously think about it. This is not something that comes about accidentally or overnight, and it is the mark of a master.
Whether or not Mr. Page is a Mage is his own business, as whether or not you or I practice Magick is ours. What is important is to know that the concepts presented in Mage Music can be applied successfully to life itself, because Magick is a process of life itself.
About the Author
A professional non-fiction writer of government documents for the last ten years, I have decided to branch out into areas that are more speculative and closer to my heart. To that end I write weekly posts here on Mage Music and occasional posts on another blog, Spiritual Horsemanship. For a person with an open mind, the two blogs may be synergistic.
I also have completed my first novel, which touches on music and Magick. More on that another time.
It is no accident that I have chosen to live in New Mexico, a.k.a. the “Land of Enchantment”.
About the Artwork
All artwork on Mage Music is created by the author unless otherwise noted. Sampling has been purposefully limited to small portions of pre-existing images and, in using the samples for non-commercial educational purposes only, seeks to avoid infringement of photographer’s copyright. You are welcome to share Mage Music images.
Mage Music generally also avoids using full face images of living persons due to the subject matter of this blog. Therefore, any resemblance to a living person found in a Mage Music image is in the eyes and mind of the beholder.
Disclaimer
You will see this at the bottom of the Mage Music blog:
Magick is a matter of personal responsibility for beliefs, choices and actions. No one is required to believe, choose or act in any way other than he or she wills. No one else is responsible for the beliefs, choices or actions any human takes but that human alone.
That said, understand that what is expressed on this blog is a matter of the author's personal opinion, and these expressions of personal opinion are not recommendations for the readers' beliefs, choices or actions but merely food for thought.
About the Artwork
All artwork on Mage Music is created by the author unless otherwise noted. Sampling has been purposefully limited to small portions of pre-existing images and, in using the samples for non-commercial educational purposes only, seeks to avoid infringement of photographer’s copyright. You are welcome to share Mage Music images.
Mage Music generally also avoids using full face images of living persons due to the subject matter of this blog. Therefore, any resemblance to a living person found in a Mage Music image is in the eyes and mind of the beholder.
Disclaimer
You will see this at the bottom of the Mage Music blog:
Magick is a matter of personal responsibility for beliefs, choices and actions. No one is required to believe, choose or act in any way other than he or she wills. No one else is responsible for the beliefs, choices or actions any human takes but that human alone.
That said, understand that what is expressed on this blog is a matter of the author's personal opinion, and these expressions of personal opinion are not recommendations for the readers' beliefs, choices or actions but merely food for thought.
I don't know everythingIn Closing
And I don't know the only thing
But what I do know...
I KNOW.
Your comments are welcome - I know what I know but I don't know everything. Please keep comments on-topic. I reserve the right to remove any comments that I have decided are are too stupid or ugly or boring to sully our minds.
Walk in Beauty.
Walk in Beauty.
Saturday, April 20, 2013
The Rite Stuff
"The need to use specific tools of magic is indirectly proportionate to the skill of the Mage"
~ Mage Music 5, June 10 2012
Mage Music 49
Before you read this post, you might want to read some previous posts about ritual here on Mage Music so we're all working from the same concepts..
- Mage Music 5: Ritual is not Magick, June 10, 2012
- Mage Music 11: No Shortcuts No Substitutions, July 22, 2012
- Mage Music 15: Fetching the Magick, September 1, 2012
In fiction it’s all about doing the ritual correctly. Harry Potter and friends have to go to a special school to get the rituals down, and they’re tested for correctness before advancing to higher levels. Vulcans experiencing pon-farr who choose not to take a mate may engage in ritual battle that is witnessed in ceremony by other Vulcans. Harry Dresden has to invoke his powers with ritualistically correct words and gestures.
We all accept that ritual is a core part of Magick, but the irony is that the ritual itself doesn't really matter.
Humans have a tendency to think that there is a cost for everything. This is unsurprising given that everything that lives expends – and therefore must obtain – energy in order to survive as well as grow and thrive. This kind of thinking about using energy, however, tends to confuse the thinker about the whole point of living, which is not about gaining energy but rather the experience of making choices that satisfy desire. The gathering of energy is a process, not a goal.
Magick is the on-purpose use of energy to make the choices that satisfy a desire to change reality. Ritual in Magick is simply the tool used to hold all the components of desire and will in place while maintaining a connection to the Universe long enough for the Universe to respond to the Mage's desire.
In Star Wars, the Force is about using energy directly to change reality – no ritual needed. Yoda didn't tell Luke how to raise the X-wing out of the swamp - the Jedi master simply observed that Luke’s own mental preconceptions were the true limitations to using the Force. All Luke had to do was get all the other crud out of his mind and then just…. do it.In real life the ultimate failure of Magick is likely to come about because of the inability of the Mage to sustain pure desire and will long enough and powerfully enough to allow the process of Magick to manifest the desired change in reality. Crud just keeps getting in the way.
Form Follows Function
A good ritual is simply one that provides the structure for Magickal success. Period. More is less. The specific words, gestures or objects used don’t matter as long as they are meaningful for the Mage, since they are all merely symbols for aspects of the desired reality that the Mage wishes to remain aware of without actually thinking about as the rites are performed. The structure of a ritual should be based on its purpose and the purpose in Magick is to change reality. Thus the guiding principle for a Mage's ritual is to do whatever works and provides satisfaction in doing so, because satisfaction is an integral part of Magick.
After all, the whole business of Magick starts with desire. There’s no point in doing what thou wilt if it doesn't satisfy the desire.
A Mage can, of course, use a pre-existing ritual if it will get him where he wants to go – if it satisfies his desire. If it feels wrong, it is wrong. If a Mage prefers to create his own ritual, then choosing what feels right and good will determine its form, and correctness of ritual will be measured as much by the level of satisfaction in performance of the ritual as by the resulting change in reality. The two must match, for as above, so below.
♪ ♪ ♪
Note: All week long my sound system's been down and I haven't been able to listen to music. All week long I've been hearing Writes of Winter in my head. Just thought I'd let you know.
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Two for the price of one
“We went in there with such a
will....”
~ Jimmy Page, BBC interview
2007
Mage Music 40
Mage Music 40
There are a couple of things I want to talk about very briefly today. They really should be two separate posts but oh well. This week you get two for the price of one.
Leveraging
There are two ways for a person to move a very heavy object: Work at it really, really hard or use leverage. Smart people don’t sweat it if they don’t have to, and Mages don’t get very far without being smart.
A Mage would have to be very, very powerful to generate all the energy required from his own person to manifest most of the monumental works of Magick. Even if he was very, very powerful, the continued effort to fuel Magick that way sooner or later would consume him. We've seen more than one Mage musician flame out that way. Thank the gods (or name your deity of choice) that a smart Mage can leverage power by tapping into the energy of the infinite.
Giving up the need to control, giving up specificity of process in favor of letting the Universe provide answers while still using desire and will to focus the energy through ritual is not as easy as it sounds. It requires a master-level juggling act of Magick to pull it off. I think we all agree that Jimmy Page is capable of that.
Most musicians would make playing at the highest level possible the primary goal for a one-off performance like the O2 Concert. It would be a “have to do” thing - yet ironically, having to put forth a best performance makes it harder to reach. That kind of pressure can lead to performance anxiety, to fatal doubt that undermines Magick by weakening the will.
They - Jimmy Page et al - didn't do that, though. Instead, they went onstage with the desire to live in the musical moment, using their will to follow their hearts the way they always had. Rather than attempting to force the manifestation, they felt their way to their desired end by following the sound and letting it lead them to the Magick. In letting the music be their master, they opened to the infinite and let the energy pour in. And we heard it as Mage music.But was it really Magick?
What if Magick was just a fiction, only existing in novels about kids with lightning bolts on their foreheads, or TV shows featuring professional wizards who consult with skulls named Bob?
What if there was no such thing as Mage music?
Nah.
We know Magick exists because we hear it for ourselves when we listen to the music of Jimmy Page. We recognize it personally when the Mage himself creates it right in front of our eyes (or ears). We know Mage music because we experience it. We live in it and because it becomes part of ourselves we don't need anyone else to tell us when it's there. We know Magick is real because we feel it.
When the music sings in our own souls and we resonate with it and are brought out of ourselves to something more than these physical bodies because of it - that is Magick.
That is Mage music. Thank you, Mr. Page.
That is Mage music. Thank you, Mr. Page.
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Magick Begins – and Ends – Here
~ René Descartes
Mage Music 30
Everything is possible in the infinite scheme of things, but from the very finite human viewpoint, there are limitations: Beginnings and endings, and sideways constraints, too. Magick is a way of tapping into the infinite but it isn’t infinite itself – possibilities may be endless, but human restrictions still apply.
Magick begins here – or not
The Magick equation always begins with desire. Desire provides the fuel of emotion, which can either cause a conflagration that lights the world or go pfft – not even a spark. Without powerful desire there is no Magick… but not just any desire will do.
Hope (wishing) is nothing. It doesn't bring enough power to fuel the Magickal process. Hope is just a statement of preference. On the scale of desire and will, hope carries little weight. The most painstakingly performed ritual will be empty and without impact if hope is used to power it.
Belief (faith) can be a powerful thing, but it isn't good enough for most Magick. That's because belief falls well short of knowing. Disagree? You may believe someone is in a room because you saw him enter and haven't seen him exit, but you don't know unless you open the door and look inside. The person you just saw go into the room might have walked right out a back door. Belief carries more weight than hope on the scale of desire, but nowhere as much as knowing.
Knowing leaves no room for uncertainty - it is about reality for the one who knows. Knowing is about personal identity and relationship to reality. Knowing carries 100% weight on the scale of desire. Knowing is what enables Magick to change reality.
To know is to manifest
To do Magick is to replace one reality with another. To do Magick a Mage must know the desired to be the actual reality – not believe it, not hope it. In a sense, this means that the undesired reality that exists and is known must be made "unknown" in order for the new reality to manifest.
This means that during the Magical process, a Mage cannot think about the existing reality, for part of unknowing something is to not focus on it. You know about "don't think about pink elephants"? That’s what it takes, and to not think about something, to not even thing about not thinking about something, to not even acknowledge the possibility of the old reality is a tough job.
But it can be done and it is done. Anyone with sufficient desire and will and attention to ritual can do Magick. If it was easy, of course, there wouldn't be a special term for those who can do it. "Mage" is a title about ability and success, not a description of those who try.
Magick ends here
The killer of Magick is doubt. When doubt enters into the equation, balance is destroyed and Magick cannot manifest anything. The most powerful will and the most painstakingly performed ritual will be undermined by the smallest doubt. To doubt is to not know.
Unfortunately, doubt is insidious and lives in us all somewhere, in some form.
Ritual: Doubt destroyer
The thinking mind is the Mage’s albatross, since thoughts can lead to doubt. Strong emotion displaces thought by engaging a primitive, survival-oriented part of the brain that literally shuts down the critical thinking facility of the human mind. It's an On/Off switch: Powerful desire, guided by a Mage’s will, provides strong emotion that bypasses thought. Without thought there is no possibility of doubt.
Ritual is the key to Magick – it is the catalyst that transmutes desire and will into the new reality. Music is the language of emotion - not thought - and as such it is one of the most powerful and accessible forms of Magickal ritual there is. It uses the seduction of sound to focus the power of a Mage’s desire and will.
There is no room for doubt: The human mind is hard-wired for emotion and for music. And, of course, this means that it is wired, also, for Magick.
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Dazed But Not Confused
It takes determination, stubbornness and powerful Will to pursue a vision decade after decade - there's no confusion about it.
Mage Music 17
The Magickal process is a simple formula (simple, of course, not being the same as easy): Desire + Will + Ritual => Manifested Change. The process is not a sequential one; in fact all of the input must occur not only at the same time but be sustained over time in order to achieve success. A Mage Musician must master all of the input in the Magickal process mindfully while at the same time being free to disappear into the music and let the music be the master. It's no wonder that there aren't a lot of Mage Musicians around. It's no wonder that, even though music is a highly suitable carrier for Magick, there just isn't a lot of Mage Music around either.
Desire is something we all experience to some degree or another all the time, though the quality of desire in Magick is not quite the same as, say, for rocky road ice cream or even for sex. On the other hand, Will is something we non-Mages experience way too infrequently - we tend to go through life on automatic pilot for one thing, and for another engaging our will is just not as much fun as fulfilling our desire. Without Will, though, desire easily slides into wishing and hoping. For the process of Magick, purposeful and directed Will is a bridge between desire and ritual; wishing and hoping alone aren't powerful enough to change Reality.
Willy-nilly
When you do something in a willy-nilly way, it can mean that you've done it in a disorganized or sloppy manner or, contrarily, that you were forced to do it whether you wanted to or not. Willy-nilly comes from "will ye, nill ye", and "will", too, seems to have two contradictory meanings: Your will can be merely your desire or it can be your deliberate focus.
Will or willy-nilly: All meanings apply very well to the music of Jimmy Page, which for so long has seemed to be nothing less than the product of the application of a Mage's Will to his soul's desire.
Creation is the transmuting of inner reality into something that can be experienced in the world; music does it using sound to express meaning that words don't or can't convey. Magick is a Mage's process for creation, the transformation of a desire into changed reality.
If music is the evidence, then for at least one extraordinary musician we can believe in the existence of a ferocious and persistent Will that has sustained an ongoing drive to express the perfect sound - the one note after the next that exposes the naked, pure heart and soul of Reality. This level of Will involves maintaining sustained attention and consciousness of process over time so that the perfect sound can be not only created, but the unending possibilities sifted, rejected, transformed, added to and pared back. It involves never accepting the music as "good enough".
True Grit
Reality isn't so easy to change. Manifestation must overcome the powerful forces of inertia (resistance to change) and entropy (the tendency towards disorder and ultimately dissolution) within the Universe. Just wanting something to be different won't make it happen - a fact I think most of us are very familiar with. Creation and growth do not happen without a price: Directed, focused energy - that is, Will - is the currency for purposeful change, regardless of what the end result is to be.
It takes strength and determination, stubbornness and true grit to stay the path of Magick. It takes mental and emotional discipline to imagine what does not exist and what has never existed while keeping the mind clear of old paradigms and expectations. It takes sustained effort and being so controlled that the only thoughts, emotions and actions that are presented to the Universe during the process are the ones that lead to the goal.
Most people can't even begin to generate a clear concept of something that doesn't exist, much less maintain a powerful desire for it for longer than a few milliseconds. Magickal Workings can take not just a short 17 seconds, but minutes and more. And then there are the Works of Mages....
The Mage is the Work
As above, so below: macrocosm/microcosm. The need for extraordinary desire and will plus the need to sustain the process over time means becoming the Work, not merely directing it. As an artist or musician is a person who has so merged with the work that he/she cannot meaningfully be talked about separately from the art or the music, so too a Mage cannot be meaningfully considered separately from the Work.
Unlike with artists or musicians, however, a Mage can never not be a Mage. Once become a Mage, a person has crossed a line: Enlightenment brings the understanding that humans alone are responsible for the outcomes of their choices - and that understanding cannot become unknown or unlearned or even forgotten. In order to manifest in the world, the Mage must literally change his/her own Reality. Enlightenment means that a Mage must be the change he wishes to manifest.
Thus enlightenment is like losing virginity - there is no undoing about it. An artist can stop painting, a musician can stop playing music and eventually each will no longer be an artist or musician - but no amount of celibacy will get a person's virginity back. "Mage" is not a title but a description of a state of being. Magick is a process used to change the reality of the Mage, whose state then becomes a microcosm of change in the greater Reality of the Universe.
Never Confused
We can only imagine how it must have been for Jimmy Page, back in the late 1960s, to be feeling his way through music in order to express what must have been a powerful inner vision that stirred within him. We know that he tried and discarded visual expression (painting) as a means to satisfy what was in him that wanted to come out. From the beginning Mr. Page experimented with different musical instruments, pushing musical barriers to try to capture the perfect sound that was his inner vision.
How extraordinary it must have been to one day hear a song performed by Jake Holmes (ironically, the originator of the slogan "Be All That You Can Be") that carried a hint, some echo of essence, some sound that was perhaps almost there, almost right, almost what Jimmy Page's heart and soul could feel so strongly. How that music must have called to Mr. Page, and how joyfully he must have responded! Did he know, even then, that Dazed and Confused would be one of the most powerful vehicles for his musical genius for the next half century?
Willy-nilly, Jimmy Page has changed Reality - his own and the world's - with that song. Each time he performs it, it is a Work in progress, never a repetition. Each time it is a restatement of his desire, an expression of his will, a ritual of exploration and manifestation that changes Reality. Each time has gone on since 1968. Can there be any more evidence of Will than that?
Mage Music is dazzling, it dazes and amazes us - but the Mage Musician that is Jimmy Page is never confused. We know this because if he plays the same song, he nevertheless doesn't play the same music! Mr. Page still explores, still searches for the perfect combination of components, still performs the ritual of Mage Music. The desire and Will that has driven him for so long is why he is a Master. Absolutely no confusion about that.
Future post: Ritual (probably next week, but maybe not!)
YouTube full playlist
♫
Dazed and Confused - individual songs
1967 Jake Holmes - Dazed and Confused (album) The Above Ground Sound
1968 Yardbirds - I'm Confused (live) Yardbirds Album: Yardbirds Featuring Jimmy Page
1969 Led Zeppelin - Dazed and Confused (studio) Album: Led Zeppelin
1973 Led Zeppelin - Dazed and Confused (live)Madison Square Garden. Soundtrack from the movie, The Song Remains The Same
1988 Jimmy Page - Dazed and Confused (live) solo Arizona Sept 17 1988
1999 Jimmy Page - Dazed and Confused (live) New York
2002 Jimmy Page with Paul Weller band - Dazed and Confused (live) Feb 09, 2002 Royal Albert Hall, Children's Cancer Trust Benefit
2007 Led Zeppelin/Jason Bonham - Dazed & Confused Dazed and Confused O2 Arena
 |
The Magickal process is a simple formula (simple, of course, not being the same as easy): Desire + Will + Ritual => Manifested Change. The process is not a sequential one; in fact all of the input must occur not only at the same time but be sustained over time in order to achieve success. A Mage Musician must master all of the input in the Magickal process mindfully while at the same time being free to disappear into the music and let the music be the master. It's no wonder that there aren't a lot of Mage Musicians around. It's no wonder that, even though music is a highly suitable carrier for Magick, there just isn't a lot of Mage Music around either.
Desire is something we all experience to some degree or another all the time, though the quality of desire in Magick is not quite the same as, say, for rocky road ice cream or even for sex. On the other hand, Will is something we non-Mages experience way too infrequently - we tend to go through life on automatic pilot for one thing, and for another engaging our will is just not as much fun as fulfilling our desire. Without Will, though, desire easily slides into wishing and hoping. For the process of Magick, purposeful and directed Will is a bridge between desire and ritual; wishing and hoping alone aren't powerful enough to change Reality.
Willy-nilly
When you do something in a willy-nilly way, it can mean that you've done it in a disorganized or sloppy manner or, contrarily, that you were forced to do it whether you wanted to or not. Willy-nilly comes from "will ye, nill ye", and "will", too, seems to have two contradictory meanings: Your will can be merely your desire or it can be your deliberate focus.
Will or willy-nilly: All meanings apply very well to the music of Jimmy Page, which for so long has seemed to be nothing less than the product of the application of a Mage's Will to his soul's desire.
Creation is the transmuting of inner reality into something that can be experienced in the world; music does it using sound to express meaning that words don't or can't convey. Magick is a Mage's process for creation, the transformation of a desire into changed reality.
If music is the evidence, then for at least one extraordinary musician we can believe in the existence of a ferocious and persistent Will that has sustained an ongoing drive to express the perfect sound - the one note after the next that exposes the naked, pure heart and soul of Reality. This level of Will involves maintaining sustained attention and consciousness of process over time so that the perfect sound can be not only created, but the unending possibilities sifted, rejected, transformed, added to and pared back. It involves never accepting the music as "good enough".
True Grit
Reality isn't so easy to change. Manifestation must overcome the powerful forces of inertia (resistance to change) and entropy (the tendency towards disorder and ultimately dissolution) within the Universe. Just wanting something to be different won't make it happen - a fact I think most of us are very familiar with. Creation and growth do not happen without a price: Directed, focused energy - that is, Will - is the currency for purposeful change, regardless of what the end result is to be.
It takes strength and determination, stubbornness and true grit to stay the path of Magick. It takes mental and emotional discipline to imagine what does not exist and what has never existed while keeping the mind clear of old paradigms and expectations. It takes sustained effort and being so controlled that the only thoughts, emotions and actions that are presented to the Universe during the process are the ones that lead to the goal.
If you think this is easy, try this experiment: Hold one thought - of anything you would like to see manifest in your reality, anything that does not already exist - without another thought entering into your mind for a mere 17 seconds (I have read this is the shortest amount of sustained time needed for a human being to effect even a small, insignificant change in Reality - but even if that isn't so, I still challenge you to try it). Seventeen seconds. Be sure to create a powerful desire for that thing you want to manifest, and keep that powerful level of desire burning at the same time as you sustain constant and focused awareness of your goal. This is not simply meditation: The goal of Magick is to create a change in Reality.
Most people can't even begin to generate a clear concept of something that doesn't exist, much less maintain a powerful desire for it for longer than a few milliseconds. Magickal Workings can take not just a short 17 seconds, but minutes and more. And then there are the Works of Mages....
The Mage is the Work
As above, so below: macrocosm/microcosm. The need for extraordinary desire and will plus the need to sustain the process over time means becoming the Work, not merely directing it. As an artist or musician is a person who has so merged with the work that he/she cannot meaningfully be talked about separately from the art or the music, so too a Mage cannot be meaningfully considered separately from the Work.
Unlike with artists or musicians, however, a Mage can never not be a Mage. Once become a Mage, a person has crossed a line: Enlightenment brings the understanding that humans alone are responsible for the outcomes of their choices - and that understanding cannot become unknown or unlearned or even forgotten. In order to manifest in the world, the Mage must literally change his/her own Reality. Enlightenment means that a Mage must be the change he wishes to manifest.
Thus enlightenment is like losing virginity - there is no undoing about it. An artist can stop painting, a musician can stop playing music and eventually each will no longer be an artist or musician - but no amount of celibacy will get a person's virginity back. "Mage" is not a title but a description of a state of being. Magick is a process used to change the reality of the Mage, whose state then becomes a microcosm of change in the greater Reality of the Universe.
Never Confused
We can only imagine how it must have been for Jimmy Page, back in the late 1960s, to be feeling his way through music in order to express what must have been a powerful inner vision that stirred within him. We know that he tried and discarded visual expression (painting) as a means to satisfy what was in him that wanted to come out. From the beginning Mr. Page experimented with different musical instruments, pushing musical barriers to try to capture the perfect sound that was his inner vision.
How extraordinary it must have been to one day hear a song performed by Jake Holmes (ironically, the originator of the slogan "Be All That You Can Be") that carried a hint, some echo of essence, some sound that was perhaps almost there, almost right, almost what Jimmy Page's heart and soul could feel so strongly. How that music must have called to Mr. Page, and how joyfully he must have responded! Did he know, even then, that Dazed and Confused would be one of the most powerful vehicles for his musical genius for the next half century?
Willy-nilly, Jimmy Page has changed Reality - his own and the world's - with that song. Each time he performs it, it is a Work in progress, never a repetition. Each time it is a restatement of his desire, an expression of his will, a ritual of exploration and manifestation that changes Reality. Each time has gone on since 1968. Can there be any more evidence of Will than that?
Mage Music is dazzling, it dazes and amazes us - but the Mage Musician that is Jimmy Page is never confused. We know this because if he plays the same song, he nevertheless doesn't play the same music! Mr. Page still explores, still searches for the perfect combination of components, still performs the ritual of Mage Music. The desire and Will that has driven him for so long is why he is a Master. Absolutely no confusion about that.
♪
Future post: Ritual (probably next week, but maybe not!)
YouTube full playlist
♫
Dazed and Confused - individual songs
1967 Jake Holmes - Dazed and Confused (album) The Above Ground Sound
1968 Yardbirds - I'm Confused (live) Yardbirds Album: Yardbirds Featuring Jimmy Page
1969 Led Zeppelin - Dazed and Confused (studio) Album: Led Zeppelin
1973 Led Zeppelin - Dazed and Confused (live)Madison Square Garden. Soundtrack from the movie, The Song Remains The Same
1988 Jimmy Page - Dazed and Confused (live) solo Arizona Sept 17 1988
1999 Jimmy Page - Dazed and Confused (live) New York
2002 Jimmy Page with Paul Weller band - Dazed and Confused (live) Feb 09, 2002 Royal Albert Hall, Children's Cancer Trust Benefit
2007 Led Zeppelin/Jason Bonham - Dazed & Confused Dazed and Confused O2 Arena
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