"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.
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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.
