Where's the Magick?

It seems so long since I last posted anything actually about Magick, so I thought I better fix that.

I'm veering off format, too - no image, no introductory quote - but hey, if I can't break my own rules... well, that would be pretty sad.  [The beauty of blogging:  I can edit after I've posted.  So I've added an image from a past post].

Anyway, here's what I've been thinking about, the Big Question: Where's the Magick? Because it seems that sometimes it's a futile quest, this business of Magick. A tilting at windmills. A frivolous delusion, perhaps.

Ironic, isn't it, since Magick is everywhere.  Except, it seems sometimes, in our own possession. It is the energy of the Universe, the stuff that everything is made of, and it might as well be nonexistant for all that it can evade us. It is the big M: The Mystery, the unknown factor. No - it is the elusive factor. But it's there.

And it's free for the taking. All you have to do is grab it. Haha, so easy.

And isn't that the trick

We're all so focused on day-to-day stuff that we get trapped in that mundane existence. A shame, really. So much energy of our day-to-day moments is spent resisting going down paths we'd prefer not to go down, pushing away experiences we'd rather not experience, and coping with the crap that flies at us, that we have no time to consider Magick.

But that is so very wrong. Even the crap is part of Magick. The trick isn't forcing oneself to expend additional effort to take a different path, but instead to see that all paths are Magick. And to see that resistance is futile.  

Resistance only blocks Magick. 

There is only one path to Magick:  The act of will. Choice. To block anything is to block all things. There is only one path to Magick. And there is only one person in your life who can choose to take that path. As Jean-Luc Picard says, Make it so.

Construction Zone

If the Universe doesn't listen, chances are it doesn't know what you're saying.

Mage Music 53

This post begins my second year of Mage Music. Those of you who have been following it probably realize by now that what I've been writing about is not just the music of Jimmy Page, nor even just the Magick of the music of Jimmy Page. I've been mostly writing about Magick itself - how it works, why it works. How it's not an exclusive, mysterious thing but rather a force of the Universe that can be mastered with sufficient desire, will and skill.

I’m using music because it’s such a perfect vehicle for Magick, and Jimmy Page’s music because it is so lushly Magickal. Plus it’s just great music to listen to.

I plan to continue writing about the how and why of it all this year, too. Note that the past posts here on Mage Music are the foundation for what’s next, so if you don’t understand what you are reading, please go back through the archive. Of course, if you don’t understand, it could just be that I’m not explaining well, in which case just ask for clarification!

Constructing ritual

Ritual is the skill part of Magick. It is the "what you see" part (or "what you hear" in the case of music). Driven by desire and will, ritual opens the channel to the energy of the Universe - the Magick. Even though the desire and will are no more and no less important, because ritual is that part that can be most readily perceived, it is what most people consider Magick to be all about. That is a mistake, of course, and one that a Mage can't afford to make. 

That's why Mages aren't a dime a dozen, because with Magick everything counts. And there's a lot of everything to be counted.

Be specific

The biggest cause for Magickal failure is when a Mage is not specific or comprehensive. This means that not only do desire and will have to be powerful and steady, but the ritual has to be perfect.

In nature all component parts of a system work together. Evolution is harsh and anything that doesn't contribute to successful survival won't continue to exist. Anything that is successful - meaning anything that thrives rather than merely survives - is a thing that is comprised of the components most suited for the environmental slot it is in.

So too with Magick. There is not much point in a Mage working with a ritual to create a change in reality that can't survive. The Universe doesn't second-guess what a Mage wants, so not only every aspect of ritual has to be perfect but the change that the Mage wants to manifest must be realistic within the environment it is meant for. A Mage can't manifest a fish without manifesting water and a container for the water - unless the fish is meant for sushi. 

Part of the job of perfect desire is envisioning a specific goal. Even Captain Picard couldn't just say "make it so" without there having been perfect preparation already in place. Thus a Mage must be extraordinarily clear about what he wishes to manifest. The desired change that is the Mage's goal cannot be what isn't or only approximately what is - it must be exactly and fully what is to be.

That's hard enough, but there's more.

Be complete

Magick is tapping into the energy of the Universe, channeling power to create change in the world, shaping a new reality. Specificity of desire and will together are like the starter motor for the engine of Magick, which is ritual. And if ritual is what makes Magick go, then the ritual had better be put together right or it won't get the Mage where he wants to be.

Kirk: Spock, where the hell’s the power you promised?
Spock: One damn minute, Admiral.
   -Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Like an engine out of timing, a tire out of balance or a gear shaft that wobbles, if any one component of Magick is out of whack, the whole thing will eventually fall apart and leave the Mage no closer to manifesting change than if he had done nothing at all. The real world isn't like the Enterprise, that can nearly shake itself to destruction yet still achieve warp speed.  Desire and will plus the physical objects and actions used in a ritual all have to be in tune with each other and be in tune with the end result.

This means that every object and action of ritual must be not only be present but meaningful. There is no extra credit for extra, useless parts because they'll just clog up the works. In fact, the more stuff of a ritual, the more likely the Mage is not going to manifest anything but a mundane mess. In Magick, less is definitely more.

Clarity of purpose, completeness and...

Neatness counts

Just kidding.

♫

YouTube Playlist:  Since I've Been Loving You 
Ten videos, 1970 through 2007.

♫

Next time (or the near future):  Designing a ritual