“I don’t know why we are here, but I’m pretty sure that it is not in order to enjoy ourselves.” ~Ludwig Wittgenstein
Well hello again! It’s been quite some time since I’ve been back to these old stomping grounds, but it seems that I can’t ever quite get away. I guess that’s a good thing though. So today I’m not here to answer questions or give you advice from Ye Olde Booke O Answers. I’m just here to ask a few uncomfortable questions that have been bothering me. This isn’t me doubting myself or needing reassurance. It’s more of a set of questions for you to answer for yourself to see if you’re on the right path.
Why do you do magick?
Are you doing magick because it’s cool? Are you doing magick because you’re searching for truth? Are you just dabbling enough to cast a spell to help you get something you want? I guess that there are more reasons than I could list, but before you leave the computer today, ask yourself that simple question and be dumbfounded by the answer (if you can get it) because it’s something that I asked myself for years before I figured it out myself (thanks Jen for helping with that!)
How has magick helped your life?
It hasn’t helped mine. I didn’t strike it rich. I didn’t get the girl because of it. I certainly didn’t get the job that I wanted because of a spell I did. I can’t/won’t help the sick and dying unless the issue isn’t right to begin with. On the other hand, I end up staying up until 4 am when I have work at 6 am to deal with those things that go bump in the night (they’re really good at deciding to hang out at rather inconvenient times). I’ve been sick to my stomach in fear and worry about my wife when I have to work nights on a regular basis. How has magick helped my life? It hasn’t. And it more than likely won’t. So tell me: how has magick helped yours?
Do you enjoy magick?
That’d be a negative Ghost Rider. Do you copy Ghost Rider? That’s a negative on the enjoyment of magick. I started out trying to get physical power through a medium that perfectly fitted me. I wanted to control my dreams. I wanted to understand the meaning of life. I wanted to get what I wanted in life. Has that happened? Yes and no. I have a good life and it’s perfect for where I should be in life. I’m learning the lessons I’m meant to learn. On the other hand, money doesn’t fall from the sky. We have been so poor that I missed meals on a regular basis and when I had them it was corn tortillas and beans (with cheese when we were splurging). I’ve had to work my ass off for everything that I’ve gotten and I’ve been so tired that I wanted to cry. Did I do magick? Yep. Did it work? That’s another negative Ghost Rider. Why not? Well because I had to learn the lessons before I could move on just like anybody else. Well if magick isn’t helping me and I don’t enjoy it, then why do I do it? Well that’s simple. If I don’t do it, then I die a little on the inside. And then I die a little more. And then some more. Eventually, I’d end up being the person that I work next to. The one that lives vicariously through the Us Weekly articles about celebrities going to jail and having affairs. I’d worry about things like whether my high school football team is on a winning streak or how the Cowboys are doing. As it is, I worry about how to deal with choices that I’ve made and how to better prepare my family for whatever may come. I worry about moving from this stage to the next in my life. No, I do not enjoy magick but it gives my life meaning where I find very little in other people’s lives. I am absolutely certain when I’m doing things right and when I’m doing things wrong. I can feel it in my bones and smell it in the air. So ask yourself whether you actually enjoy it. And if you don’t, then why do you continue?
So after thinking about these questions, doubt yourself a little bit. I know, I know–that’s not what you wanted to hear from my first post on here in over a year. No one wants to doubt themselves and they definitely don’t want to hear it from someone who says that they don’t enjoy such a major part of their life. What I’m saying is that you need to take those rose colored glasses off and put them in the dumpster. Life’s hard and that’s good. Magick doesn’t make it any better. In fact it makes it harder. I’ve posted about Paganism being the easy religion and it is these days. On the other hand, magick’s not. We’re here to learn, grow, and gain experiences. Magick does make those easier, and it does it by forcing you to do those things often before you’re willing. So toss the glasses, pull on your big boy underwear, and get ready to go kick some ass.
You’ve brought up some important issues, things we need to constantly reassess. And like you, I do magick, I seek it out and make it a part of my life, because it is a part of me, a part of who I am, and quieting that would make me die a little ever day.
Magick has been apart of my life ever since I was child – i was subconsciously aware of it even before I learned the word – its in my gypsy blood
Yes it has helped me though I’m only talking about two spells – one I do on a monthly basis or whenever i feel i seriously need it & then there’s another spell I do every time I feed my kitty to help protect her because she’s an outside kitty
there was this one spell I used back in Spring to get enough money for a car but backfired >< but we can't control all outside forces & now I think I know what career I want to go into so at least I'm using the extra time well
I really do love magick – I love celebrating it & casting it & reading about it – learning all I can so that I can create my own style of magick for myself
now for the doubting part … that i have to think over ^^; I dont wanna fill up the comment board with a rant
The answers to these questions are fairly easy for me;
I do magick because it helps bring balance to my life, without it I feel hollow,
uninspired and lacking. It’s a part of me, its in my blood in my soul and it helps to understand your ancestry a little.
Has it helped me, yes and no.
I have more belief in myself, I have a deeper understanding of myself and of those around me.
Does it frighten me sometimes, I’d be lying if I said it never did, but sometimes those things that go bump in the night that have my partner speaking in a voice that is not his own, looking at me with eyes that are similar to his but at the same time its not him behind the wheel.
They are scary moments, that have you wondering if you’ll ever get things back to normal.
But its the same with all things, if you lack the belief in yourself and the courage to act upon it, then you wont have a hope in hell to get them back or to make serious change in your life.
My partner and I are very similar in our beliefs but I have more experience than him with this kind of thing, he tends to be a gateway for things trying to get through, although with practice he has been able to stop them and there has been no incident in the past 6 months. Magick has been helping in these instances you just need to use your intuition to guide you to the right action, and to have the courage and convition to do that which is necessary.
I had a hard time explaining to some friends of mine that magick is not like Harry Potter it doesn’t look like the movies and you can’t make things levitate by saying the right words, there is so much written on this subject and there are so many contradicting points that it can be hard to find out what you really need to know, and how to make it happen.
I just live and practice by these guides.
Don’t expect things to happen straight away, it rarely does happen that way.
If you want something work for it, you can’t cast a spell and think that’ll do, get those wheels in motion and get it rolling.
To understand others, you have to know yourself.
Meditation is great for creating energy for yourself or others if it is done correctly.
Get back to basics when it all gets too much, they never fail you.
Don’t get confused between reality and fantasy. Real magick takes time.
Why do magick? It’s in my blood.
Has it helped? Yes.
Do I enjoy it? Yes.
If you don’t enjoy something why do it?
I’m only 25 I’ve been practicing since I was 8 so it’s getting close to 20 years for me. I’m not from parents who believe in this kind of thing.
My parents are Catholic and Pentacostal.
I have made my own way and I take nothing as bible, there is no true guide to this.
Instinct and intuition are the only true ways to go, but in some cases traditions passed from generation to generation can be pretty true too.
Its all about what sticks with you. Whats calls to your soul, your being….