What is Magick?

The Universe is filled with energy. It is part of everything: you, me, the stones, the sky, your pet hamster, the plants... The Chinese call this energy Ch'i. Yoda (Star Wars) called it "the Force." (Okay, so Star Wars was merely a movie, right? Yeah, well there are a few lessons to be learned from watching it! So THERE! :Þ (smiles wryly to herself as she feels some of her credibility slipping))

Anyway, so where were we? Oh yeah! Ch'i! Energy! So, you see, everything has energy running through it. This is actually getting proven scientifically now, and they're also proving what alot of people knew all along, that energy and matter are interchangeable. Whoa! What a concept! So we are, in actuality, both matter and energy.. Except for couch-potatoes who have no energy.. :)

Running with that.. we, all living things, can manipulate the world around us physically. We build things, move things. We use the matter in our bodies to manipulate the matter and energy in the world around us. When we do that, though, we're only using half of our true potential! What happens when we learn to use the energy in our bodies to manipulate the energy and matter around us? We can then do anything!! And I do mean anything!

Ahh... so how do we do that? Well, two of the most readily available sources of energy are our thoughts and emotions. If we wish, want, will something hard enough, it will happen. By wishing, wanting and willing, we're putting out our energy, putting our image of reality, the way we want it to be, and shaping the matter and energy of the Universe into that mold.

What? You say you wished for a cheeseburger to suddenly appear? And it didn't? Well, you know what? It usually takes alot (read: years or even decades) of training to make things appear like that, and even then they still usually happen only out of extreme need. The energy in your body is strong, but when you send it up against the energy of others (who think many things are impossible) and you're sending your energy on a one-on-one match to wrestle with the Universe's energy.. guess who's going to lose! So that's why you need to tap into your own energy, learn about it, understand it, exercise it and strengthen it. And.. you must also tap into the Universal energy, learn about it and how to manipulate it. Both of these take time. Alot of time. And practice. Lots and lots of practice.

So does this mean you can't use magick now? Of course you can! Just don't expect instant, miraculous results!

But you say magick is still evil, the Devil's work? Well, guess what! I bet you do magick every time you go to Church! How dare I say such a thing? Whatever do you mean?? You DO pray, don't you? You pray and wish/want/WILL for little Jimmy to get better, don't you? And God (a.k.a. the Universal Energy, found everywhere and in all things!!) makes him better, doesn't He? Well, there you go! You just practiced Christian magick! So.. tell me.. was that Satan's work?

So what ways do most people consciously do magick? Many pray. Some perform rituals, elaborate or simple. Some make a wish. Others envision what they want and hold the image in their mind as long as they can. Some even perform self-hypnosis! There are many, many ways to do magick, whether it's for healing, love, money, fertility, death, curses....

So what do you need to do magick? Yourself. That's it! Just yourself! What about stones, herbs, candles, incense, runes, tarot cards, bonfires, cauldrons, ritual daggers, sacrifices, moon phases, doing things by the stars, etc..? Tools. All of them. Did I just hear the shocked gasp of someone who swears magick cannot be done without one or more of the aforementioned? Sorry, my friend, they can indeed! Each and every one of them is merely a tool used to focus your mind. Some will even enhance or hinder your efforts. But.. magick CAN be done without them. All you need is yourself. That's not to say they won't work and you should never bother to use them. On the contrary, they can be of great help. The right herbs mixed with water in a cauldron, boiling over a small fire, surrounded by candles of the proper colors, wearing an amulet made of the right stone, done when the moon is in the right phase and the right astrological sign and the stars are positioned just so, on the right day, on the right hour, adding their energy to yours can produce some phenomenal effects! Sometimes, well, okay, most times, it is difficult to get everything "perfect," especially timing. And so that is why you must learn that you can still do magick, even if the candles aren't the right color, or all you have is catnip when you needed aconite, or the moon is waxing, not waning, or Saturn isn't precisely where you want it to be to properly enhance the magick you're working.

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