Finding Spell

When you have lost Something (this works great with keys, not so well with remote controls), first look everywhere you can think of, especially the last place you saw them (the Gods get pissed off if you use magic out of sheer laziness.) If you still can't find it, stand still, close your eyes and calm your mind. Breath slowly from deep in your stomach and with your mind, call to the thing your Looking for. Then open your eyes and begin to walk slowly around. The lost thing will call you to it. You must be aware and "feel" for it.

I once was looking for some seeds I wanted to plant and passed a shelf three times. I was sure I hadn't put them on the shelf but I kept coming back to the shelf and sure enough there they were Calling out to me. I've also used this to find car keys lost in a huge field. I walked right to them.

Free eBooks (Can Be Downloaded):

Kathryn Paulsen - Witches Potions And Spells
Leo Ruickbie - Halloween Spells
Anonymous - White Magic Spells
Tuesday Lobsang Rampa - Feeding The Flame

Essential Steps In Magical Rituals

There is never going to be agreement about what is essential in a ritual and what is not, any more than there will ever be agreement about what makes a good novel. That doesn't mean there is nothing worth discussing. The steps I have enumerated below are suggestions which were handed down to me, and a lot of insight (not mine) has gone into them; they conform to a Western magical tradition which has not changed in its essentials for thousands of years, and I hand them on to you in the same spirit as I received them.

These are the steps:

1. Open the Circle
2. Open the Gates
3. Invocation to the Powers
4. Statement of Intention and Sacrifice
5. Main Ritual
6. Dismissal of Powers
7. Close the Gates
8. Close the Circle

Suggested free e-books to read:

Anton Szandor Lavey - The Satanic Rituals
Jarl Fossum - Seth In The Magical Texts
Benjamin Rowe - The Essential Skills Of Magick

Religious Propaganda And Celtic Traditions

The main aim of religious propaganda…has been to tell us that Below is Bad, Above is Good. Celtic tradition tells us something different.

The main aim of religious propaganda in our culture has been to turn humanity away from the Earth, telling us that Below is Bad, Above is Good. Why ? Well, historically, this was to get customers away from the pagan religions and sacro-magical practices, and into those early and poorly funded churches. Such outer evangelizing hides a more subtle inner campaign, for power at a spiritual level. Ancient pagan practices were substantially based upon Earth powers, prophecy, healing, and the widespread worship of goddesses whose divine attributes were founded in the land, the ocean, the Earth . The evidence for this in Ireland is widespread, and central to many ancient Irish manuscripts, and permeates many aspects of folkloric tradition. To the early Christians, any masculine deity became a deo falsus, a false god. Deo falsus has often been proposed as the origin of diabolus or “devil”.

“Let no man indulge in that most filthy habit of dressing up as a stag” thundered St Augustine : but he did not reveal the real reasons why. Animal/human magic, horned deities such as Pan or Cern, are manifestations of UnderWorld power, and drawing that power up to the surface was central to the old ceremonies. Likewise, the goddess powers of wells, streams, rivers, and sacred mounds, were repudiated and often transformed into semi-historical figures or amalgamated with saints.

To this day a most potent figure in Irish legend is the feminine Sovereignty or goddess or fairy queen of the Land.

Books You Might Enjoy:

Richard Roy - 13 Questions On Paganism And Wicca
Al Selden Leif - Pagan Incense Information Pages
Marcus Cordey - Magical Theory And Tradition

Celtic Tradition Gives Us A Model Of Underworld Religion And Magic

Celtic tradition gives us a fine model of UnderWorld sacro-magical understanding and practices . It is not a coherent model or a “complete system”, as this notion of completeness is entirely modern; instead it is diffuse, organic, prolific, protean. The Celtic model serves as an example to demonstrate traditions which are found world wide; all spiritual and magical traditions begin with the UnderWorld. All entrances to, and passages within, the earth were sacred: caves, wells, springs, gorges, chasms, volcanic craters. Each had its story, myth, or spiritual presence. (Classic reference sources are Dr Ann Ross: pagan Celtic Britain ; Alwyn and Brinley Ress: Celtic Heritage) We find such traditions worldwide, at the root of every religion, dating from older times before that religion was founded and formalized. Often they are disguised, as in the typical examples of local saints at ancient sacred sites, who were once gods and goddesses of the shrines. Ireland, most of all, still lives and breathes her own version of this ancient wisdom.

The legends that have been handed down in ancient texts, and in oral traditions, all relate to themes of transformation and growth through the powers of the UnderWorld, and not through the influence of the sun and sky. Sometimes such themes are on a large scale, the appearances of races, orders of life, mountains, rivers, oceans and so forth. Sometimes they are embodied in the life story of one individual…or of a group of people on a journey. After certain mythic characters have traveled through the UnderWorld, they often find a resting place among the stars: but the UnderWorld of Earth comes first. (Many examples are found in Robert Graves, Greek Myths)

The Cauldron of Regeneration, so central to Irish and Celtic legends is nothing less than the regenerative power of the Land, of the Planet Earth herself. Nothing could be more important for us today than a sense that the Earth is sacred, and a source of spiritual power. Indeed, we must return to this: it is our greatest and most redemptive truth. The time for either materialist indifference or ethereal escapism is over and the time for realization is upon us. Kill the earth, and we kill ourselves.

So what about the Light ? In the pagan myths and legends, and in folk tales that persisted well into historical times, the UnderWorld which includes but is not limited to the Faery Realm, is a Place of Light. To reach this Light, we pass first through essential nourishing darkness, sacred to the Dark Goddess who is known by many names. As the Qabalistic writer Dion Fortune said : we can only come to the White Isis by way of the Black Isis.

This process of finding light within the Earth, after passing through darkness, is also one of inner regeneration for the individual. When the spiritual consciousness is told that divinity, that the Source, is “up there” and a long way away, we become closed to the nearest source of light, grace, healing, regeneration, which is just beneath our feet. This source of Earth light rises through the body, and energizes our inner meditations, our vitality, our own individual UnderWorld of consciousness, imagination, spirit. If only we pay attention to it.

Books You Might Enjoy:

Robert Ellwood - The Encyclopedia Of World Religions
Eliphas Levi - The Ritual Of Transcendental Magic
Parker Torrence - The Craft Grimoire Of Eclectic Magic

Cord Binding Spell

This spell is adapted from one by DJ Conway in the 1996 Llewellyn Magickal
Almanac. It is intended to be used to prevent someone from causing you harm,
and I have also used it to batten down anger (my own and another's). In order
to work properly it requires full concentration.

Take a short length of black thread.

Tie a knot in one end, saying: 'One to seek him/her/it.' (choose whichever
pronoun is appropriate)

Tie a knot in the middle, saying: 'One to find him/her/it,'

Tie a knot in the other end, saying: 'One to bring him/her/it,'

Tie the two ends Together, saying: 'One to bind him/her/it.'

Bury the knotted thread far away from your property or drop it on a road or
waste ground far from where you live.

And that's right, the rhyme is adapted straight out of Tolkien! However, I do
NOT recommend that you finish off this spell with 'In the land of Mordor where
the Shadows lie'!

You also may enjoy this free books:

Leo Ruickbie - Halloween Spells
Kelly Link - Magic For Beginners
Anonymous - Divination Spreads
Aleister Crowley - Concerning Blasphemy

Where Did Magick Originate

For early man, religion and magick were inseparable from the world around them, and just about every feature of the land was infused with some sacred significance. Swamps were evil. Every spring, tree, river and mountain was imbued with a spirit, with the unknown hidden behind every rock. With all of this in mind, early man developed magick as a force to combat the evil, and religion to honor the Gods. The origins of magick were derived from necessity rather than desire, and this still holds true today.

Magic is still as primal and as instinctive for man today, as it was then. There are many "histories" of magick, each culture believing its own version to be the one true one. The four major "magickal" cultures are Astro-Babylonian, Egyptian, Greco-Roman, and Christianity-Judaism. The Asrto-Babylonian relied heavily on astrology. This region was also the home of the reformer of the Astro-Babylonian religion, which before 500 BC was primarily polytheistic.

Zarathusta or Zoroaster, was the creator of the dualistic religion, in which Ahrua Mazda, the representative of good and right pitted against Ahriman, the representative of evil. These forces were necessary, according to Zarathusta to keep the universe in balance. Zarathusta was also given the title as the "Father of Magick" because of the Gathas, or verses he had written in the holy book, Zend Awesta.

Egyptian magick and religion were intertwined concepts. The Egyptian Gods were worshipped with magick. The God's and Goddess's very names were words of power. These names or words of power later developed into magickal spells or formulas. The Egyptian priests also served as the magi and kept their knowledge to themselves, passing it on much like the Druids, from master to novice. Greco-Roman magick was heavily influenced by the Egyptian and Hebrew forms of magick. They relied on the pantheon and teachings from other cultures to form their own magickal workings.

Until the advent of Judaism and Christianity, magick and religion were the same thing. The priests, shamans, medicine men were one and the same. The idea of one God was the death knell to magick and those who practiced it. This occurred because man's use of magick was his attempt at becoming one or equal to the Gods. The very nature of one God forbids this. However, the bible is one of the few sources that even discuss the origination of magick.

The bible, Genesis 6, and the Book of Enoch give us a clear picture of the origins of magick. The Book of Enoch states "... and it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them? And angels, children of heaven saw and lusted after them... and all the others together took unto themselves wives, and each chose for himself one... and they taught them charms and enchantments, and the cutting of roots, and made them acquainted with plants." This is the first recorded or written reference to the history of magick.

Books You Might Enjoy:

Kenneth Grant - Magical Revival
Aleister Crowley - Magick Without Tears
Thomas Moore - Candle Magick For Love

Personal Development With Help Of Magic

"Spiritual progress" is an important concept to me but I find its meaning elusive.

I am not drawn to traditional ideas of initiation. In systematized magic or mysticism spiritual progress is divided into initiatic levels, or numbered stages of progress. I can't accept these scales of development, including the binary scale of enlightenment or non-enlightenment. People are not numbers and if you tell me "so-and-so is a third degree" you have told me exactly nothing about them. These systems and distinctions are too impersonal, and too many people seem to be hurt by them rather than helped. No one is more unenlightened than those who are convinced of their enlightenment.

A similar scale is that of salvation, where a person is saved (1) or unsaved (0). To me there is entirely too much emphasis on redemption in traditional scales of progress whether they use the words "redemption" and "salvation" or not. The "first matter" or non-initiate in traditional magic is held to be utterly worthless: blind, fettered, desperately in need of the system to show him or her the light. Obviously this is insulting and serves the purpose of maintaining hierarchical social structures. Just as obviously, though, there is some metaphorical truth to it. Relative to the later and developed state, the earlier and undeveloped person is burdened by blinders that look like glasses, and hobbled by chains that feel like shoes. More than how we look at others, this is how we look back at ourselves.

The problems for me in the black-and-white version of the metaphor are that this conflates different people's relative states, and requires self-loathing on the part of the initiatory candidate. If we had a way to measure someone's illumination - which we don't - I think we would find that many perfectly ordinary uninitiated people are less deluded than many seekers who have been strenuously applying themselves to the mystical path for years. A confident and healthy person would find little appeal in being superior to everyone else because of initiatory ceremonies, but among "initiates" one constantly encounters just this demeaning attitude. Similarly, a healthy person who found that a system demanded abject self-abasement to questionable "superiors" would probably select themselves out in short order. These hierarchical formulae appeal most strongly to people who - to be blunt - already hate themselves, find their negative self-image confirmed by being treated as the worthless "first matter" of the art, and achieve comfort in having the onus of their low self-esteem displaced onto "uninitiates."

I find better company in people who are not plagued with unreasonable self-doubt and who recognize and work with their strengths. I wish our spiritual systems selected for them instead of weeding them out. American hatha yoga instruction has gone in this direction, though once one moves on to more spiritual limbs of yoga the old demeaning hierarchies tend to reassert themselves. More needs to be done in reforming the teaching of meditative practices.

I am only describing a general trend and not tarring all initiates with this brush. I am an initiate myself, though once again it is not the axis of my life. I simply want to express that I would be more comfortable with spiritual systems that start with the basic strength and insight the person already has and develop that, rather than starting with the need for redemption. A better metaphor than removing a blindfold would be teaching the initiate how to make binoculars. I think groups starting without the "original sin" of the "first matter" would be less likely to attract neurotics and exagerrate their neuroses, and so less prone to the infighting that wracks magical groups.

So I will move on to my personal idea of my progress. Although it is tangible to me, I have a hard time saying exactly what it is. I know it has resulted from psychotherapy, from yoga, and from re-examining and redefining my assumptions, especially assumptions about relationships with others and with the external world in general. There is an aspect of self-knowledge and self-acceptance, a willingness to express myself spontaneously and embrace my feelings rather than trying to manipulate myself, an emergence of a mental quiet space, a recognition of personal patterns which previously were unconscious or denied, and a number of specific personal advances that result from being freed from unexamined patterns and from a distaste for myself. There's a long way to go and there may not be any end to the path, or it may be that the path is longer than I could walk in this one lifetime (so far as I know, the only one I have), but I know I am on this path and have come a certain way so far.

Magic in the sense of ritual has not been all that useful to me in this kind of progress and I have come to distrust it as affording a scope for acting out and for compensatory ego-inflation. That is, the intentional nature of ritual may unconsciously enact a neurotic pattern while rewarding limiting patterns I would do better to transcend. When I do ritual now, on the other hand, erosion of my mental blocks and acceptance of my aspirations have made ritual more effective in transforming my consciousness than it used to be. So Ritual Magic is related in some way to spiritual progress and may at some future time become more of a vehicle of my development than it is for me now.

I am attracted to an exercise model of development, in contrast with grandiose conceptions of redemption and ascension through spiritual degrees. Concentration, imagination, steadiness, even power are useful things to have. My analogy to physical exercise is deliberate: there is value to "spiritual bodybuilding" so long as it doesn't degenerate into vain self-admiration. Where a traditional conception would hold, for instance, that "by ascending the Ladder of Lights the devout seeker may be admitted into the innermost Mystery that maketh man God," under the exercise model one would say "by practicing mental disciplines one strengthens, balances and cleanses mental faculties." Yoga obviously fits this model, even in its highest limbs; classical yoga scripture depicts the ultimate goal pragmatically as the stilling of thought-waves. Psychotherapy is also a fairly good match, where the faculty exercised is spontaneous introspection. Ritual magic exercises the abilities of concentration and visualization, as well as the ability to transform perceptions of space, and a host of others. This too is a kind of progress.

Books You Might Enjoy:

Samuel Croxall - The Secret History Of Pythagoras
Robin Artisson - Reclaiming The Pagan Worldview The Heart Of Mysticism
Tuesday Lobsang Rampa - Living With The Lama
Terry Findlay - Phronesis The Development Of Practical Wisdom
John Dee - The Calls Of Enoch

Intellectual Exploration In Magic

I am motivated by a quest for knowledge, that is, by curiosity. I'm an intellectual type and I like to be able to formulate clear ideas about things. My spiritual experiences are very hard for me to understand. I don't even have a good concept of the scope of the subject. What is the spiritual? Is it a group of psychological faculties? Or an arbitrary semantic convention that conflates dissimilar phenomena? Is it a value judgment masquerading as an observational category? Or does it indicate some underlying psychological or metaphysical reality around which we revolve, whether we know it or not?

I can't answer these questions. They may not ultimately be answerable, because spirituality seems to take us outside the realm of reason. However, by doing ritual and meditation by myself and with others, and observing in a phenomenological mode - that is, accepting mental phenomena as real without regard to their accuracy or defensibility - I feel that I am getting closer to understanding parts of the continuum of spirituality. At least I am asking better questions than I used to. My curiosity about the spiritual has become a goal in its own right, whether or not this curiosity furthers my own spiritual development; the spirit has become a subject for psychology.

Largely as a result of my interest in spiritual experience, I have become interested in related subjects, such as the history of Occultism and the social dynamics of spiritual groups. I find that spiritual practice and group membership provide useful resources and observational opportunities to further these studies.

This is all very interesting, at least to me, but by itself it is only "the dogs of reason." There is more.

Books You Might Enjoy:

Phil Hine - Aspects Of Evocation
Phil Legard - An Approach To The Operation Of The Arbatel Of Magic
Melita Denning - The Foundations Of High Magick
Eliphas Levi - The Ritual Of Transcendental Magic
John Coughlin - Out Of The Shadows An Exploration Of Dark Paganism And Magick

What Is Metal Magick

Metal magick is based on the innate power of metals and on the symbolism derived from astrology. Metals also have healing properties, especially in their homeopathic form. As you will see the metals are connected with a planet, one or more astrological signs, and most of them are associated with a day of the week. It is best to work for instance Sun-gold-related magick on Sunday, or start it on a Sunday when it has to be performed on successive days. For magick all metals can be replaced by silver or gold.


Books You Might Enjoy:

Aristotle - Metaphysics
Melita Denning - Mysteria Magica Book V
Amber K - The Basics Of Magick
Thomas Moore - Candle Magick For Love
Aleister Crowley - Magick

Italian Passion Spell

ITALIAN PASSION SPELL




Use this spell to affect someone who desires you, yet is shy in expressing their
feelings. Start by melting some red Candle wax and molding it in the shape of a
phallus if you are female, or a womb if you are male. Once the wax has dried,
sensuously anoint the candle with olive oil, as if you were attending your
lover, thinking hard on the intimacy you desire as you do so. Light the candle.
Now, write your lovers name three Times on a piece of White paper, and burn it
in the flaming wick, praying that your lover will come to you. While the paper
burns, recite your lovers name out loud three times, then blow out the candle.
Try to wait patiently for your lover to respond to your magic.

Free eBooks (Can Be Downloaded):

Anonymous - Babylonian And Assyrian Literature
Anonymous - White Magic Spells
Leo Ruickbie - Halloween Spells
Kathryn Paulsen - Witches Potions And Spells

What Are The Different Types Of Magick

These is high and low, black and white, tantric, and chaos magick, there are candle, herb, sympathetic, representational, symbolic, color, crystal, knot, moon, and elemental magick. Now this is not a complete list, there are many more such as fairy, tree, sigil and even gargoyle magick. Raymond Buckland and Silver RavenWolf give the following summary of the different types of magick; each form is well represented in either of their books.

Candle magick is the use of colored candles to represent the four elements, air, fire, water and earth. When lit these representations are powerful forces indeed.

Since the beginning of time mankind has used herbs to heal and perform magick. The use of herbs in magick is only second to sympathetic magick in age.

Sympathetic magick is the oldest form of known magick. When early man first started the hunt he would wear animal skins to become part of the animal he was hunting. There are many cave drawings that depict this, but none better than the "Sorcerer" in France.

Those who practice Voodoo or Santeria magick use representational magick, similar to sympathetic magick. Representational magick is the use of a personal item, such as a lock of hair or a fingernail clipping to represent the person for whom the spell is cast.

Symbolic or divination magick is the use of symbols to represent various ideas. This includes Tarot, Runes and numerology. Color magick, which is another form or symbolic magick, is the use of color to achieve a desired result. Each color has a certain quality assigned to it, and the combination or the individual use of this assigned color will bring about the desired result.

Crystal or gem stone magick works off the principle that stones give off a vibration and that using this vibration will assist the practitioner in healing or in casting a spell.

Knot magick or binding magick utilizes rope, string, yarn or ribbons to perform a binding spell, which allows the practitioner to stop someone from performing an unwanted action.

Moon magick emphasizes the different phases of the moon to perform certain types of magick.

Elemental magick uses the four basic elements of magick; fire, water, earth and air. Each element has different properties; therefore, they can be used separately or together in achieving a desired result.

It is important that you understand that each of these forms of magick has a basic common denominator, that being the intent and the ability to visualize of the individual. The better the ability to visualize and the clearer the intent, the greater the chances of achieving your desired result.

Books You Might Enjoy:

Ophiel - The Art Practice Of Caballa Magic
Israel Regardie - The Art And Meaning Of Magic
Amber K - The Basics Of Magick

Three Definitions Of Magick

Starhawk says, “Any viable religion developing today will inevitably be concerned with some form of magic, defined as “the art of changing consciousness at will.” magick has always been an element of WitchCraft, but in the Craft its techniques were practiced with a context of community and connection. They were means of ecstatic union with the Goddess Self - not ends in themselves. Fascination with the psychic - or the psychological - can be a dangerous sidetrack on any spiritual path. When inner visions become a way of escaping contact with others, we are better off simply watching television. When “expanded consciousness” does not deepen our bonds with people and with life, it is worse than useless: It is spiritual self-destruction.

If Goddess religion is not to become mindless idiocy, we must win clear of the tendency of magic to become superstition. Magic - and among its branches I include psychology as it purports to describe and change consciousness - is an art. Like other arts, its efficacy depends far more on who is practicing it than on what theory they base their practice. Egyptian tomb painting is organized on quite different structural principles that twentieth-century Surrealism - yet both schools produced powerful paintings. Balinese music has a different scale and rhythmic structure from Western music, but it is no less beautiful. The concepts of Freud, Jung, Melanie Klein, and Siberian shamanism cal all aid healing or perpetuate sickness, depending on how they are applied.

Magickal systems are highly elaborate metaphors, not truths. When we say “There are twelve signs in the Zodiac,” what we really mean is “we will view the infinite variety of human characteristics through this mental screen, because with it we can gain insights”; just as when we say” there are eight notes in the musical scale,” we mean that out of all the possible range and variations of sounds, we will focus on those that fall into these particular relationship, because by doing so we can make music. But when we forget that the signs are arbitrary groupings of stars, and start believing that there are large lions, scorpions, and crabs up in the sky, we are in trouble. The value of magic metaphors is that through them we identify ourselves and connect with larger forces; we partake of the elements, the cosmic process, the movements of the stars. But if we use them for glib explanations and cheap categorizations, they narrow the mind instead of expanding it and reduce experience to a set of formulas that separate us from each other and our own power. “ ( The Spiral Dance, Starhawk, p 192,, Harper & Row: New York, NY, 1979)

Amber K uses the words of many to define the subject. “Stewart Farrar puts it this way: “The stage-by-stage development of the entire human being is the whole aim of magic.” According to Weinstein, magick can help “get your entire life in harmony - mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually and psychically…. And what is the ultimate purpose of the work? To fulfill the self on an even higher level. To transform, uplift, and so fully develop the self that the whole Universe may benefit thereby.”

William G. Gray, another will-known occultist, says: “Magic is for growing up as Children of the Light. Sane, sound, healthy, and happy souls, living naturally and normally on levels of inner Life where we can be REAL people as contrasted with the poor shadow-selves we project at one another on Earth.”

Thus magick exists to expedite, guide and enhance change. wiccans might say it is the work of the God within: “Everything She touches, changes…”” In her book True Magick, Amber addresses the subject from a unique perspective. She sees all life and our endeavors as related to reclaiming a consciousness of our greater selves - the all-connected life form which we comprise as a whole. Only humans can make this journey. Perhaps because other life forms so effortlessly inhabit the whole without confusion, or perhaps because we, of all the creatures on Earth, have the capacity to analyze our selves. We have the capacity to change our thought processes, our behaviors and to make permanent change within and without our selves.

“We are part of All That Is. With magick we can experience existence from the perspective of the other parts, and know that we are One…Such a quest requires us to change, and magick is an effective tool for defining new goals and reaching for unknown limits and bring ourselves into new territory.

“Magick requires daring. It brings the “little death” [giving up oneself] which is part of rebirth. Not to change is to stagnate and die; but to willingly offer up the life we know, is to find a greater Life. To the conscious mind unaware of the immortal Spirit within, this kind of sacrifice, the loss of the isolated, little person-self. Seems terrifying indeed. Yet through it one regains the lost wholeness of the Greater Self, which is all of us, which is The God/dess.” (True Magick, Amber K, Llewellyn Publications, St. Paul, MN 1990.)

Raymond Buckland is emphatic that magick in the wiccan religion is secondary to the practice of wicca as a religion. However, magick is a large part of the religion and the practice of WitchCraft. “In itself, magick is a practice. If all you want to do is work magick, then you don't need to become a Witch to do it. Anyone can do magick, or, at least can attempt to do it. such a person is a magician. ….. But what exactly, is “Magick”?… Aleister Crowley defined magick as “the art or science of causing change to occur in conformity with will”. In other words, making something happen that you want to happen. How do we make these things happen? By using the “power” (for want of a better word) that each of us has within. Sometimes we must supplement that power by calling on the gods, but for most things we can produce all that we need ourselves.” (Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft, Raymond Buckland, Llewellyn Publications, St. Paul, MN 1989)

Books You Might Enjoy:

Will Herberg - The Writings Of Martin Buber
Israel Regardie - The Art And Meaning Of Magic
Aleister Crowley - Intro Magick
Benjamin Rowe - The Essential Skills Of Magick
Melita Denning - The Foundations Of High Magick

The Magic Pyramid

Of the Magician's Pyramid, the tip of the pyramid is the work performed and the power used, and the four corners of the base, the four sources of that power. They are, equally and in no order, Imagination, Will, Faith, and Secrecy.

Imagination (Air): You must be able not only to devise potent ways to achieve your aims, but also to visualise or feel the energies you are working with and the results of your efforts. You can only do what you can think of, but you can do anything you can think of. Allow yourself to daydream and develop your imagination. Make use of your wildest ideas, dreams and fantasies. As long as they remain under your control, the wilder, richer and more fantastic the better, but be careful not to lose touch with reality. There are many who have gone before you and have gone insane, and it might be best for you not to follow them if your mind is not strong enough. If you can sit for an hour with your mind blank, not thinking a single thought for that time, then your mind is strong enough, and if not, then you must practice.

Will (Fire): You must be focused and determined. Nothing must distract you or waive you from your aims, and so you must develop your will. You must be able to assert yourself, to dispense with any opposition and traverse any obstacle. In your mind, there must be nothing that can stop you. If you do not have the will, you do not have the way. Now, be warned that failure is devastating to the will, and sometimes it is better not to try at all than to try and fail, and have not the will to try again. To fail to prepare is to prepare to fail, and you cannot afford to fail. Therefore, prepare. If you can hold your gaze on the centre of a candle flame for an hour, without looking away and maintaining your awareness the whole time, then your will is strong enough, and if not, then you must practice.

Faith (Earth): You must believe in yourself utterly and, if you call upon any talismans, amulets or deities in your work, you must believe in them utterly also. The slightest doubt, however deeply buried in the back of your mind, can still thwart your aims. He who does not believe in himself is his own greatest adversary. In the words of Paracelsus, "Through Faith the Imagination is invigorated and completed, for it really happens that every doubt mars its perfection..." Indeed, every doubt you hold will dent your will, and whether the dent be slight or great, you cannot afford the detriment to your will. It is for this reason that you must be able to depend completely upon the validity of your own words. Every time you tell a lie, break a promise, make a prediction that does not come true, or simply say something which is proved wrong, whether the fault is yours or not, it will dent your faith. For this reason you must say nothing that you cannot be totally certain is the truth, not of the past, the present, nor of the future.

Secrecy (Water): Knowledge is power, and to give knowledge, and therefore power, to someone who may then use it against you themselves, or pass it on to someone else who might, is folly. You should not reveal to anyone any more about yourself than you wish them to know. Guard also your knowledge of other things. Study and learn all that you can, and share it only if you are given something in exchange. The total power you have over those around you is the total of that which is relevant and which you know, and they do not. Never give in to vanity, and never feel that you have to prove yourself to anyone. Keep your tongue still and your ears sharp. Remember that those around you may, and probably will, be keeping many secrets themselves, as well as trying to learn yours, so always read between the lines, and never take anything that anyone says at face value.

If you are strong in Imagination, in Will, in Faith, and in Secrecy, then you are strong in magick. What you lack in any of these, you lack in magick. Not only must you be strong in each of these, but you must be strong in each of these equally, for any imbalance in these will unbalance your magick. You must keep your Imagination, Will, Faith, and Secrecy in balance. He who allows his imagination to reign becomes insane, he who allows his will to reign becomes megalomanic, he who allows his faith to reign becomes stagnant, and he who allows his secrecy to reign becomes paranoid. Whereas he who allows his imagination to suffer becomes brain-dead, he who allows his will to suffer becomes indifferent, he who allows his faith to suffer becomes inhibited, and he who allows his secrecy to suffer becomes ignorant. He who develops each of these in balance becomes powerful, he who neglects any one of these becomes nothing.

Books You Might Enjoy:

Tarostar - The Witchs Spellcraft Revised
Aninymous - The Angelical Alphabet
Solomonic Grimoires - The Magic Of Armadel
Kenneth Grant - Magical Revival

The Creative Process In Magick

Each of us creates every moment of his or her entire life by sending out thoughts, feelings, emotions, prayers or declarations into the Matrix, being the energy weavings of the universe. We can send out new thougths that might change the energy patterns, or repeat old thoughts that will (re)create more of the old energy forms, or we may be influenced by the ideas and emotions of others and help so reinforce their energy patterns. We are not only sending energy, at the same time we are receiving the energy of the thoughts and feelings of others. If their thoughts and feelings contain truth for us, we might incorporate that energy as 'our own', what means that your thoughts don't necessarily have to be your own thoughts!

To understand the creative process we need to understand the basics of it:

* The power of belief
The more you believe that what you think and feel is true, the more certainty you add to the energy you send out, and the bigger the change that it wil take form in the physical world. Also the more you think the universe will grant it you, the greater the certainty that you will receive it. Be thankful on beforehand, knowing that it is already existing and will appear in the physical world.

* The power of united souls
The more persons think, feel or pray the same thing, the bigger the amount of a certain energy capable of causing changes.

* The power of repetition.
The more often you think or feel the same thing, the more belief and certainty about it you raise in your mind, so the more powerful your sent out energy becomes. Choose the same thing over and over again.

* The power of clarity of mind.
Make sure that you know what to choose; that way you send out equal messages to the universe.

* The power of similarity
Like attracts like! You will attract that what you send out, so if your thoughts contain a lot of fear of disease for instance, you will attract disease as a magnet. If you send out thoughts of love and kindness, you will suddenly notice that unknown people smile at you and greet you.
* The power of the basic emotions love and fear. At the base of every thought or emotion (or behind the conscious thought/emotion) lies one of these two emotions.
If the basis is love, you will have ideas like: there is enough for everyone, I am good enough to ask this, the Universe will grant it me, I am thankful for life and its treasures... You will feel self-trust, self-love and self-confidence, inner peace and union with the All. A basic thought of love will add enormous power to your creative force. If the basis is fear, you will think things like: there is never enough, I won't get it, I don't deserve it, I am not good enough, I have not done enough, I will lose it again, what if it does not work?You will experience fears and worries, doubts and insecurities, and you regard yourself as separate from the infinite Source. A basic thought of fear will severely diminish your power to create.

* The power of taking responsibility.
If you take responsibility for your life than you can find the strength to make conscious changes in it. If everybody around you has done it, or fate, and you consider yourself a helpless victim, then how could you even believe that you could influence your own life in a positive way? Of course you are not personally responsible for big events like wars, earthquakes or tornadoes; these occurrences are often called upon by our group-consciousness. Also many personal issues are often created by more persons than just you. But you surely are responsible for your reactions on and decisions towards all events. Do you try to find a positive solution or do you sit down effortless in self-pity? (Discourage creates the same thing over and over).

* The power of attention.
What you give attention to will be realized. This means that the love you feel for the things you like to realize will attract them to you.
This also implies that suppression of 'bad' or 'ugly' parts of our personality only contributes to their existence. After all you have to put quite some energy in the denial of these characteristics by trying to think them away. It is much more beneficial to accept that we all have our 'good' and 'bad' qualities, and that we choose whether we want to live as a sinner or a saint. Observe 'the horrible you' without judging it, decide what kind of person you want to be, and?think and act in a new way. Mind torturers like fears, worries, anger and grief can disappear if you simply let them be, accept them without putting energy in it. The feelings you dare to confront without holding on can pass through you like clouds.

* The power of thought control.
If you notice yourself thinking something that you don't wish to think, simply consider how you want to think over that subject or person and? send out the new thought. It is like copying out a page on a computer!

* The power of not-accepting-no.
Declare your truth completely, friendly, but determined. If people argue about it simply agree that you can understand their point of view, but... repeat your truth firmly and friendly... until you get what you want. This is the famous technic of assertivity trainings known as the 'broken gramophone record'.

In fact the creative process is a big personally adapted mind-control program. You'd better control your own mind then having it done by others!




Books You Might Enjoy:

Aleister Crowley - Basic Techniques Of Sex Magick
Ophiel - The Art Practice Of Caballa Magic
Aleister Crowley - Intro Magick

Frabato The Magician

Book: Frabato The Magician by Franz Bardon

Though cast in the form of a novel, Frabato the Magician is in fact the spiritual autobiography of Franz Bardon, one of the 20th century's greatest Hermetic adepts.

Frabato was the author's stage name during his career as a performing magician, and it is Frabato who occupies center stage in the novel as well. Set in Dresdent, Germany, in the early 1930s, the story Chronicles Frabato's magical battles with the members of a powerful and dangerous black lodge, his escape from Germany during the final desperate days of the Weimar Republic, and the beginning of the spiritual mission which was to culminate in Franz Bardon's classic books on Hermetic magic.

More than an occult novel, Frabato the Magician is itself a work of magic which illuminates Bardon's other books as well as providing a revealing look into the dark occult forces which lay behind the rise of the Third Reich.

The four Bardon books can be considered unsurpassed classics. You will find more Information in one Bardon book than in a hundred other books on this subject. The reader will be pleasantly surprised that nothing is hidden behind the veil of incompetence or arrogance. Everything is out in the open and nothing is omitted. These books have enjoyed a world-wide acceptance since 1958, which we feel will continue to grow. We feel that everyone is entitled to this knowledge and not just a select few, since this was the intention of Divine Providence.

Evidence regarding the events related in this book will be reserved for people trained and developed in magic. Humankind will have to resign itself to the fact that a great deal of evidence Concerning the workings of our cosmos can only be furnished through spiritual means.

Buy Franz Bardon's book: Frabato The Magician

Free eBooks (Can Be Downloaded):

Greg Wotton - Basic Theories On Sex Magic
Jarl Fossum - Seth In The Magical Texts
Aubrey Bell - The Magic Of Spain
Julius Evola - Against The Neopagans
Franz Bardon - Frabato The Magician

Separation Of Magick From Religion

1. Prayer is Energy work. Modern day clergy of many religions provide their flock, parishioners, congregation, whatever it is called, with access to divinity. Although each person is admonished to lead a “Godly” life, the primary focus of worship tends to be through large group ceremonies where a leader, priest, channels the prayers and energy of that congregation through themselves and off to whatever the focus of the prayer was. I personally feel that this channeling through a third party, as a required step and mindset, dilutes the efficacy of that energy somewhat. However, it does not differ substantially from the wiccan coven practice of channeling or focusing energy through a high priest/ess. And even though many are not aware of it, there is strong, statistical, scientific proof that prayer is incredibly effective when used for healing the ill. This study simply looked at the survival rate, and healing speed among people who had been prayed for, all other factors being the same, and those who had not been prayed for. The energy is the same in prayer, or healing spells, which is a strong indicator that wiccan magick provides the same power - a power that is effective and measurable by contemporary science.

2. Spells are Energy Work. Such energy was always amongst us. It is only in the last few hundred years that we have had the technology to document and examine these energies and their effects. In the past there tended to be an individual who was more gifted than others in interpreting and understanding such things. These folks probably devoted time to things such as herbal remedies, and as their healing skills improved, they were able to devote more time and thought to it. People were willing to trade these healers, treatment for food, and over time these people became specialists in their discipline - whatever that entailed. Perhaps reading omens, herbal preventatives, cures, etc. And these folks also had the knack of knowing what would happen. Whether it was early psychology or a good guess, their reputation made them into the Village Wise Woman - the Country Sage. Sometimes these folks skills combined with an inheritance of knowledge from their ancestors, provided them with a powerful knowledge of people, healing, and energy use. These were truly the witches of renown. Powerful people, but without today's communication ability, their influence tended to stay local, only effecting their village or county. Their skills also included various forms of divination, but not usually religion as such. That was left to the Church which was a powerful and distant force. And religion was best left to the priests and ministers of that church, since it was punishable by death for commoners to have read the bible.

1. Even the Christian church, which condemned magic as a devilish art, was also filled with magical beliefs and practices. Magic was legal in Roman times, and this tolerance continued on for many centuries. Sir Walter Raleigh praised said magic, “bringeth to light the inmost virtues, and draweth them out of Nature's hidden bosom to human use.”. The nobility - including princes of the church - supported court magicians, astrologers, and diviners who helped them conduct their affairs. Scholars carefully classified different types of magicians, as if to distinguish the heretical from the acceptable. (The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets, p 566) Although the Christians had the most documentation, almost all cultures had their version of magician or magic workers.

3. Shaman/ka - Other cultures less effected by the power of the formal Church included the interpretation of the god's will among their skills. These indigenous cultures labeled their healing and magick specialists Shaman or Shamanka. In tribal cultures almost everyone had a specialty that made up their part of the entire survival of the tribe. It tended to be those persons who were marked special who became the voice of the Gods for the tribe. Again, these persons had the time to learn, or just think a lot about, the nature of reality, illness and the Gods. In shamanic experience, when one is in non-ordinary reality things will seem quite as material as they are here. ….. All the phenomena that just as real as they do here if it is an extremely clear shamanic journey. But the shaman does not view these non-ordinary phenomena as mental in the sense that they are regarded as a projections of one's own mind. Rather, the mind is being used in order to gain access, to pass through a door into another reality which exists independently of that mind. Usually, the shaman views the universe itself of the ultimate reality. In many shamanic cultures there is preoccupation with the idea that there is some spiritual being who is either in charge of the whole show, or who once was but is now permanent vacation. Most shamans seem to believe that this universe is “just the way things are.” We are given the fact that there is a universe where everything is alive, that there is an interconnectedness of all things, and that there are hidden purposes which we can attempt to investigate to some extent through shamanic methods. So, as one gets involved in shamanism and thus keeps seeing, interacting, and talking with spirits, one quite naturally tends to believe in their existence. And those who continue doing shamanism will most likely also start to believe in the existence of spirits. Of course, more supposedly “sophisticated”: religions may then be built upon that base. I think it is noteworthy that modern physics seem to have elements of animism. Some physicists today are like animists in that they believe everything which exists is alive. It is the sense of our unity with a living universe, the feeling that we are all just parts of that greater life, which is basic to animism.” (Shamanism, compiled by Shirley Nicholson, pp4-5). In some cultures being crippled, having seizures, having mental problems, etc. marked one as being closer to the gods or perhaps having been called by the spirits, and thus a good candidate for the shamanic path. These people freely mixed together the concepts of both the Gods and magick. Their mythology made their gods a part of their everyday world, and allowed for a rich mix of customs, responsive to the tribe's situation and needs. The shamanic tradition focuses of the strengths and aspects of various natural forces within our world, and uses inner journeys of the shaman to bring those truths for use by the shaman's social group.

4. Ceremonial Magick is an area of study that demands much discipline of its adherents. We tend to differentiate its practice from that of the religious magicks that Witches, Pagans and Druids accomplish, primarily because of the Pagan emphasis of calling energy through the gods and the planet. Ceremonial Magic has its own pantheons, and although my understanding is minimal, there is much knowledge that must be acquired, memorized, understood and properly applied. Golden Dawn is one of the best known organizations dealing with ceremonial magick.


Books You Might Enjoy:

Marcus Cordey - Magical Theory And Tradition
Andrew Lang - Myth Ritual And Religion
Sir James George Frazer - The Golden Bough A Study Of Magic And Religion

Questions And Answers About Power Animals

Question: So, what does it mean to work with 'power' animals? Are we working with an individual animal, say the 'possum down the street or the wolf at the zoo?

Answer: Well, sorry to say, no.

When you work with a 'power' animal (I've got to find a better way to say that ~ the term "power' animals' makes me think of a bunch of buffed up critters doing sit ups and weight lifting at the local gym), you are either connecting with the A.) symbolic essence or B.) the spiritual power of the entire species. Take your pick of whichever description works best for you.

Question: What are you doing ~ playing Indian? Or are you one of those new age weirdos?

Answer: No. Working with 'power' animals is not 'new age' or limited to the North American Indians. Many people all over the planet use animal symbology in one way or another, including us. It's everywhere ~ even in our speech: 'Busy as a bee'; 'snake in the grass', 'he/she is a workhorse', 'hawk eyed', 'eagle eyed'.

Question: How do you know when animal energy trying to make itself known?

Answer: There are several ways. Sometimes, you just know. Other times, an animal can present itself to you four times (as in four deer, four tracks in the mud, etc.) If an animal appears during a dream, meditation or shamanic journey, it can do an 'act of power' which is something that the animal could not ordinarily do.

Question: Can mythic animals be power animals?

Answer: There is some debate about this. Some think that to be a power animal, it has to have a physical representative in the living world. Others say that the very fact that nearly every culture in the world have stories about 'mythic' animals (dragons and unicorns are good examples), then they must have either 1.)existed in the physical at one point, or 2.) exist now in realms that we can only access while on a journey, dreaming or in deep meditation. I tend to say that whatever ever animal has shown itself to you to be one of your power animals, then who are we to question whether it's valid or not? It's very appearance proves its validity.

Question: Is this for real?

Answer: As a teacher of mine said once, "If you're getting something good out of it, does it matter?"


Books You Might Enjoy:

William Wynn Westcott - Numbers Their Occult Power And Mystic Virtues
Austin Osman Spare - The Book Of Pleasure Or Self Love
Sri Swami Sivananda - Thought Power

Nature Of Chaos Magick

...all Nature was all Chaos,
The rounded body of all things in one,
The living elements at war with lifelessness...
The Metamorphosis, Ovid

Chaos magick is the fruit of Austin Osman Spare and Peter Carroll's rebellion against the traditional magickal systems which they deemed needelessly complicated, discriminatory and impotent.

Influenced by both Spare and Austin's scientific pursuits and interests, Chaos Magick is a 'non-system' focusing on the mechanisim of 'belief' as a means to achieve a desired end. Belief in anything, a force, a diety, will be adopted for the purpose of the magickal work at hand and then discarded after it has served its purpose. To do this magicians must become skilled in changing their beliefs at a moment's notice and 'believing' that "Nothing is True and Everything is Permitted" as Ray Sherwin wrote in 'The Theatre Of Magick' "The (Chaos) Magician believes nothing in the sense of having faith. He experiments practically to ascertain if there is any value in the postulates he has either originated or borrowed from elsewhere. It is a fact that we all must hold certain organic beliefs for the sake of convenience. You all believe that the chairs you are sitting in are real -- most of the time. This is not however a mental process, but rather an instinctive or organic one without which life would be impossible."

The path of Chaos is not one for the weak or fearful. You must realize that you are entirely on your own and free to do as you please, therefore you alone are responsible for the outcome of your actions. You will not find 'Karma' or 'The Law of Three' in Chaos Magick to comfortably set your limits for you. Chaos Magick is not black, white or gray, it is simply neutral energy which you will shape into your intention. Therefore, unless you have a solid code of ethics and know what you are doing, Chaos Magick is not for you, indulge in foolishness and you will quickly be on the way to self-annihalation.

In Chaos magick it is up to you to use or create whatever methods of ritual or magickal workings you desire, however there are three core practises that Chaotes commonly use and they are; gnosis, god-form/servitor work, and sigilization. Chaos magick relies on 'gnosis' an altered state of mind to achieve effects. It is a state of single-mindidness which can be achieved through yoga, drumming, chanting, dancing, sex and masturbation and through the use of certain drugs. You will know that you are in a state of gnosis once your mind stops rationalizing about your experience...it is the gateway into your subconcious.

Chaotes generally don't worship a 'god', but as mentioned above they will temporarily believe in any god-from required to make their magick work. Working with god-forms in Chaos Magick involves the same or similar invocation or evocation methods used in traditional systems. Unlike god-forms that already exist, servitors are magickal beings, created by a magician to perform a certain task. Servitors are created in a state of gnosis and stored in a material object such as sigil which then enables the magician to summon, communicate and affect it. There are mainly two types of Servitors; "Egregores" which are large servitors usually created by a group of magicians and remain in existance indefinetly , and "Independent Thought-Forms" which are usually active for the duration of the magickal working and then destroyed by the magician.

Sigil Magick was developed by Spare and involves the creation of an abstract image of the magicians written will or intent and absorbing the sigil into the subconcious in a state of gnosis. It then, should be forgotten and the material sigil destroyed, for it is belived that once the sigil is in the subconcious mind it will operate unaided.

Chaos magick is path of complete magickal freedom, make your choices carefully and be responsible. Above all, if such freedom makes you uncomfortable and you feel a compelling need to be goverened by dogmas, then steer clear from the path of Chaos or your sanity just might get swept away...

Books You Might Enjoy:

Ophiel - The Art Practice Of Caballa Magic
Aleister Crowley - Magick
Julian Wilde - Grimoire Of Chaos Magick

Difference Between Religion And Magick

The differentiating factor between religion and magick seems to be whether or not there was a specialist assigned the role as intercessor to the Gods or Elemental Energies. This is also one of the key issues in present day witchcraft - whether or not each person is a direct link to the energy and can meet their needs without assistance, or if we need those persons who have the time, talents, interest, etc. in being a full-time conduit between these energies and those who consider themselves as Pagans, Witches, Wiccans, etc.

While the jury is still out, the majority of Witches think it would be a travesty if we allowed any third party interpretation or mandatory access to that natural energy we are all heir to as humans and part of the interactive Sacred Play that is Gaia, our world and our spiritual world. Many early religions that began as a one-on-one link with the divine later came to a formal, procedurally bound, mockery of our Divine nature. The power in paganism is that we claim our power by right, and will never give or dilute it by channeling it through others. We are as much a mirror of the Gods, as they are a reflection of us.

The nature of deity is that we have created a personalized representation of those forces which are awe-inspiring and important to us, and given them characteristics and names so that we may refer to them amongst ourselves handily. Those outside this rich interactive style came to believe that these forces were indeed outside of us, and labeled them as transcendent, or other. As Luke was taught by Obi Wan and Yoda, there is a life-force which all beings naturally have. We are part of it, have need of it, and can learn to listen and use it. Only recently did we forget as a race, that it is our birthright and the nature of our being. Life, death, rebirth, creation, beauty - these are all a natural use of the energy so readily available.

Books You Might Enjoy:

William Butler Yeats - The Secret Rose And Rosa Alchemica
Henry Cornelius Agrippa - Occult Philosophy And Magick Book Iii
Peter De Abano - Heptameron Or Magical Elements
Parker Torrence - The Craft Grimoire Of Eclectic Magic

Basic Candle Magick

Burning a candle has something magical; our unconsciousness recognizes the connection between earth and infinite creative heaven symbolized by the burning candle. No electric lamp can ever beat a simple candle when it comes to bringing a warm and cosy atmosphere in which we feel at home. Burning a candle for a beloved one in a church with a wish is a simple form of magick. Blowing out the candles on a birthday cake while making a wish in fact is candle magick. You may want to put a white candle at the positions north, east, south and west in the magickal circle. Or you may wish to position five candles in the form of a pentagram.

Candle magick works like this:

* Choose one or more candles in the color(s) appropriate to your magickal goal. ( See Color magick )

* Your candles have to be virgin, what means not used before. This is important, because used candles carry the energies of former use with them, what may disturb or diminish the effectiveness of your present ritual. Always use new candles for a ritual, even if you do two rituals of the same kind after one another, for instance a healing for person A and for person B. But if your ritual needs to be repeated several days then of course you can use the same candles for the same type ritual for the same person during successive days.

* Now you have to charge the candle for your purpose. By charging it you bring your own energies and magickal desires into the candle. By charging it you also mentally start the process of focusing on your goal and physically make contact with the representation of your aim. You make a psychic link with the candle. You charge the candle(s) by:
1.Carving the name of the person or your goal in it with a small knife. Do this concentrated.
2. You anoint it, what means that you rub it in with oil while visualizing your spell. This is also called 'dressing' the candle. You can dress the candle with pure olive oil or a suitable essential oil. In any magick that is 'calling' (attracting things, like money, health, love) you rub the oil from the top of the candle to the base. In 'banishing' magick (getting rid of things, like negative influences, addictions) you rub the oil from the base of the candle to the top.

* Put the candle in the holder and light it. Visualize your goal for as long as you can, or recite affirmations (one world or a sentence) for a time. Then put the candle out. Repeat this for several days, at least three, until you get results. Then let the candle burn all the way out.

* Another way of working is this: don't carve your message in the candle, but write it on a piece of paper while visualizing your goal, and burn it completely in the candle flame. Be careful: put the candlestick into a larger plate or chalice for this goal, for I know this will most of the time become a mess. While burning it concentrate completely on your goal. Then let the candle burn all the way out. (You don't need to stay around, but be careful: it is fire!)

* Always burn a white candle too, as purification and protection against negativity. This is your altar candle, which can be used any ritual until it is burned away. So in candle magick there will always be at least two candles: one altar candle and one anointed ritual candle.

Candle magick can be combined with other color magick, sex magick or other forms of magick.

Books You Might Enjoy:

Aleister Crowley - Basic Techniques Of Sex Magick
Aleister Crowley - Intro Magick
Amber K - The Basics Of Magick
Thomas Moore - Candle Magick For Love
Aleister Crowley - Magick