Lesson Ten: Magick (Part 1)

Have you ever been in an on-line chatroom devoted to Paganism and

Witchcraft? One

of those virtual places where Pagans from all walks of life gather to

share a few

moments of time, network, and swap theories? If you have, you'll know

that every ten

minutes or so, the conversation is interrupted by someone asking for

spells. Love

spells, curses, spells to make their hair prettier, to help them get

better grades; the list

goes on and on. Hollywood certainly doesn't help the matter any with

movies and

television programs about Witches who light candles without matches,

clean rooms

without moving a finger, and fight the minions of evil with supernatural

talents that

they were born with and never studied to hone. Of course, Hollywood isn't

in the

business of educating the public about what Witchcraft is, nor are they

In its simplest form, magick is the conscious changing of energy from one

state or

vibration to another. What many of us don't realize is that we do this

all day long.

Remember that person at work that you weren't getting along with? You

could really

feel the tension building between the two of you. But then you chose to

go up to them,

to clear the air, to extend a hand of friendship which they accepted.

Within you, around

you, and in a subtle connection between the two of you, as you watched

them smile,

you felt that tension fade away, replaced by something else. That, my

Now we can tackle this from a number of directions. First of all, we

could cast a spell.

We could ritually move energy and focus it toward a specific goal. Done

properly, this

will cause a subtle change in the flow around us to create the correct

environment for

things to change. When you get to work the next morning, as you pull into

the parking

lot and open your door, you put a small dent in the car next to you. As

you look up at

the angry driver whose just jumped out of the vehicle, you see the person

you were

trying to change the energy with, furious that you've damaged his car.

Now is your chance. You've got your opening that you did spellwork to

achieve. Just like

you wanted, you have the opportunity to go up to him and change the

energy between

you. In fact, as angry as he is, if you don't, you may never get another

chance.

What we have to realize is that spellwork isn't a solution. It doesn't

solve a problem. It

doesn't abruptly change reality. Spells cannot, I repeat, cannot, erase

our problems, make

our lives easier, or create a shortcut through the personal growth, hard

work, and

development that are necessary for our continual spiritual evolution.

What they can do is

change our subconscious processes, make us aware of our own outlooks and

attitudes,

key us into openings and possibilities, and work to aid us break through

mental and

emotional barriers and blockages. In those rare instances where spells

have a noticeable

and immediate impact, they normally heighten the situation

Imagine for a moment that the energy of our world - our attitudes,

beliefs, the things that

we experience in our world, the events that occur, the people around us -

are like a great

river, slowly flowing in one direction. As we move down this river, we

encounter smooth

portions where the water is still, rapids where the river rushes and

swirls, and hidden

obstacles beneath the surface that snare our boat and which we have to

work to get past.

Now imagine that the river isn't formed of water, but of energy. Working

magick won't

change the flow of the water; at best, it can only point you toward the

easiest course.

Spellwork doesn't seek to change the world around us; it seeks to

influence the energy

that is a part of every moment, every breath, and everything. Another way

to look at this

concept is to imagine that you stand in a wind storm composed of infinite

currents of air.

While you can sense and sometimes see the larger storm, you can only feel

the wind

which personally touches you. As your perspective expands, you see that

instead of

being composed of air, each current is a series of images playing out

like a movie. While

you can see that the strands of images are predetermined (like long

streamers of film you

observe flowing toward you -- you can individually react to each one).

Each frame of film

comes to life as the wind that composes it touches you and you "live"

each frame,

reacting to that bit of film with total independence and freewill, each

action and intent

moving you in the storm, bringing you into contact with new currents of

reality.

Spellwork doesn't create new streamers of film. It's like erecting a

series of poles a few

paces from where you stand. As the wind interacts with the poles, the

poles subtly

change the wind's course, so that the poles have an influence over the

currents that reach

you. You can't choose which currents of air come towards you. You can't

create a new

reality. All you can do is influence the path that you're already on,

that has been chosen

by you through your actions, intents, and attitudes. Sometimes, even a

minor change in

the currents will give you the inspiration and insight you need to make

major changes on

your own. Sometimes, the shift in the wind is so subtle that you don't

yourself is,

"Why do I need to do a spell for this? Is there another way to achieve my

goal?" You

know that cute guy you've had a crush on for months, but just haven't

been able to bring

yourself to talk to? Is a spell really going to make it easier for you to

go up and say,

"Hello" to him? What you need to do is stop and consider the situation.

What is the

energy you are really trying to change? Would it be easier to do

something to bolster

your self-confidence so that you could talk to your dream guy? If that's

the issue, then at

some point you'll have to face that lack of self-confidence; you'll have

to address that

issue. You can't hide behind magick - most of the time it actually does

Once you've completed this, you're going to end up with a list of

things

which you can actually do to make things better. That person who

you're

having a hard time getting along with - did you ever stop to think

that they

might be having a hard time with you too? Make an effort to be nice

to

them, to reach out a hand of friendship. That's magick in its own

way. That

girl you have a crush on? Try a little charisma, be your charming

The other thing you must consider is why the situation occurred in

the first

place. In the example of the love spell, maybe Susie left because

you're a

jerk. Bringing her back won't change that. Maybe she left because

she's a

jerk and doesn't treat you particularly well. Spellwork won't change

that

either. Could you have spent more time with her? Been more

responsive to

her needs? If you're finding a "yes" on your side of the board, then

go to

her and tell her. Let her know that you've been thinking about her

and you

realized that you didn't treat her the way she deserved and would

like a

second chance. If the "yes" is on her side of the board, if she