Merry Meet Family and Friends!
So, today I heard yet another news report about a horrendous murder that the media is contributing to use of "Black Magic". This has to be the fourth in as many weeks. Then last night, I tuned into one of my favorite shows, "A Haunting". The episode was about a woman and her son who were plagued by "Sprites", after the woman, who was practicing Wicca, admitted, "I guess I really didn't know what I was dealing with". Oh for the love of nerve!
Now ya gotta know, this is just the kind of hype the media lives for. The fact is however, magick is neither black nor white, it's all in how you use it. What one considers "Black Magick" is nothing more than focused energy with a negative intent. And if someone has ever pissed you off to the point you wished that they get exactly what they deserve, guess what? You've just practiced negative magick. That's called, "Black Wishing" and taking a wild guess here, we've all done it.
We're talking magick here folks and whether you believe in it or not, the possibilities are as limitless as one's imagination. You don't have to be Wiccan or a Witch to use it either. That said, if you're going to indulge in the occult arts, I'll give you my unsolicited two cents. Firstly, know what the hell you're doing and be prepared for the consequences.
Let's be honest though, if magick worked to that degree of accuracy every time we used it, we would all be married to our soul mates, be wealthy, beautiful, the World would be free of disease and poverty and all our enemies would be infested with the fleas of a thousand friggin' camels! If someone commits a horrendous crime, it's not necessarily because they're practicing negative magick, it's because they're crazier than a bag of rats!
Still, there is a ton of literature and a bunch of naive, unstable or pissed off people out there who are more than willing to pick up a book and delve into the darkest areas of magick without ever thinking about the implications. What you have is unharnessed energy in the hands of an idiot with a book.
I'll tell you a little tale of the first spell I'd ever cast. I had just learned that my Dad was suffering with terminal cancer. I knew that a cure was not possible, so I cast a spell for what I believed was "for the good of all". That being, that he suffer not a moment of pain throughout the duration of his illness.
I hadn't been practicing very long at that point, so I didn't think it necessary to cast a protective circle or call quarters or shield myself in any way. I just called upon the Goddess Hecate and winged it! I knew very little about Hecate at that point, with the exception that she was very powerful and was known as the "The Queen of the Witches". Given the magnitude of my request, I needed this to work and didn't care what I needed to do to get it. So, with all the emotion and intent I could muster, I cast my spell, somewhat skeptical of it's success and giving little thought to it afterward.
The next day, I woke up feeling, not.quite.right. It felt like the flu. "Hmmmm.....strange, I thought, maybe it was something I ate". Well, by that evening, I had a high fever, a violent headache, a rash that had now spread all over my body, cough, abdominal pain. I was terrified! I couldn't remember ever feeling worse! I ended up in the Emergency Room, where the doctors suspected meningitis, but were actually taking out medical journals to try to determine what the hell I had. I was ill for two weeks, no one ever did figure it out. My Dad, passed away 9 months later with an arsenal of narcotics for pain in his refrigerator that he never needed to take. Was it worth it? I would do it again in a heart beat, just a little more wisely.
I guess my best advice would be know yourself, know and practice your craft wisely and without ego, be clear about your purpose and intent, acknowledge and honor your Deities. There is nothing more humbling than having your ass kicked by the Dark Mother!
Most importantly, Magick does works and often in the way we least expect it!
In Darkness, Light!
Tracy
13 comments:
I'm glad you posted this.
It's a real shame the media is so misinformed about magick. How come we never hear of the good things people do with it?
I appreciate your warning about casting a spell, as I myself am very new to the art of practicing magick.
I'm also glad you made a reference to ego; when I started down this path I had no idea my ego was so inflated. I am learning, slowly, to overcome my ego, 'cause the deities have no time for delusions of grandeur.
Great post, thanks again.
I loooved the Jesus part of your pet! It really cracked me up.
I hate when the Media 's witch hunt! But i have hope. The pagan world is expanding and hopefully people 's minds as well!
I am sorry about your dad!
I'm also glad you made a reference to ego; when I started down this path I had no idea my ego was so inflated. I am learning, slowly, to overcome my ego, 'cause the deities have no time for delusions of grandeur.
From a media standpoint, Wicca and Witchcraft is an attention grabber. The media is going to play it for all it's worth.
My husband often says that the mere mention of the word, Witch" is enough for people to get the wrong idea. That may be true, but I refuse to change how I refer to myself in order to make someone else more comfortable. It's my job to change that stereotype if I can.
As far as ego is concerned, I believe one walks a fine line when they allow their ego to interfere with their magick. And while it can be an awe-inspiring, empowering experience, it's best to remember that behind every great Witch there's an even greater Deity waiting to let us know that we're not all that!
Thanks for a great post.
I often hear about people who dabble with magick only to find they've unleashed something they can't control. It's so very easily, and unintentionally, done. The consequences can be extreme and sometimes devastating. With experience you begin to understand protection, protection, protection!
Hi Lyn,
What I believe is that people begin practicing magick with a healthy element of skepticism. Perhaps because they aren't really convinced what they're doing is going to work, they don't take the time to prepare correctly for the work or the outcome.
Then there are those that are so convinced they know exactly what they're doing...until of course things don't turn out anything like they expected.
A very respected practitioner once told me, "the more experienced you become, the less actual magick you have to do".
For magick to work one must have all parts balanced when casting the spell. That is physical body, emotions and mind aligned to the divine soul which is within each of us.
That is what is called in Feri tradition, triple soul alignment.
If you mind wants something but emotionaly you are not ready, it won't work.
It also includes self awareness in order to obtain alignment.
From my experience, magick works, but not always the way I expect. I must do some action for it to happen. I may get sudden messages or insights on the way, on how to achieve what I want.
Then there is also the law of Karma.
Well this is a very complex issue and one must practice, and practice and practice.
Establish a connection to the Gods.
Regarding Hexes there is something called the Law of Three fold. What you release comes back to you x 3.
Others believe that a witch that cannot hex cannot heal.
Anyway there is a lot of responsability when casting a spell. One must take a lot of aspects into consideration.
For example if you do Prosperity/Fertility magick without specifying exactly what you mean, you may end up with a thousand cats miauwing in front of your doorstep.
Arie
Your absolutely right, Arie. Responsibility is the key.
As far as the "Threefold Law" is concerned, I believe it is only meant to be a guideline. I don't believe there is a finite number attached to the Law of Return.
I have to leave my two cents about the "law of three" and "hexing." A person needs to be responsible when doing anything. For example, if a person walks up to someone and punches them in the mouth they may get a way with it a few times but even if they do, eventually they will either get the shit beaten out of them or end up in jail or both. However, if a person is attacked and they punch someone in the mouth, the person who is attacked has every right to defend themselves. It's the same thing in magick - at least in my family and I grew up with this (not as a Wiccan, though) so I've been at this a long time.
What has always really aggavated me are the people who immediately quote the law of three as soon as someone asks how to throw a curse and then refuse to teach the person (it's not that hard). I have been involved in some groups where this is all I have heard (and stayed away). I have even read this in books written by experts. If someone is going to practice magick, they need to know how to work all kinds of magick, including hexing, protecting, and, yes, even love spells. As far as love spells are any more manipulative than any other spell. It comes down to intent and responsibility of the person casting the spell.
And back to teaching about hexing - yes, it needs to be taught and even to newbies. A person needs to also be taught to be responsible and not by quoting the law of three (which to me is equal to telling someone they will go to hell) but in the same manner that a martial arts teacher would teach a martial arts student. A martial arts teacher not only teaches a student how to fight, but also when to fight. A student is also taught discipline and responsibility.
Dear Anonymous,
I absolutely agree.
As practitioners of the occult arts, the choice to be spiritually responsible is in our hands. However, to blindly follow the Threefold Law is leaving one is open to being magickally vulnerable.
I believe that it's important to have a working knowledge of the negative as well as the positive aspects of magick, if for no other reason that to be able to defend one's self when and if that becomes necessary.
It's funny, everyone always agrees with me on this but when someone asks those very people about hexing or love spells, the people who agree with me shut their mouths and quote the law of three (I am not saying you do this or would do this so please don't take what I said the wrong way). People who say one thing and then do another really turn me off and it's why I no longer take part in any circles. Most of the circles I went to were Wiccan, even though I am not a Wiccan, there are similarities that drew me to the circles. I really enjoyed most of the people I met and really miss some of them but the few that did not practice what they preached (usually the leaders, high priest, priestess, etc.) turned me off so I left.
Obviously, I'm not familiar with the people you've circle with, so I really can't give an opinion on their magickal ethics. And while I can't speak for all, many of the Wiccans I know and have circled with don't follow the letter of the Threefold Law. They do however, take personal responsibility for their actions and the consequences of the same.
As far as love spells and hexes are concerned, I have no problem discussing either. I do believe that love spells interfere with a persons free will, so I have refused to do them when asked. If two people don't find themselves attracted to each other the good ole' fashion way, it may be because they aren't meant to be together.
As far as hexes and negative magick is concerned, again I certainly wouldn't use it just for shits and giggles. However, if someone were to threaten my family, my friends or myself, all bets are off.
Like I always say, "Woe betide the creature that fucks up in my garden" :)
I know all Wiccans are not that way - it just happened the groups I met were practicing Wicca (though some were of different backgrounds). Of course you may have had a different perspective of the people I interacted with had you known them. My feelings were that it was an issue of control on the part of some members - they would provide information to some people and not to others. There was no reason for what they were doing other than control and who liked who. I can't stand those kind of games. There was a lot of drama going on (I wonder why). I did speak up before I left because I hate seeing others oppressed though I doubt it did any good. I did go to another group where they didn't play control games but I don't live near them anymore. I don't know what happened to the groups with the drama - I think some of them went their separate ways.
I don't think love spells are any more manipulative than any other spell but I totally agree with your other point - personally, if someone doesn't want me without magick, it's not meant to be. But, just because I feel that way doesn't mean everyone should.
People have asked me to do spells in the past including love spells and I have but I won't do it anymore for personal reasons that I won't get in to.
It would be nice to find another group that gets along, I went to the groups to be with like minded people and not really to try to learn anything new (though I am always open to learning new things).
I can truly appreciate what you've experienced with the groups you practiced with.
I remember when I first began looking to network with other Pagans, I found groups online that were in my area. I lurked a while on there message board while deciding whether I wanted to join. What I found was a bickering, back stabbing and gossiping and realized that, despite my desperate desire to interact with like minded people, knew it was unwise to share energy with these people. Unfortunately, years later, those groups are still in existence and they've changed very little over the years. They have a revolving door of people who find out after they've joined that "perfect love and perfect trust" is the exception rather than the rule. One of the first things I learned with never to circle with anyone you can't trust.
I believe that some information may be oathbound and therefore, is not for public dissemination. However, whenever there are control issues within a group, bullshit usually follows.
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