By: Jack of Shadows
Some writers of occult books assert that all one has to do, to use magick to affect external events, is to concentrate. This is a partial error. Concentration is a necessary skill to employ; however, it is not what makes the spell work. The magician must assume a state of consciousness, which, in the tech language of ritual, is called "merging," if s/he is to affect EXTERNAL events. A work such as a wisdom spell, which only affects the operator, and occasionally the external world as a secondary effect, only requires concentration, because it is an act of self suggestion. Merging, however, is an altered state of consciousness which puts the magician in touch with the Akasha principal, the name for an Etheric substance which the objects of the physical world are only a small part of, the part that is solid enough (lower in frequency) to activate biological receptors, and can be seen in the visible light spectrum. Having a background in physics enhances, rather than refutes an understanding of this principal, as long as the existence of metaphysics is understood.
As you know, the model explaining why a magnet has permeability is just that, a model. No one has ever seen all those atoms line up, pole to pole, to create magnetism; no one really understand magnetism, only how to use it. The reason for the elusive nature of magnetic force, is an illusion caused by our limited present knowledge of matter in general. To state the truth simply is: (this will blow your mind off its hinges if you think hard enough about it). THE MAGNETISM COMES FROM OUTSIDE THE MAGNET, not inside as has been postulated by other sources. The magnet is a transformer of the force, whose origin is in the Akasha principal, not the metal.
The same principal is true of all physical plane objects. This is the reason for all the herbs and stones used in magick; they are reflections of force aspects, of the Akasha Principal. They are hard representations of more rarefied energy. This energy is the force, which when acted upon, produces work in the form of external manipulation of objects and what is referred to by the ignorant as coincidence.
As you know, Nuclear Force comes from the splitting of atoms, or does it? There is a point in the squiggle calculation of the propagation of Neutrons in a Reactor, where you must ASSUME that the energy is released. No one has an adequate explanation of WHERE it comes from, only theoretical models that SEEM to explain some EFFECTS. U-235, when subjected to critical mass conditions, transforms a type of force, which, in keeping with its nature, splits the atom AFTER it is released. Take the time for each reaction and divide it into parts, then divide the parts, and divide and divide. The point where force is released cannot be accurately determined with 100 percent certainty when fission of atoms takes place.
The Akasha principal, naturally passive, when acted upon by the active principal of the Merged mind, produces forces: electric, chemical, nuclear, and Magnetic; which, when seen in the correct light, are all aspects of the same force. THE SAME FORCE.
Departing thought...
I remember a story my teacher once told me. A wizard and his student were sitting at a bar. The student seemed perplexed and the wizard asks, "What is troubling you?"
The student replies, "I've been trying to move that bottle telekinetically and to no avail." At that very moment a drunk passes by and most unmagickally the bottle falls over.
The wizard proclaims, "Congratulations."
The student responds, "What that? That was that drunk. He hit the table and the bottle fell. That wasn't me. I didn't do that."
The wizard then smiles and says, "Don't be too sure." The issue of the story deals with the nature of magick. How does magick work?
We have discussed in detail why magick works and the mechanics of how it works, but the actual effects magick has on physical events and how magick tends to manifest into the physical is often thought of as a mystery.
Often considered the factor unknown that must be waited out and once it has happened; only then can we know the outcome. Many practice magick in this manner and it is a dangerous risk that never has to be taken. Once you understand the nature of magick, you then become the master of your craft rather than being at the mercy of fate set into motion by your own hand. As it should be, you will determine your destiny, you control your own life and there is no limitation to what you can accomplish.
What is this thing called the nature of magick? It is a natural process, after all, magick is natural and in tune with nature. As all natural processes, it doesn't care. One way or the other, it doesn't matter as long as it is the quickest means to an end. Magick is like water in a stream and water does not flow upstream. When faced with a stone, it goes around it. When faced with anything, it tries to go around it, but in never takes the longer way, always the shortest.
Where is the danger? Imagine the rain falling from the sky. The natural process here is that one way or another, that water is going to try to reach the ocean no matter where it is that it's falling. It will try to seek out a river, but if the rivers are full, it will make it's own path and wipe out whatever is in it's way. If water cannot go around, the quickest way for water is to go through.
Magick is like water falling from the sky. While in the air, there are hundreds of possible outcomes and some more deadly than others. The trick here is to control the water. Getting out of it's way is not a guarantee. Accepting its devastating potential is giving up and that too is not a solution. In life, we control floods through channels and storm drains and in magick we must do the same.
Magick requires a physical element to manifest and if you do not provide it with one, it will create its own method of manifesting and it may not be what you had intended. Asking in the name of highest good may protect you karmatically, but physically it does not. If karmatically you are destined to be struck by lightening, magick may very well use that as a means to an end and nobody wants that.
Do not go into ritual with tunnel vision. It is good to be focused, but always look at the whole picture and consider the possible options that magick might manifest. Protect yourself against the undesirable outcomes and you will be able to predict your magickal responses.
How does on protect oneself? Let's say you are trying to quit smoking. A possible outcome would be for you to lose your job and eventually be so poor that you can't afford to buy a cigarette. Nobody wants this to happen, but it is a possibility and if it is in line with your karma, watch out. The solution is quite simple. Do a prosperity spell to help guide your quit smoking spell. I'd also throw in a healing spell too for good measure. And of course, the quicker you clean up your karma, the less you'll have to worry, but even then I do these extra spells for safety.
If this sounds like a lot of work, you're right, it is a lot of work. Even so, I think that paying the consequence for not protecting yourself can be even harder. To guide your magick to what you want is your right. It is your magick and your life and these cannot be taken away from you. They can only be given away by you. Always remember that life is what you make it, as is magick is what you make it. That is the way of the magician.
