Magick

[The Madame X]

Magick
by: Andrew Barston

There is a story about Dr. William Tufts Brigham, who spent many years studying the Huna religion in Hawaii. Dr. Brigham had hired a group of natives to climb a mountain. One of them, a fifteen year old boy, came from a village wherein the local Kahuna (like a shaman or witchdoctor) hated the "white men" and had placed a standing death curse on anyone who would assist the white men. During the voyage, the boy became very ill, weak and cold. The other natives in the group asked Dr. Brigham to redirect the death curse, as he allowed the natives to think of him as a powerful Kahuna. Dr. Brigham relented and stood over the boy. He implored the spirits to leave the boy alone. He debated to the spirits that the boy was an innocent and that the one who sent them should be punished. The next morning, the Kahuna who had originally cast the death curse was found dead. See The Secret Science Behind Miracles by Max Freedom Long for a more detailed relating of the story.

This is but one of many stories regarding the powerful forces of the world that lie just outside of our normal perception. The strings of reality vibrate incessantly, causing events and thoughts that change our world and our perceptions. Normally, the careful orchestration of reality remains invisible to our eyes and silent to our ears. However, there is a way to experience those vibrations directly, to feel the energy of creation coursing through our bodies. Once we can feel the power of creation, the vibrations of the strings, then we can reach out and pluck at those strings, changing the very foundation of truth. Magick is a powerful force for causing change within us and in the external world, but it should never be taken lightly.

Perhaps the most important use of magick is as a focus for internal understanding and development. With magick, we can understand and accept pieces of our own personality and thoughts that we might not have seen before. We can morph our weaknesses into strengths. We can burn away the prejudices that cloud our judgment. We can break the shackles of emotional bondage. Our minds can be stronger, our hearts more sure, and confidence can flow from us like wine.

In today's world, where outrageous stories and incredible special effects collide on projection screens in theaters and on televisions around the world, it is not surprising that many people expect to see lights dancing around the room, fireballs, bolts of lightning and other fantastic displays of power. Although that might be fun, it is entirely unrealistic. The effectiveness of magick is not in brute force, but in its subtlety. Magick is capable of destroying enemies and healing the sick, but not by a beam of magic energy shooting forth from one's fingertips.

I like to think of magick and its limitations in these terms: Imagine an orchestra. The musicians in the orchestra intimately know the songs that they play. They know every note and they will play the song without error. The conductor, in that light, may suddenly sound very unimportant, but, in truth, the conductor is the feeling in the music. He controls the tempo, the volume, and the overall sound that creates a masterful performance by all involved. Without the conductor, each musician would be playing the music in the way that they thought best. Although it would be the same song, it would not sound right. It would sound disjointed and disharmonious. Now, think of yourself as the conductor, the musicians as all of the factors that affect your life, and the music itself as the circumstances that surround you. In the conductor’s position, you control the tempo, the volume and the general feel of your life (the music) by influencing the factors that create it (the musicians). Magick teaches one how to become the conductor of one's own life; how to control and direct the events and factors around one to create the life that one chooses.

But, there are those who don’t see magick in a positive light. Although magick is nothing more than a tool in my view, no more good or evil than a hammer or a wrench, there are many who would disagree. Many of those who would call magick evil actually have a good religious basis for doing so. In fact, the Christian bible is exceptionally and unusually clear on the subject.

Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God.--KJV, Leviticus 19:31

And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a-whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.--KJV, Leviticus 20:6

Therefore hearken not ye to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreamers, nor to your enchanters, nor to your sorcerers, which speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon.--KJV, Jeremiah 27:9

In addition to the religious prohibition, there are other reasons that magick should not be practiced frivolously. This is not a game. The energies and potential power of magick should be respected. Please read these next words very carefully. Do not play around with powers that you do not understand. You will get burned. Magick can be a wonderful tool of self-discovery and a means of 'tipping the scales', but the powers of magick must never be underestimated.

With the proper guidance, caution, and respect, magick can help one to find new levels of awareness and understanding, to manipulate probabilities and whisper ideas into the minds of others, and to bring the world into a singular, expressive focus. Magick is out there, sliding past you at the very periphery of your consciousness. You can feel it moving and touching you, causing light pinpricks of sensation across your skin. That’s the expression of the universe itself, the forces of creation swirling around and through you.

Are you ready for what comes next?