Causing change to occur in accordance with Will is another defintion of Magick.

First one must find one's true will. Hence self-development being a primary concern.

Invokation, Evokation, Divination and Enchantment are the four common branches of this system. Or systems rather. There's a lot of them.

The quest to find and undertsand one's higher self has been called "the great work of magick" the magnum opus. Again, self development.



I'm not sure any such unique nuggets exist. I'll check out that book though.

A kid standing in front of a poster of a rockstar or athlete, getting reay for a game or a show, trying to emulate said figure--invokation in a simple form. (I paraphrase Phil Hine here)



Back on topic....I do believe that magick, as a complex system of ritual symbolism and theatrics and such-like did largely grow as a result of the people "loosing the mushroom" In the absense of the entheogenic materials, substitutes arose. The thing aboout Spice....it actually works. And is quite repeatable. Using an entheogenic substance, integrating those experiences and attempting to grow and change based in part on such experiences...this is the sort of thing shamans and magi do. Extracting the essenses from plant material, this is something alchemists have always done.

Sorry if that last paragraph seems scattered, I got work to go do.

Just curious but could it be possible that the term "supernatural" instead of meaning "that which is said to exist above and beyond nature" should actually mean "that which is said to exist above and beyond nature as we currently understand it"?

If we were in medieval times and spoke of communicating with people on the other side of world instantly like we are now, then it would seem to be supernatural.

Maybe at one time when societies were influenced by shamans or priests that had methods to engage in the unseen realms and work with magic(k), those people were much more in tune with what we call the "supernatural".

If such knowledge or belief system had been allowed to take hold instead of other religions then maybe the multitude of scientists, philosophers, and leaders of nations that followed would have chosen paths that led us to an present time in which the "supernatural" is as natural as checking email.

Magic(k) circles are not confined to the Western esoteric tradition, they are universal concepts found in all cultures.

The circle and the square are archetypes described by the Cosmos and mother Earth, they have been venerated through ritual and ceremony since the paleolithic and probably long before that.

Cleansing a circular sacred space before a ritual and partaking of the sacrament by paying tribute to Heaven and Earth and the four directions is common to many traditions, it is an acknowledgement of our place in the Universe, a safe haven in which to pay our respects to the forces of nature and our higher self.

It need not be elaborate or excessively contrived, it is enough to smudge or call to the four winds, hail to the Great Spirit and Earth Mother and ask for protection. This provides us with a focus, it furnishes the set and setting for a safe journey.

Whatever your circumstance, wherever you are, before you take your medicine, take the time to cast your circle first, it is an essential part of the experience whatever your belief system.

6

The masterful comic strip writer known as ALDERMAN wrote:



-Spoken like a true DMT smoker... I agree completely.


With regard to magic and DMT...I would have to say that while the knowledge imparted by Magic are interesting and useful in some ways...

In my most humble opinion protective items such as swords, circles, amulets, incantations etc, do pretty much no good when it comes to DMT and a Hyperspace breakthrough experience.

numbersix wrote:



I definitely believe in magic, yet I have never done any of these things. I don't feel it's in any way needed, of course that's just my opinion, no offense intended.

However you do it, paying attention to set and setting is universally agreed as a basic safety precaution when taking any psychedelic. A magician may do it by casting a circle, physically or in the abstract, an agnostic would arrange some comfy cushions and take some time to relax; it amounts to the same thing, making yourself ready both physically and mentally with some consideration for what you are doing.

makes sense to me

If you have't already, you should check out some of Terrence McKenna's You Tube videos about DMT and ceremonial magic.

One thing that really gets my goat lately is the constant arguing of worldviews!

If you are a person who detests new age spirituality and magik, and dismiss it all as mumbo jumbo, then i question the motivation for even visiting such a thread!

Constanly having to defend beliefs really detracts from valuable discussion IMO. it keeps us stuck in the same place and blocks progress

for example instead of any nugget of insight about how one might go about experimenting with this "magik" all we see here is an argument about the definitions of the word, and if its real or not and who believes in it...

but a more productive way IMO would be to let people believe what they want, and if your beliefs/motivation align with others than work constructively to really learn from them and with them. and let other people who believe opposing things believe what they want without the need to convince people of anything. There is a science section too and i think we would make alot more progress by allowing threads to develop and allowing the topic to be investigated without the need to defend it...

Does anyone else agree!?