What is Magick Anyway?

What is Magick Anyway? by H.P. Thomas Moore

Being a practicing Wiccan I certainly hear this question often. People are unsure as to what Magick is exactly. Either they think that it is all smoke and mirrors, or that it is some sort of dark art that is not meant to be played with. The fact is that Magick is something that we do often, maybe even without knowing it!

To begin to understand Magick we have to first understand energy. As we know energy is all around us all of the time. Everything that we see, touch, feel, smell, and taste, and hear is made up of energy. It is the guiding force that holds this world together, and yet without our intuitive ability we cannot experience energy on its own. Energy is not only a part of Magick, but it is the force of Magick itself. Before I go further there may be some of you out there that think I am a pretty bad speller. Magick (with a k) is what we are discussing here and has to do with energy, Magic however is the illusion: it is the smoke and mirror that you see in Las Vegas.

So we know that Magick has to do with energy but what exactly does it have to do with it? When you use Magick you are in essence manipulating or changing energy so that you can cause a particular reaction. In other words you are using the power of intention in order to manifest a particular event. Intention is something that we all know about and do, especially nowadays with the introduction of the book “The Secret”. Magick is just that, using intention in order to manifest.

So what do all these spells have to do with anything? I’m glad that you asked! Spells are most commonly used in Wiccan traditions as well as many other Pagan cultures. In a spell you are performing a Magickal ritual or rite in order to aid in that manifestation. Spells you see are very similar to prayer for many other cultures and religions. You concentrate on the intention that you want and ask for the assistance from the energy of the Universe or of the Goddess and God forces. Then you allow the Universe to work on it to aid you in attaining your goal. There is a difference here though. The Universe is not going to do all the work for you of course; you will have to act upon it on the physical level as well. For instance, if someone were doing a spell to find a job but never left the house to go job hunting and just sat in front of the TV waiting, nothing would happen. An employer is not going to come and knock on your door and offer you a position. You have to act on it physically as well in order to get the best manifestation.

So Magick in a nutshell is altering the energy that surrounds you in order to help you attain a specific goal or purpose that you want to occur. Great, now we know what Magick is but we still don’t know how it works. As I said before intention is a big key in Magick and with that come belief. These two together form the most important part of not only Magick but of all things and religions. Without belief, it wouldn’t matter what anything was, it would not have any meaning to it and without intention, you cannot put faith into that belief in order to make it true for you. Belief especially plays a large role here. I have many people that tell me that they preformed a spell or ritual and that it didn’t work for them so all this Magick mumbo-jumbo must be fake. The first thing I ask them is if they believed that it was going to work? Usually after some poking and prodding I get the answer from them and it is a no! If you don’t believe that it is going to work from the very start then there is no need to do the Magick. You are basically negating the energy that you are raising for your purpose as soon as you raise it.

We know from using the power of intention that the stronger you believe a thing is going to happen, especially when adding emotion, thought and visualization to it, it is going to manifest. So when you perform Magick believe that it is going to work, sense it on all levels of your being and use all of your senses to fully experience it as if it has already happened. By doing this you are sure to get a great result in your Magick.

Now you have a basic understanding of the principles and application of Magick as well as the differences that it has with Magic. Go out and perform some spell work and create that intention to bring manifestation!

Rev. Thomas Moore is High Priest of The Coven of L.I.G.H.T in South West Florida, as well as a professional Psychic and Healer. He teaches a variety of metaphysical classes as well as working as Store Manager for Starchild Books in Port Charlotte Florida.

www.starchildbooks.com

Reclaiming the Witch's Pentagram

Reclaiming the Witch's Pentagram by Kephri Ra

The so called 'inverted' pentagram will be familiar to everyone as the ubiquitous symbol of evil, common to Hollywood movies and satanic societies alike. The ‘upright’ pentagram is also a common and well known occult symbol, which can be found in many diverse spiritual traditions. One religion in which this symbol is particularly prominent is the modern Pagan practice of Wicca.

The association between witchcraft and the five pointed star is a long one, reaching back towards the obscure origins of the craft itself. In the past it is known that the inverted version of the pentagram was used as a symbol of witchcraft. Most witches today, however, seem to prefer using the symbol in what is generally called the upright position. Whether this switch happened due to a feeling that the inverse symbol was just a Christian slur and an attempt to condemn the practice of witchcraft with what is, in truth, a symbol of evil, or whether the strong association of the symbol with evil in the public imagination simply made it too distasteful to use is not at all clear to me. But what does seem clear to me is that this change was a mistake.

I feel very confident that a thoughtful study of the actual meaning of the pentagram, in both positions, shows that the ‘inverse’ position is the proper symbol of witchcraft.

The basics are not disputed, and are common knowledge: the five points of the star represent the four elements of material existence – earth, water, fire and air – and the fifth element of quintessence, or pure spirit. The interpretation of the so called ‘upright’ pentagram is also commonly known, and I do not dispute it. The single point of spiritual essence depicted at the apex, above the other four points, represents the superiority and dominance of spiritual existence over material existence.

The problem occurs when you over-simplistically assume that reversing the orientation of the symbol yields an identical but opposite meaning, i.e. the dominance and victory of the material over the spiritual. This logic is most probably derived from that of that other popular satanic symbol – the inverted cross – which actually has no esoteric meaning at all, and is merely a symbolic act of desecration, perversion, and enmity towards Christianity and what it represents.

To find the true meaning you must first recognise that the characteristics of the spiritual essence revealed in the ‘upright’ pentagram are neither comprehensive nor universal characteristics of spirit. Indeed it should be self-evidently clear that dominance and victory are peculiarly masculine concerns; that is, they belong to the realm of the divine masculine – our father in heaven.

Having this it is, I would suggest, logical to assume that the character of the ‘inverse’ pentagram is indicative of the divine feminine. In other words this symbol does not represent the dominance of the material over the spiritual for the simple reason that it is not actually about dominion at all.

So what is the true meaning of the witch’s pentagram? I would suggest that it represents the spiritual essence which nourishes and sustains life – the spirit of our mother earth.

Both versions of the symbol can be seen as good or evil according to how they are manifested. In the feminine form it can show material things being given higher value than spiritual things and therefore moral corruption, just as the masculine form can conceal the twisted ‘holy warrior’ whose lust for the dominion of his faith can lead to the mass murder of innocents. Esoteric symbols represent divine laws and truths – they are not evil – people are evil.