THE
ARCANE
ARCHIVE
a cache of usenet and other text files pertaining
to occult, mystical, and spiritual subjects.


TOP | OCCULTISM | MAGIC

Practical Magic: Hermetic Rites and Witchy Spells

To: alt.magick.tyagi,alt.paranormal.spells.hexes.magic,alt.pagan.magick,alt.magick
From: nagasiva 
Subject: Practical Magic: Hermetic Rites and Witchy Spells
Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 22:00:23 GMT

50040526 vii om

hi there. :>

---------- <---@---.com>:
#   I've been reading caballa, about the Golden Dawn, Regardie ,
# Blavatsky, Ophiel and several such theoretical magickal books. 

primarily Hermetic mysticism, employing magic to mystical ends.

# My question is: Where is the practical stuff?

that totally depends on what you think of as practical. 

# ( Ophiel was the most practical so far)
# But suppose you study the caballa, ....then what do you
# do with that knowlege? 

part of the problem I'm having addressing your question is
that I'm not sure what you're intending to achieve. someone
with an interest in mysticism with which cabalistic or
qabalistic are usually associated might be doing rituals
of spiritual maturation, discipline, and advancement, for
example, and these are usually covered either in specialized
documents or as part of initiation in orders with this in
mind. those who have interest in the everyday use of magic
for assistance in "helping themselves" would employ these
cabalistic resonances/systems in very different ways.

# Don't you need some spells 

it is seldom I notice that those who speak about Cabala
or Qabalah in public have spells in mind, though there is 
a veritable mountain of them from which to choose were
one so inclined. the free-form nature of magical spells
and the variety of aims toward which they might be
employed have occasionally given me incentive to more
clearly demonstrate how "Low Magic" technology might be
utilized for "High Magic" aims (and vice-versa, as the
OSOGD has adequately demonstrated, in simultaneous work).

# or some system to create what you want, 

again, this is an interesting question. I didn't look at
subsequent discussion yet and I will be intrigued to see
how folks respond who are serious about the topic. :>

creating new systems is usually what advanced or solitary
practitioners engage. it requires some good bit of
familiarity with the *methods* of comparable systems,
and an interest in not duplicating the problems and
weaknesses of the past, to a certain extent. learning
from those with whom one's principles and proclivities
are most alike to oneself can sometimes be the most
helpful trajectory in absorbing the rudiments 
necessary to continue on and create one's own system.
at others divergence from one's background is handy.

the term 'system' itself is somewhat vague, used not
only for symbolic association schemes but also for 
practical methodologies, or styles of cosmology.

# or am I missing something?

you might be missing the varying types of magic and
their differing methodologies. it can be difficult to
see these if practitioners or analysts describe the
whole field from biased perspectives. 

# Where are the formulae to get what you are after?

'the formulae' come in a variety of forms and are
very likely different from traditional to tradition.
what one is after will in some good measure determine
the formulae necessary for the operation, the work.

# What good is all that theoretical knowlege? 

it is at least convincing if not suffusing of the
magician in a certain ideology and symbolism. that
it may be false, purely symbol without referent, may
be part of the magical spell regarded as a rite or
discipline with certain technique (and magicians do
not always know *how* what we're doing works).

# What does one do with knowlege of the caballa in 
# a practical sense?

I've outlined some of what is possible above.

# And what's wrong with just doing a little witchcraft?

different strokes of the wand or cauldron, for different
folks, of course. avoiding bias enables education, I find.
pitting bias against bias can sometimes be instructive.

# Less theory.

intellectuals sometimes want more complex mechanisms
to effect the changes we seek to create in the cosmos.
witchcraft per se is not always all that different from
the cabalistic methods employed by ceremonial magicians.
the 'two systems' per se aren't at all completely separate
and the intersections and influences are very entertaining.

y
r       B
o      l         b
n     e        e
w    s       a
o   s      s
d  e     t
e d    !
.com@nagasiva
		apologies for any duplication

The Arcane Archive is copyright by the authors cited.
Send comments to the Arcane Archivist: tyaginator@arcane-archive.org.

Did you like what you read here? Find it useful?
Then please click on the Paypal Secure Server logo and make a small
donation to the site maintainer for the creation and upkeep of this site.

The ARCANE ARCHIVE is a large domain,
organized into a number of sub-directories,
each dealing with a different branch of
religion, mysticism, occultism, or esoteric knowledge.
Here are the major ARCANE ARCHIVE directories you can visit:
interdisciplinary: geometry, natural proportion, ratio, archaeoastronomy
mysticism: enlightenment, self-realization, trance, meditation, consciousness
occultism: divination, hermeticism, amulets, sigils, magick, witchcraft, spells
religion: buddhism, christianity, hinduism, islam, judaism, taoism, wicca, voodoo
societies and fraternal orders: freemasonry, golden dawn, rosicrucians, etc.

SEARCH THE ARCANE ARCHIVE

There are thousands of web pages at the ARCANE ARCHIVE. You can use ATOMZ.COM
to search for a single word (like witchcraft, hoodoo, pagan, or magic) or an
exact phrase (like Kwan Yin, golden ratio, or book of shadows):

Search For:
Match:  Any word All words Exact phrase

OTHER ESOTERIC AND OCCULT SITES OF INTEREST

Southern Spirits: 19th and 20th century accounts of hoodoo, including slave narratives & interviews
Hoodoo in Theory and Practice by cat yronwode: an introduction to African-American rootwork
Lucky W Amulet Archive by cat yronwode: an online museum of worldwide talismans and charms
Sacred Sex: essays and articles on tantra yoga, neo-tantra, karezza, sex magic, and sex worship
Sacred Landscape: essays and articles on archaeoastronomy, sacred architecture, and sacred geometry
Lucky Mojo Forum: practitioners answer queries on conjure; sponsored by the Lucky Mojo Curio Co.
Herb Magic: illustrated descriptions of magic herbs with free spells, recipes, and an ordering option
Association of Independent Readers and Rootworkers: ethical diviners and hoodoo spell-casters
Freemasonry for Women by cat yronwode: a history of mixed-gender Freemasonic lodges
Missionary Independent Spiritual Church: spirit-led, inter-faith, the Smallest Church in the World
Satan Service Org: an archive presenting the theory, practice, and history of Satanism and Satanists
Gospel of Satan: the story of Jesus and the angels, from the perspective of the God of this World
Lucky Mojo Usenet FAQ Archive: FAQs and REFs for occult and magical usenet newsgroups
Candles and Curios: essays and articles on traditional African American conjure and folk magic
Aleister Crowley Text Archive: a multitude of texts by an early 20th century ceremonial occultist
Spiritual Spells: lessons in folk magic and spell casting from an eclectic Wiccan perspective
The Mystic Tea Room: divination by reading tea-leaves, with a museum of antique fortune telling cups
Yronwode Institution for the Preservation and Popularization of Indigenous Ethnomagicology
Yronwode Home: personal pages of catherine yronwode and nagasiva yronwode, magical archivists
Lucky Mojo Magic Spells Archives: love spells, money spells, luck spells, protection spells, etc.
      Free Love Spell Archive: love spells, attraction spells, sex magick, romance spells, and lust spells
      Free Money Spell Archive: money spells, prosperity spells, and wealth spells for job and business
      Free Protection Spell Archive: protection spells against witchcraft, jinxes, hexes, and the evil eye
      Free Gambling Luck Spell Archive: lucky gambling spells for the lottery, casinos, and races