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[from http://pw1.netcom.com/~iopan/magick/chpt001.html ] Chapter 1: Subject: What Is Magic? MAGICK IS THE SCIENCE AND ART OF CAUSING CHANGE TO OCCUR IN CONFORMITY WITH WILL. (Aleister Crowley, Magick in Theory and Practice) This sweeping absurdity, making even so much as wiping your ass a magical act, is by far the best concise definition. To truly understand what is meant by it, I refer the reader to the introduction of Magick in Theory and Practice. No one says it better than Crowley. In his absence I offer the following. How is it that something with such an irrational reputation can be a science? In what medium is this art expressed? How does one 'cause changes to occur?' Why spell magic with a 'k'? What is Will? There are several reasons to spell "magick" with a "k". The first is to differentiate the topic of this text from parlor magic (illusion and sleight of hand for simple entertainment). Crowley used the term to set his system apart from those of his contemporaries, for whom he had lost respect, and is now used by some to denote "Real Magick" as differentiated from "inferior" forms. As I sometimes use the term, it connotes the Magick of Thelema. I do not assume that when I write the word "magic" my readers think that I am writing about pulling bunnies out of top hats. Magick is the technology of reality engineering. As stated above, magic is a deliberate technology. Crowley's definition of magic as a science and an art is just a more cryptic way of saying the same. Science is the reductive process that gives us theory. Art is the creative process that gives us application, or practice. For our purposes, technology can be defined as the practicable application of a theoretical science. The result of the marriage of science and art is technology. Let us now look at the second part of this immortal phrase. "Causing changes to occur" can be rephrased with a greater sense of immediacy as "reality engineering". Magick is a process by which the magician (or reality engineer, if you prefer) obtains access to deep levels of consciousness that enable him or her to influence phenomena at the point of its conception to guide or control its final manifestation. The medium that the Artist works in is reality. Many describe magic as a force or power, like electricity or magnetism. This is slightly amiss. One does not have "magic powers". One can obtain "occult" ('hidden') knowledge, and with that knowledge he or she may learn to manipulate powers and forces associated with the magical process. The ultimate nature of these "forces" may never be fully understood, hence the reference to the "occult" which merely means "hidden". They do, however, go by many names, such as: prana, gnosis, magis, chi, L.V.X., spirit, love, kundalini, chao, and a host of others. Some of these terms describe discrete energies. Some describe phenomena with overlapping characteristics. Some work alone, some in concert with each other. Or they may all refer to the same thing. Or not. We don't really know. _________________________________________________________________ How It Works When deliberate magic works, it is only when the practitioner has a solid, meaningful theory of reality that holds satisfactory justification for it to work, as with all constructive and deliberate technologies. This is only possible when one has a sensitivity of awareness capable of perception above and beyond that which is necessary for mundane functionality. This is the nature of the relationship between Yoga and Magick. Dedicated yogic practice can stimulate dormant portions of the psyche that are useful and often crucial for successful magic. It also creates the discipline of mind, and body, integral to ceremonial and ritual magic. One very common (and very useful) theory of magical operation is based on the interconnectedness of all phenomena.1 This has been understood by adepts throughout the ages and is slowly becoming recognized by some of the more mainstream scientific community. The model of quantum mechanics ties in beautifully with the magical model. One relavant aspect of this model is the idea of the observer-dependant universe. The connection of all phenomena is so integral to the structure of reality that there can be no such thing as an external and separate observer. Some schools of thought go so far as to say that nothing exists until it is observed, and that perception creates reality. Although this need not be literally true in its extreme, solipsistic sense, deep meditation on these concepts will almost certainly lead to at least a glimpse of the states of consciousness obtained in some magical workings. What is important here is not the absolute validity of the models, but rather the states of mind that are produced by embracing them. We need not, and must not, confuse the map for the territory that it represents. Due to the problems of Foundationalism and Epistimology, we can never rationally know if our models are true. However, we may call them valid if they give us a useful perspective or yeild effective tools. Spinoza and Einstein gave us a dual aspected aproach to reality, but neither one provides a satisfactory explanation for how it works. Fortunately, we do not need one. Experience will show that changes do occur in accord with the will regardless of how we conceive it. If one must have a name for it then posit a God or soul, or a substance like Aethyr or a particle like Third-Eyeons or something. This may help to rationaly grip the mechanics of magic, but let us not cling too tightly to our definitions and assumptions. Ultimately they will just get in the way. Here again the proccess of yoga assists by giving us a sense of connectedness to phenomena while at the same time removing the egoic need for rational justification. One of the most common impedements to the magical process is simply the ego of the magician getting in the way and seperating him from that which he seeks to affect. All phenomena are connected by their common roots. On the cosmic scale, we are learning that all "things" in the universe are controlled and molded by atomic and sub-atomic (and even smaller) components. These components are so deeply perceptually removed from our own unsubtle physical reference points that our sense organs cannot directly access them. Nevertheless, they still carry on governing the very fabric of reality, seemingly oblivious to our buffoonish ignorance. One can learn the laws that govern forces and construct immensely powerful tools from this technology without necessarily knowing the ultimate nature of the force in question, as we do with electricity and magnetism. What electricity really is has never been satisfactorily determined. We only know that it is an awesome force that we have learned to make jump through hoops for our delight. All of one's actions are generated from deep levels of consciousness. These states and the processes peculiar to them are deeper than our rational intellect can directly access. This makes psychology a crucial building block of magick.2 Through various means the magician, the shaman, and the yogi alter their consciousness so that they may perceive beyond the mundane. Reference has now been made to things that may be perceived "beyond the mundane". Before leaping to conclusions about phantasms of the imagination and delusions of grandeur, consider the following. The bodies that allow us to be functional do so by limitation. Our skin limits the area that our innards may occupy. Our pupils limit and control the amount of light that is transmitted through our eyes to the brain. A river is an area of land that limits where water may flow. Limitation is pre-requisite for functionality. The same mechanisms that allow for perception to take place do so by blocking out the vast majority of information available. This allows for a narrower focus, and thereby a magnification of the information that is allowed to pass through the filter of sensory mechanisms. Because the information that does get through our neuro-filters tends to occupy our entire field of perception, it is usually regarded as more important. It is usually temporal-spatial information. It allows us to walk down the road and not bump into stuff. Since this information is so functionally important, it is a short step to the idea that if you cannot perceive it, it does not exist. This is where our egos lead us astray. It is very much like being in a movie theater. The image on the screen is much larger than life and occupies your entire consciousness. It is also a limitation and a distortion. It is a lie. If it is well constructed, it may be a lie that helps us to experience truth. The magician seeks first to understand the projection process (mysticism), and then to run up to the projection booth, fire the projectionist, refocus the lens on the projector, throw the film in the garbage and replace it with one of his own design! Some of us even like to leave the theater on occasion. With the proper training (or combination of insight and experience), one can learn to percieve and eventually influence phenomena that occur in realms beyond mundane perception. It should now be clear what religion has to do with magic. If the perception of the individual actually creates phenomena then belief would seem to be an integral component in shaping the phenomenal world. And indeed, it is. Now that we have sufficiently rationalized our beleif system and all that is out of the way, we can deal with the more important matters: What is will and why is it important to the Mage? Dictionary definitions of the word give us "desire", "inclination", and the like. While this is relevant to the art and science of causing change, the Mage uses the word in a somewhat larger sense. It is more like "willpower", the unshakable forward velocity of an aware entity and its undivided surety and persistence of existence. This greater sense of will is much different from the transitory whim of human desire, which is mostly a by-product of the ego. The various forms of yoga are useful for helping the individual to achieve states of consciousness that allow him or her to know the difference between the higher will and human whim. This higher will, as distinguished from human desire, is sometimes called the True Will. This True Will is the inexhaustible, infinite energy source that is the center of the Mage's craft. It is the Gnosis, or the experientially centered focus of the individual Mage as identified with the universal, or divine. Here, mundane and the divine are one. From that center, the mage can then change him or her self and change the entire phenomenal universe, because here they are one and the same. Piercing with the Will like a boulder into a lake, connected ripples carry the energised message to the entirety of the body of water. It should now be obvious that knowledge of one's True Will is essential for effective magick. When one leads with the True Will, everthing else falls into place, riding the wave that the mage has invoked. _________________________________________________________________ (C) 1995 ANDREW P. SPITZER. NO PART OF THIS TEXT MAY BE REPRODUCED IN ANY FORM WITHOUT THE EXPLICIT WRITTEN PERMISSION OF THE AUTHOR. [email the author: iopan@ix.netcom.com (Andrew Spitzer)] _________________________________________________________________ Page created by Andrew Spitzer: iopan@ix.netcom.com Changes last made on: Thu Apr 18 21:00:54 1996 [EOF; reproduced to archives with permission of APS]
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