Monday, March 21, 2011

More Effective Magic?


I am beginning to realize that there are a variety of different approaches possible to astrological magic. Members of my discussion group Spiritus Mundi will be familiar with my distinction between seeing the planets like batteries charging talismans with energy and individual entities with distinct personalities. These approaches dictate a different response in many ways, in how we invoke the planets and make talismans and how we might approach See deconsecration.

The "battery" approach falls in line with a general attitude that the purpose of astrological magic is, first and foremost, getting exactly what we want as soon as possible. If the talisman doesn't work fast and give us the immediate, desired results, it didn't work, or someone made a mistake or the whole magic thing is a disappointment or a fraud. We are using magic as a last resort, as a last ditch way to be saved and we ought to be able to put 10 cents of effort into it and get $100,000 results out. We could call this "gimme" magic!

In this line of thinking, Venus is for love and especially for getting the love of a particular person. Why else would you bother?

Unfortunately, the "gimme" approach is hit or miss. Sometimes I have clients that get results as soon as they buy a talisman and before they have even received it. Others are frantically e-mailing me a day after they consecrate a talisman, freaking because, "NOTHING IS HAPPENING!!!!" ie they didn't win the lottery that day or find a $100 bill on the ground or X, their long lost love, is still in Seattle.

But magic is not exempt from the general rules of reality. It is more effective the easier the task it is applied to. It is more effective the more experienced you are at using it. It is more effective the more effort is put into it and for a longer period of time. Contrawise, having never done any magic before, taking little effort for a short time and attempting to accomplish a hugely difficult task immediately, is likely not to be successful. "Ah, I knew it, the talisman, maker, magic itself, are bogus!"

I had someone e-mail me the other day to complain that their "spells" were only 10% effective and did I know a secret to make them "100% effective" Yes, there must be someone to make reality conform to me!

But let me tell a real secret, which is one way, certainly not the only way, to make magic more effective. Essentially Wade and I are now celestial priests, priests of the stars, planets and heavenly spirits. One of our key practices is to invoke the planet that rules the day, every day, whether we want something or not. And for me, while I do ask for things, I am more often simply asking the planetary, stellar, etc., spirit to infuse a talisman with their spirit or to grant me their own particular powers, whatever they may be and however the spirit feels is most useful and effective for me.

My practice is devotional and long term. I am not telling the planets what to do, I am accepting their advice and kind assistance in guiding me towards what they feel is best. I have a long term relationship with the planets, a relationship of respect.

What's the point if I can't get what I want NOW!!!? Well, I am currently supporting myself at a very nice middle class income based 100% on astrology and astrological magic. I don't have a boss, I do work I really enjoy and I get to help people everyday doing it. Now I didn't get here instantly, it took years of work, but I know the celestial spirits played and continue to play a big role.

So it's definitely a good idea to get to know all of the planets and to make the talismans of those planets unafflicted in your chart as well as invoking all of them.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Very interesting post; I've seen the solid results of a Relationship with the Planetary Gods in my own life. My daily practice involves an invocation of that day's Planet (usually at sunrise, but sometimes in the evening during the Planetary Hour....being flexible has kept me consistent) and it has changed them from being just "correspondences" to being Entities I'm in communion with. It's greatly enriched my personal practice. I tend to think that this sort of relationship is key for anyone who is serious about practicing Astrological Magic. Some of that old-time religion, haha. Really Old Time.

Scott Stenwick said...

I had someone e-mail me the other day to complain that their "spells" were only 10% effective and did I know a secret to make them "100% effective".

There is a secret to this, but most of the "gimme" folks won't like it. Even the best magician is limited in terms of the probability shift he or she can produce. So in order to guarantee success, the key is to take enough practical, real-world actions toward your goal that the likelihood of it coming to pass falls within your magical probability shift range.

The thing is, the "gimme" folks usually want to do nothing besides cast a simple spell and watch their desires manifest. That's only going to happen if what they're casting for is reasonably likely anyway.