MAGICK : Definitions and Opinions

                 "...every technique of magic is intended in different
               ways
               to open the conscious ego's field of vision to the deeper
               more spiritual aspects of the divine,..."  - I. Regardie

    Many individuals throughout history have attempted to define the Art
and Science of Magick from their own perspective.  Some have honored it
as a divinely inspired High Art and others have condemned it as childish
superstition or worse the very tool of the Devil himself.  There are
even some individual practitioners of magick who, imbued with the
standards of Judeo-Christian morality, go to great lengths to define
magick into White and Black components.  To a great extent there is
error in all these ide as, for Magick is essentially a neutral
phenomenon.  Any qualitative appraisal of the magical art must be
decided by the medium through which it flows.  Perhaps we can attempt to
examine the subject by looking at the word itself and various
definitions.



MAGIC\'maj-ik\ n [ME magik, fr. MF magique, fr. L magice, fr. Gk magike,
fem. of magikos  Magiam, magical, fr. magos  magus, sorcerer, of Iranian
origin; akin to OPer mogush  sorcerer] 1 a:  the use of means (as
charms, spells) believed to have supernatural power over natural forces
b:  magic rites or incantations  2 a:  an extraordinary power or
influence over natural forces  b:  something that seems to cast a spell
: ENCHANTMENT  3 :  the art of producing illusions by legerdemain. -
Websters Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary

MAGIC (maj-ik) n.  1.  Any supernatural art; sorcery; necromancy.
                   2.  Sleight of hand.
                   3.  Any agency that works with wonderful effect.
                       See synonyms under SORCERY.

 - black magic Any of the branches of magic which invoke the aid of
 demons or spirits, as with witchcraft or diabolism.

  [ <OF magique <LL magica (ars) magic (art) <Gk magike (techne)
  < magikos of the Magi] - Funk & Wagnall's New International Dictionary

MAGIC [ from the Persian MAGI ]  Practice of manipulating the course of
nature by supernatural means.  It is based on the belief that unseen
forces permeate all things and that control of them gives man control
over nature.  Magic frequently combines within its scope elements of
religion.  Its aim approximates that of science, an outgrowth of magic.
The practice of magic is held to depend upon proper use of both ritual
and spell.  Amulets, and imitative acts (e.g. fertility rites based on
the analogy betwe en plant an human generation) are used also.  All
ancient peoples believed in magic. -  Viking Desk Encyclopedia

   The origin of the word MAGIC is from the Old Persian word MAGI which
is the plural of the word MAGU signifying a priest of the Zoroastrian
religion.  The dictionary definition states that they were the priestly
caste of the Medes and Persians and specifically , the three "wise men"
who came "from the east" to Bethlehem to pay homage to the child Jesus
in the Gospel narrative, Matt. ii..  The Zoroastrian priests or magi
were known throughout the ancient world for their Knowledge and wisdom.
This explains their famous inclusion in the Gospel story.  Research into
the origin and philosophy of the ancient religion of Zoroaster is very
interesting as it sheds some light on the development of ideas prominent
in both Christianity and Islam.  It's ideas also influenced certain
esoteric conceptions in hermeticism, gnosticism, and both Christian and
Islamic mysticism (sufism).  This is not the purpose of this paper
however, so I must leave this topic to the diligent and interested
inquirer.

   Let us now examine some of magics most prominent practitioners for
   further insight on the meaning of this art.

   Magic is the book of all scholars, all that will learn must first
   learn magic, be it a high or lowly art.  Even the peasant in the
   field must go to the magical school, if he would cultivate his field.
   Magic is the best theology, for in it true faith is both grounded and
   found.  And he is a fool that reviles it, for he knows it not, and
   blasphemes against both God and himself, and is more the juggler than
   a theologian of understanding. -  Jacob Boehme

Magic is the Highest, most Absolute, and most Divine Knowledge of
Natural Philosophy, advanced in its works and wonderful operations by a
right understanding of the inward and occult virtue of things; so that
true Agents being applied to proper Patients, strange and admirable
effects will thereby be produced. -  from 'Goetia of the Lemegeton of
King Solomon'

MAGICK is the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity
with Will. -  A. Crowley


Magic is the art of effecting changes in consciousness at will. -
William Butler

Magic is a series of psychological techniques so devised as to enable us
to probe more deeply into ourselves. -  I. Regardie

     Here we must pause the listing of various definitions and begin to
     acquire a feeling for the magical world view if we are to really
     understand the subject with any clarity. In modern anthropological
     and archaeological sciences many scholars believe that human use of
     magic predates religion.  Since we can not turn back the clock to
     our prehistoric past, we can not be sure about such things but we
     can be positive that magic, in its shamanic form, whether or not it
     was part of some religious belief or the beginnings of primitive
     science, is as old as humanity itself.  The magical world view is
     part of our very make up and still a ccessible to those who wish to
     tread the path of the Juggler.  To ancient and primitive man, magic
     was an intrinsic part of every day life.  The primitive shaman, the
     Egyptian magician-priest, the Persian magus, the Medieval sorcerer,
     and the Renaissance hermetic alchemist all share a very basic view
     of the world.  That view, tempered by a more sophisticated science
     and transcultural  perspective, is still held today by
     practitioners of the Grand Art. In magic the Universe is a symbol
     which contains a multitude of symbolic forms.  The order of events
     in one's experience are meaningful only so far as it represents
     some deeper aspect of consciousness; consciousness interacting with
     itself in its aim to become ever more aware.  The world, being a
     place in which certain laws govern the way things work, is the
     field of the magician's activity.  No single event can ever take
     place without effecting the whole, thus all things act, react, and
     interrelate. The Hermetic axiom which states "as above, so below"
     is a fundamental metaphor pointing to the ultimate idea of unity
     where all difference is transcended. The magician views the
     Universe as a living entity filled with creatures and beings of
     every imaginable sort.  This makes the world an exciting, awesome
     and sometimes terrifying place.  Ancient man held this view as part
     of his natural makeup, but since the Age of Rationalism we have
     been told that this is all just superstitious nonsense.  The
     science of the 18th and 19th centuries drummed into us the idea
     that the Universe is dead.  This scientific view holds that the
     Universe has no consciousness or intelligence and is nothing more
     than a great big machine.  Stephen Hoeller says we developed from
     anthropomorphism to mechanomorphism which in his opinion and mine
     seems more like a de-evolutionary rather than an evolutionary step.
     Although the magical view of a world populated with spirits under
     every rock and bush may seem 'child-like' it is in no way
     'childish'.  It is, in fact, a view which promotes openness and
     wonder, and makes us more aware and sensitive to the deep meanings
     of our relationship to the environment in which we live. The way
     that magical symbol-systems have come down to us represent
     important tools for creating change.  They have developed in
     various places and times but there organization is always based on
     the way things work or to put it an other way, the way the mind  of
     man works.  Ancient systems of magic from Persia, Egypt, and other
     cultures seemed to have used a graded system of magical practice.
     In the most general sense these systems include d the practices of
     divination, vision, evocation, and invocati on.  These tools were
     and are used, not only to gain meaning from life, but to develop
     the ability to take an active and creative part in this play of
     consciousness we call the Universe.  One of the most important
     ideas to grasp concerning the magical art is that the magician is
     preeminently someone who "does".  The goal of magick is not to
     acquire an understanding of abstract truth or mystical knowledge
     for its own sake.  The magician wants to "do", working within his
     natural function and place in the divi ne scheme by doing his
     "Will".  As the alchemists have said repeatedly, their aim is the
     Opus, the "work", the Great Work.  This is not just a knowing,
     which is the work of philosophy, but an active part in creating
     willed change. The ability to do magick is a by product of repeated
     contact with what might be termed super-terrestrial realities.
     Meaning those realities beyond everyday normal experiences acquired
     in ordinary consciousness.  Results are attained only from intense
     and prolonged psycho-spiritual efforts.  This implies that the
     ability to do magic is not innate but a skill which is created
     through various forms of work.  The use of awareness techniques,
     ritual, and trance-work in magic  help break down limiting facto rs
     in consciousness and allow new perspectives of reality to manifest.
     Such practices used to heighten awareness and shift modes of
     consciousness must become a way of life for the aspiring magician
     if he is ever to acquire the ability to really "do" magick. In my
     opinion, the true magician is one who strives for a constant
     testing and tempering of his techniques and understanding, keeping
     an open mind to new knowledge and changing conditions.  Without
     this attitude he is apt to  fall prey to premature crystallization
     limiting his possibility for further growth.  In the Western
     Magical Trad., the highest stage of this trap is what is called
     being "Crowned with Daath".  In this condition the i ndividual will
     believe that he has realized absolute truth in a certain form.  The
     individual's form of truth will usually be expressed by that
     individual not as belief but as absolute knowledge.  The individual
     may or may not conclude that their personal work is over, but
     whatever style of crystalization that takes place, to the unwary
     student, the individual's decisions will seem totally and
     absolutely self-assured.  It is just this utter confidence which
     makes the condition almost impossible for many to perceive. More
     often than not, these individuals unwittingly be come tools of
     restrictive forces and set themselves up as guru-types.   The work
     of the true magician is to constantly be open and aware that there
     is always another step to be taken and another element of the
     formula yet to be discovered.  You must always be aware that real
     teachings usaully come at the most akward times and from the most
     unexpected places. Magic utilizes the manipulation of symbols to
     create patterns of change at various levels.  In a way you can say
     that symbols are representations of abstract ideas.  But to make
     the symbols work, we must first make them come alive in our
     individual experience.  In life you never experience anything in
     the abstract.  When we say, "I have an ear ache." or "the taste of
     a fried egg," our real experience is of this particular ear ache
     and the taste of that particular fried egg.  Our experiences are
     specifi cally and empirically individual moment to moment, yet
     every aspect of our life and even our very language pulls us away
     from this realization.  In magic, a spirit or a god represents an
     abstract idea.  The magician, through his work, makes that spirit
     or god individual, specific, and relatable by his efforts with the
     result being a real experience transforming what was only an
     abstract idea into experiential knowledge.  When this occurs it is
     said that the magician is 'connected'.  This contac t or connecte
     dness allows access to new perspectives which, through practice,
     accumulate in the consciousness of the magician ever expanding his
     horizons.  In truth we are experiencing a real connection with the
     Will of the Universe moment to moment if we could only be there to
     taste it.  The oath of the grade of Magister Templi in the Golden
     Dawn system alludes to the work needed to attain the highest stage
     of this awareness when the initiate procla ims, "I will look upon
     every circumstance of my life as a particular de aling of God with
     my soul."



We are and shall become according to our basic beliefs, motivations,
behaviour, and the course of our consciousness.  If these are no more
than purely materialistic, permitting us no further life than that
confined to earthly events, how much greater can we possibly grow?  On
the other hand, if we devalue our humanity to the point where we are
content to drift around in an aimless, cloud-cuckoo-land of muddled
mysticism, we shall be scarcely better off. - W. G. Gray (The Inner
Traditions of Magic)

Thus the analogy between magical and scientific conceptions of the world
 is close.  In both of them the succession of events is perfectly
 regular and certain, being determined by immutable laws, the operation
 of which can be foreseen and calculated precisely; the elements of
 caprice, of chance, and of accident are banished from the course of
 nature.  Both of them open up a seemingly boundless vista of
 possibilities to him who knows the causes of things and can touch the
 secret springs that set in motion the vast and intricate mechanism of
 the world.  Hence the strong attraction which magic and science alike
 have exorcised on the human mind; hence the powerful stimulus that both
 have given to the pursuit of human knowledge. - J. G. Frazer (The
 Golden Bough)

  "We place no reliance on virgin or pigeon our method is science our
aim is religion" - A. Crowley (The Equinox)

Magic is the one and only specific power, a force unique of its kind,
residing exclusively in man, let loose only by his magical art, gushing
out with his voice, conveyed by the casting forth of the rite. - B.
Malinowski (Magic, Science, and Religion)

Ritual is to the internal sciences what experiment is to the external
sciences. - Timothy Leary 

"We might think of a properly conducted ritual as being like a portal or
some means of access and communication between two states of being." -
W. G. Gray (Seasonal Occult Rituals)

One such misconception is that magic implies belief.  Of course, in a
 sense it must, since without faith in the efficacy of something one
 would not undertake it, but at the same time it is absurd to think that
 the remarkable similarities among all the traditional cultures arose by
 chance, and that magic and alchemy continued within them on the basis
 of mere belief, which as Plato observed in the Republic is but the
 inferior of knowledge, being based upon mere guessing, estimation, and
 opinion.  It is clear, then, that behind magic and alchemy there must
 be universal laws or principles at work.... Magic, then, in its
 original form within a tradition must necessarily be a form of
 knowledge, of occurrences which take place according to given causes or
 conjunctions. - A. Versluis (The Philosophy of Magic)

Thus the analogy between the magical and the scientific conceptions of
the world are close.  In both of them the succession of events is
perfectly regular and certain, being determined by immutable laws, the
operation of which can be foreseen and calculated precisely; the
elements of caprice, of chance, and of accident are banished from the
course of nature. -  A. Crowley


It may be here mentioned that the human body, being the receptacle of
magic and the channel of its flow, must be submitted to various
conditions. - B. Malinowski (Magic, Science, and Religion) 

"In this book is written of the sephiroth and the paths, of spirits and
     conjurations; of gods, spheres, planes, and many other things which
     may or may not exist. It is immaterial if they exist or not.  By
     doing certain things certain results follow; students are most
     earnestly warned against attributing objective reality or
     philosophical validity to any of them." - A. Crowley (Magick in
     Theory and Practice)