Is magick just some sort of reality-hack, a way to find some quick cash, have an exciting fling and maybe solve a few problems? Or is it a way to take on true power and spiritual growth?
You’ve probably guessed my answer. Magick is whatever you want it to be, and knowing this can have a big practical impact on your results. You can dream and indulge and in doing so, find out who you are and how to get what you want.
You can use magick to fix a problem when a problem turns up, or you can shape your entire life and reach new levels of spirituality and power. That power might mean a few improvements here and there, or it might mean something much more impressive.
When it Works
The Gallery of Magick has been around for a long time, but we only started sharing our ideas publicly in 2014. The first book was the simple Magickal Cashbook. And that was followed by, of all things, Magickal Seduction. We set out to share simple magick that we knew could bring results to most people, if they were willing to give it a whirl. And that’s what’s happened. It works, mostly.
Those books were written by Damon Brand, and I loved the magick they contained. But what worried me is that we were going to look like some cheapskate occultists, showing you the dirty tricks you can play to get some quick happiness. Even though the seduction book is about showing your inner beauty in a genuine way, it sounds kind of tacky.
The funny thing, though, is that’s how magick started for me. I wasn’t looking for power, creativity or spiritual growth. I was young and I wanted money and girlfriends and that’s all I wanted from magick at first. And that’s why Damon was wise to write those short books. Those were the first books because, although they could be seen as shallow, magick never is.
That’s a really important lesson. When you achieve a result, any result, you connect with your ability to shape the world according to your will, and that makes you into somebody with more potential. The most shallow-seeming magick can lead to immense personal change.
Perspective is Power
Damon’s a pilot and he has always said that flying planes is a reflection of magickal practice. You follow some rules, perform some actions and before you know it you’re up in the air, with an amazing sense of freedom, beauty and perspective. By doing very little, you achieve something amazing. In this sense, flying really is like magick.
Small efforts, big change. When you guide and control your cash, your projects and passions, when you shift your luck with magick, you live in a world of power that is more spiritual than when you live in bewildered hope.
Magick can set you free from poverty and loneliness and can protect and guide. The world is a boiling pot of chaos, where nothing is destined, and magick is a way of choosing the path you want to lay down through reality, bringing your dreams to life and rejecting what you do not want.
Never a Master
But let’s not get too carried away. We are not gurus or masters. We can’t levitate. And no matter how good you get at this, life does not become perfect. We have accidents and illnesses and things we don’t want to deal with. I still cut myself when chopping carrots. And in business and the arts I make new enemies and face new challenges, with some that seem overwhelming at times. This is not a bad thing. This is how we grow, adapting magick as life expands, always discovering new dreams and new solutions.
Spiritual fulfilment comes from a life lived fully. It is more beautiful and exciting to find your dreams and get what you want, than to convince yourself you already have enough. When you do magick, you connect more deeply to magick. But we know as well as anybody that magick doesn’t work every time. It works mostly, if done well, with sincerity, and that is pretty amazing. But as you get into it, you worry less if one result doesn’t work out the way you want, because your overall level of control and awareness increases. Power comes to you unsought. You become magickal.
Clarity Brings Results
Magick won’t work all the time, every time, and it will often work in surprising ways at unexpected times. But it’s impossible to use magick and not be changed. It’s impossible to use magick and remain a victim of circumstance.
Ok, nice ideas, but what do you actually do? Remember that the sensual is the spiritual. Remember that material pleasures can be a pathway to discovery, sharing and finding out who you truly are. Indulge, enjoy, dream and luxuriate in life, and you find out so much about who you are and what you need. But let yourself be open to magick that explores the self directly, like Angels of Alchemy, because the clarity you gain can unlock results.
If you come to the occult for shallow reasons or to solve problems, that’s ok. If you come to the occult because you’ve always believed it might work, that’s ok too. If you are drawn to the occult because you yearn for spiritual growth, you will find it. What matters is doing magick, and in seeing the results you get (and those you don’t get) you find out more and more about who you are, what you want and how to get it.
– Adam Blackthorne
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‘The magick is effective. This is wonderful magick.’ – Amazon review
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