Is magick for solving problems? For pushing your luck? For getting more money and pleasure? Could it be for changing destiny? Or is it all about discovering why you’re here and what you can achieve?
It seems like a weird question, but it’s been a guide for us. Everybody finds their own way to magick, but this might sound familiar: You discovered magick because you had a problem to do with money or love. Or, you had a burning desire, to do with money or love. Or, you made an enemy, perhaps because of money or love.
I’m only half-joking, because money and love motivate people to use magick. For most people the magickal journey starts with problem-solving of some kind, which is ok. We’ve written lots of books that are problem-solvers.
What’s great is that even the most basic problem-solving magick always gives you a chance to go somewhere else. Every result shows that reality can be changed, and that’s amazing. I still don’t take it for granted and I don’t think we ever should. A sense of wonder keeps it all alive.
But do you need magick?
You could read a magick book and think, ‘But hey, I’m good at what I do so none of this matters. I’ll be discovered, my efforts will be rewarded. If you apply yourself, things work out anyway, right?’ Well, yeah, some of the time they do. But not always.
Great artists remain undiscovered. Brilliant scientists fail to get a grant. The love of your life hurts you more than you believed possible. And plain old bad luck can kick you in the teeth over and over again.
Life is random and chaotic unless you tame the chaos. If you believe in magick, you have a way. Something that goes beyond effort and struggle. It’s a direct method of causing the change you crave.
You discover this power, and it can be tempting to use it way more than it’s needed. A minor problem comes up and rather than talking to somebody honestly, hiring the right person to help, or looking for a sane and obvious solution, you go straight to magick. Well, I get that, because I used to be up to my neck in rituals, but it’s not how I do things anymore. I don’t cast a spell to wake up in the morning. I set my alarm.
When you’ve used magick for long enough, you get to a point where you enjoy the texture of the chaos (without letting it get out of hand), and then you choose what you want, change what you don’t want, and plan for something better than most people can ever imagine.
Magick is not always about disruptions and turning your life upside down. If you like your life and you just want to adjust things, that’s a good way to use magick too. But if you do want a complete overhaul of life, that can happen. For most people, it’s somewhere in-between, with some problem-solving, some magick for finding out what really makes your life work. And then you might have to hold back your enemies while aiming for your dream.
When we ask the question, ‘What is magick for?’, it’s way too shallow to say, ‘It’s for everything,’ because it isn’t needed for everything. But it can be used for anything that matters, from paying the bills and solving problems to finding your purpose and discovering how to live. You’re not just reacting, but creating your life.
The value of magick
Just because it works (most of the time) doesn’t mean it’s all easy. Some people are starting from a place of poverty or catastrophe, and it’s hard to move away from that. Some people find everything falls into place, except in one area.
Things work out if you persist, but even if you’re doing well, you’ll make mistakes, because magick exists in the real world, not a fantasy world. This is all ok, and with magick at hand, you can recover more rapidly when things get messed up. You have a genuine advantage over everybody else who’s making mistakes.
And this is why we write about magick, so that it can bring the relief, harmony, joy, power, and purpose you need. Magick is not for everybody, but if you are drawn to use magick, you will continually find out what it’s for, as your needs change and as your life grows.
– Adam Blackthorne
