Battles and Wars
Understanding that the global process is a collection of games, the Magus nevertheless treats them with the utmost seriousness, deploying all his resources in each game and throwing all his strength into it. Therefore for the Magus the game turns into a battle.
This attitude does not mean that the Magus isn’t ‘complicating’ matters; on the contrary, it implies the Magus’s responsible attitude toward everything he does. Understanding that in a game the process matters more than the result, the Magus knows that he is not the one who turns a game into a battle; on the contrary, an irresponsible attitude turns battles into games. This view is a direct consequence of the overall concept of the Magical Myth, which insists that in the cosmos everything is closely connected to everything, and any change in any element is reflected throughout the universe.
In other words, a perfect understanding of the Game means “everything is equally unimportant,” while a Magical interpretation of that understanding says “everything is equally important.” Formally, these two statements mean the same thing, but they have entirely different effects on practical activity. The first teaches frivolity, the second — responsibility. Nevertheless, the Magus fights while playing and plays while fighting. It is precisely in this union that the Magus’s strategy is born.
To understand this strategy it is important to grasp the difference between the notions of “battle” and “war“. The paradox is that the battle — a game — is valuable in itself: it can be lost or won, and its value does not change. War, however, is a global activity, and although it is composed of separate battles, what matters is the result. Thus the Magus’s strategy is to concentrate all his activity on the present moment (on the current battle) while maneuvering so as to not forget for a moment the global goal.
Moreover, he must know precisely when a battle begins and when it ends.
We will dwell on the latter point for a little more detail.
For the Magus, knowing the time a battle ends is important because it is at that moment that he can (and must) regroup his forces, analyze the course of the battle, and take stock of his strengths and weaknesses in preparation for the next engagement. In practice it often happens that a person moves from game to game without even noticing the change between games — and therefore the change of rules.
Formally speaking, a game ends in three cases: 1) when the time limit expires; 2) when resources are exhausted; 3) when the scenario is completed.
Thus, when a Magus enters a battle it is very important to know 1) how much time this battle may take; 2) what resources it requires; 3) what constitutes its completion. Moreover, all these conditions must be considered before the start of the game, since deviating from them during the game may amount to desertion and lead to various unfavorable consequences.
For this approach it is also important to combine foresight and concentration, to be able to evaluate both the overall plan and the details.
Summing up the above, let us emphasize that the Magus is a warrior for whom the battle is an absolute reality and an autonomous value — so long as it lasts — and becomes a source of experience when it ends. When losing a battle the Magus truly loses only if he fails to learn the lessons of that defeat; by learning from them he turns defeat into victory. And finally, the Magus’s battles are elements of his overall war — a war in which the only thing he can conquer — or lose — is himself.
I agree with the phrase: “for the magician, the game becomes a battle!” If it does not transform, then the magician ceases to be a magician, their goals and myths become primitive, they turn into a sorcerer, and their magic becomes mere sorcery.