The Magus’ Arrogance

Although ridding oneself of delusions of grandeur is a paramount condition for magical development, many Magi give the impression of haughtiness, even though in reality they do not suffer from inflated self-esteem.

In fact, the impression of a Magus’s pride can arise from two components: first, the Magus’ sense of self-worth; second, his sense of separateness from the world.

Let’s examine these components.

A Magus must know his worth; that knowledge arises from an awareness of his strengths and virtues alongside a sober appraisal of his limitations and shortcomings. It is therefore crucial that the Magus assess himself accurately, avoiding self-aggrandizement and self-abasement.

Nevertheless, when a Magus acts in accordance with the value he recognizes in himself, his behavior can easily appear arrogant, even if he feels no superiority. By understanding that he is only one manifestation of the Great Spirit, the Magus avoids overestimating his importance.

People with a strong sense of self-worth have confidence in themselves; those with a weak sense are merely conceited. As a result, the former tend to defend their views firmly, supporting them with arguments, whereas the latter are apt to be stubborn. Meanwhile, the human world cultivates a feeling of superiority that has nothing to do with genuine self-worth or the development of individuality. The greater one’s achievements and the fewer one’s demands, the higher one’s sense of self-worth. This self-belief helps one hold to one’s opinions and defend one’s judgments in dispute, while also keeping one open to new ideas.

However, many Magi, fearful of accusations of inflated self-importance, fall into the opposite extreme — excessive familiarity — and in doing so violate the Magus’s second essential property: his separateness from the human world.

Since the dominant tendency in the human world is one of loss of Power and self-sacrifice, it is clear that the Magus — whose aim is the accumulation of Power — will always be an odd bird among people, and his energy tends to dissolve into the uniform intentions of others like a drop of ink in a glass of water.

Therefore the Magus can preserve the integrity of his energies only by clearly recognizing and maintaining his separateness from the human world, mobilizing the full Veles’ component available to him.

And here the problem of arrogance re-emerges — the Magus who carefully preserves his separateness can easily come across as vain and arrogant.

It’s easy to dismiss the issue by declaring that the Magus should not care what people think of him. This is true to some extent. The Magus should not be preoccupied with others’ opinions of him or his actions, but he must nonetheless take into account that the more negative the opinion, the more larval — and even physical — attacks he may have to defend against. From the standpoint of efficiency and economy of energy, the Magus should therefore aim to elicit a neutral attitude toward him from others.

Thus the art of the Magus consists in being aware of his worth without trying to show it or belittle it; in being aware of his separateness — without emphasizing it to others, yet never forgetting it. By balancing the ability to maintain himself and his Way with not showing that skill, the Magus attains the effectiveness that allows him to increase his awareness and to overcome the obstacles posed by human intentions.