Working Techniques
Despite the fact that almost no one disputes the definition of Magic as a particular way of life, the contemporary occult community has firmly adopted the idea that Magic is a set of “techniques,” “practices” that a Magus can and should use to become a Magus.
There is active discussion of these “techniques,” exchange them online, and talk of the “effectiveness” or “ineffectiveness” of particular “practices,” about which ones “actually work.”
The Illusion of Accessibility of Magic, which we have discussed, appears in these conversations in the most extreme form, as does the tendency toward profanation of Magic as a phenomenon.
By speaking of calling this view profane, I do not mean to say that the mentioned “practices” have no effect; I only want to point out that such an effect has nothing to do with Magic.
The traditional view of Magic holds that being a Magus and practicing Magic are not the same thing. That does not mean that Magi do not practice Magic. It means that not everyone who practices Magic (that is, performs a certain set of actions) is a Magus.
On the one hand, any practitioner who has memorized the sequence of a ritual or spell can reproduce its results. But on the other hand — rather than granting Power — such activity will be work, meaning that Power will be expended. It is noteworthy that these practitioners themselves like to describe their activities precisely as work, saying things like, “I work with elemental spirits.” And that is absolutely correct: they are indeed working, they obtain results in exchange for effort.
For a Magus, however, the real purpose of ritual is primarily accumulating Power (or Authority), and only afterward the concrete result.
This is precisely why traditional instruction in Magic is aimed first and foremost at making someone a Magus, and only after that at teaching him how a Magus acts.
If a person thinks like a Magus, feels like a Magus — he will also act like a Magus. And then any of his actions will be a “magical practice.” But if a person spends his days behaving like an ordinary, ineffective person — feeling and thinking like an ordinary person — and then in the evenings “practices” Magic, “works” with “techniques,” his Way leads nowhere. He will waste his Power and end his life as he has lived it — at best, an ordinary person — and even that only if, in his “activities,” he does not entangle his Wyrd.
What should a person inclined toward Magic but lacking traditional training do? Do nothing? Of course not. One should act. You must understand a few things: first, “practices” found online or in books may be effective and suitable for some people, but completely unsuitable for others. Therefore, before using any such “practice,” it must be very carefully checked for compatibility with one’s inner state, with one’s Way and heart. Second, if a “practice” yields a result but does not yield Power, it has most likely been given to you by predators who feed on the energy it disperses, and the execution of such a “practice” must stop immediately. Third, the set of “practices” used by the Wayfarer should be chosen so that they form a harmonious system — compatible with one another, not weakening each other, and leading in the same direction.
Only if the Wayfarer constantly checks himself — his thoughts and actions — for their “magical” quality, and checks the “practices” for harmony and fit with his Way, will he have a chance to win the battles fate prepares for him, and to realize his Orlög.
I think there is a nuance here. When it comes to the subservience of practice to predators – the practices of an exorcizing nature (e.g., the Exorcism Ritual of the Pentagram) are directly aimed against the predators. But exorcizing rituals, as we have already discussed, do not provide Power themselves. One can expect subservience from predators rather from summoning-type practices. Or from practices related to astral travel, contact with various entities in thin plans, as well as from various popular yogic techniques (asanas, pranayamas, etc.). Not to mention attempts of ‘beginners’ to engage in sexual magic.
Regarding Exorcizing rituals – unfortunately, they are not very popular, unlike Summoning approaches…
One of the possible versions of understanding what has been read – a true magician becomes a predator themselves, as they strive for accumulation rather than exchange. I fundamentally disagree, to have – one must give…., yes, not to squander, but to honestly change, acquiring experience and mastering new horizons. Any ‘working’ technique is given or agreed upon with ‘subtle instances’; if you control your state and set a predetermined price, then why not work/collaborate? There are many entities whose contact causes a strong depletion of energy or just ‘zeros’ it, but how will you learn to protect yourself if you’ve never fought? How to know – are you a warrior or a fantasist? What I agree with: 1. Everything that can be profaned is currently profaned. 2. Not all techniques fit everyone. I don’t use others’ techniques at all. 3. One cannot be a girl in the morning and a prostitute at night. That is, either you live as a Magician 24 hours a day or….
A magician strives not just for ‘accumulation’, they use Power to accumulate Power – just as an athlete uses training to increase muscle strength. In other words – a magician (as, in fact, everyone else) pays for Personal Strength with Life Force; a magician does this significantly more quickly and efficiently than an ordinary person, minimizing useless expenses and dispersions of strength. Nevertheless, one cannot fail to agree that some magicians indeed become predators, but at that moment they cease to be magicians since any consumption contradicts the very course of the universe, the actualization of potentials, and the expansion of consciousness. Captured power will never become one’s own, especially since one can only seize Life Force, not the Personal power of awareness. And to learn to fight, of course, one must have such experience, but the accumulation of power always attracts predators, so a magician simply cannot avoid ‘tempering through battle’, and it doesn’t need to be specially provoked or attracted.
I regard Personal Power as a means, not an end. This is somewhat like money – if money = goal, then one will fall into a trap (become greedy, limited). If money is a means to achieve one’s goals, then there’s a far greater chance of not falling into dependence.
The Magic of the Path is the search for that Unique Sun which illuminates the transition from one to the other. There are no other Paths or Magics.