A Magical Principle

It seems to me, that most of magical practice can be reduced down to a fairly simple (if sometimes painfully difficult) mental process.

One must begin with a desire, obviously. The basic method is, focus one's thoughts on that desire, visualize it as though it has already occurred, and call up all the emotions associated with it. You must truly feel the need, channeling this energy into the visualization. Release the image and the energy into the universe, and then (and this is the key) LET IT GO.

Ideally, one must completely forget about this desire, whatever it is, and cease to think about it. Every time our thoughts return to the goal, we are holding onto that energy and keeping it from manifesting in the physical world.

I believe this is why some magical traditions have a taboo against casting spells for one's self. It is difficult to forget one's own desires, and therefore some people have greater difficulty casting spells for themselves; the failure has been attributed to the idea that "the gods" or other higher power do not approve of spells for personal gain, and have prevented them from succeeding.

On the other side of the coin, some individuals have difficulty casting spells for other people because they do not truly feel the emotions associated with the need. You have to truly want it.

Personally, I find spellwork on behalf of others quite easy, because I channel the emotions of the other person while I'm working, and then close the connection when I'm done and am able to forget. I have difficulty casting spells for myself, and my solution is that every time my mind wanders back to the subject of a spell I have previously cast, I pour that emotional energy into the same visualization, and push it out into the universe again, effectively adding that energy to the original spell.

So far it's been fairly successful, but of late I find I am doing spellwork for myself less and less often, and relying instead on the guidance of outside forces to simply find the physical action I must take to achieve my goals quickly and effectively.

As a little suggestion regarding the raising of energy, all of the emotions surrounding a particular need are useful. One must truly and deeply feel the desire for a goal to be achieved, pain and anxiety caused by its absence, and most importantly the feeling of joy as though it has already occurred.

This whole concept was taught to me by Fox actually, and since she was a small child all she's ever needed to do was want something and it happened, but it took her many years to realize how it actually worked. She has only ever failed to achieve a goal when she was uncertain what she wanted.

May you find what you seek,
Landra