tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817682567561164198.post1518373737718967962..comments2024-02-20T09:54:37.105-06:00Comments on Talking About Ritual Magick: Five Trials in the Path of the MagicianFrater.Barrabbashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11689013897789072360noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817682567561164198.post-91949147474109374382016-05-29T18:00:16.348-05:002016-05-29T18:00:16.348-05:00Wonderful article!
It's interesting that you ...Wonderful article!<br /><br />It's interesting that you talk about these issues that deal with the ego of the magician. Shouldn't a magician begin working on and training his/her ego even before s/he begins the actual daily practices? This would be the case in order for the beginner to start developing a solid foundation on which further work will be built on. That work should be focused at finally achieving at-One-ment with the Godhead. If the practitioner doesn't begin walking this path with that intent in mind, then s/he will end up a mere conjurer, with probably a worse personality than before.<br /><br />So, given what I've just said, it seems to me that those individuals you had mentioned about started their journey on the wrong foot and they were probably seeking fame, money and followers in the first place. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817682567561164198.post-2100285300395370612015-10-22T14:34:27.794-05:002015-10-22T14:34:27.794-05:00Very good article, we as magicians should look our...Very good article, we as magicians should look ourselves in the mirror often not to succomb to these! Steve Lavoiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13363701630913257841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817682567561164198.post-28250732119216342012015-07-08T15:17:19.064-05:002015-07-08T15:17:19.064-05:00Tks a lot for this really good post. It clarified ...Tks a lot for this really good post. It clarified some stuff I've been through. Andrea Marizhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02715238707130725560noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817682567561164198.post-33180016325178048832014-06-30T01:45:50.489-05:002014-06-30T01:45:50.489-05:00Firstly, Thank you for your polite and thoughtful ...Firstly, Thank you for your polite and thoughtful response, and for taking the time to respond at all. Some individuals in your magickal blog reading list are no where near as well-mannered....<br />Secondly, I see your point. I do appreciate your articles, most of all due to your extensive experience in being around other practitioners. Ive been thoroughly hermited for a few years and so havent the foggiest of what other practitioners are like, or what group or coven culture is like, or really anything when it comes to the social side of magickal pursuits. This is a bit off topic from the article on this page, but I wished to express my appreciation, and the reason for it.<br />Ah- Clarity! I'll get there. I've nothing to feel mighty about, or that I have a special understanding, so Im not worried about hubris...fear and indolence? Not particularly. Perhaps fear. One example, the most mild example of all the events in question, is pulling onto the past lives of others. My teacher showed me how it was done and then had me try it on her. I purposefully pulled for the earliest one, and pushed past ill feeling to the moment of death to prove to myself I could, not thinking of her remotely... and my reward was a woman curled on my floor, weeping hysterically, and I mute with horror realizing once more I had failed to think beyond the "joy of exploration". She was so beside herself she could not speak the rest of the evening. Her husband wanted me to try looking for his lives the next day, but I was so disheartened that it took some goading on his part. I dont let my teacher show me "new tricks" anymore, or really teach me anything. I feel like everytime I learn a new thing, I try to find my limits, I push myself- yet it always hurts someone else. Why not me being hurt? Maybe Im just that ignorant about discipline. But I will be different. Im tired of ****ing up, tired of tears. I pray for wisdom to be a better man- a thinking one, and the courage to continue practicing, to stay connected.<br />Anyway, thanks again for your time (Who else can I speak of these things to? Certainly not my friends- who dont believe in this stuff, not my teacher, whom I cannot bear to burden further, and certainly not a therapist!). And for your many thoughtful articles.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18349849362626685810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817682567561164198.post-79158507559901202722014-06-20T14:28:59.264-05:002014-06-20T14:28:59.264-05:00Sounds like you are describing arrogance, which ca...Sounds like you are describing arrogance, which can be completely innocent, but still cause others problems. This is the intoxication of power and self-empowerment - the very fact that you can do something magical and it works. Losing illusions about the use of magical power produces clarity, but that also can become fear, indolence or hubris, which are often based on a fear of doing something that might have severe repercussions. I think the issues that I have stated above can deal with nearly any occurrence that leads to following the wrong path in the practice of magic. Avoid any excess is probably a good lesson, and so is being responsible and thoughtful about your actions. Frater.Barrabbashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11689013897789072360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817682567561164198.post-68418641860559617922014-06-17T21:01:11.213-05:002014-06-17T21:01:11.213-05:00Useful. But it seems to me that the points in this...Useful. But it seems to me that the points in this article revolve around a theme of ego and delusion and dont mention other challenges a magician might face. For example, I am a young magician (22 years) and I have faced a trial that could stop someone with a better moral compass than I dead in their path. Sometimes in pursuing my work I unthinkingly sacrificed the well-being of others in return for knowledge, or out of curiousity, or to see if I was capable of a certain feat. Not from malice but genuine "innocence", not thinking of the consequences. When I was finally reprimanded and I realized what I had done it was a sobering shock, and I am still on my "vacation" from magick. The "event" happened two months ago now. Loss of ones illusions of what they think magick is (not a game, sometimes not fun, not a miracle), is a trial. Coming to terms with terrible consequences for doing what one thinks is right is a trial. These things can send one fleeing from anything with the word magick on it, ashamed of themselves and afraid of their personal shortcomings getting the better of them again. What of these, frankly, more dire trials? My actions had real consequences, and caused damage that could be seen and measured. Not a problem of ego or laziness, but in even greater need of advice in the blackest night of the soul I have ever known.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18349849362626685810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817682567561164198.post-18491114012104425002014-06-06T08:46:10.041-05:002014-06-06T08:46:10.041-05:00very insightful and well written.very insightful and well written.CrystalVisionhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07075285210633012984noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817682567561164198.post-21973899473974228362013-04-18T08:02:59.634-05:002013-04-18T08:02:59.634-05:00wonderful article thank-you.wonderful article thank-you.guestspeakerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09912303103818109047noreply@blogger.com