Frater Barrabbas Author Literary Tour - Part 7 - Talismanic Magic For Witches

Even while I was editing and revising my book “Elemental Powers for Witches” I had already started writing my third book in that series. We were still in the grips of the pandemic, so I had a lot of time on my hands, and I had already decided to write a book on the topic of talismanic magic, incorporating my own specific brand of planetary magic. Two things happened while I was writing this book. The first is that I needed to deepen my astrological research, since I had determined to bring into this work more astrological information and to write up an historical perspective that included the writings of the ancient Greek philosopher, Pherecydes and the mystical ideas of the Zurvan sect of Zoroastrianism. This is because I intended to bring into my book a detailed discussion about the temporal model of magic, which I felt was strategically important to understanding why working planetary magic on a certain day and time was important, while also being able to examine an elective astrological chart.

I was ambitious to the point of craziness when I included so much material in this book that it threatened to make it monstrously huge and as it turned out, I had to scale this book down in order to make it fit with the objectives of presenting talismanic magic and the associated rituals, much as I had done in the previous two books. This work had ballooned to around 140K words, but the final manuscript had around 94K, so there was a lot of material that was excised, and the final product, I believe, warranted cutting it down to a more essential size.

Recently, I posted an article in my blog that presented my perspective on the temporal model of magic, so I don’t need to present that idea in this article. You can find it here. I have also talked about planetary magic using the septagram, the psychological model of magic, planetary and astrological magic, and zodiacal magic. I also wrote an article that is a brief but comprehensive approach to practicing magic, where talismanic magic is a part of the overall approach. There is a great wealth of articles to be read in my blog, since there are nearly 500 articles, and many of them are quite substantive. A lot of the content of this material was used in my book, but my manuscript presents the actual ritual structures and methodologies for working this kind of magic, which the blog articles have purposely omitted. These linked articles should keep you busy for a while if you choose to read them, but if you really want the details then my books in the “For Witches” series is what you will want to explore.

Here is the advertising text that appears with the book.

Talismanic magic is the art of creating perpetually active spells that can help you create a charmed life. Once the provenance of ceremonial magicians, this book, for the first time, brings planetary and zodiacal magic based on a concise and simplified methodology to the Witchcraft community.

Talismanic Magic for Witches is the third installment of the ‘For Witches’ series, and it is the most comprehensive book on the topic of celestial magic written expressly for the Pagan and Witchcraft community. The product of celestial magic is the creation of a talisman. Talismanic magic is the art of making for yourself and others a charmed life. It is a life where reality seems to consistently bend to the will of the talisman’s owner at all times and places, lessoning the possibility of misfortune and empowering great good fortune. A talisman is nothing more than encapsulating a wish or desire and continually setting upon it the powers of the elements, celestial spirits and archetypes of the Gods.

A talisman is a materialized spell that is continually and perpetually operating for the benefit of the owner. A talisman makes a charmed life possible, and building up a battery of them to act on several fronts simultaneously is the final magical mechanism that makes this kind of overall effect possible. There is no magical artifact that I am aware of that has these qualities except a talisman. Learning to produce a talisman would be the best of all possible magical methodologies that a Witch or Pagan could master.

Talismans are a magical treasure, and a good practitioner of celestial magic will create a series of them to act on every aspect of his or her life, tapping them for a specific purpose when the need arises. This capability alone represents the quantitative wealth or richness of talismanic magic. Who would pass up a chance to acquire this wealth to make a charmed life for themselves? This is also why I refer to talismanic magic, and to celestial magic as its organizing principal, as the veritable crown jewel of Witchcraft magic.

As you can see by the advertising text, this book is promising a lot to the one who will undertake this kind of magic. I am quite serious when I say that mastering the art of talismanic magic will help you to acquire a charmed existence because talismans are continuously working 24/7 to help you to gain your objective, or the object that you set the talisman to work on your behalf. If you were to gather together several of these talismans and set them to work on the various areas of your life then you would have a powerful array of magical charms that would aid and bolster every area of your life. You could forge talismans to enhance employment opportunities, gain long term wealth, achieve a good love life, friendship, and excellent relations with business partners, or protection from physical and emotional harm, and any other area covered by planetary magic joined with an element or a zodiacal sign and performed at the optimal and auspicious time. Such an array of continuously working magical artifacts would over time help you achieve everything that you might desire.

Why are talismans so powerful compared to all other forms of magic? What makes them so capable of assisting their owner to achieve his or her objectives? The reason why is because of the nature of the talismanic charge, consisting of both an energy and an active planetary intelligence. It is focused and fused into a metallic artifact, where it becomes a perpetually functioning source of magical power set to a specific material end. A talismanic field lasts practically forever, or at least as long as the artifact into which that field has been infused remains intact. A talisman can be transferred to another person, and it will continue to work as long as the owner continues to maintain a mental connection with it. A talisman can become dormant if it is neglected for several months or a year, but it can be easily awakened and revitalized simply by being held by the owner and communed with in a deep meditative state. As long as the artifact is intact the talisman will continue to function.

An evocation working or an elemental working are used to bring about a specific intent over a short period of time. The timing for an evocation to produce its objective results is usually stated in the bond or pact between the spirit and the practitioner. The timing for an elemental working is within a lunar cycle. Such a working will target a specific objective, and once that timing cycle has reached its end, the magical working will end with either fulfillment, partial gratification or failure for various reasons. It represents a single event with a single objective, whether that event is using an elemental field or a spiritual being to fulfill the intent of the working.

However, a celestial magical working sets in motion a powerful talismanic field, which continues to operate long after the magical working has been completed. While the magical working is used to charge and infuse a talismanic artifact, what follows over the days, weeks and months, or even years, is part of the continuing magical effect of that working. What that means is that a talismanic field can be a bit more generalized and thereby serve multiple purposes simultaneously. In my many years of magical experience, I have found that there is no other kind of magic that can be used in this manner. It is for this reason that I have stated that talismanic magic is the crown jewel of all magical workings, and certainly it should be one of the tools in the magical toolbox for the experienced and knowledgeable Witch.

Talismanic magic, along with advanced energy workings and spirit conjuration are the trifecta of the magical arts missing from the standard Book of Shadows. I have returned this lore to the various traditions of modern Witchcraft and Paganism where it can act as a kind of completed system of magical workings, making the Witch who masters these three systems of magic something of a Wiccan or Pagan Magus. I felt that it was very important for Witches to be able to work solitary forms of high ritual magic within a methodology that would be comfortable to those who have some experience in the magical arts. These additional kinds of magic are for the experienced student who has mastered the basic magical practices of Witchcraft and its essential liturgical praxis and who now seek to expand their abilities in the areas of evocation, energy workings and talismanic magic.

Learning the art of planetary and zodiacal magic is challenging, and it requires a greater degree of discipline and a deeper understanding of the nature of the human condition from the standpoint of astrology and psychology. This art requires one to learn astrology, astronomy, psychology, and to develop a methodology of engaging and working through the planetary deities. Astrology, as it is used in the art of magic, is not a science as much as it is a religion, a system of divination, and a means of harnessing the potent psychological powers of the archetypes that underpin our cultural world. It is working and manipulating the very stuff of consciousness itself, and these forces and intelligences represent the building blocks of our own psyches and the foundation of our culture and language. Knowing how to wield and manipulate these forces and intelligences is the key to mastering one’s life and overcoming adversity.

Writing this book was something of an ordeal for me, since it forced me to completely reevaluate everything that I had long established regarding this kind of magic. I had the lore and the tech, which I had developed back in the early 1980's, but it was written in a manner that would not make it easy to incorporate into an efficient Witchcraft praxis. Additionally, I have learned a great deal about astrology, the lunar mansions and the decans that I had not known back when this lore was first developed. I had to rewrite and rework all of that lore so that it would be accessible and presentable to the experienced Witchcraft practitioner. This also included building an understanding of the history of astrology, which was a topic that I had neglected to seriously study in order to realize the importance of the historical evolution of astrology, and what it gained and lost by becoming an exoteric and philosophic discipline in antiquity. I studied a two volume book on the history of astrology and took extensive notes in order to recognize the contextual phases of the development of astrology through the various epochs and empires of the east and west.

One of the real treasures that I discovered in my research was the book written by Geoffrey Cornelius entitled “The Moment of Astrology” that helped me understand the magic and the art of astrology, and the historical precedence of such practices as horary and elective astrology and how they contradicted the causal and scientific perspective of modern astrology. I was able to more fully realize that the moment an astrological chart is cast and delineated is as important to the genius of astrological interpretation as the supposed belief in the predestination of the moment of birth. It made me understand that the interpretation of the astrological symbols is the real magic of astrology and its value, bringing it into the context of a system of divination instead of an objective science.

The same perspective can be applied to the moment of other forms of divination, such as the casting of tarot cards, the throwing of rune stones, Geomancy sticks or I-Ching coins. The action of divination sets in motion the activation of insights and the birth of guided action. There is also the moment of magic, when a magical working is started and thereby activating the celestial auspices that come into play at that moment. Becoming sensitive to the occurrence and timing of events makes a practitioner more aware that aligning one’s actions with powerful planetary and celestial auspices can maximize an operation.

However, working talismanic magic can not only use the celestial auspices, but lock them into the talismanic artifact, making them resonate and sending out their energy guided by the invoked intelligences established therein perpetually. This is why understanding the moment that something is started is the precipitating action that will make what is divined as an accessible potential possibility to be materially realized. There is no greater magic unleashed by the ritual magician to impact the material plane then these kinds of operations.

I have stated why I think that this book is so important, not only to Witches and Pagans, but likely to others as well. The methodologies and ritual patterns in the book can be adapted to any magical tradition or spiritual practice. It is why I feel that this book is one of the very best that I have written, and the fact that it took me over a year to see it completed is a statement to how much research, effort and care that I put into its writing. I cannot recommend this book more than what I have already presented here, but you should acquire and read it yourself to make your own judgement.

This book will be available in February, 2023, but you can pre-order it now.

Frater Barrabbas

Various Assorted Thoughts and Considerations About Ritual Magick - Part 2

This is part two of a two part article that discusses some of the various issues that have been buzzing around the blogsphere.


Are Spirits Real or Mental Constructs?

Lon Milo Duquette has been reputed to have said regarding spirits that they are all in your head. It’s just that your head is a lot bigger than you think. Others have proposed that spirits (especially demons) are psychological constructs, while others have even gone so far as to say polytheistic gods and goddesses are psychological archetypes found within the collective social mind of the culture or race. In such a manner, all spiritual phenomena are relegated to manifestations of the mind, and they cannot be seen apart or distinct from human consciousness.

I think that this perspective has its foundation in the fact that spirits don’t appear to have a separate existence outside of human interaction. The argument goes that because they don’t have an objective physical existence that can be empirically proven, they can’t exist as physical entities separate from the human beings who claim to experience them. Of course, the same thing can be said about the proposed existence of Deity or Deities. Everything is a facet of the mind. Everything spiritual is purely psychological.

This perspective is true, but only if you wholly or exclusively accept the psychological theory or model of magick. In fact, I would rate this perspective to be reliant on an overly aggressive use of the mind model of magick. There are, of course, other models, and if you adhere to any of them, the aggressive mind model would not only be immediately rejected, but it would also be considered intrusively obnoxious. The paradox of the reality of spirits is that they become identified and defined by the model that one uses, even though any definition or model will fall short of actually defining them. The same logic can be used in the discussion of the nature of the Godhead - it depends on the model or perspective that you are using. I would suspect that there might be some quantum magic to be found within these paradoxes.

If you are using the spirit model of magick, then everything is centered around a definition of spirits that is external and subjectively objective to the magickal operator. This model is very concise and simple to apply. You develop a relationship with specific spirits (invocation, evocation or votive offerings), and they in turn may be called upon to perform certain operations.  The most important task that a magician using this model performs is to consistently establish and build on one’s spiritual alignment. This process has both a liturgical and an operational quality, which means that the magician functions as a kind of priest/ess or spiritual intermediary. Devotion, service, performing periodic liturgical rites, as well as invocation, evocation and assumption represent the core practices of this methodology. All of these techniques are important practices for the magician who adheres to the spirit model of magick.

However, if the magician is strictly engaged with the energy model of magick, then he or she perceives magick as a kind of energy exchange, and that the typical source of that energy is the human operator. Another aspect of the energy theory is the thaumaturgy model of magick, which proposes that a magickal operation is nothing more (or less) than the combining of various specialized elements to fashion or create a spell which produces a specific effect or impact. A pure energy model is very similar to a pure thaumaturgy model of magick, since both use specific elements to produce a magickal effect. To a magician who uses the energy model in exclusion to any other model, the questions of the reality of spirits is irrelevant and unimportant. Still, they would object to any theory that attempted to nullify their belief in an energy that exists as the foundation of their magickal practice. An aggressive psychological model would postulate that any kind of energy, combination of components, or the use of spirits are nothing more than psychological tropes. Such an over-reaching theory or model would make everyone unhappy, except those who whole heartedly subscribed to it.

Since I seem to function as such  hybrid in my practices and beliefs, I would subscribe to all three models simultaneously, as I suspect many others do as well. That would mean that I believe, to a certain extent, in the subjective objectivity of spirits, but that I can also see their operation and impact within my mind and deeply embedded in my spiritual nature. Because I am also a spirit (as well as a body and a mind), then there must also be Deities and Spirits both within me and in the outside world. 

These entities can also be found embedded in our culture and exist as pure symbols within what I would call the “super symbolic reality.” That spirits are both completely subjective (mental constructs) and subjectively objective (disembodied entities that exist and reside in the higher and lower strata of consciousness) is a known paradox, but one that I have had to make an accommodation with in order to make any sense out of what I have experienced. My magickal associates have worked magick with me, or independently using the same techniques and devices to invoke spirits, and have had analogous experiences to what I have had. This would indicate that there is a certain objective quality to spirits, although they remain a purely subjective experience.

Spirit Invocation/Evocation - Must Spirits Be Visible?

If spirits are subjectively objective, then one would assume that they must be visible, and that a successful invocation or evocation would cause the target spirit to be visually apparent. This is another topic that is making the rounds of the blogsphere, and most of the magicians who have written about this subject seem to agree that invoked/evoked spirits should be visually apparent.

My friend Ananael Qaa has written an article on this issue in his blog “Augoeides,” which highlights some of these points as well as highlighting the other individuals who have commented on them (you can find it here). Even Donald Michael Kraig has opined on this issue in his Llewellyn blog. Some in the “exclusive use grimoire” crowd have gone so far as to say that not only should the spirits be visible when successfully invoked, they should also be fully verifiable physical manifestations with an accompaniment of various psychic perturbations. This, of course, is the theory that Joseph Lesiewski has promoted in his book on magickal evocation. I have pretty much debunked the whole physical manifestation model of successful evocation requirement, but the other considerations for some kind of visual affirmation remain.

I guess the whole argument is that if you don’t at least see the spirit, then it can’t really exist, or at least the attempt to invoke or evoke it has failed. I might agree with this opinion if were not for the fact that there are quite a number of ritual systems used to channel the powers and abilities of spirits, and not all of them require a verifiable apparition. Sometimes a skrying device is required, other times a young child is used as a medium. John Dee didn’t see the many spirits that he conversed with, and he had to rely on the services of Edward Kelly as his seer. 

It would seem that whether or not a magician is able to visually apprehend a spirit which is invoked or evoked has to do with whether or not he or she is so gifted. I have met individuals who don’t have visual experiences when they work magick, and others who are more prone to hearing spirit voices or sensing them in some other way. I think that it is narrow minded to discount dream incubation, which has an ancient providence, or other signs and portends as being less valid than a visual apparition. My theory is that spirits communicate on multiple levels simultaneously, and that the visual phenomenon that one might experience may not be the most important or significant.

As for myself, I am extremely visual and also gifted in the ability to clearly hear the spirits speak to me. Often when I perform an invocation or evocation, the apparition of the spirit is accompanied with a complete visual-like dream-scape. I not only see and hear the spirit, but I also see the spirit’s domain as well. It’s as if I were somehow consciously transported to another world altogether. When I have talked to other magicians, I seem to be part of an extreme minority in regards to this phenomenon. It is one of my magickal talents and it has served me very well. 

Yet even though my senses have allowed me to be transported to another world, others who have either worked magick with me, or performed the same rite independently, haven’t had the same level of visual experiences that I have had. It is my gift, just as others have their gift or ability in the business of magick, and who is to say what gift is greater than the other?  For one thing, I don’t bother using a skrying glass or crystal, and I don’t astral project. I don’t need to, but others might have one of these abilities fine-tuned to a point that would be analogous to what I am able to experience, or perhaps even greater. So I believe it has to do with your innate talent and ability. Certainly, having a powerful imagination is very helpful, but it isn’t necessary.

I have met a few powerful magicians who work with spirits and don’t receive any visual proof that the invocation has been successful. What they have instead of a knack for visualization is a powerful relationship with a spirit or group of spirits, and by assembling the components of the spell and directing the spirit to perform a service, the magick is succinctly accomplished. 

One of my friends was a practitioner of Afro-Carribean religions and magick, and he never visually saw a spirit nor could he hear it speak in his head. He sensed a presence in his gut and his emotions, and communicated through divination tools, such as various kinds of dice, colored pebbles, knuckle bones, etc. He also had a very tight relationship with his chosen demigods and associated servitor spirits, but he never saw any specific apparition. Was his magick a sham or somehow less effective than someone who does see a visual apparition? I think that anyone who would have said as much to him would have really pissed him off. He would have been insulted by that kind of judgement, and rightly so. Magick encompasses a huge variety of practices and experiences, and every magician is nearly unique in how they practice magick and how they perceive it as well.

I think that making rules and establishing assumptions about how magick should work if it is to be considered valid is misleading, even when concerning the specialized magick that deals with spirits. The proof is whether or not the magick works, and that the magician is using his or her talents and abilities to their fullest potential. The rest is just the multitude of various possibilities that one can experience or somehow sense when performing any kind of magick.

High Tech Pirates, SOPA and PIPA - My Opinion

Arrgh! Avast ye swabs! Even a pirate has a pirate’s code! (OK, I got that out of my system!)

Nearly everyone has weighed in with their thoughts and opinions over the ongoing debate about various forms of media piracy. As an author, I am, of course, interested in preserving my literary assets (meager as they are), which I have spent many years developing, acquiring and writing for others to utilize. I don’t look kindly upon pirates, but I also believe that it’s probably impossible to eliminate them altogether. Unless we are to live in a police state with invasive government control and strict censorship, media piracy is going to happen.

Personally, I wouldn’t want to curtail anyone’s freedom of acquiring information or expressing their opinion. There are already strict copyright laws, fair usage guidelines, etc., and every now and then some media pirate gets put down through international legal mechanisms (such as what happened recently to Megaupload). I don’t believe that we need more laws to govern the use of media, and I am wholly against any kind of interference, control or censorship of the internet. Thus I am glad that both SOPA and PIPA were defeated, although there are still opportunities for the moneyed elite to oppress the powerless masses. All we need to do is to be vigilant and scream bloody murder when someone attempts to curtail our slowly dwindling rights.

The internet is like the wild west before it was supposedly tamed. You can find nearly anything you want to find on the internet. Uninformed opinions, urban myths and complete misinformation abounds on the internet, and all we can do to cope with it is to use as much critical thinking as possible, and to try to put out the truth wherever feasible. The internet is an infant medium that is undergoing a great deal of growing pains. It has already caused a lot of good and also posed some major social problems, but I think that it should be allowed to evolve into something more splendid than it is, and not be egregiously curtailed before it can mature.

Even though I occasionally find sites that purport to offer free downloads of my books (most of them are empty ghosts sites), and I do attempt to do something about them, my books and writings will end up on someone else’s media device without either recognition or payment of any kind. There isn’t much that can be done about this, and I suspect that eventually it will make most writing jobs and the many works that such individuals  produce worth very little if anything. I also notice that there are quite a slew of books that can be bought on Amazon for as little as a few cents (the postage costs far more than the book, and downloading an ebook costs next to nothing). These wholesale sites put pressures on book publishers to make less money, and this will ultimately kill most of them off.

Most people don’t have a clue what it takes to produce a book, whether fiction or non-fiction, and I understand that. I had to learn how to write, both grammatically as well as communicating ideas in a recognizable format. As a writer, I often have ideas and whole stories living in my head and heart for months or years, anxiously waiting to be given a verbal expression. I have hundreds of characters and stories aching to come out, and as my skill as a fiction writer improves, I hope to give those stories and characters life. I am also very passionate about my practices and beliefs regarding ritual magick, and I feel moved to write about them and share them with my reading public. I don’t expect to make very much money doing this, but then again, I do it because I love to do it. Writing has become my passion and also the manifestation of my ultimate magick!

It’s all so ironic because I used to be a terrible writer, and I have reams of writings and notes to prove that point. When I was a young man I was a poor writer, and it has required me to work very hard to become as proficient as I am today, which, I might add, is far greater than I was, but a long way from where I want to be. Considering the hundreds of hours that I have spent developing, writing, editing and rewriting to get my message to you, my readers, I should think that spending a few measly bucks for my books would not be too much to ask. After all, I am constantly giving away a lot of my writings on this blog, and I also share my rituals and workings with the members of my Order, all at no cost to them. To honor me as a writer and as an individual who is passionately seeking to communicate my ideas, you could do no less than buy at least one of my books (even at a bargain price), attend one of my workshops, or even perhaps buy me a drink someday. After all, I am doing this for you as well as myself. My hope is that some of what I have written will be useful and helpful so you can produce your own magickal system, which is my overall writing objective. 

So for this reason I have been steadfastly against legislation such as SOPA and PIPA, but I am also against media piracy of any kind, even though I know that at times the innocent are often duped into purchasing pirated merchandise. This has happened to probably anyone who has sought to order things more cheaply through the internet than buying something at a store. I have found that if the price for a given item is too good to be true, then it is likely either pirated or fake, or a combination of both. We have to protect ourselves and use good judgment while the internet and its various offshoots mature and become more self-governed. Anyway, that is my opinion on this matter for the moment, and it could even change in the future, depending on what happens. I might support a fair set of legislation that enforces a modicum of order on the internet, but considering how cagey most hackers are, any rules will have technical loopholes.

Frater Barrabbas

Magick and the Mind - Psychology Model of Magick

We have already covered some basic assumptions about the psychology model of magick, stressing the importance of mind control and the techniques of obtaining altered states of consciousness. Some might even say that discussing higher states of consciousness that are transcendental, as I do in conjunction with magick, opens me to accusations of harboring mystical pretensions. I would agree, however, that there is a mystical side to magick, particularly when we consider that the objective of all magick is conscious union with the Deity.

The Psychological model of magick proposes that all of the phenomena of magick are based on mental constructs, projections, assumptions and the effects of higher states of consciousness. We have already made the point in a previous article that this particular model can be easily abused, especially if one were to make the mistake of believing that all magickal and paranormal phenomena are just subjective mental processes having no objective reality. Magick is not just a mental phenomena, or else the other models of magick (especially spirit and energy) would have no validity. This line of thinking also feeds into beliefs like the Law of Attraction, which states that through positive affirmations alone you can change your world, forgetting that such affirmations also require hard work and a lot of strategic planning. So we must use the psychological model in a careful manner, making certain that we don’t over-use it or rely on it too greatly, distorting our perspectives on spirituality and magick.

That brings us to our main consideration in this article, the proper use and definition of the psychological model of magick. There are four major areas of the psychological model of magick that I use extensively in my system of magick.

• Altered states of consciousness and Mind Control
• Archetypal Symbols of Transformation and the Super-Symbolic Domain of Consciousness
• Levels of the Unconscious Mind, including Jung’s Collective Unconscious
• Metaphorical Allegories (“As If..”) and Psychodrama

Mind control is probably one of the most important mechanisms of the practice of ritual magick, using the techniques of asana, pranayama, mantra, mandela, trance and concentration/contemplation. One could assume that powerful altered states of consciousness would be an important part of the practice of ritual magick, but not all systems of magick employ them.

Another important factor is the deliberate use of symbols of transformation. These find expression in the many uses of occult symbols, sigils, characters, signatures, and archetypal godhead aspects. The Qabbalah and the Tarot are two of the largest repositories of occult symbols and devices. However, some occult devices are wholly magickal inventions, such as the sigils, characters and signatures of various hierarchies of spirits. In ritual magick, the combination of powerful altered states of consciousness and symbols of transformation trigger the emanations of the paranormal world, opening the magician to the reality of Spirit.

Metaphorical allegories are situations and practices where the magician unfetters the creative imagination and through it experiences a metaphorical reality ruled by the acting principle called “As If.” For instance, the magician behaves as if the spirit world were as sensible as the material world, and creates hierarchies and domains to develop an intricate structure of that world, even though all models and structures are actually incapable of really describing it. The magician acts under the assumption that these structures and spirit lists are real, using the power of imagination and belief to make it so. This logic can be expanded to include all of the models of magick, particularly Spirit and Energy, where metaphors are used as if they were physical phenomena.

The “As If” principle states that whatever a magician conceptualizes within deep trance and through the apprehension of symbols of transformation will produce something that is both allegorical and real - a kind of empowered myth. This empowered myth is then experienced and realized as a real psychological phenomenon. Expanding on mythic archetypes, there are also mythic patterns or themes, which are analogous to the mythic stories and parables of one’s culture. Acting out a mythic theme, the participants engage in a powerful psychodrama whose psychic impact resonates on many levels, from the individual all the way to the collective. Engaging in such mythic plays, the magician as actor assumes a role and a part for the duration of the story, and plays that role with a deadly seriousness and all-consuming commitment. Such a role becomes for a time, a powerful reality - a world of magick and myth come alive.

Such creative play-acting has two important considerations that are always present in the mind of the magician. These are that the role is made real through the imagination and that the dramatic play has many levels of meaning, not all of them wholly realized. The psychodrama is the most powerful and transforming group experience that one could have when it is fully realized and successfully deployed. It can also be absurd and horribly boring when it fails. The rule of “As If” must be thoroughly consistent. It must be faithfully observed and engaged in by all who participate, so that the empowered myths and drama are expressed in a wholly believable fashion.

Psychodrama is a form of magickal theater. It has been incorporated in many magickal and religious ceremonies, and in fact, it is the essence of all meaningful and significant public rituals, even those that are completely divorced from religion and magick. It is also the mechanism through which the magician creatively explores the mythic and symbolic universe of the domain of Spirit. A magician learns that reality has many layers of meaning through this kind of magick. This kind of magick teaches that people can assume a perspective where the mythic and the real converge to become one world of wonder and mystery. In the story about “Steppenwolf,” by Hermann Hesse, the pivotal transforming force is the magick theater and the individuals who play in it - all are powerfully changed by it and there are no spectators.

One other important condition to the “As If” principle is that the magician never loses the ability to know that he or she is using it to create assumptions and different perspectives of reality. A magician never loses the knowledge of what is real and what is a fantasy, for such a loss of grounding and objectivity would signal that he or she has become confused and possibly even delusional. This is a potential aberration that the magician always needs to be cautious about, limiting its effect through the use of objectification, peer review and periodic grounding. Losing objectivity is how some magicians lose their sanity, which demonstrates how powerful and even dangerous psychodrama and empowered myths can become if not controlled through objectivity and grounding. Thus, all tools have their utility and their hazards, and one should use them with care, skill and artistic exuberance, but never with abuse.

The mind is a very powerful medium that the magician creatively employs in his magick, since it effects both the individual and the collective masses. Psychodrama and empowered myths can influence and even transform the conscious minds of not only the individual magician, but whole nations as well. The middle of the previous century saw the creation of powerful national myths that destroyed whole nations and plunged the world into a devastating series of wars.

It appears that this phase of geopolitical fantasy still has a great deal of power to influence us, although fascism and communism have been replaced by ultraconservative politics and religious fundamentalism. These national level psychodramas continue to cause destruction and foment proxy wars across the globe. Hopefully, these collective delusions will be shown to be based on cultural fantasies, and they will lose power and cease from violently disrupting the collective good will of world organizations and their peaceful intentions. Such delusions melt away when faced with the objective truth, which is always the rational and practical way of the world and human existence. This is an import factor that a magician must realize, even collective fantasies can be short-circuited by objective truth.

However, the magician uses empowered myths and psychodrama to develop spiritual and magickal themes, trigger spiritual transformation and unlock reservoirs of creativity. Therefore, the Psychological Model of magick is quite potent and critically necessary to the practice of ritual magick such as that performed by the Order of the Gnostic Star. This model is used in practical combination with the Energy and Spirit models of magick to produce a hybrid system that is quite profoundly intense, meaningful and self-empowering. It is a tool worthy of the coming New Age, when ritual magick will be shown to be both necessary and pivotal in the growth and development of occultists and ordinary people.

Frater Barrabbas

Further Magical Musings - Ritual Magic and Magical Power

We have been talking about the theories of magic and various perspectives on magical powers and how they can be developed and defined. I would like to continue this conversation and get a bit deeper into this topic. I would like to share with you some of my creations and perspectives about magical power. In addition, we will also need to talk a bit about altered states of consciousness and symbols of transformation. This will bring some elements of the psychological theory of magic into our discussions. We will also bring an element of the spirit theory of magic into our discussion when we examine the practice of performing magic while under the influence of godhead assumption.


Introduction

We talked about raising energy and the differences between the cone of power and the vortex. We also discussed how defining and shaping the energy can make it more effective. We covered the topics of imprinting the power, creating a magical link and exteriorizing that power once its qualified. However, I omitted a few other points that we should also go over, since they also greatly contribute to the effect of the magic where the energy model is used. These additional topics are using altered states of consciousness, symbols of transformation, and assuming a godhead. Discussing these topics will bring into our discussion on the energy model concepts borrowed from the spirit and psychology models.

As I have said previously, witchcraft magic is a hybrid system and it incorporates all three of the models of energy, spirit and psychology into its methodology. There are traditions of magic that use the energy model exclusively, such as Hoodoo and certain forms of ceremonial magic, where all considerations of spirit and deity are not relevant. Likewise there are traditions that use only the spirit model and/or the psychology model.

A pure energy model methodology of magic would stipulate that performing specific operations or mixing together certain elements at certain times and using them in a specific manner would be all that is required in order to successfully work magic. However, in a hybrid system such as this, altered states of conscious and aspects of the deity are employed in the magic, so we will need to cover them in this article.


Altered States of Consciousness & Mind Control

Altered states of conscious, as used in magic, is just a term that means controlling the mind. How is this done? It’s done through various forms of meditation, known categorically as asana, pranayama, mantra and mandala yoga. (These four systems of yoga loosely cover the areas of physical posture, breathing, hearing and seeing, respectively. All four areas used together allow the mind to be completely detached and unfocused from its usual activity.) You might ask why are these eastern systems of yoga employed in a western magical tradition? Isn’t there a more suitable western methodology?

There are alternative techniques in the western religious traditions of Christianity, Judaism and Islam, but these are steeped in the religious beliefs and theologies of their respective creeds. There undoubtably were techniques that were used in the pagan mysteries, but they have been either lost or incorporated into Christianity. What we use today represents the eastern traditional techniques of meditation and contemplation with all the theological underpinnings stripped away. There is also some strong evidence that these systems so deployed are similar to what the ancient shamans employed for their practice, so they represent the most simplistic and essential approach to controlling the mind.

Asana yoga is the technique of learning to sit in a comfortable posture that allows one to maintain this position for long periods of time without either succumbing to bodily fatigue or being too comfortable and falling asleep. Sitting cross-legged is probably the most basic asana, but there are others as well that assist one in stretching and maintaining bodily flexibility. Choreographed dance or free form dance could be another way of maintaining personal balance - such as the iterative dancing of the Sufi zikkar.

Pranayama yoga is the technique of controlling breathing, either by counting one’s breaths or controlling the interval of inhalation and exhalation. It can be slow and gentle like breathing during sleep or rest, or forceful, like forms of hyper-ventilation. Controlling the breath also controls the associated mental state that one is experiencing. This is probably due to the fact that breath determines the amount of oxygen introduced into the brain through the blood, and it also changes the focus of the mind to be centered exclusively on a specific bodily function.

Mantra yoga is the technique of intoning words or phrases repetitively, using the entire contents of air in the lungs to do so. Mantra yoga incorporates a kind of quick and deep inhalation so the cycle of mantric intoning is only briefly interrupted. The tone of the voice is also vibrated into the nasal passages and can go from being quite loud to a soft and internalized vibrating. Mantra yoga effectiveness has to do with the cyclic vibration of the nasal passages, which seems to stimulate the frontal lobes of the brain, causing a marked change in consciousness.

Mandala yoga is the technique of staring at a diagram or visually ambiguous pattern for long periods of time, where the focus of the mind is exclusively on the visual image of the pattern. Mandala yoga can also greatly alter the mind, although it is typically used to foster trance states, which are also very useful to the practice of magic.

In addition, the practitioner may also concentrate on a spiritual concept or ideal using breath control, mantra and mandala yoga together to create a very deep altered state of consciousness. In this state, one passively notes the various associations and thoughts that occur in conjunction with the spiritual concept, but without analyzing or examining them; just passively being aware of them. This technique is called contemplation, and it is used to concentrate on spiritual concepts within a deep meditative mind state. The purpose of this state is for searching the soul for inner revelations and insights.

All of these above techniques can be used individually or together to build a powerful system of meditation, which will enable the magical practitioner to enhance and greatly increase the effects of working magic. You can work magic without using any of these mind control techniques, but experience has shown me that the magic is typically less intense and effective. So I include them in my repertoire of practices, whether I work alone or with others.

The reason that these mind control techniques make magic more effective is that they foster a powerful altered state of consciousness, where the “as if” propositions of magic seem quite real. Trance and meditative states of consciousness also open the door on the deep inner self and allow communication between the conscious and unconscious minds. It is for this reason that altered states of consciousness are considered one of the most important elements in performing effective magical rituals. However, the mind state is only one of the elements, and by itself will not generate magical effects.


(The next two sections are distilled from my book “Disciple’s Guide to Ritual Magick”.)

Symbols of Transformation

If the adoption of a powerful altered state of consciousness is considered the foundation for practicing ritual magic, then the trigger or operator for magic is discovered in the symbols of transformation. The most effective type of meditation is where the meditator focuses on a religious Mandela or contemplates on religious ideals or concepts, and correspondingly, the most effective magic is where religious images or concepts are used.

This is because religious iconography and ideals are steeped in symbols of transformation and these act as triggers when a corresponding altered state of consciousness is adopted. The combination of a deep altered state of consciousness with a symbol of transformation unlocks the deepest aspect of the spiritual self and makes it powerfully available to the conscious mind. Symbols of transformation used during the adoption of an altered state of conscious together precipitate the transformation of consciousness, which is an important objective for any magical ritual working.

In the most basic forms of magic, there are six different categories for the symbols of transformation. These are: the point, line, circle, triangle, cross and the star. These geometric forms may seem very rudimentary, and indeed they are, but they also contain basic philosophical meanings and psychological effects that are powerfully meaningful and significant to the unconscious mind. Most religious symbols and iconography use a combination of these forms to produce sacred symbology and iconography, and they are rarely seen in their more simplistic forms.

Point represents an event, a position, a definition, a quality of self.

Line represents a relationship between self and other, the conduit which exists between heaven and earth or the place of spirit and the place of matter. A line connects as well as divides and it can denote direction.

Circle symbolizes a domain, a world, and a point within a circle symbolizes location. Two spaces are delineated by the circle, and these are inner space and outer space.

Triangle is a symbol of the nature of spirit (Deity), which represents the fusion of self and other, creating union; so the triangle symbolizes union. A triangle is also a gateway. It’s also the definition of a plane (three points) and a symbol of the three dimensions for objects that exist in space (reality).

Cross represents the intersection of two lines, dividing space into four quadrants, symbolizing the four Elements, the four directions and the four seasons. The cross also symbolizes the joining of heaven and earth, feminine and masculine, light and darkness, to produce the manifestation of earth and all that it contains. The cross, like the triangle, can assume many variations that augment and extend its basic meaning and effect. The cross and triangle are used extensively in religious iconography, both in the East and the West.

Star is a symbol of transformation itself, where the self is opened up like a flower to behold the full awareness of Spirit in Self. The star assumes many forms, and each one has its own symbolic qualities. Examples of the star are the pentagram, hexagram, septagram, octagram, eneagram, decagram, undecigram and the duodecagram. There could be numerous others, but once a star has more than ten points, it becomes less distinguishable, and therefore, less significant.

One could also categorize colors, sounds, scents - all things of the senses, and these, added to the basic symbols of transformation would be used to formulate icons, talismans, amulets and other symbols of magical power. The use of such a device would cause powerful alterations in the nature of an altered state of consciousness, which is their purpose. They are used in rituals as tools, ritual structures, devices, formulas, incantations, and contemplative mandalas. The key point is to powerfully impact this altered state of consciousness so that one’s higher self or spirit is drawn down into one’s conscious world and where the self is completely immersed within the domain of Spirit. This is the point where magic becomes capable of bending and transforming one’s physical reality - making the potential for the miraculous a probable outcome.

This is a representation of how the Psychological model of magic would be used, drawing altered states of consciousness and expanding them with the magical devices and constructions that function as symbols of transformation. So we have the energy model of magic, and the psychological model, and there is also the need to consider the spirit model of magic as well, although that model uses the construct of the personal godhead instead of actually invoking external spirits.


Alignment and Godhead Assumption

I practice ritual magic through the guise of my personal Deity, and all that I do is colored by that assumption. What that means is that the assumption of the godhead rite is the prime ritual in my repertoire. Included are devotions, invocations, communion, and focused contemplation on that aspect of Deity and its image or imago. I can have statues of my godhead, where its spirit can reside, and I can also attempt to psychologically and spiritually become one with the Deity both in my spiritual liturgies and my magical practices. Why is this a part of the magic that I work? What is the function of assuming a godhead in the practice of ritual magic?

These are good questions, and the answer is that godhead assumption is fundamental to the type of ritual magic that I work, but it is not important to many other forms of ceremonial and religious magic. To assume the godhead is rather heretical to most forms or religion, with perhaps the exception of some forms of earth-based spirituality, most notably, Wicca and Neopaganism. If the purpose of ritual magic is to ultimately become one with the godhead, then what better way could one adopt than performing a ritual to assume the godhead? What this represents is a spiritual discipline incorporated within the magical discipline of practicing ritual magic.

A spiritual discipline within one’s practice of magic is a very unusual concept, and some magicians do not even feel that it is important and discard it as superfluous, seeking to reap the rewards of practicing magic without any spiritual considerations. To practice magic is to engage one’s spirit as the elements of higher consciousness, whether one realizes that fact or not. Therefore, a spiritual discipline involves the Self and its relationship to Deity, and includes spiritual exercises and even magickal rites that define and amplify that relationship. A spiritual discipline will enhance a magician’s ritual magic because it will cause the elements of higher consciousness that are engaged in the magic to be more intense and evolved, pushing the realizations from the psychic level of consciousness to the subtle, and even the causal.

A magician must develop a personal religious cult of one’s self as God, and perform within it as its priest, congregation and corporeal representative. As this relationship between Deity and magician is developed, the magician begins to become more profoundly altered and begins to assume more conscious aspects of one’s own spirit. The rites of alignment are particularly those that a magician practices and develops in order to facilitate a closer and immanent relationship with the nature of one’s Godhead, or God/dess within. So invocation, communion, devotion and assumption are the rituals of a spiritual discipline that are assiduously practiced by the ritual magician. A ritual magician would also perform meditations and contemplations on the nature of that Deity, which would change and evolve over time. Therefore, one can see that the merging of a magical and spiritual discipline represents the integral approach to the practice of ritual magick.

A magician is able, over time, to determine personal destiny. This is an evolving process, and one that is not usually answered with any immediacy. In order to know one’s destiny, magicians are compelled to know and define themselves, not in any tangible way, but only in a spiritual manner. So a magician must develop a spiritual identity even before beginning to realize what must be done for one’s life vocation.

Developing a spiritual identity is something that lies within both the magickal and spiritual discipline of the magician, and occurs through the process of gaining a greater perspective by realizing one’s spiritual dimension. This can only occur through an iterative exposure to magickal phenomena, and the immersion and transformation of the magician’s conscious mind by the powers and insights revealed through one’s spirit. What is progressively revealed is the magician’s higher self, and it is through this aspect that one realizes the inner truth to one’s self.

To foster this process, the magician will adopt a magical persona and identity that will link to one’s perspective of Deity, becoming an important part of a spiritual discipline and a personal religious cult. As time progresses, and the magician continues to assiduously practice ritual magic, that magical persona or identity will go through many changes and alterations, and eventually, it will become the vehicle for the higher self to manifest and superimpose itself over one’s being. Once magicians know themselves, then they can understand all that one has undergone as a preparation for that moment, so aiding the magician in perceiving and realizing the role and ultimate vocation in life, which is one’s destiny.

Thus the magician has a personal religious cult representing one’s personal aspect of Deity, and uses this as a mechanism to empower and potently charge the magic worked with the numen of the godhead. This is a variation of the Spirit model of magic, and it is used to empower the self and one’s magic, since it is through the godhead that all ritual is so executed.

Frater Barrabbas Tiresius

Magical Musings - Theories of Magic

I have been practicing magic in many forms for over 36 years, from simple earth magic to the most advanced forms of evocation. This experience has not blinded me to the basic concepts of how magic works and the nature of magical power. I have not only worked very successful magical rituals for myself, but for others as well. I have taught this regimen to students and they have met with success as well. I believe that I can, with a certain degree of confidence, make some propositions about magic, how it works, and how it can be successfully deployed. I have also been collecting some theories about magic and I have classified a few of them that I think are useful. I present them here for you to examine and judge, but I don’t believe that these musings are exhaustive or comprehensive.


Introduction

There are probably just as many ways to work magic as there are ways of cooking food. Every cook has his or her own methodology, from the ingredients used to the techniques of preparing and presentation. Every locale in our world has its own recipes and its own spices and seasonings. Cooking is both an art and a science - but not necessarily an exact science. All this is true of magic as well. Magic is determined by the culture and the time that it was developed and used. There are old traditional recipes and there are traditional magical applications, new haute cuisine and cutting edge forms of high magick. There are a number of different schools of cooking, so too, there are different schools of magic. Each school of cuisine probably has its own theories and models for cooking, too.

Like the analogy for food, there are also several different theories about magic, and all of them take a very specific model and methodology and apply it exclusively. So there is a theory of magic that is based on Spirit, another one based on Energy, and still another one based on Psychology. All of them are correct as far as they go, but all of them are limited to a single model and their associated assumptions. I would also consider them to be gross generalizations, but models are good learning devices, since they challenge and help us to accurately think about the way something really works.

We can see these models operating in how people talk about magic. Some are engaged with spirits and see magic as being a process that involves gods or goddesses, others are involved in energy and talk about magical powers. Some seem to think that magic is just a form of applied psychology, so they talk about magic as a means of positive affirmations, linguistic devices and artifices, and cathartic psycho-dramas. There are other theories about magic as well, and some of them are based on the empirical fact that magic and magical thinking are completely fantasy based, so to them magic is a false belief. Yet another theory has it that magic represents the manipulation of physical powers that are as yet unknown to science.

As witches, we believe that magic is real, but besides that, there are as many opinions about magic as there are individuals practicing it. For the sake of simplifying something that is very diverse and complex, we will look at three theories about magic, since they would aptly apply to how most witches define magic.

The first theory of magic is that magic is all about spirits and this is probably one of the oldest theories about magic. Whether they are called Gods, Goddesses, ancestors, earth spirits, fairies, angels, demons, spirit guides or any of the otherkin, they are all spirits. (They may all be categorized as spirits, but they are listed in different and mutually exclusive hierarchies in the various traditions that work with them.) A spirit theory of magic proposes that all magical phenomena are caused by the intercession and/or manipulation of spirits. A spirit theory of magic has to not only define the nature of spirits and the spirit world, but also the nature of Deity and how spirits and gods interact in the practices of magic and religion. The nature of spirits and deities are paradoxical, so we have to understand that any rules we make about spirits and their qualities are subject to being regularly altered. There is also the consideration that each of us has within us a spirit as well, and that this personal spiritual dimension has a role to play in magic and religion as well.

Witchcraft has the unusual advantage that liturgy and magical crafts blend together to form a single praxis. Devotional invocations to the gods can also be magical spells meant to cause changes in the material world. As we will see when examining the other theories, witchcraft is a hybrid, combining many theories into a blended and practical perspective.

The second theory of magic is that magic is energy. An energy theory of magic proposes that all magical phenomena are caused by the generation and/or manipulation of energy. Some aspects of this theory are quite ancient, such as when magical energy is equated with mana or the Chinese martial arts concept of chi. Indian theories of kundalini energy would also be applicable to this theory.

However, most western practitioners of magic who use the energy theory of magic tend to perceive it as an analogy for electricity. Such a model will use terms like power, forces, colored lights, polarity, resonance, vibes, intensity, bolts, sparks, wave-forms, emitting, magnetic, electric, charging, loading, short-circuiting, zapping and blasting. We have all heard these terms being used at some point in a lively discussion of magic. All of them seem to describe a very physical phenomena that is mindless and easily applied to any medium, just like turning an electrical light switch on or off.

Those who are deeply committed to the theory of magic as energy don’t realize that there isn’t any quantifiable energy in their magic. Some might speculate that the actual energy is very subtle, capable of being sensed only by those who are sensitive to it or who are operating under an altered state of consciousness. This would be like someone stating that electricity only works if you are sensitive to it and trained to perceive it. Electricity is a verifiable energy, but magical energy seems to be more like a metaphor.

The third theory of magic is that magic is a psychological phenomenon. This theory has an unfortunate corollary that magic is based on mental fantasy and doesn’t really exist. It’s just a “head trip” for those who lack any capability in the real world. One could also easily say that everything is a mental phenomena or perception, and very little is actually objective or real other than the obvious physical world.

Human nature also has a mass psychology of culture, which would be studied under the discipline of sociological psychology, and it also has the phenomenon of language, which would be studied via psycho-linguistics. All of these disciplines have as their base certain ontological qualities, such as the psychology of perception and beliefs about the self and the nature of reality. All of them can be applied to a psychological definition of magic.

Psychological magic becomes a kind of “as if” premise to build up a system of beliefs that assist individuals in becoming empowered and independent, even if they are actually neither. It’s effective in the areas of re-programming the mind through positive affirmations and undergoing transformative ordeals through ritualized psycho-drama. Magic can be seen as a linguistic phenomena or a social phenomena, but beliefs about spirits or energies are downplayed. Deities are classified as archetypes, so they can be compared and qualitatively combined. For instance: all female goddesses are represented by a single universal female goddess, etc. Or: magical powers are just rhetorical devices that have no reality whatsoever.

A psychological theory of magic can have the unfortunate effect of devaluing the energies or the quality of spirit experienced in magic. Classifying deities and qualifying them as psychological archetypes makes them less real and seem more like just psychological phenomena, which is profoundly wrong in regards to the paradoxical nature of Deity and the human experience of it. Spirits appear dynamic and real to those who so regard them, and the energy of magic also seems very potent to those who work with it. Merely judging things as nothing more than the product of the mind seems to really omit the power and reality of these phenomena. The psychological theory of magic has its limits, like all theories, and must be used sparingly and precisely. This is also true of these other theories of magic as well. They can be useful to a point, but if used excessively, they can easily produce a lot of nonsense as well.

Of course we are talking about theories and not the real world of magic. People who work magic in the Western Mystery Tradition, which includes all of the folks practicing European Witchcraft, use a combination of all three systems. So when most people talk about magic, they refer to powers, spirits and psychological transformations combined in what they do. Sometimes this can get a bit confusing, especially if one of the models is being used too aggressively. Yet a balanced approach and a degree of admitted uncertainty can help us to understand something that does not readily lend itself to being understood.


Thoughts About the Energy Theory of Magic

I previously discussed the basic premise of the energy theory of magick - where it proposes that all magical phenomena are caused by the generation and/or manipulation of energy. I now propose to engage in a deeper discussion of the energy theory of magic. Some purists believe that there is no need to exhaustively describe or develop the concept of energy, as they will say “energy is energy.” They are happy to use the “cone of power” or witches dance to raise energy to do their magical work. However, I have always found this simple use of magical energy to be quite limiting. So I have begun to deliberately classify and analyze the practices and uses of magickal energy, and I have discovered many other structures that are quite useful.

We need to start with a practical definition, so we’ll look at the simplest method of generating or raising magical power, and that is the cone of power. The cone of power is a ritual where the participants are arranged in a male and female order around the perimeter of the magic circle, holding hands, they dance with a pivoting step around the circle in the direction of the sun, or clockwise - also known as deosil. The leader stands in the center, perhaps pivoting in the same direction. As they dance around the circle, they also chant some repetitive chant and the pace quickens steadily until they are nearly running. At the climax of the dance, the leader calls them to stop, the dancing immediately ceases and all of the dancers drop to the earth as if dead. The leader gathers the still swirling energy to the center of the circle and projects it to the zenith, so forming a cone. The cone of energy is built on the polarity of male and female coven members, and the dance is the sexual chase, where the men chase the women, who in turn chase the men - always pursuing and being pursed, but never actually achieving consumation until exhaustion intervenes. One could see the cone of power as just being energy, but I would see it as a masculine energy.

Why do I think that the cone of power is a masculine energy? There are many clues and the first is that the energy generated forms an obvious phallic shaped structure. Other clues are found in way that the energy is raised. It is produced through an incremental intensification of polarity, that the energy field is first raised and brought to a plateau of intensity, and then the energy is stimulated a second time and brought to a final climax. This is an unwitting model of the masculine sexual cycle, where the end of the rite produces a kind of “ejaculation” of energy. I think that a strong case can be made that the cone of power is masculine.

The cone of power is a sun-wise spiraling energy field that moves from the earth to the sky, and sends out a bolt of energy to a specified target when it reaches a critical climax. So if we can agree that the cone of power is masculine, then what would a comparative feminine force be like? Well, I would say that it would have to be exactly the opposite in all ways.

The hypothetical feminine energy would be a magnetic, anti-sun-wise or widdershins spiraling energy that moves from the earth to below the earth, forming a vortex. (Some might consider any movement in an anti-sun-wise or widdershins direction to be evil and would avoid doing so. Of course I consider this a superstition, and that energy being neutral should be able to go one way or the other without any associated bias or prejudice.) As the cone of power is polarized along the perimeter of the circle, a vortex would be polarized with a cross-roads of opposing watchtowers, and the cardinal directions would be joined together in the center of the circle. Where the cone of power represents a kind of fission, the vortex represents fusion. The cone of power reaches a climax and sends out a bolt of energy, the vortex achieves a kind of critical mass and sends out waves of transformative energy - just like dropping a pebble into a still pool of water. A cone of power typically requires some kind of banishment after it is used, but a vortex remains in place, almost indefinitely. One would seal a vortex with a sealing spiral instead of banishing it with a banishing spiral. A vortex can be reused indefinitely and hold or contain built up energies from working to working. A vortex structure that is used over a long period of time actually develops layers within layers and becomes increasingly more powerful over time, filling the temple with a potent aura.

To recap: I believe that magical power should be perceived as having a gender. Examples of genderized powers are the cone of power used by some Witches, which has a masculine gender, and the magnetic vortex, which is feminine. There are some assumptions built into these rituals used to raise energy, such as resonance and polarity. Yet by the admission of these additional properties, there are other considerations that could be made, and indeed I have followed them to build an entire magical system on this model. However, we need to carefully define what the theory of energy is so we don’t confuse it with something that it’s not - which is a real energy like electricity.


Clarification of the Energy Theory of Magic

First of all, magical power is not a real energy. It can’t be measured by scientists and wouldn’t represent a phenomenon characterized by the electromagnetic spectrum. When magical practitioners use the word “energy” or “power”, what, then, are they actually talking about? If it’s not some kind of measurable physical energy, then it’s functioning as a metaphor, and this is what I believe it is. That’s not to say that magical power is just imaginary, since things that exist in the mind also can be powerfully projected into the physical world. Other powerful metaphors spring to mind - such as “Liberty”, “Wisdom” and “Love.”

As we have stated, there are several models used to explain the effects of magic, and energy is just one of them. So the energy theory of magic is really a metaphor used to describe the effects of experiencing of magic. What is that effect? From my firsthand knowledge it is the intensity of the magic, how meaningful it is to the participants and perhaps that it causes some kind of transformation of consciousness. Physical phenomena may occur, but even if it doesn’t, then the magic still works. It could also be said that the physical phenomena observed may not be so unusual outside of the subjective frame of reference of those who experienced it. So what we have is that magical “energy” is a metaphor for the intensity, meaningfulness and degree of conscious transformation of the experience of magic. I think that we can possibly agree on this definition.

If magical power is a metaphor, then further qualifying that metaphor with other associated values does nothing more than define it in a detailed manner. Since it’s not a real measurable energy, doing this doesn’t invalidate the nature of that energy or misinform one about its qualities. It’s a tool, and a tool that is embellished in the art of magic is one that is made more effective and potent in the mind of the wielder. Therefore, if we say that the power has a certain color, elemental quality, gender, shape, or other associations, we are building up a more detailed metaphor of that magical power and producing a more effective tool.

How do witches raise energy? They raise it from their bodies - it comes from their physical exertions and their stimulated imaginations. The raising of energy is an “as if” device, since it assumes the energy model of magic and uses it to build a powerful affirmation that affects the practitioners and their environment. Resonance is the key to the energy model of magic, and it requires that ritual activities are cyclic, iterative and of increasing intensity. What this means is that when witches dance in a circle, their activity, the chanting, pace of movements and the overall intensity incrementally increases until a climax of action is achieved.

However, raising energy isn’t the only thing that is done, since I have observed a great deal of exuberance and activity that produced little or nothing later on. I have also met individuals and groups who don’t know what to do with their magical energy once it is raised. There are definitely other components involved when using the energy model of magic other than just raising energy.

The way that raised magical energy is made more real and readily perceived is to give it greater definition. So the energy is qualified by associating it with other symbolic things, like an invoking pentagram drawn in the air, or by tools, fetishes and other means. The energy can also be shaped by the circumference of the magic circle and also by other structures incorporated into the raised energy - such as defining a center, drawing lines of force (from the four cardinal points, or the points between them), and by the direction of the flow - whether deosil or widdershins. Of course, none of these additional considerations are required, but they make the magic work more effectively. Certainly a person could cut down a tree with a sharpened stone, but a steel axe, or even a chain saw would be more effective and efficient. I have learned through experience that when magical energy is qualified, the more detail that one applies to it, the better it works.

Once the magical energy is raised, then the most important action in a simple magical working is to imprint that raised, qualified and shaped magical energy. Imprinting can be as simple as using one’s will and desire to give a direction and volition to that power, in other words, setting a target. Without a target, the magical energy has no where to go once it is released. However, it’s better to fashion some kind of symbol of the desire or target of the magic that represents a bond between the witch, the target and that which is desired to happen. Often this bond is implicit, that is, it’s implied in the nature of the desire that is the object of the magic.

For instance, if one were performing a money spell, then the need for money would be the desire used to imprint the magical energy raised, so when released, it would aid the witch in gaining that objective, money. If the target is more precisely defined, then the possible outcome will also be more focused and precise. So just imprinting the raised energy often isn’t enough to guarantee results. Something additional is needed to define the objective of the magic in a very precise manner, and that brings us to the second most important action - building the magical link.

A magical link is a way of symbolizing the object of the magic, and it can be fashioned in a myriad of forms, from a gross link (poppet with bits of hair and nail parings or a cache bag filled with different herbs) to a symbolic link (a sign, sigil or talisman drawn on parchment, or a piece of jewelry). The link represents the work that the magical energy is to perform, and the link is applied to the raised magical energy through chanting specific words, showing the link to the power, drawing the chosen sign or sigil, or placing the link in a prominent place in the circle (on an altar, in the center of the circle, affixed to a pole or stang, etc.). The mind of the practitioner also performs this imprinting by associated the raised energy with the intended purpose of the rite (setting the intention), so the imprinting is also done, too.

In our money magic example above, we might be looking for a specific kind of job or opportunity. This could be symbolized in some fashion by creating a sigil or even cutting out a specific job ad from the newspaper and drawing a pentagram on it with a green colored pen (green for U.S. money) and also one’s magical name or symbol, so it becomes personally identified (a link). This item is then held in an incense censor, charged, and then used as a magical link to help imprint the magical power. The specific job ad itself would no longer be important, because it now symbolizes a means to an end. One would chant the words “money” or other appropriate words (“opportunity”, “growth”, “security”), and perhaps display the link or even burn it in a cauldron - sending it into the air to be absorbed by the raised power.

The final action is to exteriorize the raised, qualified, shaped and imprinted energy, and this is done through a second round of resonance activity ending with an even greater climax. The energy is sent out of the circle resembling the shape through which it was formulated, and so it assumes the form of a dart or a wave, or some other geometric structure, depending on the shaping qualification that was used. Some groups perform a spiral dance, or a deosil round, others choose to go widdershins to unlock the power. All of these techniques use resonance to bring the power to final climactic finish.

The energy and its associated link is then released to do its work, but the practitioner doesn’t just sit around and hope the magic works. Instead, he or she goes out and performs all of the mundane steps required to achieve the objective, knowing that the magical spell will give greater aid and luck than what would ordinarily be experienced without it. In the case of the money spell, the witch would commence with a very rigorous job search regimen, and he or she would be open to whatever presented itself, showing the maximum level of flexibility and openness to the effect of the magic spell. Such a powerful, optimistic and relentless pursuit of one’s objective is almost certainly met with success. The magical working is only a part of the overall ambition, but its effect can be quite astonishing and seemingly miraculous.

These are some of my thoughts about magical power and how it can be used. As there are other models of magic, there are other considerations and practices that can be performed. We can also get very deep into the methodology of shaping and qualifying magical energy, too. My personal repertoire of ritual magick includes over 24 different basic energy structures, using the four watchtowers, four angles, and the three points in the center of the circle - the nadir, zenith and mid-point - eleven points in all. We will be visiting these other models in future articles and also examining other structures in the energy theory of magic.

Frater Barrabbas Tiresius