What is Magick?

Over the course of the last century, Spirituality has gradually become a solid part of mainstream culture. You would be hard pressed to go
through any social media feed and not come across something "witchy". Whether its something to do with healing, self love, crystals, or awakening, the concept of spirituality and "Magick " is now firmly placed in poplar culture, and While brujería, Witchcraft, and “Magick” have been suppressed, ignored, or rubbished by the masses for centuries, this hasn't stopped the growing interest in astrology, crystal studies, tarot cards and Magick as a whole. But what exactly is Magick?

Over the next few paragraphs, I am going go over some of the different sects and practices of Magick from around the world, through the ages,
as well as the theory, science and philosophy of Magick; I’ll try as best as I can to answer the question of what "Magick" is in the hopes
that I might take away some of the obscurities that surround its practice.

In times past, Magick was a part of everyday life. For people living in ancient Iraq and the imperial peripheries in Syria and Iran during the first millennium BCE, the practice of Magick was far from being considered irrational; it was the guiding principle by which Mesopotamians understood the natural world, In Egyptian myth, Magick (heka) was one of the forces used by the Creator to make the world. The principles of Magick in Haitian Vodou also written as Vaudo known commonly as Voodoo sometimes as Vodun, Vodoun, Vodu or Vaudoux, from
coastal West Africa, are centered around the worship of Gods, spirits and ancestors. For the Greeks, Magick was a wide ranging topic
involving spells, prayers, astrology, amulets, herbs and much more.
In contrast to modern society, the separation of Magick, superstition, religion, science, and astrology was not so clear in the ancient world;
all the above was simply just a way of life.

For some "Magick" is nothing more than a fad that has become popularized by the likes of Harry Potter, The Chilling Tales of Sabrina the Teenage Witch and other shows like The Witcher. Magick, it would appear, has become fashionable! That being said, there are those of us that genuinely feel the call of Magick and believe that there is more to existence than what mainstream society dictates, but fall short of pursuing this passion because sadly there is a belief that
Magick is ambiguous and obscure. I believe a greater misconception than this could hardly be held! Though much of it’s workings have been
concealed from the masses, Magick is communicable.

So what exactly is Magick?

Magick is lucid! It is definite and precise. There are no vague formulae, all is clear-cut and devised for practical experiment and in
terms it's Hermetic theory, its system is absolutely scientific, with each part thereof capable of verification and demonstrable proof.
Magick is in everything! But, as with most ancient knowledge a gross misunderstanding on the subject has been permitted grow over the
course of humankind's existence. Despite frequent references throughout our history, few individuals today possess the understanding in as to what constitutes the objective of Magick.

As for those who do possess an understanding, even fewer in number are those prepared to defend its philosophy and disseminate its true principles, allowing Magick to be misconstrued, rejected and lost to the masses. Sadly Magick is now considered to be an obnoxious thing and has become synonymous with all that is odious, irrespective of its rise in popularity.

To quote the famous Aleister Crowley,

“Magick is the Science and art of causing change to occur in conformity with your will.”

It can be as simple as losing weight through dieting or as complicated as changing your surroundings through meditation and complex rituals. Let's simplify this even further; there's actually no such thing as Magick, at least not in the way that people have been led to believe,
because “Magick" is in everything. The fact that you exist is technically Magick.

The word Magick is simply a term that was conjured up in a bid to separate the active use of our “will” when manifesting, from that what is
considered “normal”. Thus, keeping a large proportion of humankind from fully embracing their true power and potential by bastardizing the use of our natural abilities. Sadly Magick has been placed in a category that is now considered taboo, consequently shaming the masses from freely accessing their natural abilities to connect with the divine, and stunting their spiritual growth and individual power.

Understand that it is unnecessary to have a fully worked-out theory of Magick in order to do Magick. Despite what some may say, all you need is your conscious mind and your subconscious mind to work in union; yes, this may require some training, but in theory, everyone has this ability and I am going to use prayers (which are basically spells) as an example.

When someone prays, they have an intention in mind for whatever it is they are praying for -- this “intention” comes from the subconscious
mind. The physical act of speaking the prayers out loud (or spell casting if you like) are acts carried out consciously through the conscious mind; this is an example of the conscious mind and the subconscious mind working in union at will. The theory behind the prayer/spell-casting is that we all have the ability to create our own
realities and attract that which we want in life.

I am sure most of you are familiar with the term, “like attracts like”, or to quote the famous Greek philosopher Plato “likes tend towards likes”. The act of praying, or spellcasting, is an example of actively seeking, believing, and visualizing that which you wish to attract (like attracts like). The same can be said for affirmations and positive thinking. Whether you realize it or not, there is definitive power in your words. As I previously stated, The theory of Magick is absolutely scientific, with each part thereof, capable of verification and demonstrable proof.

Nobel Prize winning physicist Werner Heisenberg once stated,

“Atoms or elementary particles themselves are not real; they form a world of potentialities or possibilities, rather than one of things or
facts.”

Quantum physics long ago determined that physical matter doesn’t really exist, that everything is just energy in different states of
vibration. This energy vibrates at an infinite number of subtle frequencies that
cause it to appear as all the different creations we see in our world.
It seems life is more of an energy flow than a collection of solid things

To quote Neuroscientist Andrew Newberg, M.D. and Author Mark Robert Waldman

"our research has shown, the longer you concentrate on positive words,
the more you begin to affect other areas of the brain. Functions in the parietal lobe start to change, which changes your perception of
yourself and the people you interact with."

According to Andrew Newberg, M.D. and Mark Robert Waldman, words can
literally change your brain, and transform our reality. In a study titled, “Language Can Boost Otherwise Unseen Objects Into Visual Awareness,” cognitive scientist and psychology professor Gary Lupyan from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Emily Ward, confirm the power of language to alter perceptions. Their findings are
published in the August 2013 journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

What that means for us, in theory, is that if we stay conscious of the energy we contain, based on the emotions we feel, we can make deliberate choices that alter our frequency and create the realities we desire.

At its core, Magick has no relation to witchcraft; it is simply a tool that is harnessed by understanding oneself and one's conditions and applying that understanding in action. The power behind our thoughts and words have the potential to cause an effect on our surroundings, thus giving us the ability to manifest that which we desire by simply fine tuning our subconscious mind and conscious mind in conformity with our will.

I hope that the above has shed some light of the theory of Magick and
removed some of the obscurities that surround its practices and I hope that
you’ve enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Knowledge
is power, do with it what you will.

If this topic is of interest to you, below is a list of further reading

The Hidden Messages in Water: By Masaru Emoto

The Foundations of High Magick, The Magical Philosophy: By Melita Denning and Osborne Phillips

Three Books of Occult Philosophy (De Occulta Philosophia libri III) By Henry Cornelius Agrippa Knight

The Secret Teachings of Alll Ages: By Manly P. Hall

August 2013 journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences