Someone said today that they would like to learn magic. By "magic", most folks mean that they would like to learn to cast spells and/or have dramatic rituals. There is so much more to magic than that. There are so many exciting discoveries to make. For most though, it is just about the spells and the rituals. This has been my experience anyway.
This always makes me a wee bit nervous. Rarely has anyone ever asked, "What do I need to know to be able to cast good spells?" or even, "How do I know if I am ready to start working magic?" It is most always just the whole, "I want to learn magic", statement. The thing about learning magic is that it takes discipline and time and practice of the skills that lead up to casting of circles and spells. Honestly, there is no reason to wait for someone else to teach them the arts, if they are willing to work.
There are so many books on the subject of 101 Wicca. The good ones will tell you all the things you need to do to get ready to cast: Breathing and breathe control, visualization, meditation, how to ground and center, and how to raise and direct energy. Is some of this easier with a partner? It sure is. Is it possible to do on your own? It sure is. I know I went through stages working alone and with others in the beginning. There were advantages to both.
The most important lesson I learned back then was; There are no short cuts. In the end whether you read a book on your own or with a group or in a class, whether you pay huge amounts of cash to a Wiccan seminary online or attend local classes for nearly nothing, whether you do all the work alone or with another; in the end, you still have to DO the work yourself.
All of this is why the statement, "I want to learn magic", makes me nervous. What they are really asking is to learn a fast easy way to do the magic. By the time they are making this statement, they have read books and maybe had a couple of classes. They know it is work. They likely have decided that it is a LOT of work and there must be an easier way. I always assure them that there are no short cuts, no magickal fast track. You have to practice all the those base skills ... a LOT.
Nine times out of ten, once they realize I am serious about the fact that there is only one way, the hard way, to learn the magic, they tend to lose interest. That's generally about the time I start getting requests to do spell work for them ... which I do not do as rule.
I guess my point is that if you want to do the magic, you must first do the work. This isn't grade school. We do not all get the ribbons and we are not all "winners". The ones that work get to change the world. The ones who don't work? They just get swept along .....
Do the work my friends. It is worth it.
While you know I totally agree with you on magick being work, hard work, I'm not sure that it is always the case that someone wants an easy way out when they say "I want to learn magick (or magic)". Some are just anxious to move forward, and since their local teacher doesn't teach any form of magick in the beginning, they see beginning to learn it as the next step. Have you ever been so entralled by a subject that you feel you want to learn everything there is to know, so you devour everything you can on it, even though you know you won't be an expert at it right away? I think some people feel that same way when they discover Wicca or Witchcraft. Suddenly, they have found something that fits... most people associate magick with Wicca, so they see that as part of what they should be learning in regards to their newfound passion. Sure, some people want an easy way, but those people are usually filtered out pretty quickly when they learn there is NO easy way.
ReplyDeleteMichele, I do understand what you are saying. As I said, this has been my experience. I have only had one student make it through my personal training. I know it is different for others.
ReplyDeleteAs for magic being what they think they should be doing... Again, I must be odd. The spell casting was not what I was must interested in doing. My vision was focused elsewhere. I am glad that it was. All those foundational skills had to be used for what I was doing. It did help with the effectiveness of my spells once I got around to casting any.
I am so into the journey that I do not tend to rush it. I enjoy each stage and take my time there. I am weird though. I have a handle on where I am and where I want to be and about how long that is going to take. It is a luxury to take your time and enjoy the drive, so to speak. Everything is rush rush rush today.
The best message I ever got along to the way, while I was still a very young witch, was from one of the Goddesses I work with, "Go! Do! Be!" Nothing in there about rushing through the excitement of the journey and all the fun little things you learn along the way.
Blessings