One potent part of the heady cocktail of the last weekend was all the great talks with my friend Reya. She’s been abstaining from the practice of magic, yet our time together was anything but a vacation from the shamanic lifestyle. After this weekend, I’m full of germinating thoughts on the difference between “practicing” magic and “being” magic, and questioning the old standby definition of magic being “the art of consciousness at will”. That may be the definition of practicing magic, but I’m considering that the definition of being magic might be completely different. Is it possible that with enough “practice”, the art of magic can shift into “being”? Couldn’t there be an art to abstaining from trying to shift consciousness, but to be simply aware of the living dialogue/dance between our own consciousness and the collective’s?
This past weekend was magic. Pure and simple. We interacted with the world and its spirits constantly. It was a lively conversation. Reya made me aware of how constant my invocations are, and so ingrained. I’m thinking about the balance between our conscious intent and being open to what the world offers. For me, this is a dialogue, an ongoing conversation. When does my focused will and intent shout down what I’m being offered, close my ears to what the world is whispering? When do I feel overwhelmed by the loud demands of the world and its spirits and need to find my own voice and directly make clear what I want and need?
Another friend has repeatedly said that she thought Reclaiming was about teaching magic aimed at changing the world, but found out it really was about learning how to get good parking spaces. I’m wondering if that might actually be a nobler goal, the simple art of interacting with the world in the moment, of asking for help inserting ourselves into it in a comfortable and easy way. Annie Lamott said there’s two prayers; help me, help me, and thank you, thank you. I’ve found this to be true, and my “spellwork” in most recent years involves them both. It’s been ages since I embarked on a big spell to change the world, having lost confidence in these awhile back. Bringing down the fortress most likely will mean that we’ll all end up being the first with bricks on our heads. Throwing yarn about to weave a new world looks to the objective eye like creating a chaotic pattern to get tangled in. For me, at the moment, I feel much more comfortable with requesting a nice restaurant to materialize around the corner when I’m beat tired, and then offering up my thanks when it appears.
So much to think about, and as usual, more questions than answers!
3 comments:
Toby Manewith, the rabbi with the mostess, tells me that in Judaism there are 3 kinds of prayers: praise, petition, and thanksgiving. You can never, as a Jew, lay enough praise on God, or give enough thanks. The petitions are very carefully shaped, though. I told you about how, if you drive into your neighborhood and hear the firetrucks, see the smoke, you are not supposed to pray that it isn't your house, because in some sense that means you're praying that someone else's house is on fire. You can pray that all beings are safe and sound.
It makes sense to me to have boundaries around the petitionary prayer. I think of all the stories where the heroes/heroinnes are granted only three wishes. Too many wishes granted always creates trouble, in the stories at least. And too much magic, whether it is enacted or just is, always takes a toll. I'm staring at my squidgy ankle right now, as I write this.
Looking forward to many more conversations!
How interesting to read that your mind has been contemplating spellcraft at a time when I am working, I suppose on a 'help me, help me' variety - albeit 'help someone else, help someone else'!
There is a real sense in which prayers and spellcraft divided, rightly I believe as you discern, into 'thank you' and 'help me', are entirely valid and appropriate.
That said, I'd baulk at the parking spaces metaphor because of my former born-again experience - it smacks too much for me of when I once heard a Christian blaming the Devil for her washing machine breaking down, preventing her from attending a prayer meeting that day!
When we bring in matters of convenience and inconvenience, I feel we trivialise and demean ourselves and our prayers and spellcraft. That's my tuppence' worth! After all, like so many things in life, we learn as human beings from overcoming these things by mundane (if there is such a thing) means. Too many people see spells, or prayer, as 'get-outs' for having to use the brains the gods gave them to problem-solve.
I found this to be another insightful, educating post. Thank you for sharing, my friend. x
My understanding of magic is that the role of ritual and symbolism is purely as a tool to help focus the mind and solidify the will towards a certain outcome.
If then one accepts the definition of magic as being the art of changing consciousness at will, then it seems to me that the more accomplished one becomes at practicing magic, the less on would need the ritual aspects of practicing magic, and one would move into the realm of simply being magic - being able to focus and control the mind without the need for circles and invocations and candles et al.
Your blog is always really interesting - thank you for sharing.
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