Sorcerers And Sorcery Options

I have a soft spot for the title Sorcerer and the art of such called Sorcery.
And yeah, I'll admit it, it goes back to that infamous Apprentice by the name of Mickey Mouse.

What I have noticed over the years in various occult literature is the use of terms mostly has been to derogate whatever magickal approach for which the writers gave low regard.

What disappoints me is: regardless of how cool the terms are, the fact remains that there really is not a specific kind of magickal approach associated with them. I do not mean one particular universal paradigm here. I mean a kind of flavor that when tasted with one's meta-sensibilities clearly indicates a Sorcerer and Sorcery just as much as certain spices, herbs, and sauces clearly indicate unique ethnic cooks and their respective cuisines.

My preference would be for Sorcery to reference pathways that lay between the traditional old school and the modern new school - brushing shoulders with the nature-based and rubbing elbows with the technological - enabling group participation and allowing fierce independence - etc...

Regardless of my preference, however, I remain surprised that no one has been able to do for Sorcerers and Sorcery what Gardner (and Alexander, Buckland, et.al.) did for Witches and Witchcraft.

Note: make no mistake with that last parallel. I am not saying that Sorcery should end up exactly like Witchcraft today. The point of making that parallel is: those authors took those terms and dared to cook and to create memorable meals for a magickal approach that has a consistency, fragrance, flavor, and ambiance not only unique - but also very recognizable - compared to non-Witchcraft approaches ... even with all the diversity within Witches and Witchcraft.

This post has been edited by Praxis: Dec 4 2008, 12:40 PM

I've been doing some more thinking about Sorcerers and Sorcery - with specific regard to what I would like to see this Pathway become.

The real biggie for me would be for Sorcery to be as fresh as possible. Such freshness would entail stepping away from the old models (elementalism, astrology, the kabbalah, the tarot, the runes, evocation, invocation, calendrical waypoints, sigils, etc...) toward something new - but not toward something so wide open that all cohesion falls forever out of reach.

In the same vein, I don't want to see Sorcery encumbered with making and using an expansive arsenal of ritual tools to the point that a Sorcerer doing a working looks like some ruffian from encrusted with too much bling and waving around a plethora of blongs. And, at the same time, I don't want to see Sorcery pander to the lazy - who manage to conjure up just enough energy to sneer down at formalized workings, so that their slacking can be sold as indicating some sort of rarefied attainment above industrious others.

In light of that, the question still remains: what path through the magickal forest can be blazed that won't turn into just a cheap parallel of an already established, beaten path - won't turn into one of the crazy uber super highways - and yet would be worthy to inherit the venerable title?

I'm still working that one out.