Sorcery, merged with older thread Options

“Sorcery has no bounds or limits, except those that are put in place by the practitioner. It is the Study of Raw Power and often of Dark Energies. It stems from an Inherent need to delve into the deepest and darkest parts of One’s Self and although it may be dangerous and painful to Realise your Primal fears and desires it is well worth the effort”.

I was somewhat disappointed but not surprised to see so little interest in this category. I know that information is hard to find but so is anything that is worth the effort.

Although this is not the Path for everybody I hope that at least some of you are interested.

I am therefore inserting a basic description.

EDIT - text reduced to normal size. Mediocracy 01/04/2005

Sorcery is the need to study the deepest and darkest parts of ones self. Through understanding their primal desires, obscure passions, and emotionality the practitioner than draws on his or her own Raw Power. Most Sorcerers adopt an aggressive stance in their magical works. They tend to ignore whether or not they use their power for “good” or “evil, and often dismiss such concepts from their lives altogether.

Sorcery cares not what it changes.... it simply changes

Central to sorcery are Balance and Polarity within ones self, this can then be transferred to the world around us. The sorcerer is an expert at bending things to their own will. The most common way of achieving this is by using Twilight – this is a realm of the mind which is characterized by its extreme distortive properties, roiling energies, and occurrences bizarre enough to shock even the calmest, most accepting individuals. The practitioner can make changes in this shadow world that will then manifest themselves in the everyday world.

The unique art known as Sorcery is one which knows no bounds and has no limits, except those which are allowed by the user.

Another aspect of Sorcery is Glamour. This grants its wielder immense powers of persuasion. Ultimately it changes the way People Perceive the Person that is using it. It can Instill fear and create harmony. Oh and if you wish to temporarily change your appearance it can be useful to.

Hope this was some Help

This post has been edited by mediocracy: Apr 1 2005, 09:18 AM

An interesting question, which I think throws some practical light on the discussion at hand.

If someone's workings are causing trouble in either the astral or the mundane world, the first step is fairly uncontroversial and exoteric, and is: Stop doing it.

A further response according to the mind-set of ceremonial magic would be something like: these forces are astral entities. They may not have rational minds or emotions like ours, but they do have their own agendas, which they will persue to the utmost (as do we), especially if granted the opportunity to act on planes to which they do not, in the normal course of things, have access. They can be kept in check by other entities more powerful than themselves. The best course of action is therefore to bind them with the appropriate sigils and names of power.

A sorcerer's response, however, would be more like: these forces are manifestations of pure energy, or energic resonance. They are neither creative nor destructive, except insofar as they are in the right or wrong place at the right or wrong time. At the moment, they are in the wrong place at the wrong time. As energy obeys the law of conservation, they cannot be destroyed, but they can be re-directed or balanced out with other energies (as in frequency waves, velocities &c). The best course of action is therefore either to send the power out into the earth itself or the whole universe (possibly using techniques akin to those practiced in Wicca ceremonial - it's not all fluff) or to perform a second ritual or ritual-series, using correspondances directly opposite those deployed in the original working; to take a very simplistic example, to carry out a water-based elemental ritual if a spell calling on the elemental power of fire is the one that's getting out of hand. (Of course, if the sorcerer in question invented the working completely 'on the hoof', he may have to do some research to find out which correspondances he actually used in the first place, which as far as I can tell is why most sources reccommend at least some degree of preparation.)

Completely non-magical responses are also possible, and usually extend to making an appointment with a qualified health professional or gettin' on your knees and prayin' to Jesus. (Obviously everybody loves these, and finds them exceptionally helpful. The Loris, however, does not reccommend heedlessly activating forces you can't control and whose workings nobody fully understands, such as the Church, or the mental health system.) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/mf_popeanim.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/drugs.gif)

I hope this is interesting, or at least useful. Any thoughts?

PS - If anyone in this hypothetical scenario is having any actual trouble with nasties of any kind, I've often found the LBRP instantly and thoroughly useful, and never heard of it doing any harm.

PPS - I only included the third sets of responses for completeness and comparison, and so that I could use some smilies. Obviously everyone's beliefs are equally valid in the absence of solid scientific confirmation with a comprehensive theoretical base (and yes, psychiatrists of the world, this means you too!) and far be it from me to bash. [COLOR=purple]Makes a libation to the spirits of not-getting-spanked-by-the-moderators.

This post has been edited by SlowLoris: Jun 26 2005, 12:02 PM