Hi, Everyone! Options

Hi everyone,
I'm a young woman who is very new to magick, and very skeptical. A few months ago it hit me like a brick that I am very, very interested in magickk, and have been thinking about it for years, almost subconsciously. I love the aesthetic, which may be off-putting but it's understandable, I hope.
I have also been very depressed about the concept of death and the idea that there is nothing beyond what we can perceive in the physical world, but magick stepped in right when I was losing all faith. It was kind of a crazy coincidence.
Still, like I said, I'm very skeptical, and what I want more than anything is to see proof that magick is real, but I have never practiced any kind of magick, therefore I don't know in the slightest. However, I am very interested (obviously) and that's why I joined. I want to learn from you all!
Hope to see you around the forums. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Salutations.

Consider the teachings of Bushido - live every day as if you are already dead, and you shall learn to hold death in contempt. In the end, it is not death that is frightening, but living well. Ask how yourself how much living every day that you are doing while you while away the hours or lose track of, and consider how it could have been better spent. Do something well, do something right, then die. Honor asks for no more and no less than that.

Magick is merely natural law that is hidden. There is much to learn, it has great risks of delusion and misguidance, but much enlightenment as well for those who are wise and true, patient and understanding. In the end, it is not indeed supernatural but merely natural and a proper mage will come to see how the mystical and the mundane are really just the same. Consider, for example, a glass of water.

A chemist could see it as H20; a mage with intelligence may also comprehend that it is two oxygens bonded to a hydrogen, but sense other subtle energies associated with it as well. Perhaps in time, a chemist could also measure those subtle energies, noting it as bioelectricity or some other obscure principle. And while a mage may be able to sense that an essential quality of the water and its subtle body is there or not there, perhaps someday a chemist can to. It is just a measure of measurement and thus far, I think the properly clairvoyant mind can appreciate more than our equipment can confirm.

This post has been edited by Lichdar: Jan 27 2011, 04:01 PM

I have spent a long time looking for magical systems that promise actual, physical, tangible, undeniable results. I would consider myself a materialist skeptic, so I understand where you're coming from; and like you, it is primarily the aesthetic of magic that attracts me. (Much like I love Catholicism for its ritual and vast body of theological works... but I don't believe a word of it!)

This may help you in your search. I would become a wholehearted devotee of magic if I could just obtain a few simple objective, verifiable results. The following are the systems I have found most promising.

a.) The Ars Goetia and other medieval grimoires: they promise fantastic things, as you are no doubt aware. Imperial Arts, on this very forum, says he's done things like cause an earthquake! Many people don't report any success, though. It might possibly be because Imperial Arts favors a strict by-the-book approach: do what the text says, and don't skip steps... from obtaining a lion-skin to casting the sigils of the demons in the appropriate metals. This is a lot of work, though, and expensive.

Joseph C. Lisiewski has also written a book favoring this method.

b.) Franz Bardon: Bardon wrote an excellent work called Initiation Into Hermetics, which is basically a step-by-step guide to becoming a hermetic magician, obtaining powers as varied as summoning elementals to controlling a candle flame with your mind. It is very popular and quite comprehensive. However, be aware I don't personally know anyone who was able to achieve physical results with it, except

c.) Prophecy, who is a member of the Veritas Society forums. He's written a less lengthy companion guide ("A Treatise on Elemental Magic") to Initiation Into Hermetics. It is mostly based on the former work, but with its own flavor. Again, I don't know of anyone who has managed tangible results from following it, but I have hardly interrogated everyone who has tried it, either.

d.) Kobok's Dynamic Psi: another member of Veritas, Kobok is adamant about rigorously controlled experimental psionics. He claims you can learn, through practice, to do things like move quarters, pencils, and even larger objects with your mind. He has written several guides to this effect. Here is a compendium. As the name suggests, it's more psionics than magic. We get a lot of people claiming minor results from this one, like spinning a "psi wheel", but I do not find that very convincing myself.

Meditation of some form or another should be your first and foremost concern; it will help clear your mind and allow you to understand what's going on, and perceive things you didn't before. You can test that objectively by noticing your overall increase in attention span in regards to mundane functions as well. Until you regularly meditate, you're not likely to have the clarity of mind to even notice anything else.

Its like having a diet full of refined sugars every day - your palate just won't be able to appreciate the subtle flavors anymore until you change your diet and let yourself rest. Likewise, if your attention is fixed on the flashy and the obvious, you won't notice the subtle.

Hi wwMarie,

May I suggest that you also explore the Shamanic Journey.
Results are immediate, accessible, profound, personal, and deepen
as your experience grows.

There are many resources. I highly recommend the "Harner Method".

Sandra Ingerman's "The Beginner's Guide to Shamanic Journeying"
is a good place to start.