Lesson 1: The Fundamentals of Magick

© Copyright 2023 Karen Charboneau-Harrison, All Rights Reserved.

Magick is the control and direction of energies through the use of Magickal Will to affect both the external and internal realities of an individual or group. Thus, magick is the raising, directing and manipulation of energy. It is incorrect to call magick 'black' or 'white'. Magick is only as 'good' or 'bad' as the intentions of the person who is directing it and even then it can sometime depend on which side of the fence you sit on whether is appears to be 'good' or 'bad' to you.

There should be many considerations when using magick. Do you really want what you are working toward? Or would the fulfillment of your stated magickal desire actually be peripheral to what you truly want? What effects will the results of your magick have on other people? Does it take away from them? Control them or manipulate their free will? That type of magick is manipulative and will be detrimental to you. Can you handle the repercussions of your act? Reason it out - what are the most likely results of your action on your environment? Are you prepared to deal with the results?

Before you do a ritual, consider carefully the above questions. It is always a good idea to do a reading for yourself or have someone else do the reading for you to see if magick is the correct approach to your problem. This way you will be able to see the full scope of your endeavor.

You cannot do a ritual and then sit back and wait for the results to fall into your lap. When you do a ritual you are affecting the flow and ebb of the energy of the universe. You are manipulating the balance of energies. In order to get what you need in the easiest way and the shortest amount of time, you will need to set things up here, on the physical plane, to allow your desire to manifest in the most natural and simplest fashion. In other words, if you do a ritual to get the 'perfect job' and then sit in your house playing video games for the next two months waiting for someone to knock on your door to offer it to you, it is very doubtful that you will get what you want. However, if you do the job ritual and then look in the want ads in the newspaper and on-line, set up some interviews for yourself (thereby working with the energy of the universe) you will get what you want and need.

Magick is best used for internal changes and internal honing and strengthening. If you shape yourself into the person you want to be, you will have little need for external magicks (magicks that affect the outside world), for you will naturally be in tune with the energy of the universe and things will come to you in the flow of the universe without you having to manipulate circumstances.

Since you are working with universal and personal energies when doing magick, it is strongly recommended that the only person you manipulate is YOURSELF. As you practice magick, you will find through personal experience that the Law of Three comes into effect every time. The Law of Three states that whatever you do comes back to you threefold. Some people interpret this as coming back to you three times in three separate actions, others see this universal law as having a result on the three levels of being - physical, emotional and spiritual. By working magick on another person, you bind yourself to the karma of that person. This is not often wise for the adept and never wise for the novice. If you do magick to manipulate the free will of someone else, you will find your freedom restricted and yourself involved in doing things against your will as well.

Focus of intent is of vital importance to successful magick. You must have a clear and correct vision of your desire in order to get exactly what you want. Many times a magickian who is not precise will find to his or her chagrin that s/he is getting exactly what s/he asked for - and it isn't really what s/he wants! A case in point is a particular healing ritual that my coven did last autumn. The husband of one of the coveners had been involved in a fight and had been severely beaten. One side of his face was swollen to twice its normal size, his lip had been split, and he was in danger of losing his sight in one eye as his cornea had been displaced. Two days later, at the full moon, we did a healing rite. Although we were intending to heal his entire face completely, we were particularly concerned about the state of his eye and sent the majority of our magickal energy to its repair. The next day he reported to us that his eye had opened and the cornea was no longer displaced. However, his lip was now distended over his chin! We were not precise enough in our ritual to get the complete results we wanted.

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Go to Lesson 2: The Use of Symbology in Magick
Go to Lesson 3: Visualization in Magick
Go to Lesson 4: Developing the Magickal Will
Go to Lesson 5: Use of Energy Flows in Magick
Go to Lesson 6: The Magick of Color
Go to Lesson 7: The Magick of Music
Go to Lesson 8: What Is Magick & How Does It Work?
Go to Lesson 9: The Magickal Cabinet: Basic Supplies You'll Need