Ever since the beginning of time it seems that people have been fascinated by the use of magick. Wizardry, sorcery, witchcraft were always seen as fantastic practices, because they contacted another plane and tapped into something that everyday people could not explain. Beautiful art has been constructed using magickal images as the focal point. Yet after all this time, people still don't understand what magick is. It remains a mystery.
Magick does not have to be a mystery. Although no one understands how it works, we do understand that it does work, and to some extent we even know what it is. Magick is energy contained within all natural things that can be contacted and manipulated by will alone. The art of the magician is the art of using the mind to contact that energy, focus it, and direct it to do our will.
Magick is a gift of the Goddess. Magick is a personal power that we possess because we are natural beings. It is important to understand that magick is not unnatural. It is not from the Devil. It is something that we have in us from birth, but at such a time it is raw. Through skills such as meditation, visualization and concentration, the magician learn to control his magick and let it work for him.
This is not to say that one can learn to snap his fingers and make something appear. That is not magick, that is folly. It simply can't be done. One can, however, learn to influence the outcome of a situation, bring good fortune unto himself or others, and heal himself or others. Magick is, in this sense, an all purpose energy, that when used correctly, can do wondrous and amazing things.
There are three commons "sources" of magick: Earth magick, cosmic magick and personal magick. These are all inexhaustible resources. If you know about the law of thermodynamics you know that energy can be neither created nor lost. The same is true for magickal energy. Magick never simply goes away, but it may be transferred from one source to another. We may take energy from the Earth or the Cosmos (which some people say is the same thing as the Gods), and they may take from us. There are two times a year when magick is said to be replenished, and that is on Samhain and individual birthdays. On Samhain, the Wiccan New Year, magick that once belonged to the Earth is returned to it, replenishing us all with power. On our birthdays, likewise, the magick that once was ours is replenished, and we are free to use it all again. But it is important to remember that magick is never lost, it merely gets transferred from one source to another.
I have come to learn that magick is all of these things, and yet it is none of these things. The truth is, magick is not something that exists outside of us. In other words, there is no division between our bodies, our souls or magick. In Western thought we like to separate things, because it makes it easier to discuss and analyze. We are energy, and since magick is energy and energy is magick, we are magick. It is folly to say that magick lies within us, because it is us. Every time you exhale, you are expending magickal energy. There is no division, there is no separation. You are magick. Remember that.
Magick can be used for good or bad. I won't deny that. But what makes magick good or bad is the intent of the practitioner. If the practitioner wills bad things to happen, then the magick in turn becomes bad. But once that spell is completed, the power that the practitioner released becomes neutralized again. That is to say that there is not an equal amount of good and bad magick floating around. All magick is neutral to start unless charged by the practitioner.
Anyone can practice magick. It is a gift that every one of us was given if we chose to do so. The only requirements to using magick is knowing that it will come back to you threefold, and understanding that it is something that you always have. It is your life force, it is your breath, it is your heartbeat. It is your soul. You are magick. Remember that, and practicing magick may become a lot easier for you.
