Well done.
What could possibly go wrong?
NOTHING HAPPENS and as you rack up the failures, your confidence goes down. You suspect this makes future failure even more likely. Depressing, huh?
What to do about this: relax. Avoid blaming karma, timing, True Will or any other bullshit excuses. You failed. However, if your magic isn’t working you won’t be doing much harm. While some magicians try to frighten novices with phrases like “magic is like a loaded gun: you don’t give it to children”, such patronising bullshit reflects the magician’s desire to control others rather than the sober facts. Get feedback from more helpful people as to how you can improve your skills and powers. Study and practice. It’ll come, believe me.
SOMETHING DOES HAPPEN AND YOU'RE PANICKING. Suddenly something throws your whole world-view into the grinder. “There’s something ‘orrible out there and it’s in here!”
What to do about this: breathe. Well done, you have some skills and some power. Now push on. Only at this point, beyond your personal current comfort zone, will you learn and grow. Go for it: nothing will jump out and eat you.
HOWEVER, IF THE FEAR GETS ON TOP OF YOU ...
What to do about this: laugh. Force yourself. Really. Laughter clears the mind of such things and grounds you in the ordinary world again, so chaos magicians use it frequently as a form of banishing. And get familiar with a banishing ritual or two, such as my Axis Mundi or the Gnostic Pentagram Ritual.
Also, to protect oneself from entities encountered in magic, many magicians first invoke the greatest power in their psychocosm, be it Tao, the Holy Spirit, Kia, your subconscious mind or your Holy Guardian Angel. For this reason we still have the Ritual of the Bornless One and the Invocation of Baphomet, for example. Unite yourself with the biggest thing in your magical world and you have an edge over anything else in it.
Some of the nasty things that can happen to you do not come with a nice clear warning on the packet like a feeling of fright. Such as:
DELUSIONS OF SPECIALNESS "Despite the fact that I live with my mum and dad, have no job and no partner and only a few friends who hang out and waste time, I become blest with secret knowledge, and only I can bring this to the world. Of course, the Dark Ones (insert bogeyman of the month) are trying to stop me, and are influencing people to turn against me so I have to constantly fight magical battles of cosmos-shaking wrath! I talk about these momentous magical truths and nothing else. People I know start avoiding me, which proves they're in the power of the Dark Ones."
Got that one? Obsession, turning into paranoia.
What to do about this: get a life. Ditch the losers in it, find a paying occupation and a hobby or two. Live alone if necessary.
How about some more?
"OVER TIME I HAVE REALISED THAT ALL LIFE IS MAGICAL. My will extends to the simplest act of movement or thought, and all that surrounds me is there because I willed it so. I don't need to actually get off my ass and do spells: such primitive efforts are beneath me now. When I emerge from my bedroom into the real world I find it odd that I live in a shithole and nobody likes me and they call me a pretentious twat, but that must be some higher initiation which comes with experience on the Path."
That was the sophist, the armchair magician, master of the 10 x 10 room.
What to do about this: get up and do some real magic. Spells and stuff. You ain't doin' it by reading about it or by posting on a forum. Do it. Only in the doing will you learn.
Also check your Great Realisations against some of the older, streetwise magicians you can find. You'll grow mad in isolation. Finally, get a life, ditch the losers in it blah blah blah as above.
BURN-OUT. Very simple: you've been overdoing it.
OVERDOING THE THINKING results in headaches, restlessness, insomnia, inability to concentrate, and delusions of specialness. So you end up talking a lot of shit.
What to do about this: stop thinking so much, go do something non-magical and very sweaty and physical.
OVERDOING THE ACTUAL PRACTICE OF MAGIC (rare, huh!) creates similar symptoms, and you feel totally exhausted and run-down. After all, magic can get strenuous and often involves hard work.
What to do about this: rest, treat it like a bit of a cold, lay off the magic until you've recovered. It passes, like most things. "
MISUSE OF POWER. “I’ve become pretty good at magic. I use it to get up in the mornings, to walk the dog, for everything. And also, it’s time to get even. My enemies had better look out.” Even disregarding dotty beliefs like karma or 3-fold Law, you should have noticed that aggressive people seem to attract trouble to themselves and cause unnecessary suffering to others who may never even have meant them them any harm. And using magic instead of perfectly feasible mundane methods fairly screams of a lack of confidence in oneself.
What to do about this: Before smiting your enemies, decide whether you really need to. List the possible consequences and choose carefully what you’re preparing yourself to live with. Seek alternatives.
And as for using magic as a crutch: learn to stand on your own two feet. If you lack self-confidence without magic, you’ll really screw your ego into the ground at some point. Magic seems to amplify our personal traits. A failure in life will become a spectacular smoking wreck with the aid of magic. Sort yourself out. Get professional help if you think you need it.
HOW COULD I HAVE FORGOTTEN THE ONE-TRICK PONY? Blind spot obviously. 'Cos that's what happens. What we left out of our psychocosm comes around and hits us on the back of the head, leaving us wondering how the f*** that happened.
What to do about this: study widely, practice lots, reflect, breach your limiting beliefs and go for the new and scary. See point (2).
