The first aim of magick is, however, not to dominate others but

rather to strengthen the personality of the magician so he can control his entire environment and his life in general. And that is basically what magick is all about - life - for magick is deeply concerned with living, with creating, with manifested power, with becoming one with God in nature. Even magick's interest in an afterlife is an attempt to prolong life in the physical world, because in all its forms magick recognizes that the highest homage man can pay to God is to live life richly and fully. Thus magick seeks to develop man's unconscious powers and use them to enrich his life, to overcome poverty and distress, all in order to enjoy every minute of the short span of his existence on this planet.

The Hebrews, who were quite wise in the ways of magick,

believed that upon death man had to answer to God for every unhappy moment he brought upon himself during life, and for each opportunity to be happy that he let escape. To avoid such a distressing confrontation is the main purpose of magick. From this we can see that there is nothing supernatural about magick and that magick is very real, very much a part of man. Anything that can be accomplished by using magick is simply the result of a conscious or unconscious application of the laws of nature through the power of the will. In this sense any act of will that brings about the realization of our desires is an act of magick.

We all practice magick at one time or another in our lives, often

unconsciously. Each time we will something to happen and it does, each time we achieve a goal or see a dream come true, we are using magick. What the magician and the average person who achieves a goal have in common is will and determination. The difference between them is only that the magician is conscious of the magickal work he is doing but also that he knows his limitations. Sometimes we find ourselves struggling to achieve things that are quite obviously beyond our "sphere of availability." The thin line between the improbable and the probable is the sphere of availability. These are the impossible dreams, Don Quixote battling against windmills, and we often discover after many desperate efforts that we are fighting a hopeless battle. Magick teaches that there are no impossibilities, only imprbabilities. The magician never tries to reach the improbable. What he constantly tries to do is to widen his sphere of availability so that there are more probable things within his grasp. With this knowledge at his disposal the magician can accomplish many things usually denied to the average person.

Willpower is only one of the four main laws of magick. These

universal laws are observed by all practicing magicians, from the Kabbalist to the African Witch Doctor, and are:

1. To know 2. To dare 3. To will 4. To keep silent

The magician is an avid scholar of nature and its control. He must have courage, because some of the rituals of magick can be fearsome. Furthermore, the magician is a master of positive thought, and for him there are no denials. He is the soul of discretion because he believes that knowledge is power and that power shared is power lost. To the magician negative thoughts can mean the destruction of his work, and therefore in order to avoid negativity he trusts no one.

These four laws provide a clear blueprint of the magickal

personality and make the secrecy of magicians easier to understand. They also bring new perspectives to the stereotyped concept of magick, for they make us deeply aware that magick is in reality part of man's eternal struggle to control his environment as well as himself. This control, this mastery, can be achieved only, says magick, through the help of God. But how does one reach God? Sometimes prayer alone is not enough, and then man loses faith and cries out in agony that there is no God. Magick knows that there is a God. Furthermore, magick knows that God wants to help man, but God is pure spirit and therefore not within easy reach. One must dig deep within one's soul to establish contact with the Divine Being, one must journey deeply into the dark realms of the unconscious mind to reach God.

God is in man. This is perhaps one of the most guarded secrets

of magick. One does not project outwardly to a mythical heaven in order to reach God, but inwardly to the inner mansions of the human soul, where God dwells. According to magick, God, the Unknown, is the whole of creation. When man prays to God, however, he is not praying to this sum total of the universe, for man has a personal god who provides for him. This personal god is part of the One Creative Force, the All-Knowing God, and as such has all of God's powers at his disposal. All magick rituals and ceremonies are directed toward this personal god that dwells within. To reach him, to identify with him, is the supreme goal of the magician.

In reality, man's personal god is composed of the combined

energies of the primordial instincts. It is potential, yet dormant, power waiting patiently to place itself at man's disposal. All man needs to unlesh this awesome force is concentrated will and determination, and full awareness of his limitations. In other words, what he needs is magick.

Any Questions?