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Language as Magick

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10:16 / 29.09.01

OK, so expressionless has mentioned this in various places with reference to his lyrics, and peope have mentioned that it's the sort of thing Saul Williams gets up to, but I'm wondering... How do you create lyrics/poems/literature as a spell? How is it cast?

And yes, this is atleasyt partially so I can scare the shit out of my English department at school next time they give us a Language courseowkr to do some creative writting and explain what it's about...

13:20 / 29.09.01

Something I've been playing with is what I call, for lack of a better term, 'signal syllabification.' What I'll do is isolate a certain monosyllable that is in some way representative of my desire or aim. I set the stage, so-to-speak, by emphasizing this syllable musically- strongest beat in the measure, distinct musical 'trick,' (I personally can't sample, but I could see where it would appy dead-on here), often a strong key tone for the signal. I work this up almost monotnously- aim being to associate the syllable with it's representative sound(s). Then, if you've bdone it enough, the listener will read the syllable into the sound, even when the syllable will is not there. Sure- this is musical, but what I also do is use that syllable- back when it still was a verbal element, and find it in as many words as I can, emphasising that syllable- especially when it violates the normal accenting of the word.

Poorly explained, but hey...

14:40 / 30.09.01

Just write it in the first person

The reader "casts" it when it is read. Even if they don't intend to work it as magick, the subconscious is affected by input regardless. See NLP (neural linguistic programming) studies for more on this.

18:21 / 01.10.01

Yeah, but where, dude?
Where can I find stuff about NLP?
Thanks.

19:03 / 01.10.01

Words are just names for things.
As Rush Limbaugh was once fond of saying, "Words mean things."

And once you get a handle on the words, you should get a handle on the things they REALLY mean.

Also, once you create words or new meanings for words, then you've (on a subjective level) changed that thing. Or at least, the model of that thing in the psyche.

Saul Williams does this when he subverts the rap use of "nigga" even further, chanting:
"I am that nigga
I am that nigga
I am that nigga
I am that negro
Negro, from necro, meaning death
I overcame it so they named me after it..."
(Or something along those lines).
It sure as hell changed the way I hear that word from now on.

Being able to create equally powerful associations with words - especially subversive associations - changes the way the words' referents are accepted. And well, that's magic.

19:12 / 01.10.01

quote:Originally posted by 08:
Yeah, but where, dude?
Where can I find stuff about NLP?

google, Amazon, Powells...

try some searches on "Neural-linguistic Programming". There are hosts of pages and books on the subject. Its really neat stuff. Usually filed under Psychology.

Tryphena Absent

10:07 / 02.10.01

Language is really prominent in psychology. If you look at someone like Lacan who's work is partly focused on language you'll find that language is a real basis for that kind of thing. Basically he says that it allows you, as a child, to separate yourself from other people and objects. You identify yourself as 'me' and other people as 'them/him/her' and thus you create the foundation of you as a human being.

Basically this means that anything you do relies on your understanding of language because it's so related to self-identification. Magick of any kind is going to effect some area of your life, every time you open your mouth to speak whether you utter the words or not you're going to effect something.

If, for instance, you're a witch, anything you say in the circle is going to be heard by the Goddess and thus have some outcome within your relationship with her or in a spell etc. Language is used to invoke - in ritual magick there are set ways to do it but for me the words are more important than the actions because action is a symbolic thing and what I do is more about outcome and my relationship with the world than the symbolism of a ritual.

Me and a friend used to do a lot of spell work together and we'd start off using nonsense words in a repetitive chant which is something that I think a lot of Wiccans do (though I would never class myself as one). It keys you in to language and its use in a way that you can't manage if you use words with meaning because it leaves image behind.

Well, anyway, I was bored, back at uni with only 6 hours a week and 20p til Thursday! Oh I am the cliche for student.

12:19 / 02.10.01

quote:Originally posted by Theo Kalypso:
Something I've been playing with is what I call, for lack of a better term, 'signal syllabification.'

That's cool Theo. It's very similar to the practice of discovering/creating your own 'mantras' only yours are hidden and interactive

Another thing about language, I never liked using words in magic as incantations etc. (storytelling yes but that's more spoken hypersigil stuff) until I started learning spanish. Then all of a sudden there seemed to be power in the words.

I think this is because the rhythm, meaning, syntax etc. are all different than old familiar english. When using a different language that you're not fully comfortable with you are breaking outside of your definitions of 'you'. A powerful place to be when doing magic.