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Getting Back into the Game

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10:16 / 08.06.06

I thought about putting this into the Stupid Magick Questions Thread, but that thread's grown so huge..

I've been thinking about magic a lot lately, though I haven't really done anything magical (aside from the occasional Tarot reading) in over a year. I'd like to get back into it, starting from the beginning, but I'm not quite sure where the beginning is.

Any advice?

10:44 / 08.06.06

I guess that depends on what variation of magic you are interested in starting out in. Was there a particular direction you wanted to go down? What have you done (briefly) before? What do you want out of magic?

11:35 / 08.06.06

Those are good questions, I'll try to tackle them one at a time:

What have you done (briefly) before?

When I was younger and my resources were more limited, there was Wicca and variations therof which pretty much amounted (in my mind) to about the same thing. A few people I knew were heavily into Native American Shamanism, but I didn't feel comfortable with tapping into a culture upon which I had no real claim.

I've had some success with goddess-oriented witchcraft, surprisingly enough. I've also done some pen-and-paper sigilising, which didn't yield any kind of appreciable results of which I am aware. An then there was the nearly unconscious video game sigil that was delightfully successful.

What do you want out of magic?
I suppose the simplest answer is that I want to affect my surroundings in a positive way, via both magical and physical means. Though the most honest answer is that I'm looking for confirmation that magic actually works, that there is actually something beyond my limited perception.

Was there a particular direction you wanted to go down?

That's what I'm struggling with at the moment.

There are just so many options out there now and so many opinions on the subject that I'm pretty much wandering in a state of confusion. I know enough to realize that this is a state of affairs that could either land me in trouble or at best waste a lot of time.

What I'm looking for right now is something simple to start with. A daily meditation or other practice that could get me back into some kind of groove that will enable me to get a clearer picture of where to go next.

11:36 / 08.06.06

Stop thinking, start doing, start thinking again.

Liber Resh thread down below - plenty of simple instructions there.

What you looking for? Any specific guidance in mind? Lettuce now or this thread might, y'know, sink

.

11:43 / 08.06.06

Sorry, think we simul-posted.

By Wicca, do you mean you did lineaged coven-based pagan witchcraft? I'd guess you mean more yer common or garden paganism. Which is cool!

What I'm looking for right now is something simple to start with. A daily meditation or other practice that could get me back into some kind of groove that will enable me to get a clearer picture of where to go next.
Think I get it. Something to do to tell you what you want to do. Again, Resh is both easy to start with, bit of head, bit of body, bit of spirit. Reckon you want to aim for something your gut says works - literally looking deeper and deeper into what the belly feels most comfortble with. If you "go looking for proof that magic works" (to paraprase you) it might do just that and bite you in the arse as well.

What's your dream life like? Remember them easy? If so, do a dream diary and do some simple meditation on what comes up in the dream, write down brief notes on what comes up. You like playing sport, hiking etc? Might be a good idea to get out in your area, sniff around, see what you're drawn to.

13:52 / 08.06.06

You also might want to consider doing one of Crowley's Liber Jugorum exercises for a week. They're simple, don't require you to hold any particular beliefs, and can have interesting and profound results.

I always like I(2)(C): "Avoid using the pronouns and adjectives of the first person."

Of course, as repeatedly noted in this forum, substitute snapping a rubber band on your wrist (or biting your thumb) for the razor.

15:42 / 08.06.06

I would recommend Israel Regardie's One Year Manual, devoting a month to each chapter. Also, thinking about your past, see if there is any one practice or path you keep returning to.

09:10 / 09.06.06

There's a summer solstice coming up soon - how about using this as a chance to "do something magical"? It seems like the perfect time to start something new, even if all you do is celebrate the solstice as fits your own custom in a place locally that means something to you, and invite the local spirits along.

10:45 / 10.06.06

I think that you have the right idea. Simply get a practice, and stick to it like glue. I've always likened it to a tree. The base practice is the root, which sends up a trunk. Branches and leaves arise from that trunk, but it's the root that nourishes. Cut off the root, and everything else falls apart. I've found that the best base practices are non- dogmatic as possible, related to skills rather than beliefs.

One of the interesting things that seem to happen with that is that different magickal techniques seem to just "show up" when I have non-dogmatic base practices. I'll come across a book, or perhaps run into someone with some needed ideas. It just seems to happen.

My outward belief based practices invariably change according to need, but I keep the base practices the same. That way I can be assured that I'll get an answer as to what to use in terms of realizing an intent.

19:59 / 17.06.06

Thanks for the tips, folks. I knew I could count on you.

I did a little bit of meditation today. Nothing formal, just sitting under a tree with my eyes closed, breathing deeply for a few minutes. I came out of it feeling refreshed and full of hope for the first time in many weeks.

18:20 / 23.06.06

have you looked into using or learning a divination technique?

I recently started using the I ching on a more regular basis and it's definatly one of the things (other than the constant, and to be honest, slightly annoying synchronicities that I keep noticing) that made me think there might be more to 'it' than I thought. My first I ching divination made me gasp out load at it's accuracy and general correctness in assessing the situation. Give it a spin.

19:16 / 24.06.06

I used to do the tarot on a regular basis, I'll probably start up again, now that you mention it.

How does the I Ching work? Are there any good sets/books/online resources that you would recommend to someone getting started?

16:01 / 26.06.06

Read around here & the wiki for starters on the I Ching.

I've been reading my way through the book and writing about it here, which may or may not be helpful. I'm pretty much a beginner with it, although I'm familiar enough with tarot and have done a bit of reading in Chinese history/philosophy/culture (so I can piece together background bits).

The links at the bottom of every post are where the real treasure is, but that can easily get overwhelming at first. Just try to familiarize yourself with the 8 changes -- the ba gua, or trigrams (three-line symbols, eight possible configurations of yin & yang lines), and what they each represent.

And if anyone knows more about 'em, please add stuff to that wiki page behind the link. It's a little thin right now.

10:06 / 27.06.06

ah! cheers grant, I was hoping someone more knowledgable would step in.

For the record, I use the Richard Wilhelm transaltion of
The Book. I've been told it's probably the best translation, but I haven't compared to it to anything else. It does seem to be very thorough and well translated however.

18:04 / 28.06.06

also, this looks like it could be quite good for a beginner. As soon as I move I'm also planning on starting to practise the LBRP daily, take up a practise such as tai chi, and start doing liber resh and liber juggorum regularly. I think these practises would be good starting places for developing your own practises as they all concentrate on changing yourself rather than using external [deities/beings/powers], so even if magic and associated practises do turn out to be a crock o' crap and this entire board an extended practical joke, you still end up with some useful skills that can be transferred to the 'real world'. oh, and meditation, of course!

20:46 / 29.06.06

I myself have recently begun to return to the magickal pool, albiet by dipping my toes in one at a time. For me, this has been a time of examining the accomplishments of the past, as well as the causes and effects of the past. In other words, what have I done, been able to do, wanted to do, how did I do them, etc. Moreover, what were the results, what did I gain (or lose) from shaping my will. From that do I glean new perspective on what I might want to accomplish, and what I really do want to accomplish in the near future.

14:19 / 03.07.06

I've been practicing majick of one form or another since I was a child, always alone, and in later years found myself most comfortable with sigils. They work, and theres not to much hoo-hah, as I am often fairly lazy and disorganised. But every so often, and particularly right now, I feel like I'm going nowhere. majickally speaking, and something is missing. I feel pretty unconnected to any majickal tradition I've come across so far, except perhaps for some sympathies/empathies with Spare's system and aspects of Chaos majick. I feel quite desperate, and panicky inside at the thought of this spiritual deadness I feel. Something big is coming, and I don't think its pretty. I think I need to shit, or get off the pot, as it were, before I go totally off the deep end. This is the first time I've publicly attempted to talk about this, as none of my friends or acquaintances practice majick, aside from some friends of my wife, and their sympathies lie more with nature and witchcraft, which I simply have NO feeling for. Hopefuly, if I dig around and lurk in these here parts for a while, I may find myself tugged in the right direction. Thanks for listening, and apologies if it makes no sense.

14:34 / 03.07.06

Good luck! Please don't spell it majick though, magic is fine. Here's a thread on the special K etc.

14:45 / 03.07.06

No sympathies with nature? None at all?

15:09 / 03.07.06

Oh dear lord, be gentle, guys...

19:03 / 03.07.06

yeah, sorry about that. Its a habit i got into, to differentiate it from Crowley's Magick, and ,y'know, slight of hand and card tricks. Force of habit. I'm used to dealing with people that just don't know the difference.

Less searchable M0rd4nt

19:45 / 03.07.06

They [sigils] work, and theres not to much hoo-hah, as I am often fairly lazy and disorganised. But every so often, and particularly right now, I feel like I'm going nowhere. majickally speaking, and something is missing.

Just off the top of my head, might this missing ingredient be, oh, I don't know, any kind of serious engagement with magic at all? It's okay to like sigils, if they work for you and if you've engaged with the technique in an inspired and inspiring way.

But you like sigils because they're easy. There's no 'hoo-hah'--no preperation, no study, no putting aside a corner of your life, no giving up videogames for a bit, nothing to bite into your leisure time. No sacrifice.

Why are you even practicing magic? What do you hope to gain by it that you couldn't achieve through other means? What are the things you do when you could reasonably be doing magic, and why are you doing them? Have a think. Don't beat yourself up over it, just try and make an honest appraisal.

20:09 / 03.07.06

futilitarian, you talk about needing to shit or get off the pot. i suspect that these are quite revealing words. people of a magical bent, it seems, can be very sensitive to the effects of marijuana. based on my personal experience of being a regular toker (daily) from a young age, there is a certain amount of natural emotional development suppressed by constant interaction with that drug. In my case this led me to similar feelings of anxiety and spiritual deadness in my early to mid twenties.

your repulsion towards nature is quite telling too, it suggests you've psychologically separated yourself off from a great well of sustenance that surrounds and inhabits you and is critically important for growth. not a very healthy thing to do.

this is just my opinion but i think you need to quit the weed, at least for a few months, sort out your diet and get some regular exercise to help get your bowels moving and calm down that anxiety. Then i recommend you go and embrace what offends you by perhaps getting out into the countryside or a nice park and having a really good look around.

22:53 / 03.07.06

Maybe the problem with you was not the marijuana but the daily use, uh? And about connection with nature: I'd like to point that there's nothing essentialy "natural" to it - I mean, one can live entire life on city without caring with trees and yet having an intense spiritual life.

Anyway, the best restart I can see is the dream diary. If magick doesn't exists, at least you're working with your subconscious mind and yearning for self-knowledge.

23:00 / 03.07.06

Wait, what I am saying? Magick is supposed to be about life, objective, concrete life, and not some sort of spiritual ascetism. Keep the dream diary

but I would recommend:
-starting/stopping to eat meat, deppending of your current state
-changing your musical taste
-praying FAITHFULLY to an exotic deity everyday before sleep
-allowing your hair to grow, or, if it's already long, cutting it.

At least it's what I am doing to getting back into the game. It's working.

00:56 / 04.07.06

Am I witnessing a two-pronged display of the most deftly ambiguous sarcasm I've ever encountered, or have more fish actually jumped out of the ocean and into the barrel? Honest to God, I can't tell.

07:30 / 04.07.06

i suspect futilitarian is using it daily, that's why i brought it up. in your case, kerry thornley, i'm sure daily use will do absolutely no harm. not a bit.

08:38 / 04.07.06

Wait, have I gone blind? I've read fulitarian's post three times now and I can't see the mention of weed usage.... oh. "get off the pot". I see. I supect ze's using that phrase as a euphemism for commitment, not talking about substance abuse.

Also, note ze doesn't say he's repulsed by nature, just that he's no feeling for "nature and witchcraft". Different thing. Many witchy texts (and I'm afraid, practioners) would put me off completely as well, but an engagement with nature doesn't have to be all windchimes and unicorns.

08:40 / 04.07.06

I don't think Futilitarian was talking about that kind of pot...

To expand on my point upthread, the problem with not feeling a connection with "nature" is that you are a part of it, you exist in symbiosis with it, you are it. For a magician to not feel any connection to nature AT ALL, points towards a bit of a problem in how you view yourself in relation to your surroundings that should - at the very least - be looked at more closely and engaged with more fully by any would-be magician worth their salt. Your language suggests a knee jerk aversion to "trees and plants and shit like that" which is probably fairly unexamined, and more than likely conditioned by exposure to fluff-wiccan nonsense or new age meandering. Maybe try spending a night by yourself in the woods if you want to know about the magic that lives in wild places. You might find something interesting there after all.

08:45 / 04.07.06

Hold up a minute – I didn't know that guy had expanded his essay into a full book! I'll have to be getting myself a copy of that!

08:56 / 04.07.06

Gypsy - news to me as well. I want a copy NOW!

Something else … to go back to the orignal post, what degree is all this connected to expectations, self-criticism etc. I don’t know if I’ll be able to articulate this very well, but here goes: I periodically have periods where I get into thinking “I’m not as good as X at (x activity)”, or “I’m shit at X if only X happened then I’d be sorted”. Sometimes this leads to me making big promises to myself “Right THIS TIME, I’m really going to do it…”

I dunno, after years of doing this I now recognise the impulse, sometimes I have the brains to let go and just accept all my flaws, rather than getting tied into knots about re-building myself from the ground up. Choygam Tryngpa is good to read on this re. false expectations we bring to spiritual work. If nothing else, I find myself in a much calmer and grounded state to make decisions when I get into the groove of this type of thinking.

11:43 / 04.07.06

doh. 'shit or get off the pot' is a euphemism. do i feel stupid?

yes.

12:23 / 04.07.06

Futilitarian, to underscore what Mordant was getting at, it could really help you to take a second and identify what it is you're trying to explore or accomplish. If you're feeling disengaged from practice, a specific goal can serve as a re-entry point. Magic, along with the feeling it inspires, tends to grow and osmose. Give it access, and it'll find the bits of your life where it's lacking and sploosh its way in--like Monster Blood, if you're a fan of R.L. Stine's late-period oeuvres. That is, in my experience.

So... what do you want, at least at first? Want to feel more connected with the world around you? (Apparently not.) Trawl weird astral zones for new insights? Charge the everyday with significance? Refine your decisionmaking about the future? Develop a rapport with gods, angels, or (if you must) Great Old Ones? Seriously, just take a deep breath, be specific and realistic in defining your initial scope, and get going. You can do it if you start small--it'll grow on its own. This is just my recommendation, for whatever it's worth. There are other, more gestalt approaches, but this is the one I'd personally take if I were trying to get past a "block."

14:13 / 04.07.06

No sarcasm meant.
And, uh, what about that jumping fish thing? I don't get it.

17:52 / 04.07.06

I've got no idea about the fish in a barrel thing, but that Genius Loci book looks great.

"Maybe try spending a night by yourself in the woods if you want to know about the magic that lives in wild places. You might find something interesting there after all."
Like maybe A BADGER!

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