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Magickal kick-about

  
 
Less searchable M0rd4nt
08:44 / 27.10.02
A sort of spinoff of Rex's Random Magick Question and Answer Thread. I thought it might be useful to get people talking about the Magick forum in a general way, in the hopes of breaking the ice and maybe encouraging people who wouldn't normally visit that particular forum to get involved.

What would you like to see in the Mag.?
What puts you off?
Are there any topics in particular you'd like to see discussed?
What concerns, if any, does the Magick raise for you?
Can we get you an extra cushion? How about some pie? Cup of tea?
 
 
pointless and uncalled for
08:53 / 27.10.02
Can't think of any right now.

Just a general lack of interest/belief in magik.

I guess that would be a no.

None really.

I'll take the pie but it better not be charmed or anything, it's bad karma to fuck with pie.

I've probably been the least helpful person possible but in a away it's good to see a post like this after some regularity of "Oh woe is Majick" threads.
 
 
Our Lady of The Two Towers
10:18 / 27.10.02
Yeah, at the moment I have, for some reason, gone from being mildly sceptical but but thinking there may be something in it, to being James Randi without the beard. Don't know why, maybe just a grumpy Autumn thing. Am trying to lurk down there when I have the time though.
 
 
STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK
10:34 / 27.10.02
More explanatory thread titles. (That is a fault that's shared with many fora on this board, though.) If (as seems to be the case with Magick) threads are gonna be very long, it's nice to know beforehand what the generalo thrust is, rather than reading a page or so and finding the title was an in-joke. (Again, common problem across many of the fora, so not pointing fingers, but, as someone who visits Magick rarely (about once or twice weekly) and then mainly just lurks, I'd find that handy.
 
 
Shortfatdyke
12:47 / 27.10.02
I'm on the fringes here, want to dive in in a bigger way now I'm in Kernow. What puts me off? My own ignorance, although, saying that, I think it's more my perception of my own ignorance. I know more than I think I do, but, as with everything else, not in an 'academic' (for want of a better word) way.

But, plenty to get involved in down here, I expect to be learning more.
 
 
8===>Q: alyn
19:25 / 27.10.02
Not so much about the forum itself, but howzabout a faq/site on Barbelith servitors, Magick regulars, and so on? Also, would it be effective for some of the more puissant regulars to send Dabh out on a mission to bring in newbies, using whatever methods he thinks best?
 
 
Perfect Tommy
19:25 / 27.10.02
I wish there were some way to get across the idea that you don't have to believe in magic for it to work...

I'm actually not just being snarky--I've currently adopted the belief that watching for synchronicities is just a way to see what your subconscious pays attention to. I think that's just as useful as believing that the universe is waving frantically at you to get your attention.

Maybe we could have some Switchboard crossover. Surrealist performance art protests have been mentioned there a lot lately; shaman as showman, anyone?
 
 
w1rebaby
21:06 / 27.10.02
Well, I'm interested in magick itself and how it interacts with other ways of thinking, mostly because it's something radically different from my general training and experience. And I always like to get new perspectives, tune up my overall worldview.

But, y'know...

1. it's quite a lot of work, a lot of the discussions are too arcane for me so I'd have to lurk for ages. There's no shame in lurking, you have to start somewhere, but it's a long process, and...

2. ...to be honest, right now I've got a lot on my RL plate and I don't seem to have the intellectual drive I once had. I'm easily frustrated and give up too quickly. It's pretty shit, really.

I suppose if you're looking to attract lazy fucks like me, FAQs of the basic stuff would be good, but I wouldn't expect you guys to do that just because I'm not putting the effort in. Is there a general floating newsgroup-type FAQ out there?
 
 
Perfect Tommy
22:14 / 27.10.02
For what it's worth, I'm attempting to restart my online magical journal attempt of six months ago. The idea is that, since I don't know what I'm doing, other folks new to chaos magic can watch me stumble along.

Of course, NaNoWriMo's starting soon, so I'll be pretty strapped for time. But all the better for me to weep openly in public and make frantic bloodpacts with 'orrible beasties for just a few thousand more words...
 
 
illmatic
08:17 / 28.10.02

Hi Mordant. Glad you've started this thread as I planned to start one similar myself. I've been wondering y'know what's it's all for, and was hoping to get feedback from others so I could ariculate this to myself. Let's see.

I don't know what I'd like to see in the Magick but I know when I see it! Gypsy Lantern's excellent response in the "What Keeps you here thread" is a good example of this (though not in the Magick)- it just seemed thoughtful and personal, rather than in jokes or simple info swapping.

I'm a bit bored with the "how to do sigils" questions that pop up from time to time, though I suppose this isn't being fair on those who new to the subject. This kind of gets to the heart of the matter, I suppose, in that magick is about experience, not just swapping opinions. I want to scream at people who ask some of those questions "just fucking do it!!" then you'll find out it's efficacy or otherwise. I suppose this comes from the way people appear on-line. It's easy to look like an expert but, to quote, "there are no experts in magick, only people who've been doing it longer than others" (Phil Hine). With any of the questions raised, with something as strange as Magick, you'll only really find out by doing it. This makes me ask well, what are we going to chat about?

What I like in The Magick is people thinking about in relation to their lives - it's meaning, significance and uses. The ongoing thread about dating a Christian seems to me to be a good example of that. It is the kind of bizarre question that is going to get thrown up if you engage with magick and there have been some thoughtful responses. Seeeing stuff alive in people's lives and experiences - that's what I like, even if the question is quite mundane.I think this focus might life might come from the broad ranging nature of the board and the fact that it's not focused on a particlar subject or discipline. So, to a degree, I cna't answer the question about what I'd like to see discussed as I llike to be suprised.

One problem I have is that I'm quite well-informed on the bits I'm interested in so I can just info dump on people, rather than engaging in dialogue. My answers to the "Holotropic breathwork" thread were a bit like this. Probably why I don't start that many threads, as I already have a surfeit of information on the subjects i'm interested in.

Another issue for me is the whole idea of "magical secrecy". There's certain things I don't even want to talk about with others, let alone post on a discussion board. There was a excellent discussion on this in "Kaos Magazine" (this mag was downloadable as a PDF but the sirte has just disappeared). This is just another way of approaching the experience issue - another way of saying to people do it yourself. I'd be interested to know what others think on this subject. I don't think it necessairily undermines the idea of discussion.

Anyway, I'm sure I have more to say on this - look forward to reading others points of view.
 
 
rizla mission
09:40 / 28.10.02
I don't get why you Magick folks are always discussing what's wrong with the forum etc. - it's fucking great, and always has been.

I just don't contribute much because, well, magick isn't a big part of my life at present.

Being a magickian is a fairly specialist passtime after all .. not everyone's cup of tea etc..
 
 
illmatic
11:08 / 28.10.02
BTW, Mordant, what about you?
 
 
Less searchable M0rd4nt
16:38 / 28.10.02
General disbelief/scepticism: Y'know, a sceptical viewpoint shouldn't necessarily stop you getting involved, at least on an abstract theoretical level. So long as you don't express your scepticism by winding everybody up with threads about how your flatmate is the ghost of Elvis or your local pub is infested with Cenobites, we should get along famously.

Arcane discussions: Hmmm. Well, there is/was an FAQ floating around somewhere. In the meantime, try the random Q-and-A thread. Pick out the terms and concepts that are throwing you, and ask around. If you're reluctant to ask publicly, then quietly PM-ing a couple of people may be your best bet.

What do I want? Kind of liking things as they are, for the most part. I'd like a little less scratchyness when paths and ideas collide-- the Mag is very tolerant of people who don't know much about the subject, but not always so in the case of people with different ways of looking at the magickal world.
 
  
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