Reacting to the Word

In my previous article I referred to the power of the Word.  This is an enormous, one could even say magical, power, hence the title "Abracadabra".  So, if someone uses the power of the Word against you, effectively casting a spell on you (whether intentionally or not), what options do you have?  How can you protect yourself from this spell?  What shield do you have to reflect the spell away from you?

Some would say you have three options:  accept, ignore or challenge.  My position is that actually you only have two: accept or challenge.  You cannot simply ignore it, as that is really a subtle way of accepting.

Imagine I come up to you and say "You are stupid!".  How would you react to this?

If you are like most people your first reaction will be anger, or at least annoyance.  Your first thought will probably be something like "How dare you say this!".  Probably you feel that is a reaction of challenge.  You are angry with the statement because you know it is false.  I disagree with this analysis and would go as far as to say this reaction is an acceptance of the basic underlying premise.  You agree, somewhere below your conscious thinking, that you are stupid, or at least that there is some stupidity within you, and you then become angry with the other person for exposing this stupidity.  So you are accepting the negative magic spell they are casting against you.

Your next reaction may then be a "tit for tat", telling them they are ..... - fill in the magic word here.  If you already know them, you may find some aspect of their personality that offends you.  If you do not know them, you may simply respond in kind with something like "You are stupid too!".

I am reminded of the apocryphal quote supposedly from Winston Churchill.  The Labour MP, Bessie Braddock (or the Conservative, Lady Astor, depending on which version you read) apparently said to Winston "Sir!  You are disgustingly drunk!", to which Winston replied "My dear, you are disgustingly ugly!  But tomorrow I shall be sober and you will still be disgustingly ugly!".  A very clever, if somewhat ungallant, riposte.  And one which, if delivered to Lady Astor, was in my view patently untrue.  But note it begins with an acceptance of the original statement.  Winston was not refuting that he was drunk (although a number of versions of this story suggest he wasn't drunk at all, but just tired - which might explain the uncharacteristic lack of gallantry).  His bite back at the accuser acknowledged the truth of what she said and then continued with something even more uncomplimentary about her.  It was also a very negative thing to do.  He was accepting the barb of her negative statement, allowing the spell she cast to find its mark, and then casting an even more negative spell back at her.  The damage he did, if this story is true, quite probably lasted a lifetime.  A truly evil magic spell.

So my position is that the usual "challenge" to unkind words is not a challenge at all.  But what about simply ignoring them?  If you are an accomplished Zen practitioner, if you are close to achieving the state of Nirvana, then you could completely ignore those words as irrelevant.  Personally I am not close to achieving the state of Nirvana, and I know that if I choose to ignore unkind things that are said to me I will be complicit in accepting them.  I will be helping the "evil magician" to cast his or her spell.

In that case, how do you challenge these magic spells that constantly afflict you?

You challenge them by recognizing that the words are not about you at all.  They are entirely about the person who speaks them.  That person doesn't truly know you, even if they are a close friend or family member.  The only person who really knows you is YOU.

Jesus referred to this in a powerful challenge in Matthew chapter 7.  He said:

"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?  How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?  You hypocrite!  First take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye."

When others say nasty things to me I feel sad.  Not for myself, but for them.  What they are saying shows that they have a problem.  I don't have that problem - they do.  I challenge what they say firstly by knowing that their unkind words are expressing some weakness, some fault inside them.  And then I affirm the opposite of what they say.  Not out loud.  I am not trying to start or continue an argument.  What that person says is completely irrelevant to me, but I am not going to encourage them to repeat or expand it by being drawn into argument.

If they "You are stupid!" I affirm "I am full of wisdom!".  Note I would never respond with "I am not stupid!".  Focussing on the negative in this way gives it power.  Notice my choice of words - I "affirm".  Just as in your daily affirmations you (hopefully) use to reach your goals through manifestation, you choose to focus on the positive, not the negative.

From now on, choose not to accept the burdens so many people around you try to lay on you with their choice of words.  Recognize that what they say has nothing to do with you and everything to do with them.  If you do this, and if you use their verbal negative attacks as an opportunity to affirm the positives, you will be completely protected from the magical spells that so unnecessarily hurt almost everyone else around you.

Abracadabra

When you were a small child you probably read stories, or had them read to you, in which a magician used magic words to perform powerful acts of magic.  Perhaps the word "Abracadabra".  Or "Open Sesame" (as in the story of Ali Baba).

The word "Abracadabra" is particularly interesting.  There are a number of conflicting stories about its origin, but one version says it comes from the Aramaic phrase avra kehdabra, which means “I will create as I speak”.  In other words, this "magic" word itself refers to the magical, creative power of words.

The Christian Bible also refers to the power of words.  Right at the start of the Gospel of John we have the phrase "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."  It goes on to say that everything that was created was created by the Word.

I began this article by talking about fairy tales.  Most adults don't believe in fairy tales.  In fact they may even refer to anything that they believe to be untrue as a "fairy tale".

Well, I DO believe in fairy tales!  Not literally, of course, but as ways to pass on inner truths.

The power of the word is such an inner truth.  Words create.  Use the right words in the right way and you can create opportunities.  You can create situations that will turn your dreams into reality.  Use words in the wrong way and they can destroy opportunities.  They can create situations that will turn your nightmares into reality.  Words are very powerful.  Far more powerful than you probably ever realized.

Very recently I wrote a blog about the ways most people "self-sabotage" themselves.  They say something like "I am no good at ...." and this creates a self-fulfilling prophecy.  This is the power of words used wrongly.  This is also true about the way people use words to hurt or help others, usually unintentionally.  I hope you are not one of the very many parents in the world who have said to one of their children something like "you will never amount to anything!".  This is so destructive!  This is like a wizard saying a magic spell that will cause harm to another.  It is just as powerful as such a magic spell in one of the fairy tales you read as a child.

Equally, saying to someone "you are so beautiful!", not as a pickup line but because you recognize the beauty within them, is like a magic spell turning an ugly frog into a handsome prince.  Not as quickly as happened in Grimm's tale of the Frog Prince, but just as surely anyway.

With the power of your words you can choose to create love, beauty, harmony and success all around you.  Or you can choose to create discord, ugliness and failure.  Which would you prefer to surround you?  It is entirely your choice - you can use the magic spell (i.e. the right words spoken at the right time) to create whichever you prefer.  I hope like me you will choose the former, not the latter.

Ceremonial Magic

If you came to this article looking for a magical ritual you can take away and use as is, I am afraid you will be sorely disappointed.  My purpose here is to give any non practising magicians just a little idea of what is involved.

Firstly, for my Christian and Muslim friends I want to dispel the notion that ceremonial magic is a form of idolatory, or even of black magic.  In its purest form it is neither, although the beliefs of some magicians may come close to what may be described as a form of idolatory, and a black magician may well use a distorted form of ceremonial magic.

Another word for ceremonial magic is "theurgy".  A ceremonial magician may also therefore be called a "theurgist".  I will use these terms for brevity.

A theurgist recognizes that there are many different powers "out there".  Some theurgists will view them as personal gods, and therefore would attract the ire of Christians and Muslims alike.  Others will view them much more as Jungian archetypes.  My own view is that the distinction is rather academic, although I would perhaps veer closer to the archetype than personal god view.

Those who have not studied theurgy in any depth may view these "powers" as nonsense, yet at the same time fear any invocation or evocation of them.  Ignorance usually results in fear, so I guess this should not really surprise me.  I am not going to attempt to "convert" those who refuse to believe.  I believe, and am happy to share my belief with those who wish to understand.  Is there any need for fear?  Well, if someone is going to try playing with forces they do not understand, yes there is.  Not because we are talking about devils or evil spirits, but for the same reason you should fear electricity if you are thinking of playing with some powerful electric black box when you know nothing about what is in it or how it works.  Electricity is not evil, but it can still kill you if you use it in the wrong way.

Another great misunderstanding about theurgy is the idea that a god, spirit, or other power is being harnessed purely for the purpose of achieving some material gain.  That should not be the aim of the ceremony at all, although it may nevertheless result in such a gain.

Returning to the Jungian concept, you could view the purpose of theurgy as an individuation process.  Creating a proper balance of all the powers that are there whether we like it or not, by working one by one with each power, integrating each of the archetypes properly into our true self.  The theurgist does this by focusing on one power so completely that this power materializes.  In a very real sense, the theurgist now "owns" this power.  Yet the power itself is something far greater than anyone who has not studied this subject could ever imagine.  Once one power has been properly invoked in this way, the theurgist moves onto the next, until eventually he or she has incorporated all the powers, or archetypes, and (using a term from another discipline) achieves samadhi.  Purists will probably criticize me for mixing terms from very different disciplines in this way, but to me it sums it up perfectly.

If you wanted to achieve individuation in the traditional psychotherapeutic manner this is not something you could achieve by yourself.  You would have to surrender yourself totally to another person.  It would also probably cost you a lot of money!  A theurgist does not surrender himself or herself to any other person.  Also, no money should change hands for the ceremonies themselves - although if you are going to do this properly (and it would be very dangerous to try doing it any other way!) you will need to invest a lot of time, energy, and probably money too assembing all the right magical implements.  When I undertook my first magical ceremony as a teenager I invested many long evenings searching for exactly the right branch to create my magic wand - and then had to time the cutting of the branch to the right astrological alignments.

If this brief introduction has ignited a spark of interest, I encourage you to study some of the masters (and mistresses) of the ancient theurgical art.  I suggest you go back to before the current fad of "new age" beliefs, as these have often corrupted the original pure teachings.  Search for works by Dion Fortune, Israel Regardie or Mouni Sadhu.

As a start, try "The Tree of Life" by Israel Regardie, "Theurgy" by Mouni Sadhu, and "The Training & Work of an Initiate" by Dion Fortune.  And when you have soaked up the wisdom in those three books, you will be ready to acquire the full training and rituals of the Golden Dawn.  Only then will you be ready to start on the great task of theurgy yourself.

PS, the above links are all US sources.  If you prefer UK sources, here are more links:

• The Tree of Life
• Theurgy
• The Training & Work of an Initiate
• The Golden Dawn

Asking the Universe For Help

by

Nick Grimshawe

Ask and be prepared to receive. Notice I didn't say receive, I said prepare to receive.

One of the most exciting aspects of joining the throngs of pilgrims on the great wide way is the knowledge we acquire about the astounding nature of the universe and its generosity.  Once you believe magic can happen...magic will.  The sad truth is...so many people don't believe in magic anymore it's just kids stuff.

This links back to my purpose to inspire people to take the plunge...to throw away the old conventions, and live out loud in an abundant and magical place full of the energy of God.

Magic is really simple.

If you ask and you honestly believe...without resistance...without too many self doubts... you will get an answer.

(Oh I am so excited.)

I get really passionate about this....with just a tiny little bit of work we can have the universe open it's secret heart to us.  Once that happens we are given access to the wonderful mystery of god.

For instance, a week or so ago I had a problem with uprising anger than seemed to come from nowhere.  When I finally just plain out and asked for help with this...an insight came almost immediately!  It can happen in a flash of a moonbeam...or it can take a little while.

Here is an example of waiting for awhile.  I am writing a book...and using a working title which didn't really thrill me...and when nothing seemed forthcoming, I asked.  I asked quite awhile ago...but today...just as I said down to write this newsletter...and I opened myself up for the message to come....well out popped the title for my book "A Walk in Quiet Places: Inspiration for Your Quiet Moments"

I have a few rules that seem to help the process of asking and here they are.

1. Ask for answers.

Sounds simple right?  It is, but we love to complicate things in the belief that if it isn't complicated it's not true.  We think simplicity is the lie but its complication that holds the lie...for in this universe everything is ultimately simple.  The most elegant solutions are always the simple ones.

Asking for answers negates asking for things like a million dollars, because a million dollars does not require an answer.  Don't confuse the process of manifesting with the act of seeking answers: (that is a whole other [huge] topic).

2. Be prepared to receive the answer.

So what's the big deal about that?  It's like tuning in a radio station on a crowded dial, if you don't know the frequency of the station you want...your focus shifts to finding the station...not listening for the music.

The answer you are seeking can come in many forms: Out of the words in a book, on the soft morning breeze, while you gaze out to sea....while you are driving.  But if you are not prepared...by being watchful...by having your ear tuned for the answer you could miss it altogether.

And if you get impatient... if you throw up your hands in disgust and say "this doesn't work for me!" it of course...won't work.

And nagging for an answer won't work either.  Just let the question go...but stay alert, stay aware...the answer is seeking you.

3. Be prepared to record the answer.

I carry a note book with me everywhere!!!!!!!!  I also have a small recorder I am trying to make more use of.  As soon as you can...once the answer pops into your mind....write it down.  Just imagine if Mosses hadn't written down the Ten Commandments....and you see him a few days later, struggling to recall God's words....opps...don't want to go there.

Finally, how do you get into the groove, so that the magic begins to happen?

Daily practice....there is no other way.  Meditate, read, listen, ask, seek...learn...share...give. 

"Practice means to perform, over and over again in the face of all obstacles, some act of vision, of faith, of desire. Practice is a means of inviting the perfection desired."  Source: Martha Graham

With Love 

Nick Grimshawe 

The SunShine Guy

About the Author:

Mr Grimshawe has been writing most of his life.  Currently he publishes two blogs, teaches list building and produces Beautiful Summer Morning Inspirational Quote of the Day, which is highly valued.  You can subscribe to the service at http://www.nickgrimshawe.ws/BSMone.html

Magic Spells - The Key to Success

by

Sarah T White

What is the key to success with magic spells?  In one word: visualisation.

Visualisation is a very powerful thing, and an important part of succeeding with magic spells. The mind is where your power comes from, and visualisation is one technique for unlocking that power and using it in your magic. Your inner spirit and mind control your emotions, your motivation, your success and happiness. Proper visualisation helps to focus your mind on your goals, and helps you to achieve them without realising you're doing anything different.

But what's the difference between visualisation and just daydreaming or an active imagination? And how can we apply visualisation to witchcraft and magic spells?

The main difference is that visualisation has purpose. It has a goal. It should also be more concentrated, controlled and directed (by you) than day dreaming. When you visualise in your spell casting, the visualisation itself is a big part of the magic spell. Without that section, your spell would not be so effective. So here's some tips:

• Make sure you start your spell completely relaxed, with time to spare. You don't want to rush a magic spell, that way you won't be able to devote the proper concentration and attention to it. Maybe play some soothing background music or neutral sounds, and dim the lights.


• Start your visualisation carefully and slowly. Practice making pictures in your head and holding on to them. Don't let them run away from you - you're in control. Start with black and white blurry pictures, then progress through sharpening the picture, adding colour, making it brighter and stronger and then adding detail.


• Block out all background noise and outside distractions. You should be able to "retreat" into your imagined world during the magic spell and become completely absorbed by it. The better you can do this, the more real it will be, and the better results your spell will achieve.


• Don't try to visualise a video - stick to still freeze-frames and photo-like pictures. Once you've practiced switching between these photos you can gradually start to introduce short moving sections.


• Successful visualisation in magic spells is about more than just the picture. You have to place yourself inside the scene. Hear what people will be saying to you and around you, smell your surroundings and the perfume of the people near you, touch the ground under your feet and the wind in the air, feel the emotions that you would feel if what you can see was really happening.

Take it slow, immerse yourself and pay attention to the small details that make the scene real. Successful magic spells all use visualisation as a core component of the spell, and magic and witchcraft would not be the same without powerful mind techniques such as visualisation. This is one way of opening the door to your inner power, and using that power to bring about positive change in the world.

Magic spells are easy to learn and simple to do. If you use them properly, you can do incredible things. Click here to learn more about successful spell casting, witchcraft and real magic spells.

Wicca, Magic, and Spells

by

Sarah T White

Magic spells have fascinated us for thousands of years. People are intrigued and obsessed in how spells could work for and against a person's interest and desires. Magic spells are not only performed to achieve personal gain, they are also practiced as part of a religious belief system such as Wicca.

Wicca is deeply rooted to ancient pagan beliefs which emerged hundreds of years ago. Gerald Gardner claimed that the practices and beliefs of Wicca were based from a secretive group that had accepted him as a member. Wiccan spells are often referred to as "magick" rather than the common "magic." This differentiates real magic from common conjuring and illusion tricks practiced by stage performers in shows.

When Wicca was first developed, the government and public society at large was scared by it and so persecuted witches and wizards, putting them to death. Even now although witch-hunting no longer occurs it is common for Wicca followers to practice their arts in secret so as to avoid scrutiny or ridicule from unbelievers. All Wiccans agree that Satan-worship is not part of their practices.

Nature and its elements: earth, air, fire, and water, are loved and revered in Wicca. Wiccans consider themselves "at one" with nature. Harming nature would cause nature to harm them back, so all Wicca spells are white magic and are intended for good purposes only.

All who practice magic spells do so in strict accordance with "The Wiccan Rede." This deep rooted law of Wiccan magic states, "do what ye will, harm ye none." This simply means that magic spells can be used freely as long as no one gets hurt in the process. A related commandment is "The Law of Three" which states that "harm will be returned three-fold", further encouragement to only use magic for good.

Magic is similar to Christian prayers. Spells are part of Wiccan rituals although not all Wiccans cast spells. Spells can be both used to help or hurt and manipulate other people, but Wiccan followers are strictly prohibited from using spells that will harm other people in accordance with "The Rede."

Before a Wiccan performs any magic spell, incantation or ritual, they first reflect on their intentions and the consequences and repercussions of the act. All its possible effects are thoroughly considered to make sure the spell is good and pure. Most spells are followed precisely as they are written, although there are times when the spells can be modified to fit the witch or wizard's power, personality and situation.

Some people may show wonder, disbelief, or even fear of the powers that Wiccans possess. But understanding the basic beliefs and principles of Wiccans shows us that what they do is not against the fundamental principles of all moral and wise teachings for human beings, which is to share life and embrace nature without harming others.

The author is a lifelong white witch, Wiccan and practitioner of magic spells. Visit her website to learn more about different types of white magic and Wiccan spells - http://www.allmagicspells.com/in/arcoh