Spirituality/Paganism & Magick: Magic and Magick - How Rituals Work and Why

In Modern Magick, witches are not dark figures any more, but owners of their destinies and masters of their futures.

The term Magick, with the added k, was created by the very controversial Aleister Crowley. Despite the drama, strange hat and fuss over his life and career, Crowley was a real erudite and the first to establish the act of ritual as an act of the magician's will, instead than a favour from an invoked entity.

Until then, the wizard had to protect himself from a very hostile entity whom he had invoked inside a locked pentagram to keep the entity from escaping and entering our dimension. The entity was asked a favour, which of course had to be paid with some kind of offering or sacrifice. A very dangerous procedure with many risks and awful consequences.

Crowley created a ritual system that was supported entirely by the will of the magician, will that had to be fortified with a certain lifestyle based on study and meditation. He had read Nietzsche's work and was passionate about Asian religions, having been to the Himalayas as a mountaineer. Recognizing the endless power of the mind, he leaves the entity to be the presence of a guest on a sacred feast, something definitely less dangerous for the magician.

I do not follow all of Crowley's methods, but I believe he was the agent of the bigger change in the history of Witchcraft in the last centuries, and the one who allowed the Craft to enter modernity and have a meaning for the “20th century man.” He defended a magickal practise away from superstition and obscurity and published continuously from age 23 to his death at the age of 72. Today, with all the new knowledge about the brain's functions and abilities, we can begin to prove his ideas true.

How Rituals Work and Why

So, when you are making a ritual, you don't stand on your knees asking for a favour any more. You incarnate the God/Goddess himself/herself. During the time of the ritual, your will is the will of the Goddess; you can materialize anything your mind can create. A focused, compassionate and clear mind is the biggest tool of a witch. In High Magick, many rituals are made only using that tool, with no physical objects to support them. The realization of your wish is not a matter of the generosity of the gods any more; it depends entirely on you.

Second, a ritual is an act of change. You understand that you have a difficulty because you have lost your natural connection with you Higher Self, and want the help of your guides to reconnect with yourself and thus, change for the better to be able to overcome all difficulties yourself. When we cannot find love, keep a job, or make ourselves successful, it is time to stop blaming others. Let me tell you something: in 18 years, less than 5% of the people who have come to me saying they were cursed really had that problem. The other 95% we just unable to accept changes and unwilling to learn from their mistakes.

Third, a ritual is an act of faith, faith in your guides and faith in yourself. As believers, we do not make the ritual alone, but are assisted and comforted by or guides. And faith is only a question of love. Simply. How can you doubt someone you love, and that guides you and loves you, will help you? A Witch that has a strong, loving relationship with her guides does not doubt, and therefore her spells work.

The physical part (tools, herbs) of a ritual works because everything you use in it is connected to the Cosmos' natural flow. Colours, candles, herbs and all magickal elements are interconnected through aural vibrations. These vibrations have analogue relationship to numbers, planets, letters, etc. When you put together the right elements in the right amount, you create a focus of energy, like if you lit a candle in the dark. You open the gate to communicate both with your Higher Self and with your guardian entities.

This is not dark, superstitious stuff as you can see – how could I believe in something I don't understand? I'm not that type of person. I'm not the one to be a victim of the will of the Gods either. I truly believe we are the masters of our destiny, which is self-realization and service at equal parts, and only developing the strength of our will we will achieve that.

This is what you will find in my workIntention, faith and knowledge of the Craft, one cup of each. Now let's go to the kitchen and bake a great spell.

©Copyright 2008 by AlternativeApproaches.com

About the author: Anexpert in Witchcraft and owner of My Little Magick Shop, a business devoted to hand crafted magick items for the discriminating witch. Carolina Gonzalez has been reading Tarot and practising the witches' way for 18 years. You can read her blog at http://magickshop.wordpress.com.