A Time and a Place for Magick

Amazing Photo by Stephen Poff, creative commons   license, at http://flickr.com/photos/stephenpoff/2761284719/

Many a false step was made by standing still.

-Fortune Cookie

Sometimes you have to pull yourself out of the Ether to make things happen.  Sometimes you have to take action in a very concrete, physical way.  Or, as an old friend once told me, “Sometimes the best magick is to ask your questions directly.”   I finally managed to ask a question directly, but even then, I knew it was a nice, safe, WRONG question, and I lost in a big way because I didn’t take control of the situation, at least enough to steer it away from rocks.

A new teacher (or sorts) told me this week that many people will rely on magick to do things they would never do in person.  They don’t have the guts to face someone in the flesh and call them out on something, but they’ll be throwing graveyard dirt at a problem in a matter of minutes.   They’d never consider a fist fight but they’ll bury someone magickally, given half a chance.  They might never consider making a move toward the relationship they want, let alone working on a relationship to make it a good one, but they’ll quickly burn a candle for love with a particular person.  They hide behind their magick and never really own up to the outcome, whether it’s good or bad or bland.

I’m a person who relies on what I experience in the Ether but I’m not as quick to do magick for every little thing.  I also have a tendancy not to delegate tasks to the spirits but hey, I have that problem in my mundane career as well!  Maybe that’s because I grew up with the idea that God helps those who help themselves or that the Gods give us the tools (mundane and otherwise) to make things happen for ourselves. Or maybe I remember what happened on Buffy the Vampire Slayer when Willow used magick addictively for mundane chores!   I’m more likely to let something just be so that it can come to fruition joyfully and paaaaaaatiently on its own rather than cast a spell to make it what I want it to be.

That hasn’t always served me well.

I lost what would have been a very rewarding relationship a while back because I relied too much on the Ether and not enough on putting my own stamp on the situation and making it mine.  I took a step back and refused to manipulate an outcome to my liking, which resulted in an outcome manipulated by someone else, and not at all to my liking.   I think the pendulum has swung too far in my efforts to not be a guilt-tripping manipulator.  Not that you have to be either a guilt-tripper or not to get what you want, but the relationship was there for the taking and I gave it away by not taking an active role in the outcome.

I don’t intend for that to happen again, whether it’s in relationships or situations that are clearly already mine if I choose.

Magick is more than intending something or focusing on something…it’s also about taking action.       And it was someone outside my particular brand of spirituality who taught me that.