On Magic(k) and Philosophy Part 1

 When I was a kid, I was taught, “What goes around comes around.”  Basically, what you send out will return – like attracts like.  You can call it karma, the Law of Return, whatever you choose.  It’s a pretty basic principle in just about any religion or spirituality.  I always felt it went along with the idea of doing unto others as you would have them do unto you.  It’s a fundamental tenet for even existing on this planet with all these different personalities and egos.

 

I was also taught as a youngster that you stand for what you believe and don’t turn a blind eye to injustice.  For a couple years in the late Seventies, my mom worked for a local organization that helped rescue battered women and their children, helping them with counseling and safe houses.  It was a harrowing experience sometimes.  Being a kid with a big mouth and an impulse to say whatever I was thinking, I would say things about beating those abusive guys up or worse, and it made me nuts when the cops wouldn’t arrest a man for beating his wife and kids.  I had no problem with believing these abusive men deserved to be punished for their actions.  What goes around comes around, right?

 

As I got older, I was pretty much of the same mindset when it came to my spellwork and magic.  I recognize that what is sent out is returned, and that is as it should be.  But I have noticed a very disturbing trend in recent years.  More and more Pagans have become so concerned with “karmic fallout” that they no longer feel comfortable performing spells or magic because they don’t want something bad coming back onto them.  Every spell has implications, and according to how so many people started seeing it, in order for person A to get what they desire, person B might have to go without, and that would be bad karma.  Well, I have to disagree with this line of thought.

 

As far as we know, the Universe/Multiverse is infinite.  That would mean whatever it is that you see as Deity/God/Goddess is also infinite.  The Energy that makes up everything around us is infinite.  Is there a limit to the Akashic Records?  Is there a limit to God/dess?  If we are able to perceive the notion that there are no limits to our Deity, then we should also be able to recognize that there are no limits to our capabilities in spellwork.  When we ask and receive from the Gods, that doesn’t automatically mean someone else is going to go without.  There's enough for everyone.

 

Another thing I’ve heard for years is that magic takes the path of least resistance.  This is true – however, that does not automatically mean magic will be taking a path of destruction.  Think of it as flowing around obstacles, like water or air – not through obstacles, like a bullet.  I have actually been warned about doing anything when I needed money for this very reason.  What if, in order for me to receive money, I had to lose a limb?  Sure, I would get money from my insurance company, but I’d be out a leg!

 

Along with this, I was also taught that the universe gives us just what we need, and nothing more.  Quite frankly, I think that’s a lot of crap.  I see people running around my hometown in great big gas-guzzling SUVs and living in houses with more rooms than they will ever use, and I have to ask myself if they really, REALLY need just that much, and nothing more.  In the meantime, I was driving my fifteen-year-old car home to my tiny house outside of town where I live with my children and wonder why the Gods think this is what I need, and nothing more.

 

And this is why we have magic.

 

It’s not that I want a gas-guzzler or a huge house (with huge utility bills).  More likely, it’s because at my heart I am an anarchist/socialist with just a touch of community-minded thought from my years of living in communes.  I know I work just as hard as any other person and I believe I am just as deserving of some of the finer things in life as well.  Having the confidence to believe that, yes, I do deserve a little more room for me and my family will go a long way towards successful magic.  Getting away from the guilt will also go a long way.

 

I believe that part of the problem with modern Paganism is the influx of what I consider Christian ideals.  There are some ideals that are so deeply ingrained into people that even when they decide to leave a poisonous philosophy and embrace a spirituality of Nature, they still hang on to some of these older tendencies.  My biggest pet peeve is guilt.  The very basis of Christianity is guilt.  Yahweh gave his only son for your sins – how dare you be ungrateful!  And according to the Christian bible, it’s a woman’s fault that humans fell from grace in the first place.  More guilt, more blame.  And what I am seeing is when a new person comes to Paganism and even Wicca, they have a reaction to receiving anything through magic without actually having to give something up in the first place.  Christians are taught that they will receive their god’s grace if they give up a huge laundry list of vices, and I think that at times there is a problem with understanding it’s not necessary to beat yourself just so you can please your god.  Giving an offering or a sacrifice is not mandatory.

 

So, with this mindset of guilt and sacrifice, Paganism has had a great influx of individuals who may not be able to get past it.  I feel this has watered down some of the stronger aspects of Paganism.  We have become afraid to “mess with” the Energy of our Uni/Multiverse and have lost some of our understanding of how magic works.

 

If your god demands a large sacrifice for ANYthing, there's something wrong.  If you are expecting to deal with hardships after you've done spellwork, then you will most likely end up dealing with hardships.  Wouldn't want you to get disappointed.

 

The way I understand Deity is that all the Energy in the Uni/Multiverse is Deity.  Scientists say there is matter, dark matter and something they can't identify that makes up all the space between the planets and stars.  I have my suspicions - wouldn't that be God?  Deity permeates all that we know, so that Energy is everywhere.  So when you do a spell or offer a prayer, it is heard.  At the same time, when you sit there later and say to yourself, "Oh this isn't gonna work," or "Something bad is going to happen now because I'm being selfish," those thoughts are also going out to Deity and being heard.  When you expect things to go awry or fail, then the Gods will not disappoint you - your spell will fail.

 

I believe that by allowing ourselves to get so concerned with karmic fate and letting guilt and blame seep into our spirituality, we are losing a lot of what makes Paganism what it is.  I know that won't sit well with Pagans that have been working on reconstructionism for all these years, because it destroys so much of what they've been working towards.  It is true that the ancient Celts believed in a law of return, but that didn't stop them from living their lives and doing what they could to better themselves.

 

If we don't seek to better our lives with the use of ritual, spells and prayer, we will stagnate.  We cannot grow spiritually and intellectually without letting the Energy flow through us.  If we live in constant fear of karmic repercussion, we will never find the opportunities to grow.  Don't be afraid to draw on the resources that are available to you.