Ex Penna

Ah, the age-old question--does magic really work?  How about all the other questions that inevitably follow?

• If it works, why isn't everyone using it?
  
• If it doesn't why are we still talking about it?
• Who has the authority to say what's real and what isn't?

Let's go through this one at a time.

Is Magic Real?

Yes, emphatically, yes!  I've been using magic for almost 20 years but it hasn't taken me this long to be certain.  I knew the first time that an unlikely spell worked.  I knew when I saw results after nearly forgetting about the spell I'd cast the night before.  I knew it when I heard people say, "It was the strangest thing, like magic!" 

If you've had any of these experiences then you too know the truth.  Stop calling it chance, stop saying that you "changed your perception of things" and then everything worked out, stop handing your power over to some faceless, nameless Karma energy who gave you what you wanted because of all your good deeds.  My husband is fond of saying that you can only call it coincedence so many times before you face the truth.  I've known practitioners who seem to do this more than they deserve.  Let yourself own the work you've done and the good that came of it.  You made magic and you created change.  That's big and it deserves to be acknowledged. 

Then Why Isn't Everyone Using it?

Good question.  Actually, most people are, but not to their benefit.  That which we focus on gains strength.  When you move through you day with an eye for the bad--the irritating, restricting, defeating people, attitudes, and situations--you will always find them.  Once you find one, you'll know what to look for and see more.  These bits of bad news clutter up your whole perspective until you start to think and act from a mindset of impending unhappiness. 

Bringing into your life the kind of influences you desire to have from then on is a small form of magic.  It needs nothing more than your mind and a clear vision of what you want.  See how easily it can work against you if you're not paying attention?

That's why early magic training requires so many focus exercises.  You don't want to slip into the kind of patterns that bring you things you don't want.  With clear intention and a determined will, a practitioner can make incredible things happen.  Without those allies, it's mostly chaos, frustration, and confusion.  Welcome to the world of the average non-magical person.

Who Can Say What's Real and What's Not?

Here's where you'll hear most people say that no one actually has authority over magic and that your own ideas are the best guide.  I completely disagree.  While we yet have wise and experienced elders among us in the occult, it is best that we not only acknowledge their noteriety but also their superior knowledge.  Truly, anoyone who regularly makes use of their magical talents can tell you if your spells are working or not, but an adept can tell you why, as well as how to increase their speed and potency.

Speaking as a witch with nearly 20 years in the business, I have seen many fantaistic things in my day, some by my own hand and some by other pracittioners I've known.  It is from those experiences--as well as from books and historical artifacts--that I draw my own conclusions on the proof of magic's existence.  Of course, I'm in no way putting my words next to those of an adept, but for what it's worth, here is my view of the matter.

Proving Your Magic

After all the mysticism and flowery language are stripped away, we can come to one cnclusion on magic: it is the work of increasing probability of your desired end.  The further afield you are from that outcome, the harder you must strive, the more you must give.

All you need for any piece of big, obvious, and real magic is:

1. a clear goal
2. adequate fuel
3. the fortitude to connect the two

Beginners often trip up on the first part, while the more experienced have troubles with the last, but all parts are essential. If you're having trouble visualizing this, consider these instructions as a list of "don'ts":

1. Don't seek "general" anything; cast specific spells for specific results. 
2. Don't do the quickie spell when you have time for the more elaborate. 
3. Don't request, demand.

To this end, here's 3 ideas for the kind of spells with results that can be quickly seen.  You can either use a spell for the same outcome from your own collection, elaborate upon mine, or use them as-is.  Remember that whatever you cast has to have a large payload of energy, so if you're going to use them unvarnished, you'll need to build up all the energy within yourself.  If you add other elements to it--colors, herbs, candles, stones, formulas, sigils, etc.--you can use their power to suppliment your own.
    

Rain Spell

Pour out a pitcher of water over your hands.  Flick water over your head with your wet fingers and say:

To Find Lost Objects

To Confuse Someone