photo by b-role via Pexels
by Christopher Penczak, edited by Tina Whittle
What makes magick successful? Ultimately the practitioner. In a world overemphasizing consumption and accomplishment, is magick something one can be successful doing, or should we focus on the intangible spiritual dimensions of the practice? As with so many either/or questions posed to me, my answer is usually both/and. The paradox of two truths creating an ineffable third is the deepest act of magick.
To define what is success, one must define the goal and start by asking if there is any goal at all. As occulture changes, the assumptions of a magickal generation change. It can be good for both new and experienced practitioners to examine those assumptions. Today I’ve heard people quote an internet posting that teaches 90% of Witchcraft is just “spicy psychology.” You tell that to an old Craft practitioner, and you’ll get strong disagreement. To me, if you define psychology as your relationship to your soul—recognizing the inherent reflection of forces within you manifesting outwardly, gods within us reflected within the cosmos—then sure, I won’t fight that phrase. But if you mean something like mental self-help tricks to cope with life and feel better, with no deeper dimension to the cosmos as there is no deeper dimension to be had, then no.
The divide comes when someone thinks of it as “all in your mind.” By that, do you mean contained and localized in your body, or reflected in the cosmic divine mind of creation? Is your mind a biological phenomenon generated by nerves and brain tissue, or does your biology act as an antenna for an independent field of consciousness briefly manifesting as “you”? Magick can be a coping aid in times of need, but it is also a science by which to know the cosmos; an art to create your life and express what it means to be divinely; and a religion linking—or revealing our ever-present link—to the divine, encouraging our relationship with the divine to find some level of union.
Today there can be a popular emphasis on doing what we you want and calling it Witchcraft. While the Craft will change greatly over time, there is a magickal thread of continuity. The Craft of a British Traditional Wiccan is different from that of the Cunning Woman and different from the Temple priestess and tribal healer, but there is a thread of purpose and practice on a mythic level. The current emphasis is often not on theory or ritual structure, but on the feeling of peace or empowerment afterwords. There is certainly Magick to the manifestation of those feelings. But if something was objectively desired to manifest, and it doesn’t, then was it successful? Practices seem more intuitive and haphazard without an emphasis on repetition, building, or discipline. Do what you want as you need it.
In times past—and in those practitioners continuing those formal traditions—there is more emphasis on technical execution in the context of a specific tradition, teaching that there is a right way and a wrong way to do something. The boundaries are a way of building energy and intent. The repetition of a specific containing structure allows the forces to build and release more effectively than no structure. There is also more emphasis on operational Magick in terms of specific manifestations of psychic phenomena and tangible results. While it can appear to be mostly outer actions of ritual, ideally these were combined with equally disciplined inner practices through meditative training and focused intent. One doesn’t always stay in those rigid bounds when gaining greater experience, but like learning music, dance, or art, you learn and experience all the rules before you break them, so your breaking of the rules is with purpose, artistic intention, and full clarity.
Both can be Witchcraft and Magick. But sometimes the more recent practitioner, wishing to be a facet of a growing modern culture and accepted by it, can think the old-time practitioner delusional. While Witchcraft can be an identity as well as a practice, in that identity, Witches are just like everyone else.
The traditional practitioner sees the modern as losing the magickal thread of objective possibility, of being both a human and a magickal creature outside the bounds of common overculture, a huge point of Magick and Witchcraft. Witches have the same rights as everyone else, but Witches are different. While there might be some fundamental difference in orientation to the world through Magick, the practices themselves change us magickally and set us apart. The same can be said of all mystical practitioners following different practices, but we don’t seek to be the same. Otherwise we would just be the same and not go through the process of finding and embracing our Magick. Ironically. as time goes on, a deeper understanding of holism occurs, but the initial separation is necessary in the alchemical initiation. One must separate, heal, and purify and then recognize.
Both are looking at different standards of success and keep different things in mind. It is important to realize that with diligent practice, whatever that practice might be, things will change.
The traditional practitioner becomes more mystical over time. All of life becomes one big devotional ritual or cosmic experiment. With such practice in astrological timing, spellcraft, and healing, things soon line up more and more without planning or direct intervention. Many manifestations and banishings equalize into a harmonious life with initiatory challenges being paralleled by life experience.
The modern practitioner will often get bored with simple practices and either box themselves into a corner by embracing a specific cultural practice and rejecting other practices, or seek out deeper lore and knowledge, often swinging too far in the other direction of the traditionalist or academic (for example, insisting that anyone not using traditional Greek whole sign houses in astrology is a charlatan or that the pentacles of their favorite grimoire must be traced in the blood of a screech owl to be effective). Eventually those who remain will more deeply embody whatever they are learning and become more mystical in their practice. There comes a shift in their study out of self-apprenticeship to a hard-won journeyman, or even master.
I think it is important to self-evaluate, to be both accepting and critical of yourself. I think it’s good to get feedback, particularly feedback from those whom you respect, even if it’s critique. I think it’s dangerous to only seek validation as support or see only validation as support. And I think before doing any of this, it is important to define what success is for you, in any particular act, practice, or place in life, and take evaluation with that consideration. If you are only looking for comfort and your work is bringing you comfort, success! If you are looking for objective psychic skill and your practice is not getting you the skill you want, change it! Find others who have the skills you wish and find out how they honed their craft.
The same applies to your magickal artistry and philosophy. What are the criteria of your own measuring line? Knowing your standards of evaluation helps define the boundaries of your own practice, for the measuring line is the often-forgotten magick tool that helps us trace out our sacred space. Then we can adapt the space as we grow and change.