The Magic of Magic...

There are few things more joyful than realizing that we can change our lives by changing our thoughts.  Energy infuses everything, I mean everything, and we have the power to raise it, release it, transfer it, and convert it.  There comes a time when we discover our own power.  For me, it was, and still is, an unfolding sort of discovery.  I am speaking of my faith.  I am speaking of magic.

When people think of magic, they often think of fairytales, wizards, and magical wands that produce sparks, smoke, and ridiculous happenings.  I credit these silly images to Hollywood, mostly.  There are the attempts at a light-hearted and whimsical picture of magic, and what it might be.  I can deal with these.  What is so dishartening, so deeply insulting, is the idea that magic is inherently evil.  I can accept that people fear the things they do not understand.  What I cannot accept is judgment without the intention to seek the truth.  Hey, if magic really was the hocus pocus that it is perceived to be, I could just wave my wand and "poof" all of the misconceptions away, right?

I am not going to be naive.  I understand that not everyone who works with magic sees it quite the same way.  I expect that there are individuals who practice what is known as "black magic," and this is something very different.  It is recognized in Wicca as a polar opposite of healing and goodness, or "white magic."  Other than that, the "dark" workings that people fear have no place in Wicca, and certainly no place in my personal beliefs.  I cannot claim to speak intelligently on other faiths, so I ask for understanding in advance.

I cannot possibly go into the specifics of the Wiccan faith or the particulars of my own spirituality in this blog post.  I can attempt to explain what magic is, and why it has become such an incredible tool in my life.  I write not to negate other possibilities, but to share what is not easily understood.  I can only speak for myself, although I know plenty of wonderful people who practice the magic of Wicca with high morals and grace, fully abiding by the Wiccan Rede, (the nutshell version):  Harm None. I also seek to follow this rule.  I work on my own, and for myself.  I never, ever, interfere with another's will.  I do not, and will not use magic to cause harm to anyone, including myself.

The truth is that magic is whatever you need it to be.  Magic is about working with the energies that naturally infuse the environment, spaces, objects, beings, and situations.  I happen to be very sensitive to these energies, both naturally and through practice.  After developing an awareness to energy, I started to learn how to feel it.  Nearly everyone has an experience with feeling energy.  It is that intuitive feeling when you meet a person, walk into a room, or get close to an animal.  Sometimes the feeling is palpable, other times it is more subtle.  It depends on our awareness and how much we trust ourselves and our intuition.  As I said in an earlier post, I believe this awareness, sensitivity, and trust is born into us, and that as we move through life these natural gifts are filtered by distraction, perception, and society.  I have been lucky enough to go back to that place and get in touch with these very basic yet awesome abilities, and to apply them to my daily life.

Once I started reading about and experimenting with energy, I discovered that our thoughts are extremely powerful.  We feed our thoughts as we think them and simultaniously power them with energy - positive or negative.  If we have the power to manifest negative energies, then we certainly have the power to manifest postive energies.  And further, we have the power to convert the negative to postive, and vice versa.  Ideally, of course, we seek to transform negative energies to positve ones.  In order to do this, you have to know your own power, trust your intuition, and be willing to so the work here on the Earthly plane to make what you seek come to fruition. 

Without going too deeply into my faith, I should tell you that I work with several kinds of energy:  my own, Earth energy, Universal energy, and Devine energy.  For me, and many others, Devine energy is a perfect combination of masculine and feminine energies - this awesome existence is known as Spirit.  Spirit is the life force that infuses everything, living or created.  The idea is, that with perfect love, and perfect trust, we allow Spirit to guide us along our journey.  I cannot prove this, of course, that is why it is called faith.  The idea of male and female energies working together to create and sustain makes sense to me.  While I feel very strongly about this, I acknowledge and respect the beliefs of others.  It is because of my faith that I can say this with the utmost sincerity.  Still, to feel is to know, and that is why I call my faith, Wicca, my personal truth.

Back to magic...what else is the self-fulfilling prophecy but thoughts into action powered by energy?  We create our reality.  We have a choice.  My choice is to harness the negative energy surrounding OCD, and release it.  By releasing it, I make room for new positive thoughts. I have decided that I have given OCD too much control by allowing the negative to consume me, and that it is time to take back my control.  I have all the faith in the world that I can do this, and that I can do this well.

It may or may not be fair to compare what I seek to a prayer.  I am taking what I need and asking Devine Spirit to work with me, to help me see the tools I need (strength, patience, balance, etc.) so that I can work to manifest the healthy and positive outcome I desire.  Magic is kind of a prayer with action.  Personal, meaningful symbols (colors, stones, lighting of candles, etc.) are used as hands-on metaphors which are very helpful for me.  I have experienced many amazing things during my time practicing magic.  Maybe you can imagine now how the idea that what I and so many others partake in is "wrong" or "evil" hurts me deeply.  Still, I have to remember that we fear what we don't understand. 

Most people who know me are supportive of my spiritual life.  I have had a couple of negative reactions, however.  In one case, the misunderstandings have given a special relationship a chance to grow through sharing, and despite our decision to agree to disagree, there is respect, friendship, and love. 

The bottom line is that magic may be greatly misundertood, but I am willing to share what it means to me in order to help someone I care about understand it a little bit better.  I feel that when we take the time and make the effort to really and truly listen to those we love when they share something as intimate and sacred as their beliefs, we open up to higher levels of being - and that is a magical thing.