There is too little until there is enough, at which point the illusion of lack vanishes and the truth of plenty shines through.
You already know magical forces will take the path of least resistance as they manifest your will. With this know also that results of your work will remain unproduced until enough energy has been applied to the catalyst that is being targeted by those magical forces.
It sometimes requires multiple castings of a spell to break through or sequential rituals to amass enough cumulative influence to get the job done. This is worth remembering and affirming to avoid discouragement.
It can also be worthwhile to consider from the opposite end of things, if you are engaged with protection magic to fend off undesirable results. Better sometimes to exert a little extra effort rather than resting just short of enough to keep opposing forces at bay.
Working without Precise Measuring Devices
Whatever you do for a living or whatever hobby fills the majority of your time, it is likely that you are accustomed to measuring things. Carpentry, mechanical work, oil painting, beekeeping, office management, cheeseburger production, hunting, produce delivery, marketing, kung fu, and anything else I could type into this sentence all involve measurements.
This is because, obviously, we are a species of specificity and our tasks require appropriate considerations, ratios, comparisons, and so on.
How much do I have in the tank, bag, or bank?
How much is needed to fulfill [blank]?
How many of these remain unused?
How many of those have been refused?
What amount of x can be excused?
Which level of y means I’ve abused?
Tape measure, gauge, dial and scale,
To read, weigh, assess, and tell.
To perform well at whatever we do it becomes essential at some point to know what quantities and qualities we are working with. In magical work we must make such appraisals without the finely-tuned tools and devices we use everywhere else in life.
Intuiting Quality vs Quantity
As magicians and mystics we may excel at grasping the quality of energies and states through intuition and even our five senses. We can feel the elemental influence and even the planetary tides we work with, plus dial in on various other corresponding attributes during an operation.
Determining precise quantities of energy, levels of force, and volumes of power are not such easy reads. We must settle for relative measurements based on our general understanding of:
- whether a little or a lot is needed for the magic at hand
- how well we can handle these energetic requirements
- what subtle fields are or will be present that may help or hinder our needs
Conjurers and sorcerers of every kind have been making magic by these less than articulate measurements for millennia. You learn and refine and can get quite good at bringing the right amount of whatever energy is required to bear upon the situation calling for it.
It is prudent, however, to recall the Principle of the Critical Threshold, which reminds us there is a tipping point whereupon sufficient energy is collected or enough force is brought to bear to create the anticipated effect, whether it be sought or hedged against.