Initiation Into Magic
Initiation is the act of beginning, or simply the point of origin for a specific undertaking. When we speak of magical initiation, we simply refer to the beginning, the start of a magical career or the beginning of a magician’s practice.
Note the underscored practice, above. Armchair magic, or the reading of books and talking about magical and mystical possibilities doesn’t count, at least not as far as this article is concerned. Reading to collect knowledge is valuable, but the work is what matters most. Yapping on and on about synchronicity, reincarnation, law of attraction, and so forth might make you sound all mystical-like to the uninitiated but it does nothing to advance your actual use of the arcane and unseen fields. Your true initiation begins with your commitment to set about the task of learning and then executing through magical operations.
This can be done alone, or as part of a group.
It can be a very simple process, or a highly complex ordeal.
You can even choose whether or not your initiation takes place here in the material world or in your mind, such as during meditative exercise or astral travel.
It only matters that you move forward with the right intention and understanding.
Your intent shall be to become part of the magical continuum and a caretaker of spirit of Arcana, who is magic and who magic is. In simpler terms that invoke a lesser sense of “pressure”, intend to become another co-author of the story of magic as it unfolds through humanity, and commit to doing your best to learn and then exercise what you learn.
Your understanding need be only this much in the beginning:
- We, and our world, emerge from a higher reality that we may call spirit.
- All, including spirit, is energy; everything unmanifest and manifest is in essence energetic currents and vibrations singing and dancing the One Song (uni-verse).
- Mind, as in or including your mind, has authority, to varying degree depending upon station, wisdom, and other factors, over energy.
- By virtue of said authority then, mind may cause energy to move or be still, to change form, or to do anything else energy is capable by nature of doing.
- Certain keys and codes have been understood and passed down through the ages, concerning how mind may be used to accomplish this, and through study of these keys (including the discovery of new keys) any man or woman may become co-author, perhaps even master, to his or her own destiny.
This list is worthy of contemplation. Once you have grasped it to your own satisfaction, for the appeasement of no other is necessary here, you are ready for your initiation, which may take many forms.
Check the links at the end of this page for some suggestions and instructions.
About The Causal Initiation
We have spoken so far about the willful initiation, or the decision and will to begin magical studies. Preceding this is a causal initiation, or an event that triggers and compels the will to pursue magic.
Some of us may remember our causal initiation, while others may not. There also is the claim (though made often by individuals who believe they are examples hereof) that some men and women are born to practice magic, and thus the appearance of such people in the mother’s womb and subsequent emergence into the living world is also the causal initiation to magic.
On the latter point, I say maybe. It’s not a tough sell, and it think it’s more than plausible. I refrain from a full intellectual endorsement only to spite a few* of the self-righteous and pretentious assholes who claim themselves to be of “wizard born” or “witch-blooded” species.
* I am careful to say a few because certainly not all who claim this are fools!
For those not inclined to claim predestination, a causal initiation can be anything from seeing a ufo to a deep urge arising after a conversation. Here, in the actual words of the magicians recalling their own causal initiations, are a few examples.
(Only my personal nicknames or first names without family names used to protect privacy.)
- * “It was at the end of a long fast, and I just noticed how differently the air felt against my skin. I knew something had changed, or at least I was becoming aware of something new to me; I had to pursue this idea to understand it, just had to.” – Big Little Marco
- * “When my grandmother came back (as an apparition after her death). It was, I’d call it undeniable in me then, but it took maybe another year to fully get it. I mean get that drive inside, what it was pushing me towards.” – Tan Yay
- * “I rolled over one night out of a drunk sleep, wrote the word Pawo, which means one who is brave. It’s an etymological predecessor of warrior. About a year later I found myself sober and looking to restart my study of martial arts and warrior philosophy. Somehow or another I ended up here (practicing magic) instead. It’s crazy if I think on it too much.” – Aaron
Check these links for specific initiation processes.
(Added as they become available.)