After almost 10 months of preparation I consecrated my new temple today. We had moved houses in September. Cleaning out my old temple, which had been in use for almost four years, had felt like sawing off the branch on which I was sitting, cutting down the roots that gave me strength and a place in this world. Yet, it had to be done. As my wife always says: 'You got to die one death, if you are lucky you only get to chose which one.'
Read MoreI was just in the middle of writing up the next part of the Tale of Bear’s Son when I came across RO’s recent post on the HGA and the Celestials. Now, for anyone who is following both of our blogs it is obvious that we are taking pretty different stances on ritual magic. This is not so much in the means we apply to our practice nor the largely hermetic paradigm we work in. Yet the difference lies in the ends both of us are trying to achieve through our practice. And this is why I feel it might be helpful to share a few thoughts on his post here.
Read MoreThere is one more thing I have to share on Power and Magic. It is a personal story. When I was a young boy and had just about entered kindergarden I remember a night of bonfire. Families would meet in the yard of the kindergarden where a large fire had been prepared. Parents would come and gather in the dark, sit around the fire on stumps, eat, drink, and allow the children to stay up late and play with the flames under their watch. How much better does it get when you are a boy of six?
Read MoreIn the previous posts of this series we discussed the basics of Power and Magic. In Part 1 we introduced a simple model allowing us to connect the What, How and Why of Magic and explored its impact on our own ritual practice. In Part 2 we took a look at the fundament of magical power built from experience and meaning and how these need to be in balance for a living approach to magic. Furthermore we examined an example of abuse of magical power that can be encountered both in past and present times.
Read MoreTime to explore some more about magical power. In the first post we dealt with the fundamentals of what blocks or opens access to power for any practitioner of magic. We found it is based on the coherence of (1) their actual ritual practice, (2) their understanding of how this practice forms part of a larger tradition as well as (3) their inner clarity of purpose and motivation to act. These three layers of magical power can be depicted by a model of three concentric circles.
Read MoreThroughout the ages Power has always been at the centre of magical practice. Wether we look at the herbs and potions of the witch, the fires in the ancient temples of Greece and Egypt or the intricate circles of the Medieval mage - the desire to consciously affect changes on the inner or outer realm always established the fundament of the Arte.
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