What is Magick?

Again, I didn't write this. Yes I did read all these first and agree with them or I wouldn't post them. And there are facts too. Enjoy :)

(Yes it is spelled correctly)
I suppose I could ramble on for quite some time about what Magick of Wicca, Witches and Witchcraft is or is not. Instead, I will offer this brief writing I found somewhere. Unfortunately I cannot remember where I came across it or who the author was, but I thought it was clear, concise and to the point. It very simply dispels everything that some religions, old superstitions and of course Hollywood have tried to make people believe magick is.

Magick is finding your connection to the Earth and all that is natural, alive and moving in the universe! It binds all that exists together.

Magick is living in balance with the flow of life, and knowing that you are a vital force within that flow. Magick is everywhere! In the trees, rain, stars, and in the sea. It is the spark that quickens a seed to rise up from the soil.

Magick is laughter, joy, wonder and truth of the world around us!

It is the subtle enchantment that reminds us not to waste a single moment of this gift that we call life! Magick is not greed, or power, or pretense...It is real. It exists. And it works.

Magick is the mystery that lies in the secret soul of the world. It is the essence of creation. What we imagine, we have the power to create!

MAGICK IS WITHIN YOU...

With it you can create your dreams, heal your world, love your life and find the peace that lives in every human heart.
The Concept of Magick
Magick is the use of unnatural or superhuman power by a person to try to control actions or natural events. People throughout the world have practiced magick from the dawn of history. But beginning in the 1600's, science has provided an increasingly greater understanding of the true causes of natural events. This increased scientific knowledge has reduced people's dependence on magick. But many people in non-industrial societies still believe in magick. Even in industrial societies, many people still trust in such forms of magick as astrology and fortunetelling.

The word magick also refers to entertainment in which the performer does tricks of so-called magick. In such entertainment, neither the magician nor the audience believes that the performer has supernatural powers.
Elements of Magick
The practice of magick includes special words, actions, and objects. Most magic involves a person, who claims to have supernatural powers.

Magick words: To work most magick, the person sings or speaks special words in a certain order. These words are called incantations or spells. Some spells form prayers to demons, spirits, or other supernatural forces. Many societies believe the magick will not work unless the person recites the spells perfectly. Other magick words have no meaning, though they supposedly possess power when spoken by a witch or Wicca practitioner.

Magick actions accompany the words spoken in performing much magick. Many of these movements act out the desired effect of the magick. For example, a person trying to make rain fall may sprinkle water on the ground. The person’s combined words and actions form a ceremony called a rite or ritual.

Magick objects include certain plants, stones, and other things with supernatural powers. Any such object may be called a fetish. But this term often refers to an object--for example, a carving or a dried snake--honored by a tribe for its magick powers. Many tribes believe fetishes have magick power because spirits live in these objects.

Many people carry magick objects called amulets, charms, or talismans to protect themselves from harm. Many amulets and talismans are stones or rings engraved with magick symbols.

In some societies, nearly everyone knows how to work some magick. In other societies, only experts practice magick. Some may be called medicine men, medicine women, shamans, sorcerers, or witch doctors. In many societies, shamans must inherit their powers. In others, any person may use magick by studying the magical arts.

Many societies believe magick must observe certain rules and taboos (forbidden actions) for their spells to work. For example, they may be required not to eat various foods or to avoid sexual activity for a certain period before the ceremony.

Kinds of Magick

Many anthropologists classify magick as homeopathic or contagious, according to its basic principle. The Scottish anthropologist Sir James G. Frazer first described these types in his book The Golden Bough (1890).

Some people divide magick into black magick and white magick. Black magick harms people, but white magick helps them. Warlocks usually practice black magick. But a saint may cure a sick person using white magick.

Homeopathic magick is based on the belief that like produces like. In this type of magick, also called imitative magick, persons act out or imitate what they want to happen. They often use a model or miniature of whatever they want to influence. For example, a fisherman may make a model of a fish and pretend he is netting it. He believes this ritual will assure him a good catch. In some European folk dances, the dancers leap high into the air to make their crops grow tall. People once believed that yellow flowers would cure jaundice, a yellowish discoloration of the body.

Many taboos come from homeopathic magick. People avoid certain harmless things because they resemble various harmful things. Among the Inuit (Eskimos), for example, parents have traditionally warned their sons against playing a string game, such as cat's cradle, in which children loop string around their fingers. They feared that playing such games might cause the children's fingers to become tangled in the harpoon lines they will use as adults.

Contagious magick comes from the belief that after a person has had contact with certain things; they will continue to influence that person. The most common examples of contagious magick involve parts of the body that have been removed, such as fingernails, hair, and teeth. A person's nails and hair can affect the rest of that person's body long after they have been cut off. A person can injure an enemy by damaging a lock of hair or a piece of clothing from the victim. Magick can even be used to cripple an enemy by placing a sharp object in that person's footprint.

People who believe in contagious magick fear that an enemy can gain power over them by obtaining parts of their body. Therefore, they carefully dispose of their nails, hair, teeth, and even their body wastes.

Witches and voodoo magicians often practice a type of homeopathic magic called envoutement. The practitioner makes a doll or some other likeness of an enemy. Then harms the enemy by sticking pins into the doll or injuring it in some other way. In some societies, the doll includes a lock of hair or a piece of clothing from the enemy. This type of envoutement is a combination of homeopathic and contagious magic.

Why People Believe in Magick

People turn to magick chiefly as a form of insurance--that is, they use it along with actions that actually bring results. For example, hunters may use a hunting charm. But they also use their hunting skills and knowledge of animals. The charm may give hunters the extra power they need to hunt even more successfully than they would without it. If they shoot a lot of game, they credit the charm for their success. Crops grow without it, and sick people get well without it, but the belief in magic can bring about many wonderful things.

Many anthropologists believe that people have faith in magick because they feel a need to believe in it. People may turn to magick to reduce their fear and uncertainty if they feel they have no control over the outcome of a situation. For example, farmers use knowledge and skill when they plant their fields. But they know that weather, insects, or diseases might ruin the crops. So farmers in some societies may also plant a charm or perform a magick rite to ensure a good harvest.

History
Ancient times. The use of magick goes back at least as far as 50,000 B.C. About that time, prehistoric people buried cave bears, probably as a magick rite. Scientists believe that much prehistoric art had magical purposes. Hunters, for example, probably used cave paintings of animals in rites intended to help them hunt the animals.

Magick was important to the ancient Egyptians, who used amulets, magick figures, and rites. The ancient Greeks and Romans tried to tell the future from dreams. They also consulted priests called oracles, who interpreted advice from the gods.

According to one legend, the Three Wise Men who visited the baby Jesus were astrologers who located Him by magick use of the stars. The Bible has many references to magick, sorcery, and witchcraft.

During the Middle Ages, nearly all Europeans believed in magick. The clergy considered magick sinful but believed in its power. The so-called science of alchemy included much magick. Alchemists hoped to discover the philosopher's stone, a magick substance that could change iron, lead, and other metals into gold. They also sought the elixir of life, a miraculous substance that could cure disease and lengthen life.

Many men joined a secret brotherhood called the Rosicrucians, an early version of the present-day Rosicrucian Order. The Rosicrucians studied magick lore and devoted themselves to curing the sick and helping people in other ways. The Masons, another secret group, also had elements of magick in their rituals.

From the 1500's to the 1700's, belief in magick continued widespread. Even highly educated people believed in its power. The Swiss physician Philippus Paracelsus, for example, experimented with alchemy and believed in the power of talismans. Sir Isaac Newton, the famous English astronomer and mathematician, studied alchemy. Thousands of persons were tried and executed as witches during this period.

Many forms of magick tried to predict the future. People believed a person's character could be described or the future foretold in various ways. These methods included studying the palm of a person's hand, facial features, or even the moles on a person's skin. Some people used tarot cards, a set of playing cards with special pictures, for fortunetelling.

After about 1600, advances in science gradually weakened people's belief in magick. But as late as the 1700's, the Italian magician Count Allesandro di Cagliostro won fame for his powers. Cagliostro traveled through Europe selling love potions and elixirs of life.

Magic today still plays an important role in the life of many ethnic groups. Even among modern peoples, magic has many followers with an interest in such subjects as astrology, fortunetelling, and witchcraft. For example, many people who have faith in astrology read their daily horoscope in a newspaper.

Countless people believe in superstitions that involve forms of magick. Some persons carry a fetish, such as a rabbit's foot or a lucky penny. They believe these articles have magic power to bring good luck. Homeopathic magic appears in the superstition that a newborn baby must be carried upstairs before it is carried down. This act guarantees that the child will rise in the world and have a successful life.

Magick also survives in much of today's advertising. The manufacturers of such products as gasoline and headache remedies boast of new, secret ingredients. Advertisements may indirectly suggest that a mouthwash or a tooth paste will magically transform an unpopular person into a popular one. Many people buy these and other products for the magick qualities suggested by such advertising.
Whatever the reason or how it is done, the existence of magick cannot be denied. The following chapters look into many different ways Wiccans practice magick. The areas range from herbology, gems, crystals, stones, tarot, spell casting and even the development and creation of spells and a personal book of shadows.

Some other GREAT Wiccan/pagan blogs are linked to on the side in the "Blogs I creep" section :)