Why are you practising magic?

[Jolantru]

Reading Bethra's thread makes me ponder. Why are we practising magic? What are our motives? What do we get out of practising magic or shaping/bending our consciousness using our will?

I started out, influenced by Wicca and slowly meandered to shamanism which I felt was more closer to my skin. When I started practising, I had doubts. What if the things I 'saw' were not real? What if NOR (non-ordinary reality) is just a product of my imagination? What if the Three Worlds are just figments of my imagination and my projections? I went into Wicca and shamanism with a healthy dose of skepticism - and even now, I have to ask myself and my friends to check, double-check and confirm either 'sightings' or readings or results.

So, if you ask me, why I am practising magic, I don't think there's a firm single answer. I do so, because of personal enrichment and learning. And because I want to see what's real and what's not. To say that magic sings in my blood or something - to me - is a cop-out. Innate ability is one thing. But actual practice is another.

Thoughts?

Cheers,
Jolantru

[Cassie]

It is difficult to sum it up, but for me there are three main reasons.
First, in practicing magic I feel very deeply connected to my inner self and the whole universe around me.

Second, it is empowering to know that I can make things happen, I can change things.

And thirdly practicing magic requires quite a lot of study, practice and dicipline which is both interesting and helps you to grow as a person.

I will also add a fourth thing, which is that in the context of my spiritual beliefs, practising magic has brought me into contact with a lot of like minded people many of whom have become good friends; so my whole quality of life has improved.

[Philosophia]

I totally agree with Cassie, with my reasons below:


Reading Bethra's thread makes me ponder. Why are we practising magic? What are our motives? What do we get out of practising magic or shaping/bending our consciousness using our will?

The reasons I practise magic are really hard to define.
On a very basic level, when I do spells, I would like to create a solution to a problem that is too complex for any practical situations.
But one of the main reasons I practise magic is to further myself so I can go beyond limitations placed upon me by my own physical and emotional prisons.
Another reason for magick, is to go beyond and connect to another space, frame of mind, and manipulate the energy that surrounds me.
It corresponds with my path, and studying about it deepens the learning about myself. Also, it helps me recongnise the energy that surrounds us all and connects us to everything.

[Bethra]

Well I responded to your thoughts on doubt in the other thread so I have to now answer a little differently at the risk of repeating myself.

Well firstly I came to magic because I questioned the regular beliefs that everyone else around me seamed to blindly trust in. You will notice that I don't use the word doubt since I have never doubted that one form of belief may be real but it just didn't fit comfortably with me. It is not for me to just sit with a consept that dose not allow me to question it since for me without questioning there can be no expansion. I went through a whole realm of other possible belief systems and all essencial were similar so I kept turning back the clock looking for a begining so that I could find out what the original concepts were and then logicaly follow it through to present beliefs. Eventualy I came to magic and so I began to take that belief system apart and found it appealed to me more than anything else I had studied.

Presantly I have reached a point where I have tried and tested many theories which have given me a spiritual belief that fits comfortably with me and includes the practice of magic. Magic is not the soul part of my spirituality it is only a very small part of a belief system that is constantly evolving and expanding. I continue to question everything in order that my spirituality never stagnates and keeps expanding along side me. When I do not question and test my belief will eventualy become to ridged a structure and as I continue to grow and expand I will loose that conection with my spirituality eventualy leading to loss of faith.

Why do I continue to practise magic? Simply because it is an integral part of my spiritual path that I will continue to question constantly inorder to keep it expanding along side of me.

[Ptah]

Reading Bethra's thread makes me ponder. Why are we practising magic? What are our motives? What do we get out of practising magic or shaping/bending our consciousness using our will?

I started out, influenced by Wicca and slowly meandered to shamanism which I felt was more closer to my skin. When I started practising, I had doubts. What if the things I 'saw' were not real? What if NOR (non-ordinary reality) is just a product of my imagination? What if the Three Worlds are just figments of my imagination and my projections? I went into Wicca and shamanism with a healthy dose of skepticism - and even now, I have to ask myself and my friends to check, double-check and confirm either 'sightings' or readings or results.

So, if you ask me, why I am practising magic, I don't think there's a firm single answer. I do so, because of personal enrichment and learning. And because I want to see what's real and what's not. To say that magic sings in my blood or something - to me - is a cop-out. Innate ability is one thing. But actual practice is another.

Thoughts?

Cheers,
Jolantru

Magick is merely a means to an end. It is the same as any other tool. We practice to get efficient in the use of the tool, so we don't accidently hit our finger instead of the nail. Magick is based using one's will to cause an effect (hopefully the intent). In all things this is madandatory, for if we don't have the will to accomplish something, chances are, it won't happen. Magick is simply a system (or systems) through which we are able to accomplish tasks.

[Xentor]

I perform magic to become a better person. If I can better the world in the process, that is an added benefit.

[semi]

To become a whole being, to merge with the universe, and to evolve.



And to hang out with hot pagan chicks.

[Tabbykitty]

Plain old stupid karma. thats why I am practicing magick.

I come from a totally non-pagan family, and would have never ever done any magick, if not for a series of strange coincidences sometime at the end of last year.

I kinda knew that magic was part of my karma, but never really 100% believed it was true until today. :P

I went to a local psychic event today just to support some friends who were going to be there. However, when I turned up, they weren't there. Instead, there was this lady psychic I often see at a new age cafe and she greeted me at the door and asked me if I wanted a reading. I craned my neck and asked, "Where's everyone?"

Well, since she was the only person available, I thought, "What the heck..." and just gave it a try. The moment I sat down, she did a numerology reading on me and said, "You know, the moment you walked into the cafe with Marcus, I knew you were a magician."

Well, I really didn't expect to hear that. I mean, I had readings done before, and most of the people usually say something like .... "You were a mongolian tribesman..." etc... and so forth.

A little stunned I said, ".... and its somehow written on my face...????"

"Well... I just knew it... and you have been one for many many lifetimes....." she said. "In fact, you have lifetimes where you were practicing darker forms of magick...."

Well, I did have lifetimes like that. So I didnt deny it.

It got a little freaky when she started naming historical names and wrote down my magical lineage. She then went ahead to state what kind of magick I practiced before and will likely practice in this lifetime. Which.....actually is true....:P

I quizzed her about the lineage bit and found out to my surprise that she knew very very little about the names she mentioned. I asked where the info came from. She pointed to her guides and angels.

By that time, I was kinda falling off my chair. She talked to me a little about why I had this type of karma. She then told me to go to a talk on the same day by a visiting wiccan.

Well, at the talk, the speaker passed around a tarot deck and asked us to pull a card from it at random. Well, everyone got a card, including me. It was supposed to tell us something about ourselves. Imagine my shock when I flipped open the card..... No. 1 The Magician.

I thought about it a little and compared my life before and my life now and realised something I had never noticed before. For years before I stepped onto this path. I had a feeling that I wasn't doing something that I was supposed to be doing. In fact, the feeling got so bad one time, I kinda went into a lonely depression. I was sad and I didn't know why I felt that way.

Well, it took me two whole years of wandering around soul searching before a chance event led me to realise that magic was real and that it wasn't part of some fantastic fairyland. It was all around me, even the seemingly mundane things. When that happened, it was like a veil had lifted and I was no longer sad.

I guess, doing magick is very much part of who I am. I didn't look for it or ask for it or even searched for it. I stepped onto my current path because of simple scientific curiousity regarding the true potential of the human mind. Now, I can't imagine a life without it.

It doesn't mean that I use magick to fix every small problem. On the contrary, sometimes I just let things take their natural course. However, I would on a regular basis, face situations where I have to use magick. Each time that happens, I learn a bit more about myself and who I was. Sometimes I manage to help others in the process.

In a way, when living and breathing it everyday, it somehow helps to further my own spiritual path in its own unique way.

[Imbrium]

I hope to grow in my spirituality and understanding of how the universe works. It's a creative, hands-on, and insightful way to achieve understanding. If nothing else, I can at least say that my actions reflect the hope that God and Goddess are a part of my life, a part of my spell, and a part of my future.

Hope for change is sometimes the only thing I have to hold on to. Might as well.

[John_Mischief]

It's useful? Hah, everyone else has such noble reasons; they want to help people or become petter people themselves.

I just use it because it's helpful, and I can. Like getting an SAT book to study for the test, but much more versatile. For me, it's a tool.

[StarCraftLia]

I practice magic to bring changes about that I wish to happen. Also because I feel closer to nature when I do it.

[sari0009]

Reading Bethra's thread makes me ponder. Why are we practising magic? What are our motives? What do we get out of practising magic or shaping/bending our consciousness using our will?

Why do any of us want to do anything, do it better, or do it in a more integrated way, using all resources and abilities? Why don't we all still live in caves?

Probably because we started expressing (cave art), exploring, and doing magick. Some joke that the difference between magic(k) and prayer is who gets the credit. There is more to it but that does get a point across -- we've never stopped using these parts of us -- this is nothing new. We just don't always call it "magic" or use the same exact forms/rituals.

My personal main reason to turn to using new tools of change, including but not limited to magic, was I needed to change a lot of things in my life, starting with myself.

[Mab]

I don't practice magic to bend anything to my will, necessarily. I practice more defensive magic--to protect me & mine--or intuitional magic. I read cards & such to help me make informed decisions, to obtain some guidance. I raise energy to send love or comfort to those I care about & can't be near. It's not so much a matter of "do what I want you to do" (the energy that is) as it is an enriching & learning & growth.

[Rick]

Why are you practising magic?

Fun & profit

[fangedeshana]

I perform magic to become a better person. If I can better the world in the process, that is an added benefit.


To become a whole being, to merge with the universe, and to evolve.

I'm a mix between Xentor and semicivilizedman. I guess 'evolve' would hopefull cover "becomming a better person, and hopefully bettering the world in some way also". :bigredgri

Thank being said though, I dont really do spell work. I work magic through meditation if anything. Mostly because I dont have the wallet or the time to gather all the little bits and pieces I'd like for spells. :p

[Temptation]

I do it because it's what I grew up with and because it's as natural to me as breathing. Magic is part of me.

[Rosana]

I don't really know why am I doing this :hmmmmm:
Yes, magick is helpful; yes, it helps me to become better person, to see more, to [insert whatever you wish]. But honestly, I don't know. I think it's my karma - and I was "magickally raised" by my parents (though they aren't pagans and they don't consider themselves as people even slightly interested in esoteric issues). They encouraged me to develop my imagination, they talked to my imaginary friends, shown me the beauty of nature, and never said that I'm weird, that I must be like "normal" person and loose my sixth sense (sometimes I have visions about the past and I can see with my third eye since I was a kid) and interest in anything considered unusual, paranormal. Actually, my parents strongly believe in the other side of reality, but they don't want to pass some boundary. Also my aunts encouraged and advised me to search my path and take advantage from my inborn talents.
I'm very thankful for all my family, supporting and understanding me. I think they are the main factor for me using magick - because it's as natural as breathing or walking.

[Élistariel]

*I haven't read all the replies yet*

Why do I practice magic?
I don't.
I do do occasional mediations once in a blue moon. I don't really believe in spells. My thought on that is, if you want something done, then get off your butt and go do it. I still don't know what "drawing energy" means. I've tried excercises many a time. Nothing. Maybe I'm lazy, but magic doesn't find it's way in my daily life.