When non-magickal people read posts by Pagans and Wiccans on the internet, they often see terms such as "magick" and "spellwork" occaisionally being bandied about. Since many of them may not be familiar with just what we're talking about, I thought it would be wise to offer a little primer on the Art Magical.
First, allow me to tell you one thing that magick is not...it's not prayer. Aiming for simplicity, some Pagans have tried to pass off magick to non-Pagans as being "like prayer", but really it's quite different. Granted, some magickal traditions (such as those stemming from Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and other faiths) use prayer as an integral part of their magickal system, it's not required. Prayer, even for Pagans, is very different, and I'll get to that in a moment.
With that out of the way, let's give a definition of what magick is.
Magickal History
The best definition, and the most accurately discriptive, would be the one given by famed occultist Aleister Crowley: "Magick is the art and science of causing change to occur in conformity with the will". No matter what context one practices magick in, this definition fits.
And what does this mean? Magick...an art and science? This will probably send some of the more scientifically inclined around here right out of their gourd, but for the magickal practitioner this is accurate. Magick is an art...it uses our imagination, our creativity, and our emotions. Magick is a science...we as magickal practitioners manipulate a set collection of variables in pursuit of a theorized end result. We seek to cause "change to occur in conformity with the will"...to cause a change to occur in our environment in accordance with our wishes.
It's really this last part that's the most important to magickal practice: to bring our will to reality. I saw one person on this blog discribe magickal practitioners as "will workers". This is entirely accurate. The will is the single most important piece of the magickal puzzle, and one that, if missing, will render the entire exercise useless.
Magick 101
When we practice magick, we start out deciding what our need is. We then perform some sort of ritual (sometimes called a "spell") to raise mystical energy and to charge it with our will. This energy is then released into the universe to work our will, and to bring forth the desired result. Let's look at this process in more detail:
First, we decide what the need is: This can be the easiest part of the whole thing. Prosperity, healing, protection...these are but a few reasons why someone does magick. Ethical standards vary between systems, but the vast majority of Pagans and Wiccans agree that manipulating another person's will is not allowed. Casting a spell to "make" someone fall in love with you is a definite no-no.
Then, we raise energy: The "energy" I speak of is divine energy, as well as the energy of life itself. Some dance, some sing, and others play hand-drums to raise the energy they need. Others chant sacred names, or inscribe sacred symbols and sigils upon candles or parchment. Some indeed pray, but this is uncommon in Pagan practice and almost unheard of in Wicca. This is energy, however, that flows through the magick user, and into the air around them. (Many Wiccans only do magick within a sacred circle, using the circle to contain the energy that they raise until they want it released into the world.)
Finally, we charge the energy and release it into the universe: Charging is most often done through visualization. In your mind's eye, you should see what you wish to happen actually achieved. Don't see it in the process of happeneing, but already accomplished. This is where you put your will, your passion, into the energy. Know that what you want will happen. Don't just hope...know it as sure as you know that the sun will rise tomorrow. This is really the trickiest part of the whole endeavour...any doubt or hesitancy will seriousy inhibit the spell's effectiveness. When your will is strong and the energy charged, it is then released from the circle into the universe to achieve your will.
This, in a nutshell, is basic magick, and the basic format used by many Pagans and Wiccans. Some of the other systems of magick are incredibly more complex (such as the ceremonial systems based on the Qabala), but they all have the same goal in mind: to cause our will to manifest. Sometimes that will is lofty (the alchemical transformation of the soul), other times it's more practical (keeping the bills paid), but it's always at the forefront.
Magick and Prayer
Like I said before, magick is not prayer. They are nothing alike. Magick is a focusing of the will, bolstered with magickal energy, to cause a change to occur in conformity with that will. It is accessing the divine spark within to cause change to happen. The "let this happen please" type of prayer is NOT magick, mainly because it's a: saying that someone else, ie "God", is going to cause this to happen according to some divine will with no power coming from the supplicant, and b: it is a focusing of desire without will...in fact, the thing that has historically offended Christians about magick is that assertion of will, which to them is "playing God". The "willful prayer", if you will, places all power and faith into an outside entity, with none of the will needed for true magick to flourish.
Note: Some Pagans and a handful of Wiccans incorporate prayer into every ritual and magickal working, but it isn't universal. Some use magick as a way of aligning their free will with the will, but this tends to be reserved more for the higher, ceremonial magicks. Also, not every Pagan or Wiccan practices magick...some just trust the Goddess to guide their life. Others (like my coven) see magick as a gift of the Gods, a tool to make our own lives better.
Another thing magick is not is supernatural. We Wiccans and Pagans, at least, do not believe that we're wielding any supernatural power. We believe we are wielding the super within the natural. Just as modern pharmacology has vindicated a great many herbal folk cures, so to (we hope) will magick be explained rationally by scientists someday.
Some may say that we're treading on superstitious ground here, and I'm sure that many of the scientifically inclined out there are blanching at the discussion. However, Paganism and Wicca are magickal religions, and magick is always there beneath the surface. Before anyone says anything, no, I do not have any independent scientific proof of anything I'm saying here. All I have is my belief, as well as my personal experience: and my personal experience tells me magick works...we just don't know how.
Yet.
Blessed Be,
Taliesin