Definition of Magic

Magic (often spelled archaically today as “magick”) is best defined as the influencing of events outside and inside yourself through mystical or paranormal means. This definition fluctuates considerably today; for instance, pagans who follow Alastair Crowley often insist that the mystical/paranormal means are not necessarily a part, and that magick cannot be used to break physical laws.

There are a few things that are agreed upon by every practitioner of magic. In order to effect a magickal spell of any sort, the will behind the spell is the fuel for the effect. Magic is most often an influence on fate or the way others behave. And in general, magic is best created from within; without knowing what you’re doing, spells downloaded from the Internet or read from commercial grimoires (spellbooks) like Teen Witch are useless.

So you might ask: what good is magic, really?

Magic: A Positive Influence on Your Life

In many ways, magic is no more than positive thinking – the same power that every self-help guru in the last century or more has touted as the one and only way to make your life better. In other ways, though, magic is much more than that. It uses the powers that exist naturally within you to fuel positive (or negative) effects. When used in a negative manner, there are penalties. And it can be used to tap things beyond our understanding, things that we don’t even have words for.

For learning practitioners, however, magic should be thought of as a way that you can improve your life simply by channeling energies existing naturally within you, differently.

Divisions of Magic

Most people divide magic into either white (healing, divination, and positive) and black (malicious or negative) forms. According to the common Wiccan and Pagan Three-Fold Rule, the magic you cast will return to you threefold – that is, if you cast positive magic its positive energy will be reflected triply to you, and ditto for negative magic. This is not agreed upon in all magick-practicing systems; for instance, true Satanism and Crowley-based paganism both treat magic as a neutral force. It is, however, true that positive thought tends to produce positive thought and negative produces negative, so it is conceivable that this is true.

In addition to the will, words and ritual tools are also believed to contain power, as are specific symbols and a magic circle. Sometimes spirit mediums, such as an animal familiar or consorting with a discorporate spirit, are also used as magic tools. Still, behind everything is the will and the strength from human thought and action.

Magic, the Occult, and Sexuality

Occult, translated literally, means that which is hidden or unrevealed. Things we do not understand, therefore, can technically be described as occult. In the 1700s, alchemy and its descendants chemistry and pharmacology were all included in the occult umbrella. Today, in the same way, quantum physics may be seen as occult.

But it’s not only science that is hidden and unrevealed in today’s society. In very real ways, most elements of sexuality are also hidden. While it’s not hard to get porn movies, it is difficult to see real sex between real people. Children are “protected” from sex (except, of course, what they can learn from their friends!) and assault after assault on pornography and erotica are launched by conservative religious elements.

What does this really mean? It might mean nothing. But in a world where secrets and lies are more often than not laid bare before all to see, sex might be seen as the last bastion of the secret, a place within which magic may lie if only the practitioner is able to see.

Or maybe not. That is, after all, the core of the occult – you don’t know what lies there until you lift the veil.