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Do you use magic? |
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no |
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23% |
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gods you're nosey...gimme gold!!! |
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5% |
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Total Votes : 17 |
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MidnightLetter Vice Captain
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Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 7:49 am
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Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 8:45 am
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Sanguina Cruenta Vice Captain
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Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 10:07 am
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Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 2:56 pm
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Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 3:15 pm
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Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 7:57 pm
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Violet Song jat Shariff Crew
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Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2009 2:57 am
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Sanguina-chan But anyway. I use magic in lots of little ways, things that are such a part of my day that I don't really think "magic" when I do them. Things that are so little and mundane that they don't really jump to the mind.
Same here. Driving down the road, I shield if I feel the need; driving my old car, I actually -have- to put a whammy on the traffic signal to get it to change if I'm the only car waiting at an intersection, since that car doesn't trigger the sensor switches at the intersections. I do cleansings... all this little stuff.
I do formal sit-down-and-plan-it-out magic maybe once every couple years. It really isn't something that comes up too often. The last truly elaborate thing I did was on the night of Sept 11th, 2001, in fact, a freezing/binding spell to stop the terrorists from doing anything else harmful either to us or to themselves. (I don't believe my spell alone was efficacious; I'm certain there were a hundred thousand other magic workers across the country doing the same thing.)
As an aside, I think it's perfectly normal for people new to magic and especially for teens who are new to magic to go through a phase where they use it a -lot-, perhaps even casting a spell every day. That kind of enthusiasm wears off after a while as magic loses its 'exotic' luster and becomes something that's just as ordinary a part of everyday life as the refrigerator. I think it's useful, because you learn your limitations; you learn what kinds of magic you're good at and which kinds you may as well be talking to a wall with. Your intuitive sense grows, and you may even find that after a while that since you can now -feel- the changes that occur when magic is afoot that you can start casting some spells without using any material objects at all.
Quote: Are there things that you feel magic shouldn't be used for, or is it useful for everything?
That is something every magic user has to decide for themselves. European based magic of the variety you will find taught in books sold in bookstores such as your local Borders is nearly exclusively 'white' or 'ladyhearted' magic and, even if you're not christian and you don't believe in the notion of sin, the idea has been drilled so deeply into the common psyche that many folks will have a kneejerk negative reaction to even the notion of gray magic. Folk traditions of many other cultures are less shy about gray or 'black' magic (though practitioners of dark arts, such as bokors, are often loudly reviled.)
A thread discussing gray magic might be appropriate, because I'd like to address that kneejerk negative reaction directly. In short, I think it's overhasty to automatically judge any gray magic as 'bad.' (Some people judge it as 'bad' because its aim is often to violate your target's free will to an extent, and they hold free will above all else to be sacrosanct.) However, putting criminals in prison is quite a serious violation of their free will, yet we condone the system that does that. I see gray magic, judiciously, wisely applied, as no different.
I will use magic in any situation where I feel directed by the Great Spirit to use it. I have used gray magic before (Sept 11th,) and if the need arises I will do so again without hesitation.
I avoid practitioners of any magic that is purely harmful/spiteful/damaging or purely selfish in the most negative sense.
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Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2009 4:33 pm
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Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2009 6:57 pm
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Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2009 10:51 pm
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Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2009 1:33 pm
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Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2009 10:23 pm
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Violet Song jat Shariff Crew
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Sanguina Cruenta Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Jan 11, 2009 1:35 am
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Well, if you were doing like a spell for every problem that crossed your path, yeah. I think most of us are talking about little things you don't really think about, but that you do because they're... well, it's like feeling energies becomes a part of your daily life. It's not big and impressive or anything like that but it's just something you tend to do. A kitchen witch might put a little bit of energy into everything she cooks or bakes simply because that's who she is, and what she does, and how she relates to the world.
I don't consider that I use it very much, but it really depends on where you draw the line between what is magic and what is not. Every time I walk past a tree I reach out and touch it. If I have the time and there isn't, like, a tree every two paces, I'll exchange a little energy (sort of) with the tree as a form of greeting. Is this magic, or not? It's manipulating energy, and doing it for a purpose, but as it's simply a form of communication, and since it's so little and fairly easy, does it count?
Does talking to the dead count? Does divination - does some divination count and not others? (I know after a big tarot reading I'm wiped, but scrying doesn't seem to use any energy at all... not that I can scry intentionally, but whatever.) What about journeying? What about reaching out to something or someone to sense its energy - like journeying but only with one arm, reaching across the road to a tree?
I tend to frown a little at people who do spells all the time, because I think that there are other ways to deal with problems that should also be considered. But at the same time, I don't think most people who use magic in their every-day lives are using it as a crutch. It merely becomes a part of who you are as a person. I've been doing it so long I can't remember ever not doing it... theoretically I must have been not-doing it at one point, but when that point is I have no idea. I may have been doing little bits and bobs for years before I discovered Neo-Wicca and Paganism. I do know that I wrote a spell before I discovered that witchcraft actually existed... a very simple one, actually, getting right down to the heart of witchcraft without even realising it: a chant, raising energy to a peak, and then releasing it all at once.
It totally worked, too. Took a couple years, but it worked. It wasn't until years later that I really remembered it and realised that it actually was a spell.
Anyway, I've gone off on a tangent.
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Posted: Sun Jan 11, 2009 1:44 pm
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Sanguina-chan Well, if you were doing like a spell for every problem that crossed your path, yeah. I think most of us are talking about little things you don't really think about, but that you do because they're... well, it's like feeling energies becomes a part of your daily life. It's not big and impressive or anything like that but it's just something you tend to do. A kitchen witch might put a little bit of energy into everything she cooks or bakes simply because that's who she is, and what she does, and how she relates to the world. I can understand that 3nodding . I know you guys are all talking more so about smaller things...it was just a point I had thought of.
Quote: I don't consider that I use it very much, but it really depends on where you draw the line between what is magic and what is not. Every time I walk past a tree I reach out and touch it. If I have the time and there isn't, like, a tree every two paces, I'll exchange a little energy (sort of) with the tree as a form of greeting. Is this magic, or not? It's manipulating energy, and doing it for a purpose, but as it's simply a form of communication, and since it's so little and fairly easy, does it count? For me...I don't think I'd count it as a magical working. But I guess the definition would depend on the person who is actually doing it.
Quote: Does talking to the dead count? Does divination - does some divination count and not others? (I know after a big tarot reading I'm wiped, but scrying doesn't seem to use any energy at all... not that I can scry intentionally, but whatever.) What about journeying? What about reaching out to something or someone to sense its energy - like journeying but only with one arm, reaching across the road to a tree? I think there was a small "Does using divination make me a witch?" discussion on the PoG thread before...and I think what that boiled down to as well was it depends on the practitioner.
Quote: I tend to frown a little at people who do spells all the time, because I think that there are other ways to deal with problems that should also be considered. But at the same time, I don't think most people who use magic in their every-day lives are using it as a crutch. It merely becomes a part of who you are as a person. I've been doing it so long I can't remember ever not doing it... theoretically I must have been not-doing it at one point, but when that point is I have no idea. I may have been doing little bits and bobs for years before I discovered Neo-Wicca and Paganism. I do know that I wrote a spell before I discovered that witchcraft actually existed... a very simple one, actually, getting right down to the heart of witchcraft without even realising it: a chant, raising energy to a peak, and then releasing it all at once. Yea that's more the type of person I had in mind; the one who does a luck spell, a money spell, a love spell, a spell for weather, asks their cards what color shoes to wear, etc...all in like one day eek . I would consider that kind of usage to be crutch-like, but that's me.
I know that many people who use magic don't use it as a crutch wink .
Quote: It totally worked, too. Took a couple years, but it worked. It wasn't until years later that I really remembered it and realised that it actually was a spell. Anyway, I've gone off on a tangent. Is okay heart .
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Violet Song jat Shariff Crew
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Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2009 9:34 am
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