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Magick is the art of effecting change through an
external and supernormal force. Man's awareness of magick and his
efforts to use it to enhance his place in his environment are ancient
and universal and have been a part of all religious systems. The
earliest evidence of magick dates from cave paintings of the Paleolithic
Age, some of which suggest that magick rituals were employed to secure
successful hunts. Various magickal systems and philosophies have
developed around the world, and volumes of literature have been written
on them.
The word magick comes either from the Greek megus,
which means "great" (as in "great" science), or from the Greek term
magein, the science and religion of Zoroaster. Numerous
definitions of magick have been offered by many who have practiced and
studied it, yet magick eludes precise description. Though systems
of magick exist... and some are quite complex... magick remains an
individualistic experience. Every person who practices magick sees
it in a different way.
Magick, like science, works in conformance to the
natural laws of the universe. The Goetia portion of the Lemegeton
of King Solomon, a Grimoire said to be in existence since around 1500,
defines magick as...
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...the Highest, most Absolute,
and most Divine Knowledge of Natural Philosophy, advanced in its works
and wonderful operations by a right understanding of the inward and
occult virtue of things; so that true Agents being applied to proper
Patients, strange and admirable effects will thereby be produced.
When magicians are profound and diligent searchers into Nature, they,
because of their skill, know how to anticipate an effect, the which to
the vulgar shall seem to be a miracle.
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Magick is variously described as
white, black and gray, but actually it has no color. Magick is neutral
and amoral. It can be bent to good, evil or ambiguous purposes,
depending on the intent of the practitioner. The distinction between
"white" and "black" magick is fairly modern, according to occultist A.E.
Waite, and depends upon sharp contrasts between good and evil spirits.
The distinctions were far more obscure in ancient times.
The simplest form of magick is
mechanical sorcery, in which a physical act is performed to achieve a result.
Typically, sorceries, or spells, are performed while reciting magickal
incantations or charms, to aid the effectiveness of the act. A higher
form of sorcery involves petitioning the help of spirits or deities.
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There are two spellings used for
'Magick'
'Magic'...
for stage magic and 'Magick'... for
mystical, ritual and supernatural practices.
'Magick' is a spelling popularly associated with Aleister
Crowley, yet the spelling precedes him by hundreds of years.
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The Encyclopedia of Witches and
Witchcraft |
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Copyright
©1989
Rosemary Ellen Guiley |
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