I’ve never believed that science and magick are mutually exclusive. Far from it. Since I discovered the craft in my twenties my dearest hope has been that science and technology will finally catch up and prove that which we already know. That Magick works!
Problem is of course that science doesn’t want to prove magick, it wants to disprove it, and also people’s ideas of what magick really is can vary so wildly as to make it almost unquantifiable, a scientific red flag straight away. And then of course there are the sheer number of times that it appears that the spell or ritual doesn’t work or backfires in some way. Why is that? We know it can work so why are the results so difficult to reproduce? In my opinion it all comes down to “power” and the manner in which we direct it.
Let’s go back to science. Sir Isaac Newton’s third law of motion states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. When we make a decision to change the world either internally or externally, we are exerting a force upon the universe, we are pushing power and the Universe pushes back.
Now I hear what you are saying, if the forces are equal and opposite why do spells work at all then? Aha! Glad you asked. It’s because we don’t work in a vacuum, so we can encourage other external forces to also work on our desired goal giving us the combined strength to overcome, to push back from different angles harder than the universe cares to fight. It’s actually basic physics.
Let me explain, I want to get a job I’ve seen advertised, I want it badly. After much thought and consideration as to if the job I am applying for is the right job for me, I work a spell. I dance, chant, visualize, do all the things until I am a sweaty heap on the floor in the circle.
I felt the temperature rise both internally and externally, I felt the “giving” or “tearing” sensation that can happen when you’ve pushed your way through the initial resistance and sent the spell out. I’ve overcome the inertia, I have “pushed the power” and because I also wrote the job application in circle, (I’m clever like that) an interview is almost immediately forthcoming. Yet, in the end I didn’t get the job. What gives?
Did I exert any other external force to ensure that my combined power was greater than the natural Universal resistance?
Did I do any mundane footwork allowing other influences to act on the opposing forces? Look up the company, read about its work, technologies, staff ethos, environmental policies? In short, did I give myself a practical upper hand?
Did I do a secondary spell to ensure the weather was great that day? People, including myself and the interviewers, are always in a better mood when it isn’t cold and miserable.
Did I take an extra hour that morning doing nothing but chanting and visualizing success before I left for the interview?
And finally, were my clothes, hair, and breath clean, fresh-smelling, and appropriate?
Chances are if the spell failed, I didn’t provide enough additional forces to the problem to allow my power push to overcome the obstacle.
Some witches I know who seem to use almost no “oomph” succeed in their spellwork over and over again like clockwork. It’s a skilled witch who can get things done with the slightest nudge in just one or two very well-placed directions. The true power of witchcraft isn’t how much energy they can raise, nor how hard they can shove it out. To be multi-modal rather than single minded is when spells work, and they never truly work how we wish if we perform them in isolation.
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