As with any skill, developing competency and mastery in magic requires work. But learning how to do magic isn\u2019t hard. Anyone can do it (though some have more natural talent for it than others) and many do.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s hard is figuring out what to work magic for.<\/p>\n
If your need is simple, you can work magic to manifest it directly. But if your need is more complicated, you may need to break things down<\/a> into steps. If your end goal requires the equivalent of tossing a coin ten times and getting ten heads, that\u2019s unlikely to work \u2013 the odds are 1024 to 1. But if you can break that down into steps and throw one head, then a second, and so on, it can be done in a very short time.<\/p>\n When you make a step-by-step plan, it becomes obvious that some steps are better handled with mundane effort than with magic. As with any craft, use the right tool for the job. But we\u2019re often ready to apply ordinary effort only to discover that the application of that effort is blocked.<\/p>\n The way is closed.<\/p>\n In some traditions, certain Gods and spirits are known as \u201croad openers\u201d and \u201cremovers of obstacles.\u201d If you are part of such a tradition, contact that person<\/em> with appropriate offerings and request help. But there is no one in my tradition with that role, and in any case I find it better to approach deities by relationship rather than by function.<\/p>\n Perhaps you need a God to open the way, and if you ask perhaps a God will open it for you. But perhaps what you really need is to figure out exactly where you need to apply your own magic.<\/p>\n Here are some ways to remove obstacles and open the way.<\/p>\n You\u2019re on your way to work and there\u2019s a wreck in front of you. What would normally take 10 minutes will now take 30 minutes. But if you take the next exit and go around the wreck, you can get there in 15 minutes \u2013 longer than you expected, but much faster than if you stick with your original plan.<\/p>\n I often tell people \u2013 including myself\u2026 especially myself \u2013 to stick with things long enough for them to pay off. But if something is blocking you and it\u2019s too big to remove, you need a different approach. Use divination in the same way you use a smartphone navigation app \u2013 it can tell you what you can\u2019t see (yet), so you can make changes more quickly.<\/p>\n Read through one of the medieval grimoires and it won\u2019t be long before you come across a list of magical ingredients that you can\u2019t find in your spice rack\u2026 or on Amazon. Yes, some names are codes, either to hide the truth from those who are unprepared to handle it, or simply to sound mysterious to impress paying customers. Still, certain spells require certain ingredients, and without them the spells simply won\u2019t work.<\/p>\n The same is true with mundane resources. You may need a computer, a phone, or a camera. In 2020 a lot of people discovered they needed a good desk chair at home. Even if you have enough money, finding the right tool \/ ingredient \/ resource out of dozens and dozens of choices can be difficult (I\u2019m on my third keyboard in less than a month and I\u2019m looking at a fourth \u2013 physician heal thyself).<\/p>\n If you need something to complete a phase of your plan, use magic to find it.<\/p>\n Sometimes what you need simply doesn\u2019t exist, or it\u2019s so difficult to obtain that it might as well not exist. In theory you could find an eye of an ape or of a corpse that has died a violent death (from the PGM<\/a> I 247-62 \u201cA Spell For Invisibility\u201d) but getting one would cause more problems than it would solve.<\/p>\n Use a combination of divination and operative magic to identify and obtain an alternative. It may not work as well, but it may work well enough (or it may not \u2013 some things simply can\u2019t be substituted).<\/p>\n Sometimes you can use an alternative on a temporary basis. In today\u2019s world, pen and paper isn\u2019t a substitute for a computer and a word processor, but writing by hand will allow you to record your thoughts and compositions before you forget them. Then you can transcribe them later.<\/p>\n Stereotypically, sorcerers work alone. Witches may gather in covens, but most traditional witchcraft spells are intended to be done by one person. American culture glorifies the rugged individualist (to our collective detriment, but that\u2019s another rant for another time).<\/p>\n Sometimes the simple fact is that we can\u2019t do it alone.<\/p>\n If we need help \u2013 whether with expertise, equipment and facilities, or just another set of hands \u2013 we have to ask for help. And if you don\u2019t know where to ask, that\u2019s where the magic comes in.<\/p>\n Start with your ancestors \u2013 they\u2019re usually your most available spiritual allies. Ask your Gods \u2013 while we never want to treat our Gods like vending machines, it is good and right to ask for what we need. Be careful making deals \u2013 especially with the Fair Folk<\/a> \u2013 but if the need is great enough, we do what we have to do.<\/p>\n And sometimes, asking for help doesn\u2019t require magic. It just requires picking up the phone and making a call or sending a text.<\/p>\n If asking for help is hard, accepting it can be much harder.<\/p>\n We\u2019re afraid of appearing weak or needy. We don\u2019t want to admit that maybe we don\u2019t know as much as we like to think we know. We don\u2019t want to be in debt to anyone \u2013 even to our friends who would relish the opportunity to help us, and who we have helped in the past.<\/p>\n We don\u2019t want to admit how vulnerable we really are.<\/p>\n This is difficult magic. It\u2019s less operative magic and more \u201crefining your soul\u201d magic, the kind to approach with prayer and especially with meditation. It requires figuring out what you want most: your heart\u2019s desire, or your veneer of invulnerability.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve never been shy about accepting help with difficult things. But as I get older, I\u2019m finding it hard to accept help with the ordinary things I used to be able to do with ease that now present challenges. But if I want to keep from injuring myself, I\u2019m going to have to accept it (yes, Cathy and Cyn, when we can have public rituals again I\u2019ll let the younger people carry the chairs).<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/243\/2020\/12\/0928-11-West-Texas.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nGoing around an obstacle<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/243\/2020\/12\/0927-190-Palo-Duro-Canyon.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nFinding a resource<\/h2>\n
Finding an alternative resource<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/243\/2020\/12\/Oak-Point-12.03.20-03.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nAsking for help<\/h2>\n
Accepting help<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/243\/2020\/12\/0926-210-Caprock-Canyon.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n