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Author Topic: What are your experiences with magic/witchcraft?  (Read 4030 times)

Sofie

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What are your experiences with magic/witchcraft?
« on: November 03, 2012, 07:34:26 pm »
Okay, so I'm totally new to the concept of witchcraft/magic, but I've been itching to begin practicing in solitude. However, I'm kind of wondering what risks I take when starting out for the first time...of course I've done some intensive research, but ultimately, you never know what you're doing until you've mastered it. So my question is, what happens when you mess up, and what are some protective measures you take to prevent disaster? I know it all depends on how/what type of magic you practice, but I'm eager to hear about experiences from different ways of practice.Thanks in advance, and feel free to share some stories! :)
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Faemon

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Re: What are your experiences with magic/witchcraft?
« Reply #1 on: November 04, 2012, 06:48:14 pm »
Quote from: Sofie;79565
what happens when you mess up, and what are some protective measures you take to prevent disaster?
Direct energy worker, here. I incorporate some tools, but as much as possible try to keep my magic "naked" and abstract... because that's what it seems to be when I'm not actively trying to shape it. Maybe it's my personality, but the way I like to work with that magic is just by nudging the way it naturally is.

So. I used to read horror stories about people, especially young women, who caught the attentions of some poltergeist that would mess up their lives and follow them wherever they went. Their name written in blood on the walls. Intracable loud sounds, screams, and knocking so nobody in their household could sleep. Personality changes in the person, speaking in another being's voice, acting violently out of character, amnesia about the episode when they came to... and then social shunning, health problems, and eventually going mad with despair and fear and confusion so they die young in bedlam.

Sometimes these stories would be paired with some parapsychological (or Stephen King fan) interpretation of, "Oh, they were in such repressed traditional communities that of course their sexual energy would manifest uncontrollably upon puberty". It's never happened to me, but I kept that in mind as one of the things that could happen if someone dabbling in this messed up.

Or... even somebody not dabbling in this. I mean, I grew up feeling cursed. Somebody messed up on that plane, and it weren't me, but at four or five I was getting nightmares while I was wide awake and having jolts of movement in my extremities that appeared to nag at accomplishing something else's purpose. At least poltergeist activity would shut other people up about it just being me-- I might have died young in bedlam anyway! So, getting into magic was more like self-defense.

Decades later, while I've become more active than receptive, that doesn't necessarily mean that I'm better defended. I could be ignorant of something important, or be wrong about what I already know. But I'm not afraid, because... I don't believe that magic is much more dangerous than anything else. I've fallen out of the belief that magic gives you a greater reach of power and therefore responsibility for anyone else.

What it's done so far, is give me a deeper appreciation for what's already been happening, and more clarity and skill in how I direct my energy on that other plane. I feel quite confident that a lot of perfectly rational materialists unconsciously cast curses or blessings or hope for the right thing in the wrong way and sabotage themselves. So, it isn't magic itself that messes up, it's just another level of analysis as to how. But, generally, I'd say that some skills at dealing with mess-ups can carry from the material world and into the spiritual. So, here's my checklist:

  • Develop critical thinking skills. Materialists say that insanity and charlatanism are really the biggest problems with magic, and I get a lot of my reasoning from that camp, so... polarity of your moral compass might be useful one day, too. I managed without one for a long time, but I was glad of it once I had it, because, really, it clears a lot of illusion in #6.
  • Develop conflict resolution skills, empathy, communication, different angles you can take towards a solution, or ways of thinking of new solutions with the rules that you're given, and last but not least when to take and leave responsibility. Just your personal style of this.
  • Develop extra sensory perception. Most energy workers are taught basic shielding, but I think you won't know how it works until you sense it. I heard a lot of advice against this being the first step, because apparently some things in the otherworld would give you unwanted attention just for looking-- but I think that rarely happens. And, part of developing this step is to null it at will, so, unless you are very unlucky, they should leave when they see that it's become pointless.
  • Develop divination skills. I might be biased, but of all the receptive skills? I've found that this is the most useful for avoiding trouble that you might not be able to handle. It looks ahead, looks around... it's useful, to get a sense of the natural order of things.
  • Assert your boundaries. (This is where shielding, cleansing, banishing, etc. comes in.)
  • Make good friends on both planes. Rarely do people actively and consciously make enemies, but when you don't mesh with somebody and they retaliate, then at least finding the people you do mesh with can: balance them out, broker an agreement, or generally make it too much trouble for the offending party to bother you.

6B. Find ONE magical combat mentor and learn enough to defeat them for all eternity so they never rise again from the ashes of their shame and humiliation, hone the skills you've learned by attacking everything you see, find another combat mentor, repeat 9001 times. (I haven't tried this out myself, but this method seems to be going around a lot. And those currently vouching for this are not dead, so I suppose they're either exaggerating or... safe.)[/list]

There! Now you're ready to stand in the middle of a summoning triangle and shout, "Come and get me!" without any consequences you can't handle :) Probably.
« Last Edit: November 04, 2012, 06:52:24 pm by Faemon »
The Codex of Poesy: wishcraft, faelatry, alchemy, and other slight misspellings.
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NanoRaven

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Re: What are your experiences with magic/witchcraft?
« Reply #2 on: November 05, 2012, 07:09:28 am »
Quote from: triple_entendre;79692

  • Make good friends on both planes. Rarely do people actively and consciously make enemies, but when you don't mesh with somebody and they retaliate, then at least finding the people you do mesh with can: balance them out, broker an agreement, or generally make it too much trouble for the offending party to bother you.

6B. Find ONE magical combat mentor and learn enough to defeat them for all eternity so they never rise again from the ashes of their shame and humiliation, hone the skills you've learned by attacking everything you see, find another combat mentor, repeat 9001 times. (I haven't tried this out myself, but this method seems to be going around a lot. And those currently vouching for this are not dead, so I suppose they're either exaggerating or... safe.)[/list]

There! Now you're ready to stand in the middle of a summoning triangle and shout, "Come and get me!" without any consequences you can't handle :) Probably.



Where do you learn all this? I have trouble meshing with people in real life and this is the problem I have right now and it's also affecting me on the 'other' plane. The part where you say people inadvertently letting out curses strikes me as a very important piece of information. I wouldn't say I've been cursed but I do think that my social reputation has been poisoned so to speak.

Ok I suppose I just need to learn better social skills but do you translate these skills into the ones where you make friends on the 'other' plane? Because the right people sort of fall into my lap but I have trouble properly keeping up the relationships. How do I even know if I am encountering the right people on the other side?

Faemon

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Re: What are your experiences with magic/witchcraft?
« Reply #3 on: November 06, 2012, 08:12:47 am »
Quote from: NanoRaven;79727
Where do you learn all this? I suppose I just need to learn better social skills but do you translate these skills into the ones where you make friends on the 'other' plane? Because the right people sort of fall into my lap but I have trouble properly keeping up the relationships. How do I even know if I am encountering the right people on the other side?

Some of it is from experience, but you hear a lot of stories and just decide to trust what you trust. I do translate these skills: look who's around right now (or, go somewhere somehow first and then look around), who do you feel drawn to, who is drawn to you, who's a friend of a friend? Say hi, make whatever size of talk you are disposed to, see how they react, check out what's going on if they call you, then do fun stuff together, then do serious stuff together. If at any point you don't mesh, then talk it out honestly and politely. Make your own judgment calls based on that, who are the right or wrong people.

Good instincts, and (sadly, because unlike instincts this can't be honed) good luck might actually serve you well in this endeavor.
The Codex of Poesy: wishcraft, faelatry, alchemy, and other slight misspellings.
the Otherfaith: Chromatic Genderbending Faery Monarchs of Technology. DeviantArt

NanoRaven

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Re: What are your experiences with magic/witchcraft?
« Reply #4 on: November 07, 2012, 08:43:23 am »
Quote from: triple_entendre;79832
Some of it is from experience, but you hear a lot of stories and just decide to trust what you trust. I do translate these skills: look who's around right now (or, go somewhere somehow first and then look around), who do you feel drawn to, who is drawn to you, who's a friend of a friend? Say hi, make whatever size of talk you are disposed to, see how they react, check out what's going on if they call you, then do fun stuff together, then do serious stuff together. If at any point you don't mesh, then talk it out honestly and politely. Make your own judgment calls based on that, who are the right or wrong people.

Good instincts, and (sadly, because unlike instincts this can't be honed) good luck might actually serve you well in this endeavor.

 
Thank you so much, I will practice that :)

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