True Magick: A Beginner's Guide

Studio 2000—Scottsdale, AZ

About the Author

Amber K was born in Bronxville, New York, on July 9, 1947. She was not trained in the Craft at her grandmother’s knee and does not come from a long line of hereditary Witches.

In 1978, she joined the Temple of the Pagan Way in Chicago. She has worked with Circle, New Earth Circle, and the Pool of Bast, and she helped found the Coven of Our Lady of the Woods (OLW) and the Ladywood Tradition of Wicca. She has served as Publications Officer and National First Officer of the Covenant of the Goddess, and taught in the Cella (priestess) training program of RCG, a national Dianic network.

Amber is the author of Coven Craft: Witchcraft for Three or More and Pagan Kids’ Activity Book. With Azrael Arynn K, she has written RitualCraft: Creating Rites for Transformation and Celebration; Candlemas: Feast of Flames; and Heart of Tarot. She is also the Executive Director of Ardantane and serves on its faculty as the acting Dean of the School of Pagan Leadership.

She is handfasted to Azrael Arynn K and has a son, Starfire. Amber’s interests include mountains and forests, dolphins, travel, science fiction, collecting large antique keys, art, reading, and all things magickal. Her role models include Doreen Valiente, Lao Tse, Xena the Warrior Princess, and Snoopy.

Llewellyn Publications

Woodbury, Minnesota

True Magick: A Beginner’s Guide © 2006 by Amber K.

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Tarot cards from The Robin Wood Tarot © Robin Wood

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ontents

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction to the 15th Anniversary Edition

1: About Magick—and You

2: A Brief History of Magick

3: First Steps in Magick

4: Magick and Science

5: The Path Lies Within You

6: Ethics and Hazards

7: The Pyramid of Magick

8: The Energies of Magick

9: Magick and Your Health

10: Creating the Magickal You

11: The Varieties of Magick

12: Nature Magick

13: Intrinsic and Inner Magick

14: Getting Ready for Ritual

15: Creating and Performing Ritual

16: Spellcraft: The Techniques of Magick

17: Everyday Magick and Daily Spiritual Practices

18: Your Magickal Education Continues

19: Change, Death, and Magick

Conclusion

Appendices

I: Glossary of Terms

II: Elemental Correspondences

III: Colors for Magick

IV: Recommended Reading

V: Seeds for Meditation

VI: Discussion of Ethical Scenarios

VII: Magicians Through the Ages

VIII: Elemental Star Charts

Preface

ave you ever wondered about magick?

Not stage magic; not clever illusions with doves and rabbits and colored scarves; not lissome blondes in sequins disappearing from locked cabinets, but magick, the ancient skills and powers of the adepts who sought to transform themselves and their world. Magick chanted under the full moon by circling Witches, or performed by solemn robed wizards in candlelit ceremonies, or conjured by a skinclad shaman deep in a virgin rain forest. . . .

For magick, true magick, can change your life. With magick’s aid, you can have vibrant health, prosperity, a new career. You can enhance your relationships and bring new ones into your life. With magick, you can reach deep inside yourself to find what you despaired of ever having—confidence, courage, tranquillity, faith, compassion, understanding, humor. It’s not a miracle, and it’s not easy, but magick works. And it can work for you.

If you’re curious, you will find answers in this book. I am a high priestess of the Wiccan religion and an experienced practitioner of magick, and in this book I explain not only the history and lore of magick, but also its major varieties in the world today—from the Brujos of Mexico and the United States, to the temples of the Order of the Golden Dawn, to the sacred groves of Wiccan covens.

And if you want to practice magick to grow, to change, to heal with tools of the mind and heart and spirit—then this book will start you on the path. I will explain how to prepare yourself, how to find or create your ritual tools, how to establish a temple in your home, how to plan a ritual and cast a spell—and how to do it ethically and safely. No demons, no black masses, no hexes. Simply divine power flowing through you, intelligently applied for beneficial purposes.

Whether you are just curious, or whether you are already an aspiring magick worker—read on.

A Note about Terminology

First, I have capitalized Pagan, Witch, and Wicca. Proper nouns relating to other religions are capitalized, and Paganism deserves the same respect as any other religion.

Second, throughout this book I have used God/dess, Goddess, or God to refer to the Ultimate Divine Source, and god/dess, goddess, or god to refer to certain facets or aspects of the Divine, such as Athena, Odin, or Cerridwen.

And third, I do not believe in the generic masculine (the sexist notion that he refers to people of both sexes) and have tried to avoid it. Unfortunately, it is awkward to include both genders in every sentence, such as He or she is fortunate if he or she can design an excellent ritual for every magickal purpose. Instead, I have often used they and their to indicate the indeterminate singular as well as the plural. For example, If a magician wants to learn magick, they had better be prepared to practice often and be willing to take risks, sometimes be disappointed, take responsibility for their mistakes, and then learn from those mistakes. I know perfectly well that this is ungrammatical by conservative standards, but it is becoming increasingly common in actual usage—and it’s not sexist.

Acknowledgments

wish to thank all those who made this book possible. They include:

My mother and father, Maxine and Bill, who believed in my writing abilities and in every person’s right to choose their own spiritual path;

Ginny and Dave, high priestess and high priest of the Temple of the Pagan Way, who first taught me magick. The memory of their generosity, care, and humor still warms my heart;

Catelaine, who encouraged me during the writing of the original core of this book, then published as Beginning True Magick;

My coven sisters and brothers of Our Lady of the Woods, who help keep me growing;

And all the priestesses and priests of the Craft who used Beginning True Magick in their teaching and took the time to tell me how valuable it was.

Appreciation is due to Starhawk, because material in the back of her book The Spiral Dance contributed greatly to appendix II; and to Daniel Cohen, for information from his book Magicians, Wizards and Sorcerers that is incorporated into appendix VII.

In this new 15th anniversary edition, I add my thanks to all who have used True Magick: A Beginner’s Guide in the past years, said fine things about it, and offered their reviews, ideas, and suggestions for improving it.

My regards to the ducks who watched me as I worked and gently encouraged me to stay on track. Even mild anatidaephobia[1] has its uses.

Special gratitude to my beloved partner, Azrael Arynn K, who has, as always, offered her warm support and invaluable assistance organizing, editing, and critiquing this new edition.

And I thank Goddess for life and love.

[1] Anatidaephobia: the fear that somewhere, somehow, a duck is watching you (coined by Gary Larson, The Far Side).

Introduction to the 15th Anniversary Edition

agick has been with us through our whole evolutionary journey, in every era for which we have records, and all over the world. And even today, when the magick of science and technology looms so large and transforms our cultures, the Arts Magickal are still practiced in every nation, in many different forms.

Certainly many people believe that magick is all superstition and wishful thinking, that our species has outgrown it, and that it is time to focus on the solid, measurable results of modern engineering and technology. That is understandable. The benefits of technology are immediate and tangible: computers, a thousand portable electronic devices, cars that talk to us. Such things have powerful appeal in a society based on accumulation, possession, and instant gratification.

Magick, by contrast, often deals with matters of the heart and spirit. The workings are somewhat mysterious, and the results can be gradual, organic, and difficult to predict with precision. It takes a special kind of person to enter this world—thoughtful, patient, disciplined, and willing to look deeply into the nature of nonlinear, invisible, and subjective reality.

But is magick based on ignorance and superstition? Yes, frequently. A great deal of folk magick is based on recipes handed down from traditional folklore and performed without understanding or self-preparation. It is an attempt to engineer miracles on the cheap. And it gives the illusion of more personal power and control than that offered by simple prayer. It is similar to the fantasy magic of movies and novels, where a twitching nose or ancient incantation changes reality in the blink of an eye. And it works only as a placebo.

But is all magick based on ignorance and superstition? I wondered that once, long ago. Are we as a species so desperately self-delusional that we would cling to a practice so universally, in every civilization throughout history, if there was really nothing to it? But ancient peoples who practiced magick were not stupid just because they had not invented air conditioning; they produced brilliant thinkers and ageless art, among other things. And primitive societies existing today are often wiser spiritually, socially, and politically than our much-vaunted Western civilization. All the creations of these cultures—including magick—deserve more thoughtful, open-minded examination and reflection than most of us have been willing to give them.

Here in the West, many thousands of people practice magick. They are not hopeless losers grasping at straws to achieve success and happiness without talent or practical skills. They include medical professionals, technical staff for scientific projects, astronomers, physicists, computer technicians, educators, and business owners. They practice magick because they were open-minded enough to try it and because they discovered that it works.

To bring it to a personal level, I have been working magick for about twenty-seven years now, and I like to believe that I am not so silly as to hang on to something that long if it was nonsense. (I have had jobs, cars, and relationships that didn’t work, and I was able to let them all go.) But time after time, I have seen people healed, lives changed, and even weather transformed through magick. The results never seemed supernatural; that is, they did not flout gravity or produce something from nothing. Often they seemed synchronistic, almost coincidental; but the excuse of coincidence only stretches so far. In any case, whether I am practicing magick or causing coincidence, I am content as long as it works.

Occasionally the results of magick are dramatic—even spectacular. Such experiences tend to sweep away any lingering doubts about the reality of magick.

So it works, and like any tool it can be used for good or ill. As with any tool, some people have a natural affinity for it and develop their skills quickly; others have to work harder for results. As with any field of human learning, it contains its share of mistaken notions and charlatans. But there is a core of truth to magick that has kept it alive for millennia, and I hope you will find some of that truth in this book.

When I began my training as a Wiccan priestess in the late 1970s, I was frustrated by the lack of straightforward books about magick. It seemed to me that most of the available books either repeated superstitions from folklore or taught complex systems buried in layers of magickal symbolism specific to particular traditions. So I wrote a booklet, Beginning True Magick, that was designed to be simple, clear, and concise. A lot of people liked it, and Llewellyn asked me to expand it into a book. When True Magick: A Beginner’s Guide first came out in 1990, I did not realize that it would sell more than 200,000 copies and become a standard textbook in Wiccan covens all over the United States.

Now, of course, there are many new books about magick—and some are excellent. But the little green book, True Magick, seems to have found a special place in the hearts of many, and I was glad to have the chance to revisit and polish it.

Most of the book has stood the test of time, and it needed little change. But today’s readers are a more sophisticated lot, with more training and resources readily available to them, so it seemed appropriate to expand the boundaries of the book into somewhat more advanced magick. Therefore I have added the sections on intrinsic and inner magick—and, by the way, coined these terms to stand for forms of the Art that every adept knows, and practices, and calls by different names. There is also more information on natural magick and new chapters on nature magick and everyday magick.

I have also added exercises and learning activities—lots of them—because magick is learned by doing, not just reading about it. Here for the first time I have published an exercise called the Elemental Star, which students over many years have assured me is an extremely useful tool for analyzing and tracking balanced personal growth. I have also listed many good books on various aspects of magick that have appeared over the past fifteen years, so that readers may pursue their special interests in depth.

And I have introduced material on quantum physics, because scientists are beginning to find evidence that the universe is even more mysterious and amazing than anyone had guessed—anyone but magicians, that is. It is wonderful to see the revelations of the laboratory converging with the intuitive knowledge that has been the province of magick for so long. It confirms what we have known for ages: that magick is not supernatural or miraculous, is much less devilish, and is simply a reality beyond the frontiers of known science.

My aim has been to preserve what was valuable from the first edition of True Magick and to add a great deal of additional material that would give it more breadth and depth, as well as the exercises to improve it as a practical learning tool. I do appreciate all the encouraging comments that readers have made over the years, and I have done my best to include the constructive suggestions you have shared.

There are different ways to read this book, depending on your temperament and need. You can:

breeze through the whole thing without stopping, then go back and begin doing the exercises;

read one chapter each week, doing the exercises at the end as you come to them;

read the whole book and then come back to explore the parts that really intrigue you in more detail;

read a chapter and then discuss it with your teachers, if you are part of a group or class, comparing the concepts here with what you have been taught; or

form a study group and use the book as the outline for your program, doing the exercises together or in parallel.

Hopefully I will have discovered much more to share with you by the time the 25th anniversary edition of True Magick appears. I am not concerned that we will ever run out of new material, for the wonders of magick are as infinite as space.

Please enjoy this book, and write to me about it if you wish. I cannot answer every letter, but I do read every single one that I receive.

In your practice of the Arts Magickal, may you be blessed by the Lady of the Moon and the Hornéd One of the Wilds, and by the Guardians of the Watchtowers, and by all spirit beings attracted to your rites.

Blesséd be,

mber K

Priestess of Wicca

Ardantane, January 2006

CHAPTER 1

About Magick—and You

hy do you want to do magick?

This book is for you—if you want to:

know in what direction your life is headed, so that you may

consciously guide your own destiny;

make wise decisions and solve difficult problems;

cleanse yourself of ignorance, fear, and hatred;

heal yourself mentally, emotionally, and physically;

find new strength, happiness, and skill within;

have all the necessities of life;

protect yourself from harm;

help others when they request it;

help create a more loving world;

. . . and, ultimately, if you want to find spiritual fulfillment and joy in sharing the essence of divinity.

If you want magickal skill in order to harm another, or to control or manipulate anyone, then this book is not for you. Put it down or give it away before you endanger yourself.

If you seek the ancient skills of the adepts for only ethical, beneficial purposes, and primarily for your own growth, then read on.

What Magick Is Not

Magick is not an array of tricks or stage illusions. The k at the end of the word serves to distinguish it from the magic of nightclub acts. Magick is not for show.

Magick is not supernatural. As Janet and Stewart Farrar, prominent Irish witches and Craft teachers, point out, Magic(k) does not break the laws of Nature; when it appears to do so, that is because it is obeying laws that the observer has not yet understood.[1]

Magick is not the medieval art of summoning demons to do one’s will, at least not to intelligent and ethical magicians. Though it is possible to establish communication with beings on other planes of reality, trying to coerce them into service is both immoral and dangerous.

Magick is not based on a pact with the Devil. Most magicians, including Wiccan priests and priestesses, do not believe in Satan and would certainly have no dealings with such an entity if he did exist.

Magick is not a good way to get revenge on enemies or force a former lover to return to you. Indeed, there is no good way to accomplish such nasty and immature things; but the penalties for misusing magick can be far greater than the consequences of these actions on the material plane.

Magick is not available only to a few talented individuals born with special gifts. It can be learned and mastered to a great degree by anyone with self-discipline and persistence.

Magick does not reside in ritual tools, amulets, magickal swords, etc., unless and until they are charged by a magician. The skill and power lie always in the magician, not in the tool.

Magick does not generally result in spectacular special effects on the material plane: strange entities materializing, showers of gold falling from the sky, locked doors bursting asunder, and so forth. Dramatic physical effects are possible and occasionally occur, but most magick aims at internal growth, where results are harder to see. Even magick for material-plane purposes tends to manifest in more or less quiet, gradual, natural ways.

And magick is not easy to learn or to practice. It is not an instant fix for life’s problems, nor is it a shortcut to fame and wealth. It is a set of specialized tools, uniquely well-designed for inner growth and spiritual development. It can be used for more ordinary purposes, but sometimes that is like trying to pound nails with a screwdriver. Magick can be used to bring you safety, wealth, or loving relationships, but it is not a substitute for wearing a seat belt, getting a job, or being sensitive to your lover’s needs. And no matter what it is used for, magick requires hard work and discipline.

What Magick Is

A definition of magick is in order. We have already rejected that of Webster’s dictionary: magick as the use of means (as charms, spells) believed to have supernatural power over natural forces. Here are some other definitions by magicians:

Magic is the science of the control of the secret forces of nature. —S. L. MacGregor Mathers

Magic is a comprehensive knowledge of all nature.

—Francis Barrett

"Magick is the art and science of causing changes to occur in

conformity with will."—Aleister Crowley

Magic is the art of effecting changes in consciousness at will.

—William Butler

The work of magic involves transformation, and the first transformation is the shift of perception.—Marion Weinstein

The movement of natural energies . . . to create needed change. Energy exists within all things—ourselves, plants, stones, colors, sounds, movements. Magic is the process of rousing or building up this energy, giving it purpose, and releasing it. Magic is a natural, not supernatural, practice, though it is little understood.

—Scott Cunningham

So we can see that magick involves using natural forces to effect willed change, often changes in our own perceptions or consciousness. But what is the goal?

What Magick Is For

Stewart Farrar puts it this way: The stage-by-stage development of the entire human being is the whole aim of magic.

According to Marion Weinstein, magick can help get your entire life in harmony mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually and psychically . . . And what is the ultimate purpose of the work? To fulfill the self on an even higher level. To transform, uplift, and so fully develop the self that the whole Universe may benefit thereby.[2]

William G. Gray, another well-known occultist, says: Magic is for growing up as Children of Light. Sane, sound, healthy, and happy souls, living naturally and normally on levels of inner Life where we can be REAL people as contrasted with the poor shadow-selves we project at one another on Earth.[3]

Thus magick exists to expedite, guide, and enhance change. Wiccans might say it is the work of the goddess within: Everything she touches, changes . . .

It seems a peculiarly human process, as far as we know. Other creatures can change their environments, but only sentient, self-aware beings can change themselves. Perhaps the cetaceans attempt this too—one day we may explore the spiritual paths and magickal traditions of the dolphins and whales.

Change ourselves? But to what? To a fuller range of possibilities, a broader spectrum of spirit. Not change to something else, but to something more. First learn to know ourselves, and then we expand, stretch our hearts and minds and souls, and explore and develop new territories within ourselves.

We are part of All That Is. With magick, we can experience existence from the perspective of other parts and know that we are One. We can experience at-one-ment with the immanent Source.

Perhaps this is the goal of all spiritual paths: to reconnect with the Source, to bridge the chasm of illusion that makes us feel separate and alone, to come Home.

But the quest requires us to change, and magick is an effective tool for this. The scary part is this: we can’t know who we are changing into until we actually experience the change. By then it’s too late for second thoughts. We cannot change back; we can only keep changing, or wither.

Because we give up our old selves, any change is a little death that is the necessary first step to rebirth. To choose this, to will it, and to seek it out is an act of incredible courage. Magick requires daring. Not to change is to stagnate and die; but to willingly offer up the life we know is to find a greater life.

In The Charge of the Goddess, she says, Nor do I demand aught of sacrifice, for behold, I am the mother of all things and my love is poured out upon the earth. On one level this is true: killing a lamb on an altar stone does not lead to inner growth.

Yet on another level, sacrifice is required: self-sacrifice, the surrender of your old self. This is the meaning of the Hanged Man of tarot’s major arcana (below) and of Odin’s act in Norse mythology: Nine days and nights I hung on the Tree, myself sacrificed to Myself . . .

To the conscious mind unaware of the immortal Spirit within, this kind of sacrifice, the loss of the isolated little persona-self, seems terrifying indeed. Yet through it one regains the lost wholeness of the Greater Self, which is all of us, which is God/dess.

The Robin Wood Tarot

Thus far our focus has been on that branch of magick called theurgy; or as Isaac Bonewits defines it, The use of magic for religious and/or psycho-therapeutic purposes, in order to attain ‘salvation’ or ‘personal evolution.’ Though this is generally the best and highest use of magick, we will not ignore thaumaturgy, again defined by Bonewits: The use of magic for nonreligious purposes; the art and science of ‘wonder working’; using magic to actually change things on the Earth Plane.[4]

Thaumaturgy might include magick to heal physically; to travel safely; to obtain satisfying employment or a new home; to purify and bless a house or one’s tools; to draw an adequate income; and so on. If such matters are accomplished without harm to others (as in seeking a job rather than Sam’s job), and the magick is performed to supplement material-plane efforts rather than replace them, then there’s nothing at all wrong with the practice of thaumaturgy.

Acting in Accord

Understand this: magick is not miracle-working. After you do a spell or ritual to achieve your purpose, you must still take practical steps to allow the magick to manifest. This is called acting in accord with the magick. You can do healing magick to get over an illness, but you must still rest and drink liquids. You can do a spell to get a better job, but you still must ask friends if they know of openings, and then apply for them. If you fail to do the logical follow-up steps, you will be like the legendary blonde who prayed night after night to win the million-dollar lottery, until after some weeks a great and weary voice thundered from the heavens: O my daughter, I will consider your request; but you could help by buying a lottery ticket.

Magick and practical action reinforce each other; but you must do both to make the magick work.

Blesséd be.

[1] Janet and Stewart Farrar, The Witches’ Way (London: Robert Hale, 1984), 110.

[2] Marion Weinstein, Positive Magic (Custer, WA: Phoenix, 1991), 3.

[3] William G. Gray, Inner Traditions of Magic (New York: Samuel Weiser, 1970), x.

[4] Isaac Bonewits, Real Magic (Berkeley, CA: Creative Arts Book Co., 1971), 268.

CHAPTER 2

A Brief History of Magick

hrough most of the human history that we know, human cultures included a mix of magick, religion, science, philosophy, and trickery or illusion. Magick was often performed in the name of, or through the power of, a deity: the pharaoh blessed the crops as Amon-Ra incarnate; Moses parted the Red Sea in Jehovah’s name; the Delphi oracle delivered the wisdom of Gaia and, later, Apollo. All gods and goddesses performed miraculous feats, but certain deities are especially patrons of magick: Isis, Hecate, and Inanna were among the first.

Often enough, the practice of magick was confined to a priestly class. They alone could enter the inner sanctum of the temple, read the omens in the stars, and receive the commands of the gods. Occasionally they impressed their congregations with secret skills that were actually rudimentary science, as in predicting eclipses. Sometimes they used blatant trickery to make idols speak or great temple doors swing open at a word from the king. And sometimes they performed magick that was true, real, and effective.

But all was intertwined as part of the human quest for understanding the world and our place in it. It was not until very recently that a historian could say, Along with magic and science, religion makes up the third point of an eternal triangle of ideological warfare.[1]

Magick Everywhere

However blended with other endeavors, humans have done magick in all cultures throughout history; each culture has created its own special techniques and understandings. In many African villages, according to Malidoma Patrice Somé, all positive magick and ritual were community endeavors; the solitary magician was suspect, and probably working to harm the village. Among the Norse, the written letter was a thing of mystery and awe, and the magick of runes and bindrunes became a high art.