The Early Years (Part II)

Sometimes people are weird and yet strangely compelling. When I was still young I was tempted by the outrageous promises of an occultist who was from a secret lodge within a famous magickal order. I went off on my own to do a bit of exploring, thinking it would make me better and more important than anybody else.

One thing I’d already found out is that if you put a bunch of occultists into a room, the first thing they do is argue and you could feel this tension, a sort of angry simmering of opinion. Sometimes there would be curses cast, just because of disagreements. I found it all a bit weird.

And so, what I learned from all that is that doing magick is more important than talking about it, or belonging to groups, or following a mystical leader. Magick is bigger than any organization and far bigger than any single person. We share what we know and we hope it helps. And if you ever find yourself contaminated by people who want to control you, look for that gentle cleansing magick. It can help you remain protected and centered as you come back to yourself.

Why didn’t magick protect me from mistakes in the first place? Because it was my decision and under my own free will. Life is a series of offers and rejections, and I made some wrong choices. It can happen to anybody. There were signs and omens telling me I was making mistakes, but I ignored them because of my enthusiasm for something new and exciting.

There is not a specific way to keep a journal of your progress, everyone does it in his own way. You can't do magick without theory and practice first. I wouldn't worry too much about making your journal "magic" instead make your life magic and document it in the journal as proof. Keep it up and you will find them rather illuminating years later. Anyway, enjoy the journey and stay away from the dogma of belief. But beware, if you persist you will eventually pass a threshold which you can never return from, going through life in such a mysterious way that people look at you a bit too much- but that's your cue to find more illuminated people to be in the presence of.

My take on the world is, however, that external entities are real, whether you choose to believe that it is ‘all in your head’ or if it is really there, the consequences are the same.

Same thing about magick. You can believe that by magickal ritual you change the world and thereby the relation to the world, or the opposite, you change yourself and thereby your relation to the world. Either way the same, you change your relationship with the world.

Life is complicated and mysterious but overall, wonderful, and magick is too. Enjoy the magick, and remember that magick happens, but only if you do magick! A big part of life is about finding out who you are and what you want, and magick can help with that. You don’t need to be led there. Often, you only need to remember.

Em Hotep - Patrick Gaffiero