Recently, I’ve had some feedback on 76-Week Goetia from two men. The feedback basically was that there was nothing new regarding the Daemons in the book, and the second criticism was that the repetitiveness of exercises wasn’t exciting enough.
I’d like to address both of these things because I think both comments illustrate a lot of beginner’s and arm-chair theorists overall perceptions of magickal practice. It also tells me a great deal about the practitioner(s) who find magick lacking any excitement. #IYKYK
There’s Nothing New
Once you read 3-5 books on the Ars Goetia (for example) you’re right. There isn’t much that’s new. You will find there is such a thing as “canon” when it comes to information on Daemons, especially the Ars Goetia, and once that information is shared, it is often repeated. It is what it is.
It’s what you choose to DO with this information that becomes key. I, for example, created an entire 76 week class to help practitioners take a week with every spirit in the Ars Goetia to get to know each spirit a little better, and do some pathworking. I also chose to compare achemical symbolism with the sigils and share my insight about that in a book.
If you’ve been practicing for a long time, you, too, may feel like there’s nothing new because you know the source and foundational material well enough that it is what it is and you know how unlikely it is to find anything new on a topic that’s been covered to death, ad nauseum. If you’re still practicing magick after all of this, it really was your path from the get go. But if you find yourself getting bored and ready to move on from magick because there’s nothing new, you might consider that it was just a passing interest and not a calling. I say that because it seems to me – always being in search of the next great innovation or new information about magick has more to do with seeking excitement and new ideas than it does seeking practical and useful methods for magickal application, practice, and skill building.
So, not everyone is going to have the same take away from the exact same information.
Other people are so used to Hollywood’s movie theatrics that when they find out magick isn’t as showy and cinematic as witchy shows/movies like Charmed, Sabrina, Dresden Files, or Harry Potter, it often leads some people to the second comment:
It’s Not That Exciting
Especially with regard to magickal instruction where there’s a repetition of exercises. The repetition of the exercises I used in the immersion books just weren’t exciting enough (to read.) The repetition of exercises energy workers use to teach Reiki, Tai Chi, and QiGong can also be pretty boring (to watch.) The repetition of exercises occultists use to teach basic magickal skills (like meditation, energy work, or divination practice) can be pretty tedious(to both watch and read.) This is because none of this is meant to be watched or read. It was meant to be done.
This said, I’ll agree that it’s not that exciting. To people who have no actual interest in sharpening a magickal skill, learning energy work, or doing shadow work, repetitive exercises are boring and that’s likely due to one of the following:
- The person has no imagination whatsoever. One who has an imagination can see possibilities and potentials for excitement in just about everything – meaning they can modify any magickal exercise in a way that will make it more enjoyable for them to partake in.
- The person doesn’t yet have the wisdom and experience to know that repetition can help one create a regular magickal practice and give practitioners a foundation or structure on which to build lifelong magickal skills. (To be fair, not just magickal skills. A regular painting, baking, or woodworking practice will also help build foundation and structure on which to skill-build.)
- The person doesn’t really want to do the actual work or get into the magick circle and get their hands dirty. They can’t be bothered with it for whatever reason.
- All of the above.
Real Magicians Create
Some magicians can be inspired by the smallest thing or the simplest idea. Others need to have ideas fed to them because they are unsure of themselves and lack confidence. If they don’t lack confidence then perhaps they fear the unknown. Both of these are perfectly reasonable reasons for needing a bit of help or inspiration for their own magickal work. But, if one doesn’t lack confidence and they don’t fear the unknown, then it could be that they simply have no imagination. You can’t fault them for that because they can’t help it. I feel bad for those who are unimaginative and lack any creative thought or ability.
There is a reason I say that artists, musicians, writers, and other creatives make the best magicians — because real magicians create and manifest – and they don’t need to be spoon fed ideas or pushed into doing the work. The greatest magicians I’ve met, every last one, are inspired to do the work. And they’re not afraid to push the explode button to see what happens.
I’m Too Sexy for Magick
Some magicians are more in love with the idea and identity of being magicians/occultists and not with actually practicing magick or creating a regular magickal practice. And that’s okay. Some people are happily magick hobbyists who dabble on weekends or when they have time. You do you!
Others are magickal historians and armchair theorists who just want to read about magick and discuss it with others, or share their book knowledge, but actually putting things into practice isn’t really their thing. If they do dabble a little, they still find reading about magick much more exciting than bothering to do it. That’s okay, too.
But if you are an armchair theorist, occult historian/scholar, or someone who’s just dabbling or is an image magician, you likely will be bored with genuine magick or energy work because watching from the sidelines is not the most exciting thing in the world. In which case you might want to stay out of the conversations with actual practitioners altogether, because actual practitioners are built differently – they think differently – and some of them may find non-practitioners tedious to deal with. And while there is nothing wrong with being a scholar or enthusiast, or a historian, or philosopher, you might want to avoid the books/materials meant specifically for people doing the work, too, because you will most likely hate it and find it lacking. Those texts and grimoires aren’t really written for you. Those energy work and path working classes – the repetitive exercises – weren’t designed for people to read or watch.
Repetitive magickal exercises are meant to be practiced, and if you do it right – you’ll notice differences every time you do the exercise. If you’re working with a different Daemon with each repetition of the same exercise, you’re going to get a different result each time – imagine that! Then, once you master any magickal exercise, you can add some creative flair and spin to it to make it your own to use as needed. But this is not something you can explain to someone who hasn’t moved beyond “surface” or “aesthetic” magick – or their own ideas of how theatrical magick should be.
Even when it comes to shadow work – it’s only boring to those not actually doing it. As a matter of fact, if you were to watch someone do shadow work, I would imagine it’s like watching cement dry. Most magick isn’t exciting or new, especially shadow work because it happens internally. If your own shadow work is boring you – then you may be doing it wrong. I feel like maybe a lot of people who find shadow work boring are likely not doing it, but also – they may have some strange ideas about magick and theatrics. And if that’s not the case, it could be because they’re lazy or uninterested, perhaps they are afraid to do it because it often means being put in compromising, vulnerable, or anxiety inducing positions that are uncomfortable. What the “there’s nothing new – that’s boring” crowd fail to realize is that real magick isn’t Harry Potter. Real growth and change often happens when one is thrown out of their comfort zone by digging deep into the self. Real growth and change is INDIVIDUAL and INTERNAL and not always visible to the outside world. Hence – occult.
So, the question is, are you bored because you have unrealistic ideas about how exciting and dazzling magick should be? Or are you lazy, unimaginative, or not really an actual practicing magician? It’s something to think about.
Perhaps it’s time to ask yourself a few questions: Why does magick interest you? What brought you to magick? What are your expectations of magick? What excites you about magick? Which part of being a magician appeals to you most?
