Magick

Magick was defined by occultist Aleister Crowley as “the science and art of causing change to occur in conformity with will”, presumably by other than direct, obvious means. To differentiate true magic from stage prestidigitation, practitioners often elect to spell magick similarly to the Earaly Modern English derivation, as used in such works as the 1615 translation of Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa’s De Occulta Philosophia, or The Books of Occult Philosophy.

In the late 19th century, James Frazier proposed that magick is primitive superstition, practiced by peoples whose belief in the efficacy of magick reflects an unenlightened grasp of scientific causality. Frazier concluded that science is the only correct and modern approbation of causality and that, in his opinion, magick could not conceivably work. In attempting to discredit magick in favor of science, Frazier unwittingly provided an hypothesis on why magick does work. James Frazier rationalized three objective laws of Sympathetic Magic and Contagion evoked by magick practitioners; operating within a cognitive or mental process that he called Aassociation. These Laws are the Law of Similarity, the Law of Contagion and the Law of Opposites.

Law of Similarity, or like causes like. By manipulating a symbol or simulacrum, the magus can use sympathetic magic to manipulate the thing it represents, causing analogous effects or changes to the target.

Law of Contagion, once contact has been established, a relationship is established. Contagion is the principle in operation when the magus uses personal items, such as locks of hair, nail parings, bodily fluids, or mundane personal objects with which the target is in frequent contact in order to affect the target in the desired manner; as with the fithfath or voodoo doll.

Law of Opposites, every action has an equal although opposite reaction. Also stated as O’Brien’s Law: Murphy was an optimist. If people only come by when your house is a mess, chose to avoid cleaning the house when lonely.

Magick works, if it works, because all things in existence, including all of us, exist in a continuum of interrelatedness. Whether we are connected through esoteric life-force energy or merely laws of probability, each action, each decision, creates a ripple effect, affecting other variables down an invisible line and is, therefore an act of magick. The Chinese have a proverb: the gently beating wings of the butterfly can cause a hurricane a world away. It is the wise mage who correlates the effect to the cause and uses it to the ultimate advantage.

Various types or forms of magick are believed to be extant including ceremonial or high magick, shamanic or low magick, healing spells, love spells and sex magick, battle magick, glamoury, and chaos magick including curses and hexes. Magick is sometimes characterized by color; black magick for spells of malefic intent, white for healing and nurturing, green for prosperity and the fertility of Nature and the natural environment, red for blood or sex magick; but not usually by experienced practitioners who do not consider themselves bound by the morality of the mundane. The compliment of spells within the context of fiction include such diverse feats as astral projection, glamour, healing, levitation, warding, projection of energy bolts, conjuring abstract entities of mystical items, binding, bestowing or ablating of powers or attributes, transmogrification, teleportation, reality manipulation and the like; but all spells, all magick, are in a sense a form of probability alteration.

Magick power can originate from any of myriad sources including the spellcaster’s innate ability to manifest magick through the utilization of gestures, spoken words or drawn or written sigils and reliant on the degree of physical stamina that the practitioner may withstand; extrinsic entities including patron gods or demons and principalities entreated for additional power; and, in the case of fiction, magickal items and artifacts. In addition, a number of plot devises have been exercised to enhance story arcs, including magick as a corrupting force and various mythological entities, weapons and settings.

In Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell's Disease of Language graphic novel there is an interview section where Alan Moore explains the idea of Magic and how Crowley has effected his view of the world. To sum up the article: Crowley believed magic was a "Disease of Language", which can be summed up as Magic is just the manipulation of words. "Casting" a "SPELL" historically can be seen as the Shaman's setting up a grand statement of change, in which the path to completion would be "Spell"ed out. Magic is also know as Enchantments and Charms, both interchangeable for something that grabs are attention. As Shamans were storytellers in the past, writers today are like the Shamans of old. The application of Magick in writing is still withing the "the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will."

There are many forms of Magick

Astral travel

A very popular form of Magick. Also know as Astral projection (or astral travel) is an interpretation of any form of "Out of Body Experience" (OBE). Some people believe vivid dreams are a form of Astral projection.

Banishing

This is the rituals to try to remove unwanted "forces", "energies" or what have you that may interfere with a magical operation.

Consecration

A very important part of magic, it is the dedication of the ritual instruments and/or environment. The words "consecration" is still found to day in modern religions, such as the Roman Catholics who consume the "Eucharistic elements of bread and wine".

Divination

The most popular of all applied magic, divination is the practice of foreseeing the future. Many people do not realize that the Human Condition wants certainty and at times we look for answers in things like Horoscopes, Tarot Cards and I-Ching.

Sigil

A sigil is a symbol meant to have magical powers. Derived from the Latin word "sigillum", meaning "seal", it may also be related to the Hebrew word סגולה or "segulah" which means "word, action, or item of spiritual effect".

A sigil is normally made up of a combination of several specific symbols and/or geometric figures to create a complex combination, each separate symbol is like a cooking ingredient that has its own meaning and intent to contribute to the final symbol, which is the Sigil. Sigils have evolved where even a companies logo can be considered a Sigil, if its intent is for magical purposes

The Hypersigil is a term popularized by Grant Morrison, likely created by him since the earliest references in comics of a Hypersigil is the Invisibles. A Hypersigil is an extended work of art (which can be something like a Comic series of a movie) with magical meaning and willpower. The Invisibles and Alan Moore's Promethea are examples of hypersigils in comics.

The history of Sigils in comics is hard to debate without knowing the true intent of every image in comics, outside the Hypersigil, some writers with a love for the magical lore has included Sigils in their comics. Acclaimed writer Alan Moore is notorious for placing sigils in comics, such as Promethea and Glory.

Ouroboros

The Ouroboros is a symbol of where a dragon or serpent is devouring its own tail. In magic the Ouroboros is used as a sigil. Since the Ouroboros is the completion of circle, normal symbolic means associated with the circle accompanies the Ourobros.

Traditionally the Ourobros is a symbol for eternity or completeness. It is seen as a symbol for completeness because it forms a never ending circle form beginning to end. As a symbol for eternity the Ouroboros is that never ending circle, of constantly devouring and constantly creating.

The Ouroboros in Alan Moore's Glory would be taken to the next level when it is combined with a Möbius strip.

Möbius strip or Mobius Band

The Mobius Strip or Mobius band is much like the Ouroboros as a sigil. The object s meant to symbolize eternity. A never ending band where if you start the path you will constantly go around it for it does not end. A Mobius strip/band does not have a true set shape. Traditionally the Mobius strip/band resembles the figure 8. In science when the figure 8 is on its side it is the symbol of infinity, the never ending shape.

Synchronicity

Synchronicity is the experience of two or more events that do not share a direct relationship. These experiences maybe seen as a set of causal unrelated "Coincidence". To count as Synchronicity these events should be unlikely to occur in close succession.