Most of the other posters hit the nail on the head pretty well, so I don't want to beat a dead horse but...
I think because we have free will to make choices...everyone does...that this adds a bit of randomness to how we experience the universe. there is a certain chaos that we have to deal with.
Hurricanes devastate a city. Does that mean that the people who died there were fated for it? Not necessarily. It just happens that a town was built in that location and because of weather pattersn etc...this thing happened.
Now magic is something in one's personal life. the adept practices it and the odds get stacked in the adepts favor. It follows the path of least resistance....so doing work that will help odds is what works. doing work where the odds will never be favorable may not...or just wont
How many people do work to win the lottery? You do the work and your odds go from 1 in 400million to 1 in 350million. that's a waste of energy in my opinion.
I guess in terms of harm none it comes down to being as responsible as you can be with your work. I try to to incorporate something that goes like this; "let this work and allow me to be grateful for it so I can make those I meet be better for the work" something along the lines of being grateful to the universe and accepting that the work I am doing will somehow make life on thi coil better for others.
I like your posts thor and so far the ones ive seen Have made sense to me. I believe in our destiny and the paths we walk to learn the lessons we must. But ill put it this way. Does magic have a yin and yang effect?
Ill have to be honest with you, I am rather goal oriented and I focus on success...stacking those odds in my favor
I know manifestations come from somewhere, I just have to trust that any opportunity that gets presented, gets used to the very best. that's the best way I see to be grateful.
Also, all work starts with intent, intent is at the heart of it, now I know how the paving of the "road to hell" is but someone who is farming in Idaho has just out priced a farmer in argentina. one will make it this year because their crop will go for top dollar but the other wont. the intent was to farm. the negative result on the other side of the world seems like a part of that general randomness.
or like a gigantic Gordian knot that keeps being added to or subtracted from.
it becomes too philosophical to be answered properly. or at least fully understood, by someone as unintelligent as myself.
that's why im mindful or intent, gratefulness, and most especially results...loading the dice and stacking the deck...
I think the key you are looking for is not a simple answer but in fact a more philisophical view. You must widen your gaze so to speak and look at it from a life perspective.
Fate or destiny is an enigma because it dances dangerously with man's free will, causing some to believe that nothing they do can prevent their enevitable fate whereas other feel they control their own destity. This is something that every person struggles with and they will always have differing opinions with others.
As to how magic comes into play with fate, you must look at it as a tool, no different than psionics, technology, willpower, even personal strength. And yes, I know there will be those that view magic on a more spiritual level and as a way of life... but before anyone takes offense, please remember that I am approaching this from a logical stand point to simplify my statement. Now, if we are viewing magic simply as a tool, then you have to take in to account your motivation to what you are trying to accomplish.
We can use an earlier example of getting $200. Whether it be via magic or some other means, there actually is a reaction similar to Newton's Third law... But maybe not in the respect you might think. You can't create something out of nothing... You have 2 choices, make it from something else or create it out of energy... But concerning "money", it is something that already exists, so all you can do is "summon" it to you so to speak... and that is where the question comes into play... where does the money come from... because it did not appear out of thin air... someone had to have "lost" it in order for you to gain it... and this is where the "opposite reaction" comes into play. Your gain is someone else's loss, and at this point you must question your motivation as well possible outcome. And this in turn brings us back to the bigger question of whether it is fate or free will.
It is impossible to know the outcome of every single choice we make, just as it is impossible to follow the chain of events that follow our choices. Whether it be through magic or simple words, ever action we take will have a reaction, just as every inaction will do the same. I spent 8 years in the Marine Corps, I both buried friends and took lives, and to this day I wonder if my actions could have been different... I wonder if I could have saved the lives of my Marines... or what if I hadn't have killed the combatants... would they have in turn have taken even more lives...
And that in turn takes me back to destiny... even if I had done things different, would it have changed the outcome at all? These are questions you have to ask yourself both before and after deciding what to do. There is no perfect answer to your question but there is at least trains of thought to follow before making you next choice. If nothing else I hope I opened your mind a little more to help you find your own answer. Take care...
I suppose you could think of magic as having to conform to newton's third law in a way, because magic cannot alter fate, we have to work around fate and go with it. Say if you cast a spell for $200, you would initially get the money, but then, you might get $200 less than what you usually get later because of a backfire, balance is then restored.
Thank you! All you guys nailed it! Michael what you said was not only eloquent it was beautiful and touching, i thank you. And oakgrove, exactally! I guess i just need to work on finding my own balance. Ive never meditated much (never have time, ha!) But im thinkin mabe its something i should do more diligently! Blessing to all!
"The future is like a cloud alvays chainging and alvays up ahead"
"whee are just mortals, then how dos it come that whee created the Devine"
"no ones faith is certain or decidet"
in other words not to stand against anyones balives, but there is no grand sceme, wee decide aur destiny, and even if there whas a grand scheme than it would have already have accounted for magic, wouldn't it, afther all wouldn't it be in it, just means to its goal, its how its inventors looked at it anyway, so eighter way magic is just find
p.s. The dont harm anyone rule is a culture rhing, most well known as the Wicca'n thre fould law
and if in some way I have upset someones belief I am sory
If it were all decided, what would be the point of living it? If life is predestined, I want the Cliffnotes. What's the point of making choices if it's just going to be a certain way anyway? In my opinion, that is a lazy man's philosophy. Thinking it will all happen for you no matter what. This is why happiness is always sought and hardly ever found. This is the problem with the world. I hope most of you actually feel you can make your future and that is why you are here, and why you practice magic--to better your existence and the existence of those around you. To advance your own self growth and break free from such thinking. If predestiny were the case, and our future is written, then our gods are truly cruel and we are nothing but pawns. Those that are suffering were "chosen" to suffer, even children. No, we choose and our choices effect not only us, but those around us. That's why our world is being destroyed. People don't take responsibility for their actions. They do not realize how much power they really hold, how much good they could do if they tried.
