I agree with am second poster, can't remember your name, sorry :D. yes we can do things in different context than first imagined. An old, and a little bit of a smartass, once said "it is possible to fly on a broomstick, just malt your broom on a air-plain." LoL sorry i didn't answer your question you initally asked. But i felt it needed to be shared :D
Mikki, I don't mean to be insulting, but the reason nobody tries to fly with a broom stick is the same reason that nobody tries to fly with a cape.
After the original superman movie, several children believed with all of their hearts that they would be able to fly. Donning a makeshift red cape, they leaped into the air... and to their deaths.
Similar episodes occurred throughout history as man attempted to build various flying devices until eventually they came up with the hot air balloon, the airplane, etc.
If you want something to happen, by all means, work hard to achieve your dreams. However as somebody else above suggested, the universe does not alter itself for our dreams simply because we believe in them.
To some extent, the concept of bending the universe to your will is very much at the heart of magic. However, the part about magic that is often missed or ignored is that it is also very much about understanding the Universe. This is the reason that our ancestors believed that the gods caused natural disasters. They believed that earthquakes and lightning bolts came from the god. Now we understand that these are the result of tectonic plates shifting, geothermal forces, and lightning is the result of positive and negative ions charging. The ancients created explanations in an attempt to understand what was going on... To understand the world.
Can we manipulate the world around us through efforts of will and energy? Most certainly. But to what extent is debatable, and I very much believe it is limited by the laws of the universe.
Science comes at it from the same angle, albeit with a whole lot less hocus pocus. It doesn't understand much of what we do in magic. It doesn't explain everything that happens in the world. But it has unraveled and provided explanation for a significant chunk of it. Magic and science... the laws of physics and chemistry and so forth... are the opposite ends of the same spectrum. And what they meet in the middle they'll find truth.
as far as I'm concerned, anything is possible with magic. the problem is that something like flying takes a lot of energy.
a broomstick may possibly help you focus the energy, I've never tried it, but few if any people have the kind of focus and energy required to succeed.
defying natural laws takes a lot more energy than we have. if somebody does have that much power, good for them, but the kind of focus required is beyond the normal person as well.
Well techincally anything is possible and yes you proably could fly if you were oobe at the time which when you do that your basically not binded to the laws of the phisycal plane
Although Crowley is not someone I favor nor follow, the man had some very wise words to say.
"Magick is the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will."
"Magick is the Science of understanding oneself and one's conditions. It is the Art of applying that understanding in action."
I like these quotes. To understand oneself and one's conditions is to understand one's limits. It is also equally understanding the possibilities that CAN be reached. It shows that magick is a science, and science has principles that must be comprehended before being able to utilize it to its maximum potential. And the last and most important aspect, that will is the key to it all.
Re: Magic's Potential By: Brysing Moderator / Adept
Post # 16 Jun 02, 2011
Crowley has written some of the finest works on the occult ever! But one must be careful about his teachings. He was a drug addict (as well as addicted to sex!). And, in many respects, he was quite mad!
Indeed. Crowley had a great way of applying ancient concepts to the modern world, and that is part of why he is so influential in all of the new age crafts even though most people don't realize it.
However, in reading his work you must realize that he was also a spoiled rich kid who traveled the world exploring magic without really working for it, and in the process developed extensive drug habits that especially influenced his later works.
As with all spoiled children, he craved attention and seemed to expect everything he desired to be correct. At least to some extent.
