I know, I am new here, only a few days to this site, and I am already trying to talk myself out of shutting down my profile. When I joined I was prepared to give the site a full moon cycle. Why not, I might learn something here, right? But I am so disappointed with the stuff that seems to be the norm.
I talk about self defeating talk, this is a world of infinite possibilities, magic or magick if you'd rather is all about tapping into those possibilities. I will tell you that without a doubt that all things are possible. Their is no limit to magick, the only limit is what you yourself place upon it.
I have heard that you can not alter DNA, but I will ask anyone with healing experience if Type 1 diabetes can be healed with magick, or cognitive heart failure, or cancer? The answer is yes, but all of these are DNA flaws.
Time is not a constant, physics has proven that time and time again . I have seen rituals where time has "slipped" or that weird things happen to clocks and time perception. Is time travel possible? I do not know, but I am not going to tell an eager beginner that no it's not.
Mystical creatures, even if you have never met a vampire, werewolf or unicorn does not mean that they do not exist, just that you have never met one. So to say emphatically that they are not real is just killing spirits.
In my 30 + years of practice I have seen many things that people would say are "impossible" that what has happened to me was some kind of hallucination or odd coincidence. A magic forum is not the place for those kind of statements.
And to the beginners out there, I will tell you that magic is real, if you can dream it it can be done. Maybe not today, maybe not 20 years from now, but don't let that stop you from learning.
But there's a second half to that coin (you will always find that their is) just grabbing any old spell and going someplace quiet and lighting a candle and chanting something does not guarantee results. This is not a shortcut to super power, great power comes from great work as the ancient magicians called this. And it will take work, it will take a good look at yourself, your motivations, your beliefs and your expectations. don't let the nay-sayers say something is impossible just because they are unable to do it. Spend some time, find out for yourself, and become.
Blessed be
Anpu
Hear, hear :D
Beautifully written post, I also believe that nothing is impossible. Many of us believe in all sorts; it is not appropriate to debunk anyone's belief. At best, you can stay silent if you do not believe, and let those that do answer earnestly the question that was asked.
Perhaps the existence of the thing in question is, in the first place, entirely dependent on your own personal reality?
I personally believe that any energy entity can become real when it is perceived as real, much the way a particle is a particle only when it's observed; when it's not observed, it's a wave. That is quantum physics, and it's magic, and it proves that consciousness changes or bends reality in some fundamental way.
The thing is, yes, miracles happen. Some would say magic caused them, others would say no. That is a matter of belief.
The reason people on this site talk people down so diligently about being a mythical creature or turning into something they are not is bacuse it can be a potentially dangerous situation. What if someone believes they can grow wings? They do a spell, believe it worked, and then jump off a building because they think they can fly. It is much easier, and much safer to tell someone that they simply cannot alter their DNA than to risk something like that happening.
You have some interesting points, and it is okay to disagree with many of the members on matters of belief. You have every right to. Don't leave just because people disagree. Give it some time. You will get into the swing of how this place works. Even if you have some opinions that vary from the majority, you will figure it out.
Are there things that happen that cannot be explained through science? Absolutely. Are there things that magic can do that far outreach conventional concepts? Sure, it's possible. I myself have seen and experienced a great deal that I don't talk about at length on this site.
Why?
Because the site is full of 13 year olds that hope chanting over candles will give them wings, make them mermaids, turn them into vampires, and transform into werewolves. What they want tends to depend on what fantasy movie or tv show was most recently the most popular. Nevermind the sheer number of desperate, heart broken, and gullible people, young and old, who are preyed upon by con artists and phonies.
Is it possible that magic has cured some dreadful disease, or diabetes as you gave as an example? Sure, it's possible. But if it were commonplace, or even just an readily duplicated occurrence, there'd be a lot more spiritual healers out there, and a lot less people dying horribly. That's not the case though. Natural disasters sew havoc. Disease runs rampant. Diabetes is still one of the leading causes of death in the US, and likely the world. Heart failure is still right up there on the list next to it. No actual footage has ever been shot of werewolves. Vampirism chiefly remains the cult following of the vestiges of the goth scene, and a fringe sect of spirituality within a fringe selection of spirituality.
So why then are we going to tell kids (and adults) that their chants will work? Why are we going to tell them it's all quite possible when they can't even be bothered to actually explore and discover the actual processes and concepts of magic? They don't want to hear about study. They don't want to hear about discipline. They don't want to learn . And if they aren't going to do those things, they certainly aren't going to be one of the possible, very rare, individuals that might be able to make some of those rare, undocumented, uncomfirmed miracles happen.
You've been here a heart beat and you're already preaching about the boundless possibilities without batting an eye at the volumes of absurdity requested, inquired about, and taught. Anything is possible? Sure. But there's a big difference between possible and probable, especially when one has no desire to even begin to learn about how to improve probability. With 30 years of experience you know as well as any of us that there are some things that are not discussed until the time is proper. With the vaunted code you speak in, as suggested by your profile, one would think you're subtle enough to realize that there are some things that are not taught until a student is ready to learn them. Why? Because every fool thinks they are ready to comprehend, contemplate, and delve deeper into that which cannot be readily explained. But how many fools actually are?
With your suggested experience and understanding you should certainly know better than to rant, telling a host of children and gullible adults that it's possible they can "alter their dna" to grow wings, teleport, and do lord knows what else by chanting, waving their hands, and lighting some candles.
Would it not be more wise to tell people, no matter how young, that some things are only possible with great dedication rather than a flat-out no? Flat-out "no"'s are discouraging and unfair, and untrue (to some, maybe many), and might discourage the people who would enjoy and be willing to study from even starting.
I was studying magic at the same age as a lot of these kids, and I always took it seriously. That didn't mean I was able to take it all in yet, but it laid the foundation of knowledge and interest that I still work off today.
Kids come to a site like this to be inspired, and I will admit some of them may be disillusioned enough to jump from high places, but you can always recommend to them that if they're going to fly, they take off from the ground. Metaphorically and literally. Young people have a good degree of common sense you can speak to and encourage. It's not all going to be horror stories, especially with care.
And I find it unfair to tell those just starting out that "anything is possible with magic". It is not. There are many things that magic can do and many things it cannot. Believing that anythying is possible and telling those who haven't the experience to know differently that anything is possible is misleading and possibly harmful.
You may cast a spell to allow yourself to fly, and you may believe in your heart of hearts that you can indeed fly, but if you step off the roof you are going to hurt yourself.
Or as I more fond of saying, you can sit in the garage all night believing you are a Chevrolet but it will not make you an automobile.
We are not "killing spirits" when we tell people that vampires and such are not real and that they cannot become one. We are trying to show them where real magic lies so they don't waste 30 years following fantasy and make believe.
Wylandriah, have you seen how people latch on to the smallest thing in these forums and turn it into exactly what they want to hear? Hard word and dedication often leaves people coming back after meditating for half an hour and reading the summary of a book to tell us that they are ready for everything.
Beyond this, much of the more fantastic, miraculous things that might be possible are just that: possibilities. If someone were telling me they desperately wanted to work for specific goals, I encourage them. When people come to me that they want wondrous shortcuts that make life easier for little to no effort, or that they want to transform themselves physically into something other than a human, I tell them no.
Consider this. Aleister Crowley is one of the world's most well known magical practitioners. No matter how much one likes or dislikes him, no matter how much one disagrees with his lifestyle, and no matter what one thinks of him in general, his work forms the backbone of many of the most prominent and well respected magical traditions that exist today. He spent his life working with spirits, and various other magical practices. Not once was he able to make a spirit manifest physically.
Similarly, while discussing this very topic with a friend who is quite versed in the workings of various well-respected magical orders, he's only heard of the possibility that the greatest of one such order were able to manifest such a thing partially. And even then, this was behind closed doors, undocumented, not shared with the public, and so forth, making the claim somewhat suspect.
If you believe something is possible, and wish to devote yourself utterly to making it reality. Sure, give it a try. For my part, I speak as I do to weed out the individuals whose devotion and interest is fleeting, to brace for the fact that such fantastic results are highly unlikely even among the most well versed and learned of magical practitioners, and that, even then, there is much about such things that simply won't ever happen.
Does this take away from the practice of magic? Not remotely. There is plenty of room in there to enact changes to conform with one's will, to paraphrase Crowley's definition of the art.
If magic could cure Type 1 Diabetes, I would be all over that in a heartbeat so my sister can live somewhat of a normal life. Why not take it a step further and cure the other auto-immune disorders that all seem to cluster? Because if you have one, you're likely to have multiple.
The thing is, we understand magic less than we understand science. If science doesn't even know how T1D is caused, how to prevent it, or how to cure it... how can magic do that?
I won't ring the same bell as the others because there's no need to repeat valid points, but they are all things to think about.
You're not wrong, it's a case by case thing and you're right about some of the characters on here, but I still think it's better to ignite interest than extinguish it. To be fair I have seen people being guided to the more realistic versions of what they wanted and enjoying it, and when there's help to be given, it's usually given. That's why I stick on the site, but I would like a little more credit given to the fantastic, there's things I don't talk about on here because I know I'd be labelled a fluff and I consider myself an honest practitioner.
