Apparently this is a conversation, that I know has already been beat to death, that needs to be had, again.
Natural phenomenon, whether invoked by human intervention or not, is in fact limited by the laws of physics. Gravity prevents non-avian objects from flying away into space; Newton's Three Laws of Movement explain that:
objects in motion will stay in motion unless external force acts upon it
force equals mass times acceleration
every action has an equal opposite reaction
and the Three Laws of Mass explain that:
matter cannot be created nor destroyed
the proportion of elements in any compound is always the same
if two elements combine to form different compounds, the ratio of masses of the second element that react with a fixed mass of the first element will be a simple whole numbered ratio.
This cannot be disputed or disproved, no matter how hard you believe or wish that wasn't the case. This is objective truth , which is based on hard facts and evidence .
Magick is only a spiritual tool in understanding the world from a philosophical perspective and not one based on hard facts and evidence. It is based upon subjective truth , which is based upon personal perception and opinion . While many philosophies can apply to most people and situations, generally they are not meant to be definitive descriptions of reality, rather they are meant to give moral guidance and psychological support to those who need it.
No matter how much you insist that you can shape shift or that you can create fire blasts with your hands just by believing in it hard enough, it doesn't change the fact that the reality you live in doesn't allow you to do those things. Nobody is special or a "chosen one" because they heard a few voices in the dark or they had a dream and insist that a god/goddess told them so. We're all human with the same abilities that cannot expand beyond the realm of reality.
And if you're still not convinced, all I can say is try not to hurt yourself jumping off the roof attempting to fly.
I think it is an important thing to discuss. Me and Dark_Angel29 recently collaborated on some articles that explain magickfrom a more scientific point of view, so to save repeating myself, I'll just link an article here and you can go ahead and have a read www.spellsofmagic.com/coven_ritual.html?ritual=4186&coven=245
While we are going down this rabbit hole, I think it's good to bring up biological principles also.
Magic cannot change your genes. You cannot magic yourself different color eyes, skin, etc.
You can't make yourself grow wings, ears, or a tail with magic.
You can't turn yourself into an animal hybrid, or a mystical creature (like a mermaid, vampire, werewolf or centaur). Nor can you shapeshift.
If it's not something that is possible in the constraints of human biology then we can't make it happen. Now, for example I've seen someone mention that in evolutionary history we've had tails so it's technically possible based on that, but medically you can't grow additional vertebrae to make a tail.
On a softer note, there are some ways that magic can help with your physical and mental health, but if there are any major concerns you need to see a doctor and get professional help. For example, if you are stressed and having a hard day, so you're feeling anxious, you can probably use magic to help with that. But if you have anxiety or depression so severe that it is interfering with your life or if you have thoughts of harming yourself, then you should get professional help. Physically, if you have problems with a minor ache/pain or a cold, then you can probably use herbal remedies or things like that to help, but if you have cancer, a broken bone, or stroke symptoms you should be seen by a doctor; no amount of magic will cure or reverse a stroke.
One of the hardest things to learn with magic is that it's NOT a one size fits all, instant fix to any problem you may have. It's part of the reason why I don't cast spells often; I tend to reserve that for things that need an extra energetic push, and usually for things like cleansing, protection, and stress reduction.
There has been a couple users asking me about "spirits possessing computers, using telekinesis to lift up floating engines, and asking me if am physically an android, etc"
spirits/entities possessing tech.
I'm not fully sure how this whole spirit possessing thing works, but I know it's not like the movies.
The hover engines/beds.
those are not from telekinesis. The headbands that they wear are to detect brain waves. They use the rapid or calm amount of brainwaves to determine the movement. It's a sort of magnetic engineering. Not magic. Well, maybe a magic new development in engineering.
Physically I'm human, like everyone else. I have the mentality of a computer with a strong bond with computers and mechanics.
Again, the people that believe in that sort of magick tens to be newbies and beginners to the site and the craft and often young. When I was younger, I completely thought that I could turn myself into a pokemon, until I realized how impossible that is. With the false or fluff magick like that, we just need to educate on the laws of nature etc. xx
I completely agree with everything that has been said so far.
I think it is important not to antagonizethe people who believe in these things. Like someone already said, those people are mostly newbies, or often they're people who are just fascinated by fantasy stories. Sometimes, all of those fluff "spells" are what brings people in, what inspires them to research and learn about magic, witchcraft, and the various beliefs often associated with these things.
A thread like this is exactly what is needed to educate those people who have been recently inspired to learn about magic about what magic really is. I remember how difficult it was to navigate what was real and what was not years ago when I first got an interest in magic, and this is an excellent summary that could help many people understand magic.
This would definitely also be a great thing to show people who mock practitioners of magic, just because they believe we all are convinced we can shoot fireballs from our hands and turn ourselves into vampires!
