Laws of Magick

I do not consider the generally accepted and used Laws of Magick to be correct - for a start, they're problematic around issues of avoiding discrimination against same sex attracted and bisexual people. I analysed that and proposed an alternative set of Laws in my Post No. 562 - A Rethinking of the ‘Laws’ of Magick, the entirety of which I have reproduced below (except for my signature block).

 ***

I’ve been doing some thinking, from time to time, of what are termed the ‘Laws of Magick’. Often, people will quote ‘Laws’ such as the ‘Law of Correspondence’, or ‘As Above So Below’. These trace their origins back to seven ‘laws’, sometimes termed ‘Principles’, that were described by Hermeticism.

I consider that there are serious, basic flaws in these ‘Laws’ / Principles that have come down to us through Hermeticism – most notably, the ‘Law’ or Principle of Gender, which is demonstrated to be hogwash by the simple fact of the existence of gender diverse people – who have the same capacity to be healthy and happy and effective as other people, when free of discrimination (which is often profound, aggressively violent and widespread to the point of being ubiquitous), and are not freaks, contrary to Nature or any other such rubbish. These flaws mark the biased and mistaken observations of those who formulated those ‘Principles’, and it is high time for a less discriminatory look at the Universe.

So, after long consideration and much meditation (formal and informal), I am going to propose the existence of Nine Magickal Principles, arranged into what I will term five Magickal ‘Laws’.

The five Magickal ‘Laws’ are:

• the Etheric Law of Existence;

• the Fiery Magickal Law of the Taijitu;

• the Watery Magickal Law of Frequency;

• the Airy Magickal Law of Distance (I would like to have used yellow as the colour for this ‘Law’, but it doesn’t show up well enough);

• the Earthy Magickal Law of Strength and Common Sense.

The Etheric Law of Existence contains the following Magickal Principles:

• 1.       the Magickal Principle of Nonphysicality;

• 2.       the Magickal Principle of Energy;

The Fiery Magickal Law of the Taijitu contains the following Magickal Principles:

• 3.       the Magickal Principle of Dynamism;

• 4.       the Magickal Principle of Opposites and Dynamic Balance;

• 5.       the Magickal Principle of the Opposite Seed Within.

The Watery Magickal Law of Frequency contains the following Magickal Principles:

• 6.       the Magickal Principle of Harmony;

• 7.       the Magickal Principle of Octaves and Cycles.

The Airy Magickal Law of Distance contains the following Magickal Principles:

• 8.       the Magickal Principle of Magickal Distance.

The Earthy Magickal Law of Strength and Common Sense contains the following Magickal Principles:

• 9.       the Magickal Principle of Effect.

OK, so let’s look at these a little further. This is just a first post - I’ve been a bit brief, particularly as I ran out of steam towards the end, but hopefully I’ll post more on this … in due course … but then, again, my track record on doing so is not the best, so maybe just go ahead and think about them anyway :)

The Etheric Law of Existence is, in my view, a statement about the nature of reality. My view on Reality is: there is more to life than just the physical, there are also nonphysical components – not just concepts such as love, loyalty, truth, honesty, balance, maturity, spirituality, etc, but also the actual, factual existence of nonphysical realms, peoples and energies.

Scientists have not yet proven the existence of the nonphysical to general satisfaction, but there have been hints along the way – things that have been best summarised in Lyall Watson’s distinguished book “Supernature”, and other things like the possible proof of precognition I wrote about here (and have heard nothing about since) and the information at Victor Zammit’s website. I think they’ll get there eventually, maybe in a few hundred more years when they overcome the fundamental flaws and prejudices that have been marked their previous attempts (perhaps best illustrated by their attempts to experimentally determine the existence of an ether).

Under the Etheric Law of Existence we have two Principles: the Magickal Principle of Nonphysicality, and the Magickal Principle of Energy.

The first of these is restating the basic concept of the existence of the nonphysical as a Principle: the second of these flows from that, and gets into what is directly manipulated in Magickal Practice – Magickal Energy.

To quite some extent, this Law and its Principles are ‘stating the obvious’, but I consider that doing so is worthwhile - and is something that is implied, but not specifically stated, by anything I’ve read previously. That’s a bit odd, given how fundamental this is.

Before I discuss the Fiery Magickal Law of the Taijitu, I need to make sure we all understand what the Taijitu is. In a nutshell, it is this:

Oh, you recognise that? And, no doubt, you’ve called it the ‘Yin-Yang symbol’, until now. Well, now you know what it is ‘officially’ called :)

My take on this symbol - and I actually don’t care what the official take is, or what so-and-so says it is :) - is that is shows two polar opposites in a dynamic situation: the opposites seem to be chasing each other around the perimeter of the circle, which is repelling the opposite and also, when viewed from a single point, transformation. To further complicate matters, each polar opposite contains the seed of the other within it.

From this, we get the three Magickal Principles covered by this Law: Dynamism, Opposites and Dynamic Balance and the Opposite Seed Within.

Because this symbol illustrates transformation, I have associated it with the Magickal Element of Fire.

The Magickal Principle of Dynamism is just that: things are not static, they tend naturally towards activity and, above all else, change. Where things seem to be unchanging, what could actually be happening is:

·         the change is happening on a time scale too vast to be perceived by the observer;

·         the situation could be one of dynamic balance - discussed under the next Magickal Principle, and potentially a healthy condition; or

·         an artificially frozen or enforced stasis - which is often not healthy, but may be in situations where it enables rest and recovery (although, … that recovery is a form of dynamic change - from tired and worn out, to refreshed :) ).

On a physical level, this is where the Second Law of Thermodynamics [2] comes into focus. On a nonphysical level, however, this is where the importance of intent becomes clear. If you do a magickal working without proper focus, you won’t noticeably impact the dynamic balance or dynamic influences on your target situation, so nothing much will happen. If you do have the proper focus, and you are simply adding a little to dynamic influences that are heading towards the result you want, you will find little effort is needed. On the other hand, if you are trying to change something where strong influences are going the other way (and people trying to counsel against war too often find themselves in this situation, sadly), you will need to make more effort to manage the dynamic influences in that situation.

Doing rituals to mark the passage of the Wheel of the Year (i.e., the Sabbats), or the Esbats, is an example of magickal workings that are in harmony with dynamic influences.

Note that this does not say ‘going against the flow’ is impossible: it just says that it is more effort than going with the flow. And, in the example I gave above, of a society that is heading down a path to war, that flow may not necessarily be a ‘good’ thing …

On the other hand, attempts to enforce stasis, rather than a dynamic balance, are doomed to failure … eventually.

This Magickal Principle encompasses the Hermetic ‘Laws’ of Cause and Effect, and Transmutation of Mind.

OK, so let’s move on to the next Magickal Principle.

The Magickal Principle of Opposites and Dynamic Balance is, in a sense, another statement of the obvious - namely, that the taijitu shows polar opposites. In Asian traditions, this would often be described as yin-yang (receptive vs. active - often completely erroneously misidentified as female-male); in the old Scandinavian and Germanic cultures, this would be the fire of Kenaz and the ice of Isa. Other examples can be found - and this aspect is akin to the old, fallacious ‘Law of Gender’, which states that everything has an opposite.

The truth of the matter is that, whilst, yes, it may be possible to find an opposite, they should
(a) be seen as ends of a gradually sliding scale, not polar opposites, and
(b) there is a point of dynamic balance.

(There can also be other permutations - for instance, bi-gendered people, or people who reject gender altogether.)

Go back to the diagram: note the gradual change - most easily seen in the ‘tail’ of each section? We’re not looking at a circle which has a straight, hard and fast division across the middle …

Meditate also on what it would be like to be in the centre of this diagram, with varying ‘depths’ of each pole all round. How could you not see this as a dynamic point, a place where the varying gradations along the scale all manage to keep a perfect balance, whilst all the time moving.

Yes, active principles or energies have a balancing influence (balancing is a better way to consider this than ‘polar opposite’, actually), but they represent points on a sliding scale, and there is ALWAYS a third point, a point of dynamic balance.

Oh! Those people who misidentify yin and yang as female and male are, in my experience, often guilty of the mistake of assuming that the gender stereotypes of the last few hundred years have some sort of validity: by doing so, they are guilty of attempting to impose a stasis on a situation, and thus are in conflict with the Magickal Principle of Dynamism.

This and the next Magickal Principle supercede the hermetic ‘Law’ of Gender.

Now, the Magickal Principle of the Opposite Seed Within: is based on that small essence of the opposite colour in each half of the taijitu, which is particularly significant if one contemplates the Magickal Principle of Dynamism - all things change, and some things may transform into their opposites.

In terms of just having a seed of ‘the opposite’ within us, this can possibly be understood for many people by thinking of Jung’s concept of the anima/animus, the concept that each person has some of the ‘opposite’ gender within themselves - which immediately shows why it is flawed, as I’ve just been describing how gender is actually a continuum and there are at least three points to consider anyway.

Nevertheless, I contend that, a s a general principle, it is likely that one can find an essence of ‘the opposite’ within - possibly deeply buried and denied, but it may well be there. This can be fortuitous when it gives us the chance to understand someone who is different to us, and thus be able to relate to and interact with them more effectively. As a light-hearted example, perhaps one is disorganised and messy: the inner seed of being organised may enable us, if found, acknowledged and accessed, to understand the reactions of someone who is more organised and neat and work towards an amicable way of co-existing.

Perhaps a more useful explanation is that based on homeopathy. Now, ignoring science’s recent assertion that homeopathy doesn’t work (I would like to know whether they took the one size fits all approach), the idea of homeopathy is - to simplify - that a small essence of something that causes a problem, can lead to a cure. if I was to view this from the point of view of the Magickal Principle of the Opposite Seed Within, I could say that the substance/problem has the seed of its cure (its ‘opposite’, in a sense) within, and that manifests into the cure.

Keeping in mind that all this is about magickal work, some sources have stated that if one tries too hard, then the opposite of what one is trying to achieve can occur. This has led to discussions about whether one ‘should’ do a spell and then let ‘the Universe’ manifest it, or keep doing work to strengthen the spell. I would suggest actually observing what is happening, and determine whether the Magickal Principle of the Opposite Seed Within is stronger in a situation than the Magickal Principle of Dynamism, which suggests do it once and then leave it to ‘the Universe’, or the other way round, which suggests keep making an effort - and be aware that this may well change as time flows on, or as external magickal and other influences wax and wane.

This Principle is associated with the Magickal Element of Fire. That in itself illustrates that everything has its seed within, as, when a fire has consumed all its fuel, it will go out - and thus, the fire becomes its opposite, ‘not fire’, because of its key attribute of transformation of fuel into something incombustible (not able to be burned). In the physical world, this means a deliberate fire, for heating or cooking or magick, may need to be fed new fuel to sustain it. On the other hand, a bushfire needs to be cut off from new fuel to put it out - and hence things like firebreaks. So … transformation is not necessarily always a good thing: the old saying is “Fire makes a good servant, but a bad master”. Thus one thing to keep in mind is that spirituality is not always assured: it is possible to backslide …

This Magickal Principle encompasses the Hermetic ‘Law’ ‘As Above, So Below’.

I have selected water as the element for the Watery Magickal Law of Frequency as water represents the effects to be covered by this Law so well - water can flow harmoniously or not (think of wind against the tide, if you know boating on tidal waters), waves can reinforce each other or weaken each other, and tides illustrate the subtle multiplicities of cycles.

So let’s look at the Magickal Principles under this Law.

The Magickal Principle of Harmony is an acknowledgement of exactly that: things that are in harmony will reinforce each other, just as ocean waves with the same length will, and musical notes that are in harmony sound better together.

Conversely, where there is discord, the influences are likely to weaken each other.

Note that hiding discord under a façade of harmony does not count: that is still disharmony.

The Magickal Principle of Octaves and Cycles is a development of that, noting that there can be ‘higher frequency’ expressions of something as well as ‘lower frequency’ expressions, which is something I have posted about previously (for instance, see here and here). Cycles are encompassed in a range of matters - the Wheel of the Year, the Yugas, and so on.

This Magickal Principle also, along with the Magickal Principle of the Opposite Seed Within, encompasses the Hermetic ‘Law’ ‘As Above, So Below’.

The Airy Magickal Law of Distance and the Magickal Principle of Magickal Distance are statements of ‘the obvious’: distance weakens an effect. In the physical, as an example, as one moves location further away from a sound source, and stops to listen, the sound will gradually become fainter, as the sound waves are spread over a larger area (and lose energy along the way for a range of reasons). In magickal workings, distance is not physical, it is related to nonphysical closeness or the lack thereof, as I wrote here: if you are emotionally close to someone (e.g., you love them), you will find their nonphysical distance is low. If you don’t ‘get’ someone (have no sense of connection), the magickal distance will be larger, and any magickal working would therefore require more effort.

Connection can also be related to thinking, so I’ve put this Law under Air, but it could easily fit just as well elsewhere.

The Earthy Magickal Law of Strength and Common Sense and the Magickal Principle of Effect are also statements of ‘the obvious’: all other influences being equal, the more dominant or stronger of two influences will have a stronger effect.

This Law is counter the dangerous naivety of the view that the higher or the nicer will always triumph. That may well be the case in the long term (i.e., millions of years), but to take that point of view is to risk the lackadaisical slackness of appeasement [2] that many people consider so key to Hitler’s rise and the resultant Second World War. Things are just as capable of getting ‘worse’ as they are getting ‘better’.

I consider that this is, basically, that rarest of commodities: common sense …

And on that note, I will leave this for now.