Chapter 4 – of Magic and Mysticism

Question: Whaddya call a Vulcan who’s lost his personality?

Answer: A Vulcan!

Yes, a Vulcan without a personality can still be a Vulcan, but can a mage be a mage without magic? My answer is no. There are many kinds of magic, though, and even if you cannot fly on a broom or pull a rabbit out of a hat, you can still be a mage. 

We all know about magic when we are children. Cinderella is transformed into a princess. Ariel is transformed into a human. The Beast (what was his name again?) was transformed from spoiled brat to beast to handsome prince. Santa Claus flies through the air in a never-emptying sleigh. Monsters live in dark closets. Faeries live in the woods. Angels live in the clouds. Pots of gold sit where rainbows touch the ground, and coffee is a magic potion to cure grumpy adults.

I have known very few adults who were eager to disillusion their children about such wonders. We seem content knowing that they live in a world of karmic justice, happy endings and guardian angels watching over them while they sleep. It seems a little cruel to awaken them to a world of deadly perils and apparent indifference. In fact, it seems that most adults choose not to outgrow the magical thinking of childhood anyway. The ever-growing maps that science provides always end in borders beyond which may still dwell the faeries and dragons, gods and devils of our dreams. In a Universe containing a trillion or more galaxies, anything is possible, isn’t it? If that were not enough, the very real prospect of other universes, other planes of existence can reassure us that, as likely as not, Santa Claus really is out there somewhere, enjoying a date with Wonder Woman.

Religion, divinely-inspired or not, is clearly linked to the magical in our minds. Who would not want to go to Heaven, where, it is universally agreed, we shall all live happily ever after? I’m not saying this to cast any doubt on the plausibility of religion, merely to point out the humanness of the quest for the art, the spirit, the love, the music and the magic of ultimate existence. Having been raised devoutly Roman Catholic, I am deeply aware of magical “aura” that surrounds churches, basilicas and shrines, the rituals that dispense grace, objects such as crucifixes and holy water fonts, and traditional rote prayers that have “never been known to fail.”

I intend no irreverence here. The word “magic” requires clear definition, because it can range in meaning from the holy to the diabolic to the inane. Churches generally use the term “grace,” and refer to divine power graciously given to sinful humanity for sanctification or anointed service. Any discussion of stagecraft for entertainment value is outside the scope of this writing, so I will bypass that and move on to more substantive magical categories.

To open our discussion of the remaining categories, I will propose two fundamental concepts as keys to understanding. They are power and purpose. Any thorough understanding of the issue must look closely at both principles. The study or pursuit of psychic phenomena such as telepathy, clairvoyance, astral projection, telekinesis and a range of other terms not nearly as well known, is simply concerned with power. We want to know what humans are capable of and how to perform these things. It is a science to the researcher and an art to the practitioner. I will look at the science briefly later in this chapter. As to the art, I confess I have done some experimenting in this area and my results have been long periods of disappointment punctuated with startling moments of seeming success. Not enough to hang a dog on, as the old expression went.

Moving beyond pure scientific curiosity brings us to the element of purpose. [1] In the Broadway musical Camelot, young King Arthur has an awakening when he realizes, “It’s not ‘might is right’…it’s might FOR right!” Power without beneficial purpose is, at best, vain and at worst, destructive. I assert that religion, in its broadest sense, often seeks to mediate higher power for the purposes of healing and sanctification. If I’m not mistaken, this applies as well to exotic religions such as Wicca, Druidism and Pagan practices. To the extent which I have explored various religions, I see the same goals, purity of intentions and charitable sentiments. The only differences I see are those of doctrine and authority.  I cannot speak for actual Satanism; I am only familiar with the stereotype, which I suspect is inaccurate.

If we concede that the effects of prayers, meditation, visualization and other paranormal efforts are impossible to measure with any consistency, then the approach of an order mage ought to be based on logic. If it is possible to volunteer a few hours a week in a clinic to assist trauma victims, and then spend some time each evening sending prayers and positive energy their way, then go ahead and do both.  When possible, a check in the mail every month for a favorite charity is a powerful contribution as well. This balanced approach offers the widest range of benefits and adds the best blend of purpose and satisfaction to the practitioner. In addition, humans aren’t designed to work nonstop without rest and rejuvenation, so some moderation in giving is needed. As the mental health profession is also saying, excessive work without respite usually leads to burnout which ends either in quitting or in costly human error.

A fundamental aspect of order is balance. On the other side of logic lies intuition. My prescription for a life lived in harmony with order includes a true balance between logic and intuition. Logic accepts the possibility of magic and grace; intuition believes in them. Whenever I look up at the stars, watch a sunset or see the mountains or the ocean or even a hill or a lake, I feel the magic. It is as if the natural surroundings were speaking to me. Humans have always felt this. It is written in Psalm 19 from the ancient Hebrew scriptures, “The heavens declare the glory of God…one day to the next conveys that message; one night to the next imparts that knowledge. There is no word or sound; no voice is heard; Yet their report goes forth through all the Earth…”[2] The ancients heard the silent voice of the Earth and sky, probably much more clearly than we do. You might or might not believe in the action points of psychic phenomena such as clairvoyance and telepathy. However, you can always believe in transcendent reality. Whether you use a religious name for the Supreme Being, the Divine Architect, the Force or simply Order itself, you have every right to seek communion with this reality as a child of the Universe. You might not receive the winning lottery ticket number during your meditation, but you can expect to receive inspiration, peace and serenity.

So, enough of theory and philosophy. If you are reading this book you probably have belief, or at least interest, in psychic abilities or other unexplained phenomena that might in some way function like the magic in the old stories. Before I try to summarize the research I have engaged in, I will tell you what can be known by pure reason. In the first place, it is logically impossible to disprove the existence of something, except within limited parameters. An example of a limited parameter is location. I can disprove the existence of a mermaid in the room in which I am sitting merely by examining the room itself. Of course, even then there might be a microscopic mermaid swimming in a droplet of water in the room and I would not be able to disprove that. Of course, it would be unreasonable for me to believe or suspect such a thing because I have no evidence to support the idea. However, if I attempt to say there is no such thing as a mermaid I would have to qualify that by referring to places I know about such as Planet Earth. Who could say what forms of life may exist on other planets? Even though it could be argued that we have not explored the oceans sufficiently to establish beyond any doubt that there is not a single mermaid in them, the absence of plausible evidence should convince us. We cannot pretend to know whether there are mermaids or not on other planets because we have no basis of information on the subject.

In the same way, it is logically impossible to disprove the existence of psychic phenomena in its entirety. It may be something that happens only so rarely and unpredictably that the scientific study of it is nearly impossible. It may be something that existed primarily “a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.” In these cases it might be too elusive to verify, yet still exist. This is not very unlike the claim that Christians make that Jesus rose from the dead. You may ask, “Then, where is He?” The response, of course, is, “He went back to Heaven.” This claim is not ludicrous because going back to Heaven would be a reasonable thing for Him to do. It is what I would want to do, at any rate. Anyone may believe or not, although reason does require that we acknowledge both the absence of compelling proof and the impossibility of disproof. Further, all other things being equal, it is more reasonable to believe in that which one has heard of, than to disbelieve, as a matter of principle. Of course, a claim that is ludicrous ought not be believed in, because of known contrary evidence. If I were to call you and say, “A monster ate New York City three days ago!” and you had been in touch with the news media during that time, you ought not believe me, because surely you would have already heard of the event – or, if you happen to live in New York, you would have known about it from personal experience. You would have had contrary evidence to support your disbelief.

While doing research for this book, I spent some time visiting websites and watching videos discussing the evidence for psychic phenomena. As you can imagine, the claims range from tabloid-grade extremist tales to complete denial. I ignored sources that appeared to be openly biased in one direction or another. While a truly scientific review of the evidence is beyond the scope of this writing, I did find a few sources that I believe to be truly credible and persuasive. I will cite one example here. The following is taken from the website of the CIA (a website, probably) and discussed the results of a research program that spanned over two decades.

“That report’s conclusion—which echoed the assessments of the CIA officers involved in the program during the 1970s—was that enough accurate remote viewing experiences [i.e, clairvoyance] existed to defy randomness, but that the phenomenon was too unreliable, inconsistent, and sporadic to be useful for intelligence purposes.”[3]

I have a favorite joke from the old “Get Smart” series where Agent Maxwell Smart complained that the CIA agents did not have to jump through the bureaucratic hoops that Control Agents (his spy organization) did. His boss replied, “That’s because the CIA isn’t a secret organization.” Then he shrugged, “It’s supposed to be, but it’s not.”  I can laugh with the rest of us about the alleged incompetence of government employees, but in a case like this, I am sure that the CIA and the Defense Intelligence Agency, which also participated in the studies, used the scientific method with sufficient rigor.

From reading this website, and others from similarly authoritative sources, I conclude that psychic abilities do indeed exist, even if they are too elusive to be productively harnessed and controlled in most cases. So, if you strive to be an order mage who seeks these gifts, go ahead, but please use caution, and keep your motives pure. Otherwise, this book is equally intended for those whose metaphysical interests are purely philosophical, and for whom love, awe and intuition are magic enough.

Sadly, there is a dark side to all of this. The hostile use of witchcraft, voodoo and “the evil eye” have caused fear and harm to many over the years. I have heard that, in communities where such beliefs prevail, the simple fact that someone was told that they had been cursed had ended up with tragic consequences such as violence or suicide. Admittedly, such curses are most frequently provoked by injury of some sort. The way of the order mage is to seek justice through socially accepted legal means. While I will talk later on in this book about the removal of certain curses, casting curses upon others is in no way compatible with the magic of order. Another element of the dark side is that belief in the supernatural has turned to the harm of many with mental illness. “Hearing voices,” which is a common symptom of schizophrenia, often leads to suicidal thoughts.

Furthermore, therapists at mental institutions have heard enough incredible claims from schizophrenic patients. Often something like they were receiving telepathic instructions from the CIA, ordering them to assassinate Papa Smurf! These cases alone might account for the skepticism with which many mental health professionals view claims of psi activity. The dark side of the psychic world can simply manifest itself in the form of egotism. I have met immature psychics who considered themselves to be “superior,” regarding the perceptions and opinions of others as foolish compared to their “higher awareness.” Please don’t go there!

Another cautionary note is that the words magic and power are often associated with control. Control can be a bad thing when it refers to selfish control over other people, yet it can be a very good thing when speaking of control over one’s time, space, thoughts and choices. Later in this book we will examine how you can gain control in some of these dimensions of your life!

When it all comes down to the brass tacks, whether you believe in magic, psychic abilities, luck, grace or all of the above, you have a very real power quotient in your life. This quotient can be increased by strategic planning. This book will teach you very powerful techniques to increase the orderliness and productivity of your life even without recourse to the supernatural. I refer to these techniques as spells for the fun of it. As to the supernatural techniques you choose, be they prayer, meditation, rote spells or other methods, take care and stay close to the Light.