The Accidental Magickian
Most people think of magick as a rather niche subject which should be of interest to no more than a minority of the population, but when one understands the definition of the word magick it becomes clear that this is not the case at all. Aleister Crowley famously defined magick as “the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity of the Will”, and if we think about the subject in this way then it is something we should all be studying in order to become more effective at using it.
Regardless of personal beliefs, all human beings are in the business of trying to make their lives as good as they can be. In other words, we are all trying to bring about change in accordance with our will. We work hard to try and get a promotion, dress smartly to attract members of the opposite sex, take on home improvement projects to make our environment more comfortable, and so on. None of these things appear to have anything to do with anything metaphysical, but they are all examples of magick in action. In the examples given it is lesser magick (also known as mundane magick) that is being used, but it is a type of magick nevertheless.
What this means is that everyone who tries to improve their lives in some way is practicing a form of magick, and even the person who doesn’t ‘believe’ in anything metaphysical could be described as an accidental magickian.
Since we are all using magick whether we realise it or not, it makes sense to acknowledge that fact and to then shift from being an ‘accidental magickian’ to being a ‘purposeful magickian’, and we can do that in three simple ways:
1 – Study Magickal Systems
There are numerous magickal systems that we can study and all of them can teach us something, so we should follow our instincts and start with whatever magickal system feels right. Maybe you are drawn to the writings of Aleister Crowley, to the Chaos Magick works of Phil Hine or to Daniel Keaton’s immensely practical Magickal Creation course that we have discussed elsewhere (see our Magickal Creation excerpt). Whatever the case, make a point of studying your chosen system for at least a short period of time each day.
2 – Recognise Accidental Magick
Your regular study of magickal writings will help to make you more aware of how you are ‘accidentally’ using magick in your life right now. For example, you might suddenly realise that you are doing things which project a certain type of energy out into the universe which brings about certain results, positive or negative. You might also realise that the attitude you have about life is itself a magickal tool which you are using, for better or worse. If you are fortunate then you will find that you are currently using magick in a way that really is helpful to you, but some people find that they are accidentally using magick in a way which hinders them – such as by having more cynicism than optimism, for example. In this case your awareness will allow you to get your magick back on track so that your Will – and not your fears – is always in the driving seat.
3 – Use Magick Intentionally
The final way to shift from being an accidental magickian to a purposeful one is to start using magickal intentionally. This is a matter of taking the magickal system that you are studying and using it in a deliberate and purposeful way. Start viewing yourself and acting like the powerful magickian that you have the potential to be. Recognise the power that you have allowed to remain dormant with you and release it to create the kind of life that you have always wanted. When you start to live your life with that kind of attitude – as a creator who chooses to make things happen – it will be as if you have just flipped a switch in your life and you will start achieving the kind of results that most people only ever dream about.
