Magic of the WillI have an overly-simplified theory of magic I thought of.
At first I was thinking, no, that can't be all there is to it… but then I thought of ways to make it fit everything.
It could be that magic all comes down to cultivation of the will.
Every practice is about
willpower.To become skilled in magic you need to grow your will through a wide variety of practices where you overcome impulse and assert control over yourself.
Meditation – it's about controlling your thoughts by clearing your mind and assuming control then over your thought processes.
It is very hard to do. Your mind always wants to think things and is prone to looping phrases. Keeping your mind still and blocking out irrelevant sensory input is a huge challenge. When you try to stop thinking and stay clear, you start to realize how difficult it is to control your own thoughts, and how what you think of as your thoughts may not actually truly be your own. The magician practices meditation to gain control of his thoughts, enhance his focus, and control his perception all by means of an exertion of will.
Sex magic – there are a variety of sexual practices involving abstinence, control, or endurance which wizards practice.
Not fapping, having conscious control over arousal, summoning or banishing succubus, avoiding orgasm in sexual intercourse or avoiding cumming, and also trying to produce feelings of lust or attraction in others all are about willpower and self-mastery. It is another way to become more conscious and to overcome environmental input.
Evocation – bringing fourth entities, often of a demonic nature, and usually staying safe within a circle while doing; this is another test of the will which magicians need to pass again & again.
Every demon exploits your weaknesses and vices if it can. They tempt you, they inspire fear in you, they try to make you do foolish things, etc. Successfully resisting the demonic influences makes you very mentally and spiritually powerful.
Exercise & martial arts – monks perfect their bodies physically and undergo a lot of trials in the process.
This very obviously is another test of the will and a way to make your body powerful and assertive. There are a lot of quotes that come to mind btw about how conquering the mind is much harder than all those physical trials. I agree. They are still a stepping stone there though and many physical exertions can put you into a trance with repetition and a strong vitality makes your energetic body also more powerful I think. These physical practices are of importance to one's magical development I believe.
Various other trials – Many magical orders have some sort of initiation that involves a test of will.
The ONA encourages its members to go into the forest I think for a whole year and live in total isolation out there. Other groups test people in different ways. Many rituals which monks do involve incredible patience, endurance, etc. These are more ways to cultivate the will, which seems to be the key to magic.
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The development of the will is a critical element to successful magic. An aspiring wizard should seek to test himself in every way he can think of. I believe that those who say we picked this life and that everything is a choice and that we can and do manifest our own realities are mostly wrong. There may be some who are at an advanced state of development who really do make those choices, likely having suffered a setback while in a higher plane, to end up here. The rest of us I believe have developed out of an inferior animal state with very little freewill but we are gradually expanding our consciousness and becoming more powerful. As we develop more spiritually (reach a higher vibration), the range of choices we can make expands, and we have more freewill. On this shared plane there is a massive conflict of wills and more powerful entities also suppress us but we yearn to be more free to manifest our will and resonate with planes more suiting to our development.
Consider this quote out of
The Kybalion - Chapter 12:"The majority of people are more or less the slaves of heredity, environment, etc., and manifest very little Freedom. They are swayed by the opinions, customs and thoughts of the outside world, and also by their emotions, feelings, moods, etc. They manifest no Mastery, worthy of the name. They indignantly repudiate this assertion, saying, "Why, I certainly am free to act and do as I please — I do just what I want to do," but they fail to explain whence arise the "want to" and "as I please." What makes them "want to" do one thing in preference to another; what makes them "please" to do this, and not do that? Is there no "because" to their "pleasing" and "wanting"? The Master can change these "pleases" and "wants" into others at the opposite end of the mental pole. He is able to "Will to will," instead of to will because some feeling, mood, emotion, or environmental suggestion arouses a tendency or desire within him so to do.The majority of people are carried along like the falling stone, obedient to environment, outside influences and internal moods, desires, etc., not to speak of the desires and wills of others stronger than themselves, heredity, environment, and suggestion, carrying them along without resistence on their part, or the exercise of the Will. Moved like the pawns on the checkerboard of life, they play their parts and are laid aside after the game is over. But the Masters, knowing the rules of the game, rise above the plane of material life, and placing themselves in touch with the higher powers of their nature, dominate their own moods, characters, qualities, and polarity, as well as the environment surrounding them and thus become Movers in the game, instead of Pawns — Causes instead of Effects. The Masters do not escape the Causation of the higher planes, but fall in with the higher laws, and thus master circumstances on the lower plane. They thus form a conscious part of the Law, instead of being mere blind instruments. While they Serve on the Higher Planes, they Rule on the Material Plane." –
http://www.kybalion.org/kybalion.php?chapter=XII 