Magick or coincidence?.

Skeptics nearly always bring up the term "coincidence" when setting out to disprove the validity of a magickal result, are their arguments justified or just a misunderstanding of the the true nature of magick and "coincidence"?.

There are many examples of coincidence, some simple, such as bumping into someone you know at an unexpected destination, others can be a little more complex and harder to explain. A few months ago the artist friend of mine "John Fisher" became obsessed with painting dragons, as it was his coming birthday his son decided he would try to find him a good resource book of dragon artwork, so he went the local bookshop and enquired if they had such a book in stock, a few moments later the sales assistant returned with a huge volume of dragon art, exactly what he'd been looking for, on opening the book he discovered that it had been compiled by an artist named "John Fisher!", the artist son is a true sceptic, but knowing that I have an interest in these matters decided to tell me of his experience.

The above example could be just put down to a simple if strange case of coincidence, but what if there is some form of deeper activity going on?, could it be that reality was telling John to carry on drawing dragons, or that he was wasting his time and to give up as it had already been done?.
It is my opinion that there is no such thing as coincidence, I believe that coincidences are signs written into the fabric of reality that if fully understood help to guide our lives in one direction or another.

So we come to the subject of "can we prove that magickal activity created a desired result?". skeptics will tell you that the results created by magickal activity are almost impossible to prove and the term coincidence will once again rear is ugly head, but if we take a more scientific approach to the subject it may become possible to validate our work.

If we take the time to stringently record our objectives, such as "money", and then record the exact details of the ritual, such as the time and date it was carried out, weather conditions, movement of the moon, along any other fine details that may effect the ritual, such as state of mind, diet etc, we can then wait for a given period of time for the result to manifest, and yes, if the money manifests it could still be put down to "coincidence", but if we then repeat the ritualistic experiment under exactly the same conditions and we get a result within the same time set period of time it then reinforces the notion that our activity has indeed created that result.

If we carry this further and repeat the ritual on several occasions and yet again produce a positive result we come to the the position where we can calculate coincidence against probability, the sceptics will still maintain their opinion but the argument towards the result being created via our magickal activity has shifted in our favour.
This is why we should try to keep as precise a record as we can of all that we are working towards, it gives us the option to check, re-check and evaluate our personal progress or failures.

On a higher level, we can learn to read the hidden meaning of the signs and "coincidences" that effect our daily lives, rather then taking the experienced "coincidences" at face value, we should try to decipher their intended effects upon the destiny of our lives.

Abramelin, The First Day

Why did I decide to jump right into this process before trying other, less intense or time consuming ritual Magick?  At first, I did so because many of the workings I read seemed to have the HGA invocation as part of the opening series of protections and to me, it seemed silly to invoke anything about which I had little to no knowledge.  Plus, I would later discover that there was a much greater reason why I chose to begin this work, at this stage of my life.  After all, ignorance and Magick just don't seem to be very good companions.  So, I made sure to choose and use the latest guide for the work--the Dehn version called "The Book of Abramelin."  It seemed to be the most appropriate for me, since there were historical context-setting explanations and there weren't too many things I would have to buy to make K&CHGA a reality.  I would discover that this process was actually a continuation of work I had already completed...I just needed to make sure I had all the necessary items to undertake the process as outlined in the Grimoire.

The following is combination of journal excerpts and clarifications to them:

Preparation:  I purchased everything I needed to make the "Oil of Abramelin" (per the Crowley recipe), incense, wand of pecan wood (purchased lathed and unfinished) and all other items.  Getting the scarlet colored silk was a challenge, but the white cotton for the robes was much easier.  The incense was easy to procure, although I added an additional ingredient* to it, for a more uplifting effect. The altar was smaller than usual, so I converted a night-table that had a drawer in which I put the items after closing, but with the addition of a covered box top, it had the appearance I sought  The room I used was perfect for the work--I specifically rented an apartment that had a room with its windows aligned properly--one in the east, one in the west.  Another thing that I was told to do, by a good friend that had already completed this process, was to pursue the work WITHOUT a preconceived name of my HGA; that would be revealed as the work entered the second phase.  I  would later discover that no preconceived notions should be had about anything, as few things happen as described in the book--some things are hidden purposely. 

The work:  Day one consists of a clearing of sorts and is unlike the other days.  Some simply omit this day's work, but in my opinion, that would have been totally contrary to the purpose of the work.  In my opinion, it offers the initiate an opportunity to make an accounting of himself to himself. I chose the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur to begin the working, for obvious reasons--not because I am a Jew or religious; it just felt right. Now to be quite honest, I wasn't in prayer from sun up until sundown, but I did make a full accounting to myself of all the things I felt I needed to.  It was all new.  The level of detail required to perform the Abramelin seemed above and beyond what one would normally do for other ritual workings.  I opened and closed as per the literature.

Impressions:  On day one, some things seemed silly and difficult to do with a straight face.  This was a phenomena that occurred only at the very beginning.  "Inflaming" myself "in prayer" was not easy to do either.  Dressing up in the appropriate attire and making sure the room was properly consecrated took a lot of time and it seemed unimportant.  Something else I found myself doing initially--clock watching; an hour of constant ritual is tough to pull-off at first.  I also found myself wondering why I decided to start a process that could last a year and a half.  It wouldn't be long before I discovered that the entire process works and unites one to himself--his higher-self, identifies his purpose and other things that I will discuss as this series progresses.  There were no epiphanies to talk about from day one, incidentally.

The Deeper Implications of Ritual Elements

There are many singular elements that are injected into any ritual that may be done, and while there are consistencies amongst the various magic(k)al schools, there are equally as many variations, so, I would like to address those that are most common, and those that I am familiar with in my own mutated system.

I would first introduce what it is I mean to discuss in regards to things such as cleansing, the use of tools, the generation of your sphere of influence, invocation, evocation, etc. It is not my purpose to tell you how to use these various ritual elements, nor is it my intention to tell you how to perform a ritual. Most of you would already be aware of these subjects, and I wouldn't want to bore you any further with my own dogma.

So what it is I do intend on sharing with you are the deeper dynamics that are going on behind the scene as we perform our rituals. I would discuss thought patterns and beliefs that lie deeply within us that most deeply affect both our needs and desires to do ritual for certain gain (materiel or spiritual) and the outcome of our rituals themselves. I would discuss the metaphysical implications of what it is you are, and are doing, as a magician, wizard, witch, mage, or shaman as you stand and perform your dance before the eyes of Source alone. I would discuss what it is that enriches our lives so profoundly, that which we call "ritual magic."

This will end up being a series, of course, so we will let this posting stand only as an introduction.

I would clarify that for me, it is not the method that is important here (though our methods do have import to each of us personally - I would not take that from you). While different methods, schools and approaches each tap a slightly different magical stream, they are all streams that feed , and are fed by, the major current we call Magic(k), and what I think of simply as being the whole of life itself.

Please don't be concerned whether you are G:.D:. , A:.A:. , OTO, Pagan, Wican, etc. when it seems I don't address something particularly important to your personal practice. Your joy is your joy and will always remain such. Just accept what it is that thrills you, inspires you, or fills even the tiniest space within you that has not yet been noticed.