Wicca - Understanding Magick And Witchcraft

One of the questions that I am most often asked is simply, "Does magic really exist - and if so, then how can I go about learning to do it?"

Well, my short answer to this is, "Yes, in my opinion, magic does really exist - and like anything else worth doing, you learn through lots of practice and hard work."

Now let me go ahead and elaborate and explain a bit more. To me, magic is simply a term attached to tapping into previously forgotten or unlearned human potential. I believe that there was a time when many more goodly people were able to perform feats that would typically be referred to in common vernacular as "magic" - but, unfortunately, over the centuries as science and logic and so called rational thought came into ascendance, what had been learned slowly became unlearned. The old ways were abandoned and forgotten in the relentless pursuit of what was the equivalent of the next big fad.

This, of course, happened for a variety of reasons. For some it was simple lack of practice and willpower. For others it was that they had never developed the gifts in the first place. And for yet others, there was the forceful conversion from the wise crafts to the more socially acceptable modes of science and logic - and it is only in recent times that the bigotry has subsided enough to allow practitioners to once again be open with their art - at least in the majority of the western world.

As to how to learn to do it, well, the majority of it is about self discipline and willpower. It is amazing what the human will is capable of once we learn how to focus and hone it. But, again, learning this is not a quick or easy process. It takes time and effort - and is certainly not for people looking for instant gratification or overnight results.

For those interested in learning proper techniques for focusing their will and practicing magics, I would suggest a trip to either a good bookstore that caters to such - or even just a brief sojourn to the local library. Study is the start - and practice does, indeed, make perfect.

Amongst the things that you will likely find is that there is not one set "type" of magic and that indeed many practitioners have completely different methods of going about producing much the same effect. Take for example the ideas of both low magic and high magic, and the two different routes they involve and the ends they seek to achieve.

Low magic, sometimes called natural magic, was widely practiced in the Middle Ages and still in some parts of the world. Also known as practical magic, it combines the arts of witchcraft, spell craft, and hex craft, which utilizes herbs, amulets, wax images, and other simple objects along with visualization and incantations to bring about the desired result. It is the folk magic of less developed parts of the world where it is often done for a fee, and in the developed world it is the magic of many spell casters. In low magic, spells can be cast for either good or for evil.