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If your interest in Wizardry involves hurling balls of energy from your fingertips or making swirling light spill out of the end of a magic wand, you might as well stop reading right now. This imagery is not what real Wizardry, Witchcraft and Magic are about. Literature and the cinema have distorted the image of the Wizard and Witch to the point that our ancestors would not recognize them.

The images seen in Harry Potter, however entertaining, are far from the actual roll that magical men and women played in the progression of history. Called by many names, including Wizard, Witch, Sorcerer, Sorceress, Vizier, Mage, Sage, Bard, Magician, Alchemist, Soothsayer, Seer, Philosopher, Shaman, Priest and Scientist, just to mention a few, these people had great responsibility and power. They held a heavy hand in the guidance of many ships of state.

Wizardry, Witchcraft, Alchemy, Sorcery and many of the other Occult, Arcane or magical arts hold the roots of modern science, chemistry, medicine, politics, art and management. In fact, almost any art or intellectual craft you can mention probably has connections to the Wizardry world.

Many crafts have been associated with occult studies, such as Alchemy. Alchemy is an ancient art practiced particularly in the Middle Ages, devoted mainly to discovering a substance that would transmute the more common metals into gold or silver, and to finding a means of indefinitely prolonging human life. It has come to be known as the Philosophers Stone and the Elixir of Life. Alchemy is in many ways the predecessor of modern science, especially the science of chemistry.

Alchemy was most influenced by air, earth, fire, and water, for the Alchemists theorized that all things were based in those four factors. This is a belief that many magical paths share.

Things have changed over the centuries. In this day and age, we know the technical, mechanical and scientific reasons for many of the real world manifestations that happen around us everyday. In days gone by, our ancestors were not as enlightened.

In each century there are always a few freethinking men and women that are able to use techniques and procedures to change the odds of a particular out come, be it in the health of a villager or in the chances of rain in a dry summer. They developed these techniques, skills and rituals by trial and error; the results handed down generation to generation, master to apprentice.

All of the scientific discoveries made until the beginning of the last century were made without the benefit of space-based telescopes, infrared spectrometers or scanning electron microscopes. Learned men and women, often called Wizards, made startling discoveries by observation and careful analysis of their records.

Without knowing the scientific reasons for monumental events, they still managed to identify, and determine the orbital paths of the first five planets circling around the sun. They managed to chart the change of the seasons and the cycles of life.

The same is true of magical cures and remedies. Through centuries of trial and error, cures and methods of altering health outcomes have been discovered, recorded and handed down to us. Many modern medical professionals are now looking back to some of these ancient cures.

Is This Magic?

Yes and no, one mans magic is another mans engineering. A digital watch or a microwave oven might have landed you at the end of a rope in the Puritan days, whereas, today they are common place. If the human race is allowed the time, we may discover the technical reasons and engineering behind all of the things we call magic.

Observations, records and evaluation of the data collected can produce amazing results. However, much is yet to be discovered.

Many of the greatest discoveries throughout history were made by accidents or through failed experiments. However, because the Wizard paid close attention and evaluated the results, great accomplishments were made in the face of failure.

Where would we be if one man did not notice that bacteria would not grow around the green mold on bread? This observation lead to the discovery of penicillin.

On the other side of the equation how would history have been changed if someone had noticed that stable hands very seldom contracted the Black Death known to us as Bubonic plague? As it turns out the fleas that spread the disease do not like the smell of horses. We could have seen horse sweat sold as a magical potion to ward off the illness.

The main goal of a true Wizard should be to learn as much as possible and then to pass all of their collected knowledge down to those that follow.

Magic is not a good or bad thing, it just is. We do not need to know how it works; we just need to know it does work.

The ancient courts of kings did not have a court Wizard, Magician or Conjurer because seeing them pull a coin out of their ear was amusing; it was because of their keen mind and intellect in the management of problems and issues of state that concerned the entire country. These issues could range from the crops to the movements of troops in battle, to whom should marry who.

A misconception many people have, when they first start learning about the craft, is the assumption that anyone using wizardry, witchcraft or magic in the modern world is Wiccan. This simply is not true.

Wicca is a specific religious path, which usually includes magic in its practices. (There is so much information available about the origins of Wicca that I won't bother to include a history of it here.) Witchcraft uses magic, as does Wicca. However, Wicca is centered more on religious faith, with magic as the manifestation of that faith. Wizardry and Witchcraft are about using energies that reside in everything, the result of which is magic.

Magical men and women throughout history have followed many paths including Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Buddhism. Michael Angelo was a renowned Alchemist, a well-respected profession in his time, and a devout Christian.

The early leaders of almost all religions included magical rites, ceremonies and practices. Many of these practices have faded over the centuries however, remnants of the old magic is still there to bee seen, if you know where to look.

Imagine an aged and wise man in his magnificent robes with his pointed hat sitting high upon his head, his magical staff held firmly in his hand He is conducting ancient rituals and using his great wisdom to help his people. Is this The great Wizard Aldus Dumbledore? No, most Catholics call him the Pope.

There are several questions any rational person will ask when you bring up the subject of magic. They include; Is there such a thing as real magic? How does it work? And, Where can I learn the skills?

Always remember a real Witch or Wizard will question everything. Take nothing at face value. Consider everything to be a trick or a piece of engineering that is still unknown. Test and re-test every theorem until you understand it or at least have faith in the probable outcome.

Here are my answers to these, and other questions. The opinions expressed are my own. You and others may have a different opinion, and that is fine with me. All I ask is that you present your results and outcomes so I may evaluate them for myself. Here, I speak only for myself as a practicing Wizard.

What is Magic?

There are many varieties of magic; not all include the idea that magical spell-casting is efficacious or morally sound. Even in those types of magic where spell-work is taught, there is no general agreement on what magic is, or what it is not.

A theory that accounts for the form of magic called natural magic is that certain objects, including but not limited to natural curios such as roots, herbs, minerals, and animal parts, have within them a certain a-causal link to some realm of human endeavor, often by virtue of their shape, color, size, or scent.

In natural magic, the visible link between a curio's physical attributes and its magical symbolism is called the Doctrine of Signatures. Thus, to give two examples of the Doctrine of Signatures, violet leaves, which look like hearts, are used in love magic, and lodestones, which are natural magnetic rocks, are used to "draw" wealth, love, or luck to the holder. These operations may be carried out with or without reference to religious entities (gods, spirits, and saints).

An overlapping, but actually slightly different form of magic involves human-made artifacts -- amulets, lucky charms, talismans, and the like. This form of magic is generally called talismanic magic. Talismans can be made by the magician but are often prepared for clients by a conjurer, craft-worker, or jeweler. If they are commercial purchases, they must be empowered, fixed, or consecrated for use, and once prepared, they are said to work on behalf of the mage.

A third popular form of magic is called will-based or thelemic magic. Its practitioners tend to disdain natural magic, although they may use talismanic magic as a way to focus their will power. Magicians of this type also have been know to say that performing magical spells is unimportant to them because simply visualizing the performance of the spell is sufficient to strengthen their will-power and this bring about the magical results they desire.

Remember, this is not a full list of the types of magic. I could devote hundreds of pages to the many different and varied types of magic.

Each culture (or social sub-culture) seems to have its own rules regarding the workings of magic, but many of these rules are found in more than one culture. For instance, ritual cleaning and bathing occurs in the magic of most cultures, including urban ceremonial magick (with a k) and Sicilian folk magic (without a k). However, some forms of ritual or rule are not as widespread. For example, footprint or foot step magic (performing magical operations on others through use of their footprints, shoes, or by scattering material where they will step on it) is typically an African magical custom, which is found also in African-American magical practice.

For most folk-magicians, symbology is very important. Faith, technical knowledge, precognitive intent, and emotional power fuel belief and confidence in the effects of a culturally appropriate symbological working.

However, once the rules of each system of magic are internalized by the practitioner, a great deal of improvisation may be done for any given ritual or magical job of work. The mark of a good magician in his or her own school of magic is his or her ability -- to borrow an analogy from music -- to seamlessly improvise a tune within the chord structure of the system being used.

Perhaps magic seems "too good to be true" because you have an inflated idea about the practice of magic from the perspective of movies or TV shows. In actuality, magic is not a cure-all for problems. Rather, it is a way of working with subtle energies, with the natural virtues of plants and stones, with spirits, with -- well, with as many different forms of non-ordinary reality as there are schools of magic, I suppose!

Do Magic Spells Always Work?

Sometimes spells work, sometimes they do not. Sometimes prayers produce results, sometimes they do not. Nothing is infallible, death is inevitable. What we do with our lives is a matter of as much choice as we can muster, given the limitations of genetics, circumstance, and happenstance.

Some of us find pleasure and fulfillment in the practice of religion, magic, occultism, and/or mysticism. Others of us do not.

You have wandered into a group of people who practice magic -- but how each of us *defines* magic is left to the individual.

The question of whether a mojo hand, spell kit, or other occult item is "guaranteed to bring in results" is one that I am often asked.

Magic is not guaranteed. Neither is prayer to God. If a prayer is not answered, it may be that it is not God's will. If a magic spell does not produce the results you hoped for, despite the fact that an authentic formula was followed and you put into the work all your best efforts and strongest belief, then all I can say is that fate or the Gods and/or Goddesses, depending on your beliefs, may have different plans for you.

It is a mistake to assume that most practitioners of folk magic believe that spells invariably work, like adding water to a box of instant mashed potatoes -- and that if a spell fails, it is the Wizards fault. This is not so.

Most people know that skill or giftedness enters into magical successes, that timing is important, that traditional natural ingredients are preferred, that personal will and an outpouring of spiritual energy are crucial -- and that even when everything is done with the strongest of intentions and best of timing and authentic ingredients by a worker of great skill or giftedness, there is still no guarantee of success.

Tiger Woods is one of the greatest golfers in the world. He sometimes loses. He sometimes loses big time. No one says that golf is a game of random chance or that Tiger Woods is a fraud just because he cannot win every game. It is the same with magic.

People who are members of magic-using cultures learn from an early age not to expect more from magic than an improvement of their odds -- that they will sometimes score a startling win or an almost impossible success, but not always. Most people who work with magic on a regular basis think of it as an edge, not as a certain win.

Is Magic Worth Trying If It's Not Guaranteed?

What I can tell you is this, even if you use magic only to concentrate upon your desires and to pray, you will at least have clarified what it is you want. If it works for you, however, as it very often does, then you will not only have clarified your desires, you will have achieved them.

Is Magic Just the Results of Coincidence?

Some people may be / seem to be / claim to be more "gifted" at performing works of magic than others -- for them, success seems to come early and easy and they continue the practice. For others, this is not the case and after long struggles, they may drop the practice of magic.

The same is true of mathematics, of sports, of farming, of cookery, some of these skills and arts come early and easy to one person and not to another, some people may never excel at certain of these skills and arts. Your *interest* in magic will carry you part of the way.

Your natural gifts may make even the early stages meaningful and successful to you -- or you may not be naturally gifted and yet find your way through dogged persistence. Alternatively, you may find the entire venture useless and unproductive to your development. Every person's story is unique. Only you can live your life story.

Do some experiments for yourself and see what your results are. Keep a record of what you did, how you felt while doing it, and how it turned out.

If Magic Spells are Real, Why Doesn't Everyone Use Them?

Some people have no interest in the subject of magic at all. Some people come from cultures where magic is not valued. Some people belong to religious groups that actively oppose magic.

If vegetables are so good for you, why doesn't everyone eat them?
If war is so evil, why do so many people become soldiers?
If TV is so terrible, why do so many people watch it?
The answer to all of these questions is this: People have free will and they make choices consistent with their interests, desires, emotional states, skill-sets, and the circumstances which put them into convenient proximity or keep them at an inconvenient distance from various mental concepts and physical objects.

I am often asked, "Will a lucky charm really make me lucky?" and the answer is complicated because the concept of what luck is differs from culture to culture and from person to person.

For most people, luck is a "winning edge," an increase in the statistical odds that they will win money or get laid or whatever it is they want. They may carry a lucky charm or good luck token in the belief that it increases their success-to-failure ratio in specific areas of life. The charms mentioned above are typical of those that people have given credence to through long custom.

Do You Have To Be A Certain Religion to Practice Magic?

NO. Spell-casting and other forms of magical work, such as divination or augery, spirit communications, astral travel, and the like are found in virtually every culture and in virtually every religious group. No one religion can claim them. You could even be an atheist.

A Wizards Life

A Wizard seeks to create, and to create consciously. Wizards work intensely with magic in what is known as the creative process. Wizards are the builders; the carpenters if you will, of reality. In their early stages of development, Wizards tend to create haphazardly, sometimes with seemingly little regard for the consequences of their creations, reaping karma for their later lessons along their path.

Much of a wizard's time during the middle stage is spent in laborious studies and ritual practices, not to learn "spells" but to purify their own bodies (physical, astral, and mental) to better align them with the universe. Because of this time-consuming effort, many Wizards along their path pick up the erroneous idea that they must be solitary; unable to work with or interact strongly with others. In truth, Wizards need human companionship and interaction; they thrive on human interaction.

Highly polarized in the Astral and Mental Planes, Wizards are naturally drawn to mental rather than menial activity. The fields of art and music are rife with Wizards, who find outlets for their immense creative potential there. There are many wizard inventors as well as teachers and healers. Wizards in general do not seek to become leaders; they leave such tasks to warriors and priests. A Wizard will become a great leader only under dire circumstances or when others need his or her aid in creating consciously via a group dynamic. However, because of their dynamic natures, Wizards quite often achieve positions of fame. Wizards have throughout history tended to be the dominant force in the field of Music. Both composers and lyricists, they understand intrinsically the relationship of music, vibration, and creation.

A wizard musician is not interested in getting a point across like a warrior, or entertaining like a thief, or delving deep into philosophy like a priest. Wizards use music to alter their surroundings and the level of consciousness of the beings around them. If this is accomplished by the instrumental portion, fine; if by the lyrics, that's fine as well.

Wizard artists tend to be liberal in the use of color, form, and ideas, and prefer art forms that evoke intense emotional responses from their audiences.

As leaders, Wizards will manifest for specific situations only. A Wizard leader is likely to be noteworthy because of the situation surrounding their leadership rather than internal qualities of the wizards themselves. In the worst case, they may manifest to wreak havoc or to shock humanity into a higher understanding of a situation.

Wizards thrive in the areas of science and invention. However, they must learn to assess the consequences of their creations before loosing them onto humanity.

As authors, Wizards tend to write both about fantasy and reality; bridging the gap easily between that which is real and that which is unreal. Much of Wizard writing can be quite cerebral; however, Wizards also know how to recount a good tale and, after mastering the forms of words, can be excellent at the art of the pen.

In their later cycles, Wizards are often drawn to the healing professions. Rather than surgeons, Wizards are found as general practitioners of medicine and may even become involved in alternative or holistic practices.

Wizards must overcome two different challenges: that of arrogance and of self-deprecation. Arrogance is used in the early cycles of Wizard evolution as a karma-engendering device. As the Wizard matures, Wizards must guard against falling into the opposite trap of self-deprecation, or the tendency to beat themselves up over the tiniest failing.

Wizard archetypes in mythology and the real world include: Merlin, Odin, Gandalf (Lord of the Rings), Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter), Vulcan, Lord Krishna, Freyr and Oberon Zell Ravenheart.

Right Now because of movies like Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings and TV shows liked Charmed, Wizards, Witches and alike are in vogue. In spite of the fact that these shows expand on the Wizard myth they also open peoples perceptions to the fact that Wizards and Witches do exist and live in the world today. They also present Wizards and Witches in a better light than they have ever been presented.

In the never ending battle between the forces of light and the forces of darkness we are lucky that they do exist.

The Rules of Magic and Wizardry:

• Magic is real.

• Know yourself.

• The best way to predict the future is to create it.

• Question authority.

• Magic is both an art and an experimental science.

• Be watchful of what you do and say.

• Intention controls results.

• Don't invoke what you can't banish.

• Always consider the options.

• The job is not done until you've put away the tools and cleaned up the mess.

• Keep silent regarding the magical work for 24 hours, lest your analysis create doubt, thereby weakening the intention that binds your spell.

• Be silent about the magical World.

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HighlandWizard@MyWay.com

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