Witchvox Article

Author: Kindred Of The Phoenix
Posted: February 24th. 2008
Times Viewed: 3,483

I�m not talking about black magick here, curses or hexes or anything that can �come back on you�. Nor am I talking about vengeance or greed or working with dark spirits or demons or the dead.

I�m talking about the simple, �harmless, � good old white magick, meant to make your finances better or your body healthier or love life deeper and more fulfilling and is the kind of Magick that so many of us do, in love and trust and good intentions.

If you can take some stress off your spouse by getting that raise you know you deserve, or give yourself in love to someone else, supporting them, encouraging them, cherishing them, but the dating site isn�t working out, why not do a spell?

The reason is that it might do you more harm than good in the long run.

I�m also not talking about the (mostly humorous, fortunately) �mis-spelled� spells that give you a dog when you ask for a true companion, or houseplants when you ask for more green in your business, or two stalkers when you ask to be magnetic to potential lovers.

Most intro to witchcraft books have a section on the dangers of poorly written spells, so I see no need to re-hash that here, though I do suggest you read- and re-read these- those .key passages to magical success from time to time.

So how can a good-intentioned, well-written, practically flawless spell go wrong?

Well, to be precise, the spell itself is not the problem. The problem lies in the use of magick itself.

Witches and other occult practitioners often use magick to solve problems, reach goals, or fulfill needs or desires that mundane action will not produce, is not producing now, or isn�t producing in the time schedule desired.

It�s not always a greedy or selfish thing- sometimes magick is simply another tool for survival in the rat race (if you have it, use it!) Or, sometimes it seems more ethical to use a spell to find a better paying job than compete for the only open position in your company with a single mom of three kids who needs it just as much as you do.

If you�re willing to put in just as much work on this mundane end, and just want a little magickal push in the right direction, there hardly seems anything wrong with it.

And there isn�t. Except that it can be deadly to your dreams.

Puzzled? Before I explain all this, consider the following:

Employee A to Boss: I hate this crap job. I can never get ahead. I�m putting in 50 hours a week here- working as hard as I can- and still it�s never enough to pay the bills and get ahead. I�ve been here five years- I have seniority. Why are you holding me back? I�m a good person, aren�t I? With a family to feed, kids that need me at home more to go to their soccer games and be a good parent and role model. Can�t you see I need to move up the ladder here? I�ve never hurt anyone here, always been a good employee, I deserve it. Isn�t it time I moved up?

Employee B to Boss: Good morning sir! About that possible promotion� I know I�ve only been here two years, but in that time I�ve finished my degree and worked hard to apply my education to my work here. I�ve motivated the team with individual attention; I�ve resolved several major tech problems and created a marketing plan that should put us ahead of our competition in six months. I�ve learned the products and customer service techniques, and feel that I have a solid grasp on my current position and all those below it- thus I can lead anyone in those positions if I�m in a position to do so. I think with my forward approach and enthusiasm for the work I am ready for a new position on our team.

Who do you really think will get the promotion?

Not that Employee A doesn�t need or deserve to move up, especially with all the time and effort he/she has put in, and the family to care for. Note that Employee B might have the same financial and family pressures- we don�t know. But business is business, and whoever hands out that promotion probably doesn�t want to know- family aside, the position goes to the one ready for it.

My point in bringing this up is that I truly believe that life isn�t fair but it is right, that some Higher Power is indeed looking out for us, and that all prayers are heard and all are answered- but not in the way we expect.

I believe that if you�re not getting something in life, not moving on to what you think you ought to be by now or because it�s only fair and you deserve it and need it, that there is a very good reason for it.

You�re not ready to move ahead yet.

Just as the boss might tell Employee A that he/she needs to learn enthusiasm for the work, needs to care about their coworkers and customers and learn to love what position they�ve been given and tend it well, nurture and grow it, so to speak, The Powers That Be might be saying this to you by holding you back in life.

Learn to love the small things in life while you�re broke, from sunshine to singing on the porch with your kids. Learn to nurture optimism, faith, and strength of spirit while you�re ill; teach others not to be afraid of either life or death while you�re on the line.

Whatever it is exactly that you�re supposed to learn is something you�ll have to discover, but most often I think it centers near trusting the Powers, loving what you�ve been blessed with instead of yearning for/ striving/working for more, and allowing yourself to be happy with who you are and what you have, despite what others say you should have in life.

When you use magick to give you a boost, you jump ahead and upset the balance. I can�t prove it, but I think this is why so many religions, mainstream and aboriginal, warn against witchcraft and magick except by the highest, most trained priest or shaman.

The Powers are Powers of love and benevolence, they want us to be happy, and thus we have magick to put in our hands the power to jump out of THEIR plan for us and take control of our own lives.

It�s like they are saying, well, if you really think you�re ready, do that spell, you�ll get what you want. Maybe you do know better. We�ll give you the benefit of the doubt.

And so we do that spell, jump ahead� and lose again and again that footing. Our dreams keep crumbling and we collapse in tears and ask why.

Maybe we weren�t ready yet and lost our new, advanced place in the world on our own. Or, just as likely, I believe that Divinity has a bit of a �list� of ordeals and accomplishments that each of us is to go through in our lifetime.

The order in which we accomplish/experience these things is, for the most part, unimportant, but the lessons we draw from them are. Therefore if it has been chosen for you to undergo some financial difficulty to teach you humility, or introduce you to a soul mate (who is working in a food pantry), your spell may bring in some cash but you�re due to fall back into poverty again. Not as a punishment, not because you don�t deserve better, but because The Powers that Be have something waiting for you- something good.

Without that spell, but instead with some time and some trust, you are right where you need to be. (Comforting, isn�t it?) There is something for you, right now, right here, whether you can see it or not.

If you stop trying to magickally vault ahead and run away, and look around, you just might find it and move ahead naturally.

And therefore, each time we upset the system through magick, we essentially waste time.

We put ourselves in a �better place, � for a time, but get stuck returning to the same muck time and again and wonder why. We seem to reach a dream but soon lose it.

Rather than being mired in that cycle, I suggest you look around, take stock of what you do have, and learn to enjoy and make the best of it. If indeed we are all where we are for a reason, all you have to do is discover that reason and honor its wisdom, and a new path will be revealed to you.

Therefore when I say magick will kill your dreams, I mean that magick will give them to you only to have you lose them again, and waste precious time in your life in that cycle of gain and loss, when you could simply do what you must with what you have now and move into that dream, in its own time, for good.

Therefore may I suggest prayer, especially prayer in circle, to help you move ahead? You are not alone. Divinity loves you and wants you to succeed, and will listen and answer when properly asked.

Many forms of magick essentially have you working on your own, either telling the God and/or Goddess what to do for you, or leaving them out entirely. You need not be alone in your trials like that�

Ask why you are where you are, what�s holding you back, and what needs to be done to move on to something you�d like better. And especially, ask that it all be for the greater good.

This approach has worked so much better for me than magick!

In closing, I�d like to share with you a bit of comfort that�s hung on my wall since I was a child. It�s called the Desiderata, and it was discovered in Saint Paul�s Church, Baltimore, dated 1962. These are only a few lines from it�

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be�.

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Kindred Of The Phoenix

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Bio: NixxE is the legally ordained High Priestess of the eclectic Kindred of the Pheonixx Coven. She draws heavily from Hindu, Buddhist, and Shamanic techniques, and does tarot, life guidance, magick and spell help, in online chat at the site above.

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