Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2008 11:23 am Post subject: Magick Or Prayer?
What is Prayer? Prayer is not a power in itself. It is not so much a technique as a conversation.
To pray is to say 'No' to despair and 'Amen' to the 'Yes' of the Divine. So, it is the means to end problems and open the door to joy.
We cannot guarantee what Deity will do with our prayers. This is good though because it means prayer cannot be used make bad things happen.
"The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective". (James 5:16).
By the same token, we do not know how our requests will be addressed, if at all.
Prayer is also deeper than words.
"Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered". (Romans 8:26-27).
If our agony is more than we can begin to articulate, the Divine hears that agony which has no words. This isn't an escape clause. If we can articulate our prayers, we must.
If we use Prayer as the basis of our Spiritual undertakings we must understand that it is not our will which becomes manifest - but that of the Divine. We may not get exactly what we ask for. We may get more, we may get less.
The belief that the Spirit works in our best interest implies it does not matter. If you do not ask, you do not receive. If you do not receive, it was not meant to be.
So what about Magick?
For our purposes we shall define Magick as: The belief that supernatural forces can be controlled, influenced and manipulated by executing a ritualistic formula, either physical or verbal.
The two key components of this definition are 1.) Ritual and 2.) Manipulation.
In order for Magick to be effective, it MUST manipulate energy.
This may be Divine energy, a herbal energy, a spiritual force (such as the Vodou Lwa or Lucumi Orisha), an elemental or planetary energy, etc.
It must also adhere to the Oxford English Dictionary definition of "ritual":
'A prescribed procedure for conducting religious ceremonies'.
Magickal rituals do incorporate prayer-like incantations or spoken requests.
However, in this context the magician understands he/she can constrain, coerce, and force the divinity to do his/her will.
Many religions use sacrifices and elaborate doxologies to induce God to favour requests, grant wishes and perform miracles upon demand.
Is this magick? Yes.
Religion and magic are not mutually exclusive. While often unspoken, they frequently walk hand in hand.
I fully aware that to quote oneself is rather crass but I made a statement some years ago which I feel is rather important to this post:
thankyou for that raymond ..i had not considered it in such a manner before.. _________________ i'm not afraid of dying...it's living that scares me!!!!
Have used prayer and magic, magic seemed quite hit and miss for me some interesting moments and some not so. Prayer on the other hand I have used on only a handfull of occassions and it can be comforting but also if my last experience is anything to go by amazingly powerfull. Don't know who or what was watching out for me.
i have never considered myself someone who preys but each night before I sleep I ask for signs for things I want sorting .. I began this when a young child as it helped me get my homework sorted..
it works for me nearly every time.. is that prayer? _________________ as a babe drinks from its mothers breast so too does man milk mother earth
If I'm going to have a particularly stressful day, the night before I 'pray' to myself in the form of a bit of a pep talk, "You will remain calm, and I want you to say this and do that, and you won't lose your temper..."
Honestly, it works!
yes ,,, its like i said we are our own god... I know that sounds stupid what i mean is we can make ourselves to be or feel just about anything .. how God like is that
new age people have titled it visualisation and affirmations however it is stated its the power of your mind to connect with the best part of you the part you want to be- your higher self your god what ever _________________ as a babe drinks from its mothers breast so too does man milk mother earth
narrowly escaping eternal damnation by devoting your entire life to one of self denial, ie another form of damnation, only more real. _________________
I don't belive either truely "work" it's all about power of the mind rather then a celestial being or a magik book _________________ I give you, the Waffle King
Gastric Bypass, when waiting for the pounds to fall off fails.
Yes this maybe true, but you still need the bits and bobs to do it in the first place, most times when i've had injuries, like my ankle for example, i wasn't supposed to walk for up to 6 weeks, 2 weeks into the time i said to myself over and over in my mind "come on get up and walk" and it worked, hurt a bit but not as much as before when i used the crutch _________________ I give you, the Waffle King
Gastric Bypass, when waiting for the pounds to fall off fails.
Of course you can. The catch is you have to start with all the props and do your magick to the letter, but over time you'll find your own way of doing with less and less props until eventually you give them up completly.
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