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Getting Spell Books

To: alt.magick.tyagi,alt.magick,alt.pagan.magick,alt.witchcraft,alt.paranormal.spells.hexes.magic,alt.lucky.w
From: nagasiva 
Subject: Re: Getting Spell Books
Date: Fri, 07 Jun 2002 18:33:53 GMT

50020607 VII!

sri catyananda :
> What siva said about the types of spell books being like types of cook
> books is a good analogy and bears further examination:

thanks for the addition. I would particularly focus on the following:

> It is my opinion that before buying too [many] spell books at 
> random, 

sometime in the next few years I'm going to construct a spellbook
bibliography for a reference file (if nobody does it before me).
it is my guess that there aren't very many spellbooks published
and available at any one time, though this may be changing.


> a newbie should decide what magical tradition he or 
> she wishes to follow. 

the danger of this is magic's penchance for culting into religion
and the problems and joys inherent to religious magic. tradition
may or may not be reliable, for example, for effects, whereas, if
seeing the global manifestations of magic on earth and recognizing
their characteristics qualifying them for membership in the same set,
then extensive cultural knowledge is not *necessary*, except, of
course to those who may seek an advanced or in-depth understanding
(such as reference librarians and polymaths). after all, getting what 
one needs (from the spell) and getting *out* is the objective for a 
great many of those who practice magic, whatever currents or novelties 
they may utilize.

> You need not be confined to the spell-work of your native culture --
> anymore than you must only cook the foods your family taught you to 
> cook -- but when you venture into the spell-work of cultures 
> previously unknown to you, it is my sincere advice that you also 
> get to know the people, food styles, and music of that culture. 

valuable advice for grounding and securing reliable information.

> Alternatively, you can steer clear of any culturally-defined 
> spell-craft and work with the most modern and multi-cultural 
> materials at hand. 

yes, this is to what I referred above. as global culture spreads
magical practices into the consciousness of all those susceptible
to the media's expression, some of these cultural origin stories
will be lost (compare games and how they migrate without history),
while others will become heavily identified with particular peoples
and time periods.

> It is useful to pick a path and follow it for a while and see 
> where it leads you, rather than trying to follow all paths at 
> once. 

I'm not even sure that the latter is possible. indecision is often
helped with the selection of a prioritization scheme in any case.
sequential focus can be helpful where broadband investigation fails.

nagasiva

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