THE
ARCANE
ARCHIVE

a cache of usenet and other text files pertaining
to occult, mystical, and spiritual subjects.


TOP | OCCULTISM | MAGIC

Magical Powers -- Innate or Induced?

To: alt.magick.tyagi,alt.lucky.w,alt.magick,alt.paranormal.spells.hexes.magic
From: catherine yronwode 
Subject: Magical Powers -- Innate or Induced?
Date: Fri, 23 Apr 1999 12:07:46 -0800

A querant in email asked for links to sites dealing with magic and the
occult and i supplied the url for the Mage's Guide to the Internet: 
     http://www.luckymojo.com/magi

He then replied:
> 
> Thank you for the infomation.
> 
> Also do you have to have some magic powers in you to use magic?

This is a very good question and deserves a full discussuoin instead of
a brief answer, but here is a start:

Some people -- that is, people in some cultures -- believe that to
practice magic one needs certain inherited powers (e.g. to be born the
child of a witch) or to be born with a "gift" or a "sign" (such as being
born the 7th son of a 7th son, or being born with a veil or caul
(amniotic sac over the head at birth), or to receive a miraculous or
transformative "sign" in youth or young adulthood (such as experiencing
a near-death trauma that leaves one capable of psychicism or conveying
healings). In some cultures, the pre-destination to a magical path
implied by a favourable birth-sign or a transformative spiritual event
is so important to the legitimacy of one embarking on the practice of
magic, that in lieu of a birth-sign, the seeker will subject him- or
herself to numerous trials to gain a sign, including the use of
dangerous drugs and the endurance of self-inflicted physical torture.

In other cultures, however, it is assumed that one can gain magical
powers through applied study and practice, either via books, as with the
alchemical, Hermetic, neo-Platonic traditions of occultism, or at the
feet of a teacher or guru, as with an initiation into Gardnerian Wicca
or with the tantric saddhus who gain siddhis (magical powers) when
taught the practice of tapas (austerities) by their guru. 

In my experience, it seems that some people are highly interested in the
subject of magic, just as some are highly interested in sports or music
-- and those are the people who generally take up the study and practice
of magic, whether through the retroactive application of a birth sign,
the seeking of a personally transformative event, the study of books,
requesting initiation into a magical lineage or "order," or
apprenticeship to a recognized teacher. 

cat

catherine yronwode ------------------------  mailto:cat@luckymojo.com
Lucky Mojo Curio Co. http://www.luckymojo.com/luckymojocatalogue.html
Lucky W Amulet Archive --------- http://www.luckymojo.com/luckyw.html
The Sacred Landscape ------- http://www.luckymojo.com/sacredland.html
Karezza and Sacred Sex ------ http://www.luckymojo.com/sacredsex.html
Freemasonry for Women ------- http://www.luckymojo.com/comasonry.html
Comics Warehouse ------ http://www.luckymojo.com/comicswarehouse.html
news:alt.lucky.w --- discussions on folk magic, luck, amulets, charms

The Arcane Archive is copyright by the authors cited.
Send comments to the Arcane Archivist: tyaginator@arcane-archive.org.

Did you like what you read here? Find it useful?
Then please click on the Paypal Secure Server logo and make a small
donation to the site maintainer for the creation and upkeep of this site.

The ARCANE ARCHIVE is a large domain,
organized into a number of sub-directories,
each dealing with a different branch of
religion, mysticism, occultism, or esoteric knowledge.
Here are the major ARCANE ARCHIVE directories you can visit:
interdisciplinary: geometry, natural proportion, ratio, archaeoastronomy
mysticism: enlightenment, self-realization, trance, meditation, consciousness
occultism: divination, hermeticism, amulets, sigils, magick, witchcraft, spells
religion: buddhism, christianity, hinduism, islam, judaism, taoism, wicca, voodoo
societies and fraternal orders: freemasonry, golden dawn, rosicrucians, etc.

SEARCH THE ARCANE ARCHIVE

There are thousands of web pages at the ARCANE ARCHIVE. You can use ATOMZ.COM
to search for a single word (like witchcraft, hoodoo, pagan, or magic) or an
exact phrase (like Kwan Yin, golden ratio, or book of shadows):

Search For:
Match:  Any word All words Exact phrase

OTHER ESOTERIC AND OCCULT SITES OF INTEREST

Southern Spirits: 19th and 20th century accounts of hoodoo, including slave narratives & interviews
Hoodoo in Theory and Practice by cat yronwode: an introduction to African-American rootwork
Lucky W Amulet Archive by cat yronwode: an online museum of worldwide talismans and charms
Sacred Sex: essays and articles on tantra yoga, neo-tantra, karezza, sex magic, and sex worship
Sacred Landscape: essays and articles on archaeoastronomy, sacred architecture, and sacred geometry
Lucky Mojo Forum: practitioners answer queries on conjure; sponsored by the Lucky Mojo Curio Co.
Herb Magic: illustrated descriptions of magic herbs with free spells, recipes, and an ordering option
Association of Independent Readers and Rootworkers: ethical diviners and hoodoo spell-casters
Freemasonry for Women by cat yronwode: a history of mixed-gender Freemasonic lodges
Missionary Independent Spiritual Church: spirit-led, inter-faith, the Smallest Church in the World
Satan Service Org: an archive presenting the theory, practice, and history of Satanism and Satanists
Gospel of Satan: the story of Jesus and the angels, from the perspective of the God of this World
Lucky Mojo Usenet FAQ Archive: FAQs and REFs for occult and magical usenet newsgroups
Candles and Curios: essays and articles on traditional African American conjure and folk magic
Aleister Crowley Text Archive: a multitude of texts by an early 20th century ceremonial occultist
Spiritual Spells: lessons in folk magic and spell casting from an eclectic Wiccan perspective
The Mystic Tea Room: divination by reading tea-leaves, with a museum of antique fortune telling cups
Yronwode Institution for the Preservation and Popularization of Indigenous Ethnomagicology
Yronwode Home: personal pages of catherine yronwode and nagasiva yronwode, magical archivists
Lucky Mojo Magic Spells Archives: love spells, money spells, luck spells, protection spells, etc.
      Free Love Spell Archive: love spells, attraction spells, sex magick, romance spells, and lust spells
      Free Money Spell Archive: money spells, prosperity spells, and wealth spells for job and business
      Free Protection Spell Archive: protection spells against witchcraft, jinxes, hexes, and the evil eye
      Free Gambling Luck Spell Archive: lucky gambling spells for the lottery, casinos, and races