silentwolf
03-05-2006, 05:07 AM
There are considered to be two paths of magic, generally speaking: High Magic, or Ritual, and Low Magic, which is on-the-spot working. Both have their benefits and their weaknesses.
There is quite a bit of misconception about the two today, because it seems that the lesser magic form has been lost due to a variety of reasons...the main one being that those who know how to work it are greatly unable to find those who are willing to practice it. High Magic has persisted because it has been fashionable, as it was practiced by those who live in cities and tended to gather socially - plus it was made quite popular by Crowley and Gardner.
Yes, Gardner; Wicca is absolutely a form of High Magic because of the intense amount of ritual involved with it. Almost none of Wicca is on the spot weaving - it all calls for an alter, a plethora of supplies, offerings to the gods, that sort of thing - the fact that you plan it and structure it is what makes it High Magic.
Low Magic is done on the spot, intuitively; you are simultaneously guided by the Ether while you are guiding it, so it feels very natural. There is no attempt at barriers, because it is very much like looming a rug - you weave, and adapt your weaving to the material as the thread thins or changes colors. It is very difficult to instruct others in because of this. It is also very difficult to affect someone proficient in Low Magic with High Magic for this same reason.
They can see it coming, and weave it into another form before the ritual is complete, or continue re-weaving it long after the ritual is over.
A couple of nights ago, probably in response to my posts on psychic vampirism, someone of High Magic decided to vent their malevolent feelings into me. The energy was, red, hot, misty; it smelled of oil and some spice that I cannot place. At the time, I was doing Five Gates Breath and preparing to go to sleep.
It was an intense energy that I had to deal with, focused down between my crown and my third eye. It was meant to penetrate and tear apart; whether or not whomever she was that was doing this was well-practiced, there was enough emotion there to harm me if I didn't deal with it.
So I began to weave the energy as it struck me.
I've been very worn out lately; normally I can just transmute the energy with ease, but I was too tired. So I had to reach into the individual threads of it, and slowly convert their vibration until they shined with a glossy, electric blue. I continued the process down the entire wave, back to its source, continued weaving.
She was in front of an altar, on her knees, something in her hands...a dagger in the right, and something in the left she had been cutting from. She was crying, rocking back and forth. There were words, or something, that I could not distinguish - but she seemed to be in pain. Regret poured from her, and regret is agonizing - it tears you apart. So I comforted her as much as I possibly could.
I was just tired. I didn't watch her anymore. I spun my sphere a few times to clear it, and I went to sleep.
High Magic takes a lot of planning - it can be very potent on a large scale or small scale depending on how much time you put into it and how long you can hold your attention to it. You have to become the ritual in the process, and forget why you were doing it in the first place.
Low Magic takes no planning - in an instant you are swept away and become the action of change. I would that I could find more information on the subject, but it is very difficult because not many are willing or knowledgeable when it comes to sharing.
There is quite a bit of misconception about the two today, because it seems that the lesser magic form has been lost due to a variety of reasons...the main one being that those who know how to work it are greatly unable to find those who are willing to practice it. High Magic has persisted because it has been fashionable, as it was practiced by those who live in cities and tended to gather socially - plus it was made quite popular by Crowley and Gardner.
Yes, Gardner; Wicca is absolutely a form of High Magic because of the intense amount of ritual involved with it. Almost none of Wicca is on the spot weaving - it all calls for an alter, a plethora of supplies, offerings to the gods, that sort of thing - the fact that you plan it and structure it is what makes it High Magic.
Low Magic is done on the spot, intuitively; you are simultaneously guided by the Ether while you are guiding it, so it feels very natural. There is no attempt at barriers, because it is very much like looming a rug - you weave, and adapt your weaving to the material as the thread thins or changes colors. It is very difficult to instruct others in because of this. It is also very difficult to affect someone proficient in Low Magic with High Magic for this same reason.
They can see it coming, and weave it into another form before the ritual is complete, or continue re-weaving it long after the ritual is over.
A couple of nights ago, probably in response to my posts on psychic vampirism, someone of High Magic decided to vent their malevolent feelings into me. The energy was, red, hot, misty; it smelled of oil and some spice that I cannot place. At the time, I was doing Five Gates Breath and preparing to go to sleep.
It was an intense energy that I had to deal with, focused down between my crown and my third eye. It was meant to penetrate and tear apart; whether or not whomever she was that was doing this was well-practiced, there was enough emotion there to harm me if I didn't deal with it.
So I began to weave the energy as it struck me.
I've been very worn out lately; normally I can just transmute the energy with ease, but I was too tired. So I had to reach into the individual threads of it, and slowly convert their vibration until they shined with a glossy, electric blue. I continued the process down the entire wave, back to its source, continued weaving.
She was in front of an altar, on her knees, something in her hands...a dagger in the right, and something in the left she had been cutting from. She was crying, rocking back and forth. There were words, or something, that I could not distinguish - but she seemed to be in pain. Regret poured from her, and regret is agonizing - it tears you apart. So I comforted her as much as I possibly could.
I was just tired. I didn't watch her anymore. I spun my sphere a few times to clear it, and I went to sleep.
High Magic takes a lot of planning - it can be very potent on a large scale or small scale depending on how much time you put into it and how long you can hold your attention to it. You have to become the ritual in the process, and forget why you were doing it in the first place.
Low Magic takes no planning - in an instant you are swept away and become the action of change. I would that I could find more information on the subject, but it is very difficult because not many are willing or knowledgeable when it comes to sharing.