What is the energetic cost of practicing Magic?

[smallsteps]

Hello,

 

I am a total newbie on these topics (energetics and magic). I came across a letter Dion Fortune wrote to Israel Regardie on a Golden Dawn website yesterday. She was basically stating that A. Crowley had a kidney disease caused by his practice of magic, and that it was very common to magicians.

 

Is anyone aware of this and able to explain further?

 

Thanks!

[EmeraldHead]

maybe caused by his lack of celibacy and basically his "whenever sex with almost everything" lifestyle. I do not know.

Edited August 24, 2016 by Arramu

[smallsteps]

Thank you for your comment but it doesn't really seem to be connected to the practice of magic. I'll try to find again the Dion Fortune letter so that everyone can directly react to it.

[Forwards]

Using magic/k uses up internal energies. This happens whether you use only inner or external processes. If all you do is use and never build and replenish then you start encountering problems.

[rex]

There's a book on this:

https://www.amazon.com/Magical-Healing-Survival-Magicians-Healers/dp/1940671434/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1472063888

[smallsteps]

Thank you , I understand and I'll check the book out.

[Nungali]

Firstly, dont listen to opinions of those that dont know the subject matter.   Fortune liked Regardie and poo pooed Crowley (like a lit of people did) . Crowley had a range of sicknesses, as did many of his place and time - thats why they were always running off on adventures to healthier climates and places - if they were rich  - I dont recall 'kidney disease' being a complaint * . 

 

There is no reason at all that practicing magic would effect your kidneys.  Some of his little group suffered from bad water at their 'abbey', more lack of hygine than magic. Also he traveled all over the place and mountaineered, picked up diseases then . 

 

Lack of celibacy ?     here we go !    The favorite Daobums subject !  Ha har!   I been non celebate to an 'extreme degree' AND practiced magic  - kidneys fine.

 

Replenishing energy     anyone that read a scrap of Crowley would realize that is exactly what a lot of the  rituals he recommended are doing, I mean your basic preliminary before doing anything involves drawing in  'divine white light' (as Regardie put it , at times) from above down into the crown chakra and trough and out into the body.

 

I have never, in 40 years of being familiar with the subject, ever heard that kidney disease is common with magicians .

 

But Dion Fortune IS a bit of an 'old biddy ' .... I dont think she approved of  cognac, cigars, billiards, and 'loose women '  ..... or smoking hashish    

 

Beastly things they are !  

 

[Nungali]

I had a quick look at the book recommended. Here is a quick hint for you. 

 

At one stage I did suffer exhaustion;  but it was more due to interaction with people and helping them - not so much j'ust doing magic' . I was at a festival we were putting on; so organisation and preparation,  multiple one after another tarot readings (and some of the issues that people had and arose !  I mean serious shit to deal with !  One was a multiple rape victim !  Then there were heaps of people wanting/ needing massage / body work, and not enough people doing it, so I  started doing that in between as well.

 

I was sinking and loosing energy. But then I noticed the body workers near me .. one woman was a powerhouse !  She didnt stop and got MORE energy from doing it - she was GLOWING !  I enede up sitting in the bottom of a shower stall under cold water trying to regen.   I talked to superwoman later and she taught me a valuable lesson;

 

"You arent trying to do all that with your own energy ?  No wonder you feel low !  Just be  conduit for the energy. " 

 

Hmmmm .... I thought about that, yes.  If one is connected to the source of Universal Energy, or whatever you want to call it ( divine white light , God, the center of the Universe, Dao, whatever )  it cant be depleted, just 'cycled  around' and you, like an old garden hose that now has energized and pure water gushing through it .... will eventually become cleaned out on the inside as well. 

 

[ The same principle even fixed our farm water pipes !  ;  ( I was skeptical but the company gave us a special 3 year money back if not satisfied deal. Got the water tested every 3 months .... e-coli count went down to 0 eventually ,,,, still using the system. 

 

http://www.grander.com.au/     ]

[Forwards]

I don't know much about Crowley, but I do know that tweaking reality has a "cost." Whether you take someone else's or use your own. I may have drained myself a few times learning that... Haha

 

But I definitely agree that it's much more effective to use other energies so as to not get stuck with the tab.

[Aetherous]

What we call magic is, in fact, risky stuff.

But so is life itself.

[Nungali]

I don't know much about Crowley, but I do know that tweaking reality has a "cost." 

 

yes,  I didnt want to get wet the other day when it rained  , the umbrella cost me $16  . 

[Kar3n]

...

 

"You arent trying to do all that with your own energy ?  No wonder you feel low !  Just be  conduit for the energy. " 

 

Hmmmm .... I thought about that, yes.  If one is connected to the source of Universal Energy, or whatever you want to call it ( divine white light , God, the center of the Universe, Dao, whatever )  it cant be depleted, just 'cycled  around' and you, like an old garden hose that now has energized and pure water gushing through it .... will eventually become cleaned out on the inside as well. 

 

...

 

Yes, yes, and yes!

 

Thank you, I have never seen the need to store energy, for this very reason.

[Cheshire Cat]

Crowley was heavily on drugs... maybe it was just that.

[roger]

Smallsteps,

 

My only caution would be to practice magic responsibly and never unethically.

 

If you put a curse on someone to get revenge, you've just committed spiritual suicide imo.

 

If you want a certain person as a sexual partner, and you cast a spell to get them, you've sacrificed your power.

 

I feel that there are wiser, more self-loving ways to empower oneself and to manifest desires than magic, but that's just my personal preference, and it's definitely true imo that magic is the right path for some people.

 

Follow your heart, follow your bliss, do what gives you peace and joy.

 

One more thing is that, for some people, magic is a phase they go through and learn from. I'm sure there are many valuable lessons that can be learned from it.

[rex]

Thank you , I understand and I'll check the book out.

You're welcome! Please excuse the following unsolicited reading recommendations but since concerns have been raised, then there's this article on different practices and disciplines - needless to say it's not all about getting rich, getting laid and exalting egoic whims:

http://galabes.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/the-scope-of-occultism-part-one.html (It starts off a bit rambly, the meat of it starts half way through).

There's also this on discernment:

http://rjstewart.net/unseen_worlds.htm

Edited August 25, 2016 by rex

[smallsteps]

Thank you everyone for your very interesting posts !

I don't practice Magic/k and I am just scratching the surface of body energetics, I asked out of curiosity because Magic/k seems a fascinating world to me but too far from what I am. I don't plan to practice Magic/k anytime soon but I like reading about it.

[RiverSnake]

Crowley was heavily on drugs... maybe it was just that.

 

Yes, dude was a drug addict.....also yes magick done in an imbalanced way can cause any number of "life problems". That being said, if done skillfully, Magick can help make your life an amazing abode of Bliss and Joy. 

Edited August 25, 2016 by OldChi

[RiverSnake]

Useful: https://www.amazon.com/Magical-Healing-Survival-Magicians-Healers/dp/1940671434/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1472134057&sr=1-3&keywords=Magicians+health 

[smallsteps]

Thanks,

 

 That being said if done skillfully, Magick can help make your life an amazing abode Bliss and Joy. 

 

Can you elaborate a bit more?

[RiverSnake]

Sorry, but no spoon feeding, gotta go on that adventure yourself.  

[smallsteps]

Spoon feeding?....

 

Fine, thanks anyway.

[Eques Peregrinus]

Spoon feeding?....

 

The term "spoon feeding" is used, because speaking of "breastfeeding someone" as a male could leave a weird aftertaste.

 

 

PS: This book is great. It was available online for a while on the author website, but she had to remove it when it was published on paperback.

[StingingNettle]

Hello,

 

I am a total newbie on these topics (energetics and magic). I came across a letter Dion Fortune wrote to Israel Regardie on a Golden Dawn website yesterday. She was basically stating that A. Crowley had a kidney disease caused by his practice of magic, and that it was very common to magicians.

 

Is anyone aware of this and able to explain further?

 

Thanks!

 

Healers expel a lot of their own energy and can do damage to themselves over time.  This is another reason why keeping up with 8-section brocade and chi-kung are very important to avoid issues. 

Edited August 26, 2016 by StingingNettle

[smallsteps]

The term "spoon feeding" is used, because speaking of "breastfeeding someone" as a male could leave a weird aftertaste.

 

Thanks Aques Peregrinus, I knew the meaning of that expression.

 

Only I didn't see the point of answering that way, I wasn't asking for some esoteric information. But I am totally fine with the 'spoon feeding' answer. We can choose the questions we ask, not the answers we receive !

[Nungali]

Hey small steps , I dont mind sharing my small bowl .

 

One  way of finding that 'abode'  (which isnt that different from the goal of other paths ) is to find ones 'true purpose , reason for being here, mode of expression, life's work or mission,  ' and to express that creatively with you own expression ( or 'genius' ) , to rise in a balanced way to your fullest expression  , etc . '  Crowley termed it   a seeking, finding and expression of one's " True Will " . 

 

There are many paths and practices towards it , some advocate specific ones, others an eclectic approach (* see  chart below )   .  

 

For some easy reading on this, and relating to the sort of magical approaches Crowley advocated (and to cut through the sensationalism )  I recommend these two  little  pieces ;  

 

http://hermetic.com/crowley/libers/lib30.html

 

http://hermetic.com/crowley/equinox/i/ii/eqi02016.html

 

*  

YOGA AND MAGIC

I. Yoga is the art of uniting the mind to a single idea. It has four methods.

Gnana-Yoga. Union by Knowledge. Raja-Yoga. Union by Will. Bhakta-Yoga. Union by Love. Hatha-Yoga. Union by Courage. add Mantra-Yoga. Union through Speech. Karma-Yoga. Union through Work.

These are united by the supreme method of Silence.

 

II. Ceremonial Magic is the art of uniting the mind to a single idea.

It has four Methods.

The Holy Qabalah. Union by Knowledge. The Sacred Magic. Union by Will. The Acts of Worship. Union by Love. The Ordeals. Union by Courage. add The Invocations. Union by Speech. The Acts of Service. Union through Work.

These are united by the supreme method of Silence. {199}

 

III. If this idea be any but the Supreme and Perfect idea, and the student lose control, the result is insanity, obsession, fanaticism, or paralysis and death (add addiction to gossip and incurable idleness), according to the nature of the failure.

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPKQJQWQhKo

Edited August 27, 2016 by Nungali