What is magic?
Voltron!
I’m a magician. Not a pull-a-rabbit-out-of-a-hat, type of magician, but a magician in the lineage of the esoteric mystery tradition. I started this Substack last week and the exact moment that I launched it, became the moment that I suddenly hated everything I’ve ever written and I felt as though I never wanted to post another long-winded anything for as long as this flesh suit still processes oxygen. Over the weekend, I started thinking about how obnoxious it is to constantly hear people prattling on about why you should or shouldn’t do one thing or another. This isn’t to say I won’t one day continue to prove that, as Doc Holiday in, “Tombstone”, might say, “my hypocrisy knows no bounds”, and prattle on myself, but for now, it’s not of interest to me.
As an alternative, I started to think about what makes me interesting and might be a story worth sharing. There’s some meat on that bone, so I sifted through the marbling and the gristle and finally realized something that is so glaringly obvious I was a little embarrassed I hadn’t considered it sooner. “Duh! Jenn! You’re a ceremonial magician! You host bi-weekly occult salons based on esoteric systems of magic, Hermetic Qabala, alchemy, tarot, ceremonial ritual, astrology, scrying, years long magical workings, high magic, elemental magic, light work, etc. I think this qualifies as interesting!” Upon waking this morning, a friend of mine, @vixintheshadows on Instagram, had posted a quote from William Gray’s, “Ladder of Lights”. It states, “The purpose of true Qabala is not for any kind of one-upmanship; but to help us live better, finer, and higher lives as individuating souls in search of our sum and source,” it goes on to say, “A student of Qabala might fairly say to anyone asking his motivations for study; ‘I am looking for myself. The one I ought to have been in the first place, and mean to become at the last day of my life. My Alpha and Omega. There is nothing more I can say than that.” This was far too much of a coincidence, (or as the mystically inclined might say, “synchronicity”), for me to ignore. It was decided; My next entry must be about magic.
Magic, as I practice it, is an all-encompassing term for self-alchemy. Another way it could be described is that it’s essentially, one of the world’s ancient versions of self-help. Truth be told, there is no one answer for the question, “What is magic?” You will find as many answers to that question as you find magicians. Often magic is considered a nefarious manipulation of dark forces for the aggrandizement of the magician. And while admittedly, there are magi who work with darkness, this is by-and-large, intellectually dishonest, negligent propaganda. It is nothing short of - though not limited to - dogmatic, organized religion’s (once again) bold attempt to retain the reigns of power. It’s no different than Christian’s taking over pagan holidays and conducting witch hunts upon innocent humans in the name of, “delivering us from evil”. In truth, the magician is not interested in wielding the forces of darkness to smite one’s enemies or procure all of the world’s gold. The true magician understands the dangers and foolishness of such endeavors. The core intent of magic, to my mind, is to focus ones will upon oneself and to harness that will to the best of their ability. This is executed with the goal in mind that one may walk in alignment with their own greatest good and highest purpose, as their most authentic and regulated self. There is little else in this world that I find more worthy a cause.
And now, I present Voltron as hermetic guide and as an example of one of the core tenets of magic. Several philosophies from all parts of the globe espouse this idea, but I’m a sentient child of the 80’s with a lot of trauma, who used pop culture of the time as a tool for escapism, resulting in it also becoming a framework for the big thoughts rummaging around my brain. Thoughts I wasn’t ready for, nor able to articulate. In hermetic qabala, there is much speak of The One and The All. This is a microcosmic - macrocosmic tale as old as time. I believe that humans are miniature universes, all of us existing within a larger universe, ad infinitum. The human universes, while perfect little packages of everything unto themselves, are almost to a person, out of balance. Of course, there are always exceptions, no demographic is a monolith. It is our jobs, while on this plane, to do our very best to sort out that imbalance. We aim to rectify the imbalance within and as we start to do so, pieces of The All, start to gravitate toward one another. We are naturally drawn toward frequencies and vibrations that fit with our own. Notice the language there, “that fit,” not, “that are the same”. As these more and more healed / regulated / rectified versions of self, are drawn together, they start to slowly unify, become one. Not as homogenized, cookie cutter versions of one thing, but as billions of individual things that have their own idiosyncrasies that are unique to them, and when brought together, they fit together like puzzle-pieces, creating something more meaningful and intrinsically powerful than the sum of its’ parts. We become Voltron. Ta-da! Voltron is a seemingly unstoppable mega-robot, not made up of sheep or of identical parts. Nobody needs 14 elbows, although … oooooh fun! Voltron is so powerful because it’s made up of unique elements, different entities all exhibiting their unique specialties, coming together for a greater cause and purpose, and all operating at their highest versions of themselves. And this is what magic aims to achieve. Self - alchemy. Breaking oneself down, deeply knowing thyself so that one might master thyself in hopes to become one’s highest self. So it is!
I am doing my best to keep these easily digestible. I promise I will write more about magic and hermetic qabala in the days to come, but for now I will leave you with a reading suggestion. It is short and easily accessible: “The Kybalion,” by Three Initiates. This little tome, will change your life for the better. It covers the seven hermetic principles and if read in earnest, is the quickest way to jump start your path to the exquisite torment and luxury that is self-regulation.
- She Said With Love