Devotional Witchcraft 101: What is Magic, Anyway?

In these posts I’ll be talking about my own particular personal tradition.  I call it Devotional Witchcraft, and it blends concepts from Wicca, Unitarian Universalism,  general NeoPaganism, process theology, natural magic, a wee bit of ceremonial magic,  a bit of Eastern thought,  my own imagination, and a dash of pop culture.  (Combine in a neurotypical brain and shake well.)  As always, I am speaking purely from my own 30 years of experience in the Witchly arts.  Others view magic differently and have very different histories.  

I’ve been asked a number of times over the years, “If magic really works, why aren’t Witches all rich and happy?”

The question itself, I feel, both ignores how many different ways there are to have a fulfilling life and shows a fundamental misunderstanding of how magic works and what it is for.

My current definition of magic:

The art of using metaphysical energies to influence probability.

The universe exists as a vast web of probabilities that is woven in every moment.  Any given choice you make could yield a dozen different possible futures depending on the others involved, the complexity of the issue, and how much energy and work you put into it.  The idea when doing magic is that you are trying to tip the scales so that the possibility you want to see manifest becomes a higher and higher probability.

Now, depending on how many other influences there are on the situation and the strength of the opposition to your desires, you have a better or lesser chance of getting what you want.  A lot can get between you and your ideal life, especially yourself! 

That’s why we add tools, colors, herbs, et cetera; every natural ally and layer of symbolism you enlist increases the energy you have to work with to put toward your goal.  In my tradition I also ask for help from the Goddess, but not all Witches (or other magical practitioners) work with deities and some work with other sorts of beings.  

Meanwhile, while your spell is cooking, you also get off your ass and work for the goal in the mundane world, because the idea is to increase probability, not wait for stuff to fall in your lap.  

For example:

You have decided you really, really want a new job, so you do a big complicated spell to get one, then sit down and wait for phone calls. 

Will that work?

Highly unlikely.  I mean it’s possible – anything is – but it’s incredibly improbable. 

How do you make it more probable?  You do things like looking at job listings, talking to contacts in whatever industry, then putting in applications and interviewing, following up, yadda yadda.  You know, you do the work.  

So how does that spell you did actually help?  Well, think of it as another thing you’re doing to add to the mix to get the job you need.  You already do things like rehearsing for your interview, boning up on the company itself, and looking swanky when you go in to meet the interviewer.  Now, you’ve also added magical energy to the pot, and that gives you a boost.   The more you put into the spell, the bigger the boost.

Will it miraculously land you a job?  I’d be lying if I said it can’t.  It’s happened to me.  Most often, magic works through coincidences and “it just so happened” events more than through the ostentatiously miraculous.  Things happen faster and turn out better than you expected. You seem lucky to the outside world.  Magic likes to put the right amount of pressure in the right place at the right time, and to make connections between things that might not otherwise line up.  

Whether someone appears happy or wealthy or not, you have no idea what they’ve overcome already with the help of their magic.  We are each a work in progress.  We have to choose where to put our energy, and sometimes spellwork isn’t a priority.  If you’re like me, you have an illness that is every moment sapping your will to endure, so you can’t always get it up, metaphysically speaking.   Sometimes I choose to use my inner resources on magic, and sometimes I just have to go to bed and try again tomorrow.

Magic is an art and a tool, not a fairy wand that poofs your desires into existence.  When you really want something, you do everything you can to help yourself get it; if you’re a Witch, that means have additional means at your disposal.   

At the same time, magic is not (in my experience) just imposing your will on the universe to “make” things happen.  Magic is a sacred art.  You use not only your own energy but that of nature and, when I do it at least, help from the Goddess.  My view of deity is that god is a process, not a thing – constantly changing, unfolding, evolving, and always seeking to experience the world through Her children.  (More on my theology in future posts.)  

Some people think that magic is just in your head, that it’s all imagination and not “real.”  I say, “…so?”  Whether the energy I’m moving around is objectively “real” or not, shit gets done.  Not to be all Matrix-y or anything but “what is real,” anyway?  Working with magic is empowering and uplifting and helps me become more of the person I want to be.  Whether I’m right about how it works or not is, honestly, irrelevant to me.  A worldview with gods and magic makes sense to me and moves my spirit.  I don’t expect anyone else to believe what I do.

(I’ll be pointing this out again when I talk about God, by the way.  Stay tuned. )