It has come to my attention recently that more and more occult forums are passing along links to illegal downloads of magical books that are still under copyright and are still in print, my books included. It is a difficult topic as there is a need for freely available work that people can get their teeth into, but on the other hand, without some form of financial come back or help, many magical writers would not able to make work available. Many authors find this balance by writing books to be sold, along side making text freely available. The occult market is a niche market, which means unless you are willing to write complete tosh for a mass market, you are going to make very little in financial terms, but often that little bit can go a long way, so it is very important. When that little bit of financial income gets stolen, then it becomes a problem for magicians in general. Why? Here is why. Continue reading
Warnings for aspiring and early magicians – unscrupulous vampires and scapegoats
Various people have contacted me over difficult situations with study groups, workshop leaders and teachers. So rather than tie up my time answering the same questions individually, here is a blog of magical warnings, what to spot, what to look out for and what to avoid as you plough your way those the maze of study. Yes, it’s one of those ‘happy’ posts….. Continue reading
Posted in Magic, Magical Training
Tagged magical groups, magical teachers, magical workshops, neophytes, scapegoats, vampires, warnings
9 Comments
Writing a course for magical students… the unfurling….
When I first set out to put together the materials and people’s contributions towards ‘Choosing a Magical Path’, my intention was to have voices of various teachers, authors and adepts, all in one place, along with some resources, all freely available. It is interesting how things take on a life of their own and this project certainly has! I had meant to just have a couple of basic lessons on each foundation subject of magic so that beginners could set out on their quest to find the right school with some basic skills under their arm. But while I am waiting for the various teachers and adepts to write their articles and essays, I found myself planning out more and more lessons and doing it in a way that I had not expected. Continue reading
Posted in Magic, Magical Training
Tagged choosing a magical path, initate, magical student, Magical teaching, occult training
13 Comments
Choosing a Magical Path – Truth and Consequence
I am currently writing a book of the process of choosing a magical path. The book will be put up on the net as a free download, with additions from other writers, magicians and teachers. It will stay on the web indefinitely as a free resource and will not go into print; this ensures it is free and stays free (publishers are not to keen on authors giving away on line books when they are also up for sale… fair enough). Continue reading
Posted in Magic
Tagged choosing a magical school, magic, magical teachers, training, truth
40 Comments
Demons, Daimons and Matts
Recently I wrote a beginner blog piece on demons, which was a response to a fearful Christianised question that had been posed to me. Because the post was for beginners (and most likely curious teens), I posited that while demons are not ‘evil’ they can be bad, depending upon how you work with them, how you approach them or if you are on the receiving end of one of their actions. The first thing that became apparent, through a blog post by another writer, is that people do not read carefully, do not know their classical language, and also that I was not clear enough in what I was writing. Because this quickly descended down into a chaotic discussion, it became clear that I need to address this properly for readers. Continue reading
Demons, gods, and entities for beginners
A person sent me an email asking a variety of questions, and they are questions that beginners ask me repeatedly. So rather than constantly answering the same questions, I thought it better to answer this latest round of questions through the blog. So let’s have a look at this at a beginner level. Continue reading
Magic and Money
This is a very thorny and contentious issue that has been raising its head around me recently. Through various recent social media conversations and observing certain statements etc, the issues of magic, money and entitlement around teachers, magicians, writers, priests and priestesses proves to be one that still has not found an easy peace. It is a complex debate with lots of twists and turns, so I wanted to spend a little time looking at this to from a purely magical perspective and without prejudice. Continue reading
Posted in Magic, Tarot
Tagged healers, magic, money, occult teachers, spells for sale, tarot readers, workshops
27 Comments
Treading a magical path: the influence of the Sefirot
When a person first steps onto the path of magical training, they quickly come across the Tree of Life. Its names, paths, numbers and attributes are dutifully learned, but it is not made apparent to beginners that having a basic mystical understanding of some of the sefirot can seriously help an aspiring magician choose and work with their magical path in a more engaged and conscious way. Continue reading
Posted in Magic
Tagged Hod, Magical path, Magical training, Netzach, Sefirot, Tree of Life, Yesod
8 Comments
Magic: The Holy Guardian Angel
Some branches of magic dangle the candy of ‘knowing your guardian angel’ better known as ‘knowledge of and conversation with your holy guardian angel’. Aspirants are told that once you achieve this, you will then go on to cross the abyss (a very misunderstood term) and become an all powerful master. The aspirant is then given a long drawn out and complicated ritualised method of achieving this wondrous ideal. As if it could be so simple… follow recipe, plug into angel, get powerful. Pah. Continue reading
Magic and Psychology – Under the Microscope
A lot has been made of psychology and magic, almost to the point whereby the practice becomes all psychology and very little magic. Where is the fine line and how is it best to tread that line for someone coming into magic? Continue reading
Josephine McCarthy 