Practical Magics Revisited

Ok, so setting aside the man-godness for a bit, let's focus on the good old fashioned practical magic that I have known and loved for so long.

The Secret to Making Some Relationships Better

I recently mused aloud on FB that I was running out of things to do magic about. I was talking specifically about the kind of major dramas that generally distract us from the things we'd rather be doing. For example, my divorce from my ex just got fast tracked, and will be finalized in a couple weeks rather than another six months. I had just done some magic towards that end last Saturday, and by Tuesday I was sitting across from my ex putting it all down on paper. Ex and I agreed on all the important bits, right down to the dollar amount of child support.

Earlier today I got assigned a task at my bank job that will take a couple years to complete. That's an unofficial contract extension, with the potential to turn into a permanent position. I'm also looking at my ROpocalypse implementation over the next 10 months. I have conferences and teaching gigs set up every month between now and November, I think. I have time now for the first time in months to focus on getting all caught up on my client Work, my open writing projects, and to lay the foundation for the next phase of writing projects.

I'm also in the midst of some intense Great Work stuff. I'm learning to implement the 8th Sphere lessons in neat ways that include breathing techniques, visualizations, and ... uh, empowerments. I'm working with the Universal Solvent, the Solution to all things that bother us, and also this embodiment of the connective Light that shines on all things. I'm learning to put a really cool ecstatic feeling into practical use, and it feels like coming home. All good things that I can't talk about because I'm still learning, and don't have enough data points or practical tech to share.

So basically, I don't have a lot left to deal with. Jason brought up in the comments on my FB post that I have service to others Work to do, and while I don't talk about it, there are a lot of folks reading this right now who are intimately aware of the personal work I do on the behalf of the world. And there are a lot of you who don't know how much I've done for you, and that's fine. I don't talk about it because I do it for non public reasons.

He also mentioned ongoing financial needs. There is always a need for money for something. I'm good though. The magics I've done have set me up nicely, not just in terms of having plenty, but also in the skills and means to make more when necessary.

The comments on the post from everyone were cool. You can tell a lot about people by where their attention turns when money is not an issue. One person suggested a harem of a hundred exotic women. I already am with the most amazing exotic woman ever. She's worth a hundred harems. Another suggested crossing the abyss, which I had done the first year after K&CHGA.

The name of this graphic is "Volcanic Bridges Across the Abyss"
I took the Solar Road to Binah, M'Self

The questions that were most interesting to me were about time. Those came from people interested in doing it themselves, or who've been doing it, and that rocks.

How long did it take? I don't know. 40-ish years of life, 20-plus years of occult study, 7-8 years of occult practice, and most recently,starting from scratch in August 2012. So, 5 months with a good framework in place.

That's what I think we should focus on. The basic occult framework necessary. 

Money is the first thing that people think they need. Troubles? Throw money at it! Jupiter rites for the win! And they get money but still have problems.

Love is a close second. This shit wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for that asshole/bitch/if I weren't alone! Venus rites for the sexorz! And they get laid and still have problems.

Basically, we ask for the wrong things. We don't know what we need to fix the problems. We try to solve things additively rather than holistically. We try to fix problems we don't understand.

So the first thing we need is a better understanding. There are rites that bring wisdom and insight that are great for single issues, rites of the Sun and rites of Saturn. But your actual issues aren't confined to a single sphere. Our lives are the manifestations of the seven spheres working together. Problems in your life are indicative of a general miasma more often than a single planet out of balance.

So your basic occult practice should be focused on balancing and healing all your issues in each of the spheres. Gradually, not all at once. I weighed 220 when my ex and I split up. I packed on that weight one bite at a time for 12 years. I've lost 30 pounds of that in 5 months, which looks good, and feels even better. 

But it's not phenomenal. I still have another 20 pounds to go to get to my target weight. I found a way to shed almost a pound a day, if I eat certain foods and work out a specific amount, so I should be there by early March. It took me a while to get to this weight, and to figure out how my body responds to foods and exercises. Now it's melting like butter in a pan.

Your problems rarely come into being overnight. Why would we expect them to go away over night?

I recommend seven spheres over five weeks. As you perform the conjurations of the spirits, their forces will stir up the things in your sphere that need work. Their presence will also heal you and empower you. It is the great work.

As you do this work, you will find that you are getting smarter. You will see the sources of your issues more clearly. You will find ways to eliminate sources of suffering, freeing up space in your life and your attention to create opportunities for pleasurable experiences instead. You will learn to work with the forces of the planets in your own sphere to create awesome lives.

This is the true power of magic to make your life better, to eliminate suffering, and to create opportunities for Joy. 

In the Planetary Gates rites, I provide a simple set of rites to implement this process. I'm putting together a more streamlined process for a boot camp of sorts. Five weeks, seven spheres. More on that soon.

But this kind of work is healthy. Like exercise, it can be uncomfortable at first, but it gets better quickly, and you get healthier. The more you do, the more you can do.

And as you cycle through the spheres on a regular basis, you continue the process of refining yourself, cleaning yourself up, purifying yourself. You're like a lens that focuses the light and projects it through (in both directions). Dirty lenses don't focus as well, and the Work cleans that up nicely. The clearer you get, the better you can project your own inner light into the world, and the more you can enjoy the experience of the results of that projection as you walk it out in real time and space.

This then is the best secret to successful practical magic to get you the financial and emotional stability you seek: do magic to be a better you. Not to be someone else's idea of perfect, fuck that shit. Just do the magic that makes you an awesome you.

That magic is the Great Work.