Magicians are Opinionated Assholes

We want what we want harder than most people. We value our desires in ways that others don't. We look at all the "you can't do that" comments in life, and we're like, "who says? I do what I want." It's what drives us to accomplish the Great Work, to become a Power upon the Earth in this life and beyond, because we are driven to create the world as we see fit. That drive, that urge that compels us to become empowered magicians to clearly express our wills upon the Earth... that is what sets us apart from everyone else. We are arrogant enough to think we should be more godlike... because (really, underneath it all) we know full well that we could do better.

Because we are better, I'm sure you'll agree.

As a result though, we magicians tend to have large opinions, for very good reasons. It should be no surprise that someone who is putting themselves through the rigorous and often painful process of the Great Work - refining the self, releasing the powers of creation, attaining the wisdom to use it well - is going to be pretty sure about themselves. The traits that make us good at this kind of thing are amazing powers of self confidence, and full awareness of our basic god-like natures.

A group of powerful egomaniacs with really healthy levels of self-esteem are likely to behave a lot like we really do in real life. Take offense, give hexes. Fortunately, most of it is harmless, because the kind of people who take offense and curse others are usually interacting with folks at about or slightly less than their own levels of attainment. So they curse each other with the same levels of technology, with the same levels of initiatory force, and end up basically sending the kind of shit that the other people are already capable of deflectinvg and banishing with their own levels of attainment.

I think this shit happens most at the adolescent stage of the development of the magician. After you've got some power and some wisdom, but before you've come to really integrate the fullness of the spheres you're working with. Around the time when you have discovered you can change the world so fucking easily, but you haven't been doing it for long enough to understand how the long term consequences will unravel your best intentions. It seems to be the people who've been doing this magic shit for about a decade or so, with some years as an armchair mage, some years as a dabbler, and then a couple years studying grimoires and a few months to a couple of years worth of actually conjuring spirits and getting results.

But when you get through the Seven Spheres a few times and start scratching at the Eighth sphere, you grow past this phase. You realize other magicians have other things to do, that we're all doing our thing, and that we are most powerful ruling our own world, and how futile it is to fuck with anyone else.

That's why Jason and I disagree about things and never hate each other or curse each other. We both have reached the phase where we appreciate the differences of other magicians' opinions, and we've realized that once someone has K&CHGA you can't really curse them anyway. At least not with any decent, ego-appeasing effect. We save our hexery for those moments when it will be effective, and enjoyable. We don't waste time on bullshit.

Unless we want to. Then we get all evil.

I recently heard about some bullshit in my sphere. A couple mage friends a couple degrees removed from me and my Elite Group of Super Advanced Magi Who Are at Least Out of Our Adolesence(TM) are going through shit. Because they're angry. And hurt. So they're going to throw curses.

I advocate a Thunderdome experience for folks like that. Two magi enter, two bruised and slightly embarrased, but wiser magi leave. I think it's healthy, the whole "as brothers, fight" thing.

But honestly, it's childish.

Fuckin' kids.