Class III. Foundations of Magick
“Any sufficiently advanced science is indistinguishable from magic.” —Arthur C. Clark- Introduction: Perspective,
Reverence, and Humility
(By Bob Gratrix)ECOMING A WIZARD IS A TRICKY
thing. Some who are attracted to
the idea of becoming a Wizard
want to gain power or to impress
others. But a true Wizard starts
from the understanding that any
human being, no matter how
knowledgeable and powerful, is
still just one small and temporary being in a Universe
that is currently thought to be about 14.1 billion years
old and about 88 quadrillion miles across.
As his or her knowledge grows, a Wizard sees
more and more that the proper relationship to the vast
and mysterious Universe is awe, humility, and rever-
ence. It is astounding, beautiful, and precious that we
humans have consciousness and are able to grow as
we do into such complex personalities, to accumulate
knowledge and skills such as Wizardry.
To be a Wizard is to acknowledge that everything
is alive and everything is connected. We’ll talk more
about that later. What that means is that the proper
orientation to everything, including other people, is
respectfulness and humility. A true Wizard doesn’t
lord over other people or seek attention just because
he or she has gained a little knowledge. Always re-
member that however much we learn, however skilled
we become in the art of Wizardry, what we do not
know will always be vastly more than what we do
Life is, among other things, a process. Out of the
state of our beings we experience and observe that a
cycle of change and transformation is at work, a shared
state of being and becoming. A Wizard is at the work
of creation, and his tools are essentially those of per-
ception, self-knowledge, and natural law. A Wizard’s
fingers can touch the heartbeat of Life itself and know
both its powers and frailties, the careful balance that
exists in all growing things. Within that knowing lies
the potential for transformation and acceleration of
the natural processes that are at work. These transfor-
mations are the essence of magick and creation, they
are life affirming and courageous acts that can bring
changes both great and small. It is the ability to speak
the magickal incantations that banishes torment from
the troubled, the ability to see and levitate that which
is falling down, the energy and insight to remove that
which blocks the flow of what Life is at work at. It is for
all this and so much more, a Wizard creates rituals soany number of others may share in an expression of
their humanity and dignity before these life forces.
Our lives are our most intimate works of creation,
and like sculptors we hold fine images of just whom
we would represent to the world. We have some idea
of our highest vision of our Self, a familiarity with the
glorious gift that we carry into the world and our hope
to revel in all that we are beneath this golden Sun.
While we are at this creative work, if we are to con-
tinue to grow, we must step back from time to time to
see how we are shaping up. We need to see what
needs to be changed next in our personal evolution.
We need to look deeply into the concepts and beliefs
that we have accepted as true and challenge those
ideas with what we now know of ourselves, making
whatever adjustments are supported by our self-ex-
amination. We look for patterns that define the themes
that are working their way through us, to see who we
are and what we are becoming. We look for patterns in
our behaviors and perspective that bind us to what
we are manifesting. And we use these same powers of
examination and reception outwardly, so that the es-
sence of that which surrounds us can be recognized
for exactly what it is.Lesson 2: Seeing and Thinking
like a WizardThe real voyage of discovery consists not in
seeking new lands but in seeing with new eyes.
—Marcel ProustIf you’ve seen models or pictures of a brain, you
know that there are two halves—the cerebral hemi-
spheres. The left side of the brain (which controls the
right side of the body, and the right hand) is all about
logical, rational thinking. Mathematics, written lan-
guage, speech, mechanics, science, and politics are all
associated with the right brain, and so we “see” all
this stuff with our “left eye.” Scientists, mathemati-
cians, mechanics, accountants, and politicians are all
said to be very “left brain.”
The right side of the brain, on the other hand
(ha!) is all about intuitive, mystical awareness. Art,
pictures, symbols, music, singing, poetry, magic,
dreams, visions, and psychic experiences are all asso-
ciated with the right brain, and so we “see” all this
stuff with our “right eye.” Artists, musicians, mystics,
and poets are said to be very “right brain.” The right
brain controls the left hand.
Try closing one eye and holding your head still,Corrected pages 3rd printing.1.p65 11 6/10/2004, 2:59 PM