18 Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard
And Wizardry has always happily embraced both.
Both sides of the brain—both eyes wide open.
The word magick itself somes from the Zoroas-
trian priests of ancient Persia, who were called Magi.
The Magi were famous for their powerrs of healing
and divination—especially astrology. They believed
that the cosmos was both alive and Divine, and they
revered the planets, stars, and other heavenly bodies.
The “Three Wise Men” who brought gifts to the new-
born Jesus in Bethlehem were Persian Magi.The Persian word magus (meaning ‘priest’ and
‘fire worshipper’) was adapted into Greek as
magos (meaning a ‘wise one,’ ‘wizard’ or ‘jug-
gler’). Demonstrations, feats or traits ‘of a Wiz-
ard’ were said to be magikos, and it was this Greek
root that was westernized into magic and magical.
—Tom Ogden (Wizards & Sorcery, p. 129)Glossary of Magickal Concepts
Okay, now it’s time for another little mini-glossary.
The following words and concepts are going to be
important to understanding the following Lessons:Paradigm: A paradigm is a philosophical model or
world-view by which other things are understood.
For instance, as silly as it seems now, throughout
the Middle Ages the widely held paradigm of the
solar system was that the Earth was in the center,
and the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars all revolved
around us on a series of concentric transparent
crystal spheres, like different-sized light bulbs on
spinning glass eggshells. Everything that people
experienced and believed in had to somehow fit
that paradigm, and anything that couldn’t be made
to fit had to be ignored—or outlawed.
Meme: Memes are units of ideas. These are “mental
genes” that people pass on, ideas or paradigms that
seem to fight to ensure their own existence. This
word was coined by Richard Dawkins of Oxford
University in his 1976 book, The Selfish Gen.
Analogy: An analogy is a comparison between two
different things (called analogs) by noting some
point of similarity. We’ll say, this is like that, only
different. Most riddles are based on analogies, such
as “A box without hinges, lock or lid, yet golden
treasure inside is hid.” The answer is “egg,” and
the analog is a treasure chest. Because Wizards
see hidden patterns, many things can be viewed
this way as analogs, and so Wizards often seem to
others to be “speaking in riddles.”
Metaphor: A metaphor is a comparison in which one
thing is said to be another (rather than just be like
another). We say, this is that. Metaphors enable us
to see things in whole new ways and open up newpossibilities. When Shakespeare said “All the
world’s a stage,” he gave us an important perspec-
tive to see ourselves as actors in a cosmic drama.
Allegory: Allegories are teaching stories in which
characters, things, and happenings in the story
stand for other things in real life. Fables are very
popular allegories in which animals represent dif-
ferent types of people. Paradigms, analogies,
metaphors, and allegories are all different kinds
of conceptual maps we draw in our minds. The
important thing to remember here is that the map
is not the territory—and the menu is not the meal!
Many people do not get this, but Wizards do.
Paradox: A paradox is something that seems to be
self-contradictory and therefore absurd, but may
in fact point to a deeper or hidden truth. One of
the most famous examples is the time travel para-
dox: If you went back in time and accidentally
killed your mother when she was a child, then she
wouldn’t grow up to have you; and you wouldn’t
exist to later get into the time machine and go back
to kill her. But if you didn’t kill her, then she would
have had you, and you would have gone back in
time.... In the case of Wizardry, paradox is most
often invoked when we say that for a Great Truth,
its opposite is also true. The classic example is:
“As Above, So Below.”
Synchronicity: Synchronicity means literally the same
as coincidence—a simultaneous occurrence (two
things happen together at the same time). But while
coincidences are just random, synchronicities re-
veal hidden patterns and meanings. What we call
luck is really about synchronicity. Often when you
are on the right track in your life, synchronistic
events occur as signposts of divine guidance.
Synthesis: A synthesis is the putting together of sepa-
rate parts to form a whole. Particularly, it refers to
a union in which opposites (the thesis and antith-
esis) are reconciled.
Hologram: A hologram is an image in which every
tiny part contains the essence of the whole—like
the DNA in each of our cells that contains the pat-
tern of our entire being.
Template: A template is a pattern or cutout that can
be placed over, held against, or traced around to
reveal or impose a matching pattern in something
else. Some of my favorite patterning templates are
those special glasses that turn double images into
3-D, as in movies and comic books.
Synergy: Synergy is the result of bringing together
and combining separate things so that the whole
is greater than the sum of the parts, and something
completely new appears. A good example is wa-
ter. Its separate parts are oxygen and hydrogen,
two flammable gases that explode when ignited.
But when they are combined in a molecule of H 2 0,
the result—water—is a completely unique new- Wizardry.p65 18 1/14/2004, 3:23 PM