 |
|
|
A common misconception - both within the Community and outside of it - is that if you are a Pagan, you are also a magic-user. Even those people who recognize that Pagan is not just another word for Wiccan are susceptible to this error. As a Pagan, I worship the Gods. I perform rituals patterned after the Pre-Christian practices of the Greeks and Romans. I value the philosophical and religious insights of my cultural ancestors - and I try to incorporate those elements into my life today. But I do not practice what is commonly considered magic, nor do I think that I am alone in this. Certainly in the past magic was looked upon with suspicion, and commonly there were laws prohibiting its use. (See, for instance, the Twelve Tablets of Rome, the Apologia of Apuleius, where he was charged with magic for seducing the old widow Pudentilla, Plato's Republic 364b and the Laws 933a.) So the Pagans of old recognized this distinction, even if we have a difficult time doing so today. I do not have a superstitious fear of magic. In fact, I find it to be an interesting subject, and have done a considerable amount of research on it. Further, many of my own practices could be considered "magical" depending on how one understands that most slippery of words. Praying for a specific thing to happen, interpreting dreams, having visions, or even the act of sacrifice itself could - and often does - fall into that category. I see magic as a deliberate and controlled manipulation of energy. (What "energy" is besides a kind of "life-force-stuff" I haven't a clue.) Magic always has a goal (even if it is not a definite end) and the person working the magic is in some way in control of it (or gains control of themselves) through the recitation of chants, the manufacture of charms or sigils, or the channeling of energy. Although a magic ceremony can be couched in religious symbolism and even invoke Deity, it is not primarily religious in scope. That is to say, it's purpose is not devotional or honorific. Instead of acknowledging the transcendent power of an Other, it attempts to place control in the hands of the magician himself. I do not see religion as in some way superior to magic, and I acknowledge that there is often an overlap. I am sure that my definition of magic will not be satisfactory for everyone, and my further points could be hotly contested. But it seems to me that there is a significant difference between making an offering of wine and grain to the Gods and attempting to coerce another into romantic relations through the use of a poppet. When one considers exercises to align the chakras, or attempts to conjure Qlippothic entities - the distinction grows wider. I see Paganism - and especially the Reconstructionist forms of it that I am interested in - as fundamentally religious in nature. It is about honoring the Gods, celebrating with a community, and discovering the underlying relationships that define our existence. Further, I believe that certain aspects of magic, and certain ways of thinking that go along with magic are not always compatible with Paganism in general and Hellenic Reconstructionism in particular. For instance, the preposterous notion that we can command the Gods, or that the Gods are there to serve us. In the GPM and later Ceremonial Magick there are numerous spells which enable the magician to coerce and command a god, angel, demon, elemental etc. While most magic-users are quick to assure you that they would never do that, they nevertheless say things like, "You should use this Goddess for such and such a spell," or "The Gods are just archetypes, so it doesn't really matter." At best this is a shallow and ineffectual approach to Deity; at worst it is hybris, placing man on the level of or making man greater than the Gods. This unremitting pride always ends in tragedy - and it actually hinders our potential growth by filling our heads with the silly idea that there are no limits at all, when everything in existence is governed by them. Hybris is behind the 3-fold Law of the Wiccans as well. Man simply is not capable of producing a force three times his intention because such a thing violates the laws of thermodynamics and entropy. For that matter, most magic seems to violate these laws - and I have never once seen telekinesis, pyrokensis, transsubstantion, or actual psychic ability demonstrated with anything like scientific accuracy. Those who believe in it, tend to rely on magic too much. They see it as a panacea that will cure all their ills from financial problems and romantic difficulties to global peace and teen-aged acne. Everything that goes wrong in a person's life becomes attributed to bad karma or a curse placed on them - and there are all sorts of Dark Covens and Rogue Magicians conspiring against them. In contrast to this you have the spirit of Hellenic religion which teaches "Nothing in Excess" along with "Know thyself". You have genuine piety or respect for the Gods, and rituals that do not require weird trappings or supernatural powers. There is a healthy respect for science, the real world, and man's essential dignity. Now, of course, there is room for magic within Hellenism
and Paganism, and not everyone who is interested in it falls
prey to the eccentricities and failings that I have cited.
But it remains that they are distinct things, and that Pagan
does not always mean magic-user. |
