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And why are grown people doing it?
Pagan and Wiccan groups talk about and often practice something they call magic (sometimes spelled “magick” to distinguish it from stage tricks). Most modern people consider magic a relic of our ignorant past (though the past lives on within us, and everyone has a few vestiges of belief). Practitioners of magic have other views, which cannot be done justice in this space. However, every possible aspect of magical thinking and practice is revealed at exhaustive length in books readily available in any large or specialty bookstore. For a very good account of magic (and general Pagan overview) see Contemporary Paganism by Graham Harvey, New York University Press, 1997, ISBN 0-8147-3549-5.
Magic is a kind of active prayer. The Pagan world-view is that All Is One, and that as part of the universe we can directly work our will, whether materially or spiritually.
A skeptic might think that neither supplicating Christian prayer nor arrogant Pagan magic have much effect on the outcome of a given matter. However, both systems, even when they produce few measurable results, have side-benefits:— Prayer and magic are forms of meditation (focussing the mind) and emotional outlet; the confidence (or acceptance) they ultimately bring tend to make for mellower, happier and more effective people.
Magic-makers have to plan details of their spell and do preliminary work, usually collecting items that have appropriate associations — for instance, to do a money spell they might assemble a lot of green things or items that are associated with wealth. Alternatively they might carefully follow the directions found in a book. Either way, what they are really doing is focussing their mind and will upon the goal. At a propitious time, probably the waxing of the moon — which is associated with increase — they would do the actual spell. This usually involves choosing a special time and place, special clothes, the setting out of all the required paraphernalia, and then working up a head of steam, so to speak, by concentrating on how desperately they want the desired outcome. The same potent energy can be achieved by singing, dancing and chanting, though these techniques tend to be more natural for a group. With either a group or individual spell, a time comes to end the session and leave it to fate (or in the hands of the gods).
Wiccans have a guideline, “If it harms none, do what you will.” Furthermore, they say that whatever they do, good or bad, comes back to them three times over. They also believe in karma, whereby the books get balanced, if not in this lifetime then in the next. This doesn’t always guarantee good behavior, of course (any more than the Christian prescription to Do Unto Others is foolproof.)
Don’t believe everything you see and read in the entertainment field. As with other aspects of life thus portrayed, what people really do is much less dramatic. To address some common misconceptions, let us assure you that we practice:
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No ‘sacrifices’: Neo-Pagans feel that sacrifice (to make sacred) should be only of oneself and one's energy, never that of any other being. |
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No appeals to the devil: Wiccans and Neo-Pagans do not believe in Satan, and so they do not apply that concept to anything they do. |
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No curses: Some people, especially the young and inexperienced, do cast curses, usually because they think the target is deserving. This is problematical, and more experienced people recommend working only towards positive goals, leaving rotten people to stew in their own psychic juices. |
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No love spells: These are considered unethical, and besides, should they work, they may have unexpected, unwanted side-effects, requiring follow-up Go-Away spells. |
The above descriptions refer to “low magic”, aimed at practical ends. “High magic” is an elaborate system, with little practical application, for the purpose of heightening the practitioner’s spirituality through drawing closer to the divine. The magician’s work is long, lonely and demanding, comparable to that of a Christian (or other) contemplative, though the magician continues to live (part-time) in the world.