Nut

[degringolade]

 

Suppose for a moment that I have decided that the act of doing magic is possible.  That the act of effecting the consciousness of others is possible by an individual who uses spiritual means.  OK.  

But, I am really kind of leery of such a thing.  Suppose for a moment that such a thing is possible.  What does that action presuppose and what responsibilities does that action entail?  What will be the consequences of such an action?  I am quite certain that there will be repercussions beyond the actual act.  Everything has consequences, we as hominids just call it good if the actions don't fall back on us directly.

Also it seems that there are other entities involved.  This is where stuff gets onto shaky ground.  

I think that there is a quote in "Illuminatus" that may well be pertinent here:

 

Lovecraft’s words came back to him: “I beg you to remember their attitude toward their servants.”

 

Shea, Robert. The Illuminatus! Trilogy (p. 345). Random House Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. 

Comments

[temporaryreality]

Not sure if you want comments to what typically seem to be quite personal musing, but I wondered what you'd think if you modified your sentence slightly:

That the act of effecting [one's own ]consciousness ... is possible by an individual who uses spiritual means.

Perhaps that makes magic seem less ... fun? I don't know, I think that's where a great portion of the fun lies.

I suppose that I could live with that.

[degringolade]

Truth be told, that would be fine, but I am not certain why one would do that if that was one's only goal. It seems to me that the bulk of "magic" as defined by the folks out there points toward changing things in the physical world. Maybe I am wrong, but that is where it seems to point.

I am trying to figure out how the world actually is, I am not trying to change it.

In a sense, that is why I tend toward cosmography vs cosmogeny.

Before I can come up with a decent theorem, I have to have a description of the process.

Please comment any time freely. I need all the help I can get

Re: I suppose that I could live with that.

[temporaryreality]

Thanks :)

Well, for me, "how the world actually is" seems to be something hard for me to figure out given the limitations of my own consciousness. Hence my willingness to change said consciousness it in an attempt to "work with" the world more effectively.

But, keep in mind these are the blatherings of someone who doesn't (yet?) actually do magic! Beginning beginner's phase here and in no hurry to screw anything up, so probably a beginner for a good long time.