Magick, Personal Power, Terrorism, and the Flu
In 1925, T.S. Elliot wrote a poem that is considered a classic, The Hollow Men. It’s last two lines are the most quoted:
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.
You may not have noticed it, but one of the greatest attempts to terrorize you has officially ended. On August 10, 2010, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Dr. Margaret Chan, said that the world pandemic of Swine Flu, also known as the H1N1 virus, “has largely run its course… [and we] are now moving into the post-pandemic period.”
Many people thought this illness was going to decimate the world. But it has left with barely a whimper. The story above didn’t even make the front page.
Do you remember how just over a year ago the media was spreading terror about the many tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of deaths that were going to be occurring? I do. On July 24, 2009, I wrote about it in this very blog. In that blog I wrote, “As of July 6, 2009, the total number of deaths worldwide from the dreaded and fearsome Swine Flu you’ve been hearing about is…429.”
In another blog post on January 25, 2010, I wrote: “According to flucount.org, as of January 23, 2010, there have been 10,837 deaths in the U.S. and 24,068 deaths worldwide….
“But the H1N1 swine flu that is still being touted as a ‘pandemic,’ isn’t.
“According to the Wall Street Journal, the numbers everyone was expecting ‘failed to materialize’ (although they say this may be due to incomplete records). The H1N1 Swine Flu Hotline for the state of Kentucky was deactivated ‘due to a large decrease in calls. Apparently, the H1N1 virus is becoming less of an issue both on the medical front as well as with the concerns of the average individual.’ According to the Irish Times, the World Health Organization is going to examine ‘its handling of the swine flu pandemic after accusations that it exaggerated the dangers of the virus under pressure from drug companies.’
According to an article in the Los Angeles Times, “Worldwide, 18,449 people have died [as of August 10, 2010] from laboratory-confirmed pandemic H1N1 infections, according to the WHO, but the true toll is thought to be much higher because most victims aren’t tested.”
That is a horrible loss. However, I would point out that even if those totals were ten times greater than these numbers, it would still be far less than the Centers for Disease Control worldwide annual estimates of 250,000 to a half-million deaths per year attributable to the flu; the plain ol’ flu.
I predicted that this was not going to be a horrible disaster.
I predicted it would be no worse than the normal flu.
I was right.
The so-called experts were wrong—horribly wrong.
When the attempt to terrorize you was at it’s height in the media a year and more ago, what did you do? Did you avoid people? Did you avoid public places? Did you wear a mask? Did you frequently use hand sterilizers? Many people did these things…for a time. Were you terrified that if someone breathed on you the result might be your death? Many people were terrified…for awhile.
The Secret of Magick
When many people start out in magick, their aim is to obtain power over others. Most of the people who keep that as their goal eventually leave a magickal path. The truth—the true secret of real magick—is that it’s about power over yourself. The funny thing is, as you become more empowered, people will freely allow you to have power over them. You probably won’t want it because self-empowerment is better than power over others can ever be. Why? Because when you seek power over others you’re dependent on them. As long as you’re dependent upon others you cannot be truly self-empowered. The magickal path is one of self-empowerment.
“The media, politicians, and leaders of various groups like to spread fear and terror so you’ll keep listening to them, reading their writings, giving them power over you, and sending them money.
“The flu shouldn’t be ignored. It takes a terrible toll on the world every year, especially among the very young, the very old, the ill and the weak. But from a magickal point of view, it shouldn’t be feared. Rather, it should be understood and dealt with.
“Before doing a ritual you have to determine your purpose, plan out what you will do, and then perform the rite. In my opinion magicians should do the same thing when it comes to the flu. Your purpose should be to avoid or minimize the effects of the flu. Your plans should include getting as healthy as possible, including drinking fluids, getting exercise and rest, dealing with stress, eating healthful foods, etc. If you are not sure what you need to achieve optimum help, consult a professional. Then do the ‘ritual,’ which in this case would be getting exercise, eating proper foods, etc. If you do come down with the flu, see a doctor immediately.
“With this approach—the magickal approach—the media, politicians, leaders of various groups can’t make you fear. Without fear to motivate you they can’t get your money, they can’t get your power, and they can’t obtain control over you. That’s why they traditionally fear magickal people. It’s not because magick is ‘evil,’ but because it gives you personal responsibility and takes away the power they so desperately want.”
I stand by what I wrote. I stand by personal freedom, self-actualization, personal responsibility, and power over oneself. I stand with the magickal path.
What do you think? Agree? Disagree? Why?
Excellent post as usual. I panicked the first week or so to a small degree because my roommate was sick. He had pneumonia and I ended up getting a sore throat for a while. Fear is the mind killer though so I returned to focusing on positive scenarios, doing reiki, and supplementing my diet with reishi/shitake mushrooms, garlic, and fresh vegetable juice and fruit juice. The Government has a lot to answer for with H1N1. Like Haliburton buying stock in Tamiflu before the “Epidemic” hit. More people got sick off the vaccine then they dd the disease. As of this week a new Superbug by the name of NDM-1.. It is resistant to all antibiotics. Im just waiting to see what happens around November with elections etc. I will continue to empower my self daily though magick and knowledge..
In Sweden there was much fuss about taking the vaccination-shot for the influensa. I felt that this was something that the government and medical companies did co-operated on. On my job most of my colleagues took the shot, but I didn’t. And now in retrospect I can see that I was right. The local reports of a couple of deaths related to the disease must have been due to other medical circumstances as well.
I agree that magick is about self-empowerment, I would also say that it is about trusting your inner voice. If your inner voice tells you that there is no need to feel anxious, you should listen. Fear tends to get a life of its own and put you off your center.
listen to the inner voice, try to live as soundly as possible and stay centered. Even if the leaders/media etc wants to you fear/worry.
This is such an AWESOME post Donald Michael Kraig! 🙂 And I must say that I agree!! 🙂
While I have been a magical-type person since the early 1990’s – since I had herbalist training (completed in 2007), I felt even more confident and didn’t do anything “extra” during this time, other than use foods and herbs (as well as energetic healing) to build immunity to ANY viruses, natural or man-made! 🙂 I would have done that anyway! And, I did not believe the hype on this at all, having learned the lesson from 1976 when the vaccines were shown to be the cause of that epidemic!
In fact – at this time I would refuse all vaccines. I have read too much on how they do little if no good but could have long-term harmful effects (Autism is one thing I can think of).
Thanks again for this awesome post! 🙂
Why is it that when the government does something wrong, everyone seems to get so up in angry arms about it, but when they do something right, everyone declares that they never knew what they were talking about from the start?
I work in in the health care field with vulnerable adults, and the government’s response to the H1N1 threat was, for once in our lives, a strong and swift movement that was focused on preventing the pandemic rather than being reactionary and waiting for the masses to be infected. The numbers of free and low cost vaccines offered before the pandemic was due to hit was major, and the efficiency that these were distributed was something I’ve never before seen. And there were several people (myself and all 3 of my closest friends included) who had the H1N1 vaccine, but still got sick with the H1N1 virus, but the symptoms were blunted significantly because of having the vaccine.
Also, once the H1N1 virus’s first mutation of the past year had hit and was able to then be fully tested, they discovered that it was actually a recirculation of a virus that had hit 30 years ago, meaning that all the people that came down with this particular strain then had an immunity built up. This is why people over age 60 or 65 were at a much lower risk versus people age 30 and below. The seasonal flu is a constant mutation that adjusts itself annually, which leaves the > 60 age group very susceptible. Next year, if H1N1 mutates like the seasonal flu does, you may see more of this age group becoming ill from it. Luckily, next year, H1N1 vaccine will be combined with seasonal flu vaccines and offered in one shot.
Simply put, the difference between the outcome of H1N1 and seasonal flu is this. People took H1N1 very seriously and the actions on the part of the government and citizens was appropriate to head off this potential pandemic. Generally, people scoff at seasonal flu without realizing how dangerous it actually is and refuse to get vaccinated, which leaves them wide open for the illness to run rampant.
Declaring that there is an issue that can be avoided if we act swiftly and efficiently is not terrorism; it’s the government doing the job that we charged them with when we cast our votes. And I feel that the federal government combined with other federal governments that acted together coupled with all the state and local emergency planning offices that cancelled their vacations and worked 18-20 hour days to ensure that everyone had daily updates and correspondence should be held up and commended for finally getting it right. And I do want to thank you for bringing this point of view to light, because I realized that there are three people I knew personally that did cancel vacation and work around the clock to ensure the safety of those in my county, and I have not yet thanked them.
As far as my personal magickal view of this, although I agree that it is about self-empowerment, that does not mean that it is all self-contained. There are vehicles everywhere that help drive the end result of what is needed, because if makes an intention to have a relationship or a better job, it manifests through other people and organizations, etc. If enough intentions were made around the world simultaneously regarding this issue, and I definitely believe this to be the case, it is not a stretch for me to view the global prevention that occurred as the manifested vehicle from the universe. And this was one of those situations where it actually gave me faith that we might actually make it through this Aquarian Age without imploding ourselves.