Names and Magick

One of the strongest aspects of magick is the use of names. By this I mean the use of one word or phrase to represent something much grander.

For example, if someone were to mention my name, you might think of a blogger, a writer, a workshop leader, a hypnotherapist, an occultist, a magician, a Tantric, a musician, or something else. Perhaps you might think of several of those things. To me, my name is a representation of all of those things and more.

The same is true of designing a word to represent a magickal goal. You don’t have to think of “After doing a divination to show a positive outcome of doing a ritual, I’ll be doing that planned rite to obtain $1,000 to help pay for Aunt Matilda’s medical expenses when she goes in for surgery.” Instead, the name or goal might just be “Money,” or even more simply “$.”

There is a great advantage to this, not just in brevity, but also in working with our subconscious minds. It is through our subconscious where we activate magick, and while the name “money” or “$” may not have a clear and complete meaning to our conscious minds, if we’ve prepared for a ritual appropriately, the use of the name will trigger what is needed to help us use all of our abilities to achieve our magickal goal. So working with names in this way can be a great benefit to us—with magick.

Names and Mundane Life

In our daily lives, the use of names to represent something and trigger our emotions are specifically used to deceive us. The example I like to give is the politician who says he wants our votes because he’s for “better schools.” In this case, the name “better schools” can mean all sorts of things. For example, it might mean, to you, smaller classes, more and better trained teachers, classes in physical education as well as in music and the arts, etc. To the politician it might mean cutting funding for schools in order to force people to spend money sending their kids to private schools where less objectivity is taught. Or your concepts and the politician’s concepts of the name “better schools” might be reversed. The thing is, the use of the name, “better schools,” appeals to your subconscious desire to help children but misrepresents the way the politician thinks. The politician may get your vote even though he plans to vote exactly opposite the way you believe.

The technique of using names in this way is quite old and quite deliberate. There are people on all sides of the political spectrum who have consultants who teach them how to use names without revealing any actual meaning to the names in order to get votes. Today, with the news media seemingly retreating from objective journalism, it becomes our responsibility to find out the truth for ourselves. When a politician uses a name in this way, it’s up to us to ask, “What do you mean by that?” and keep repeating our question until we get a thorough answer.

Closer Than Family

When I was first initiated into a Pagan tradition, I was told that I was to treat the rest of the members of my coven as being “closer than family.” Most people have family members they don’t like, but they’re family, and if they need help, you’ll be there. Paganism in the West seems to feature a combination of valuing independence, but also of tolerance and cooperation. When we can we help those who are closer than family, we do so.

And yet, there are also a number of people who forget the part of helping one’s family. They believe they can do everything on their own, and if you can’t make it, too bad. I have seen this increasing with one particular political group. They had originally tried to appeal to the dissatisfied on all sides of the political spectrum, but lately they have moved more and more to an extremist point of view. Recently, one of their representatives said that the U.S. faces “judgment for its religious tolerance.” She continues saying that one of the reasons we’re facing judgment from God is that “We have welcomed pluralism, atheism, secular humanism, Wicca and even Islam.”

Surprisingly, having travelled the U.S., I’ve met many Pagans who are in favor of this group and their politics, even though their leaders see us as a cause of destruction. I am no longer going to support this group in any way.

Who Are They?

I haven’t named this group for a specific reason: this is not a blog about politics, it’s a blog about magick. Part of that involves thinking like a magician and seeing through the misrepresentation of using names to hide what someone else means. I don’t care about this group. I do care about the individuals, especially Pagans and other magickal folk, who are blinded by the group’s use of names and don’t realize what they really mean. They are actually willing to vote against their own best interests.

With systems like astrology and the Kabalah’s Tree of Life we have paradigms for understanding how and why people act the ways they do. That is the mindset of a magickal thinker. Simply listening to names and assuming your meaning for the name is the same as their meaning for it is not part of the clear thinking of a magickal scientist.

Exercise:

This week, when you read books, newspapers, the internet, etc., or talk with people, or just hear them talking, listen for the use of names to deceive. If you have the opportunity, ask the person what he or she means by that name. See what responses you get.

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Just Days Left to
WIN A FREE TAROT DECK!

Since the start of this year, we’ve been holding a contest to win a free Tarot deck. Now, there are just a few days left in this prediction contest. Are you the best diviner in the land? Can you make predictions better than anyone else? Enter the contest and see who wins. The winner will get his or her choice of a free Tarot deck, too!

Only entries on the contest page are accepted.
Go to this LINK, read the rules, and make your prediction!

Good luck!

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Take some time off in the shopping and preparation for the holidays and change your life!

Sunday, December 8
Noon–3:00 p.m. Eastern  • • • • •  9:00 a.m.–Noon Pacific

Magickal Astral Projection:
Methods to Project By

Astral projection, the separation of the consciousness from the physical body, is one of the most discussed and extolled topics in all of occultism and spirituality. But other than visiting someone “on the astral” or toddling around the astral plane, what good is it? In this worldwide webinar you’ll learn the answers to three questions:

1. What is the theory behind how astral projection works?
2. Why astral project?
3. How do you astral project?

This live webinar, where you’ll be able to ask questions, is more than just theory. It will include several methods for projecting that have successfully worked for thousands of seekers. Then you’ll see why it’s valuable as a part of magick and how you can use it to achieve your goals.

You can participate, live, in this webinar, from anywhere in the world. All you need are your computer and a good link to the internet. You’ll be able to hear me and see my slide presentation, live, just as if you were attending my workshop in person. However, attendance at this important and valuable webinar will be limited, so reserve your spot by registering now. Use this LINK to register. Make sure of your local time for this webinar using the button on the page when you register. On the day of the webinar you can join the presentation up to a half hour before the webinar begins.

If you have ever wanted to learn about astral projection, how you can use it and how you can actually astral project, this is the webinar you’ll want to attend! Take some time off from holiday planning and shopping and learn something that will last a lifetime.