Path: ultra.sonic.net!not-for-mail From: catherine yronwode Newsgroups: alt.magick.tyagi,alt.lucky.w,alt.magick,alt.paranormal.spells.hexes.magic Subject: Magical Powers -- Innate or Induced? Date: Fri, 23 Apr 1999 12:07:46 -0800 Organization: Lucky Mojo Curio Co. Lines: 52 Message-ID: <3720D314.232E@luckymojo.com> References: <7fjvoq$fl3$1@nnrp1.dejanews.com> <371E2ED3.15B6@luckymojo.com> <371FA444.93723083@cwcom.net> <3720043E.44A2@luckymojo.com> <3720BD61.C381DC52@cwcom.net> NNTP-Posting-Host: d206.pm6.sonic.net Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Mailer: Mozilla 3.0Gold (Macintosh; I; 68K) To: m01ymu00@cwcom.net Xref: ultra.sonic.net alt.magick.tyagi:16847 alt.lucky.w:3509 alt.magick:142301 alt.paranormal.spells.hexes.magic:9232 A querant in email asked for links to sites dealing with magic and the occult and i supplied the url for the Mage's Guide to the Internet: http://www.luckymojo.com/magi He then replied: > > Thank you for the infomation. > > Also do you have to have some magic powers in you to use magic? This is a very good question and deserves a full discussuoin instead of a brief answer, but here is a start: Some people -- that is, people in some cultures -- believe that to practice magic one needs certain inherited powers (e.g. to be born the child of a witch) or to be born with a "gift" or a "sign" (such as being born the 7th son of a 7th son, or being born with a veil or caul (amniotic sac over the head at birth), or to receive a miraculous or transformative "sign" in youth or young adulthood (such as experiencing a near-death trauma that leaves one capable of psychicism or conveying healings). In some cultures, the pre-destination to a magical path implied by a favourable birth-sign or a transformative spiritual event is so important to the legitimacy of one embarking on the practice of magic, that in lieu of a birth-sign, the seeker will subject him- or herself to numerous trials to gain a sign, including the use of dangerous drugs and the endurance of self-inflicted physical torture. In other cultures, however, it is assumed that one can gain magical powers through applied study and practice, either via books, as with the alchemical, Hermetic, neo-Platonic traditions of occultism, or at the feet of a teacher or guru, as with an initiation into Gardnerian Wicca or with the tantric saddhus who gain siddhis (magical powers) when taught the practice of tapas (austerities) by their guru. In my experience, it seems that some people are highly interested in the subject of magic, just as some are highly interested in sports or music -- and those are the people who generally take up the study and practice of magic, whether through the retroactive application of a birth sign, the seeking of a personally transformative event, the study of books, requesting initiation into a magical lineage or "order," or apprenticeship to a recognized teacher. cat catherine yronwode ------------------------ mailto:cat@luckymojo.com Lucky Mojo Curio Co. http://www.luckymojo.com/luckymojocatalogue.html Lucky W Amulet Archive --------- http://www.luckymojo.com/luckyw.html The Sacred Landscape ------- http://www.luckymojo.com/sacredland.html Karezza and Sacred Sex ------ http://www.luckymojo.com/sacredsex.html Freemasonry for Women ------- http://www.luckymojo.com/comasonry.html Comics Warehouse ------ http://www.luckymojo.com/comicswarehouse.html news:alt.lucky.w --- discussions on folk magic, luck, amulets, charms