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Knowing Magick — The Styles of Magick
Sep 12, 2010 Leigh-Ann Andersen
There are many different ways to practice magick. The smart magician will use whatever style works best for them, and will always be open to a new approach.
Not everyone practices magick in exactly the same way, even if they come from the same spiritual belief system. Practitioners within a particular magickal-religious sect (Wicca, for example) will actually span an entire range of styles. There are four basic styles of magick: ceremonial magick, nature magick, kitchen magick, and intrinsic magick.
The Art of Ceremonial Magick
Ceremonial magick takes dedication and patience to learn. In some ways, it is the most complicated form of magick. This style involves the use of symbols, colors, perfumes, music, and other cues in its practice. These things are usually used to assist in connecting with the divine, which is usually seen in a precisely defined aspect. The tools of a ceremonial magician are well-crafted and beautiful.
Ceremonial magicians enjoy dressing up in their special robes, using their ritual tools, and practicing by candlelight. They are also prone to calling upon spirit guides or angels, consulting astrological correspondences, and they tend to use recorded music during their rituals. The true ceremonial magician appreciates beautiful costumes and ritual tools, meaningful symbolism, and the power to lift their thoughts into a higher spiritual realm.
The Harmony of Nature Magick
The ease of use of nature magick attracts many practitioners. It is practiced outdoors when possible, and encourages a spiritual attunement with the elements — earth, air, fire, and water — as well as to various plant and animal spirits. The nature magician practices their magick in accordance with the cycles of the moon and the seasons, and their ritual tools tend to be simple, sometimes even rough, such as a simple stick for a wand.
Nature magicians enjoy practicing their craft outdoors, in whatever clothes they happen to be wearing. Usually barefoot and working under the light of the sun, moon, or stars, they tend to use whatever is available for ritual tools. A pocketknife makes a decent athame, a discarded branch can be used as a wand. They prefer to commune with plant and animal allies, and time their rituals according to the phases of the moon and the time of day.
The Warmth of Kitchen Magick
A magician of this stamp uses the magick of hearth and home to keep a household up and running. Magick for protection and healing is very common, and the tools of this style of magick are the tools of everyday life — paring knives, spices, herbs, and whatever else is close at hand. Rituals are simple in appearance, almost to the point of being casual.
Those who practice kitchen magick tend to not to dress up very often. They are comfortable practicing indoors under the electric lights, and often invoke the spirits of hearth and home. They enjoy a clean and attractive home, and their family’s health, happiness, and harmony is upmost importance.
The Simplicity of Intrinsic Magick
Practitioners of intrinsic magick are generally opposed to using tools, robes, and other props for their magick, for theirs is the magick of the mind. They achieve their results by the mental, psychic, and spiritual power that they already have, for their tool is the body of energy.
They tend to work skyclad, meaning naked, without donning ritual robes. They do not feel the need for light, since their rituals happen solely in their minds, and they invoke the Higher Self, rather than outside forces. Their own biorhythms guide the timing of their rituals, and they enjoy the feeling that they can wield the power of their own energy to change the world.
These styles can easily be blended into whatever form works best for you. Most people will have a style that they are most drawn to, and will augment that with whatever feels right. Try all of these styles, then choose the style, or combination of styles, that empowers the magick within.
References:
Buckland, Raymond, Buckland’s Complete Book of Witchcraft. Llewellyn Publications, 2007.
Buckland, Raymond, Witchcraft … The Religion. Buckland Museum of Witchcraft and Magic, 1966.
Cunningham, Scott, Wicca, A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner. Llewellyn Publications, 1999.
Cunningham, Scott, Living Wicca, A Further Guide for the Solitary Practitioner. Llewellyn Publications, 2000.
Leek, Sybil, The Complete Art of Witchcraft. World Publishing, 1971.
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