The first steps in magic
Throughout the past year and even on many other occasions, I have received many messages and emails with the same question: how can I start with magic? so I have decided to do an essay with the essential points that every person, in my opinion, should learn and master to achieve a good magical performance.
To begin, the first thing you should ask is: what do I want to do or practice magic for? You can only answer yourself, but before embarking on a journey through the occult, you must be very clear about the motivations for this, and know why it will help you start in a clear and well-defined way.
The next question is what do I want from magic? It would be interesting if you put together a list with all the ideas you have about magic, and what you want from it. Here it is very important to be honest, remember that this list is only going to be seen by you, so there is no need to pretend or say something that is not. I suggest that you do not discard it, but on the contrary, keep it, since when you advance along your path, you will be able to see which of all these things are possible or not.
The next thing on your list would be: do I want to do magic alone, in a group, with a teacher, or will I be self-taught? Those who have read me for a while, know that I am a defender of solitary work and the self-initiatory path, what’s more, it has become my magic seed, but I also understand that completely solitary work is not for everyone and that other options should also be considered. Group work can help us in the first steps, we will receive concrete instructions from the group and we will be able to consult with more advanced magicians, these are the main advantages, disadvantages, getting a serious group, being admitted to this, many groups have a series of tests to be able to admit a new member, and the time this takes, many esoteric orders or initiatory schools have long waiting times before officially admitting someone, so, one way or another, you will be subject to the timing and bureaucracies of someone else. The last option would be to get a teacher to guide you in your magical process, here I am not talking about courses or workshops, but about a Magician who guides you until you become an Adept and can continue your path alone. While promising, at the same time utopian, it is very complex to find someone who has the will and time to do all this, it is not impossible but it is a daunting task.
The next step would be to contemplate the various magical philosophies that exist. In the West, broadly speaking, this is divided into the Right-Hand Path and the Left-Hand Path. It is possible to say that there are magical schools that do not identify with one or the other, but rather are in the middle of both, but these are a minority. Here you must understand that this of the Left/Right Path is only a philosophical vision of magic and spirituality, but it does not have to do with methods or work techniques. It is an explanation, once again philosophical, of how the magical world is conceived. By way of suggestion, do not confuse the Left/Right Path as seen in the West with how it is understood in the East (Tantra) since, although the origin of the word comes from there, it has nothing to do with how it works and looks.. At this point, I allow myself to make a recommendation, which in my opinion anyone interested in this philosophy should read: Lords of the Left-Hand Path by Stephen Flowers. One of the best books that explain the birth and expansion of philosophy to this day.
You have already read about magical philosophies, you feel identified with one, and now comes another great challenge, choosing a magical school or tradition. This is an arduous task that should take a long time. The first thing you have to do is read and investigate as much as possible, each school/tradition has its way of identifying and explaining magic, this is where the working methods, the forces that are called, and the way of working. For example, you will find that there is Ceremonial Magic, which although it is ancient, is very complex and expensive to carry out, there is an almost millimeter precision in the work, and although there are modern adaptations, it is still very complex to perform. You will see that today Qliphotic Magic is very popular, so you should study Qabalah to be able to understand in depth what is being talked about, for those who feel closest to Demonology there are many variables, Satanism is one of them, but also there is Demonolatry (Demo = Demons, Latria = Idolatry) that is, the worship of Demons, these are more religious aspects, there is also Setianism, who focus on the figure of Set as a representation of the Prince of Darkness, Draconian Magic, in which as you know, is the one that I specialize in, an eclectic tradition, inspired by the figure of the Primordial Dragon and the Serpent. And so we can continue to mention Luciferianism, Enochian Magic, Nordic, Egyptian, Greek Magic, etc. The most important thing about this is that you choose a school or tradition that makes you feel comfortable, that reflects your interests, and above all, that is flexible. Always avoid unilateral and dogmatic thinking, there is no absolute or totalitarian truth, everyone thinks and acts based on what is useful to them, but that does not mean that there is a universal truth that works for everyone.
As you can see, there is a lot of work to be done, and there is still much more. Magic needs a lot of perseverance, work, and study, it is not a simple thing to do, and that is why becoming a magician implies adapting our entire life to the Magic Current that we have decided to work, live, and flow with. Is it something simple? It is for everybody? Well, of course not, it is for a few, but for those who do have the determination, the change is so significant that it is worth all the effort that must be made.
Once we identify our tradition, the next step we must see is that it shows us a curriculum with the following things:
• Meditation: no one can have any kind of magical result if we do not learn the art of meditation. This can be as complex or as simple as you like. My recommendation is that at the beginning you learn simple techniques, without too complicated or painful postures. Meditation has to be something pleasant, an experience that allows you to enter the right state, not suffering for the body. The secret of meditation is that you need a daily record, without exceptions, at least 10 minutes a day, without excuses.
• Keep a magical journal: a simple notebook will suffice. Write down in detail all your practices, from the simplest to the most complex. Be neat with this, be detailed, and express yourself. This will help you to see your evolution over time.
• Imagination and visualization: if you are not able to see with your mind’s eye a simple object, such as an apple, you will not be able to see and interact with the spiritual world. Like meditation, exercising the ability to visualize things is of the utmost importance. There is an infinity of methods, once again, you should look for those that best suit your way of doing things, but at the same time that is not extremely complex at first. As in the previous case, a daily exercise of 10 minutes is the ideal to start.
• Trance and altered states: the next thing you should master is trance. Forget everything you have seen in the movies, trance is a state of relaxation, almost a step closer to dreaming, it is there when the walls that divide your conscious mind from your subconscious vanish, and it is when your abilities emerge, that allow your magic to work, have visions, project yourself astrally, etc. To achieve this, meditation is usually combined with visualization.
• Ritual openings, closings, and banishing: all ritual begins with a formal opening of your space/temple/ritual chamber, this puts us in circumstances, invites certain energies to manifest, and we officially declare our intention to do magic. Just as we open, it is necessary to close and dismiss the summoned forces, this is always done from respect, not from submission. Finally, we have the banishing rituals, which within the Left Path are a very complex and poorly understood element. I have stated many times, especially in my books, that we do not banish, we do not do it in the offensive sense, that is, I do not perform a banishing ritual to expel the energies or cast what I summoned. The banishing are purification ritual, usually used to clean the ritual spaces, before starting with them and at the end of some others. The best-known banishing ritual is the «Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram». It happens that due to the strong connection it has with the Qabalah and the Angels, many magicians of the Sinister Path have adapted it to a more «demonic» vision, changing the divine names by infernal names, and instead of drawing a pentacle to the right, they do it inverted. This is an option, although there are more neutral and just as effective options. But regardless of which banishment we choose, it is necessary to learn how to do them, since one needs to be free from any influence, both external and internal, before and after each rite. In short, it is a question of magical hygiene, it is necessary as it is to wash your hands before eating or after coming from the street.
• Lucid dreams and dream magic: perhaps this is one of the most complex things to master. The world of dreams is a very broad subject, which the magician can make full use of, either to know his inner worlds, to live in the astral plane, or to produce changes both in his universe and in the outer world. The first thing I can tell you is don’t get frustrated if at the beginning you don’t have the desired results, it takes years to master the world of dreams, and for this to be possible, it requires enormous discipline on your part. The first thing is to keep a dream diary, every day as soon as you wake up you should write down everything you have dreamed of, even if you don’t remember anything, you should also write it down. The next thing is to declare your intention before going to sleep, that is: «Tonight I am going to dream, I am going to be aware that I am dreaming and when I wake up I will remember all the details of what I experienced.» Affirmations of this type must be made every day. This will allow you to get introduced to dream magic. Then, you can visit specific regions or have great talks with various divinities.
• Learn a divinatory system: a magician who does not operate a divinatory system is someone who is «blind.» It starts with a simple but effective system, perhaps a good start is to acquire a deck from the renowned Lenomard oracle, a deck of cards that is very easy to learn, very intuitive, and has abundant material that is easy to get to be able to learn it alone. The next step would be to learn to read the Tarot, this will allow you to go one step further since the tarot deck is much more complex and symbolically rich. There are other options such as the Runes, but this in itself requires deepening the Nordic knowledge to understand this system as an oracle. Whichever system you choose, divination will allow you to understand how a ritual can come out, the reasons why you are in this or that situation, or how to proceed to resolve this or that issue. In short, a necessary tool for your growth.
• Astral projection and magic: through visual imagination and the projection of consciousness to the astral body, it is possible to travel or visit other realities, other worlds, dimensions, kingdoms, etc. There are more symbolic trips than others, there are more spectacular than others, but it is a very useful tool, that can provide us with great knowledge, contact with entities from other planes, etc. They are usually trips that allow us to return empowered and with new knowledge. It is even possible to summon entities on the astral plane or perform all kinds of operative magic without the need to perform a ritual on the physical plane. One of the issues that astral magic usually has is that it is very addictive and on the other hand it is very simple to fall into self-deception, it is necessary to test the results obtained very well before considering them valid.
• Magic of the result: as magicians, we must learn to use magic not only for our spiritual and internal growth but also to acquire elements that we want/need on the material plane. For this, it is possible to use various rituals, spells, and formulas. This is extremely broad, and the rituals can be as simple as lighting a candle or carrying a sigil, to the evocation of a spirit that helps us obtain what we want in exchange for something. Regardless of the method you use, you need to learn how to perform results magic. This will allow us to objectively observe the extent of our magic, and it will give us a foot on the ground. Also, if as a magician you are not able to change your reality and have the sovereignty of your existence, then I regret to tell you that what you are living is just an illusion, a self-deception, no matter how connected you think you are with the spiritual world. In addition, the magic of the result gives balance to life, and above all, if we are satisfied with our worldly needs, this gives us time and energy to focus on our spiritual progress. You cannot do magic with hunger, worry, loneliness, depression, or problems that affect your performance.
• Invocation: this is the practice by which the magician temporarily transforms himself into a vessel of an entity, that is to say, the consciousness of the summoned form merges with our consciousness, it is to call the essence of that entity/god/spirit/daemon/etc. inside us. Thus, we see through his eyes, we understand his will, and we understand his nature, among many other things. There are an enormous number of uses for these practices, ranging from very abstract issues, becoming the voice of this entity, to more practical purposes such as channeling his power to use in a ritual of practical magic. But whatever the end, it is necessary to master the art of invocation.
• Evocation: broadly speaking, we can say that evocation is the opposite practice to invocation, here we seek to summon an entity on the physical plane, we do not call it within ourselves but outside. Usually, this has practical purposes, such as asking for advice on something specific or making an exchange, that is, we summon the spirit to help us on this or that issue in exchange for something. Being the spirit an element that does not belong to the physical plane, it needs the means to manifest itself and for the magician to see/interact with it, here scrying is usually used for this purpose, that is, we use mirrors, fire, water, smoke, in our practices. Something extremely important, the spiritual world must be treated with respect, never with threats or practices like that, there is usually no barrier between a Sinister magician and the spiritual world since we do not see these forces as something that must be separated, but as allies, guides and mentors. Therefore, they respond of their own free will, not by obligation or under threat.
• Create your rituals: this is extremely important, although it is possible to follow the rituals that others have written in books, many times this does not reflect what we want to obtain or we simply do not agree with what is written there. It is for this and some other reasons, that you must learn to create your rituals, here what matters is that they have results for you, this is not a creation for others. Be creative, and look for the ritual to reflect what you want to achieve.
Finally, some years ago, and precisely to help those who are taking their first steps in magic, and were interested in the Draconian Path, I published a book «In Nomine Draconis: A Self-Initiatory Guide into the Mysteries of Draconian Magic» a didactic book, in which I looked for a balance between theory and practice. The book is available through Amazon in both Paperback and Kindle formats. I leave the links:
Daemon Barzai