The General Perennial Principles of Magick

In nearly every culture of the world there is, or once was, a notion of what is widely known today as magic.  The words vary from culture to culture, but they all have the same general meaning, so for the sake of clarity the word magic will be used in all cases.  Also, for the sake of time and clarity, the existence of magic will not be questioned.  It will be assumed, within the scope of this paper, that magic does exist and the issue will not be addressed further.
From the past to the present magic has been a part of many, if not most, of the cultures of the world.  Each culture has it’s own views as to the properties, uses, and ethics of magic.  With so many cultural versions it can be very difficult to gain a real understanding of magic.  This has led too much of the skepticism of magic throughout the years.  Since the ideas of magic are so varied throughout the world it has been difficult if not impossible for many to accept the validity of both science and magic.  Many people are of the opinion that if science were to be integrated with the idea of magic in its many current forms, that science would be somehow lowering itself.  In order for there to be an integration of the two disciplines all magic must be unified under one set of principles, much like science has its foundations in the scientific method.
In order to create this set of principles a perennial approach must be taken.  Perennial philosophy is a way of thinking that takes into account one’s own existence and experiences, but also those of all people past and present.  It is a school of thought that attempts to find a commonality in human experience and understanding.  The perennial approach would search out common ideas and views of magic and put them together.  In the perennial approach we try to find the commonalties of magic throughout the world.  With these commonalties we will be able to identify the core elements of magic.  From those core elements the classical principles of magic can be developed.

              While making the attempt to create such a set of principles it is important to include absolutely no cultural elements in the principles.  There are persons who would disagree with this; the argument being that culture is necessary and that stripping it away is foolish and disrespectful.  The removal of culture from the set of principles is necessary to provide science with an unbiased and objective counterpart.  Once magic and science are made to coexist then the culture surrounding magic can once again be considered because the basic principles that culture’s magic is working off of have been identified, thus satisfying the demands of science.

There is an unfortunate lack of respect in the field of science towards the practice and existence of magic, just as there is an equal amount of aversion towards science in the minds and hearts of many who follow magical paths.  In our culture the importance of science has been elevated above all other things, many times at the expense of magic.  Perhaps by taking up the practice of magic and entering into a dialogue with science these problems can be dealt with.
What follows is the set of principles I was able to identify and develop through my own research into the various magical traditions of the world, both past and present. 
All energy is potential magical energy.
Magic is the use of will to elicit change in energy towards a desired end.
The ability to use magic is directly affected by belief.
The power of magic depends upon the focus of the user.
“All energy is potential magical energy.”—This is the principle that shows homogeneity of magical energy in all magical traditions of the world.  Most cultures have a word that is a close approximation of magical energy.  Some cultures call this energy “mana”, others call it “chi”, and some just call it “juice”.  There are many names for this magical energy that is believed by these cultures to permeate the world, and is there for those who can access it.  The fact that every magic-using culture has some idea of a magical energy shows a commonality.  Physics shows that all natural events involve a transformation of energy from one form to another, but the amount of energy does not change in the transformation.  The law of conservation of energy shows us that matter and energy can neither be created nor destroyed.  Albert Einstein showed that all matter is energy.  If everything in creation is energy in some form, including magical energy, and energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed, then it can be said that all energy is potential magical energy.
“Magic is the use of will to elicit change in energy towards a desired end.”—This is the principle that deals with the actual act of magic.  Of the four principles this is the one that is found in every culture almost without exception.  Many cultures see magic as an individual acting apart from society or religion in order to achieve some personal goal, and when acting alone the only tool one has is the will. The process of magic, the act of using one’s will to do magic, is morally neutral.  The moral implications of magic fall upon the shoulders of the magic-user, not the magic itself.  Through the use of will changes are made in energy, that, provided the will is strong enough, result in the desired outcome.  Much like it takes will to sit in Buddhist meditation for hours on end, it takes will to summon up magical energy and use it to cause changes in reality.

              “The ability to use magic is directly affected by belief.”—This principle of magic is the principle what illustrates the dynamic nature of magic.  It can be inferred from this principle that if a person does not believe that they are capable of magic then they are not capable of doing so.  One might argue that experiences like the Kundalini awakening, a phenomenon entailing the abundant rising of potent spiritual energy from the base of the spine, happens regardless of belief in magic.  While Kundalini is a magical experience, the person experiencing the awakening is not at that moment willworking.  The awakening does however greatly encourage the belief in such things as more energy openings occur in the person, which eventually develop into the Kundalini powers, psychokinesis and telepathy, which are in their most basic, non-cultural nature, magic.  The ability to use magic is not only the capability of magic, but also the style of the ability.  The way in which one believes magic works greatly shapes one’s ability to use it.  For instance, many Satanists believe that their powers come from studying texts and initiation rituals.  Many of them even believe that their leaders and demonic allies grant powers to them.  They also believe that such powers can be taken away from them.  Many practitioners of Vodoun also believe that their powers are granted to them in some form by the loa.  There are other magic-users who belong to a group known as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn who believe that magical ability is a measure of one’s will, and that the only limiting factor the self.  If one strips culture away from this principle it can be seen that belief shapes the ability to use magic, which is a commonality among most cultures.

“The power of magic depends upon the focus of the user.”—This principle is perhaps the most broad of the four principles.  This principle deals with several elements of focus.  One of the elements of focus is the ability of the magic-user to gather various amounts magical energy and shape it into the desired form without losing control of the summoned energy.  An example of this would be a Teutonic sorcerer attempting to write runescript upon the blade of a sword.  The more magical energy the sorcerer puts into the drawing of the runes, the more powerful they will become.  If the sorcerer tries to use more energy than he or she can control and still cast the spell, then something undesirable might happen, such as the sword breaking or the spell simply not working.  Many people believe that this is one of the many roles played by rituals.  Aside from their social functions, rituals provide the magic-user with a specific way to go about using magic.  Many psychologist and sociologist have showed that human beings like order.  To be more specific, human beings like maps.  The rituals serve as maps for the magic-users to keep in mind while they work their magic; it is a tool for deepening one’s concentration and energy controlling capacity.  Because of this many magical traditions feel that ritual is a tool to be used until the magic-user is capable of causing the same changes without the use of ritual, metaphorical training wheels in a way.  For these traditions, the more internalized rituals become, the less one has need for them.  The other element of focus is the perceived source of the magical energy being utilized by the magic-user.  Many magic-users focus on drawing the magical energy from within their own being, in essence they see themselves as their own power source.  Others focus on drawing their energy from specific deities.  This is not to say that the above sort of focus applies to those people who coerce spirits for aid.  This focus applies to the practitioners of theurgy.  For theurgist, the magical energy that they use comes directly through the deity that they are focusing upon.  An example of this would be a Catholic priest performing an exorcism upon a possessed person, by invoking the power of God the priest is able to shape that power and use his will to cast the demon out.
Now that the principles have been shown and explained, one might wonder why one would practice magic in the first place.  There are several reasons.  One reason is responsibility.  Each person’s responsibilities are different; therefore, they will need different ways of dealing with those responsibilities.  Shamans, priests, police officers, and politicians perform their services to aid and protect their societies.  Parents are responsible to their families.  Citizens are responsible to their governments just as governments are responsible to their citizens.  Magic, just like any other skill or tool, can help a person to live up to their responsibilities.  It is a potent addition to the versatility of individuals who have magic as one of their abilities.  In addition to being a very useful skill or tool, magic has a deeper element to its practice.  Many of the magical traditions of the world see magic as a way of deep exploration of the self and the universe.  When someone enters into the practice of magic that person comes into contact with very powerful forces within the universe that serve to deepen the magic-user’s perceptions.  Much like the UFOE experience discussed in many transpersonal psychology circles, the exposure to magic forces a widening of one’s sense of the universe.  It shatters the construct of a purely rational and empirical worldview, and forces the person to live in a much wider, deeper, more cosmically aware state of being. 
There is, however, a common pitfall that many people may experience in relation to the practice of magic.  Magic is, as one can see from the four principles, a practice that can easily lead to the inflation of the ego of the magic-user.  Grandiosity and egocentrism can be very difficult problems that sometimes develop in the lives of magic-users, both past and present.  Some might begin to flaunt their powers before those without them.  Others may interpret their powers as evidence that they are some sort of important religious figure, the “One”.  Many might make the mistake of placing will above all other things as what is best in people, this sentiment stemming from the use of will in magic of course.    Sometimes the magic-user gets caught up in the power before the openings of perception occur and the deepening of the self becomes a reality.  The struggle not to fall into egocentrism and grandiosity is an ongoing one, so vigilance and openness must always be maintained.
Now that you have finished this chapter, read it again.  Commit to memory and analysis until you find yourself questioning it, possibly even finding disagreement with it.  It is this informed questioning that is the essence of post-modern magick. 
Now you are ready.