Creating Magic

At times we may think that magic is only connected to the "need" for change, to help in times of stress or trouble. But we can have a mind set of creating magic that will prevent some stress and make our lives more enjoyable. My oldest daughter has a way of adding a touch of beauty or fun wherever she is. A wind chime in the garden, a tee shirt that matches the cup she is using for tea, a wreathe on the front door. She seems to do this automatically throughout the day. My second daughter does the same thing with ideas, always looking for ways to make the teaching she does as a physical therapist easier for her patients, or finding cute names for friends. It gave me a laugh to be called 'Momma Doodles' on my birthday. If you have a mind set that you can make the small changes for fun, beauty, efficiency and so on, it will lead to you being more able and willing to take on the bigger changes that you may face. The important thing is that you, as a wise magician, are an agent of change. A little touch here, a little touch there and soon your magic kingdom will start to appear. Give yourself and others the gift of enjoyment and comfort and it will energize you for living a fuller life. May the spark be with you.

Advanced Magic Wanding

This is the story of the week I just spent in the hospital. I spent my 70th birthday hooked up to oxygen and other tubes, hoping to get my dangerously high heart rate down. I felt like the doctors at Denver Health understood a few things about magic. I think the wise magician knows we are not alone and the resources of our culture and society are there for us. A great tool for good change is the resources of our society. After a week of getting back on the track to health another little piece of magic manifested. It took so long to discharge me that my designated ride was no longer available. But another friend found out I needed a ride and appeared. She called the hospital and told them she was on her way. Much better and friendlier than the cab they were arranging for me to get me to the clinic where I had left my car. So I suggest to those of you who wish to wield the magic wand at the highest level that you keep yourself open to help from every direction possible. Surround yourself with good people. That helps you in myriad ways. Your magic wand is any tool you choose to use, including your own inner resources. Whether you need to change your life style or your environment, change is possible. Reach out to the energy of the magic that surrounds and take on the quest for change. May the spark be with you.

Magic As A Help When You Are Searching

Once I had a job as a waitress at the Denver branch of the CIA (culinary institute of America). They had just taken over the old Petroleum Club and all of its equipment. There was one big room with glassware, silverware, uniforms and many other things. Several times, when we were getting ready for special dinners, the maitre 'd would ask me to go find a certain utensil for the table.
Each time I would go in that room and come back with the boxes of silverware he needed. Did I mention that there was little organization or method, just stuff piled where it could be piled? My boss claimed I had some kind of 'finding ESP'. I have often thought that if a thing can be found I can find it. But I would call it the magic skill set rather than ESP. I believe I use these principles of magic to find things. Magic does not set out to fail. Magic looks for patterns, distractions that can be seen through and anomalies. Magic sees the larger whole in the smallest part. Magic is not rigid about the tool but instead focuses on the purpose of the tool. Thus if one tool can't be found another can and the job will still get done. Magic is willing to search in many ways, directions and from many perspectives. When the wise magician sees that mood is interfering with the search he knows it is time to rest and renew. Magic is willing to redefine the search. Magic expects to succeed so it does what needs to be done. So, if you are searching for your bliss or your car keys, I believe that you will benefit from using the energy of the magic that surround you. May be spark be with you.

Magic and The Monsters Under The Bed

I had a friend that told me he had met his demons. I observed his life and saw that his demons had met him as well and overcome him. I had another friend who told me he had met his demons but this friend seemed to be more of a wise magician. He seemed to be able to use certain magic principles by instinct to keep himself going. That made me think about magic enough that I even stuffed some of my demons successfully out of the closet and into the cold. What principles did we use? Let's look at the ways magic and demons cannot co-exist. 1) Magic is well formed. Fears and anxieties are not. When the light of magic shines on baseless or overinflated anxieties they are seen to be the mere shadows they are. 2) Magic is created from your own rich inner resources. There is nothing stronger than that. As long as you maintain control of your self-power no demon can take it from you. 3) Magic is the ability to change perception. Look at how many writers, film makers etc have made a fortune from putting form to monsters. Shrek is a movie that made money for the producers enough they had to make sequels. One man's monster is another man's chance to laugh. 4) Magic teaches that tools are there to use and that anything you can think of can be a tool. Monsters are helpless against good tools. Like self-nurturing and forming good relationships. A good friendship can get you through many a dark time. 5) Magic teaches you to protect yourself, with a cloak, athane, wand or whatever when needed. Being prepared for an encounter is a wonderful protection. You can create your own protections. 6) Magic teaches you to retire and heal or strengthen when needed. 7) Magic teaches the importance of enjoyment. Good sights, good food, warm fires, love, laughter, and satisfaction with a challenge well met are all things that will make the monsters under your bed curl up and blow away with the dust bunnies. Because seven has been thought to be a magical number I will stop the list there. But magic teaches more than I have listed. It teaches whatever you, as a wise magician, can discover. Go forth and battle your demons. Then fan them away for the dust they are with a swish of your magic cloak. May the spark be with you.

The Magic Cave

Temenos is a wonderful Greek word I have mentioned before. It has several uses from 'sunny spot within garden walls in winter' to Carl Jung's reference to 'the inner resources where soul making takes place'. Whether you want to use the term temenos, inner mother or magic cave there will be times when it is good to be able to go inside yourself for comfort and renewal. You may need to develop more of an awareness of that for yourself. I am not a person who is overflowing with confidence. So when I push myself to reach out in a necessary way I sometimes feel in over my head. I know that I have done the right thing but I have to retire to my cave to grow into the brave thing I have just done. In my magic cave it becomes normal for me to have run out onto the battlefield the way I have. Once it is okay to have done what I have done, I can then go out and do it again. If I couldn't go inside and calm myself my attempts at creative battle would become wearing and I might give them up too easily. So if you have dreams or projects you need to pursue but have been procrastinating may I suggest that you may not be ready yet. Perhaps you need a place of safety and comfort so you can retire and renew when it is needed. Perhaps a journal or a good friend with whom you can discuss things will help create that for you. But ultimately your temenos is your own inner resource. Not that you need to be isolated. But you are the judge of how you feel and what you need. Reach out to the magic that surrounds you to help you realize that you have that zone of self comfort within yourself. Develop it for yourself. May the spark be with you.

The Need For Magic

Life is fragile. We are fragile. We are often torn between conflicting drives and desires. Sometimes the gap between duty and pleasure seems enormous and frightening. In order to move along our path of making life better for ourselves we really need to hook into the help of magic. Magic adds fun to duty. Magic is a bit richer and fuller than simple pleasure. For several days I was so full of energy about the New Year resolutions I had made that I was sure that I would be instantly and totally successful at reaching my goals in those areas. Then the reaction set in. I wondered how on earth people could get a good idea and hold on to it long enough to bring it, or any idea, to fruition. I was reading stories about a group of journalists in the San Francisco Bay ares called "Storytellers for Good". They make videos of good things and good groups around the bay area. That takes work on their part and work on the part of each of the groups they film. For me, when my ideas and dreams started to fade, I knew I had to reach out for some special energy to glue them together and envision them more firmly for myself. The people I have told about my dreams and have encouraged me, the goals and plans I have set were talismans for me. If any of your good dreams are getting harder to define reach out to the realm and energy of the magic that surrounds you now. Find talismans, spells, wands and portents to encourage you. Your dreams are important. Hold on to them. Let magic help. May the spark be with you.

The Magic Of Grey

Before we are wise magicians we are children. We want power and instant wish gratification. We would like our wands to meet our every whim. Unfortunately we vacillate between love and hate, between black and white, between supreme good and darkest evil. If our parents thwart us we can hardly stand to call them our parents. We take every set back personally. It is only when we learn the wise use of magic that we come to see the beauty in different shades and hues, that we can suspend judgment about the intention of actions. Because we have learned to accept and thus love ourselves we are not threatened by others foibles and oversights so much. So the magic wand in this case must be self love. How to develop that? I believe it is through self acceptance and self knowledge. "To know us is to love us." So do some introspection, non-judgmental. Just say that you accept yourself. Say it often and long. What may come up at first is an awareness of what you see as flaws. Praise yourself for accepting that awareness. Then go deeper and accept your glories, your values, your dreams. By coming out of the chaos of "the world of shoulds" you can appreciate fun, glory, connection, an ability to contribute to the world, and greater happiness. Soft, rich, lovely grey can be beautiful. As can shades of blue, green and so forth. Enjoy the colors of your magical world. May the spark be with you.