Springing from Another Topic. A couple of Questions and Points.

When is the Right Circumstances to preform Magic. Does it have to be a Calm Mental State. Do you feel you have to be !00% Sober, and reasonable? Do you think it only works if all the circumstanses are Right, And What about the Astrological Angle? Or what if you are missing a certian Herb, or Mispronouce someting?

I'll Start.
I've done Magic in varying Mental StatesI done rituals when Angry, Upset, nervous and Calm. Because my style dosen't rely on a lot of Parephanaila (Herbs and the like) I can't really answer what has happed if I've substituted Sage for Lavander? (anyone care to enlighten me?) I know In my own Rituals if I substitued Hermes for Odin then I would have a diffrent result though
I have a accent, and I pronouce words and Phrases diffrently to other people. When I chant in Enochian is this affecting the ritual*? I don't think so, I've allways had a result.
I don't have a particular sacred space, but I do have a couple of places where the Magic has seemed to work better (Co-incidentaly one of these places is known as Witches Rock on Southerndown Beach a place where they used to Drown Witches or so the local legend goes)
I pay scant attention to the Astrological Movements, and most of the time I pay little attention to the phases of the Moon. I;ve never tried to time a ritual with a favorable phase of the moon, Maybe for the sake of enquiry I should
I totally belive in the "Hex in Haste, Repent at Leisure" Axiom. But I have also found certian rituals have seem to work.....not better.... but Faster if I am in a angry, or Excited State.
Do I wonder that I somehow studied and stuck to more of these rules then I would be a Better, more effective Magician? In all honesty NO, I'm either too Cocky, Arrogant, Confident or stupid, Or just too plain used to doing it my way now, to want to change.

On the other side of the coin I've been ready to preform a ritual, calm collected, plenty of time, and then decided not to because someting didn't feel right. Have I been right to listen to my gut instincts? I hope so.


*Enochan rituals can be quite long winded, I've found even with my Flat Northern tones, as I read and preform the ritual someting happens and my pronuctiantion and rythm of speech will change to something more fitting to the language I am speaking in.

When I feel like it.

My personal training started off with timings, moon phases, days of the week and so on. Now I think it's so much marsh gas, so I do it when I want. I agree there is much gut feeling involved (that may not be scientific enough for some ) but feeling and emotion and instinct are all interlinked anyway. So your gut feeling would be probably a good thing to listen to.

Personally i have to feel the right emotion, whatever it is. If i am angry and need to be calm or positive for my magick i don't bother, the same if i want to bind, blast and burn and i'm feeling all ethereal . I do all my magick on the full moon, not for any particular reason other than i feel it inspires me and therefore works better despite the drain of energy it often causes me.
Astrology plays zero part in my life as do colours, crystals and all the other crutches so i don't have to worry about them. I use herbs and plants and attempt to collect under the theoretically correct moon but again because i like to not because i feel it necessary and i tend to follow my own feelings and inspirations and correspondences and within these confines i am not so very flexible.
My rituals are a mess, but that's me. I mostly think they are a waste of time, too much waving of athames and muttering but i feel the goddess has a good giggle at them so continue, it's something we do together an dhave fun doing. I always do circles because that's how i was taught and that's how i feel most comfortable. So if i canì't do a circle i don't usually do magick because i feel something is missing. I tend to have to prepare to get the necessary focus, but that's also true of life in general.
The main ingredient for magick though is the desire to do it and being able to see the need to do things, which has abandoned me recently so magick has ground to a halt.
The more i am conscious of the world and it's shit the less i manage to do anything positive. If my head is cluttered with peoplewaves i find it difficult. I need isolation, mental isolation perhaps even more than physical (and that's saying something ).

Ahhhh the good old "Silliness factor" Woozle. I've felt guilty of that. When OM informed me of the unique way thay acoustics can travel on a beach and all te stoner surfers heard every syable of my ritual.
Hope it was educational for them

sorry but i must say. not sure it was educational. they had a bemused look of who is the nutter stood on the rock shouting at the sea.

mind you they have seen worse as no sheep were harmed in your ritual

personally im a bit of a silent assasin where my magik is concerned. im a very close to the chest sort of person. i bide my time and when i feel the time has come, out it comes. alot of the time its more a case of it happenening rather than me actually thinking of doing it. kinda like second nature.

it's like now i know something is brewing to be done. as my cat has taken to sitting close to me and wanting me to pet her. normally she is just a tart and will only go to the men of the house for a fuss. so she is giving me the prompt to do something.

as for the silliness factor. not many people know i practise magik so i dont have many dumbledore jokes to suffer.

Haha. Too true. But just remember king kev and all will be well. Anyway the surfers are probably too drunk/drugged/cold to care.
Sometimes i'll say something aloud and cringe inwardly. Lack of structure i suppose.

Interesting question.

Ok... here goes.

I dont use ritual at all, so I dont need to worry about pronounciation. I also dont think tho that it can be that important, I mean does the language matter or the words? Personally I think its the words and since we give words meaning, you could be speaking in gibberish and provided you know what you are saying....

I dont do astrological either. I do on occasion use the moon. However thats far less about what people "say" is the right time of the moon and what feels like the right time of the moon for me. For example, I like to do healing around the time of the full moon, so that by the time the new moon comes about the effect has taken place. I also feel very drawn to the moon and water and use it because it again feels right and I have a particular affinity for that sort of energy.

As for herbs, I only use them in my soaps and herbal teas and the like and I have to say, putting something like ginger into a tea that is required for calming, is not the kind of mistake you can make. I do use some herbs and essential oils in some workings, but thats ususally because they are going to be activated by someone other than me and I find that if I need someone to be calm while activating it, its not a bad idea to rub a little lavender oil on since that kicks into the calming part of the brain and helps them achive that state of calm.

I also dont have a special place to do things. I do wherever and whenever necessary.

With regards to mental states, that is something I pay attention to. How can you not. It would be very hard to work some healing for someone if I had just had a massive row with someone and an internal monalogue of grumblings and anger. Gut is a great thing to go with.

I have also never practiced drunk. I think its a bit like getting into a car with drink. You might get home safe, on the other hand, you might end up wraped round a tree and taking several other innocent people with you.

As for anger. I am a bit odd. I rarely get "angry" the shouty, foul temper sort. If I do ever get angry, it takes a lot. An AWFUL lot and it usually comes from either threats to family or friends or utter injustice... I get very quiet. My anger tends to be cold. I dont shout, I get very focused and I find that an excellent state for working in and as you sad JO can be very very effective.

I seem to be largely in agreement with Xalle.

I dont use ritual. I do use words sometimes, but they tend to be ad hoc. I dont do astrological, nor do I bother with the moon.

I use smells and sound a lot, because that works for me. It isn't to induce a state of mind, but rather, the use of the herbs is directly related to the work. For example, if I'm binding I might use bindweed, or if repelling I might use nettle. And I use smells in incense in the same way. I tend to use oils and resin, and rely on what the plants are used within herbalism.

I mostly work at home, though I have once worked in someone else's home. Up to now I've not worked outdoors, but that's because my home is my sacred space. though I may start something off in the home which has to be completed by using an outdoor site. I don't draw circles.

I'm happy to work with anger, so long as I focus it - I find it can make the magic more powerful if used well. I never work under the influence of drugs/alcohol, as that destroys the focus.

I don't use words (I am not afterall, afaik communicating with something that actually understands the english language). I use my thoughts, I create mental pictures and recreate in my mind what it is that has bothered me so much, then I make a kind of 'request', a suggestion I suppose about the kind of result I want to whatever the problem is that I want resolving. thats done in pictures too. The images I create also recreate the emotion and the way I feel. I trust in the strength of those images that the other will understand me.(thats faith I suppose, or at least my kind of faith) I may be wrong in this assumption of course. but that is what I do.

I don't bother with seasons, astrology dates and so on, cos well this 'living energy' is there all the time, all year round. it feels a bit like 'communing' in a way with something/someone that is just 'there'.

fizz

I guess I'd say whenever and wherever *feels* right. Always seems to work for me...