Please read through the other articles on this topic first, as they will form a primer for this post.
As I have explained in those articles High (or real) Magick (we spell it with a K, to separate it from stage magic) is the practice of manipulating the natural flow of energy to help us achieve an end desire. By connecting to the energy of the Universe we nudge things to help us get what we want.
All High Magick works with this as the goal. While some still attach religious aspects to their practice, and some believe the power comes from the ritual rather than themselves, it all does the same thing.
So, you might be asking yourself, where do the styles and colors of magick come from? I know I’ve heard of them. White, Green, Black, you mention chaos magick, so on and so forth.
Well, is all comes down to personal style and taste.
White magick is for those still hung up on Christian beliefs, or in some other way operating from the notion that magick is a dirty tool. That isn’t to say there is nothing to be afraid of when doing magick, but the white mage does magick wearing a condom as far as I’m, concerned.
Green magick is the style practiced by those that like being outdoors. If you like what Wicca has to say, and you love nature, this might be the style for you.
Black magick is the style used by goths, horror movie fans, and those of us that just like to play with the dark. We know that the negative emotions, and desires are also very potent and do not refrain from using them.
Chaos magick is a mish-mash of everything it’s practitioner learns. A magick style, that has none to speak of. The basic premise of Chaos magick is that anything done the same way becomes less useful over time, so we always endeavor to keep things fresh.
A style that gets a lot of questions is Necromancy. The magick of death. The manipulation and dealing of spirits is the name of the game in Necromancy. Spirits are also energy, and can be used like any other. Since it deals with a negative subject, it is a style of Black Magick.
As a practitioner of my own style of Black Magick, done with the principles of Chaos Magick, I will be taking you down a dark, and sometimes frightening road, I hope you aren’t afraid of the dark.
I derive my style from many sources. Mythology being the first, my own inventiveness the second. Commercial books gave me some new tools, and ideas to fill out my way fo doing things. Add a little martial arts and Chi control, along with shamanic mysticism and you have my style. Now many say commercial books are nothing but garbage for poseurs, I disagree. Since the real power of magick is in the ideas, and the will, anything can have power if you believe it strongly enough. It’s about reaching the right state of mind, not where you got your ideas from.
My influences in the regard are mainly Konstantinos a gothic minded occult writer, with a very good mind for ritual, and the Simon Necromnoicon. It’s combination of real Sumerian mythology and creatively manufactured rituals is a wonderful example of how to go about finding your own style.
The Necronomicon is also a good example of things that have taken on a life of their own. Many people still believe Lovecraft (the horror writer that invented the book, although it came to him in a dream, so one might say it actually invented itself) either had a real book, or that he connected to something otherworldly when he created it.
Who’s to say they are wrong? At very near the same period in history a man named Crowley dreamed a book with very similar connections to Sumerian mythology.
Regardless of what power the Necronomicon actually has, far more important are the numerous people that believe is does, and have been for decades. Belief is real power when working with high magick. This is why the books of Crowley, the Book of the Dead, and all the other great occult tomes still hold such power. All the energy of people’s beliefs, gives it that power.
So… in the end the style you choose to practice should fit who you are. What you are trying to do is the same no matter what style you use. The only difference is in how you choose to get there. While some styles are inherently different, such as Necromancy, in which you are trying to influence spirits (thinking energy), they tend to have greater power, at the cost of being more risky.
As you progress on the path you will find your need to rely on a style fading, and disappearing all together. For now give it some thought, as the choice of how you learn to practice High Magick will Color your experiences with it.
