A few questions about magick and wicca/witches...

[Inner Beauty]

I have a few questions and thought it would be more useful to put them in one and have people comment on which ever one they liked...Here I go:

1. What happens if your partner is not a Wicca or intereted in Wicca and is wierded out by the fact that some people believe in magick?

2. When in a coven, has anyone performed a circle? Did it involve moving in a circle, and then what happened?

3. When you do a spell, does it really work? Is there really magick, does it exist?

I am hoping to get replies from people who can answer these questions as they have lived it and experienced it first hand. I know they may sound silly and ridiculous questions, but if anyone could talk to me and at least offer me something, that would be great.

Blessed Be,
Inner Beauty.

[RedRonin]

Hi;

One thing to keep in mind is that there is no "official" standpoint on any of these questions.  What you get in terms of answers will be based on the opinion of the person answering, so you may get responses that differ from one another.  Neither is more "right" or "wrong" than the other. 

1. What happens if your partner is not a Wicca or intereted in Wicca and is wierded out by the fact that some people believe in magick?

I am the official "this is the way I live my life, deal with it or go away" person of the board.  Though substantially less outspoken than in past years, I still refuse to bend my ways to accomodate what someone else believes I should be doing.  So to answer your question, if my partner has an issue with my choice of spiritual practices (some have), they have the options of getting educated, not getting educated but accepting or finding a different partner (they did).

2. When in a coven, has anyone performed a circle? Did it involve moving in a circle, and then what happened?
Probably all of us that have been here a while have participated in numerous circles.  It is called such because the participants stand in a circle (a very pragmatic method of choosing the name).  Though there are as many methodologies as there are participants, most circles involve the following:

** Calling of the quarters
** Charge of the Goddess and/or God
** Stating of purpose
** Raising of energies
** Grounding of excess energies
** Releasing the quarters

This is by no means an all-inclusive listing.  The ways of casting circle differs by branch, coven, etc.  It can also be dependent on the purpose of the circle.  Entire books can (and probably have) been written on this alone.

3. When you do a spell, does it really work? Is there really magick, does it exist?

This, darlin, is something only you can answer for yourself.  Spellwork deals with the focusing of energy and will.  Like anything else in life, if you do it half-assed, you're very likely not going to get the desired result.

One note:  Spellwork is very direction-specific.  The more focus on detail of the request, the better.  Simply stating "I want more money" may get you nothing more than finding a dollar bill in the dryer at the laundromat.  Did the spell work? Well, yeah, but the result probably isn't what you had in mind.

As for the very last question - Yes, magiq most definitely exists.  It's with us every day.  The trick is re-learning how to see it, acknowledge it and work in concert with it.  It's a learning process like everything else.  It won't come to you overnight and there will always be little hitches along the way.

That said, I've always prefered the journey to the destination.

[Brijrian]

1. What happens if your partner is not a Wicca or intereted in Wicca and is wierded out by the fact that some people believe in magick?
 
I heartily second Red. The partner needs to either accept, get educated about it (and then accept it), or he/she/you needs to find a new partner.

I don't recommend the fourth option: keeping it hidden. It'll come out at some point anyway, and then there will be major trust issues to deal with on top of it. Honesty with your partner is important. If they can't accept you for who you are, you need to ask: why are they with you (and why are you with them)?  Besides, hiding something implies that it is bad or something to be ashamed of.

If the partner is not interested in Wicca/isn't Wiccan but is accepting of your choice, no big deal. It can even help you expand your mind by initiating interesting philosophical discussions (my husband is athiest/agnostic, so I've got some experience here!).

2. When in a coven, has anyone performed a circle? Did it involve moving in a circle, and then what happened?

If you are in a coven, it is with the purpose of having circle--it isn't a "rare/special" event, it generally happens every time the coven gets together. In fact, in my coven we call our meetings "circle", because when we get together we...well, we create a circle (sometimes also called "Erecting the Temple") and we do our spirituality/religious work.

You do NOT have to be in a coven to have circle. You can, and should, have circle by yourself (even if you are also in a coven). It's about communing, reaching out to the Divine, asking for guidance, reclaiming your power over your own religious path, self growth, among many other things.

In our tradition, we do the following:
--Purification of space/self (using incense, brine/holy water)
--Cast circle (envision blue flame creating a circle, then stretching up and below to create a sphere to create the Temple and contain your energy)
--Calling Quarters/Elementals (Air, Fire, Water, Earth, Spirit)
--Calling Goddess/God
--Purpose/Raising Energy
--Ground excess energy (partaking of Cakes and Ale helps)
--Thank Quarters
--Thank Dieties
--Release circle

There is no end of things that can and do happen in circle (both planned and unplanned!). There can be music, dancing, singing, acting, reciting, drumming, reading a myth, you name it. The important thing is that it has meaning, and inspires you. I highly recommend writing your own rituals (or modify/personalize pre-written ones to get you started).

3. When you do a spell, does it really work? Is there really magick, does it exist?

As Red said, you have to learn that for yourself. I do however, believe in it. It has and does work for me. Whether it is the manipulation/moving of energy, the work of the Divine, or simply psycology doesn't matter. Have you ever watched or read "The Secret"? I think magic works a lot like that.

The trick is that you have to also "act in accord" with the energy that you put out there. For example, if you do a spell to get a job, don't sit back and expect the phone to ring. You need to do the legwork, and the magic helps to smooth the way and help you find the "right" job for you at the moment.

There are ethics that you need to consider before doing any magic. I don't recommend doing anything on anyone else but yourself unless you have their permission, or it is an extreme situation and you have exhausted all other resources. Another option is to send energy to (their) God to use on their behalf if their higher self is in agreement (ex. someone is in a coma and you can't get their permission, but you want to send healing energy--if you s.

Most often I do magic to help me to transform myself and negative habits/etc so that I can become a better, healed, connected person who makes the world a better place. As Mahatma Gandi said "Be the change you want to see in the world."

[Inner Beauty]

Thanks for the detailed answers. It has cleared a lot of things up for me. I'd like to say that I was honest with Wicca and how it interests me etc and he is understanding but doesn't like it still, so all is good on that front.

P.S. I have not read the secret, should I?

I have another question though due to the discussions. Does dark magck exist? I have read that everything in Wicca is a circle and not opposite, just all part of the same chain, does that make sense? If so, does that mean there is no dark or light?

[RedRonin]

Magiq is a tool.  There is no "white" vs. "dark" form.  The determining factor is the intent of the user.

Think of fire.  We cook our food, warm our homes and in earlier times, kept wild animals at bay with it.  All good uses.

Fire can also cause great pain and suffering such as an arsonist burning down one's home.

The fire is neither good nor bad. It is the rapid oxididation process merging air, heat and fuel....No intent or will of its own.  How it is used makes it good or bad.

[Lark]

1. What happens if your partner is not a Wicca or interested in Wicca and is wierded out by the fact that some people believe in magick?

I think that it is important that you are open about your spiritual beliefs with your partner.  Trying to hide what you believe is, IMHO, a form of lying and sooner or later it will all come out.  Hopefully if there is love and trust in the relationship the partner can accept that this is an important path for you, even if they don't find it a path for them.  Remember that we can often get so caught up in the excitement of being Wiccan that we may find ourselves excluding our partners from that part of our life.  Be willing to share with your partner what they need to know, and remember to make time for them so they don't feel left out of areas of your life.  A book that I suggest for those trying to explain their beliefs to a non-Wiccan is "When Someone You Love is Wiccan" by Carl McColman.

2. When in a coven, has anyone performed a circle? Did it involve moving in a circle, and then what happened?

Over the years I've stood in hundreds of circles.  Technically a circle is an energy construct (really a globe more than a circle) which is meant to establish sacred space for ritual, to keep negative influences away from the group, and to contain energy raised by the group until it is released to a specific purpose.  Casting a circle involves having the caster draw up energy and direct it into the shape you desire.  You can walk around the circle to do this, or you stand in the middle of the circle and just turn in place, or you can even do it all in your head without moving.  The others have described the most common activities during a ritual so I won't go over them again.

3. When you do a spell, does it really work? Is there really magick, does it exist?

Yep, magick works.  That being said, it doesn't necessarily work everytime or in the way that you expect it to.  There is far more to spellwork than simply chanting some words, waving a tool around, or using specific herbs or candles, etc.  The core of magick is based on your ability to focus on your goal, visualize the outcome you desire, draw and move energy, and direct that energy to the specific result you desire.  There's a wonderful book on the subject called "Spells and How They Work" by Janet and Stewart Farrar.

4. About dark magic...

As Red said, magic is not either dark or light.  Magic is simply a form of energy just like electricity.  What is important is what the intent of the user is.  I can use electricity to light and warm my home.  Or I can use it to kill.  The electricity is just the same, the difference is in what I do with it.  Same thing with magic.

5. Should I read the book "The Secret".

To my mind the book is an oversimplified look at how we get things to manifest through energy work.  Certainly thinking hard about something we desire and wishing strongly that it would occur is in fact sending out energy into the Universe to make that something happen.  BUT...magick is more than simply wishing and that's something that the book "The Secret" doesn't really deal with.  Try the book by the Farrar's for a better understanding of the process of magic.

-Lark-

[Zenon]

1. What happens if your partner is not a Wicca or intereted in Wicca and is wierded out by the fact that some people believe in magick?

Lark has answered this completely.  One should be completely honest about these things.


2. When in a coven, has anyone performed a circle? Did it involve moving in a circle, and then what happened?

A circle is not really performed, it is created through symbolic and magickal acts concerning the elements and the magician/witches will.  This is called casting the circle.  It is a sacred space and a container of energy, sometimes also considered a space between worlds.  Though casting the circle is very simple there are complex relationships between energies going on, there are many ways to do it and I would recommend watching an experienced person do it.  Yeah, sometimes it involves moving in circles.

3. When you do a spell, does it really work? Is there really magick, does it exist?

Yes, of course.

[Still Kate]

Hello,   Red's pretty much covered everything that needs to be said.

My partner was brought up Catholic and sung in the cathedral choir. He's not practicing now. He respects my beliefs and even dusts the crystals and candle sticks now and then.
His mother is less accomodating and her and I have had heated discussions over baptising my children.

The circle questions been covered.

Spells .... do they work?
In my experience ...Yes, very much so.
You must be specific and be careful what you ask for because you might just get it.