Magick in Theory and Practice (Section 1)

Let us take a very simple example of a Magical Act: that of a man blowing his nose. What are the conditions of the success of the Operation? Firstly, that the man’s Will should be to blow his nose; secondly, that he should hâve a nose capable of being blown; thirdly, that he should hâve at command an apparatus capable of expressing his spiritual Will in terms of material force, and applying that force to the object which he desires to affect. His Will may be as strong and concentrated as that of Jupiter, and his nose may be totally incapable of résistance; but unless the link is made by the use of his nerves and muscles in accordance with psychological, physiological, and physical law, the nose will remain unblown through ail eternity. Writers on Magick hâve been unsparing in their efforts to instruct us in the préparation of the Will, but they seem to hâve imagined that no further précaution was necessary. There is a striking case of an épidémie of this error whose history is familiar to everybody. I refer to Christian Science, and the cognate doctrines of “mental healing” and the like. The theory of such people, stripped of dogmatic furbelows, is perfectly good Magic of its kind, its negroid kind. The idea is correct enough: matter is an illusion created by Will through mind, and consequently susceptible of alteration at the behest of its creator. But the practice has been lacking. They hâve not developed a scientific technique for applying the Will. It is as if they expected the steam of Watts’ kettle to convey people from place to place without the trouble of inventing and using locomotives. Let us apply these considérations to Magick in its restricted sense, the sense in which it was always understood until the Master Therion extended it to cover the entire operations of Nature. What is the theory implied in such rituals as those of the Goetia? What does the Magician do? He applies himself to invoke a God, and this God compels the appearance of a spirit whose function is to perform the Will of the Magician at the moment. There is no trace of what may be called machinery in the method. The exorcist hardly takes the pains of preparing a material basis for the spirit to incarnate except the bare connection -— 108