Building FAQ Pt. 1: Ask your questions.

[Nahemah]

I started it bc some people were interested in making one (group effort) but after I started it I was the only one doing it and I just got burned out. Life sometimes justs gets in the way.

I've observed similar both here and in other places.It's why I didn't join in on this,I knew I would be busy IRL and didn't feel I could commit and there's also the 'conjecture factor' to take into account.

Looking at the Stonehenge commentary above,for instance.Would it be helpful for me to show some of the Archaeology and known facts about it and what people built it or would it turn into a disagreement based around erroneous Victorian romanticism which has been carried on through to today by fluffy Neo Pagan authors?

This is not a snipe at anyone here,but I think it's only fair to say that Stonehenge was ancient before there were Druids and the timescales for the Arthurian legends are also out by a few thousand years,so neither the Druids nor King Arthur could have built the complex.Just saying.

Only one example,but a case in point,I think.

For a Faq to be successful it's probably best to have a small team collect and collate and to keep the information as close to corroborated sources/resources as possible.
Discussion topics could come later,where personal and particularly paradigmal beliefs and structures could be added.Myths and fables surrounding such sites as Stonehenge could be part of Stonehenge's entry,but should come after what is accepted as factual about it:Again,example and for instance.

I think the project could fly,but not as it stands now.

[Moth]

Q: Is Cthulu/Necronomicon real?

I couldn't resist commenting on this one. I became fascinated with the Necronomicon, or rather, I became fascinated with the idea of the Necronomicon.

To state first: There is no such book as the actual Necronomicon that Lovecraft wrote about. Lovecraft wrote a short essay on the subject: (http://www.jurn.org/annotated_necronomicon_6x9.pdf)There have been lots of books written that cash in on the name, and some of them are actually quite interesting.

The thing that I realised, partially from my research, is that although the Necronomicon itself is not real, the idea of the Necronomicon is as real as anything else in the world.

An example from my own life: I am in a band, called "Tinyfish", and we produced a concept album called "The Big Red Spark" which is about a machine which compels people to build it, not necessarily even knowing what it was for.

I was sitting around with some friends, all of whom had heard our album, when one of us started relating a story about his father, who had been an electrical engineer. In later years, he suffered from dementia, and one of the ways this would reveal itself was that he would secretly order electronic components and start putting them together in his shed, in combinations that could not possibly do anything. As we were listening to this story, one of the others leaned in and asked "Did he paint it any particular colour?" (i.e. Red) and the friend telling the story suddenly realised what he'd been saying. It was at that moment I realised that even though the machine had been a complete fabrication, the idea of the machine was alive and well and was able to travel backwards and forwards in time :-)

I then took the next step and realised that the same can be applied to God and a lot of other things...

[Visrite]

If I remember my definitions right, left hand is like LeVay, right hand more like Christ.

[Codedecrypter]

Hi Stukov

Do you think that the American Magicians David Copperfield or Criss Angel are involved in the Occult? And if you do why is that?

[NLDSatanist666]

Here are my questions. I would assume many other beginners would have these same or similar questions.

-Are there limits to magic(k) or is it an omnipotent force that can do literally anything?

-Does magick follow Newtonian Physics?

Thanks for the answers!

[Shinichi]

-Are there limits to magic(k) or is it an omnipotent force that can do literally anything?

There are limits, but they often have more to do with the magician than the magic itself. Most guys could build a house, but a Master Carpenter can build a much nicer one than his Apprentice, and either of them can build one much nicer than most Bankers.

-Does magick follow Newtonian Physics?

Not strictly speaking. Physics does a good job of explaining most of the rules of the Physical Plane, but magic deals with a lot of things that are Non-Physical. Spirit things, Mental things, Soul things. Those Non-Physical things are not strictly bound by Physical Law, because they are...well, they are not Physical Things.



~:Shin:~

[NLDSatanist666]

-Are there limits to magic(k) or is it an omnipotent force that can do literally anything?

There are limits, but they often have more to do with the magician than the magic itself. Most guys could build a house, but a Master Carpenter can build a much nicer one than his Apprentice, and either of them can build one much nicer than most Bankers.

-Does magick follow Newtonian Physics?

Not strictly speaking. Physics does a good job of explaining most of the rules of the Physical Plane, but magic deals with a lot of things that are Non-Physical. Spirit things, Mental things, Soul things. Those Non-Physical things are not strictly bound by Physical Law, because they are...well, they are not Physical Things.



~:Shin:~

Thanks for the reply!

[Ramscha]

Here are my questions. I would assume many other beginners would have these same or similar questions.

-Are there limits to magic(k) or is it an omnipotent force that can do literally anything?

-Does magick follow Newtonian Physics?

Thanks for the answers!

However one defines Magick, it in itself operates in the limites of nature of which it is part.
Now there is the problem: What is magick? That is a question you have to answer for yourself.

Anyway, I will try to give you a little input on the matter you asked for:
- "Magick" is not a strictly defined term, there is no strict consensus in the community. However, I suppose that most will agree that one needs a certain skillset in order to operate properly, discipline, some creativity as well as some curiosity to name just a few in general. It gets more specific then depending on the path you are following (if you work with runes or with a strongly nature related paradigm it wouldn't be too bad if you don't mind to get your hands dirty...). So, basically besides the known (and unknown) natural laws the limit is set by the skill as well as the talent (to a certain degree) of the operator.

- As I said there is no consensus of what magick actually is. It certainly is not defined in any strict sense regarding its operational ways, too much mysticism and stuff. What I can tell you from the physical perspective is that also newtons laws have their limits. The two biggest limits are the size of the particles as well as their speed. That means leaving the realm of classical mechanics and entering the area of relativity and quantum mechanics. You will probably get a decent explanation of you ask dear friend google for help regarding the way of function of newtons laws, probably better then the way I can explain them. Teaching or explaining advanced physic theory honestly never was one of my strengths...

Honestly, when it comes to the question HOW some of this stuff (quite a lot moves in the field of modern biology and psychology and you can get a decent grip on the theoretical background) actually works you will probably come across a lot of babbling about energy fields and stuff but probably will never see any form of scientific equation or proper formulated theorem dealing with the matter (aside mis-interpretations and cherry picking from quantum mechanics....) It often gets blurry and while looking at blavatsky as example, also a lot of "fraud" can be found under the surface.

Ramscha

[NLDSatanist666]

Here are more questions that I have that many beginners could also have:

-What the heck is "Higher Self"?

-Is the internet a reliable source for getting occult knowledge?

-How accurate is information from the New Age Movement?

-What does it mean when people say that you "create your own reality"? Is this a New Age thing or is it actually a legit occult thing? Is it a metaphor?

-Can servitors or egergores cast spells? And what if an egergore or servitor goes rogue and casts an unauthorized spell?

-Theoretically, what would happen if someone cast a spell to make a certain religion "true" (by true, I mean objectively true for everyone, as in the only true religion)? Disclaimer: I am only asking this theoretically as it is a question that pops into my head whenever I think about the limits of magic(k), probably because I used to be a pretty Hardcore Christian who believed that Christianity was the only "true" religion. Now I guess I'm an agnostic Satanist or something like that.



Thanks to whoever replies!

[Shinichi]

-What the heck is "Higher Self"?

Depends on the school of thought. In most, the HS is most easily defined as the highest, truest part of every individual Microcosm. It is the part of every individual that is naturally immortal, the part that goes to the Afterlife and Reincarnates or whatever depending on your cosmology. It is your Spirit, and Consciousness itself.

To experience this state of yourself directly, without the mental trappings of daydreams, excessive thoughts or delusions, is called Self-Realization and is both the goal of all mysticism and the first true initiation of many schools of magic.

-Is the internet a reliable source for getting occult knowledge?

Depends on which corner you end up at. Credibility and Reliability are important, and for this, follow the basic rules of your English class. Look for Citations, Sources, Bibliography. If someone doesn't explain to you where they got their information, they could be making it up just as easily as they might be writing down personal experience. And some people do just write down personal experience, but most of them also offer comparisons or point you towards places and people where you can see similar experiences.

There are also a lot of old books and written material saved on the internet now. Places like hermetic.com and sacred-texts.com are great resources.

-How accurate is information from the New Age Movement?

Depends on who you ask. Me? Don't bother with it. Too much fluff and delusion.

-What does it mean when people say that you "create your own reality"? Is this a New Age thing or is it actually a legit occult thing? Is it a metaphor?

It can be all of the above. When I do a magical working, I'm changing reality in some way or another, whether it be bending a candle flame with my mind or healing someone with an incantation or energy massage. A lot of New Agers toss it up as a "think positive!" motto, though. And of course, plenty of mystics enjoy a good metaphor.

Something important to note, though, is that from an occult perspective reality includes a lot more than the physical world that you see around you. The gods and nature spirits tend to have their say on the matter, too, not just other humans.

-Can servitors or egergores cast spells? And what if an egergore or servitor goes rogue and casts an unauthorized spell?

You can create a servitor or an egregore that can do anything you can do, but not one that can do things you cannot do unless you give it the freedom and intelligence to learn those things elsewhere. If one goes rogue, it depends on its nature. If it's under your domain, or "yours," then you are responsible for it in the same way that you would be responsible for a pet or a child. If some other domain or individual claims it, then they are responsible.

And magical responsibility, in this sense, means that you might as well have cast the spell yourself, and whatever cause-effect ripple that takes place is yours to handle. If your rogue servitor turns its power on you, then you're still responsible for it and just in a bigger mess.

Basically, follow the old rule: don't call forth anything that you can't send back. If you can't handle an basic artificial entity then you should probably be meditating and doing other basic training instead.

-Theoretically, what would happen if someone cast a spell to make a certain religion "true" (by true, I mean objectively true for everyone, as in the only true religion)? Disclaimer: I am only asking this theoretically as it is a question that pops into my head whenever I think about the limits of magic(k), probably because I used to be a pretty Hardcore Christian who believed that Christianity was the only "true" religion. Now I guess I'm an agnostic Satanist or something like that.

No. You could cast a mass hypnosis or something similar to make a lot of people believe the same thing, but belief does not equal reality. Something either is or it isn't, and the thing that is doesn't care whether or not you believe in it. Don't believe me? Try believing that gravity doesn't exist, and jump off a bridge. I'm betting good old Gravity won't care what you believe, it's still going to be there.

Spiritual things are much the same. So religion in general and what people believe is, from an occult perspective, not a big deal. Cosmology can be an incredibly powerful tool that is full of ways to better understand the universe when used correctly, but dogma is often more of a hindrance than anything else. Everyone will always have different faiths, and that should be a good thing. Diversity makes us interesting.



~:Shin:~