Shawn's Magical Blog

(This is the first part of a two part post.) Imagination is a very powerful tool in our magical workings. It is also often misunderstood. Imagination can be easily confused with fantasy and, therefore, rendered ineffective. Even though it is a powerful tool, it is not the only tool and we can not just use the imagination. It must work with others as well. This evening we will be looking at the imagination as a tool, how it differs from fantasy and how we can use it in our magical practice.  So what exactly is the imagination? What does it do and how can we use it? Well, obviously, imagination is a function of the mind. It is a creative aspect that allows us to produce amazing things. Anything and everything ever created ha first been created in the mind. That is a very powerful and magical statement. Everything from the computer or electronic device you are reading this on, to the chair you are sitting in, to the clothes you wear, to the wheel that evolved into the four

Retrograde. The term strikes fear into the hearts of modern pagan, astrology and magical practitioners. Many blame everything that goes wrong on a retrograde. But what is it really? What does it mean when a planet goes retrograde, and what does it truly mean for us? The term retrograde means apparent backward motion of certain planets when viewed from earth. At various times in our lives we have all traveled in trains that passed other trains, or in a car that passed a train moving in the same direction. We have noticed when we pass a train which is going slower than we are, the train we are passing seems to be moving backward. Actually, we know it is not. When our earth is moving faster in its orbit than a planet we are observing from earth, the same backward motion of that planet seems to take place. We say the planet is in retrograde. That is what retrograde means in astrology. In the ephemeris it is marked "R". If we were traveling on a train and another t

Why is it important to select a tradition? What benefit do they give? Well, several. Now, to be clear, I am not stating that you need to find a lodge, coven or other organization to join although these can be of immense help with your growth and magical practice. That is something we can discuss in the future if there is an interest. I am speaking of finding a tradition. That is, a set of guidelines for practice of magical works. Think of the tradition as elementary school. That is where we all learned to read, do math, and countless other things. A tradition is much like that. It provides you a blueprint of how to do magical work and a structure to start achieving results. Another thing that a tradition does is to assist in your magical work, even if you are doing a solitary work. As people work with a particular deity or path of magical practice it takes on a life and energy of its own. This energy can be tapped into by someone who is initiated (self-initiated or formal