Helena
When I first discovered Wicca and witchcraft in the form of glittery spell books in the New Age section of my local bookstore, revealing to someone that you practised witchcraft never ceased to to met with an astounded gasp. Like a treasured secret, I formally dedicated myself to an eclectic path at 12 (and I honestly have no recollection of how I managed the initiation ritual) and adhered to a rather haphazard but devoted and disciplined self-study over the next six years. I was primarily solitary, but had also worked in a partnership and both organised and attended public circles and rituals.
By the time I was 21, my practice in Witchcraft had waned following an extended plateau and my religious inclination for Wicca was almost nonexistent. I then discovered ceremonial magic, as the name suggests, a highly elaborate system of magical practice that considerably influenced Wicca. Its traditionally exclusive and hierarchical organisational structure meant that I wasn’t readily able to pursue membership in an established order, but my introduction to this system opened my mind to the possibility of practising magic separate from religion.
Ask ten magicians for the definition of magic and you will receive thirteen responses. A common one however, was put forth by the infamous occultist Aleister Crowley as “the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will”. This definition very broadly suggests that every intentional act is magical, although of course, opening a door and making rain fall are perceived and valued quite differently, despite both resonating with Crowley’s definition. My belief is that just because we cannot explain how magic works hardly means that it does not exist or is somehow less ‘real’ than what we can explain. I see the principle of those two acts, one seemingly supernatural and the other seemingly mundane, as the same.
Magic has long been regarded with a mixture of intense fear and fascination, and as such, seems to be slower to progress than other former esoteric secrets such as astronomy, chemistry and mathematics. There are innumerable things in this universe that we human beings cannot account for, and I am certain, have yet to discover, but fortunately, it is in our very nature as curious creatures to uncover knowledge and I’m optimistic that as few of us chip away at the tip of the iceberg of magic now, someday we will be understand it quite intimately and those far more talented than I will wield it for the benefit of ourselves and our societies.
This website is a personal collection of my studies and practices. As a consequence, it is perhaps not suitable as an instructional manual as I only own, and thus am able to publish, spells, rituals, and experiments that I have once had to use. It is nowhere close to being a comprehensive overview of any system of magic or witchcraft and because all content is and will remain completely original, the website is bound to crawl along at snail-like speed. However, I hope my website will not be useless either and perhaps existing practitioners of magic will find that my experiences serve as inspiration for your own workings.
