Magic(k)

[sidhe]

Well, I'll stick to my earlier observation and conclude that assigning a "colour scheme" to magick is a rather dubious idea to begin with. (As Zeena Schreck pointed out: in Egypt, the colour associated with "evil" deities was red - but calling yourself a "red magician" these days will at best create the impression that you are a communist occultist. )

Indeed. I think Anderson's point was more in line with what you're saying, though - that we see things as a rainbow, not in black and white, so assigning a single "color" to anything is rather silly.

...unless, of course, that thing is a single color. Like a blank piece of paper...but I'm cursed with extremely fine color perception, so a blank piece of paper has very minute variants between "pure white" and "almost white."

 

[sidhe]

I'm thinking of taking up Chartreuse (web color) (#7FFF00) magic.


eudaimonia,

Mark

Octarine. You need Octarine.

 

[Eudaimonist]

Octarine. You need Octarine.

Good call! This is definitely the right color.


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[morningstar2651]

You all do realize that if you practice magic(k) you are opening yourself up to demonic harassment, oppression, infestation, and possession not to mention possible hauntings right?

And masturbation will make you blind and put hair on your palms.

 

[ProScribe]

I thought magic was banned until some time later.

 

[morningstar2651]

. . . But when you become possessed or experience some other sort of demonic activity in your life, don't come crying to me because I have warned you and you did not listen to me.

Don't worry. I won't.

 

[Wicked Willow]

Speaking of possession: in the much maligned and oft-distorted Voodoo traditions of Africa and the Caribbean, some people actually train to become a "horse", a vessel for the gods/loa.

Interestingly, the translation "gods" does not quite fit, just as in the case of the Japanese kami: in both cases, there is no essential difference between different kinds of spirit, and there are cases of kami/loa who were supposedly historical persons before ascending to that status.
(Apart from that, there's also a supreme, transcendent deity in Vodoun, but that one is regarded as beyond understanding, and quite unreachable.)

 

[Wicked Willow]

I thought magic was banned until some time later.

What are you talking about?

 

[Wicked Willow]

Seizing upon an earlier comment of JJWhite that defined some eloquent speeches as a form of magic, as well as on a comment of Alan Moore who cited the Bardic tradition/storytelling and advertising as examples of magic:

I think that manipulating reality by means of symbols (verbal or otherwise) lies at the heart of what humans do, whether we call it "magic" or not. Language and other symbols shape and define our understanding of the world that surrounds us - and by consciously seizing upon that observation, we can change ourselves and the world around us on a fundamental level.
Spin doctors can sometimes turn a disastrous speech into a resounding victory in the minds of their audience, determining the outcome of an election. The media can direct the thoughts of whole populations simply by choosing how to deliver and evaluate certain information.

Or think of money, which nowadays is a symbol of a symbol of a symbol: we have credit cards, which stand for a virtual bank account containing virtual numbers, which in turn stand for our "hard" currency in the form of coins and banknotes, which in turn stand for goods and services offered in exchange. We are immersed in a symbolic universe of our own collective and individual creation.

 

[JJWhite]

Or think of money, which nowadays is a symbol of a symbol of a symbol: we have credit cards, which stand for a virtual bank account containing virtual numbers, which in turn stand for our "hard" currency in the form of coins and banknotes, which in turn stand for goods and services offered in exchange. We are immersed in a symbolic universe of our own collective and individual creation.

I came across this by accident this morning and thought of you.

"There is something quite magical about the way money is
created. No other commodity works quite the same way. The
money supply grows through use; it expands through debt. The
more we lend, the more we have. The more debt there is, the
more there is."
(Kurtzman, 1993)

I don't like debt or necessarily agree with that though... just felt like posting.

 

[Eudaimonist]

"There is something quite magical about the way money is
created. No other commodity works quite the same way. The
money supply grows through use; it expands through debt. The
more we lend, the more we have. The more debt there is, the
more there is."
(Kurtzman, 1993)

Yeah, fiat money is crazy.


eudaimonia,

Mark