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Internet Book of Shadows, (Various Authors), [1999], at sacred-texts.com
The Dangers Of Magical Thinking In Magick
Nihasa
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Magicalthinking is a psychological term for making a naive assump-
tion of cause and effect without consideration of intervening mechan-
isms. In plain English, it is the assumption that if I do THIS, then
THAT will happen even though I have no idea how or why. Prominent
examples of magical thinking can be found in Economics (if we cut
taxes on the Corporations, they will invest more money in upgrading
their production facilities and create more jobs) and Politics. It is
typical of the world-view of very young children, who have a somewhat
simplistic model of How-Things-Work.
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To many outsiders,most Magick seems to bebuilt on this basis...so-
me guy mutters some weird words and waves his hands and expects to get
a lot of money soon (sounds like a Management Consultant, come to
think of it), or to make it rain, or to be rid of an enemy. Then they
shake their heads, call the Magick-users children or worse, and go on
with their lives.
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Within real Magick-use, this sort of sloppy thinking can lead to
anything from disappointing 'fizzles' to disastrous misfires of
spells. Our cultural heritage's are filled with "monkey's paw" type
stories of the results of ill-thought-out Magick use. While dilettante
New Agers are more likely to blindly 'cookbook' a spell or ritual,
some of us have been known to skip a few steps in the process as well.
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Just think of the consequences of invoking Diana or Aphrodite in a
ritual designed to "keep those foolish women in their place." (Anyone
remember "Good-bye, Charlie"?)
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While I am not saying thatyou need to understand thephysics/chemi-
stry/etc. of each step down to the subatomic level, I am suggesting
that you think through each step and each mechanism (and likely
consequences) of any major working BEFORE you perform it. A black-box
understanding (detailed knowledge of the inputs and outputs of a
mechanism and the relationship between them without an understanding
of the internal details of the mechanism) is usually enough for mot
purposes. For instance, if invoking or evoking a deity, make sure you
know the strengths, weaknesses, character, and personality of that
deity. If using herbs (ingested or in balms or incense) be sure you
know the pharmacological and combinational effects of each. Most of
all, when going for a long-term effect think of the ecology of that
effect: where it can come from and what it may causelater. You can't
always anticipate all side effects, and you certainly can't always
avoid them, but with a bit of work you can give yourself a shot at
handling them.
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Do a reality check before you start a working. If you just pay
attention to the beginning (the ritual or working) and the end (the
desired effect) and leave the rest to wishful thinking, you are asking
for trouble.
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NOTE: The above is an excerpt of a 1988 seminar on Magick and
Psychology: Insights and Interactions.
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