I've been meaning/wanting to do this for quite some time, now. Each night (if I'm lucky) for a while, I'm going to post a fairly in-depth overview on a different kind of magic. I'll start with a brief overview, move on to the three general "classes" of magic, then move on to the more "specialized" types...

"Magic" is the general term for the manipulation of ambient energies using little if anything other than your mind. There are many different ways to do this, and many different viewpoints on the matter. Because "magic" also refers to stage performances and sleight-of-hand tricks, in recent years, quite a few bastardizations of the word have been cropping up, most notably "majic", "majik", and "magick". I view these as rather overly pompous and elitist, and so I will not be using these terms...

I should note that there are two different general kinds of "magical" energies... The first, which Dr. Lazlo termed "potential psychic energy", deals with the energies from without, while another form of energy, which taps the user's mind and soul directly, more immediately manipulate the energies from within... In other words, some folks make stuff happen by using the energies around them, and other folks do it using the energies inside them. Both methods have their own pros and cons, and as I talk about the different kinds and types, I will be going over those...

Magic has been practiced around the world for countless ages... While it was originally grounded in superstitions, religions, and pseudo-sciences, quantum physics is on the verge of defining what magical energies are. I'm not sure how physics will measure this energy, whether they will embrace Dr. Lazlo's "PPE" ideologies, or whether they will adapt existing measurements such as joules to more fit the new energy type... What I do know is that magic has adapted and changed with time, just as science has.

If any practitioners, psychics, or scholars wish to add anything else, feel free. Otherwise, I'm going to move on to mysticism tomorrow night.

Heh, I can't wait until I get into runes in divination and magic... I'm looking forward to what you can share with us on that topic, Natasha. ^_^

Maybe I could add a bit on Psychics as well? Thou I am by far no expert.

Uh not like there are to many here who would try to tell you that you are doing it wrong Natasha.

I might. I wouldn't really mean it, but hey.

Actually since the easiest way to detect and measure magical energies is through the electro magnetic fields and distortions around it, the mainstream will probably present it as teslas of field strength as well as the frequency of the field.

1 mile radius site, 9 teslas at 67 Hz. (this is actually a common anomaly in the readings at certain site/time combinations.)

Please don't take offence, I am just hoping with such an open place for discussion to compare the practitioner's results to the results from my research.

Absolutely no offense taken, Kei. ^_^ I'm glad a more scientific mind than mine is here to help on that subject. I'm good at math; applying it in science was something I never pursued very far in school, and haven't--until now--had a reason to pursue much at all after school.

Well if you ever need a hand with any of the hard sciences let me know. Particle, and theoretical physics are fields I have studied fairly in depth.

Tired, and irritable... Mysticism tomorrow night. Sorry.

Easy. With understanding and knowledge we gain a bit more control over our lives. But as has been discused already Knowledge can be used for the wrong reason's, as easily as it can be used for the right reason's.

The universe contains no mysteries that we will not one day solve, Belladrox. None. At. All.

I am not so foolish as to believe that science already has all the answers; I don't know as much about science as I could, and that in itself means that I, by extension, most assuredly don't know everything about the universe. I do, however, know a pretty good deal about this supposed mystery, and I intend to get it in writing, so my knowledge isn't lost, and so others can learn about it.

I'd ask a counter-question, but dammit, this is my thread.

Mysticism is the term generally given to the practice of magical abilities without a scientific basis or knowledge. Mystics are, therefore, anyone who practices magic on an intuitive level, someone who is more likely to sit around the fire and talk about magic or to meditate over it than to sit poring over magical formulae. They learn their abilities from spirits, from a connection to nature, from other mystics, and from their own intuitiveness. In America, most mystics tend to be Wiccans or followers of eastern philosophies. The next largest group are druids, though many of them also tend to be Wiccans. To find other kinds here, one usually has to look to the Native American reservations, but in many Native American tribes and nations, the practice of shamanism is dying out...

Mystics utilize both kinds of energy that I mentioned in the first post in this thread, the energy without and the energy within. Most of them tend to be sensitives, with focuses on empathy and spiritual abilities. Another trend seems to be towards elementalism, having abilities that focus on the mystical elements (though different schools of thought see the elements in different lights). Another trend seems to be those who focus on achieving a certain effect from their magic, such as focusing on defensive or healing magics.

Mysticism doesn't usually lend itself to those who intend to use their magic for harm, although, from time to time, people of that ilk do pop up... Sometimes this happens to druids and Wiccans who feel upset and betrayed by society at large, and use their abilities to seek its downfall. Beyond that, most mystics have few, if any, offensive capabilities...

Most books on magic that you will find in stores are written by mystics, for mystics. Most non-mystics who read these books (particularly those published by Llewellyn) will find these books to be largely unhelpful, and may feel insulted by the general way it's written (most of these books try to appeal to the intuitive right side of the brain, and completely ignore the logical left hemisphere, so they come off sounding like a child or an airhead wrote them). The most notorious of these books, in the US, at least, is "The Spiral Dance", by "Starhawk", a book hailed by many as "the most definitive book on Wicca", when it seems to focus more on the magic of their witchcraft than on the religion itself...

There often seems to be a trend for women to be mystics than men, leading many to believe that women are better suited for it, whether they have more energy, are more intuitive, or whatever myriad other reason people have mentioned... This is, however, not true. (It's also half-joked that women are sillier and more ready to believe in this "nonsense", but this, too, is also not the case.) Women are neither better nor more able mystics than are men who choose to dedicate themselves to the practice. Many of these misconceptions come from Starhawk's (see the above paragraph) focus on the "intuitive feminine" side... I haven't completely read her work, so I can't say if she intended to cause this misconception or not, but this has spawned entire groups of Wiccans (known as Helenists) who are all-women men-hating covens who make many fundamentalist Christians almost look open-minded. Getting back to the point, there have been many notable male mystics in the past... Our own Shang Li was one of them; many druids of old were males. In my studies, I have seen no reason to believe that women make better mystics than males; it is simply that the trend seems to favor women mystics over men.

That's mysticism, in a nutshell... Next, we'll start delving into sorcery.

The universe contains no mysteries that we will not one day solve, Belladrox. None. At. All.

There are some mysteries that little apes like yourselves are not meant to know.

I'd ask a counter-question, but dammit, this is my thread.

Ask you question, I will attempt to answer it.

Fascinating.

Can her other personalities do that stuff?

Hmm, worrisome thought that.

Can you teach me how to do that stuff?

Diabolism is a tricky subject Bert. I hope that you are not adverse to LOTS of studying.

Still, I won't deny that you have one smart cookie as your teacher. I'm still going over some of the stuff she sent me a month or two ago.

Yes the mortal is...adequate.



He always freaks me out when he does that.