From Chapter 2: Stepping Stones Why are you here? What answer eludes you? What desire is just out of reach? The Celts were seekers not only of knowledge, but of wealth, power and beauty. I've found that there is no shame in admitting a desire for something worldly, just as there is certain glory in seeking something divine. "This is the way of it then" said Lugh. "The three apples I asked of you are the three apples from the Garden in the East of the World, and no other apples will do but these, for they are the most beautiful and have the most virtue in them of the apples of the whole world. And it is what they are like, they are of the colour of burned gold, and they are the size of the head of a child one month old, and there is the taste of honey on them, and they do not leave the pain of wounds or the vexation of sickness on anyone that eats them, and they do not lessen by being eaten forever." (Gods and Fighting Men: The Story of the Tuatha de Danaan and of the Fianna of Ireland; Gregory, Lady; John Murray, London, 1910.) Lugh, speaking here, has just lost his father. Instead of simply killing the culprits, the infamous Sons of Tuireann, he devises a plan whereby the murderers are sent on a mission that will either kill them through its sheer danger and difficulty, or if they somehow succeed, many great and powerful artefacts, such as the apples described above, will be bestowed upon Lugh. Lugh may seem somewhat cold to us; using his father's death as a vehicle to gain power. But look at it another way. He is distraught. His father, to whom he is very close, has been brutally taken from him. He can exact revenge, or he can use the situation positively. He masters his emotions and moves everyone down a path that ultimately can only end to his advantage. This is how you have to think when you work with magic. Your intent has to be pure; not pure as in good or even altruistic! But pure as in unsullied, not tainted by other thoughts and wishes that are roiling around inside your skull. You’re crossing a river without a bridge. You find the shallowest point, and use the water worn rocks as stepping stones, to gradually work your way across. Before you set foot upon a stone, let's sit on the bank a while. Listen to the rush of water. Appreciate its power. See the plants growing; there's a bulrush, a yellow flag... The water feeds and nourishes them. Dragonflies swoop in tandem with a kingfisher; brilliant bolts of blue beneath the bright day. But see how the opposite bank is crumbling away. The water erodes it, minute by minute. This is what you have to understand about magic, and about witchcraft. It is power and the application of power. Magic is a universal energy and Witchcraft is a tool, a way of manipulating said energy. But you must never take it for granted and you will work hard before you ever feel that you have achieved a successful spell, or a change in the world. And never forget that power is only power; like the rush of the river, it has no alignment; no good, no evil. It is your intent that channels and directs the power, always. www.moon-books.net |
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