Results Are Your Proof

Since magic requires that we think for ourselves, make choices for ourselves and take responsibility for ourselves, it is not compatible with any religion or thought system which thrives on controlling the minds and desires of others. This is why magic has been maligned by many organized religious institutions and governments through the years.

A practitioner of the Magical Arts must be able to train their minds and emotions and be willing to forgo rationalizations and excuses for their circumstances and behaviors.  They must be willing to uncover and re-channel hidden fears, hatreds, beliefs and thought patterns which are contrary to their desires.  This kind of work constitutes a very deep and profound journey that gives real and tangible results, yet magic is not for the weak minded.

Over-complexity of praxis is unnecessary and can often yield little more than intellectual muscle flexing and posturing; on the other hand, systems that are too simplified run the risk of degenerating into mere superstition.  Effective magical systems are, therefore, complex enough to engage actual magical currents that give real results, while simple enough to be usable.

The current popular idea that magic is like making a stew, where a practitioner takes a little of this and a little of that on a whim is unfortunate.  While it is true that a seasoned practitioner has at their disposal a palate that allows for a great deal of artistic expression and improvisation, they have usually trained very diligently and have great clarity of what it is they are doing and why they are doing it. In my experience, a person with no magical training rarely gets results from this type of "make up our own system as we go along" approach, because they lack the discipline and understanding of how magical currents operate let alone how to direct them. 

While these self-styled "magical-looking" activities and communities can be enjoyable for the participants, they often fail to bring actual results, and the practitioners therein tend to rationalize and make excuses for their lack of results which thus perpetuates and reinforces a cycle of self-deception. These home-grown "magicians" and "witches" will then often start to teach others and as a result, entire hierarchies are sometimes built out of these ineffective systems that consistently fail to produce results.  

A magical system that is built on effective principles and practices tends to produce effective results with a fair amount of consistency.  This, in my opinion, should always be the benchmark by which a student of the Art judges the system they are considering.  If the leaders and teachers of a particular system are living lives that, at least in general, demonstrate that their magical system actually works, that is a good indication that the student may want to investigate things more closely.  If the student is able to achieve some tangible results from the very beginning of their studies, that is even further proof that they are studying an effective system.  If, however, everyone involved seems to be merely mired in the "trappings" of it all, but with no meaningful or consistent results, then it may be time to look elsewhere.  

Not everyone is in a position to commit as an apprentice with a good teacher, but there are quite a few wonderful self-study and correspondence courses available. Since students will tend to resonate with certain systems and currents of magic over others, it's a smart idea to try a few systems, if possible,  to see where there is a feeling of kinship; but until the student has reached a level of proficiency in a particular system, it is really best to ultimately find one road and stick with it for a while, rather than trying to create a system for themselves for reasons already stated.

It should go without saying that there is no single person, system or group that is the one true system in magic. In fact, there are many wonderful and different magical roads that can lead to great magical success. Any teacher or group that claims that their way is the only way is usually a teacher or group to be avoided; but by the same token, it is important to remember that there are people, systems and groups that, as sincere as they may be, are on roads to absolutely nowhere at all when it comes to actually producing anything worthwhile, magically speaking.  Keep your eyes open for results.  Your time is too valuable to waste.