Hello, everyone

[Nootech]

Greetings from Italy.
I was always fascinated by the occult, but until recently didn't believe in any form of supernatural phenomena.
In the last year or so, my outlook has changed dramatically, and I want to know more about the practice of magic. I have a couple of questions:
What kind of traditions would you recommend for a total beginner?
Are there any dangers to look out for?
Will I need to procure particular tools\ingredients?

Thanks in advance,
Nootech

 

[Ancient]

Welcome to the forum!

For a beginner, it’s really about what interests you. Just pick something and start it, don’t fall into the trap of reading and learning without ever putting it into action.

Sigil magick is easy to understand and engage in, and many people say it can yield impressive results.
Divination is a must - get some tarot or oracle cards, runes, an i Ching set, whichever you find most appealing, and start getting to know it.

There can be dangers, but unless you’re incredibly foolish and have a habit of playing with fire without an extinguisher nearby, you’ll likely be just fine. Learn a few defensive/banishing techniques before you do any major spirit summonings.

Over time you’ll want to acquire a few tools, but absolutely everything can be improvised or done empty-handed.

This forum has some great content and knowledgeable users, so have fun exploring and don’t be afraid to ask questions!

 

[Nootech]

If I recall correctly, sigil magick is connected to chaos magick? Would that be a good point of entry in your opinion?

 

[Ancient]

Absolutely. Sigil magick was created/perfected by a fellow named Austin Osman Spare in the early 1900’s. He went relatively noticed for decades until Peter Carroll and some peers popularized his technique with the advent of chaos magick. Many now consider A.O.S. to be the “grandfather” of chaos.

I haven’t had the opportunity yet to check out any of Spare’s art or writing, but I have read some of Carroll’s. Carroll’s I found to be very…edgy. Sort of a dive in headfirst and worry about rocks later approach compared to many other occult authors.

Chaos magick is excellent though, because it will teach you about all sorts of different techniques and traditions. It will expose you to many different paradigms for viewing the inner workings of the occult, and for that alone I think it has massive value as a school of magick.

 

[Nootech]

Thanks for the pointers I'll start with chaos magick, then. I saw that there's a book sharing section, but 7gb of stuff seems a bit much any recommendations on where to begin?

 

[KjEno186]

Chaos magick is essentially an offshoot of ceremonial traditions with the "unnecessary" parts stripped away. In fact, a lot of popular books on angel and demon evo/invo-cation by authors such as those from the Gallery of Magick come up with rituals that are greatly 'simplified' from the old methods. Simplified rituals are great and all, but there's no guarantee they'll work for you right away unless you're very lucky indeed.

Chaos magicians were greatly inspired by A. O. Spare, who also rejected the then popular Golden Dawn (and its offshoots) in favor of his own method using sigils. Ray Sherwin wrote a book explaining Spare's methods in easy to understand language, but now you can find information on sigil magick all over the internet and in books.

Peter J. Carroll wrote Liber Null to explain the Chaos 'method' as concisely as possible. I'm going to put it even more concisely:

You need to meditate every day. Basically, sit down and focus on your breathing for 15 minutes. When your mind wanders, do not become irritated but go back to feeling your breath, in and out. You are in the moment of Now. Memories and Fantasies have no place in your thoughts for 15 minutes...

You need to learn a Banishing Ritual. The most common one is called the Lesser [Banishing] Ritual of the Pentagram. You can find explanations and demonstrations on Youtube. Like meditation, you'll do this once a day...

You need to learn a form of divination. The most popular method is through the use of tarot because of its versatility. If you choose tarot, just get a basic deck like the Rider-Waite or Tarot de Marseille. Avoid the artistic decks for now. You'll do a simple divination every day, though it will probably seem useless for many months. Magick is like that. You'll want to procrastinate, and you'll have some serious mental resistance to keeping up a daily practice, but you must persist!

Post automatically merged: Dec 5, 2022

any recommendations on where to begin?

Here's a recommended book in the Library:

Book – PDF - Occult Exercises and Practices — Gareth Knight

Download: 31.18 MB file on MEGA

wizardforums.com

 

[Nootech]

Thank you for the help.
Luckily, I already practice meditation, so that's going to be a little easier. I'll download the book and start right away. Wish me luck

 

[DiLoco_DelEted]

Welcome.

 

[league_ma_balls]

Welcome