Predisposition to Magick?

[FireBorn]

There was a great discussion in the recent thread 'Chaos Magick - Impossible for beginners?' , especially this amazing gem from @Magpie :

"Which adds to a pattern I am starting to see - if someone is predisposed towards magick i.e. does not hold detrimental thought-forms and "gets" many magickal concepts intuitively, chaos magick cuts the fluff and gets right to the point, even if the person had no prior experience. But if someone need to do some serious work before any proper INTENTIONAL magick is done, chaos magick is either a cul-de-sack or an outright threat."

Im not gonna lie, that was good, really good. It got me to thinking (dangerous lol), and we have all seen it. Some who arent ready , ungrounded, or carrying unhealthy frameworks try to get into magick and it either breaks them, or does nothing for them. But for some? Yeah they are just off to the races.

That raises some questions worth talking about:

1. Are some people more predisposed to magick? If so, what types of people are we talking about specifically? What is that predisposition exactly?

2. Can someone who isnt predisposed to magick become a competent practitioner? Or is it like having a bad ear for music, they can learn but there is a ceiling?

I personally love the music metaphor. Its a perfect fit here. Anyone can learn to pluck strings on a guitar, but not everyone can make it sing. Not everyone can play something that makes you cry. Same with magick (in my opinion) anyone can learn rituals, or spells, but not everyone can let go, hold the voltage or feel the current enough to connect.

To me, it isnt plug and play. If it were, I believe we would have figured it all out by now and we arent even close (maybe its just me which is fair). The needle hasnt moved much in that regard, its still as mysterious and elusive as it has always been. The harder you try, the further away it slips.

I love the term predisposition so much more than the concept of 'chosen' because predisposed sidesteps the obvious question of 'by whom and for what?' theological quicksand. And that doesnt get us anywhere. Predisposed is so much cleaner, so now we can get deeper into this topic I have been circling for a while and would like more thoughts and ideas on.

 

[tetradicTendencies]

Honestly, i think some people being predisposed makes sense. i've had quite a few people say pretty much just that to me in my life, and i have an uncanny way of bringing an unusual change of likelihoods to people when they're near me to some capacity

the other day i started listening to a podcast called What Magic Is This? and they went over a bunch of different definitions of what a Spell is and the core concepts for how they work and how they're used and without research i've actually basically just been doing that the past few months pretty much instinctively with some dice as my tool of choice

tl;dr: yes i think there's something to that

 

[Clear]

Your astrological chart will tell you. Once an occultist, always an occultist.

 

[AlfrunGrima]

There was a great discussion in the recent thread 'Chaos Magick - Impossible for beginners?' , especially this amazing gem from @Magpie :

"Which adds to a pattern I am starting to see - if someone is predisposed towards magick i.e. does not hold detrimental thought-forms and "gets" many magickal concepts intuitively, chaos magick cuts the fluff and gets right to the point, even if the person had no prior experience. But if someone need to do some serious work before any proper INTENTIONAL magick is done, chaos magick is either a cul-de-sack or an outright threat."

Im not gonna lie, that was good, really good. It got me to thinking (dangerous lol), and we have all seen it. Some who arent ready , ungrounded, or carrying unhealthy frameworks try to get into magick and it either breaks them, or does nothing for them. But for some? Yeah they are just off to the races.

That raises some questions worth talking about:

1. Are some people more predisposed to magick? If so, what types of people are we talking about specifically? What is that predisposition exactly?

2. Can someone who isnt predisposed to magick become a competent practitioner? Or is it like having a bad ear for music, they can learn but there is a ceiling?

I personally love the music metaphor. Its a perfect fit here. Anyone can learn to pluck strings on a guitar, but not everyone can make it sing. Not everyone can play something that makes you cry. Same with magick (in my opinion) anyone can learn rituals, or spells, but not everyone can let go, hold the voltage or feel the current enough to connect.

I like that you use the music metaphor. I am a musician and witch al together and a lot I experience in witchcraft, I also experience in music: those flow-like feelings, that following intuition tells a story, that listening to what is happening change how you perform and alter the information that is happening. It is like quantum: because you are the observer you are changing the information. It is both true in music AND magic! Let that sink in! ...... What I see in less talented musicians is that they can learn some rules or tricks, but that they are not be able to read between the lines. And that makes that it is more difficult to get other people engaged with what they perform because the storytelling aspect in their music and the intuition what to do is off. I think that this same story telling aspect and intuition thing can be things in magic too.

About predispositioning to magic something about me and my dad. If you read through it, you see that it is about choices too. My father had experiences too and was very able to do magic too, but he got scared from it. He made the decision to block everything and didn't develop doing magic in his life. I had the same experiences in my youth. I was not scared but saw lots of possibilities in it. I got the thing to work for myself. One of my brothers had the same predisposition as me***. He did not reject it nor accepted it. So three people with the disposition to magic, but out of three just one made it her way and let it flourish.

What was our predisposition? Making psi objects within minutes without that we had to exercise for that, seeing spirits that predict things in life, trigger things to happen because thinking very, very, very intense about it thus things getting aligned. When I grew up I was amazed, because I thought that every human could do that. I thought it was just a human thing. For me that was not something special. That was my frame of reference. It were the spirits that made my father so scared because he was raised with religious dogma. Me and my brother were not, so he freed us from that. So there must be a lot things in the human mind that make or break the abilities of a person on a magic path. Freedom of thought is one of them....And yes, that is what separates the best musicians from the moderates as well. So your comparison is so spot on!

 

[evacelestia]

Personally, I prefer to think that everything can be achieved through hard work. Behind every talent are hours of practice and, most importantly, passion. When it comes to magic, I can't really imagine what would make anyone more predisposed than the others. That predisposition still should come from somewhere, right? Is it genetics? Some sort of powerful force that decided to plant a seed of potential inside of you? Or is it something else entirely? But it does sound better than 'chosen' for sure.

 

[Firetree]

There was a great discussion in the recent thread 'Chaos Magick - Impossible for beginners?' , especially this amazing gem from @Magpie :

"Which adds to a pattern I am starting to see - if someone is predisposed towards magick i.e. does not hold detrimental thought-forms and "gets" many magickal concepts intuitively, chaos magick cuts the fluff and gets right to the point, even if the person had no prior experience. But if someone need to do some serious work before any proper INTENTIONAL magick is done, chaos magick is either a cul-de-sack or an outright threat."

Im not gonna lie, that was good, really good. It got me to thinking (dangerous lol), and we have all seen it. Some who arent ready , ungrounded, or carrying unhealthy frameworks try to get into magick and it either breaks them, or does nothing for them. But for some? Yeah they are just off to the races.

That raises some questions worth talking about:

1. Are some people more predisposed to magick? If so, what types of people are we talking about specifically? What is that predisposition exactly?

I say yes . What types ? Magical types . But of course there are many 'magical types' of people that just dont cut it . of course that depends on what type of magick . One type I was into , let's call it 'public celebration of the mysteries ' eg , a spring equinox ritual , a maypole . Some love that sort of thing and some are suspicious or have instilled fear or judgement about it .

I notice more in more serious personal work , eg initiatory paths . I was a member of an initiatory fraternity for several years , some people were rather brilliant and evolved and developed through it . Some didnt seem to have a clue what was going on and didnt seem to want to penetrate beyond that barrier .

It seems we are all bound by the circle of our potential abilities ( at any moment ) , one can not go beyond that . However that boundary might be further pout than we imagine , if we can learn ( some are good at learning , others not so ) we might expand to our fuller potentials .

I think there are 'naturals ' . I notice it in other things ; eg teaching martial arts , some get it and seem naturals , others struggle and then you have to examine and find their best 'style of learning ' and frelate to them that way ... others seem just hopeless and ( like some in magick ) you have to 'let them be ' - go off and do something else , find their 'thing' .

2. Can someone who isnt predisposed to magick become a competent practitioner? Or is it like having a bad ear for music, they can learn but there is a ceiling?

I think so . Some seem to come here already 'loaded' or with experience or at least a 'predisposition ' to magic or music . I seem predisposed to magick ( at some stage one should examine their life , including childhood and look for all sorts of indications ) but not music ... however , 'beat' and drumming ? let me at 'em ! LUV drumming , never learnt it , it just happens (eg sometimes people asked me about a rhythm , where it came from or how did I know to play that ? Answer ' It was not really 'me ' - at least consciously - that was drumming )

I guess the idea is , you learn as much as you can , as much as you are ready for , each incarnation , after a while perhaps the 'momentum' builds up ?

I personally love the music metaphor. Its a perfect fit here. Anyone can learn to pluck strings on a guitar, but not everyone can make it sing. Not everyone can play something that makes you cry. Same with magick (in my opinion) anyone can learn rituals, or spells, but not everyone can let go, hold the voltage or feel the current enough to connect.

Some 'magical types' seem to have magical things happening around them spontaneously .

To me, it isnt plug and play. If it were, I believe we would have figured it all out by now and we arent even close (maybe its just me which is fair). The needle hasnt moved much in that regard, its still as mysterious and elusive as it has always been. The harder you try, the further away it slips.

I love the term predisposition so much more than the concept of 'chosen' because predisposed sidesteps the obvious question of 'by whom and for what?' theological quicksand.

' proclivity '

And that doesnt get us anywhere. Predisposed is so much cleaner, so now we can get deeper into this topic I have been circling for a while and would like more thoughts and ideas on.

I see a few other aspects here ; there is any previous work and evolution that we may incarnate with .

There is the process of incarnation and the 'descent through the spheres' ie, the natal angular arrangements of the planets and their influences . What type of 'psyche' we are going to manifest and what is it best suited for .

The environment and conditions on this self ; the resultant 'persona ' .

The first might arrange or choose the following two .

Post automatically merged: Jan 14, 2026

Your astrological chart will tell you. Once an occultist, always an occultist.

Yes, it will either tell you if you are looking or confirm it if you have already realized your nature .

One of the most helpful things I did in magick was to do a many months long course within our group ( we had a resident astrologer ) one night a week on reading your own astrological chart . Things can be seen in a better perspective by the self with objective feedback from a others in the group that know you well . So many things fitted together and gave clarity .... like missing pieces of a jigsaw puzzle .

 

[FireBorn]

' proclivity '

So funny, my brain was reaching for that word and didnt quite get there. Stupid ADHD (I took off with the idea anyway and made it work lol).

 

[Primal]

My ex has a strong predisposition for magic - he can even move things with his mind and set little things on fire! As for me - not so much. I have healing abilities and empathy that I discovered while we were together. But I have a lot to work on, so chaos magick is a no for me now.

 

[Morell]

There was a great discussion in the recent thread 'Chaos Magick - Impossible for beginners?' , especially this amazing gem from @Magpie :

"Which adds to a pattern I am starting to see - if someone is predisposed towards magick i.e. does not hold detrimental thought-forms and "gets" many magickal concepts intuitively, chaos magick cuts the fluff and gets right to the point, even if the person had no prior experience. But if someone need to do some serious work before any proper INTENTIONAL magick is done, chaos magick is either a cul-de-sack or an outright threat."

Im not gonna lie, that was good, really good. It got me to thinking (dangerous lol), and we have all seen it. Some who arent ready , ungrounded, or carrying unhealthy frameworks try to get into magick and it either breaks them, or does nothing for them. But for some? Yeah they are just off to the races.

That raises some questions worth talking about:

1. Are some people more predisposed to magick? If so, what types of people are we talking about specifically? What is that predisposition exactly?

2. Can someone who isnt predisposed to magick become a competent practitioner? Or is it like having a bad ear for music, they can learn but there is a ceiling?

I personally love the music metaphor. Its a perfect fit here. Anyone can learn to pluck strings on a guitar, but not everyone can make it sing. Not everyone can play something that makes you cry. Same with magick (in my opinion) anyone can learn rituals, or spells, but not everyone can let go, hold the voltage or feel the current enough to connect.

To me, it isnt plug and play. If it were, I believe we would have figured it all out by now and we arent even close (maybe its just me which is fair). The needle hasnt moved much in that regard, its still as mysterious and elusive as it has always been. The harder you try, the further away it slips.

I love the term predisposition so much more than the concept of 'chosen' because predisposed sidesteps the obvious question of 'by whom and for what?' theological quicksand. And that doesnt get us anywhere. Predisposed is so much cleaner, so now we can get deeper into this topic I have been circling for a while and would like more thoughts and ideas on.

This is fascinating topic. It can be difficult to avoid elitism when we start considering people based on the predisposition, but since people are not all the same, their ability to do magic differs. It is ability of mind or soul to do magic and it does seem stronger in some families/bloodlines. In my opinion magic ability is universal, however good bloodline that was practicing magic for generations can offer easier start.

But I don't buy that other end, people incapable of doing magic at all. In fact, having much harder start can be in the end advantage too, because it forces person to go through more challenges of development before magic starts working for them, making them way stronger/better developed when they get into more powerful magic.

 

[Keldan]

I won’t answer question #1, but I will answer question #2. I believe anyone can become a competent practitioner.

If someone is carrying really bad thought-forms, it’s going to be much harder, because they first have to learn to let go of those patterns. And honestly, letting go is the hardest part. Beyond that, it’s practice.

Using your music metaphor for example, not everyone will play in a way that makes people sing, dance, or cry. But with enough consistent practice, they can still become skilled enough to perform in operas in front of large crowds. So for me, it comes down to practice.

And what counts as a ceiling is personal. If the same music artist in the metaphor thinks that performing in operas in his own country satisfies him, then that’s his goal. If he wants more, he practices more, and he can perform internationally or go on tours. If he decides that’s enough, then that’s the limit he sets. If not, he keeps going, go on tours, come home, write a book about what he learned, and whatever else. I don’t think there’s a fixed ceiling, it’s a bar you create for yourself.

I also don’t believe others can’t do magick. The bigger issue is that people are often too impatient. And many times the people who don’t start with a lot of natural abilities end up becoming hardened and going further. Anyone can do it, with lots of practice.

 

[juanitos]

I like that you use the music metaphor. I am a musician

speaking about music.. Mozart at 5 years old or so was already composing music.. He was born a musician..he was a musician in a previous life, no doubt. The same with magicians...

 

[Firetree]

speaking about music.. Mozart at 5 years old or so was already composing music.. He was born a musician..he was a musician in a previous life, no doubt. The same with magicians...

I find I have to agree with this . I lived most of my life unaware of what was unfolding. It wasnt until later life that I realized I was not just bumbling along and having fun - subtle forces were at play . Also I had more time to collate experience and others experience.

Looking back at my life , how it all happened , the situations, benefits , boons .... nah , that cant be right .... something is going on here . I am not going to write a biography but I will give some mundane samples ( as even on that level , it is 'working ' )

I never wanted to work or join the system to get all the stuff I wanted ,,, I didnt and got it anyway . Dreams came true in the most 'lucky' or 'arsey' ( meaning a 'fluke' or such good luck observers find it hard to believe or exasperating ) ways .

It was only a few years back that I found a an old poem in a file that I wrote as youth , I remembered that poem as I had vivid imagery writing it , now I realize it is describing this place that I live in ( and I got the land for free and the buildings on it for $8,000 ... and again, had no money, security or job , I applied for a loan and got laughed at , but then a credit manager decided he liked me and approved the loan ) .

I stayed at another place for a while , up on the mountain ; I had a cabin down in the valley by the river and a 'lodge' up top on the 'plateau' . I would drive past that place as I was always going to and from it , one day I drove past and something hit me .... wait ! Tgis is the house I drove past 30 years ago on a motorcycle trip and passed it and thought 'Wow ! Look at that place , I would love to live in a place like that - even for a few moths m, to get the experience . My current motorcycle ( I bought after getting a huge stash of money ... for nothing ! ) I later realizeh it was the one I dreamed of getting as a youth .... but an old veteran motorcycle is trouble .... turns out they still make the virtually the same in India , and cheaper than other ones similar available ... so I got an old English classic MC .... brand new .

It goes on and on ... just not physical stuff . Other dreams came true as well ; life focus and direction ... being able to do , what I realized was , my calling or True Will ... in various ways .

I was involved in a long court case , being prosecuted by the state with all their expertise and unlimited funds behind them , with three state lawyers gnashing at me how they were going to 'get me ' . Time and time again our solicitor was incredulous due to our good luck and the circumstances that unfolded he even asked ' You are doing magic aren't you ? This cant be happening all by itself ' another classic comment he made ; '' I cant believe this , its like they set a trap for you , so you fall in the river , but somehow , without realizing it you fall in, happen to put your foot on every hidden stepping stone , stagger over to the far bank and land on a silk cushion with a cocktail in your hand ! ( they lost , appealed and lost again ) .

I am not writing this to show off .... I am actually a bit mystified by it all .... why me ? Why have I got it so good ? Why did I get it so good from the beginning . Then there are past indications , all the stuff that happened to me when I was a kid , interactions and occurrences . I remember being in a large crowd of people watching two Aboriginal men handle reptiles ; one picked up a large blue - tongued lizard and sat it on my head like a cap ; it gripped my skull with its hands , had its tail down my neck and head on my forehead with its tongue flicking out and touching me between my eyebrows then he started muttering stuff . Why did he do that ... and why did he choose me to do it to ?

It goes on and on ... so I won't bore you with more ( what's that ? someone said 'Too late . '' ) All I can do is wonder and say thankyou , enjoy it, and show appreciation.

Some people cant seem to get 'a foot in the door' no matter how they try it . Some just seem so natural radiantly 'magical' , it stands out from a distance ... and no I dont mean 'glamour ' I mean 'real deal ' .

Nowadays some people have this 'good gloss over' approach ; dont want to hear anything negative , least of all their own faults they want to 'lift everything up ' ..... Hooray ! Everyone's a winner ! ...

Feel good ( about yourself ) astrology is well out there .... dont worry about that ... there is all this good stuff that comes from difficulties etc etc . yeah, partially true and important , but it won't stop bad stuff happening in some cases .

There was this thing they used to have called ' being born under a bad sign ' .... no feel good astrology back then .... sorry you're f***ed .

Or, born under a good sign ... or a magicians or witches (or both ) 'energetic arrangement' ( or past 'karma ' or impetus of past work ... or whatever it is .

So I am on the side of thinking there is certainly a predisposition to magick for some .