[Opinion] Why do you study and practice magick?

[asteraltair11]

Hello, everyone! This is my first post here on Wizard Forums, and I'd like to talk with you all about magick. I found this website while searching for a PDF. Since I started practicing, I've met a few people on this path, mainly because I chose the Left-Hand Path. I've always known it is a solitary path, and I am perfectly fine with that; however, I've always been curious about why others choose it as well.

In this community, I'm looking forward to discovering new perspectives and discussing what made you fall in love with magick, witchcraft or esoteric arts. I am looking to connect with others and gain new insights into the craft.

For example: I recently started learning about Hoodoo. It opened up a whole new world for me, and I'm currently studying the history and social movements surrounding it. It's incredibly interesting.

That is all for now. Thank you, and have a wonderful day.

Tl;dr: What drew you to the study and practice of magick?

 

[Veracity]

Hello and welcome!

I’d say I went down the rabbit hole of spiritualism and into magic specifically because of my childhood and later life experiences with spirits or entities. I needed to prove to myself through the shared experience of others that I wasn’t crazy haha. Many things that come along with sensitivity to spirits are pretty similar to what is considered schizophrenia, but I was never once not in control of my faculties nor did I not know which was reality and what was just something more. The automatic knowing, the hearing things that hadn’t been spoken aloud, the seeing things that weren’t perceived by others (or at least no one for the most part) had all led me to this point.

 

[giusma]

For me it didn’t begin with the idea of power or with the desire to follow a particular path like the Left-Hand Path. It started with a kind of intellectual and existential curiosity.
At some point I realized that many cultures throughout history—Greek, Egyptian, medieval, Islamic, Renaissance—took the idea of magic seriously. Not always in the sense of casting spells, but as a way of understanding the relationship between mind, symbol, nature, and the invisible structures of reality. When you notice that philosophers, priests, physicians, and scholars were all involved in what we would now call “esoteric” practices, it becomes difficult to dismiss it as mere superstition.
So what drew me in was the symbolic depth of it. Magic is one of the few traditions that openly treats imagination, ritual, and symbols as tools rather than illusions. It asks questions like:
How does consciousness interact with the world?
Why do symbols affect us so deeply?
Why do ritual structures appear in almost every culture?
Practicing magic, in that sense, became less about believing in supernatural things and more about exploring those questions in a direct way.
I also discovered that much of what people call “magic” is really a crossroads between different disciplines—psychology, anthropology, religion, philosophy, and even art. Studying it forces you to look at human experience from multiple angles.
As for the solitary aspect: I think many people are drawn to that because the work is ultimately internal. Traditions and teachers can guide you, but the actual transformation—if it happens—takes place in your own perception, your habits, and your relationship with reality.
That’s what keeps me interested. Not the promise of control over the world, but the possibility of understanding it—and understanding oneself—a little more deeply.

 

[System Error Message]

to restore myself and remember. magick is part of all of us and i practice direct magick not ritual magick. So i dont open any book on say witchcraft, astrology or rituals, but i simply visualise.

I dont view other entities as above either but as equals.

 

[ZanySpirtist]

Primarily because it's fascinating stuff, I can't get enough reading about it and people's experiences with it.

Also, for the empowerment. More freedom, a life more worth living. Dissolving shackles that hold me down (I'm a bit of a LHPather ).

 

[Nagaram]

I love the history of magick because I have always loved the history of ideas.

Seeing how people changed their beliefs or how an idea has evolved over time to where we are now is so fascinating.

Mostly I care about religious beliefs and specifically early christian beliefs. But Magick is an intrinsic part of that history so seeing how that relationship has progressed through the ages is very fun.

 

[Eris'AppleWorm.]

Its been a varied relationship throughout my life, I'm not particularly sensitive in the supernatural sense and was highly skeptical of anything magic for most of my life. As I grew I gained interest in the occult but didn't really know where to start or what was credible or "read" in the wide range of media on the subject. Eventually I stumbled on chaos magick and read Condensed Chaos, it combined with some others like Advanced magick for Beginners taught me enough basics to not feel completely lost and ive been slowly studying ever since.

Ive done more study than practice, it started as a curiosity than something I was seriously into so its only in the past year or so that ive been truly practicing and I'm still struggling to define what practicing is to me at times. Partially I started practicing in an attempt to better connect with myself and improve my mental health but if anyone asks my main goal is to accend to a higher consciousness and act like I don't know nobody.

 

[vulpesarcanus]

Curiosity. I tried out a spell and had got a result. After that I was hooked. At this point I can't imagine a life without using magick.

 

[deaddoves]

A natural inclination to the supernatural. The book "Headless Cupid" as a child fascinated me.

 

[Robert Ramsay]

How else am I going to find out how the world works?

 

[Gurublue]

Its a calling. I always was into spirtuality, metaphyics, eastern religions, things like that. Took refuge as a Tibetan Buddhist with two llamas 9 years ago. Kind of fell of practice for 5 years but still did prayers and meditation. Was called to Western esotericism a year ago. Never dived too much into it, other than through Manly P Hall writings like Secret Teachings of All Ages, and some conspiracy theory stuff when i was a teen. Last year I had this feeling of needing to start a new spiritually and i was called to being a wizard or magician, just naturally. Did research on everything there is to know. Found magick order in my city and did the requirements to join. The journey is amazing. I was called to this natural.

 

[asteraltair11]

Hello and welcome!

I’d say I went down the rabbit hole of spiritualism and into magic specifically because of my childhood and later life experiences with spirits or entities. I needed to prove to myself through the shared experience of others that I wasn’t crazy haha. Many things that come along with sensitivity to spirits are pretty similar to what is considered schizophrenia, but I was never once not in control of my faculties nor did I not know which was reality and what was just something more. The automatic knowing, the hearing things that hadn’t been spoken aloud, the seeing things that weren’t perceived by others (or at least no one for the most part) had all led me to this point.

Hello, Verocity. How are you doing?
You know, you're not crazy, trust me. I would like to know: Did you find the answers you were looking for? I mean, I have always thought about contacting my ancestors and something like that, but I never did. I don't hear or see any spirits, I simply honor my ancestors, but outside of a religious path, It's personal. Currently, do you practice something or have you found a path that satisfies what you need?

 

[Accipeveldare]

Hello, everyone! This is my first post here on Wizard Forums, and I'd like to talk with you all about magick. I found this website while searching for a PDF. Since I started practicing, I've met a few people on this path, mainly because I chose the Left-Hand Path. I've always known it is a solitary path, and I am perfectly fine with that; however, I've always been curious about why others choose it as well.

In this community, I'm looking forward to discovering new perspectives and discussing what made you fall in love with magick, witchcraft or esoteric arts. I am looking to connect with others and gain new insights into the craft.

For example: I recently started learning about Hoodoo. It opened up a whole new world for me, and I'm currently studying the history and social movements surrounding it. It's incredibly interesting.

That is all for now. Thank you, and have a wonderful day.

Tl;dr: What drew you to the study and practice of magick?

At first, i must confess, i just wanted to be different. I was in high school when i started, about 15 years old. So, at first it was out of ego. But, naturally, as i got more and more serious, i came to the realization that it doesnt make me objectively different, but actually just caused me to realize that everyone around me, including me are objectively the same. We all came from the same source. So, my practice shifted from trying to be different to trying to gain a deeper understanding of the natural order of the universe that almost nobody else cares to explore.

 

[asteraltair11]

For me it didn’t begin with the idea of power or with the desire to follow a particular path like the Left-Hand Path. It started with a kind of intellectual and existential curiosity.
At some point I realized that many cultures throughout history—Greek, Egyptian, medieval, Islamic, Renaissance—took the idea of magic seriously. Not always in the sense of casting spells, but as a way of understanding the relationship between mind, symbol, nature, and the invisible structures of reality. When you notice that philosophers, priests, physicians, and scholars were all involved in what we would now call “esoteric” practices, it becomes difficult to dismiss it as mere superstition.
So what drew me in was the symbolic depth of it. Magic is one of the few traditions that openly treats imagination, ritual, and symbols as tools rather than illusions. It asks questions like:
How does consciousness interact with the world?
Why do symbols affect us so deeply?
Why do ritual structures appear in almost every culture?
Practicing magic, in that sense, became less about believing in supernatural things and more about exploring those questions in a direct way.
I also discovered that much of what people call “magic” is really a crossroads between different disciplines—psychology, anthropology, religion, philosophy, and even art. Studying it forces you to look at human experience from multiple angles.
As for the solitary aspect: I think many people are drawn to that because the work is ultimately internal. Traditions and teachers can guide you, but the actual transformation—if it happens—takes place in your own perception, your habits, and your relationship with reality.
That’s what keeps me interested. Not the promise of control over the world, but the possibility of understanding it—and understanding oneself—a little more deeply.

Hi, Giusma.
Well, for me it began with curiosity and some family influence. My aunt used to be a "Wicca girl" and when I was a kid I loved to see her doing her makeup and buying some crystals and candles. She used to have books about witchcraft and Wicca magazines — those magazines were very popular here in the 2000s. Years later she gave me those Wicca magazines and I had learned something and discovered the Witches world.
I confess I used to be seduced by the idea of power and commanding respect. However, I grew up and understood what real power and self-respect are. Today I am deeply into psychology, anthropology, religion and philosophy. That's why I study about Hermeticism and, obviously, witchcraft. I became a Witch and I really found out my truth and my path. Even though I'm no longer into Wicca, I am grateful for it; It introduced me to this wonderful world of magick.
I have the same question as you. Yes, I agree with you — totally! The work is ultimately internal and only we know the stones along the path through individual experience. Now I can say I changed my life and grew up as a responsible and aware adult. Well, at least I think I'm responsible, hahahahaha. The illusion of power can no longer seduce me because I learned how to see; Now I can see the people and the world deeply and have true connections with everything.

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Primarily because it's fascinating stuff, I can't get enough reading about it and people's experiences with it.

Also, for the empowerment. More freedom, a life more worth living. Dissolving shackles that hold me down (I'm a bit of a LHPather ).

Hi ZanySpiritst.
I agree, Magick is fascinating and we can do a lot of things. Everyday I learn something new. And you're right, empowerment and freedom are important; I can tell you that magick helps a lot and when we're talking about worth living.

 

[Amadeus]

It's one of those things that always interested me for as far as I can remember. It feels like a calling, desire for deeper understanding, knowledge, to explore beyond. There's always the goal to unlock more on the way, level up abilities, learn how to get results. There's so much to learn. Different perspectives and opinions.
It gives a point, direction, something to explore and lots to experiment with.
Life is too short to waste it on useless things, rather do something interesting.

Everyone got their favorites, hobbies. Some people play golf, others play some video games and are obsessed with getting yet another shiny pixel sword. Another might collect stamps or love going to the beach with a metal detector.

 

[Vandheer]

: What drew you to the study and practice of magick?

It offers. Both for fullfillment in this realm and beyond it.

 

[Ohana]

I don't want to stay here any longer. The occult offers a way where I could find an alternate world to inhabit if I have a next life or something. I don't believe in this place anymore or anything. I don't believe in them and I definitely don't put my trust in much of anything anymore.

I just want to leave. Go somewhere else. I don't want to talk to whoever's in charge. I just want to leave. I hope one day I can put this all behind me and go somewhere far far away and have a memory wipe to forget the absolute non-sense that was a month of my time and life.

It was absurd and I don't believe or trust in anyone. Maybe if I get to go somewhere else I'll be able to trust again. Get to have a life away from this non-sense. I just wanted to have a life

 

[Accipeveldare]

I don't want to stay here any longer. The occult offers a way where I could find an alternate world to inhabit if I have a next life or something. I don't believe in this place anymore or anything. I don't believe in them and I definitely don't put my trust in much of anything anymore.

I just want to leave. Go somewhere else. I don't want to talk to whoever's in charge. I just want to leave. I hope one day I can put this all behind me and go somewhere far far away and have a memory wipe to forget the absolute non-sense that was a month of my time and life.

It was absurd and I don't believe or trust in anyone. Maybe if I get to go somewhere else I'll be able to trust again. Get to have a life away from this non-sense. I just wanted to have a life

That is a beautifully honest reason. Good luck on your journey.

 

[Emperor Time]

For me it's because of loneliness. First occult book I ever heard about and bought was the Simon's Necronomicon which talk about a love spell involving a apple. After that, I started to learn all study about love magick since I hope it can lead me to getting rid of my loneliness, even if I only gain enough confidence because of magic to win over someone eventually. Haven't had a girlfriend yet or anything but am more confident than before and even have friends that are women. So hoping I can keep improving myself because I hope to meet the one someday and get married and have children and the like.

 

[Quietist]

Because I was/am trying to change my life for the better.