Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Fourth Statement of Strategic Sorcery

Continuing our exploration of the Statements of Strategic Sorcery: The Fourth Statement of Strategic Sorcery is:

The Sorcerer should maintain a balance between temple magic and magic done in the field or on the fly. By using both the magic of the circle and ceremony, as well as magic performed right in the workplace, nightclub, bedroom, courthouse, or street, your magic will be more effective,

This one is pretty self explanatory, and I don't have all that much more to say on the topic other than what is said in the statement itself.

The great majority of magicians and witches I have worked with over the years focus almost exclusively on Temple Magic, which can be defined as magic that takes place at a special time and place separated from other activities. This includes anything from Church rituals, to Circles cast in the Woods, to Spells done in the Bedroom in the middle of the night.

Field magic is defined as magic performed in the course of your ordinary activities, usually clandestinely. This includes everything from arranging an office for a meeting in a way that will give you the psychic advantage, to dusting bend over powder on a target, to simply meditating on your breath at your desk to reinforce gnosis.

The best strategies play both of these together. Apart from whatever links you use in your temple work, by following it up with embedded commands with the boss, or taking your date back to a bedroom imbued with Lunar and Venusian energies you are making that link even stronger. If you are summoning Tzadkiel to help a business, have him consecrate some sieals that you can put up around the place, and some powders that you can spread at the doorway.

By preparing ahead of time, you make sure that whatever you do in the field can launch seamlessly. There would be nothing worse than trying to do a lot of visible magick in a courtroom where you are on trial, but if you make a few gestures to release the power of what you cooked up the night before, or just chewed your galangal root that have already been prayed over and wiped some spit on the court docs without any flourish or special words, it will all go much smoother.

Whenever planning any strategy, always look for ways to work field magic into it. If you have always worked primarily in the temple, you will be amazed at the results you can manage when you take your magic to the street.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

AH, but what do you say to those that just do "field magic", and do quite well with it. ;)

Jason Miller, said...

Everyone s game can be improved. With me it's never about what works or doesn't, just what works best.


There is a benefit to temple magic, even if it is only silent contemplation and meditation, that will carry over into your field magic.

Anyone can develop one over the other, and it is inevitable that every magician will favor one or the other, but often the thing that we are most comfortable and successful with is also the rut that keeps us from truly branching out.

To comment further I would need to know more about your practice.

Jack Faust said...

I mean this in all seriousness: every single post I've seen along these lines has put a smile on my face.

Thank you, man.