I’m writing this one for my family.  The other day at dinner my sister said, “I think we need a magic 101 course, we have no idea what you do.”  Great idea Lauren!

Magic has a lot of associations with it.  Is it pulling rabbits out of hats?  Is it like Harry Potter?  Is it fake?  Why would a grown-up smart lady like myself keep talking about magic?

When I use the term, what I’m referring to is the ability to intentionally affect change in the world around me.

Lets talk about the basic assumptions this entails.

That I’m powerful and can change the world around me.

I believe all humans have a powerful say in the course of event around them.   I believe that prayer and positive thoughts count, and when we consciously focus on things, we can have an influence in whether they happen.  This is a revolutionary idea because it implies that you are not a victim of your own life.  Accepting this belief forces me to be really clear about my priorities and why I’m here, just because I can change things, doesn’t mean I should change things. Also, sometimes the universe, or the Goddess, or whatever you call your higher power, has a bigger plan in mind,  that sometimes trumps the will of little old me.

Knowing my own intention is absolutely essential.

I like to think of the world as a one big soup of everyone’s desires and wishes.  How can my thoughts and desires really have an influence?  The more clear you are about what you want, the more likely you are to get it.  A favorite teacher of mine likes to say that intention is nine tenths of magic.  We all want things daily.  But setting an intention involves being consciously aware of what you want, and stating it to the universe. It forces you to ponder whether you really need something, why you want it, and what you plan to do with it when you get it.  In this same way, you can’t just create magic by accident.  You have to focus what you want through the lens of conscious thought, you have to be aware of it first.

Ritual is the practice of making your intention known to the universe.

One of the basic practices of a sacred tradition is to create ritual.  Ritual is simply the art of setting aside time to recognize and honor your intention.  When you do this it’s like creating a big bold block print of your desires so that they are clearly recognized by the ‘powers that be’.  Ritual can seem scarey, or complicated, or silly but really its very simple.

The three ingredients to a ritual are as follows:  Setting aside sacred space and time, stating your intention in whatever way you choose, sealing the ritual and returning to normal life.

With all power comes great responsibility.

If we are all capable of having what we want, wouldn’t we just hurt other people to get it?

I believe that what ever you put out into the world, comes back to you 10 times stronger.  For that reason, Harm No One is one of the strongest moral principles I have.  When you use your power to take advantage of others, you only create a world for yourself where its dog eat dog.  Eventually you are gonna end up on the losing end of that game.  For that reason, you should never, ever seek to use your will to control or change someone’s behavior.

Stay tuned, in the coming weeks we are going to be discussing a lot of these topics in greater depth, such as:

• What is an altar, and how to make one
• Spirit helpers: Allies, Ancestors, Angels and Other unseen but extremely helpful beings
• The Elements: Earth, Air, Fire and Water and how to use them

And lots of other helpful topics.

What questions do you have about Magic?  Leave a comment below.

Allison Carr LAc believes that healing yourself makes the world a better place.  Learn more about her work and classes at http://allisoncarr.net/