Anonymous asked this question on 3/15/2000:
I surfed into a website under a Mindphuck link. On a website called "Moksha Marga", there was a description of a woman and a man's attempt at high magic. This involved possession by a demonic form. Is this normal for wiccans? Is this good or bad magic? Why would someone do this? I didn't understand the reason that the couple gave for doing this experiment perhaps you could explain. This type of magic seems extremely dangerous. Wouldn't you be afraid for your soul if you performed this type of magic? The website URL is http://www.crl.com/~tzimon/ This was a subpage under the website Psi-Ping. Their website was http://moebius.psy.ed.ac.uk/~psi-ping/ If this doesn't bring it up look under excite search engine under "Moksha Marga." Thanks, Ramona.
minerva gave this response on 3/16/2000:
"High magic", or the Western Magical tradition, is a form of ceremonial magick, and has nothing to do with Wicca. This is not to say that some people wouldn't mix them, but they are two different types of practice.
Western magical traditions such as the ones practiced by secret societies-- Golden Dawn, Rosacrucis, the original versions of freemasonry, etc.-- is quite different from the Pagan paths in general, in that Pagan paths have plenty of flexibility in modifying a ritual: if you find a spell in a book, but it doesn't quite appeal to you, you change it according to your own style of practice, and it can be as simple or as elaborate as you wish.
High Magic rituals tend to be very long and elaborate, with incantations and names in arcane languages. And these formulas cannot be changed by a single letter, or "dire consequences" are to be expected. Still, even High Magic itself looks down on demon invocations. It is rumored that this was the reason why Aleister Crowley was dismissed from as many secret societies as he would join, but this is conjecture, and in reality only very few people know for certain what he was actually up to.
The reason why a person would do this is because of the promise (lure?) of easy power without caring for the consequences and responsibilities which that entails. Many a young mage has fallen prey to that temptation. The Law of Three however, is universal: you don't need to know how gravity works or "believe in it" to be affected by it, you just have to live on this planet. What goes around always comes around.
As to the concept of 'good or bad', there's no such thing in Wicca. The closest to it would be 'selfless or selfish'--and still that's a very debatable concept, because doing a spell that benefits only yourself doesn't automatically make you selfish (and not that it's such a terrible thing either; sometimes you need to look after yourself before everyone else).
There is very little “fear” in Wicca, and definitely none for one's soul—-this stems from various things: First, Wicca recognizes no hell, devils or demons; second, a belief in reincarnation; and third, this is a lifestyle that puts us in control of our own life-—there is no one outside of ourselves to blame for our shortcomings, and also no outside force determining the destiny of our souls; that is also our choice.
Wicca is about looking after the greater good of all, and as a result of that, greater good comes back to us. That is the gift of the God/Goddess, and it's a thing of wonder, not of fear.
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