Jack of All trades, Master of Some… that is the How I define the Renaissance man… an extreme polymath who has mastered at least a few subjects. A superior athlete, not settling at just being fit, but often participating in things like gymnastics and martial arts, and being extremely proficient at it. In excellent health, a Renaissance man is all about the optimization of his potential and realizes that taking care of himself is the best way to do that. An artist of some kind, possibly into multiple forms of art such as writing, sculpting, painting, and acting. A polyglot who doesn’t limit his thinking to his native language. he is a natural magician who no matter what life throws at him, always manages to pull a rabbit out his ass and winds up on top. He is the version of Icarus who’s wings weren’t made of wax. Two famous historical examples are Leonardo Da Vinci and John Dee…
Why is this Prevalent to magicians?
A Renaissance man is a natural magician, he makes the best of situations simply by his nature, he is God’s multitool. He doesn’t need to evoke a demon to get a woman to fall in love with him, he turns seduction into a science and makes here fall in love with him. He doesn’t do a spell for luck with gambling, he walks to into a pool hall and comes out with $300 dollars and a new watch. He doesn’t burn a sigil for opportunity, he simply collects it by osmosis. He doesn’t need a glamour, he is his own glamour. He is the most interesting man in the world.(sorry couldn’t resist)
Ok, but then what about magic?
Hecate gave me some sound advice via a stichtomancy reading right before I did my first evocation I’ll paraphrase:
Many artist like to sell there paintings for money. But real talent is ruined that way, not developed. any artist who truly wants to be successful needs to do his work because its what he is, not what he needs. Make your paintings and sell them, but do not depend on them. that would be ruinous to developing your talent.
In other words It’s ok to do workings for money or sex, but if that’s the only way you can get the job done, you are doing yourself a serious disservice and developing lopsidedly
also Think of what you can do now, now think of what you could do if you could do what you do now without magic. how many more doors would be open?
What can I do to get closer to this Ideal?
this is a life long endeavor(much like the great work itself), and I imagine it usually only attracts certain people(much like the great work itself) so this may not be for you, but if it is here’s where you start.
Man Management:
Study body language- No seriously study it like it’s your fucking bible and morning prayer… There is multiple books out there on the subject which I will link to at the end of this article… you may think you can read people, but I can assure you your still only picking up on some of whats being projected if you haven’t objectively studied it. I have found my interactions with people to be much more fulfilling now that I have studied it due to me picking up on much more information, I’m even getting somewhat proficient at detecting deception.
Live by the works of Robert Greene and Dale Carnegie- and many other modern authors… the Prince is a great work but keep it in the context of the time it was written, and that it was directed at a certain group of people. Robert Greene’s work covers much of the material in a more direct manner, somewhat more prevalent to our world. seriously, you won’t be wasting time by checking it out.
study the Game and the PUA community- You can’t go wrong here, even if you aren’t into meaningless sex and seduction. What can be applied here can be applied to non-sexual situations… You will find practical uses for things Like Neuro-linguistic programming and a greater understanding of how Social psychology works… on that note study NLP like your life depends on it, because it is one of the greatest forms of lesser black magick to hit the mundane world.
Find a game you like, study it, and make money with it.- Chess and Pool for me(I’m still in the process of learning both) not only will you have an entertaining way to pass the time, but a nice little workout for your brain… once you get proficient you could make a little money on it without magic, and a shitload with it.
Art:
Pick up a couple books on Creative Writing, Sketching, or an artform of your choice(BTW I would recommend New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain to anyone and everyone, I’m currently working through it myself), regardless of what you may believe, you can Learn to be a proficient artist… Many believe(and rightly so) that art is the purest form of Magic. Not only will this open a new world for your magic(Austin osman spare, or alan moore anyone?), this will allow you to think more creatively, leading to a more fulfilling life.
Skills:
Learn a new language or 12-For anyone interested Rosetta stone v.3 is on Pirate bay with 12 different languages… learning a language(currently learning greek) is one of the most fulfilling things you can do in the long run… if you get proficient enough you could even make money as a multilingual translator or interpreter… Rosetta stone will help you immensely but don’t expect it to work magic(no puns intended), you’ll have to do much of the studying on your own, and come up with some creative strategies to get more fluent in your language of choice.
Learn a trade- Not only will this help you in your own life, you could also make money doing it. an auto mechanic is never without friends or money. a handy man is never without work. seriously, even if your only self taught, you can still make money off this(after all your magicians right?), especially if you are proficient at playing the game…
Get comfy with Psychology: whatever model you use get good with it. this will help immensely with knowledge of yourself, and you will find your understanding of the motivations of others to increase, leading to a much better to empathise, or at least to give them the illusion of empathy.
Know your sciences: occultist of the past weren’t just magicians, they were chemist, mathematicians, astronomers, and inventors… what good is summoning a nether to explain the secrets of the cosmos if you can’t understand jack shit of what he is talking about… the feeling of understanding is not understanding, being wrong feels pretty much the same as being right if you get what I am saying… Having general knowledge helps, but find an area(or 4) to specialize in such as mathematics or genetics… this will lead(in my opinion) to a greater fulfillment from the knowledge you get from your evocations, and a gauge to tell what’s real from what’s bullshit(the entity may not be lying, just perceiving reality differently, or it could be intentionally lying).
Athletics and Health:
Know your Body- know your limits and how to surpass them, learn about the effects of diet and what you can and can’t eat and why… get the most out you meat suit
Don’t overspecialize-Know what would suck, if you could lift 300 lbs but you couldn’t run to save your life(especially if you had to run to save your life)… keep your strength to weight ratio as high as you can (I’m 165 and I probably have the strenght of someone with 20 lbs on me)because useless weight is dead weight. the idea is for you to be prepared for anything with the ability to do anything.
Keeps you hands dexterous and your fingers strong: I don’t even like you use athames due to me feeling I can direct energy better with my fingers(probably going to use a ring instead once I get one worth using) due to the amount I have trained with them. Look up greg irwin and follow his exercises(It’s great for entertaining people). Also we as human beings convey much information via our hands. certain sects in ninjitsu would use hands mudras to subconsciously influence people. With or without mudras you can influence people subconsciously by the signals you are sending with your hands.
Practice marital arts- or Something… It’s great for body control(like learning to switch to primarily using your reptilian brain, and consciously releasing adrenaline), and directing energy physically. plus, you could really beat the shit out of people with it, that’s always a plus.
if you feel you have anything to add to this feel free to do so
[url=http://www.mademan.com/mm/5-best-books-body-language.html]http://www.mademan.com/mm/5-best-books-body-language.html[/url]