I was raised in a Christian home where my mother and grandmother’s answer to every crisis was prayer and then to 'let go and let god/put it in god’s hands" and forget about it. Yes, we got over our measles, our chicken pox, our flu (most kids do) but we never had enough money, my dad remained an indifferent philanderer etc. In other words, the things that could work themselves out did and the things that needed intervention/extra help did not. Of course, it was always a matter of god’s will…
As I matured, I formed the opinion that dumping your problems on god and not working on them wasn’t a good idea and that maybe demanding god assist in fixing the problems he allowed to happen was a better plan. Me working on things myself is what brought results. Hence, I have little patience, if one thing doesn’t work immediately, I try another.
So…as I go deeper back into the practice of magick because I want to control more aspects of my life, I’m struck by the concept of petitioning and then standing back patiently for results. Being patient conjures images of my mother blindly believing that if it was god’s will her dishwasher was replaced, one would appear somehow.
Am I the only one that sees parallels? Am I the only one that turned to magick for more control than they felt was possible than just relying on the power of prayer? How do you all reconcile these concepts?
Actually, you are correct. They are very similar in concept, but not in execution. What you described in regards to your mother with her prayers is not really letting go. What she is doing is basically begging God for help, and, when it doesn’t come, saying it was God’s will.
If you read Christian based Law of Attraction literature, like The Laws of Prosperity by Catherine Ponder, “letting go and letting God” is exactly the same as letting go in magick. You turn the emotional energy and intention over to God, while still doing what you can in the material world.
When you let go of your attachment to your desire, also known as the lust of result, it does not mean you don’t have to do anything. If you do a spell for a new house, you still have to go and look for the house that you want. If you ask a demon to help you get laid, you still have to put yourself in a place where you can meet someone. They are not suddenly going to show up on your doorstep.
However, when someone has a truly exceptional level of faith when they “let go and let God,” they can have their desires manifest without having to do anything themselves. Very few have that level of faith though.
OK, from that point of view, there has to be certain amount of faith and surrender in everything. Crossing the road, believing the food in the restaurant isn’t poisoned , having faith that tommorow you will get up from bed. Etc.
In yoga surrender to God is called ishwara pranidhana, aka surrendering to the force that is making happen almost all ur biological activities up to the molecular level. Its not just unconscious mind, it goes beyond that and having access to that ‘intelligence’ can do miracle.
Now how is it different from magick?, in magick you choose the goal, target may be even specify how you want to get it, but not beyond that. I think no mage knows how it works from there, on a micro level. So here also you have to let the clogs of the machine work by itself till the result manifests.
Another thing with “Let go and let god” you are throwing all your eggs in one basket, no matter how much you pray it still to the same god, it’s not like he’s going to answer the person whos been ringing the most. With magick and evocation its different in my eyes. You’re supposed to power on to a spell or evocation, I’ve never seen it as a once or done deal. Plus with Magick and such you’re doing something you’re even if you have an entity to help you (also most demons and angels seem to be more caring than the Christian god but that’s just from what I’ve seen). You are putting in work, In praying you’re really not.
Yeah you get down on your knees and call to god but you’re usually not doing much more than that, with a petition at least you’re taking the time to write it down, afforiming a deadline sometimes, and you usaully work with the entity before hand. You’re also intentionally directing energy and not using blind faith. You can non intentionally do that but unless like @DarkestKnight says you have strong faith (which honestly I don’t even think 90% of priests do) it won’t work.
You can pray to demons and other entities as well, meaning prayer is a kind of magick anyway, but it’s not as effective. Unless you have a bound with an entity. Not by just talking to it but by it talking back (and from what I’ve seen the Abrahamic god doesn’t seem to care).
Plus I think many magicians can agree you don’t give up if it doesn’t work. With praying you’re trusting god, as a magician you shouldn’t just trust, you should work. If it’s not working keep doing magick for it. Never take a no for an answer when it comes to magick, make it work and it will.
That’s why its not easy to compare magick to blind faith. Yeah, you don’t want to have doubts about what you did you want to have a faith in it but it doesn’t have to be blind it just has to be convincing. I can also argue that “God” (the one you speak of) doesn’t actually care and only helps the ones he can turn into mindless sheep but that’s just from personal experience and theory so it’s not a justifiable argument but its something to take into consideration as well.
Waiting for god to do something and being patient for the results of your magick are absolute opposites.
When you do magick you have to do your part for the results you want but when you leave it to the so called god you do nothing until he steps in and do something for you.
For example when you cast a love spell on someone you need to approach them and try talking your way into the relationship BUT you need to stop constantly thinking about the results and just do your thing and let your magick do its work
Well, Jesus did have the parable of the widow’s prayer:
And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; [s]aying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: [a]nd there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; [y]et because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. (Luke 18:1-5)
Some teach that this means that Christians shoulder pester God until he answers their prayer. If he hasn’t answered, they didn’t pray hard or frequent enough. Or he has something else in mind.
Same in Islam, actually. There’s a belief that if a righteous Muslims asks God for something, he always answers the prayer in one of three ways: he provides what’s asked for, he knows what’s asked for is wrong so he doesn’t provide, or he doesn’t provide now in exchange for something better later on or for a higher rank in heaven.
Magick teaches to take responsibility for one’s life: work on changing it. After a spell or evocation, we’re counseled to forget about it, but this doesn’t mean we ignore it. If nothing transpires, we try to fix it.