There seems to be a very fine line between finding what works and how (why, when, who and where) and just making shit up and BSing your way through shit (fake it till you make it).
As a result you get a lot of over lapping and polarized systems (white lighters and “left handed path walkers” or whatever and bull shit and confusion and scammers and people taking advantage of the new and the clueless. Or people just going I don’t fucking even know.
This has probably been a topic that has been topic-ed to death but I’ve been getting into my old Slash/Hack comic trades (that I am still missing a few in the series) and well, you can say a lot about the 80’s slasher horror films but they sure never stay dead and down. Kinda like this topic.
But a lot with magic, occult and wiccan and such is still fairly new and a mish-mash of bits and parts more or less “made up” and made “true” by some people. And there’s the whole culture appropriation thing that’s become real popular to scream about.
So just really, what is the difference? Is there a difference and honestly, does it matter?
The answer is always going to be 42 but lets say it isn’t…
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The difference is if you can get other people to accept that your bullshit is true.
I think if it works for you, that’s all that matters. I’ve broken so many rules in magick without running into problems that I think those rules are bullshit, but people follow them anyway.
Edit: and everyone has a different experience of reality, so what you think is making shit up may be correct to them as well.
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Results, everything else is just window dressing and sideshows.
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Hey, unleashing a zombie apocalypse counts as results…of some kind. Right?
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If that was your intention when performing ritual yes.
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I would say the difference is whether or not the person willfully made something up, knowing there is no basis behind it. That is not going to do anything but screw around with people who do not know better.
But, if a person comes up with something on the fly, and they think it worksfor (x) reason, then it may actually be effective. Either by accidental discovery, or by filling a needed mental function/factor that improves the working or system, albeit not neccessarily in the manner it is thought to.
Well I’m sure there’s a difference from people who develop their own working systems vs people who dabble without a path. I created my own working system.
Isn’t that true everywhere except the hard sciences (and even there, at the experimental levels) - music, literature, economics? Put another way - a map can lead you through a new area, but only you can decide where to put your feet down.
Mr. Koetting talks a lot about the power of imagination. When we “fake” it, if we are dedicated to what we’re doing and believe in it, it usually works. Most magick is the process of tapping into your innate ability. Making shit up is a potent way to do so.
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