Magick and Divination
Magick is the use of spiritual forces to create change. It is not a
mumbo-jumbo thing. Magick operates on principles. Does it seem
strange? People do not question when
conventional modern religions do the same thing.
Is blessing religious medals, handkerchiefs and
"holy oil" any different that charging an amulet? Is
having a religious service to pray for a specific
intention all that different from casting a spell for
the same thing? If you look at it with cold
objectivity, you can see how conventional ideas of
"blessing" and "praying" are essentially the same as
magick.
Heathenism has many tools for magickal work. Among
them are many old spoken spells and invocations for various
purposes. These are similar to prayers. We also have the Runes.
The powerful spiritual forces have been categorized and
symbolized in the old Runic alphabet. It serves as a system to organize and to allow us to understand and use these various
forces. The Runes are also an excellent tool for understanding
ourselves and our world. They are very important to us.
Another thing we do with Runes is divination. This is the
use of magickal means to forecast the future and to uncover things
which may be unknown to us at the moment. You may be familiar
with the Tarot, which is used to foretell the future. We do this with
Runes. The result is like a weather forecast. We can use that
information to our advantage. Does that seem odd? Many people
have their own omens and portents, be it dreams of uncanny events
or some such thing. Have you ever had a dream that came true?
Have you ever had a hunch or gut feeling that proved correct, even
when everything else said it would never happen? That same thing
that warned you is what we use in divination.
The use of magick and divination varies throughout
Heathenism. There are people who are ardent practitioners of both
arts, and people who want nothing to do with either of them. Most
Heathens are somewhere in between. Whatever way they believe,
we are practical about it. For example, though there are many
healing spells within magick, a Heathen would never refuse
medical help. "Cast your spells on the way to the hospital."
Magick is always backed with practical action. We believe that
magick is a help, not a substitute for direct action.
Magick and divination are there for those who want them.
They are not required. In fact, we do not even require that people
believe in them. In Heathenism, much is up to individual
preferences rather than a hard and fast dogma. Belief or disbelief
in magick and divination does not affect the sincerity of one=s
Heathenism.