magic

I'm an Atheist. I don't believe in God, Gods, Godlets or any sort of higher power beyond the universe itself, which seems quite high and powerful enough to me. I don't believe in life after death, channeled chat rooms with the dead, reincarnation, telekinesis or any miracles but the miracle of life and consciousness, which again strike me as miracles in nearly obscene abundance. I believe that the universe abides by the laws of physics, some of which are known, others of which will surely be discovered, but even if they aren't, that will simply be a result, as my colleague George Johnson put it, of our brains having evolved for life on this one little planet and thus being inevitably limited. I'm convinced that the world as we see it was shaped by the again genuinely miraculous, let's even say transcendent, hand of evolution through natural selection.

I liked him, but since his particular field of interest was Remote Suggestion--the skill of projecting thoughts into people's heads from a distance--I didn't know whether I actually liked him or he was just suggesting I like him, which was both creepy and unethical. In fact, the whole Remote Suggestion or "seeding" idea had been banned once it was discovered to be the key ingredient in promoting talent less boy bands, which had until then been something of a mystery.

Zeena believes that the breaking of taboos creates access to blocked energy that is let loose in a forceful way. The left-hand path is about consciously breaking with a __leepwalker orthodoxy_ to be able to act as a fully awaken and conscious individual. In her book, George Orwell (1984) is quoted: __rthodoxy means not thinking _ not needing to think. Orthodoxy is unconsciousness._ At the same time she notes that the left-hand path is the __ay of action_. It is not about intellectual contemplation, or worse, just reading about action.'About Zeena Schreck by Malin Fitger from: Contemporary notions of Kundalini, its backgroundand role within new Western religiosity, University of Stockholm, 2004

For a moment or two before the spell took effect, he was aware of all the sounds around him: rain splashing on metal and leather, and running down canvas; horses shuffling and snorting; Englishmen singing and Scotsmen playing bagpipes; two Welsh soldiers arguing over the proper interpretation of a Bible passage; the Scottish captain, John Kincaid, entertaining the American savages and teaching them to drink tea (presumably with the idea that once a man had learnt to drink tea, the other habits and qualities that make up a Briton would naturally follow).Then silence. Men and horses began to disappear, few by few at first, and then more quickly _ hundreds, thousands of them vanishing from sight. Great gaps appeared among the close-packed soldiers. A little further to the east an entire regiment was gone, leaving a hole the size of Hanover-square. Where, moments before, all had been life, conversation and activity, there was now nothing but the rain and the twilight and the waving stalks of rye. Strange wiped his mouth because he felt sick.

In a great number of the cosmogonic myths the world is said to have developed from a great water, which was the prime matter. In many cases, as for instance in an Indian myth, this prime matter is indicated as a solution, out of which the solid earth crystallized out.

The witch knew who had killed her and she snatched pieces of time, here and there, from the business of dying, to make her revenge.

He is a dull observer whose experience has not taught him the reality and force of magic, as well as of chemistry.

Humans did not want to know about non-humans. Funny thing was most non-humans felt the same way, happy to hide their abilities and talents to avoid witch hunts and wholesale slaughter.

Fox is a television character, and she isn__ dead yet. But she will be, soon. She__ a character on a television show called The Library. You__e never seen the Library on TV, but I bet you wish you had.

I don't understand," says Gerald, alone in his third- class carriage, "how railway trains and magic can go on at the same time."And yet they do.

I wanted to find something of the beauty of myth that we__e left behind, carry its shreds before us all, so we could acknowledge it, somehow bring it back to life. I wanted to delve back into that world that cradled us when we were young enough to still touch it, when trolls lived under creek bridges, faeries fluttered under mushroom caps, and the Tooth Fairy only came once you were truly sleeping. I wanted to see if enchantment was somehow still there, simply waiting to be reached. When I felt my loss, I realized that if I could do anything in this life, I wanted to travel he world, searching for those who were still awake in that old dreamtime, and listen to their stories _ because I had to know that there were grownups out there who still believed that life could be magical.And in that moment I decided: I am going to find the goddamn faeries.

I remained silent, adrift in a torrent of mixed feelings. The Binding urged me to curl up in his embrace, to lose myself in his scent and surrender to his lips again; however, my own thoughts begged me to turn away. I didn__ know what to do. I couldn__ deny there was something between Ryan and me, but what? It was the curse!It had always been the curse_

Something that once had importance might be forgotten by most people but because millions of people once knew it, a force is present that can be harnessed. There might be so much significance attached to a song, for example, or a fact, that it can__ die but only lies dormant, like a vampire in his coffin, waiting to be called forth from the grave once again. There is more magic in the fact that the first mass worldwide photo of the Church of Satan was taken by Joe Rosenthal _ the same man who took the most famous news photo in history _ the flag-raising at Iwo Jima. There__ real occult significance to that _ much more than in memorizing grimoires and witches_ alphabets. People ask me about what music to use in rituals _ what is the best occult music. I__e instructed people to go to the most uncrowded section of the music store and it__ a guarantee what you__l find there will be occult music. That__ the power of long-lost trivia. I get irritated by people who turn up their noses and whine __hy would anyone want to know that?_ Because once upon a time, everyone in America knew it. Suppose there__ a repository of neglected energy, that__ been generated and forgotten. Maybe it__ like a pressure cooker all this time, just waiting for someone to trigger its release. __ere I am,_ it beckons, __ have all this energy stored up just waiting for you _ all you have to do is unlock the door. Because of man__ stupidity, he__ neglected me to this state of somnambulism _ dreaming the ancient dreams _ even though I was once so important to him._ Think about that. A song that was once on millions of lips now is only on your lips. Now what does that contain? Those vibrations of that particular tune, what do they evoke, call up? What do they unlock? The old gods lie dormant, waiting.

Come closer, my dears, let me give you a warning,Of the fate that befalls those who stay out past morning,In the darkest hours before the dawn,When witches roam and demons spawn,And children die with spirit gone,Magicked away in the gloaming.

In the art of magic be quick of sleight and slow of climax.

To go home, you usually will use that door over there." I looked where Trom gestured and saw empty space."What door?" I asked."Oh, sorry. Until you go through your closet door for the first time there won't be a door there.""So then what do I use now?" I asked."You use that door." I looked and this time what he showed me was a door-only it looked like a pet door."Is that an oversized pet door?" I asked.

He had discovered that it was easier _ far easier than any one could have supposed _ to make oneself mad, but like all magic it was full of obstacles and frustrations. Even if he succeeded in summoning the fairy (which did not seem very likely), he would be in nocondition to talk to him. Every book he had ever read on the subject urged magicians to be on their guard when dealing with fairies. Just when he needed all his wits, he would have scarcely any wits at all.

With or without our knowledge, we are all alchemists.