The use of ritual and magic. (rituals, Darwin, funeral, choice)

[DreamQuickBook]

What is the point of the use of ritual?

I know that a great many modern satanists use ritual and a great deal of theistic satanists use magic; I would like to know what need or desire these are fulfilling.

To me, the only magic I need is that of my own imagination and creativity. The only rituals I need are my morning ones. Wake up, brush teeth, make coffee, sit down with newspaper or computer, drink coffee, shower, get to work. It's a great ritual, if not somewhat unhealthy for all the damn coffee I drink. Anyway, I'd like to hear what others think about ritual and magic before I state my own opinion, that way it leaves room for me to change my mind.

[KirbyFan101]

Originally Posted by Jocose

What is the point of the use of ritual?

I would love to be able to give you a clear, difinitive answer to this one, but I think varies much with the individual.

Originally Posted by Jocose

I know that a great many modern satanists use ritual and a great deal of theistic satanists use magic; I would like to know what need or desire these are fulfilling.

As a modern day Satanist, I use ritual and magic (which are one and the same, really. Magic is the result of Ritual)

Theres not much beyond the Satanic bible I can tell you, but this may or may not be useful for everyone else.

Rituals are designed to help you express an extremely powerful emotion. There are 3 main brands of ritual: lust, compassion, destruction. The performing of a ritual relies on very primal, instinctive behavior. 99% of Satanic ritual is psychological, and hence, if you do not truly desire something, magic will not work.

Lust is just that, expression an extreme desire for someone. The ritual itself often involves masturbation.

Compassion is broader, sometimes its wanting something for yourself, sometimes its concern over others. Often involves crying.

Destruction is the most controversial. It is said that if your hate is great enough, you just might be able to kill somebody. It all depends on whether or not you believe in the application of magic. The ritual itself involves expressing hate: a drawing, story, movement, anything that alows you to vent such fustrations.

Some see magic as crazy or unfathomable. Such people are moronic for judging something they have never attempted. Does it work? Absolutely. Not work in the sense that you will soon be able to shoot lightning, but work in the sense that your life will be improved. Such is a path of self discovery. Satanists are split on the issue of ritual being a psychological experience/granting the supernatural, but most importantly, either side respects the others opinion.

Originally Posted by Jocose

To me, the only magic I need is that of my own imagination and creativity.

Such is your opinion. if you don't need it, don't use it. I certainly would not want to be without it, though.

Originally Posted by Jocose

The only rituals I need are my morning ones. Wake up, brush teeth, make coffee, sit down with newspaper or computer, drink coffee, shower, get to work. It's a great ritual, if not somewhat unhealthy for all the damn coffee I drink.

Coffee is still better than alcohol from a health perspective

Again, its your choice what you do with your life.

Originally Posted by Jocose

Anyway, I'd like to hear what others think about ritual and magic before I state my own opinion, that way it leaves room for me to change my mind.

I've done my best. The book of Belial will offer much more.

[Serpens]

Ritual enables the magician to get rid of harmful emotions. During a ritual, the Satanist suspends disbelief in magic. The magician will focus the anger or desire to a single purpose.

This has several functions:

During a curse, the likeness of an enemy is destroyed, the magician might write a speech that might be spoken at the victim's funeral if the magician had been running the show, or destroy a voodoo doll that represents the victim. The magician pours all of his or her anger into the ritual. At the conclusion of such a ritual, the magician feels something akin to the feeling of indifference towards sex after just participated in a run-through with their significant other. By expending the emotion in the ritual chamber, you are emotionally freed. By constructively relieving your anger (Which is a natural impulse, not something to abhor) you are able to concentrate your energies on more productive endeavors than seething anger.

During a lust ritual, the magician emotionalizes his or her desire on a specific member of the opposite (Or same) sex. Adhering to the subjective belief that your magic has objective manifestations in the world, the magician gains confidence, which may indeed prove useful in wooing the partner you desire.

The same is true for a compassion ritual. If you wish for a sick friend to recover, you perform a ritual. By believing that your working will assist the person's recovery, you are emotionally freed from worry. If you need to perform a task that requires a great deal of willpower, performing a ritual will augment your will. Ritualizing your desire and purpose makes you more focused.

A degree of fantasy is present in all religions. It is, more or less, vital. Religion fulfills man's need to emotionalize through dogma. I have not yet met a fully functional human being that does not ritualize in some fashion.

Satanists realize the subjectivity of human perception, realize that since human beings can lie to themselves and believe it. Why not reap the emotional benefits of ritual while discarding the close-mindedness that adhering to a religious philosophical model demands? Satanism is a fun, stimulating form of Atheism that has a set of philosophical principles based on nature and Social Darwinism.

I know that my rituals are fantasy, but sometimes I see things work out in a funny way, in accordance to my ritual's intent. When you begin to see results of your rituals manifest in the real world, it's a lot more fun to run with the assumption that your rituals are working, that magic is real. Truth is irrelevent, results are more important. Pragmatism.

[Ðanisty]

The way I've always practiced it, magick is when your will becomes reality. As KirbyFan101 stated, magick is the desired result of ritual. Ritual is a means to the end...it's a tool. It works for some magickians, but a formal ritual is not necessary. It really depends on the practitioner as there are many different ways to work magick. It could be that you are already working magick and didn't realize it. There is really no wrong way to do it.