Do you read magic from one author or multiple authors?

[Theweirdtophat]

I ask because is it practice to read and understand magic from just one author or is it better to take pieces of knowledge from different authors and come up with your own ideas and spells? What do you do? If you take pieces it may expand your knwoledge but different authors will have different ways of approaching magic and there might be inconsistencies.

 

[Iti oj]

I ask because is it practice to read and understand magic from just one author or is it better to take pieces of knowledge from different authors and come up with your own ideas and spells? What do you do? If you take pieces it may expand your knwoledge but different authors will have different ways of approaching magic and there might be inconsistencies.

I took and read from many and then made my own system.
I think it really depends on what you belief magic to be, how it works, and why.

 

[Quintessence]

Neither.

Well, some qualifiers are in order with that. Whenever doing any type of research, it is important to be thorough. That means reading anything and everything you can get your hands on. That said, most of the non-academic literature I've read about magic has been garbage. I got far more out of studying the academic literature on the subject than browsing the New Age section at the local bookstore or public library. A chronic problem in the non-academic literature is an overall failure to explicitly define metaphysical assumptions. Basically, there is a lot of opinion fluff and little substance. It doesn't expand knowledge as much as provide a platform for inspiration and ideas. Beyond use for inspiration, I've found it to be garbage. I don't really bother with any of it anymore. Don't have the need for it.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

I ask because is it practice to read and understand magic from just one author or is it better to take pieces of knowledge from different authors and come up with your own ideas and spells? What do you do? If you take pieces it may expand your knwoledge but different authors will have different ways of approaching magic and there might be inconsistencies.

I read different authors and create my own spells. I mostly like reading the history behind the spells I may do. For example, what is sigil magic and where did the "elements" come from in different cultures. As for the spells themselves, I only use ones that correlate with natural laws. For example, herbal magic is good. Using that to bless food is a physical way of saying thank you. If its using colors, I stick with my cultural influence. For example, most of the time white is for purity so I keep with that.

As long as I can find it logical (like I use the pentagram to pray for my mother because she has one when she practiced years ago. So, I link with her with mine), cultural (mostly my culture), natural (elemental and environmental connection).

The only time I am comfortable with other spells is if they have mixed cultural background to where my use wont feel like Im disrespecting the people who practice it. So, if I were a "gods" person, Id be okay with the African gods. However, knowing people worship the Orishas, I wouldnt put Yemaya on my altar even though Im drawn to her.

I like creating my own spells. They arent written or structured, though. So I refer to it as rituals instead.

In my opinion, its good to read to know the roots (culture, history, people) of what you want to do. As for doing it, I like just "doing it". Structure and routine and me dont mix.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

I took and read from many and then made my own system.
I think it really depends on what you belief magic to be, how it works, and why.

That is true. How one defines magic (etc) plays a big influence in how one wants to experience and learn from what rescource works best for them. If I said that right.

That puts a spin on our answers too

 

[Theweirdtophat]

That is true. How one defines magic (etc) plays a big influence in how one wants to experience and learn from what rescource works best for them. If I said that right.

That puts a spin on our answers too

I know what you mean. Though sometimes I hear some people will follow magic from just one author as opposed to a bunch of authors to avoid inconsistencies as some people will have different ways of approaching magic and that they feel it's best to stick with one teacher than a whole bunch. But there's nothing wrong with borrowing ideas from authors as long as they are able to co-exist, the ideas I mean anyway.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

I know what you mean. Though sometimes I hear some people will follow magic from just one author as opposed to a bunch of authors to avoid inconsistencies as some people will have different ways of approaching magic and that they feel it's best to stick with one teacher than a whole bunch. But there's nothing wrong with borrowing ideas from authors as long as they are able to co-exist, the ideas I mean anyway.

The ideas, naw. I dont believe everything we think is truely unique. In my view, I just dont like mixing practices that arent "mine" either by how I was raised, culture, or blood.

We mish and mash ideas daily. Id think all of our answers posts are good ones. I wouldnt get "stuck" in what authors say. Its more of a correspondence to your own spells. Unless its more Paganism where a lot of mythology defines the magic one does. Then there is so many Pagan beliefs and practices, Id go with what you are comfortable with.

 

[Riverwolf]

I've started dabbling a bit in magick (I spell it with the 'k' to distinguish the actual craft in my mind from "stage"/"illusion" magic), and the thing I learned most quickly is that "mundane" rolleyes topics, like math, chemistry, and physics, are actually far better study points for me than books all about spells. Perhaps it's because I pretty much regard such fields as basically the closest thing to magick as depicted in Western High Fantasy (D&D describes it as involving lots of complicated calculations and counter-intuitive equations). Maybe also because it helps provide a ... "lifeline" of sorts, to keep me safely tethered to "this" world so I don't get completely lost and go insane while exploring the "other" world (as is FREQUENTLY stressed in the Old Stories about such journeys as being basically mandatory for safe travels there).

So, based on my little dabblings, I'd say you'd want to go a LOT further than just "different authors". You'd also want to study a variety of topics that could be involved, particularly things that are counter to your own comfort zone of skills and knowledge yet carry some intriguing air of "mystical". In any kind of research, sticking with a single source is NEVER a good idea, because that single source will always have biases. (Despite what certain individuals and media outlets often claim about themselves, it's 100% impossible to be unbiased and objective). You do, too, and always will, but unless you're part of a group that places a lot of emphasis on conformity, you want those biases to be mostly your own, and the best way to do that is to be informed by multiple sources.

In Olden-Days, these crafts took YEARS of study, and in unbroken indigenous traditions, that's still the case. Sure, a lot of the knowledge studied back then also involved things that are covered nowadays in primary education, but we also have a LOT more distractions these days just from media and social obligations. Patience is the key, and it's an ongoing process.