Techniques of High Magic: A Guide to Self-Empowerment, by Francis King and Stephen Skinner
Destiny Books, 0892813504, 228pp., 1976
This book brings together Francis King and Stephen Skinner to create what they believe is a beginner’s guide to High Magic. Their definition of magick was short and sweet; “the art and science of using little known natural forces in order to achieve changes in consciousness and the physical environment”. Though despite being a beginner’s book, they don’t discuss what magick can be used for, what reasons there are for magick, but after a bit of theorizing about magick jump right into it.
They discuss the first steps of magic on their path, which is Continue reading
In the course of exploring the possibilities of new, more efficient techniques of magic, I was struck by the fact that a structuralist view of the history of magic to date might prove helpful. After all, magicians have always aspired to restate the theory and practice of magic in the language of their times, i.e. in different models pertaining to current world views.
There is, however, some risk involved in such an approach: models do not really explain anything, they are only illustrations of processes, albeit rather useful ones. What’s more, over-systematization tends to obfuscate more than it clarifies and one should not mistake the map for the landscape anyway, a fallacy a great many kabbalists seem to be prone to.
Thus, the following five (or rather: four plus one) models of magic should be seen as a means of understanding the practical possibilities of various magical systems rather than as definitive theories or explanations of the way magic works.
It has proved effective in practice to view magic under the following categories: Continue reading