hi all, i must first start by saying that i am a begginner :-) i have been reading a lot about my chossen path and keep coming across the same 2 terms...... higher magick and lower magick.... can anyone please try and explain the difference for me please? many thanks. blessings to all. macus
Some helpful links cause I'm too lazy to type this out.
http://www.virtuescience.com/low-magick-high-magick.html
http://www.realmagick.com/5996/what-is-high-and-low-magick/
http://www.arcane-archive.org/occultism/magic/high-magick-vs-low-magick-1.php
It isn't the difficulty of the spells, its what your practicing.
Re: re kinds of magick By: AwakeTooLong / Knowledgeable
Post # 5 May 04, 2011
For the sake of anyone reading this but not exploring the articles, High Magic is generally defined as ceremonial, or ritual magic. It is also generally used not for personal game (such as in love, protection, money, etc. spells) but in to contact a higher power and otherwise acquire wisdom. This could be in prayer and communion with one's deity or the summoning and binding of demons or the invocation of angels and a host of other spirits.
Lower magic is generally less formal. It can be energy work, folk magic, or any number of other concepts of magical practice. In this sense most people practice low magic most of the time. Otherwise, it is also generally used to describe all magic seeking to help achieve personal gain or gain for somebody else. Again, this would include love spells, money drawing spells, protection spells... Even healing spells.
In short:
Low magic, often without ceremony, seeks to bend the nature of things to achieve a beneficial outcome. High magic seeks to understand the way of things, often through ceremonial ritual.
As in all things, there are grey areas and debates over the concepts.
hi, thank you so much for the clear explination. i am a novice but read everything i can to help learn and understand, and this topic kept coming up but i could not find a simple explination to it. thank you for your reply as i now understand the difference between the two. great reply!! blessings macus
Re: re kinds of magick By: Brysing Moderator / Adept
Post # 7 May 04, 2011
AwakeTooLong has it right. Think of it as a simple spell and a serious spell. If you have ever blown out the candles on a cake, and made a wish;that is a simple spell.Pulled a wishbone? That is another simple spell. But when you harness your own energy with that of the Earth in order to cast a spell; that is high magic.