Confucis(sry if that's misspled) has a point. The tools are there to help guide you. There not permently needed. All their their to guide for begainers. While experienced may use them becuase their comferable with them. Their comes a point when the training wheels needs to come off. tho I personal still meditate once a week.
Depending on your path, direct energy is the way to go. However, this is about basics. The very begining of magick. Not everyone can sit down and have the confidence to do D.E. thus the tools come into play.
While many traditions or paths ( spells, rituals, ect. ) have tools incorperated in them, it's also a great way to boost the confidence of beginers.
Seeings as the tools themselves have untapped energy within them, what you are doing when you use them is ADDING to the power (energy) of the spell ( or heightening the energy around you when carrying herbs and crystals ). This gives the newcommer 1. the stronger possiblity of it working. 2. gives them a better understanding of how to work with energy from around them. 3. gives them the confidence to work with D.E. if they so choose.
I believe some are. I also believe some may have a raw natural talent to actually suceed, but that is rare.
You can ask some of my coven members my way of doing things if they want to jump ahead of themselves. If they don't suceed, we discuss why it happened and why we learn step by step lol
It is like the sword is just an extension of the hand, the real power comes from the hand, not the sword.
I believe psi balls (easiest form of DE) should be taught to newcomers at the very start. Why? Because they are free (in terms of economics not energy), easy, and physically feel-able (to the psi-ball maker only, until the point where the psi ball is so strong that physically anyone can feel it)
