To determine our role in society, it helps to examine the
\nroles magi have taken through history and how they have changed. Keep in mind
\nthese changes have not always been for the \u201cbetter.\u201d Once again, it would be
\nimpossible to form a complete picture of the magus in every era and culture in
\nthe scope of the book. As with the previous chapter on the history of magick,
\nwe endeavor only to present the EMK perspective, with the focus on Western
\nmagick.<\/p>\n
Archaeological evidence and observation of contemporary
\nhunter-gather societies show that the magus in pre-history had a rich and
\nvaried role that changes from culture to culture in these groups. However,
\ncertain aspects cut across cultures and these elements in differing
\ncombinations can be found in most. <\/p>\n
These societies often turned to the magus for their ability
\nto heal. The ability to treat illness and injury made the magus central to
\ntribal life. In some cultures, all magick was viewed as a healing act. This
\ngoes beyond the scope of physical illness, and can include healing non-humans\u2014animals,
\nspirits, and the land itself. It was most often the duty of the magus to keep
\nthe herb lore. The identification, preparation, and uses of plants and
\nsometimes animal components required years of training, practice, and
\nexperimentation. We tend to downplay the importance of this knowledge in the
\nlight of modern medicine, and we would not argue that traditional practice
\nshould take the place of modern medicine in its entirety, but one only has to
\ntake a cursory look at the multitude of cures that have been found by
\nscientifically testing ancient medicine to know it should not be dismissed.
\nTribal people turned to the magus for healing because many times their cures
\nworked, or at least alleviated symptoms. We have direct evidence that the
\npractitioners in these societies knew of plants with analgesic, disinfectant, stimulant,
\nand psychedelic properties. Not only could they identify the plants, but could
\nprepare them and combine them in ways that released and enhanced these
\nproperties. This healing included psychological illness as well. The magus
\ncommonly counseled those whose behavior had become a detriment to the tribe. By
\nhelping those individuals find narrative and thus meaning to their lives, and
\ncultivate empathy for their fellows, many could be turned from violent and
\nself-destructive patterns. <\/p>\n
How did a society without microscopes, limited knowledge of
\nbiology, and before the invention of the scientific method learn to do this?
\nPerhaps, if we take off our lenses of racial and cultural superiority, and took
\nthese societies at their word, we would know. For the magi plainly state that
\nthe spirits imparted this knowledge. For almost all of the cures and miracles a
\nmagus performed contained a spiritual element, most often the contact of spirit
\nentities. Another role of the magus in hunter-gatherer societies was to
\ncontact, converse with, and keep a catalog of the spirits. It included spirits
\nboth helpful and malevolent. The spirits advised the tribe through the magus on
\nwhen and where to hunt, when to move the camp, who should perform certain
\ntasks, and when to go to war. Through the spirits the magi learned of the wider
\nuniverse. This included the movement of the stars, the changing of the seasons,
\nand predictions of what was to come.<\/p>\n
The magus was also responsible for contact with a certain
\nclass of spirits\u2014the spirits of the dead. In this respect, the magus kept the
\nhistory of the tribe, and taught others their shared heritage. In essence, the
\nmagi created culture. The keeping of knowledge and the practice of ritual to
\nappease the spirits coalesced into the practices of drawing, music, and poetry.
\nThe most basic celebrations that mark a human\u2019s life, the seasons, the hunt, the
\nharvest, birth, adulthood, and death, were handed down to the tribe from the
\nspirits through the magus. <\/p>\n
Into antiquity, the magi solidified these roles by becoming
\nthe priesthood. They handed down the names of the gods and goddess, their
\npurpose, and created mythology. The magus became responsible for organization
\nand construction on a massive scale. As we have learned now, the first
\nlarge-scale constructions of many societies, even before towns and cities, were
\ncenters of religious observance. The ability to inspire human beings through
\nthe use of narrative and common cause cannot be over stated. In fact, it has
\nbeen one of the central reasons why a species of talking apes has been able to
\nspread to and transform nearly all of our planet.<\/p>\n
One should note, however, that the magi have never been
\nstrictly within the social order. Even as they rose to prominence in places
\nlike Egypt, and coalesced into a monolithic Catholic Church in Europe, the
\nplace of the magi was often outside the ranks of the majority of the society.
\nThe Catholic Church being a prime example. While it certainly made it much
\neasier to reach a position of influence if one came from a wealthy or noble
\nbackground, even the lowest peasant could join a monastery and perhaps one day
\nbecome an abbot or a bishop. The prohibition against marriage for priests does
\nnot stem from a moral directive. The nobility, in order to keep a check on the
\npower of the Church, insisted that their wealth and power could not be inherited.
\nIn fact, the original prohibition was against marriage specifically, and did
\nnot include celibacy. It\u2019s not that priests weren\u2019t expected to have sex, they
\njust could not produce legitimate heirs. Though they could rule vast lands and
\nbe the advisors to kings, any attempt to create a political force was
\neventually put down. The original ideas of separation of church and state comes
\nmuch more from the state insisting they keep a monopoly on force than some notion
\nof tolerance.<\/p>\n
The very identity of the magi includes the idea that they
\nhave always been the outsider. The other. Even in tribal societies the magi
\nwere considered dangerous to the social order, and were often relegated to
\nliving at the edge of the encampment, lest their practice disturb or inspire others.
\nAs the power of the church in the West (and in many Eastern societies as well) waned,
\nthe magi found themselves pushed even further into the outskirts. Into the
\nRenaissance and Enlightenment, the wealthy could still afford their eccentricities,
\nwhich included astrology and alchemy. The poor suffered accusations of witchcraft,
\nand at best were sought out only when needed, at worst, burned alive or hung
\nfrom the neck until dead.<\/p>\n
The ultimate attack against the magi came from the
\nscientific revolution as those methods were applied to propaganda. Anyone
\nadvocating drugs, sex, and the freeing of social bonds, anyone who would dare
\nto provide culture outside of what could be sold, were simply made
\nnon-existent. No doubt science produces its own miracles, but to transform
\nother forms of magick into meaningless stories was a cultural choice, and
\nperhaps it was how materialism took over the creation culture is how it was so
\nsuccessful. Persecution of the magi continued, more often taking the form of
\nsocial ostracism. To even believe in magick became a liability, and those
\npracticing it outside of more palatable, lukewarm, archaic institutions became
\ncharlatans and crack-pots. \u00a0<\/p>\n
The only reason that magick persists at all comes from an
\ninnate sense among certain individuals that the universe holds more than can be
\nobserved. That we have some purpose to fulfill other than buying a new house,
\nnew phone, or new car. This assault can only be turned back if the magi
\nre-discover one of their primary purposes, and return to being those who create
\nculture instead of consume it. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
To determine our role in society, it helps to examine the roles magi have taken through history and how they have changed. Keep in mind these changes have not always been for the \u201cbetter.\u201d Once again, it would be impossible to form a complete picture of the magus in every era and culture in the … Continue reading “Emergent Magick – Purpose”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[16,17,14],"class_list":["post-876","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-emergent-magick","tag-emk","tag-magick"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/tumblr.scrollofthoth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/876","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/tumblr.scrollofthoth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/tumblr.scrollofthoth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tumblr.scrollofthoth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tumblr.scrollofthoth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=876"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/tumblr.scrollofthoth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/876\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/tumblr.scrollofthoth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tumblr.scrollofthoth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tumblr.scrollofthoth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}