I found this article on http://www.geocities.com/indianpaganism/magick.html

I thought that it was an atricle others may find interesting, thus I am sharing :D

Magick, Awareness & Religion

Magick, awareness and religion. All words that are quite commonly used within articles and web sites, such as this one. However there seems to be no definite descriptions of these which seems to suit everyone. These are all words which appear to be often different from one another. To myself however these three words are all aspects of the one thing. Within this article I'll attempt to describe each of them, as I understand them, and to explain their essential connection to each other. To begin with I'll attempt to clarify what my own understanding of Magick is, and is not.

Magick has been described as 'the Highest, most Absolute, and Divine Knowledge of Natural Philosophy, advanced in its works and operations by a right understanding of the inward and occult virtue of things; . . . Whence Magicians are profound and diligent searchers into Nature; they, because of their skill, know how to anticipate an effect, the which to the vulgar shall seem to be a miracle' (cf. 'Magick in Theory and Practise', quoting 'The Goetia of the Lemegeton of King Solomon'). That's all very grand and mystical but to most folk it means almost nothing. Put much more simply 'Magick is the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will'. Thus 'Every intentional act is a Magickal act.' So from washing the dishes to creating a talisman can be considered to be a Magickal act. 'Magick' then is an everyday, even hourly or minute to minute happening. In my eyes every act is Magickal, nothing is miraculous. There are no miracles.

Magick as commonly understood by the average everyday person is an act which is beyond the realm of the possible. Some unexplainable phenomenon that appears contrary to natural law. Magick is exactly the opposite, it is the actions which take place within natural law. Nothing takes place outside the laws of nature. But when it is the subtler laws of nature that are being utilised, those which are not commonly understood, perceived, felt or sensed, it appears to be extraordinary.

The key then to working successfully with any Magickal practice is to discover, understand and make use of, as much as necessary only, the laws and forces of Life with which you are working with at that particular moment in time. In this sense all Magick is the same the world over because it is the same universal laws which are being utilised. The ways and means may be different but the effect is the same. The Magick of today's Witch is the same as the Magick of Jesus Christ 2000 years ago. The shape and form of it may differ but the occult (Latin for 'hidden') mechanics are one and the same.

Where then is the connection between Magick and awareness? To myself one is necessary for the other. To learn the Magickal arts awareness is needed. What I mean by this is that if Magick is the utilisation of the laws and forces of life to correspond with Will, without awareness it is not possible to recognise these laws and forces. Yet strictly speaking it is possible to have some degree of success without much experience or knowledge of Magick, or with little awareness of laws or of yourself. But this is very limited and the chances of success vary greatly depending on circumstances. To illustrate what I mean I'll make the analogy of driving a car. If driving a car for the first time chances are you'll stall it sooner or later. As you grow more experienced from being aware of what makes the car move and what stops it, you slowly learn to drive. It is the same with Magick, awareness is needed of what works and what does not. If you can also learn how the car works then you can get the most from it. Again so it is with Magick, if you are aware of how the mechanics of it operate then you will be able to utilise it much more effectively.

Awareness then is required for development and progression. Though I don't wish to suggest that awareness should be focused out in the middle of nowhere, trying to identify some elusive law of nature. From my own experience I have found that i have learned a great deal by being aware of myself. Through being objectively aware of the subtler aspects of myself I have found that it has vastly freed myself from many of the internal shackles that were once a burden. Many of which I had not even realised where there. This is why awareness of one's self is so important in Magick and everyday living. If Magick is the awareness and use of the subtle laws and forces of life in harmony with Will there also has to be awareness of that Will. If there is a lack of awareness and understanding of that Will then won't the Magick be lessened in its effectiveness? From my experience awareness creates space within yourself for the subtler laws and forces to be recognised. The more awareness, the more the potential to learn about the world within and without of yourself. This is why in all true Magickal, spiritual, esoteric and religious paths knowing thy self is the fundamental work on which all further developments are built upon. The true work takes place within the individual and as they discover their self they also discover the worlds in which they exist. Eventually leading to that which is the Divine. Which is the purpose of it all, is it not?

Through awareness of oneself it is possible for the individual to meet the Divine that rests in their self, the same divinity that lies within everyone. On this matter Vivianne Crowley in her book Wicca wrote 'Here there is no subject and object, you and I, Self and other, but only a sense of a vast expansion of consciousness and oneness with the universe'.

This is where awareness meets the religious. Religion though in the sense of Love of all which is Divine. However 'Without magic[k], religion turns man against nature, the creation of God, and eventually against God himself.' (J. Needleman) This is so very evident in the stale institutionalised religions of today. They lack Magick in their application. It is still there in their texts but lost in practice through misinterpretation of teachings, dogma, and the sweeping contemporary arrogance of the superiority of science that contaminates all areas of life. But by having become a religious man in the true sense of the term, the 'Religious man may become a powerful magician but through it he sees only the greatness of God and the nullity of his own being' (J. Needleman).

Magick, awareness and religion in my eyes are inseparable from each other. Awareness is the seed which grows in the individual. It allows for the individual to see what they are not. With awareness comes the gift of freedom and silence. The silence of awareness can bring the Divine closer as silence is in the nature of the Divine. Awareness gives the individual clearer vision and potentionally deep insight. This insight is a large part in the learning of Magick. While Magick, the awareness & use of the subtle laws of life in harmony with Will, is in a sense the worship of the Divine. For it develops and illustrates Love of the Divine's creation. The Love of the creation and the Love of the Divine, be it in the form of the God and the Goddess, Christ, or whatever form, this Love is the heart of true religion.